Fashion Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Fashion Leadership - Essay Example Keeping in view the importance of image of politicians, celebrities and political figures, fashion leadership is a viable methodology to increase their influence because, if people dress like politicians, it subliminally means that people will vote for them. On the other hand, lifestyle replication in public is considered as an effective measure in selecting the most famous personalities in the world. This premise can be supported with Mrs. Obama’s large-scale impact on the stock prices of the firms, which are providing her with various attires for her public appearances because, her public appearances are causing the share price of her clothes suppliers to rise substantially in following weeks and therefore she is providing these firms with elite class of endorsement. The main point to notice is Mrs. Obama’s use of attires which are unique, distinct and not in the reach of the wider population due to its higher value in monetary terms. This gives her a distinct positio n and shows her ability to lead by the power of distinction and prominence as no other can compete her. Another angle of analysis can relate this observation with historic presumption of power in few hands because; capitalism is based on the concept of wealth accumulation within the highest ranks of the society (Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. Karl Marx Estranged Labour, 1844). Therefore, the phenomenon of fashion influence is commonly associated with the elite societal class due to new fashion’s high cost in early days.

Art History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Art History - Research Paper Example What world did they see in the early 1860s, when Impressionism stormed into their lives as the wind of change? Social disruptions at the end of the 18th century, revolutions in France and America, transformed the very essence of Western culture, which cannot but affect the role of art in a rapidly changing society. Accustomed to some social orders from the ruling dynasties or the church, artists suddenly found that all the customers left them. The nobility and clergy experienced serious financial and social troubles. The era of capitalism came, which changed the art rules and priorities totally. Gradually established republics and democratic powers witnessed the growth of the middle class and this growth caused the development of the new art market. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs and traders usually lacked hereditary culture and education, without which it was impossible to understand the diversity of allegories or skillful mastery, which charmed the aristocracy. Without any aristocratic upbringing and education, the middle-class representatives, who suddenly became the art consumers, had to rely on the opinion of professionals - newspaper critics and official experts. The artistic academies, the watchers of the classical canons, became the central arbiters in the issue of artistic preferences. So, it’s not a paradox that some young and talented artists rebelled against the conformity and dominance of the formal academism in art. The major strongholds of the academicism at that time were state patronized exhibitions of contemporary art – the Salons. Participation in the Salon was the only chance to attract attention of the press and customers. The Salon was a unique opportunity to acquire a customer, to build a career in art. Auguste Renoir, in his letter to his dealer Durand-Ruel, criticizes status quo: â€Å"In Paris there are scarcely fifteen people who capable of liking a painter who doesn’t show at

Introduction To Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Introduction To Management - Essay Example As of now this market is mainly dominated by two players, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The rising popularity of soft drinks has contributed immensely towards the growth and prosperity of Europe and America. Today the soft-drink industry employs more than 110,000 Americans with a payroll of more than $5 billion payroll dollars. Historically Coca-Cola has dominated the industry. Until 1950 Pepsi raised hardly a flicker of recognition. But now Pepsi has become a force to reckon with. Let us underline the present circumstances; Political Factors: During the Second World War Pepsi and Coke both enjoyed increased sales as they followed the flag around the world. However, after the war ended, and incomes improved, Pepsi's sales figures started decreasing. Things improved for Pepsi mainly when after Mr. Alfred N. Steele took over the Presidency. Mr. Steele could bring in this turnaround mainly in two phases. The first phase lasted from 1950 to 1955. In this phase all out efforts were made to overcome the shortcomings of Pepsi. During the second phase, lasting from 1955 to 1960 Pepsi started direct offensive against Coca-Cola. That was the time when Coca-Cola started accepting the formidable presence of Pepsi and responding to its overtures as well. The present political conditions in US and Europe are more or less stable, with the respective governments not taking sides. Both Pepsi and coca-cola have been contributing in good measure towards the political campaigns of diverse political parties and the governme nts. One factor which has certainly come to the advantage of coca-cola is the FIFA world cup 2006 in Germany, a formidable part of European market. Euro is now the currency of twelve European Union countries, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle (namely Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland). Euro came into existence on 1st January 1999 when eleven (later twelve) EU countries established the conversion rates between their respective national currencies and Euro with formal circulation of bank notes and coins from 1st January 2002. Coca-Cola being the official partner of World cup soccer under these changed circumstances, not only brought it closer to the