Course : Thematic Independent Study

Course : Thematic Independent Study Topic : Strategic planning Essay 1 question : How does strategic planning create a competitive advantage for an organisation? Name : Tamryn du Preez Supervisor : Kunofiwa Tsaurau Due Date : 18 October 2010 Words : 4 160 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. pg 4 Definition of strategic planning.. pg 4-5 Preparation for strategic planning.. pg 5-6 Timing.. Who should be involved? .. Input.. Preparatory work. Planning the agenda/process Strategic planning process pg 6-7 Gathering Information.. Developing mission statement. Setting goals and objectives. Identifying actions and allocating resources. Implementing the plans Monitoring the progress.. Evaluating the progress.. Contributions of Strategic Planning pg 7-9 1.5.1 Financial Benefits. 1.5.2 Nonfinancial Benefits.. Strategic planning techniques pg 10-11 SWOT analysis Scenario Planning.. PEST analysis.. Forecasting Competitors analysis Sensitivity analysis. Strategy planning at different levels.. pg 11-12 Corporate level Business Level Operational level Types of strategic planning time horizon.. pg 12-13 Long-term planning.. Intermediate planning.. Short- term planning.. Components of strategic planning pg 13 Strategy and culture Internal and external.. Balanced scorecard perspectives Market focus.. Conclusion pg 14 Referencing and Bibliography. pg 15-16 1.1 INTRODUCTION: Today many organisations face challenges to keep up with the rapid changes in the world. These changes are taking place mainly because of technology, which creates and leads to a faster contact between people, economic markets, governments and larger organisations. This advancement pace of technology does bring in its benefits and its disadvantages. Therefore it is vital that organisations always remain aware of the changes in their environment and adapt accordingly in order to remain competitive and to distinguish it from the competitors by creating a competitive advantage. This study reviews the literature of strategic planning in order to gain insight on how an organisation can lead to a competitive advantage. In order to gain a thorough understanding of the topic the study will identify how strategic planning will help a management team understand exactly what strategic planning is, how to plan strategically and how to ensure that strategic planning is implemented in your organisation. The importance of this topic is to identify how strategic planning is important not only for the survival or growth of an organisation but also on how it can help the organisation lead to having a competitive advantage over the competitors that choose not to follow a process for strategic planning. The strategic planning process is a step by step course set in place in order to help guide the organisation in been successful. This review also clearly identifies how strategic planning contributes to the success of an organisation and how it can be seen as a competitive advantage. It provides a deeper understanding of strategic planning techniques that are used to help managers make the best possible decisions with information that is available to the company. LITERATURE REVIEW This is the main body of the essay and it reviews all the academic literature related to the subject of strategic planning. The aim is to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions of strategic planning. 1.2 Definition of strategic planning: Strategic planning is an organisations process of defining their strategy or their direction, and making decisions on allocating resources in order to pursue the strategy, this includes capital and people (Bradford R.W and Duncan JP, 2009). Different business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning. Strategic planning is the formal consideration of an organisation future course (Bradford R.W and Duncan JP, 2009). Strategic planning is a sets out the overall direction for the business, is broad in scope and it covers all the major activities within an organisation (Boddy D, 1988). According to Shapiro J, 1996, strategic planning is the overall planning that facilitates a good management Process. According to Geyer Y, 2006, strategic planning is a process that an organisation follows that is disciplined and thorough. Geyer Y, 2006, indicated that strategic planning takes note of the internal dynamics of an organisation and the external dynamics of the world. Strategic planning analyses whether the organisation is effective in its objectives and goal (Shapiro J, 1996). According to Shapiro J,1996 strategic planning establishes whether the organisation needs to change its direction in order to fulfil is purpose or create a competitive advantage. McNamara C, 2002, added that strategic planning identifies where the organisation wants to be at some point in the near future and identifies how it is going to get there. The strategic part of the planning process continues to adapt to the current changes of the organisation (McNamara C, 2002). Strategic planning is considered to be a comprehensive plan that is designed to connect all of the firms decisions and their activities (McNamara C, 2002). Strategic planning is the ability to make decisions for the future, and is considered to be a systematic assessment of the benefits and costs, and clear rules for decision making (McNamara C, 2002). 1.3 Preparation for Strategic Planning: Authors Shapiro, J. (1996), Ducker P. (1996) and Gibson C.K (1995) proposed how preparation is critical to result in good planning. These authors all concurred that without preparation it is difficult for an organisation to maintain their strategic focus. According to the authors, timing, who should be involved, input, preparatory work, and lastly planning the process should be prepared and this is critically discussed below. 