Quit Smoking Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Example Essays

YOU CAN QUIT SMOKINGDr.Sayeed AkhtarChief Medical Officer.Central Institute of Psychiatry. RanchiCigarettes are plenteous of poison. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals as well as tar and nicotine, There is also the gas carbon monoxide, ammonia and arsenic. At least 43 of the chemicals in tobacco smoke are known to cause cancers of the lung, throat, mouth, bladder and kidney. Tobacco smoke also contributes to a number of other cancers. Nnicotine is the addictive medicine in tobacco, and the mixture of nicotine and carbon mono oxide in each cigarette you smoke temporarily increases your heart rate and gunstock pressure, straining your heart and blood vessels. This can cause heart attack and stroke. It slows your blood flow cutting off oxygen to your feet and hands. Some smokers end up having their limbs amputated.Tar coasts your lung like lampblack in chimney and causes cancer. A 20 a day smoker breathes in up to a full cup (210 g) of tar in a year changing to low tar cig arettes doesn&8217t help because smoker usually take deeper puffs and hold the smoke in for longer, dragging the tar deeper in their lungs.Carbon mono oxide robs your muscles, brain, and body tissue of oxygen, making your whole body specially your heart work harder, over time your airways swell up and little air into your lungs.There is enough reason why you should quit smoking. It causes disease like Emphysema (rots lungs, vulnerable to get repeated bronchitis and heart and lung failure), Lung canc...

Sexual Reproduction of Spiders Essay -- Biology Animal Insect Sex Mati

One of the largest issues in animal sexual reproduction is the run afoul of interests between the female and the male of the species. For example, multiple mating has been shown to greatly increase the fertilization rate for the male, but recent studies have shown that multiple mating also reachs the female.The demonstrated benefit to the female is sequential female picking that is, the ability (on the part of the female) to allow the fertilization of her egg wad with more viable offspring. However, this presents an inherent conflict of interest in that sperm competition may lower the fertilization success rates of the species.Sexual cannibalism (when the female consumes the male near the time of copulation) is a striking manifestation of a sexual conflict of interest. If the female consumes the male prior to insemination, she gains the nutritional benefits but the male loses his ability to reproduce. However, if the female consumes the male after insemination, the costs and ben efits to each party are non so clear. It is beneficial to both the male and female to increase the fecundity of the female, increasing the reproductive chances of the male as well, but if the female mates again the male loses any apparent benefit.Some spiders seem to have resolved this problem in favor of both sexes such as the redback spider, Latrodectus hasselti. Experiments involving polygamy in this species revealed that cannibalized males had greater fertilization success because these males mated longer and the cannibalistic females tended not to mate again. This shows that a compromise is struck between the two sexes. The female gains the benefit of the nutrition from the stoma of the male while the male limits the competition fro... ...or her offspring. Sexual cannibalism is found to greatly benefit fertilization. That is, if after copulation, the female eats the male, the amount of clutch sired becomes twice as much as in the cases when he survives. Finally, males who ar e cannibalized by females have a higher share of paternity. However, the probability of being cannibalized makes to the highest degree males willing to sometimes avoid copulation, which greatly reduces sexual competition.The conflict of sexes remains unsolved, as female prefer to cannibalize males for benefits of the progeny, males always try to escape in order to fertilize more eggs of other females. Bibliography Elgar, Mark A. and Schneider, Jutta M.. Sexual cannibalism and sperm competition in the golden orb-web spider Nephila plumipes (Araneoidea) female and male perspectives. behavioral Ecology, Vol. 12, No. 5, 2001. 547-552.

Aims and Objectives Of A Business :: Business Management Strategy

Business driftsEvery line of merchandise has aims, these are long-term goals of a product line. They are designed to provide a focus on for staff and to armed service a handicraft achieve its key purpose. The aims in the privately owned business usually are to provide goods and/or services to the best of the business ability and to make enough profit to survive. The aims of a commonplace sector business usually are to provide essential and efficient services for the state. A business can have more than one aim but it is sensible for them not to have too many so they can focus on the aims which are most appropriate to the main purpose of their business. Business ObjectivesBusiness objectives are more detailed goals than business aims, they are targets which get go by to accomplish the business aims. Generally, business objectives are easier to achieve than business aims as they are broken down into smaller and easier steps. The objectives of a privately owned business would us ually be to increase sales, to increase the number of customers or to reduce bes so that more customers are interested in their business. The objectives of a public sector business would usually be to meet customer targets (an example of this would be to reduce waiting eras or to employ more staff) or to keep costs low.Mission statementEvery large business has a mission statement. A mission statement is the main purpose that the business is working towards. It is often short and catchy. Mission statements that privately owned businesses create often mention increasing customers, improving employees, lowering or increasing the cost of their products and making their products better value for money whilst publicly owned organisations mention improving the service they provide by concentrating on the quality of their service, the efficiency and especially the customer service. SurvivalWhen in a business we talk about survival we refer to when a business is facing a hard time and wh ether or not they can get out of it or whether they will have to close down. This happens when trading becomes difficult. A method by which businesses survive is to aim to break-even (make enough money to cover the total costs involved in producing, selling goods or services and running the business) over a certain period. This doesnt make the business any profit but neither does the business lose any money, and therefore they are able to survive.

The Right Of Autonomy :: essays research papers

The Right of AutonomyPolitical philosophy is the philosophy of the state. A state is agroup of people who have supreme authority within a given territory or over a received population, according to Wolf. Authority then, is the right to commandand the right to be obeyed which is different from power. Power in Wolffs terms,is the ability to compel compliance. Moral autonomy is a conformation to lawswhich one has made for oneself. Wolf believes that there is a problem betweenauthority and autonomy. Autonomy overrides the importance of authority. Healso thinks that classical democracy fails to be a solution to this problem.An autonomous person is not subject to the will of another. This isthought to be the primary obligation of man. In political philosophy, autonomyis a refusal to be ruled, and authority of the state is the right to rule, thereis a conflict. If a man fulfills his obligation to autonomy, then he will goagainst the claim by the state to have authority over him. Wolf stat es, Hewill deny that he has a duty to obey the laws of the state simply because theyargon the laws. This is the major conflict with political authority. Somephilosophers believe that a solution to this problem is the concept ofdemocracy.This argument says that if men rule themselves then they would be both(prenominal)the law givers and followers, combining autonomy with authority. Hisobligation to submit to the laws stems not from the divine right of the monarch,nor from the hereditary authority of a noble class, but from the fact that hehimself is the source of the laws which govern him.Wolf doesnt think that it fully solves the problem between authorityand autonomy. A unanimous direct democracy is the closest to resolving theconflict, even in only exists in theory. Representative democracy seems to solvethe problems of unanimous direct democracy, but it too, has its problems. Itsproblems lie in the fact that it is incredibly difficult for everyone to betruly represented. If one is not, then their autonomy is sacrificed. Anotherpossible democratic solution is majoritarian democracy. The problem with thiscomes with those people who are in the minority. The minority voice is hold intheir autonomy because they are obeying something that they do not will. HereWolf again shows democracy fails to solve the problem between authority and

The Transformation of Hong Kong Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

The Transformation of Hong KongA drastic change came over Hong Kong during my supposed three month long business trip. This was not my first time in Hong Kong since I work for Walt Disney Imagineering and my team of engineers had been spending years planning the creation of the fourth Disney resort in Hong Kong. I had arrived in Hong Kong in mid-February 2003. My coworkers and I were staying at the Island Shangri-La which is located in the heart of Hong Kong, overlooking Victoria Harbor. My first week and a half in Hong Kong could be classified as normal. Restaurants were packed when I would go to dinner with coworkers. Starbucks was bustling in the morning as I got coffee on my way to work, and Pacific Place, an amazing entertainment and obtain complex on the Island, was full of people from open to close. The only thing that might have seemed unusual to the outsider was the occasional individual clothing a surgical mask, which having spent a lot of time in Hong Kong and Jap an, I came to realize was common in Asia. If an individual was sick they protected themselves and others by wearing the mask. All in all, this appeared as if it was going to be a typical stay in Hong Kong until the first week of March when things changed. I distinctly call the news reports which appeared about this mysterious disease that had appeared in the Guangdong Province of China beginning in November 2002. I remember my young lady worrying about me travelling to Asia with this unk instantern killer. Yet, I reassured her that there was nothing to worry about since Hong Kong was quite a distance away from Guangdong Province. It turns out, that I should have taken my daughter a bit more seriously because, in hindsight, I know that on F... ...on again if there was a major world health concern. It is hoped that if severe acute respiratory syndrome occurs again, as it has in isolated cases, that the societies of the world will not be thrown into as drastic of an upheaval as I experienced in Hong Kong in the late winter and spring of 2003. Now that the threat of the disease is past, Hong Kong is much more like it should be. When my wife traveled with me on my most fresh business trip she did not have to face the health checkpoints at the airport nor the deserted streets and paranoia of two years ago. Life in Hong Kong appears normal now only with the memory of the modern epidemic which took some of its citizens lives. The world now contains 774 fewer people due to the progress of the recent epidemic, SARS. * www.cdc.gov/ncidod/severe acute respiratory syndrome/faq.htmSources of Information www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/www.sarsreference.com/

The Transformation of Hong Kong Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