respective establishment, but having a borderless big area where people could move freely to see the football matches the frenzy generated has indeed helped coca-cola by leaps and bounds. Pepsi too appear to have recognized the trend and is focusing mainly on the markets of developing countries for now. Economic Factors: While analyzing the markets the economic factors that need to be taken care of are; Current and project economic growth, inflation and interest rates Labor supply, labor costs and unemployment Levels of disposable income and income distribution Stage of business cycle Impact of globalization Marketers need to consider the state of a trading economy in the short and long-terms. This is especially true when planning for international marketing. The soft drink industry is more than liquid refreshment and jobs and dollars. It is an industry that strongly believes in preserving the ideals and principles that helped it

Internet Banking at Citibank UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Internet Banking at Citibank UK - Essay Example Marketers are now focusing on existing customer development rather than just new customer acquisition. Major changes have occurred in the traditional view of customer defection rates, most noticeably in the banking industry where churn has increased from -10 percent in 2003 to almost +20 percent by 2005. These studies showed that the supposedly massive rates of customer inertia in banking is no longer a given. Banks need to fight for every customer, not only to capture each one but, more importantly, to retain them. One economic justification for this mindset change was the research finding that â€Å"it can cost five times more to obtain a new customer than to keep an existing one†. What started the trend towards customer loyalty was Reichheld who found that a 5 percent increase in loyalty can lead to a 25 to 85 percent increase in profitability.On the contrary, Reinartz and Kumar argued that whilst serving customers over a long period may be beneficial, long-term customers m ay not necessarily be profitable, and that managers should not equate customer retention with increased lifetime spending, decreased cost of service, and lower price sensitivity. They concluded that companies should study if long-term customers stay profitable, implying that if they are not, the business must jettison those customers who eat into profits.These were the concepts in our mind when we decided, exploring its look and feel and the products offered, and evaluating the over-all Internet-based customer experience.

Porters Five Forces Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Porters Five Forces - Essay Example Johnson Controls supplies the Ford franchise with car batteries, electronics, seats and interiors. TRW is ranked higher than other peers in the industry including Johnson Control and it is due to this reason that TRW Automotive received two Ford World Excellence Awards. (United States Security Exchange, 2014) 3) Who are the major buyer groups of the product provided by the industry; what are their characteristics ( i.e. size of group, demographics, income level, etc.); are there many or few in each buyer group; who has power over whom? 4) The golden generation (55 to 64 year olds) had higher vehicle purchases than other age groups according to a recent survey by Michigan University. In 2011 alone, Ford Motors sold 23% of all its models to this age group, which was higher than all other industry players combined. This age group is estimated to be around 76 million and has passed 35 to 44 year old age group as the consumer leaders. (United States Security Exchange, 2014) According to 2014 survey, the three main industry players are General Motors Company, Ford Motor and Toyota Motor. The total number of units sold by General Motors was 2.7 million; this represents 17.9% of the total market share. Ford Motors came second with 2.4 million units sold; representing 15.9% market share. Toyota came third with 2.2 million units sold in the US, representing 14.3% of the market share. (Business Monitor International, 2014) Ford’s F-Series remains to be the best selling model in the US. However, there are domestic and international brands that are growing in popularity each year. Chrysler’s Jeep Cherokee reported 9% increase in sales, 1% shy of the F-series. Subaru has also seen its sales rise after it switched focus from china to the US. Other popular brands include Mercedes Benz and BMW. (Business Monitor International,

Outline for Treatment Approaches Essay Example for Free

Outline for Treatment Approaches Essay There are types of approaches to help an individual with recovering from drug and substance abuse. The approaches that are being looked at to help someone recover is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Medication Management, Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), and Community Reinforcement and Family Training Approach (CRAFT). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Cognitive behavioral; therapy (CBT) was developed as an aide to prevent relapse when treating addiction. CBT is based on the principle that the learning process is important in dealing with male adaptive behaviors like substance abuse. It is a process of identifying problematic behaviors and corrects them with various skills to fight addiction. CBT is based on identifying an individual’s problems and helping the individual’s self-control by developing the ways to cope with the problems effectively. This is done by evaluating the consequences of the substance abuse positive and negative, self-monitoring and recognizing the cravings and their triggers, and developing strategies to cope with the cravings and the triggers. Avoiding the trigger situations also help. In CBT an individual may have a support group to depend on during the recovery process. Such a group is helpful while a person is struggling with solutions. The group also gives positive encouragement during stressful times. In CBT an individual addict is encouraged for positive thinking rather than dwelling in negative thought patterns. CBT can help addicts with low self-esteem to improve their self-esteem which helps in fighting addiction. In CBT an individual learns to resist peer pressure. During CBT an individual can continue his/her normal activities which avoids strained relationships and financial crises.  