1.3.1 Timing The questions to ask here according to Timing is, When do you need to do a strategic planning process? How often do you need to do a strategic planning process? At what point in an organisational or project cycle do you need to do a strategic planning process? How long should a strategic planning process be? (Shapiro J, 1996). 1.3.2 Who should be involved? The key questions to be asked is who will participate in the strategic planning process and who should facilitate the strategic planning process (Shapiro J, 1996). The management team of the project or organisation needs to be understood by all the staff and board members and they should all be involved in the planning process (Shapiro J, 1996). According to Ducker P, 1996, administrative staff should be involved because they need to understand the organisations issues and problems. 1.3.3 Input According to Shapiro J, 1996, strategic planning process looks at the big picture, it is useful to get external input into the process. It is easy for those involved in the work of the project or organisation to lose sight of the overall picture and to think about the issues from the point of view of our own work only (Shapiro J, 1996). Ducker P, 1996, added that getting someone with a wider view and wider concerns may open doors to new ideas and ways of thinking. 1.3.4 Preparatory work This is a review of an organisations work and of the internal functioning that is needed to be done (Shapiro J, 1996). According to Shapiro J, 1996 the review of the work can be done by an external evaluation before the strategic planning process in order to feed into it. The review of the internal functioning of the organisation can be done by an external review conducted to find the right people that will come with useful information (Shapiro J, 1996). 1.3.5 Planning the process According to Shapiro J, 1996, it is important to know what an organisation wants to achieve and what has to be done to achieve these outcomes. It is also important to know what additional issues need to be dealt with in the time available (Shapiro J, 1996). Preparing for the strategic  planning  process  helps an organisation ensure that when they implement the strategy it is a success (Gibson C.K, 1995). 1.4 Strategic planning process: According to the authors Boddy D, 2005 and Wirth R.A, 2009 the planning process can be viewed as a circular flow of topics and action steps. Boddy D, 2005 mentioned seven steps in the strategic planning process which includes gathering information, developing a mission statement, setting goals and objectives, identifying actions and allocating resources, implementing the plans, monitoring the progress and evaluating. These seven steps are critically discussed below. Figure 1 Strategic planning process Evaluating the progress Gathering Information Develop mission statement Monitoring the process Setting goals and objectives Implementing the plans Identify actions and allocate resources Source: David Boddy, (2005), Third Edition, Management An Introduction, Pearson Education Limited, Europe. 1.4.1 Gathering Information According to Boddy D, 2005, this is any information that an organisation can use to guide their choices in building a strategic plan. The information can be collected internally or externally (Boddy D, 2005). Gathering information can collected as primary information that has not yet been conducted or secondary information, which is data that has already been collected (Boddy D, 2005). 1.4.2 Developing a mission statement According to Boddy D, 2005 this is a broad definition of an organisations operation and scope, it aims to distinguish it from other organisations. A clear plan depends on the ultimate purpose of the task (Boddy D, 2005). By developing a mission statement it is a way of the organisation to express a realistic vision of what the future could be if the plan were to succeed (Boddy D, 2005). 1.4.3 Setting goals and objectives These are set in order to identify the desired outcome for the individuals, groups, and the entire organisations (Boddy D, 2005). According to Boddy D, 2005, the goals and objectives turns the generalities of the mission statements into a specific commitment- what is to be done. Goals and objectives provide a focus for an organisation and it used to measure the actual performances (Boddy D, 2005). 1.4.4 Identifying actions and allocating resources According to Boddy D, 2005 this is the part of the planning process that involves deciding what actions need to be taken in order to achieve the objectives and it identifies who will do them. The fifth step is implementing the plan. This step also includes one to decide on possible actions which are affected by what the firms objectives are (Boddy D, 2005). 1.4.5 Implementing the plans Boddy D, 2005, emphasised that a good plan is not worthwhile until something happens and people implement the plan, by acting to make the plan visible. David Bobby added that planning helps by inducing confidence in a process, leading to high levels of acceptability from those involved. Planning is a necessary part of success, but it is not sufficient if it is not put into action (Boddy D, 2005). 1.4.6 Monitoring the progress and evaluating the result Boddy D, (2005) stated that the final stage in developing a plan is to set up a system that would allow people to monitor the progress towards the goals. Boddy D, 2005, added that managers can evaluate progress by using a programme overview chart. The overview chart gives a snapshot of the progress and indicates the areas where there are issues and it shows the expected completion date (Boddy D, 2005). 1.5 Contributions of Strategic Planning: According to the authors David FR. (2001), Hayes B. (2003), Zuckerman A. (2000), Shrader, C.B. (1993) and Almond K. and Barlow J, (2002) there are principle benefits of strategic planning that helps an organisation formulate better strategies through the use of a more systematic, logical and rational approach to a strategic choice. These authors have mentioned the financial and non financial benefits which are critically discussed below. 