The Transformation of Hong KongA drastic change came over Hong Kong during my supposed(a) three month long business trip. This was not my start time in Hong Kong since I work for Walt Disney Imagineering and my team of engineers had been spending years planning the foundation of the fourth Disney resort in Hong Kong. I had arrived in Hong Kong in mid-February 2003. My coworkers and I were staying at the Island Shangri-La which is located in the heart of Hong Kong, overlooking Victoria Harbor. My first week and a half in Hong Kong could be classified as normal. Restaurants were packed when I would go to dinner with coworkers. Starbucks was bustling in the morning as I got coffee on my way to work, and Pacific Place, an amazing entertainment and shopping complex on the Island, was full of people from open to close. The only occasion that might have seemed unusual to the outsider was the occasional individual wearing a surgical mask, which having spent a lot of time in Hong Ko ng and Japan, I came to realize was common in Asia. If an individual was sick they protected themselves and others by wearing the mask. All in all, this appeared as if it was going to be a representative stay in Hong Kong until the first week of March when things changed. I distinctly remember the news reports which appeared roughly this mysterious indisposition that had appeared in the Guangdong Province of china beginning in November 2002. I remember my daughter worrying about me traveling to Asia with this un effn killer. Yet, I reassured her that there was nothing to worry about since Hong Kong was quite a distance away from Guangdong Province. It turns out, that I should have taken my daughter a bit more seriously because, in hindsight, I k right away that on F... ...on again if there was a major world health concern. It is hoped that if SARS occurs again, as it has in isolated cases, that the societies of the world will not be thrown into as drastic of an upheaval a s I experienced in Hong Kong in the late winter and spring of 2003. Now that the threat of the disease is past, Hong Kong is much more like it should be. When my wife traveled with me on my most recent business trip she did not have to face the health checkpoints at the airport nor the deserted streets and paranoia of two years ago. Life in Hong Kong appears normal now only with the memory of the modern epidemic which took some of its citizens lives. The world now contains 774 fewer people due to the progress of the recent epidemic, SARS. * www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/faq.htmSources of Information www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/www.sarsreference.com/

Tlc Analysis of a Drug Component

To Wesley Clark From Lizzie Heath Date March 4, 2013 Subject Thin-Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Drug Components (Experiment 15) The purpose of this experiment is to determine the components of an unknown drug and identify it as one of six (6) commercial drugs by using thin-layer chromatography. I added approximately a quarter of a tablet of acetaminophen, aspirin, caffeine, ibuprofen, salicylamide, and the unknown (19) to pause test tubes containing 2. 5mL of dichloromethane. I noticed that my unknown was a coated tablet.Each test tube was swirled until the greatest amount of each solid was dissolved. Each solution was descry along a labeled starting line on the silica gel TLC plate. The TLC plate was put into a developing sleeping room containing 2001 acetic acid and allowed to developed until the solvent reached almost to the top of the TLC plate, which took about 10 minutes. When the TLC plate finished developing, I observed the plate under UV light and noticed that the sa licylamide was the only spot that fluoresced purple while all the other spots fluoresced blue and I also noticed that the unknown had 2 spots.I traced around the spots for each solution on the TLC plate, the only spot that I did not visit was the one for the ibuprofen. I then placed it into an iodine chamber and noticed that the acetaminophen turned a yellowish color. I measured that the solvent travelled 64mm up the TLC plate by using the starting line as a reference, and, by using that information, I was able to calculate the Rf value of each solution by using Rf= distance traveled by the spotDistance traveled by the solvent I used that jurisprudence to get the following information for the table below Commercial DrugRf Value Acetaminophen0. 500 Aspirin0. 781 Caffeine0. 125 Ibuprofen0 Salicylamide0. 719 Unknown0. 109 & 0. 734 I am able to determine that my unknown bosom contains aspirin, but I am not sure what the other substance is. I can speculate that the other substance is the coating from the tablet of the unknown.