It is a gradual process both in learning, maintaining and being on their own. It is also very cost effective therapy(National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). Motivational Enhancement Therapy Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) is a counseling approach that helps individual’s confusing dilemma about the treatment of substance abuse and stopping substance abuse. MET is based on the principles of motivational interviewing. It draws self-motivational statements early on in early discussion and plan for change is built on that. This approach engages the addict in building the plan. Based on their own motivations as oppose to societal. People who cannot follow like 12 –steps may benefit from this therapy. Enlightenment can only occur if an individual wants to learn and MET is centered on this insight. Using peoples own statements about desired better outcomes initial resistance is countered after this is achieved an introduction of behavioral techniques can be introduced to support and individual’s ability to fend for him/herself. MET is often used with other cognitive behavioral approaches. MET could go a long way in offering insights for those effective by many mental illness. With this therapy one can heal from other associated problems like anxiety and depression for life style change (The Ranch, 2014). Medication Management Medication Management is when medical care is an option to help someone reduce the risk of drug abuse. It is usually a pharmacists or physicians that help with medication management by lowering the medications based on the side effects and how the person is with taking the medications. It is that the doctor will ask brief questions about the medications and the feel you need therapy or counseling that will then get set up (McNeece, 2012). Community Treatment Approach (CRA) The Community Reinforcement approach is an alcoholism treatment approach that aims to achieve the addict from looking at positive reinforcement for living a sober free lifestyle and to eliminate all enforcement or influences to drink or do drugs (Miller, 2014). This treatment approach embraces positive incentives to stop drinking or doing drugs verses punishing the addict for the continued abuse (Miller, 2014). Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training Intervention (CRAFT) This approach is an intervention that is based scientifically on intervention strategies designed to help the family members or those concerned with the addict, (CSO), concerned significant others, to help in the facilitation of the addict entering treatment to gain sobriety (Meyers, 2014). This new intervention method was developed with the belief that since family members can, and do make important contribution in other areas of addiction treatment (Meyers, 2014). Conclusion Treatments for people with problems with drug and substance abuse can be helpful when it comes to recovery. The treatment approaches help with managing medications, giving the individual counseling, or even prevention from relapsing back to the addiction. All of these approaches help an individual become healthier and live a longer life. References McNeece, C. A., DiNitto, D. M. (2012). Chemical dependency: A systems approach (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson National Institute on Drug Abuse. (n.n.). Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/ The Ranch. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.recoveryranch.com/ Meyers, R. (2014). CRAFT. Retrieved from http://http://www.robertjmeyersphd.com/craft.html Miller, W. (2014). The Community-Reinforcement Approach. Retrieved from http://http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/381/1/The-Community-Reinforcement-Approach/Page1.html

The Role Of Gender In Leadership Management Essay

The Role Of Gender In Leadership Management Essay As women rise to the top of the organization or management, they encounter a problem with almost half the employees regardless of their temperament, skills or leadership qualities-they are not men. Its often touted that a big percentage of employees loathe working in an environment where the top commander is a woman, however qualified, due to their poor leadership styles. Though the attitudes towards the role of women in society may have changed dramatically, and thanks too to the affirmative action as buttressed by the events of the World Conference on Women 1985 as well as the Beljing Platform for Action; women are still perceived as being less suited than men for managerial and leadership positions. Many local Recruitment Agencies source employees for various organizations in the public and private sector note that some companies prefer men for managerial and executive positions because men are perceived as more confident, dominating, competitive, aggressive and independent compared to women. There is a general perception that women even in leadership are susceptible to being emotional, overly sensitive, moody, easily threatened with a tendency to play favorites and personalize matters no matter their rung or hierarchy in an organization. This trait gives their male counterparts an edge, as being more confident and emotionally balanced. In Kenya the majority of key executives in the private and public sector are held by men. There are a handful of women in key positions such as Supreme Court judges, University Chancellor, the Cabinet, Parastatals Heads and the private sector. The widely accepted explanation for the small percentage of women holding top executive positions globally is the negative stereotyping of women as less able leaders. There