1.5.1 Financial benefits of strategic planning According David FR, 2001, strategic planning allows an organisation to be more productive rather than reactive in shaping its own future; it also allows an organisation to initiate and influence activities. Researchers indicate that companies using a strategic planning concept are more profitable and successful than those that do not use the concept. Businesses that are using strategic planning concepts have shown an improvement in their sales, profitabilitys, and in their productivities compared to those firms that are not using a systematic planning activity (David FR, 2001). Firms that use the planning system theory generally exhibit superior long-term financial performances relative to their industry (David FR, 2001) The Strategic planning concept and tools provided that there is a cost effectiveness that yields better interest deposit rates (Hayes B, 2003). According to Bill Hayes, 2003, strategic planning has shown to result in an improved or an increased customer service due to the firm been able to produce high quality performances. This is because the companies using a strategic approach are able to make more informed decisions with good anticipation of short and long-term consequences (Hayes B. 2003). According to Zuckerman A. 2000, strategic planning has helped companies to identify and prioritize their opportunities for financial improvement, mainly revenue-generating plans. This in turn has showed to offer the greatest opportunity for significant long-term benefits (Zuckerman, A, 2000). The relationship between strategic planning and company performance lies at the very heart of the discipline, yet no clear summary statement has been made about the numerous empirical findings dealing with this subject (Shrader, C.B. 1993) 1.5.2 Nonfinancial benefits of strategic planning According to David FR, 2001, strategic planning helps avoid financial demises and it also offers other tangible benefits, such as enhanced awareness to the external threats, improved understanding of the competitors strategies, reduced resistance to change, it shown to provide a clearer understanding of performance-reward relationship, and it increases employee productivity. The strategic planning process also helps with identifying and rationalizing the need for change to all managers (David FR, 2001). According to David FR, 2001 strategic planning has allowed organisations to financially identify what it is they want to accomplish in the long-term. Strategic planning allows the management team to assess future assumptions and alternatives. The management team can look at the company as a whole rather than just been focused on their individual responsibilities. Individuals in the credit union will strive harder to achieve objectives they help set. Strategic planning has helped companies to improved their planning eliminates ambiguity and enhance the teamwork and culture (David FR, 2001). According to the authors Almond K. and Barlow J, 2002, strategic planning has helped increase the ability of management to make decisions that will assure long-term financial institution survival and growth of the firms. Strategic planning has also increased the firms ability to control long-range direction, as it has allowed the board to focus on key strategic issues, as opposed to management problems (Almond K. And Barlow J, 2002). According to Almond K. and Barlow J, 2002, strategic planning serves a variety of purposes in organizations, including to: Clearly define the purpose of the organization and to establish realistic goals and objectives consistent with that mission in a defined time frame within the organizations capacity for implementation. Communicate those goals and objectives to the organizations constituents. Develop a sense of ownership of the plan. It has resulted in the firms using the most effective organizations resources by focusing the resources on the key priorities (Almond K. And Barlow J, 2002). According to David FR, 2001, strategic provided firms with a base from which progress can be measured and establish a mechanism for informed change when needed. Strategic planning also has helped managers to listen to everyones opinions in order to build an agreement about where the organization is going (David FR, 2001). Almond K. And Barlow J, 2002, states that strategic planning has provided a clearer focus for the organization, thereby producing more efficiency and effectiveness. Almond K. And Barlow J, 2002, also mentioned that strategic planning can benefit you company as it can be seen as the glue that keeps the board members together. Strategic planning produces great satisfaction and meaning among planners, especially around a common vision (David FR, 2001). David FR, 2001, also added that firms using strategic planning has indicated results of increases in productivity from increased efficiency and effectiveness, strategic planning also has helped management solves major problems in the organization by been able to address different strategies. According to David FR, 2001, strategic provided at the end of the day allows an organization to be more proactive than reactive in shaping its own future. Historically, the principle benefit of strategic planning has been to help different organizations to formulate better strategies for their business through the use of the more systematic, logical and rational approach to strategic choice (David FR, 2001). 1.6 Strategic Planning Techniques: According to the authors Boddy D. (2005) Bacal R. (2002) and Salem M. Al Ghamdi, (2005) there is a wide range of strategic planning techniques available to gather information for strategic planning. There are six planning techniques identified by these authors and they are the SWOT analysis, scenario planning, PEST factors, competitive analysis, forecasting, and sensitivity analysis. 