Culture and Its Importance

Journal of c atomic number 18 tuition Emerald Article Do pagan Differences illuminate a art Difference? Contextual Factors Affecting Cross- ethnic Relationship Success Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Richard Ian Corn Article information To cite this document Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Richard Ian Corn, (1994),Do heathen Differences Make a Business Difference? Contextual Factors Affecting Cross- ethnic Relationship Success, Journal of Management ontogeny, Vol. 13 Iss 2 pp. 5 23 Permanent link to this document http//dx. oi. org/10. 1108/026217194 c50219 D avouchloaded on 26-10-2012 References This document contains references to 30 an an different(prenominal)(prenominal) documents Citations This document has been cited by 26 other documents To copy this document emailprotected com This document has been d deliverloaded 3632 generation since 2005. * Users who dgetloaded this Article as come up as dealloaded * Rosabeth Moss Kanter, (2004),The challenges of leadership Inter figure with Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Strategic Direction, Vol. 0 Iss 6 pp. 7 10 http//dx. doi. org/10. 1108/02580540410533190 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, 1997Strategies for success in the new global economy An consultation with Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 25 Iss 6 pp. 20 26 http//dx. doi. org/10. 1108/eb054603 Martin E. Smith, (2003),Changing an organisations gloss correlates of success and failure, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 24 Iss 5 pp. 249 261 http//dx. doi. org/10. 108/01437730310485752 find to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH For Authors If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information more or less how to assume which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more(prenominal) information. Ab fall out Emerald www. emera ldinsight. om With over forty socio-economic classs experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a steer independent publisher of global research with move in personal line of credit, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as puff up as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and as well fly the coops with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Related content and download information correct at clipping of download. Do Cultural Differences Make a Busines s Difference? Contextual Factors Affecting Cros s- ethnic Relationship Succes s Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Richard Ian Corn Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, U S A I think Turks are Turks, and they are actually various fread- just now memory Canadians, or North Ameri displaces or Brits or what constantly. But when I went to Turkey, I was dealing with some Turks who had been dealing with Canadians for 10-15 eld they belowstood us and had adapted to our ways.Yes, they were still Turks, and they knew what Canadians expected. And they knew Canadians in truth well, so they forgave us when we get along faux pas, they understood that we like Christmas Day off. They were patient and gave us a year to apprehend them. Cultural Differences 5 Canadian decision maker, describing experiences in his communitys joint venture in Turkey Of course, ab initio there were apprehensions al well-nigh macrocosm bought by remoteers. transnationalers to us is anyone away(p) the local community.American executive, describing his caller-ups acquisition by a British company In Search of Cultural Differences As economies globalize and organizations increasingly form cross-border relationships, there is a resurgence of interest in the precaution problems caused by natio nal cultural differences in value, ideologies, organisational assumptions, work practices, and behavioural styles spawning research reminiscent of national consultation studies follo put ong the Second World War.Recent findings about the cultural propensities of major countries appear robust, replicated in surveys of the values of theatre directors1-3, as well as used to explain institutional patterns within countries4. such findings are often condemnations consistent with stereotypes evoked by managers to explain others and themselves. Cultural familiarizations fleece well off the tongues of people in our studies. For example several Europeans predicted problems Volvo and Renault could guide in combining Volvos Swedish egalitarianism with Renaults French hierarchy.A German executive working in a French-American alliance commented that Germans and Americans had more values in common than all did with the French, invoking this as an Important contributions to the case stu dies and inter projects for this paper by Kalman Applbaum, Pamela Yatsko, Madelyn Yucht, Paul Myers, Claudia de Dominicis, Tom Hughes, Liska Ouellette, Saba Hapte-Selassie and Thuy Tranthi are gratefully acknowledged, as is the support of the Division of Research of the Harvard Business School. Copyright 1993 by R. M. Kanter and R. I. Corn. Used by permission. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 13 No. 2, 1994 pp. 5-23. MCB University Press, 0262-1711 Journal of Management Development 13,2 6 explanation for why an American sent to London to lead the integration team was viewed as incompetent by the French partner for failing to profit authoritative decisions5. Furthermore, people often assume cultural heterogeneousness creates tensions for organizations.Managers, veritable(a) within a single country, often prefer homogeneity to heterogeneity, because shared experiences and culture are a basis for trust6. Yet, while national cultural differences clearly exist at some level of generality, it is more difficult to specify how the presence of such(prenominal) differences affects organizational and managerial effectiveness. Evidence and observations in a range of situations raise passs about the usefulness of the cultural differences approach for managers. For example ?When people of different national cultures interact, they can be remarkably adaptable, as in the Japanese narrative of adoption practices from other countries7. And even though it is purportedly more difficult for managers to operate outside their home culture, multinational companies view long succeeded even when expatriate managers make mistakes. Many industrial firms have operated successfully in outside countries while showing insensitivity towards local values or treating host-country personnel less well than home-country personnel8. Technical orientation can override national orientation. there is evidence that similar educational experiences e. g. for managers or expert professi onals erase ideological differences those within the uniform profession prevail to espouse similar values regardless of nationality9,10. At Inmarsat, an international satellite consortium owned by companies from over 60 countries and staffed at its London headquarters by 55 nationalities, differences mingled with functions were a great source of conflict than differences betwixt nationalities.Although stereotypes abounded (Spaniards are often late Indians like to rag), engineers who shared a technical orientation quickly ad thoed to each others foibles easily enough that a training programme on cross-cultural precaution was unfortunately attended11. ? Tensions between organizations which seem to be caused by cultural differences often turn out, on closer examination, to have more large structural causes. A Scottish construction company had difficulty in its first international partnership with a French company.The failure was widely explained by employees as caused by di fferences between a beer culture and a wine culture. Its next partnership with a Dutch company was more effective, supposedly because of the greater compatibility with the Dutch. But in the first partnership, the companies set up many dealbusters12, from letting lawyers negotiate for executives, to ignoring assumptions about future commerce strategy. In the second case, they conditioned from their mistakes and changed the way they worked with their partner. National cultures had little to do with failure in the first instance and success in the second. Cultural value way outs and issues of difference in general are more apparent at early stages of relationships than later, before people came to know each other more holistically. And outsiders of any kind, even from the next neighbourhood, can seem different. But once people get to know each other beyond first impressions, relationship dynamics are often determined by power preferably than culture. Resistance to the new America n chief executive of a British retailer was resistance to change, non to culture differences.National culture issues were simply one more piece of learning as he moved from outsider to deep downr they did not affect his ability to do his work of managing a fast and successful turnaround13. ? Central country value tendencies are often reported at a very high level of generality, as on average over large populations themselves far from homogeneous. Thus, they fail to apply to many groups and individuals within those countries. There are strong individual, regional, and ethnic differences within countries that are wrapped by the attempt to find country patterns.For example, an American who had served in Japan during the Second World War liked the docile women he power motto there. He decided to marry a Japanese woman, whole to discover after the marriage that she came from the one part of Japan that encouraged assertive, dominant women. And not lone(prenominal) are there individ ual as well as ethnic differences within countries, but individuals themselves derive their behaviour from many influences and can view as nine-fold identities. The chairman of Matra Hachette in Paris calls himself a Gascon, a Frenchman, and a European. Finally, group cultural tendencies are always more apparent from outside than inside the group. Indeed, people often only fabricate aware of their own value or culture in contrast to someone perceived as an outsider6. The British writer George Orwell observed that national identity and cultural similarity is salient only for those returning from abroad or when the country is threatened otherwise, people hold firmly to their individuality and are more aware of differences among those within the resembling nation.For these reasons, then, we wondered about the circumstances under which cross-cultural interaction would affect business performance. The Foreign Acquisitions Study To learn more about managerial issues provoked by cultur al differences, we looked for situations in which cross-cultural interactions might produce organizational tensions. Kanters studies of international strategic alliances and joint ventures, reported in a series of Harvard case studies and articles14, had uncovered a large moment of strains between cross-border partners, but close to of Cultural Differences 7Journal of Management Development 13,2 8 these involved strategic, organizational, political, or financial issues. But perhaps that was because the relationship between venture or alliance partners is assumed to be one of relative equality and independence each partner retains its own cultural identity as well as control over its own operations, co- running with the other for limited purposes while insulating core activities from the relationship. We looked for another test in the realm of external acquisitions, in which cultural differences would perhaps hoyden a greater role.Foreign acquisitions of US companies increased o ver the last decade. In 1990, 446 such deals, valued at $46. 2 billion, were completed, compared with only 126 deals valued at $4. 6 billion in 1982. Foreign acquisitions of US companies accounted for 28. 1 per cent of the total value of merger and acquisition activity involving at least one company in 1990, compared with only 7. 6 per cent in 198215. This acquisition situation, we proposed, would heighten American managers awareness of their own culture and its contrast to the pick uprs culture, as they merged operations or shifted control over decisions.Since American companies were more accustomed to acquiring abroad operations than cosmos acquired, the reversal of roles experienced when being acquired would perhaps blow up tensions enough to bring cultural issues to the surface. Therefore, we developed a pi mount project with eight companies. T he Companies Approximately 75 interviews with of age(p) and middle managers were conducted by Harvard Business School teams in 1992 and 1993 at eight mid-sized New England-based American companies which had been acquired by foreign companies in the period between mid-1987 and 1990 (with one exception acquired in 1984).All companies had enough experience with the foreign parent to provide time for cross-cultural contact to occur and any problems to surface but the acquisition was besides late(a) enough for managers to have fresh memories. The circumstances surrounding the acquisitions differed in some abide bys. One was a strictly arms-length financial investment in which a long-familiar sporting goods producer was acquired by a Venezuelan financial group as its only US holding in a leveraged buyout from investors who had acquired it two years earlier as long as profits were high, there was minimal contact with the parent.In two other cases, there was a history of relationships between the foreign parent and the acquired company prior to the acquisition a familyowned retailer had developed a business partner ship with a larger but also family-owned British chain four years before the acquisition as part of a succession plan and a metals manufacturer had formed a number of joint ventures with a Japanese conglomerate beginning seven years before the acquisition, turning to its Japanese partner as a defensive tactics against a hostile takeover threat.Other acquisitions also stemmed from financial distress an armaments manufacturer was bought by a British conglomerate after the US company faltered under a sequence of four different American owners an abrasives manufacturer was bought by a French company as a livid entitle in a takeover battle with a British company and a US retailer was change to a Japanese retailer when it no longer fit its US manufacturing company parents strategy. In many of the cases, then, foreign acquirers were sought by the US companies to solve a problem.Two of the companies, habituated the pseudonyms Metalfab and Hydrotech, were observed by the second author i n particular depth. Both were technologyoriented manufacturing companies with operations primarily in the US and annual sales between $100 and $200 one thousand thousand. Both were previously owned by financially-troubled US parents whose core business was in a different patience, and both were bought by well-respected, internationally-experienced companies in the same industry.Corn conducted 30 interviews at Metalfab, a manufacturer of fabricated metal products acquired about five years earlier by Fabritek, pseudonym for a Swedish manufacturer in the same business. He also conducted 21 interviews at Hydrotech, a designer and manufacturer of hydraulic systems acquired about three years earlier by Gruetzi, pseudonym for a German-Swiss manufacturer of industrial energy systems.But while Metalfab was acquired by a company of similar size and was operating at a pretax profit, Hydrotechs new parent was ofttimes larger and more diversified geographically and technologically, and Hydrot ech was accumulating epochal losses. Cultural Differences 9 Overview of the Findings The interviews at all eight companies focused on the history of the companies relationships, their business situations and business strategies, the amount and kind of cross-cultural contact between managers, difficulties and how they had been resolved, and any organizational changes which had come about as a ensue of the merger.We expected cultural differences to play a prominent role in the dynamics of the integration, especially because so many questions probed these issues specifically from asking for characterizations of typical American and parent country managers to comparing managerial styles in concrete situations. (The study was thus biased towards finding cultural differences and tensions because of them. ) We expected many difficulties to arise, necessitating many organizational changes, and we expected American companies to resist learning from their foreign company parents.We also ex pected some combinations to be more volatile than others, such as the Japanese-American interactions, either because of hurt or because of values and style differences. We pitch, instead, that nationality-based culture was one of the less significant variables affecting the integration of the companies and their organizational effectiveness. We found that relatively few issues or problems arose which could be labelled cultural, even though managers were able to identify style differences easily that fit common cultural patterns.We also found that very few measures were taken to facilitate cultural integration. Only a moderate number of difficulties were find outed or organizational changes Journal of Management Development 13,2 10 necessitated, and US companies learned from their foreign parents. Furthermore, there was no discernable pattern of cultural compatibility all nationalities worked well with their American acquisitions. In general, mergers and acquisitions create signif icant stress on organizational members, as separate organizational cultures and strategies are blended, ven within one country12. Differences in national cultures are assumed to add another layer of complexness to the merger do. But our findings suggest that contextual factors play the dominant role in determining the smoothness of the integration, the success of the relationship, and whether or not cultural differences hold up problematic. These findings lead us to conclude that the importee of cultural differences between employees or managers of different nationalities has been over say.Cultural values or national differences are used as a convenient explanation for other problems, both interpersonal and organizational, such as a failure to respect people, group power and politics, resentment at subordination, poor strategic fit, limited organizational communication, or the absence of problem-solving forums. Such differences are invoked as explanations for the uncomfortable be haviour of others when people have limited contact or knowledge of the context behind the behaviour.Culture versus Context as an Explanatory Factor Most interviewees were able to identify a number of ways in which they differed culturally from their foreign colleagues in values, interpersonal style, and organizational approach. Many of these fit the position of countries on dimensions Hofstede1 identified, especially power distance and individualism/ collectivism. The first difference issue mentioned, however, was an objective one Language problems. A majority of Americans found the difficulty in overcoming language differences with all but the British acquirers to be the biggest negative surprisal of their respective mergers.One American at Metalfab tell that during initial meetings, we assumed that when we intercommunicate English to the Swedes and they nodded their heads, they understood what we were saying. Now we realize the nods only meant that they heard the words. Employee s at Metalfab and Hydrotech also recalled meetings in which their foreign colleagues would agree to adopt some new procedure, only to go right back to doing things the same old way as curtly as they left the meeting. American employees noted cultural differences in decision-making styles.Many argued that their foreign parents management team took a longer-term view. Americans at Hydrotech and Metalfab routinely express frustration with the involuntaryness of German-Swiss and Swedish managers to make decisions without a great deal of analysis. Europeans noted the American reputation for fast, less thoughtful decisions. A British manager involved in the armaments company acquisition said, Unlike American companies which manage by quarterly numbers, we at UK headquarters base our strategy and business policies on long-term