are many differing findings from sociologist, management and leadership theories and gender studies on this issue. BACKGROUND As women increasingly take up leadership positions, prevailing leadership styles of women and men continue to attract attention. Historically, gender, precluded most females from becoming leaders and as a result, the assumption was that men were better suited than women for leadership, since the existing models were primarily developed to accommodate men. The Kenyan constitution (Section 27(8)) prominently recognizes that the State shall take proactive measures to implement the principle that not more than two thirds of the members of elective bodies or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. This is to enhance women participation in leadership and nation affairs that prior to the new constitution were hitherto dominated by their male counterparts. Emanating from this constitutional endorsement, and recent affirmative action, women will actively participate in managerial and leadership matters but it could be an upstream swim in the face of the existing perception that despite being qualified women are perceived as less able leaders. 2.1 Definitions of Leadership Leadership according to Roach and Behling (1984) is the process of influencing an organized group towards accomplishing a goal. On the other hand, C.A Gibb (2000) extends the definition of leadership and states that leadership is a concept applied to the structure of a group to describe the situation when some personalities are so placed in the group that their will, feeling and insight are perceived to direct and control others in the pursuit of common ends. Leaders are those people in groups who are perceived most frequently to perform roles that initiate or direct the behavior of other towards the attainment of their goals. It is the role of a leader to obtain the commitment of individuals to achieving the set goals. However, leadership and management are usually confused and used interchangeably. Management is concerned with planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling the work processes and practices including what the individuals do within the organizational set up. On the other hand leadership is about how one person can influence others to do what is required for the achievement of goals. Nonetheless not all managers are leaders. Leadership itself may have nothing to do with management, it exists in groups rather organizational structures and therefore will certainly also exists in the informal organization where in management terms it may create problems in controlling workers whose influence comes from elsewhere, consequently not all leaders are managers. A manager from a chief executive, director, section head and supervisor has inherent authority to direct the works and behavior of others by virtue of rank, job description and authority. Leadership thrives both in formal and informal settings. The source of power can be based on appointment or on personality. While power in formal leadership emanates from the appointing authority and rank, personal leadership is where power derives from personal qualities of the persona concerned based on charisma, temperament. Personal leadership is conspicuous among entrepreneurs and empire builders such as Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic, James Mwangi of Equity Bank Limited. 2.2 The Interplay of Gender and Leadership According to existing research on gender and leadership, leadership styles can be categorized either as masculine and feminine, (Eagly et al., and 2000). Although there is general agreement that women face more barriers to becoming leaders than men do, especially for leader roles that are male-dominated ( Eagly Karau, 2001), there is much less agreement about the behavior of women and men once they attain such roles. According to Jennifer L. Bendahl (1996), masculinity and agenticism relates to traits associated with male leadership such as being assertive, controlling, aggressive, ambitious, dominant, forceful, independent, self confident, and competitive. Agentic characteristics are ascribed more strongly to men than women. On the other hand feminine or Communal characteristics are ascribed more strongly to women than men and describe primarily a concern of the leader with the welfare of other people-for example, affectionate, helpful, kind, sympathetic, interpersonally sensitive, nurturing, and gentle. Another theory that distinguishes leadership methods is the traits theory, where leadership is centered on the personal traits and characteristics thought to be essential to direct or influence people. The theory propounds that leaders were born and not made. Hence the behavior exhibited by leaders can be traced to their personality and since women are deemed to be more subtle and gentle against the aggressive, dominant male, there is an assumption of male or female leadership approaches to leadership. This theory lends credence to the gender leadership based on character traits. Another leadership theory distinguishes between democratic versus autocratic leadership (or the similar dimension of participative versus directive leadership), (Lewin Lippitt, 1938 and, Vroom Yetton, 1973). Although democratic versus autocratic style is a narrower aspect of leader behavior than task-oriented and interpersonally oriented styles (see Bass, 1990), the democratic-autocratic dimension also relates to gender roles because one component of the agentic norms associated with these roles is that men are relatively more dominant and controlling in other words, more autocratic and directive than women are. In the 1980s and 1990s, many researchers turned their attention to other types of leadership styles by distinguishing between leaders who are transformational and those who are transactional (Bass, 1998). Such leaders set especially high standards for behavior and establish themselves as role models by gaining the trust and confidence of their followers. They