1.6.1 SWOT Analysis According to Boddy D. (2005) a SWOT Analysis is an analytic tool that is used to help summarise the organisations main strengths and weaknesses that are relative to the external opportunities and threats. Bacal R, 2002 added that it helps identify the external and internal factors in order for the business to know the environment better. Boddy D. 2005 added that managers need to focus only a few trends and events that are likely to be important for the business growth. 1.6.2 Scenario planning Bacal R, 2002 stated that scenario planning is a fancy term for a very logical process the what if process. Boddy D. (2005) added that it is not an attempt to predict the unpredictable but it is a way to consider multiple and equal plausible futures for an organisation. These scenarios are not just based on a hunch; they are logically consistent but different from each other (Boddy D. 2005). 1.6.3 PEST Analysis According to Bacal R, 2002, the PEST analysis is another tool that is similar to the  SWOT analysis, but is more focused on the external environment and the important factors out there that can affect the present and future of a business. The PEST acronym stands for: political, economic, social and technological (Boddy D. 2005). These factors can affect your business either directly or indirectly (Boddy D. 2005). 1.6.4 Competitive Analysis According to Bacal R, 2002 a competitive analysis involves looking at those companies that compete in the same market place as you do. Bobby D. (2005) stated that organisations need to look at the critical aspects of a strategy that must be achieved to secure a competitive advantage. A competitive analysis is really a subset of doing an environmental scan (Bacal R, 2002). 1.6.5 Forecasting According to Boddy D. 2005, forecasting is predicting the future of the business. Forecasting is based on the analysis of past trends such as input prices, sales patterns or demographic characteristics (Boddy D. 2005). All forecasts are based on assumptions and managers can assume the past trends will continue (Bobby D. 2005). According to Boddy D. 2005 forecasts rely on extrapolation of past trends and therefore organisations need to question their inherent assumptions as they interpret the results. 1.6.6 Sensitivity analysis According to Boddy D. (2005) this is a method that is used to test the assumptions of key variables in a plan in order to increase the confidence in the choices a business wants to make. According Bacal R. (2002) sensitivity analysis can be useful to provide recommendations for the decision makers. Sensitivity analysis helps enhance the communication to the decision makers and increases them understand the system (Boddy D. 2005). 1.7 Different levels of strategic planning: According to the authors Burk Wood M. 2004 there are three different levels of strategy namely corporate level at the top, business level is the middle section and lastly operational level which is the lower level. Each level has different responsibilities and goals and this will be critically discusses below (Burk Wood M, 2004). Figure 2 Organisational levels Corporate Level Business Level Operational Level Source: Marian Burk Wood, (2004), Marketing Planning principles into practice, Pearson Education Limited, England. 1.7.1 Corporate level The Corporate Level looks at the companys Vision, goals, philosophy and the culture of the organisation and determines planning accordingly (Burk Wood M, 2004). Corporate strategy refers to the overall strategy for a diversified company (Burk Wood M, 2004).It is concerned with the mix of businesses the company should compete in, and the ways in which strategies of individual units should be coordinated and integrated (Burk Wood M, 2004). 1.7.2 Business level According to Burk Wood M, 2004, strategic planning at this level is concerned with the firms mission, business goals and the firms competencies. Burk Wood M, 2004, added that an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions are used to gain a competitive advantage. This is done by exploiting the core competencies in a specific product market which is done on business level (Burk Wood M, 2004). 1.7.3 Functional level Occasionally, plans will be made at the  functional  level, to allow managers to specialize and to increase managerial accountability (Burk Wood M, 2004). Burk Wood M, 2004 stated that at a functional level managers will be concerned with coordinating manufacturing, marketing, human resources, finances, research and development, and information systems (Burk Wood M, 2004). 1.8 Types of strategic planning: According to Morton L.P, 2009 and Lenehan P.F, 2002, strategic planning is the long-term process that determines the path for business owners to reach their goals. The other two business planning processes are more short term (Linda Morton, 2009). Below the time horizons long term, intermediate term, and short term will be critically discussed. 1.8.1 Long term planning According to Lenehan P.F, 2002, the long-term planning process should strengthen both management and the board of directors. The objective is to have everyone leave the off-site meeting with an understanding of the game plan for the next 5 years, which will be updated at an annual off-site planning meeting (Lenehan P.F, 2002). 1.8.2 Intermediate planning Linda Morton states that Intermediate-term planning  includes strategic objectives and has a time horizon of from one to two years. It outlines how the strategic plan will be pursued (Morton L.P, 2009). In marketing, intermediate plans are most often used for campaigns, with the goals and purpose of the campaign supportive of one of the business long-term goals (Morton L.P, 2009). 1.8.3 Short term planning Short term planning  includes operational objectives for specific departments and individuals and has a time horizon of one year or less (Morton L.P, 2009). A short term plan allocates resources and outlines objectives to meet the intermediate plans and the strategic planning process (Morton L.P, 2009). Morton L.P (2009) stated that short term planning allocates those resources day-to-day for business development. 