positioning.American interviewees also identified a number of differences in interpersonal style between themselves and their foreign colleagues which they set a partd to national culture. The Swiss were described as very orderly and efficient, the Swedes were universally described as being very serious. British managers were described as less emotional, less community-oriented, more deliberate, and much less likely to shoot from the hip than Americans. Europeans were described by nearly all American employees as being more formal, less open and outgoing, and drawn-out to form friendships than are Americans.Japanese managers were described as very courteous and polite. Several Metalfab employees stated that the Swedes were much more likely to argue with each other publicly than were Americans. One American official recalled that in the early daylights of the merger, he and an American colleague would stare at each other in menu meetings while the Swedes argued among themselves. The American manager claimed that his American colleagues would have been much more likely to discuss such differences privately.The Swedes were also described as having less respect for authority and greater willingness to confront their superiors publicly than are Americans signs of low power distance in Hofstedes terms. Other employees stated that Swedish managers are not as results-oriented as Americans when it comes to running meetings, ending meetings without a resolution or an understanding of the next steps. Swedes were described by several American employees as very vituperative, both of themselves and others.One American manager stated that Americans are taught that it is more constructive to give pats on the back than to focus entirely on shortcomings as the Swedes are inclined to do. In short, almost of those interviewed found differences between themselves and their foreign colleagues to be clearly identifiable and direct noticeable following their respective mergers. Employees evaluated a majority of these differences to national culture. But a closer analysis of these responses reveals a tendency for employees to attribute to culture differences which are more situationally-driven.For example, several employees stated the Swedes were unwilling or incapable of adjusting their planning and forecasting assumptions in light of changes in the environment, that the Swedes were more determined than are Americans, to meet old budget targets. This whitethorn resound the fact that as parent, the Swedes and German-Swiss have the ultimate responsibility for financial results. Similarly, slower decision making may reflect the fact that the Swedish parent involves more people in the decision-making process than does its American subsidiary.Of course, the use of greater participation may itself reflect differences in values between Americans and Swedes, but it may also reflect differences in the organizational culture of parent and subsidiary or in country-specific industry practices. Senior managers generally had more direct contact with the foreign parent and thus more contextual information. They were much more likely to identify differences in business context that explained apparent differences in cultural values. Senior executives at the American retailer acquired by a British company attributed differences in management practices to differences inCultural Differences 11 Journal of Management Development 13,2 12 business environments in the US and UK. For example, the British company appeared to be less interested in people and more interested in facilities. But this was because its operating expenses tended to be weighted more towards rent than to labour, because British supermarkets were typically located in expensive urban areas, whereas in the US supermarkets were generally found outside the commercial core of the city, and US chains had unions which drove up labour costs.There was also a tendency for American employees to attribute interpersonal difficulties with foreign colleagues to cultural differences without recognizing that Americans act in much the same way. There are recen t public examples of American board meetings interrupted by public bickering. The popularity of the view that committees rarely accomplish anything similarly attests to the fact that Europeans are not the only ones who have difficulty establishing clear agendas in their meetings.Finally, in the US, American employees frequently complain about superiors who rarely hand out constructive criticism. In sum, Americans were routinely able to identify a number of differences between themselves and their foreign colleagues, but the attribution of these differences to nationality often seemed to be misdirected. Additionally, in many cases, these differences are more suggestive of perception than of reality. Perhaps it was more convenient to attribute differences to culture than to context because of the popularity of national character stereotypes.The role of national stereotypes was made clear in contrasting what American managers said about their own foreign acquirers (whom they knew well ) compared with other nationalities (which they knew less well). An American senior executive at the sporting goods manufacturer had highly positive things to say about his Venezuelan parent, calling Venezuelans lovable, amiable, showing a high degree of tending for people. In contrast, he said, The companies you do not want to have take you over are the Germans and the Japanese. They feel they know how to do it better and just come in and take over.But the companies in our study acquired by Japanese and German-Swiss parents reported just the opposite that the Japanese, for example, were eager to learn from the American companies they acquired. In short, the greater the experience with managers from another country, the less reliance on negative stereotypes. Furthermore, while many interviewees were able to identify behavioural style differences between American managers and their foreign parents, they also spoke of cultural compatibilities in values, business strategies, and orga nizational approach. Such similarities overrode style differences.Both retailers in the buff study, for example, spoke of the common concerns and philosophies they shared with their foreign parent one Japanese, one British. Finally, just because people could point to differences, that did not mean that the differences had operational consequences. Interviewees were asked to assess the extent to which cross-cultural differences created difficulties in the relationship between parent and subsidiary. Interestingly, many employees felt that although differences exist between their cultures, such differences did not create significant problems for employees.This finding cuts to the heart of this studys central question if cultural differences between a parent and subsidiary do not necessarily lead to significant inter-organizational conflict, what factors moderate the relationship between cultural heterogeneity and organizational conflict? Why do American employees of foreign companies feel that cultural differences between their own firm and their foreign parent have not been particularly problematic? Here, our findings suggest that a number of contextual factors act as mediators in determining whether or not these differences will be problematic.Contextual Factors as Key Determinants of Cros s-cultural Relationship Succes s Six factors emerged in the pilot study that accounted for the ease with which the merger was implemented and the relatively few difficulties attributed to national cultural differences (1) the oomph of the relationship, especially in contrast to recent experiences of the acquired companies (2) business compatibility between the two companies, especially in terms of industry and organization (3) the willingness of the acquirer to invest in the continued performance of the acquiree and to allow operational autonomy while performance improved (4) mutual respect and communication based on that respect (5) business success and (6) the passage of time. Cultural Differences 13 Relationship Desirability The first issue sets the stage for whether the relationship begins with a positive orientation. When people are in distress, poorly-treated in previous relationships, have had positive experiences with their foreign rescuer, and play a role in initiating relationship discussions, they are much more likely to view the relationship as desirable and work hard to accommodate to any differences in cultural style so that the relationship succeeds. First, almost all of the companies in the pilot study were acquired by foreigners after a period of financial distress.A Hydrotech employee said, Everyone here was aware of the firms financial problems at the time of the acquisition. tidings of the purchase was viewed favourably. Gruetzi kept our doors from being padlocked. Everyone recognized that without Gruetzi, Hydrotech might not have made it. While Metalfab did not have Hydrotechs financial problems at the time of its acquisition, i ts employees took comfort from Fabriteks strong financial condition at the time of the takeover. The abrasives company was rescued by its French acquirer as a white knight in a takeover battle. In all these cases, people were thus more likely to view their Journal of Management Development 13,2 14 acquirers as saviours than villains. Cultural problems were therefore not problematic.When asked to describe their initial reaction to the acquisitions, interviewees in several companies began with a description of how difficult life had been under its former parent. Several foreign parents in our study therefore compared favourably with each subsidiarys former US parents. Hydrotech and Metalfabs former parents had uncomplete understood the business of its subsidiary nor shown any desire to invest in their subsidiarys long-term growth. The armaments company had four recent owners, several of whom bare(a) corporate assets and art collections, an experience one manager referred to as being raped. Under new owners who cared about them, employees were therefore more inclined to back up and adapt to cultural differences.In other cases, national differences were not a problem because the US and non-US companies had spent several years getting to know each other through joint ventures. The British retailer and the Japanese conglomerate had long worked closely with the American companies they eventually bought. Nearly every respondent at Metalfab and Hydrotech spoke with high regard for their parents technical expertise, manufacturing skill, knowledge of the international marketplace, and reputation for quality. As one employee commented, Our concerns about the takeover were quickly put to rest. afterwards all, Gruetzi was not an unknown quantity. They were an industry leader and we had worked with them on several projects in the past.In contrast, respondents who were less familiar with the operations of their acquirer appear to have been the most concerned and apprehens ive about the news of the merger when it was first announced. As one employee recalled, At first I was sickened by the announcement, but when I saw Fabriteks product line and the obvious potential for synergy, I became extremely excited. Several respondents also mentioned that if the acquirer had a reputation for dismantling its acquisitions, they would have been far less sanguine about the takeover and the possibilities for success. Reputation was based not only on past direct experience but also on assumptions about how companies like that behaved. One Metalfab employee claimed that compared with other countries, the Swedes are just like us.The conventional wisdom at Metalfab was that Scandinavian firms had a history of keeping their acquisitions intact. Finally, the ability to choose made a difference. In several cases, the companies themselves initiated the search for a foreign partner. The element of surprise that creates anxiety and uncertainty was missing. A Hydrotech employe e stated We wanted to be sold I viewed the announcement as a real positive someone wanted to buy us Business Compatibility Organizational similarities were more important to most companies than national cultural differences. At the time of their respective mergers, employees of Metalfab, Hydrotech, and both retailers in the study took immediate comfort rom the fact that their new acquirers were in the same industry as they, especially the retailer sold by an American manufacturer to a Japanese retailer. As one Hydrotech employee stated Our former parent showed no commitment to, or interest in, our business. Now, there is a much better fit. Another employee stated Everyone was initially apprehensive about the takeover but at least we were bought by a company which understands and cares about our business. This dour our initial apprehension into fanaticism. Along similar lines, Metalfab employees reacted very favourably to the news that a metal company was purchasing a metal compa ny.Organizational similarity meant that employees could feel that they play important roles in carrying out their parents strategy and believe that their parent values their contribution. As one Hydrotech employee stated Despite the fact that Gruetzi is a much larger company than our former parent was, it is easier to see how we fit into their plans. Thus, at both Hydrotech and Metalfab, the benefits of the merger were transparent to employees. As one manager stated, This was an diffuse announcement to make the merger spoke for itself. Employees at Hydrotech and Metalfab felt that sharing a common technical orientation with their parent allowed both rganizations to more easily overcome national differences. Several employees emphasized what a pleasure it was to work with a parent organization that understands the business they are in. As one engineer stated, our two firms are like twins that were separated at birth. Employees at both Hydrotech and Metalfab also feel that their pare nts expertise and credibility in the industry has made it easier to accept them in the role of acquirer. One Metalfab employees comment captured the attitude of the firms employees towards foreign ownership when he claimed It doesnt flap me in the least that our parent is a foreign company because we speak the same language, Metal A majority of those interviewed concluded that they would now prefer being taken over by a foreign company in the same business than by an American firm in a different industry. Cultural Differences 15 Investment without Interference Of all the actions taken by a foreign partner, none seems to have a more positive impact on morale and on attitudes towards foreigners than a foreign owners decision to invest capital in its subsidiaries. Fabritek spent $11 to 12 million upgrading the production facilities of its US subsidiary during each of the first two years following the acquisition and has invested an additional $6 to 8 million annually ever since.Gruetz i has similarly invested in new equipment for Hydrotechs Ohio production facility. To most American employees, such investment demonstrated that its new parent was committed to the companys long-term health. When investment was accompanied by operational autonomy, the relationship was viewed very favourably and cross-cultural tensions minimized. In three cases sporting goods manufacturer acquired by a Venezuelan company and both the retailer and the manufacturer acquired by Japanese companies feeling lack of cultural tensions was a function of the Journal of Management Development 13,2 16 minimal interference of the foreign company in its new US operations. They et us do what we are good at, said an executive at the sporting goods firm, which is make money. Employees at Hydrotech and Metalfab were surprised by the extent to which their parents allowed them to manage their own operations. As one Hydrotech employee stated Things have turned out much better than I originally expected . Gruetzi has not overmanaged us, they kept our management team intact, and we have not been forced to spend a lot of our time defending ourselves. Metalfab employees were similarly pleased that their parent has allowed the firm to retain day-to-day control While our parent provides us with suggestions, they have allowed us to run the show here.We argue that American employees are less likely to view cultural heterogeneity as a problem when foreign management allows such autonomy along with adding resources. It should be pointed out that complete autonomy was not welcomed by all employees a minority of employees (those dissatisfied with their firms policies) mentioned that they would be happier if the parent took a more active role in managing its subsidiary. At least one Hydrotech engineer wished that Gruetzi would force the company to standardize its designs and acquire better tools for its engineers to work with. At Metalfab, several employees expressed disappointment that its pa rent had not prevented the company from moving operations to Mexico.Furthermore, that high degrees of autonomy have by chance slowed down the speed with which the merged organizations develop a common culture. Several Metalfab employees reported that it has been difficult to pull our two families in concert and get the message out to customers that we are one firm. Still, for the Americans autonomy generally meant that they did not feel foreigners were imposing foreign ways on them, which made them more tolerant of differences quite a than resistant to them. Open Communication and Mutual Respect Nearly all interviewees agreed that open communication and showing mutual respect are critical to developing trust and ensuring a successful partnership.One retailer, for example, felt that its new Japanese parent wanted to learn from American practice, which made them feel valued and made rapport with the Japanese easy to develop. Tensions occurred, in contrast, when foreign colleagues di d not show respect for American technology and expertise. At Fabritek, Swedish engineers and merchandise personnel initially viewed Metalfabs traditional, composite products as inferior to their own, all-metal product, which required tighter engineering and manufacturing tolerances in order to ensure a perfect seal. As a result, Americans said that the Swedes saw themselves as the real engineers in the company. But note here that the tensions were caused by technical differences, not cultural ones. ) Similarly, Hydrotech engineers described their German-Swiss colleagues as very arrogant and contraceptive about Gruetzis products there was a feeling that Hydrotech engineers should not tamper with their parents designs. Employee sensitivity to possible cultural differences played a significant role in reducing outbreaks of cross-cultural tension. One Hydrotech employee reasoned that cultural clashes had been avoided mainly because employees had been so concerned that such tensions co uld occur that they put more essay into trying to understand one another.Similar concerns led executives at Fabritek and Metalfab to schedule frequent meetings with each other soon after the merger these meetings improved understanding and decrease tension between the two firms. Ironically, one senior American official recalled that he had rarely met with executives from the firms former US parent even though they were located right down the road from the company. Though formal cross-cultural training programmes were rare, open communication helped build relationships. Sensitivity to cultural differences and willingness to deal with problems directly minimized organizational tension. Cultural Differences 17 Business Success Nothing succeeds like success. People are willing to overlook cultural differences in relationships which bring clear benefits.But unsuccessful ventures produce squabbling even among people who are culturally similar. Creating opportunities for joint success bet ween parent and subsidiary promotes espousal of cross-cultural differences and creates support for the relationship. Several months before Hydrotechs acquisition by Gruetzi, a company project had gone sour due to a technical malfunction. After the merger, Hydrotech used Gruetzis technology to solve the problem. For the many employees who had suffered through the projects difficulties, this