state future goals and develop plans to achieve them. The existing concepts and theories of leadership styles to wit: democratic vs. autocratic; participative vs. directive, transformational vs. transactional and laissez faire can be explained along styles that conforms to the gender construct of being male or female oriented. Female leaders exhibit more democratic and participative leadership styles, while men are credited with autocratic behavior perceived as negative when applied by females. That transformational leadership in contrast to transactional leadership is held as a superior form of leadership. Unlike task and relationship oriented leadership, transformational and transactional leadership are view along a continuum allowing individuals to employ both transformational and transactional qualities at one and the same time. A transformational leader is one who provides visions and a sense of mission, instills pride and inspires and excites subordinates and highly motivates them to became better and do better. On the other hand transactional leadership is based on rewards for achieving specified goals and is largely based on directing desired performance and deviations and the need for corrective action. Organizational experiences vary with experiences and it is the ability to be flexible in particular settings that makes one leader better than other not the gender divide. Against this background of different leadership styles, it is observed that men and women exhibit different styles of leading. However it is been stated that cultural conditioning and religion plays a role in elaborating the different perceptions of women and men in leadership. RESEARCH PROBLEM Women face a problem with almost half the employees regardless of their temperament, skills or leadership qualities, when they make it to the top or take up management. They are not a man. According to a survey conducted by the American Management Association, three quarters of men say they would rather work for a man than a woman, while a quarter of women also prefer to work for a man than a woman given a choice. German researchers have also reported a down side from women bosses with employees reporting higher cases of heartburn, depression, headaches and insomnia. Women have been criticized as being easily threatened or intimidated, emotionally unpredictable, indecisive, irritable, moody sharp tongued vain and playing favoritism within cliques. An experiment was conducted at the university of Pennsylvania and tested 50 women in delivering a sad statement and found that all of them experienced pain, however when men were given the same statement they revealed less emotion with 12 not showing any emotion at all. On the other hand it is reported that women make better leaders on the basis of their attention to detail, they are considerate and make good mentors for their employees. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main objective is to establish whether women make poor bosses and as a result whether employees loathe having women as bosses. The study will also have these other objectives; To find out the qualities that are associated with a good leader To establish what amounts to poor or bad leadership To establish whether employees prefer to work and report to a male or female boss To determine what challenges women face as leaders To find out whether women make poor leaders To determine the preferred gender to head public and private organizations To determine the perception of Kenyans regarding voting for a female presidential candidate RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the qualities of a good leader? What are the attributes of a poor leader? Between male and female bosses, who is the employees preference as a boss? What attributes of leadership do women lack? Which gender is better at running public and private organizations Would you vote for a female presidential candidate in any presidential elections SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY With more and more women now taking elective and appointive posts its paramount to ascertain whether there are any valid stereotyping that will prohibit their ascension of the corporate ladder as able leaders by merit. More and more local and foreign universities are opening their doors to admit a higher number of female students taking up management oriented courses fondly referred to as masters in business administration (MBA). It is important to understand the existing perception and stereotypes leveled against women as commanders of their organization so that it can inform the relevant stakeholders like recruiting agents and human resource departments, the government as well institutions of learning. Furthermore this is an area that would require extensive research to demystify and develop lasting mitigating measures. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY The study shall involve descriptive research design. Descriptive research will facilitate the collection of data relating to the issues under study and the nature of the relations and perceptions of employees regarding their bosses. The target population in this study shall be bank employees. For purposes of the study, most banks have a hierarchical structure with defined reporting lines as below. The unit of analysis will be junior employees (such as tellers, clerks and officer) and their immediate supervisors that report to the branch manager as their boss. Chief Executive Officer /Managing Director Directors and General Managers (oversee head Human Resource, Finance, Credit, IT depts.) Branch Manager ( over see branch activities, policy, performance and employees) Supervisors ( over see and supervise junior staff and report to branch managers) Junior employees-(Clerks, Tellers, Officers that report to and are accountable to both the supervisor and branch managers) c. The study will sample junior employees and their immediate supervisors that report to branch managers through stratified probability sampling