1.9 Components of a strategic plan: According to Oslen E, 2007 there are several different components of strategic planning that needs to be explained to your planning team. The components are strategy and culture, internal and external, the balanced scorecard perspectives, and market focus (Oslen E, 2007). 1.9.1 Strategy and Culture According to Oslen E, 2007, an organisations culture is made up of people, processes, experiences, ideas and attitudes. A strategy is where the organisation is headed. A company cannot have a strategy without a culture or vice versa. The culture is the core of the business, and if it is not in order, the best strategy in the world cannot work for the company (Oslen E, 2007). 1.9.2 Internal and External According to Oslen E, 2007, the strategy is external when you gathering information from a companys customers, competitors, industry and environment. The external information can help a company identify the opportunities or threats that they might face. Through employee surveys, board assessments and financial statements are ways to identify the companys strengths and weaknesses that are internal (Oslen E, 2007). 1.9.3 Balanced scorecard perspectives According to Oslen E, 2007, the balanced scorecard is a framework that is used to develop the firms goals and objective in four areas. These areas are financial, customers, internal business processes and the employees (Oslen E, 2007,). The financial, internal processes and employees are the internal factors of the balanced scorecard whereas the customers are the external perspectives (Oslen E, 2007). 1.9.4 Market focus According to Oslen E, 2007, the growth of a market comes from focusing on the customers and delivering superior value to them consistently year after year. Built into a companys strategic plan is market-focus framework, this is vital because it ensures that the company is focused on growing (Oslen E, 2007). According to Oslen E, 2007 by focusing on the market a company will understand the needs of the customers. CONCLUSION: A strategic plan is simply a tool to be thought of as a guide or map. It has a starting point which is todays conditions and environment. It has an ending point, where the company wants to be in terms of success in the future. Strategic planning is a process that answers the question of how is the best, most likely way to be successful as defined by the stakeholders and allowed by the customers and embraced by the employees. While there is one way presented on how to conduct the strategic planning process it is by no means the only way. The process has to fit the culture, resources and style of the company. It must reinforce the confidence of management to make consistent, workable decisions. The benefit of a strategic planning discipline is that it facilitates effective decision making, better selection of tactical options and it leads to a higher probability of achieving the owners or stakeholders goals and objectives. High quality information is critical to the success of the strategic plans of any organisation. All other factors can be in place, but if the information is inconsistent in any way, then success is much less likely. If success is achieved it may well be at a high cost. High quality information must be acknowledged as one of the organisations main concern. Adopting a continuous development and improvement approach to the information gathering and interpretation process is essential.  

Leadership Interview Essay

Leaders-like can be found everywhere but effective leaders are going extinction. Yes, in this world, where people are able to express their own ideas, anyone can be chosen as a leader because he or she possesses a certain characteristics that resembles a leader – outspoken, intelligent, or the ability to express ideas in a single sentence (Ricketts, 2009). However, the leader characteristics are not always an assurance of becoming an effective leader. As according to IAAP (2009), effective leadership is the key to success of organizations. Effective leader are somewhat hard to classify in terms of characteristics – but one thing is for sure, he /she is able to lead the group without imposing authority among members. In simple terms, effective leaders are those people who are seen working just like an ordinary member of the groups but the outcome or output of the group is highly commendable. This is because, he works hand in hand with his people and the atmosphere when e verybody’s working is as cool as ice. Works or jobs are growing freely with the flow, without noticing that they have already solved the problem together. Being able to lead people is leadership – by definition, Leadership is simply being able to influence other people in a positive way, and inspire subordinates to work hard for success of the organization (IAAP, 2009). Having this thought in mind about leaders and leadership, the first person that came into my mind as a potential to be interviewed for this assignment is one of our dear family friend, Mr. Karl Fuentes. Mr. Fuentes is of Filipino-descend but is living in the United States for quite some time. He is the manager of one of the McDonalds Store in Modesto California. McDonalds is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, U.S. It is one of the largest fast food chains in the world and started its operation in 1940, and it is currently present in over 120 countries worldwide serving billions of consumer a day (Yahoo Finance, 2012). He started as a part time service crew for the store and after few years of working since he was already working full time, he got promoted as a manager of the branch. Mr. Fuentes, now 23 is still a student at California State University and he became a manager at the age of 19. According to him, he did not expect to be promoted