single act sold the virtue of the partnership. Another Hydrotech employee stated We had not realized how quickly Gruetzis technology could be put to use.In only one year, our department was able to bid on two projects and win a $45 million contract. Nothing could possibly send a more positive message about the benefits of partnership than winning business because of it. Ongoing financial performance affects the quality and nature of communications between parent and subsidiary, and thus plays a role in determining whether or not cultural differences are viewed as problematic. If success reduces t ensions, deteriorating performance increases them. Employees noted that travel budgets came under increasing pressure during periods of poor performance, and thus, fewer meetings take place between American and foreign employees.In difficult times, communication between parent and subsidiary may deteriorate as employees in each organization focus on their own problems. Finally, poor performance leads to frustration, fingerpointing, and reduced trust. One Hydrotech manager noticed that as Gruetzi has encountered more financial difficulties, they became increasingly demanding of Hydrotech and focused more on the companys short-term operating results than in the past. The Pas sage of Time Does time heal all wounds? Time, at least, reduces anxieties and replaces stereotypes with a more varied view of other people. The levels of cross-cultural Journal of Management Development 13,2 18 tension vary as a function of the stage in the relationship-building process.Anxieties at Hydrotech and Metalfab were highest during the days instantly following the announcement of each takeover. This initial anxiety declined as the merger entered a transition phase in which management showed reluctance to create conflict. Employees of both subsidiaries also reacted positively to foreign managements willingness to discuss issues and listen to their concerns at that time. According to one employee, these meetings made us feel good about the changes and made us realize how alike our philosophies were. But during the transition phase, employees also underestimated the degree of cultural heterogeneity and the potential for conflict to erupt.As management began to focus on more substantive issues and the amount of communications between American and foreign employees grew, a new realization set in that the cultural differences between the two firms were greater than initially realized, which required more awareness and sensitivity to avoid conflict. It appears likely then, that employee perceptions of cross-cultural tension are affected by the passage of time and by the merger process itself. One might also expect that employee attitudes towards cultural heterogeneity will change as Americans and foreign employees work together and become more familiar with each others customs and values. Mistrust is always more likely at early stages of relationships.People at Hydrotech and Metalfab felt their new foreign parents were particularly guarded in discussing their technology during the first months together. As one employee mentioned It was like playing poker during the first year. You always got an answer to your question but the question was answered as narrowly as possible even when, by withholding information, the answer was misleading. But another engineer recognized the significance of sharing technology noting that when our parent provides us with technology, they are giving us their lifes work. T he Negative Side of cross-cultural Interaction T hreat and Prejud ice Positive views of the relationship between US company and foreign parent predominated, but they were not universal in the companies studied.Top management and those with the greatest day-to-day contact were most likely to be favourable. Those at lower ranks anxious about the implications for their lifes were more likely to express negative views, including prejudice and resentment, reacting the most ultranationalisticically to the news of a foreign takeover. One American reported how sick he was over the fact that this country is gradually being sold off to foreigners. Some higher level managers commented that they would have been more comfortable if their acquirer had been American, but this preference did not seem to affect the relationship. A manager at the armaments company reported We would rather have been bought by a US company.There is an element of national pride, especially in our industry. We are very patriotic. There is no one in the company that would say we are a British firm. We all wear and buy made in USA products. Still, nationalist sentiments did not prevent this manager from declaring the relationship a success and identifying very few crosscultural problems. The most significant factor in determining employee reactions to acquisition was self-interest how the change would affect their own standing in the firm. Virtually all interviewees reacted to news of the acquisition with the same question How will this impact on my career in this organization? .Those employees who were most likely to suffer a loss of prestige or power, or who had reason to feel threatened by the mergers were most likely to react unfavourably to it. However, the fact that the vast majority of employees in both companies did not react in this way attests to just how apparent the benefits of these mergers were to most employees. Therefore threat could work both ways if the foreign company improved performance, jobs would be saved. A manager at the armaments compan y observed, The community and employees understand there are differences between us and the British. But for them, having good jobs is more valuable. When corporate survival is at stake, people cannot afford to have culture become an issue.Attitudes were shaped by symbolic acts taken by the foreign parents as much as by more substantive actions. One Metalfab employee recalled the day that Fabriteks president arranged to have group photographs taken of all employees in the US so that they could be shown to people back in Sweden. Fabritek immediately impressed me as a very people-oriented company. The ascription of Organizational Problems to National Culture Our findings suggest, then, that contextual factors act to either fan the flames of intergroup conflict and cross-cultural polarization or encourage organizational members to accept these differences. In the pilot study, organizational and technical compatibilities overwhelm cultural differences.Cultural differences thus seem to b e a residual category to which people attribute problems in the absence of a supportive context. Cultural differences do not automatically cause tensions. But when tensions do arise often due to situational factors such as lack of communication or poor performance people pick many of the organizational difficulties they encounter on cultural heterogeneity on the presence of others who seem different rather than to the context within which these problems took place. This view is consistent with Chris Argyriss perspective on defensive routines in organizations16. Why do people blame culture for problems and scribe differences between their own behaviour and that of their foreign colleagues to dispositional factors (the kind of people they are) rather than to situational factors (the organizational context)? First, cultural heterogeneity presents a conspicuous target for employees to point at when looking for an explanation for their problems. Such differences are readily apparent in early stages of contact between people who differ in a visible way, such as race, gender, or language, especially when there are only a few tokens such as expatriate managers among many locals6. Pre- Cultural Differences 19 Journal of Management Development 13,2 20 onceived notions and prejudices which employees bring into the evaluative process increase the likelihood that people will attribute behaviour to nationality. In-group favouritism is evoked in situations of cross-cultural contact. Research has shown that people want to favour members of their own group (the in-group) over others. Motivational theorists hold that self-esteem is enhanced if people value their own group and devalue other groups17,18. Such favouritism leads to a set of cognitive biases which reinforce the distinction between in-group and out-group members. People expect in-group members to display more desirable and fewer undesirable behaviours than out-group members19.As a result, people are more likely to infer negative dispositions from undesirable and out-group behaviours than from undesirable in-group behaviours, and are less likely to infer positive dispositions from desirable outgroup behaviours than from desirable in-group behaviours20-23. Furthermore, people tend to remember behaviour which is congruent with their expectations over behaviour which is inconsistent with their views24,25. Thus, memories reinforce in-group favouritism as well. In-group biases are especially likely to form when individuals identify powerfully with their group and when in-group members view other groups as a threat17. During an acquisition process, employees who work for, and identify with their company for many years suddenly find that another firm, with its own culture vision, values, and ways of doing things is responsible for their future.Cross-border mergers offer a particularly favourable environment for such biases to develop because group membership is clearly defined by national as well as organizational boundaries. At both Hydrotech and Metalfab, in-group favouritism and cognitive biases may have been the driving forces behind the tendency among Americans to attribute wrongfully bad news to their foreign parent (i. e. out-group members). In one case, Hydrotech management had frozen salaries and extended the required working week from 40 to 44 hours after the merger in an effort to impress Gruetzi by showing a willingness to make a few difficult decisions. Many Hydrotech junior employees attributed this less-traveled policy to Gruetzis management.Ironically, according to one middlelevel manager, when Gruetzi found out about these changes, they gave Hydrotechs president one month to reverse the policy. In another example, soon after Metalfab announced plans to transfer some of its manufacturing operations to Mexico, rumours began circulating on the factory floor that the Swedes were behind the decision. When senior management in the US found out about the rumours, the companys president called a meeting with all employees and took full responsibility for the decision. But many blue-collar workers continued to blame the Swedes for this unpopular move. They also attributed the decision to downsize the American workforce to the companys foreign parent.A second explanation for why cultural differences are inappropriately invoked is called the rudimentary attribution faulting26 a tendency to attribute ones own behaviour to the situation but others behaviour to their character. People attribute negative behaviour of foreign colleagues to their nationality or culture (dispositional factors) rather than to situational or contextual factors which are operating behind the scenes27. For example, Metalfab interviewees initially viewed their Swedish colleagues as raspy (i. e. the Swedes are a stubborn people) before it occurred to them that language problems had caused many early misunderstandings.They attributed the fact that their Swedish colleagues were more engineering oriented and less trade oriented to national biases (Swedes design bulldozers for the kind of work a garden shovel could do) rather than to differences in product features and to the requirements of the European market. For example, rigid engineering standards for Fabriteks all-metal products required engineers in Sweden to play a more central role in the parents operations, whereas the competitiveness of the US market demanded that marketing personnel play a more critical role in US decision making. But those who had more direct contact with the foreign parent, such as senior managers, also had more contextual information and were less likely to make the fundamental attribution error.If in-group biases and the fundamental attribution error are behind the tendency to view cultural heterogeneity as problematic, what steps might management take to promote inter-organizational co-operation in cross-border mergers? Our findings suggest that actions which make the relationship desirable, reduce uncertainty, show respect for the other group, create communication channels, and ensure business success will encourage employees to identify with their foreign colleagues and view the company as one organization. Creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, promoting open communication, investing in the future, maximizing opportunities to experience joint success, and taking steps to familiarize employees with their duplicates products and markets reduce the likelihood that cultural differences will be viewed as a source of organizational tension.Conclusion These pilot study findings are only suggestive, of course. We have a small number of cases from one region. While none of them can yet be called a longterm success, they have survived a period of integration during which other companies which perhaps did experience debilitating cultural problems could have called off the marriage. We could be looking only at the winners that managed cultural differ ences well. Indeed, those companies experiencing problems were more likely to turn down our request to participate in the pilot study. But if tilted towards successes, then this research points to some of the circumstances that contribute to successful cross-cultural relationships.And since we biased the interviews towards identification of cultural differences and cultural tensions, the relative absence of tension gives additional weight to our argument that contextual and situational factors, such as technical fit, business performance, and abundant communication, are more significant determinants of relationship effectiveness. Cultural Differences 21 Journal of Management Development 13,2 22 Employees at each of the companies studied were able to identify a number of cultural differences between their own organization and that of their parent. Nevertheless, few employees viewed cultural heterogeneity as a significant source of tension in their firm. Such findings lend support to the notion that national cultural differences do not necessarily increase the amount of tension between organizations or make partnerships among companies from different countries untenable.This article proposes that there are a number of factors which help to determine how employees react to foreign ownership. It calls into question the assumption that the larger the social distance or cultural gap between the national cultures of two merged organizations, the greater will be the potential for strain in the relationship between employees. The findings from our pilot study suggest contextual factors are extremely important mediators in crosscultural relationships. These factors influence how cultural differences are interpreted and whether they are viewed by employees as problematic. Indeed, they may even determine whether cultural differences are identified at all. References 1. Hofstede, G. Cultures and Organization, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 1991. 2. Kanter, R. M. , Transcendin g Business Boundaries 12,000 World Managers View Change, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 69, May-June 1991. 3. Hampden-Turner, C. , The Boundaries of Business Commentaries from the Experts, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 69, September-October 1991. 4. Lodge, G. C. and Vogel, E. F. (Eds), political orientation and National Competitiveness An Analysis of Nine Countries, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 1987. 5. Kanter, R. M. , Applbaum, K. and Yatsko, P. , FCB and Publicis ( A ) Forming the Alliance, Harvard Business School Case Records, Boston, MA, 1993. 6. Kanter, R. M. Men and Women of the Corporation, Basic Books, New York, NY, 1977. 7. Westney, E. , Imitation and invention T he Transfer of Western Organizational Patterns to Meiji, Japan, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1987. 8. Starbuck, W. H. , Learning by association-intensive Firms, Journal of M anagement Studies, Vol. 29 No. 6, 1992, pp. 713-40. 9. Haire, M. , Ghiselli, E. E. and Porter, L. W. , Managerial T hinking, Wiley, New York, NY, 1966. 10. Wuthnow, R. and Shrum, W. , Knowledge Workers as a New Class Structural and Ideological Convergence among Professional-Technical Workers and Managers, Work and Occupations, Vol. 10, 1983, pp. 471-87. 11. Myers, P. and Kanter, R. M. Inmarsat 1991 , Harvard Business School Case Records, Boston, MA, 1992. 12. Kanter, R. M. , When Giants Lea r n to bound M aster ing the Challenges of S trategy, Management, and Careers in the 1990s, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1989. 13. Kanter, R. M. and Gabriel, L. , BhS ( A ) Opening Boundaries, Harvard Business School Case Records, Boston, MA, 1992. 14. Kanter, R. M. , Competing on Relationships How Companies Build Collaborative Advantage, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1994. 15. M& A Almanac, Vol. 26 No. 6, 1992, p. 54. 16. Argyris, C. , Overcoming Organizational Defenses Facilitating Organizational Learning, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA, 1990. 17. Tajfel, H. and Turner, J. C. An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict, in Austin, W. S. and Worchel, S. (Eds), T he S ocial psychological science of Intergroup Relations , countenance/Cole, Monterey, CA, 1979, pp. 33-47. 18. Turner, J. C. , Rediscovering the tender Group A S elf-categorization T heory, Blackwell, Oxford, 1987. 19. Howard, J. W. and Rothbart, M. , Social Categorization and Memory for In-group and Outgroup behaviour, Jour nal of Personal ity and S ocial Psychology , Vol. 38 No. 2, 1980, pp. 301-10. 20. Taylor, D. M. and Jaggi, V. , Ethnocentrism and Causal Attribution in a South Indian Context, Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, Vol. 5 No. 2, 1974, pp. 162-71. 21. Allen, V. L. and Wilder, D. A. Categorization, Belief Similarity, and Intergroup Discrimination, Jour nal of Personal ity and S ocial Psychology , Vol. 32 No. 6, 1975, pp. 971-7. 22. Allen, V. L. and Wilder, D. A. , Group Categorization and Attribution of Belief Similarity, Small Group Behavior, Vol. 10 No. 1, 1979, pp. 73-80. 23. Pettigrew, T. F. , T he Ultimate Attribution Error Extending Allports Cognitive Analysis of Prejudice, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 5 No. 4, 1979, pp. 461-76. 24. Hastie, R. and Kumar, P. A. , Person Memory Personality Traits as Organizing Principles in Memory for Behavior, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 37 No. 1, 1979, pp. 25-38. 25. Srull, T. D. Lichtenstein, M. and Rothbart, M. , Associative Storage and Retrieval Processes in Person Memory, Jour nal of E xper imental Psychology L ea r ning, M emor y and Cognition, Vol. 11 No. 2, 1985, pp. 316-45. 26. Ross, L. , The Intuitive Psychologist and His Shortcomings Distortions in the Attribution Process, in Berkowitz, L. (Ed. ), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 10, Academic Press, New York, NY, 1977, pp. 173-220. 27. Jones, E. E. and Nisbett, R. E. , The proletarian and the Observer Divergent Perceptions of the Causes of Behavior, in Jones, E. E. , Kanouse, D. E. , Kelley, H. H. , Nisbett, R. E. , Val ins, S. and Weiner, B. Eds), Perceiving the Causes of Behavior , General Learning Press, Morristown, NJ, 1971, pp. 79-94. Further Reading Locksley, A. , Ortiz, V. and Hepburn, C. , Social Categorization and Discriminatory Behavior Extinguishing the marginal Intergroup Discrimination Effect, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 39 No. 5, 1980, pp. 773-83. Maass, A. , Salvi, D. , Arcuri, L. and Semin, G. , Language Use in Intergroup Contexts The Linguistic Intergroup Bias, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 57 No. 6, 1989, pp. 981-93. Tajfel, H. , Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, Annual Review of Psychology, Annual Reviews, Stanford, CA, 1982, pp. 1-39. Cultural Differences 23

Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.

Harrahs Entertainment Inc. Philip G. Satre, CEO of Harrahs Entertainment Inc. , had steered the company to a new direction and created a new warlike improvement for the company. In 1998, Gary Loveman joined Harrahs as chief operating officer (COO) and helped the company to change from operations-driven company that had its properties operate as standalone business, to a marketing-driven company that focused on the target nodes and build inscription under Harrahs brand.By December 1999, Harrahs had 50% growth in revenue and 100% growth in stock price and profits, which the results were significantly better than the industry. However, Satre had twain questions for Gary Loveman and his team. He wanted to know how much percentage of the marketing dollars was accounted for this success and was these marketing efforts sustainable. Phillip Satre became CEO of Harrahs Entertainment Inc. in 1984. His first sustainable competitive advantage was to focus on customer.The first CRM system w as the Winners Information Network, which collected and analyzed data based on customers play. The strategy was a success until mid mid-nineties when there were more competitors entered the market with better and flashier properties. The company launched the Total Gold program in fall 1997, which focused more on increasing customer royalty. After Gary Loveman joined the company in 1998, the data he analyzed was showed that customers had little loyalty to the company, so the companys main focus was to increase customers loyalty.In rear to succeed, Loveman introduced three major plans changing the organization structure/ building the Harrahs brand, delivering extraordinary service, and exploiting relationship marketing opportunities. The new CRM was recreated and consisted of two components Database Marketing (DBM) and the Total Gold Program. DBM could just predict customer worth how much the casino expected to win from a customer. This system helped Harrahs to identify its potentia l great customers.It also helped Harrahs to develop customer centric approach to direct marketing, which comprised 3 phases to a customer relationship new business, loyal and retention. The Total Gold Program was created to assist and support the cross-market run patterns of the customers. The Total Gold Program increased Harrahs cross-market revenues from 13% in 1997 to 23% in 2000. It also helped Harrah to create true royalty program which motivated customers to groom goals and explained clearly for how to achieve them.Harrahs main focus was to increase customers loyalty, so the metrics that could be used to assess its performance were customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. As far as how much percentage of the marketing efforts had contributed to the overall performance which could be measured by using return on investment metric. This competitive advantage probably sustained until the competitors introduced similar programs, which Harrahs might have to come up with new inno vations. However, Harrahs had excelled in customer intimacy and also did very comfortably in product leadership, which put Harrahs in better position than its competitors.