as a manager because he is only an immigrant. However, since God was on his side and good luck was born with him, he accepted the promotion without having second thought. According to him, the responsibilities of a service crew and a manager are can be compared to David and Goliath – little and huge. As a service crew, your responsibilities was only to serve the food to the customer’s table, clean the store such as wiping the table and mop the floor; and sometimes, immediate person to handle customer complaints – simple and linear. However, according to Mr. Fuentes, when he became the manager, responsibilities did overwhelm him and shaken his confidence. You are the one responsible for the whole store, from inventory to management functions, to handling customer complaints and even monitoring and hitting sales quotas. You also need to assure the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the whole store as well as the marketing side of the store. All of that, you need to manage, monitor and maintain. Personally, I already have known the concepts or theories behind the responsibilities of a manager, but seeing the facial and bodily expression of Mr. Fuentes, I came to realize that it really isn’t easy. There are a lot of sacrifices you need to do to cope with the duties and responsibilities of being a manager or as the leader in the store. Well, before going deeper into personal experiences of Mr. Fuentes, I asked his opinion on the word â€Å"Leader†. In the back of my mind, I was thinking actually that he will go into deep explanation like theories from books, or any other materials. I didn’t expect that his answers will be â€Å"A leader should be a good follower and an active listener†. This sentence is extremely a clichà ©, but after he expounds his answer, like a leader should need to follow rules so his subordinate should follow him as well, I came to realize that a clichà © will never be a clichà © if it’s not true, or if it has not worked for many. Another question that pops out my mind after hearing his answer was also a clichà © question – A leader is born or made? As expected, the answer was also a clichà © – â€Å"it can be both† depending on the reference point. It can also be due to some luck, which made both of us laugh. Yes. It is true. I had also t his opportunity to ask him if how would he differentiated a leader from others and if he believes that certain characteristics are needed to become a leader. According to him, a leader is someone who is willing to listen to other’s opinion and but is actively participating on the tasks, discussion or problem solving. From the expert’s point of view, there is no specific characteristic that is required in order to be named as leader – it’s just being true to you and being able to discern what’s good or bad for your people and company. What I enjoyed in the whole part of interview was when he revealed the challenges he had undergone as a leader and the strategy he used to overcome such challenge. As according to him, in every level of the organization, there is always a challenge. It just so happened that the challenges passed on managers or leaders are really big as compared to low level employees. When he told me his toughest challenge so far – which is to maintain the legacy of the store he is managing, and his strategy – engaging everyone in idea generation, planning and implementation ha s inspired me and I have seen his sincere as well as passionate side as a leader. Though it was simple, his effective leadership has made the big difference. When asked regarding his approached on leadership and management of his branch, he just can’t utter an appropriate word to describe his style. According to him, it was actually combination of different styles, but he personally set the goal to become a charismatic-visionary leader while being a leader by objectives. By definition, a charismatic-visionary leader is someone that influences his people though a single vision (Goleman, Daniel, 2000, p-82-83) and the style is basically engaging the people to work with him. Leadership or management by objective is somehow similar to visionary only that the style is more directed to betterment of the people, fulfilling the pre-assigned objectives as well as coaching people in the workplace (Goleman, Daniel, 2000, p-82-83). Having said that, I suddenly remembered a scenario where in we had a dinner together few years back and someone asked him if who was his inspiration as a person, then he said, â€Å"Nelson Mandela†. Indeed, w hen I asked him if who was his inspiration as a leader, he named the same person. According to him, Nelson Mandela is one of the best examples of a charismatic-visionary leader as he was able to move people by one Vision, which is to help the country to move forward, lessening the poverty and eliminating racism. Such attitude and vision like giving your whole self to save the country have inspired a lot of people and has led him to be the first South African leader to be elected via a democratic election (The Nobel Foundation, 1993). By then, there are a lot of things running on my mind just by observing him, listening to his intelligent answers, jokes, and his non-verbal actions. Before the start of the interview, my connotation of a leader is always serious, task oriented with stern appearance and the like, however, while doing the interview, I came to realize that my connotation before was â€Å"very bookish† as they say. Leaders are still human and are able to laugh, joke around and sometimes, act childish. Indeed, I was partly wrong back then. Being inspired by the answers of Mr. Fuentes to my simple questions, I did not pass the chance to ask for some advice on how to be an effective leader. His advice was, just be you, lead by example, know how to listen to your members and of course, respect other’s opinion. As time goes by, the interview also went on, and I must say that I really learned a lot from him. I came to realize that a leader has this charisma that when he speaks, you are drive to listen to whatever it is. It was like being mesmerized to what he has achieved in life and at the same time, I was inspired to be somehow like him. The overview interview went smoothly as expected and also filled with humour, which did contribute to my learning subconsciously. I truly learned a lot from the leadership interview and I gained knowledge not only on textbook but from the expert himself which is a very overwhelming experience in my part. I must say that learning from the textbook and articles about leadership is re ally not enough. Books, and other printed sources will only help you understand the concept of leadership especially on the theory part, but it leaves you the thinking or imagine what a leader would really be like. Therefore, the formulation of a leader image depends on the use of words written and dependent on the person’s creative imagination. We should keep in mind that there is no perfect person, and since our backgrounds are diverse, we might interpret a single word differently, thus, our connotation of the word leader, leadership and management also varies. Though they mind be the basis for some, readings, textbooks and articles are only a guide in defining the concept of leader, leadership and management, also, since it is based on majority or most leaders really posses this attitude, it may then become a standard qualification for the concept. However, we must keep in mind that each leader or person is exposed to different stimuli and reacts differently under certain circumstances, therefore, in order to know the traits of a leader, it is better to consult a leader itself and witness with your own eyes the qualities that he/she possess as a leader. Thus, this experience of being able to interview a true leader in his field or designation, made me witness the real persona of a leader – the way he act, the coolness when he answers the questions and the substance of every word that came out in his mind. References: * Goleman, Daniel,. (March-April 2000). Leadership that Gets Results. Harvard Business Review, p. 82-83. * IAAP. (April 28, 2009). Leadership Theories and Styles. 2009 Administrative Professionals Week, 1-5. * McDonald’s. (2010-2013). McDonald’s: Our History. Retrieved from mcdonalds.com: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history.html * The Nobel Foundation. (1993). Nelson Mandela – Biography. Retrieved from Nobelprize.org: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-bio.html * Ricketts, K. G. (2009). Leadership vs. Management. UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. Interview Questions and Answers: 1. Please introduce you, current job and position. I’m Karl Fuentes and I am a manager of one of the McDonalds branch in Modesto California. 2. What are your lines of responsibilities in the company? I started as a service crew at the restaurant, and got promoted as a manager few years ago. My lines of responsibilities from a service crew and as a manager are really different. Working as a service crew, I just need to get the order from the kitchen, and then deliver it to the customer, clean the table and the place. As simple as it sound, isn’t it? However, now being a manager, my responsibilities have become bigger which does not only concerns you but the whole branch as well from employees performance, to sales, to inventories, customer complaints, and a lot more. As a manager, you need to coordinate all the functions which really need a lot of effort. 3. In your own opinion, what is a leader? For me, as a leader, you also need to be a good follower. You need to follow rules and regulations set by the company and act in accordance to that rules. A leader also needs to be a good listener. A leader needs to listen to his subordinates not only to resolve the problems or glitches right away based on fair judgment and also to solicit opinion from them. Through listening to subordinates or people around you, you will learn a lot like from their own experiences and stuffs like that. Thus, in order to understand each and every one, you need to listen to them first. 4. What’s your stand on this issue, â€Å"A leader is Born or Made†? Wow. What a clichà © question. Well, I’ve came across this question often times even when I was in school. My personal opinion for that point is actually, it can be both. There are leaders in our society who were born as leaders – meaning, the leader lineage in their family is very evident. In simple sense, being leaderâ₠¬â„¢s runs in their blood. However, there are also leaders in our society or even in school that were just made as leader. The reason also varies from person to person. It may be influenced by their peers, level of education, innate passion or just luck. Let me give you an example, Mark Zuckerburg is the CEO of Apple right? What is his status before becoming a leader of a multi-billion company? Isn’t it that he was just an a weirdo student at Harvard who often locked in his room, go to classes, drinks beer with his friends and the like? He’s just a typical Harvard Student. Who would have thought that he will be a well-known CEO in the future? In my opinion he is one of the examples of people who have become leader by luck. Though he is really an intelligent guy, his intelligence isn’t enough to achieve the stop where he is now. In my opinion, it was actually out of luck that the website he developed became a hit. 5. How would you differentiate a leader from a bystander, a follower, an initiator or an outspoken person? Leader is someone who listens, take part or participate in a forum, discussion and the like. Bystanders are people who always on the side, though they are physically present, they themselves are mentally absent. Followers are those people who always follow someone without complain. Initiators are the ones who initiate the thought but are unable to finish it. Outspoken are those people who are just talking endlessly without considering others opinion. 