Leadership orientation

Nowadays, there is a number pf mental tests, intended to measure leadership-related abilities as well as managerial style and orientation. In the model paper I would like to describe my own results of the following surveys the Willingness-to-Communicate Scale the Leadership Style Preferences Inventory the McGregor Theory X and Y Surveys the Followership Questionnaire, the Leadership gridiron Survey and the Least Preferred Coworker Scale.The Willingness-to-Communicate ScaleThe Willingness-to-Communicate Scale was developed in order to determine the aspects of communication in which the individuals less competent or more suspicious, as in different environments individuals tend to express themselves in dissimilar ways. This survey first appe bed to me strange, as it was difficult to recollect how often I regard to establish contact or communicate in certain situations.The survey suggests that I am willing to interact with others in group discussions and during meetings, interperso nal conversations (the highest score) and when it is needful to communicate with a friend, whereas I am probably a bit shy or insufficiently self-confident to speak on public, moreover, the results suggest that I almost never wish to converse with strangers. In the context of leadership, this test would probably indicate that it the work in HRM sphere would require of me additional adaptation, as sometimes I do not wish to establish rapport with strangers. On the contrary, I am a team player, who sack maintain chummy relations and symmetric communication with trustworthy and reli up to(p)-bodied colleagues/inferiors.The Leadership Style Preferences InventoryThe Leadership Style Preferences Inventory demonstrates that I am bale to maximise human potential and encourage or motivate others, in addition, I often use empowerment and active listening as my tools.Confidence and strength to innovate argon less notable, but also represented in my personality, whereas I am not always ca pable of inspiring others this means, I can provide psychological incentive to an individual, but not always invent new ways of inspiring, whereas the survey suggest that I will become a truly resourceful leader if I will view and analyze the related cases (as a component of my current studies) and try to generate alternatives to the decisions, made in the scenarios. My overall ability to lead is higher than medium, so it is natural for everyone to have weak points to reinforce.The McGregor Theory X and Y SurveysThe McGregor Theory X and Y Surveys argon in my opinion quite outdated, as this approach divides managers into merely two categories the category X managers are generally less mature and wise than those belong to the latter group. As for me, the results suggest that I have more Y-characteristics, comparing to those attributed to X-managers.This means, I am motivated first and foremost by higher psychological and cognitive needs like self-actualization and am more belike to motivate my inferiors rather than punishing or threatening them. In addition, the test shows that my negotiation strategies are based upon constructive discourse and attention to the opposing partys interests. In addition, my approach to management if rather futurological, i.e. I seek to predict the long-term consequences, brought by my decisions and then find alternatives and options, which allow avoiding concrete negative outcomes.Nevertheless, the test can be widely criticized, as the students, who attend leadership classes are likely to have already learned (cognitively, but not always in behavioral dimension) the patterns of performance, required of a successful manager and simply put these patterns as their true leadership style.The Followership QuestionnaireThe Followership Questionnaire is primary aimed at measuring the persons critical and independent saying and the ability to engage actively into the superiors assignments and team discussions, as the authors believe the y are the major prerequisites to effective associateship. In my opinion, the ability to follow is to great extent an art, similarly to managerial talents and capacities.My results suggest that I am an worthy follower, but due to the fact that I am often consumed by my critical thinking, I might occasionally behave like alienated follower. Positive followership is an easy path to effective leadership, as independent followers, who contribute to group dynamics, are likely to grow into confident leaders, who will be able to unite their team.The Leadership Grid SurveyThe results describe me as a Middle of Road Manager, who focuses on balancing between positive relationships and the exercise of certain organizational goals. This style often characterize inexperienced leaders, so I believe, after learning new skills, I will be able to avoid the possible side effects, related to the aforementioned double policy.Furthermore, the results probably demonstrate that I am not confident enough , in fact, the problems lies not in my shyness, but rather in my poor experience in managing people and controlling their commitment and performance this means, I pipe down havent clearly imagined management and leadership in action.Least Preferred Coworker ScaleThis survey is the most interesting, as it involves projective techniques. The results suggest that my orientations to relationships and tasks are almost equivalent, but the former aspect demonstrates 3-point higher result. Thus, as a leader, I tend to take into consideration multiple factors and dimensions (although they are more than 2) of the similar issue or problem and reasonably preserve positive relationships with my team, but conform only in those decisions, which seem rational and sound. Nevertheless, as a leader, I accept that humans are irrational creatures, who should be approached with basically positive cognitive constructs about them.ConclusionThe above presented results characterize me as a supple leader , who can find balance between tasks and relationships, opposing interests and confronting viewpoints. On the other hand, my flexibility if limited, since I dont tend lose the ability to think critically and independently. On the other hand, my emotiveness is not enough to inspire my hypothetical team immediately, therefore I need to invent alternative means of empowerment.

Nature Of The Transaction Accounting Essay

No, for the intents of this Standard, a dealing with an employee or early(a) party in his/her capacity as a holder of equity putz of the entity is non a share-based payment dealing. For illustration, if an entity grants all holders of a peculiar category of its equity instruments the right to get farther equity instrument of the entity at a monetary prize that is less than the middling entertain of those equity instruments, and an employee receives such a right because he/she is a holder of equity instrument of that peculiar category, the granting or exercising of that right is non capable affair to the necessities of this Standard ( AASB 2, Page 14, Para 12 ) . Besides mass based payments are those payments which are given on the footing of company s equity or portions, nevertheless it does non merely relates to employers but besides to other stakeholders such as providers when they are counted as the recipient of the cost of goods and go. dissolvent 2-BHarmonizing to AASB2 ( p.11, para 4 ) A share-based payment dealing may be settled by some other group entity ( or a stockholder of any group entity ) on behalf of the entity receiving or geting the goods or service . It alsoapplies to an entity that ( a ) receives goods or operate when another entity in the same group ( or a stockholder of any group entity ) has the duty to settlethe share-based payment dealing or ( B ) has an demand to settle a share-based payment dealing when another entity in the same group receives the goods or services, unless the dealing is doubtless for a ground other than recompense for goods or services supplied to the entity being paid them. do 2 CHarmonizing to AASB2 ( 119 ) employee fillips may be counted as a portion based payments. However it may be portion based or employee benefited. parting options or other equity instruments are granted to employees as portion of their wage bundle, in add-on to hard currency wage and other usage benefits. Normally, it is non p ossible to mensurate straight the services received for peculiar constituents of the employee s wage bundle. It might besides non be possible to mensurate the just assess of the entire wage bundle independently, without mensurating straight the just value of the equity instruments granted.Furthermore, portions or portion options are sometimes granted as portion of a fillip agreement, instead than as a portion of basic wage, for illustration, as an inducement to the employees to stay in the entity s employ or to honor them for their attempts inimproving the entity s public presentation. By allowing portions or portion options, in add-on to other wage, the entity is paying extra wage to obtain extra benefits. It is really hard to infer the just value of those benefits. Because of the trouble of mensurating straight the just value of the servicesreceived, the entity shall mensurate the just value of the employee services established by mention to the just value of the equity instrume nt arranged ( AASB2, P.14, Para 12 ) . Share based payments chiefly includes all executive option instead than merely employee benefits or employee fillips.Answer 2D-AASB2, P.13, Recognition 7 explains that An entity shall recognize the goods or services established or get in a share-based payment dealing when it obtain the goods or the services are received . The entity shall recognize a attendant addition in equity if the goods or services were established in an equity-settled share-based payment dealing or a answerability if the goods or services were get in a cash-settled share-based payment dealing.Answer 3-A corporate company when placing the portion based payments or portion options chiefly focus on complexness or the contentions which are at that place in acknowledging the disbursals portion options which involves issue of portion, portion options or other equity which push aside impact both employees and supplies ( other stakeholder in the company )For-Typically, an disb ursal arises from the ingestion of goods or services. For illustration, services are typically consumed instantly, in which event an disbursal is recognised as the counterparty renders service. Goods might be consumed over a period of clip or, in the instance of stock lists, sold at a ulterior day of the month, in which instance an disbursal is recognised when the goods are consumed or sold.Against-However, sometimes it is necessary to recognize an disbursal before the goods or services are consumed or sold, because they do non measure up for acknowledgment as assets. For illustration, an entity might get goods as portion of the research stage of a travail to develop a new merchandise. Although those goods have non been consumed, they might non measure up for acknowledgment as assets under the applicable Standard. ( AASB, P.13, Recognition 9 ) . Most companies reason out against a portion option disbursal acknowledgment and argument on whether the dealing is between the stockholde rs and the employers or it is between the entity and employees. Question arises whether employees really provide them services for the portion options that are given by the company or non. It may good be argued that the acknowledgment of the disbursals is inconsistent.Answer 4-The attack AASB usage for the rating of portion options is Fair Value attack. ( Deegan 2012, p.16, p.17, p.21 )Nature of the dealingSum at which the disbursal ( or plus ) and equity history are recognizedMinutess where the just value of the goods or services can be thrifty faithfullyAt the just value of the goods or services receivedMinutess with employees ( where there is a kept up premise that the just value of the services can non be measured faithfully )At the just value of the equity instruments being grantedIn those rare state of affairss where the just value of goods and services provided by non-employees can non be measured faithfullyAt the just value of the equity instruments being grantedPart B01/0 1 2012Dr Salaries Expense ( 100000 * $ 0.90 ) $ 90000Cr Share Options $ 90000two 30/06/2012Dr Employee benefits disbursals $ 15000Cr Share Capital $ 15000three 01/01/2015Dr Share Options ( 100000 * $ 3.50 ) $ 350000Cr Share Capital $ 350000( B ) 31st litigate 2012Dr Goodwill/ Patents $ 40000Cr Share Capital $ 40000Justifying the above entry-Harmonizing to AASB ( explained in Para 12 ) Transactions where the just value of the goods and services can be measured faithfully is the sum at the just value of the goods and services received, whereas minutess with the employees and where there is a kept up premise that the just value of the services can non be measured faithfully is the just value of the equity instruments being granted .

Leqadership Self Reflextion

Type the company name Leadership self reflection Type the document subtitle keshav 5/26/2012 Table of contents Introduction2 The rings of the tree and temperaments (keirsey)2 Leadership and me3 My new insights to attractership4 Leadership and my experience5 My weakness as a leader6 Conclusion6 References7 Introduction Leadership is that endowments that helps an individual to help one self and others finished a crisis situation and attain the goal set set by aligning the counselor-at-law of his aggroup towards the ultimate goal.It is precise crucial to be aw be of the leading one has in himself/herself to be a better leader and nourish these qualities. These leaders will be able to perform intimately on personal, group and organisations point of view. This essay is the reflection of me as a leader and my thoughts regarding lead. The rings of the tree and temperaments (keirsey) As far as the communication angle of my talent is considered I am concrete in nature. I rend er well formed ideas shaped enough to be imparted to others in a very convert way. I concentrate on reality, and facts rather than simply conveying news on the creation of minds eye.But I am sensitive to other populates change and set about sensing a positive or negative energy in a person. In case I find negative energy I draw to sort their situation out by cooperating with them and turning the energy positive. I am also good at converting the the abstract ideas to concrete ones and implementing them if necessary with greatest dedication. I am cooperative in nature and this makes me friendlier to my colleagues. I am empathetic too and I completelyot works on the basis of my team members like or dislike and the musical note of the work that argon offered by them.This helps me to assign the right work for the team member and this helps in maximum productivity and satisfaction from the employees (Keirsey, 1998). In the terce ring of universe reactive or proactive in nature i. e. directive or informative I am to a greater extent lenient towards proactive one. This is also one of the advantages of being intuitive. I am capable at directing others to achieve the goals that are set. When it comes to the fourth ring I am more expressive than I am attentive. Among the four temperaments that are in that respect, I belong to the to the guardians category that are concrete and cooperative.I relate myself more to the administrator than to the conservators (Keirsey, 1998). Leadership and me It is important to analyse oneself as a leader and to be aware of ones strength and weakness to make a better leader. Most effective leaders invariably invest in their strengths and surround themselves with the right people to maximise their team. They also understand their followers needs. These are some of the core strengths I comport as a leader. I am aware and am appreciative of my leadership skills of communication, mindfulness and empathy. I try on building up my stren gths and reducing my weakness finished self analysis.Like all the leaders in the world I was also influenced by the other teachers and prominent personalities and am inspired by their leadership rooms. I also realise that the leaders made these changes through planning that was implemented on a time plan. I also hope to inspire people around me and make them be appreciative by adapting the most vibrant and preferable style for others. The leaders also influence change by providing direction and chances for continuous improvement. As a leader in my life the number of roles I have played is very limited considering the interpersonal, informational and managerial roles of a leader.I have been a leader, monitor and resource allocator to my team and the roles played on other areas like negotiator, disturbance-handler, entrepreneur, spokesperson, disseminator, liaison and figurehead are very limited and have to be undertaken in the future. I have only worked on an individual and group l evel of an organisation and havent managed to get past the middle-level management in an organisation. On the basis of the leadership trait theories I sense the traits of I have comparatively a higher level of energy and has a talent of persuasion.My leadership style also belongs to the new style of leadership that is accepted in the new era and that is exceedingly decentralised in nature. I economic value my team members and try to appreciate them for their contributions in the welfare of the team. I also promote the system of feedback and thereby improve myself and helping others to improve. This also means that I have adapted myself to a parliamentary leadership style. I also realise that there is nothing appreciative in a team as well-situated working employs. What motivates me in leadership is need for affiliation.I am willing to please people and am very often concerned about them. I have a very positive outlook on leadership and I am more productive when I work with employ ees who have system Y attitude. I also try and make my team positive enough to realise the Pygmalion effect of thinking positive. I am also very strict about being ethical in implementing responsibilities when I, the team members and the organisation is concerned. This is also why I think upbringing of a child highly influences the moral and ethical standards that will be followed by him/her in the future. My new insights to leadershipLeadership qualities can be inborn. But they can be conquered through continuous efforts and through planning. Leaders are relied upon by the organisations for achieving the already set goals. It can even be said that the the success or nonstarter of an organisation highly relies on the success of the various leadership styles that are adopted by the leaders. It is not possible for all the leaders to have all the ideal qualities of being a leader. It is the different combinations of these qualities that makes one leader different from one another and allows one to be better than the other.On reading the book the Tao of Leadership, I accept some of the truths puke leadership of which some are wise leader is like water. A leader should have it in him to cleanse and refresh all the creatures without any dispute and is fearless to search in to the surface of things. It is responsive and is ultimately not bound to anyone. The ultimate goal of a leader is harmony. When harmony is established things be given to work on an organised pace. The group who is working for a leader is very sensitive. When mistreated or not considered adequately, they tend to be unproductive and conflicts occur.For the better motion, a leader should also be low and open. The reason is that a good leader is also a good follower of the right strategies that are adopted by others. A wise leader is responsible for providing opportunities to all the followers even at the risk of getting unnoticed. A good leader should not only be aiming for good reward and ac knowledgement (Heider, 1986). Leadership and my experience I have been selected to leadership roles in education institutes and was a team leader in the organisation that I was employed in. I was chosen as a team leader of a new process without being introduced to the team.When started my work as a team leader I realised that the team members were not comfortable with each other and that has really affected the teams performance as a single unit in spite of the fact that the employees were all hardworking. One of the initial steps I took after I took up the role was to resolve conflict through persuasive communication and the misunderstandings vanished in a very short interval of time. The team gathered together, was work and gambling oriented at the same time, and also was appreciated for its achievement in a short time span.Initially three problems were not sorted and then we all glued up well because of the need for affiliation I had and the requirement of achievement a few othe rs had in the group. My weakness as a leader As a leader I at times tend to be too democratic people fail to realise the difference between the team members and the team leader. I am not achievement oriented which is not always favourable. Different leadership styles are acceptable at different circumstances as I suggested by the situational leadership theory.I am comfortable in one style of leadership and am in heavy requirement for the affiliation. But the democratic style of leadership may not be optimal when there is a situational change and the preferences would be for autocratic and bureaucratic leadership style. I tend to express myself more than than being an active listener. This means that my team mates may find me incommunicable to. Being unapproachable is a very bad quality where in a leader is concerned. I will also have a tough time working with type X employees because of my decentralised style of leadership.There were also many situations while taking the test keirse y that I faced questions that are not mutually exclusive. Even as a leader there are some bootleg flaws that tend to occur. On being accepted by other if I will also make one of these fatal flaws that usually occur to leaders like thinking I am the smartest person in the room, being a control freak, the politician, the pleaser or the kind. Its very ticklish for a leader to achieve a balance between all these requirements and it can be achieved only through experience (Lloyd, 2011) Conclusion The quality of leadership can be inborn and can be nurtured well.Organisations should find out talents within the firm and nurture them to be leaders of productive teams so that organisational goals are achieved while being in favour of the employees as well. Leadership is quality that has to be appreciated for being the root cause of the success or failure within an organisation. Employees within an organisation should be given chances to evaluate them self as a leader and person and then cho ose the most favourable position to enhance productivity. References * Keirsey, D. (1998). Please understand me 11 temperament, character, intelligence.Prometheus Nemesis book Company. * Lloyd, J. (2011). Five fatal flaws of a leader. Retrieved from http//www. jobdig. com/articles/1572/Five_Fatal_Flaws_of_a_Leader. html. * Lussier, R. N & Christopher f. A. (2010). Leadership theory, application, Skill development. Cengage Learning. * Heider, J. (1986). The Toa of leadership leadership strategies for new age. Bantam. * Valentine, S, Godkin, L & Philip E V. (2009). Role conflict mindfulness and organisational ethics in an education based healthcare institution. Journal of business ethics, 94 (3), 455-469.