6. From your own experience, what are the challenges of being a leader? Are there also opportunities of being a leader what are those? Being a leader is no joke. You need to think less of yourself and think more of others. In our store, it’s inevitable that there are always conflicts between subordinates, shortage in inventory, deficit in sales and a lot of customer complaints. As the manager of the store, you are expected to face these challenges and solve it in any means. What I did was, to hear each side of the coin and plan the action. Planning comes first as it directs the implementation to a clear and single line. A leader does not always face negative circumstances, sometimes; it allows you to discover other things that you yourself cannot imagine that you can do it. If you are a leader, you have subordinates, thus, tasks assigned will be done faster because there are a lot of brains working. You can also express yourself well as you do a lot of coordination, talking and mediating. Leaders really offer a lot of opportunities for a person. 7. In your own experience, what was the most difficult obstacle or challenges you have faced as a leader ad how you were able to resolve it? In all McDonalds store, there is actually that competition every year ends on being the â€Å"Most Outstanding Store† in the area. Before my team, our store was always the winner. During my leadership, there are actually lots of hardship that the store had undergone including fiscal crisis, lots of worker lay-offs, and others which have threaten the sale of the store. It was November then when I and my team realized that we might fall short on the qualification criteria since our sales is not peaking up. As a leader, what I did was, after shift, I gathered my team and discussed possible turn-around strategy that we could do for the store to spike up the sales. I solicited opinions from each of my members and they all contributed their own ideas. After hearing each opinion, we have grouped alike opinions into one category and categorized it according to objectives. Then, each of us chose the best idea and the idea that gathered most of the votes were the one implemented. Luckily, the promotion or strategy that we have implemented did really help us to qualify for the award and later on, won the award. So I guess the best strategy that I did as a leader was soli citing ideas from my members and make them feel that they are part of the company, so, we need to go hand in hand to solve the problem. 8. Are there any special traits, abilities or knowledge that a person should possess in order to become a leader? I don’t think there is. Everyone can be a leader in their own ways. 9. Personally, what are your Philosophies towards leadership and management? Basically, I don’t really have those Philosophies when it comes to leadership and management topic. I just do what I think and my members are right as long as it will be beneficial for the store. 10. I’m sure you are aware of the management or leadership styles, of all, what do you think are your leadership style? How? Yes. I am aware of it. Me? I actually don’t know my leadership styles but since then I am trying really hard to become charismatic-visionary leader and a management by objective at the same time. 11. Having experienced being a follower and a leader, which do you think is the most convenient to your lifestyle or attitude? For me, I guess, it is becoming a leader. It’s not because o f the power or authority I have acquired of becoming a leader, but a sense of responsibility that I have acquired. I have always been very independent since and according to people around me – I am very responsible. I am mindful of my actions and can become a perfectionist at the same time. 12. Is there a specific leader that you look up to? Who and Why? When a word â€Å"Leader† is mentioned, there’s this one person that immediately pops out of my mind – Nelson Mandela. He is very charismatic leader and down to earth. He has vision for his country and was able to revive the spirit of his countrymen. I guess, those qualities has made me more curious about him and in the end, I became his fan. 13. Lastly, what would you advise me so that I would become an effective leader as you are? Advise as a leader? Hmmm. I don’t really have any. But I guess, to become an effective leader, you should know how to listen to other people’s opinion, Motivate people to work hard because you yourself are working hard. Generally, live as an example. You should act, look and think like a leader for others to respect and follow your orders.

Basketball / Football Essay

Brown Ball Basketball and Football are two entirely different sports but relate in so many ways. Americans and other countries have the pastimes of both Basketball and Football for many many years with family and friends. They are both competitive, fun team sports with many similarities and differences. But their formation and composition a very similar. Basketball and Footballs have many similarities. They are both a team sport. They both require team work by all players, but the team can still be effected by the actions of an individual. Both sports have a designated amount of players required to play at one time. Basketball has five players and Football has eleven players. Also substitutes are needed for both sports to fill in for injuries, etc. Basketball and Football both use a light weight ball during play. Although they are the same color, the shape and material for which they are made is different. In both sports the ball is used to score points. In Basketball the ball is used to shoot a basket and score 2-3 points. In Football the ball is carried to the end zone to score 6 points. You can say that basketball is a game of ups and football is a game of downs! There is also many differences in Basketball and Football. Basketball is a non-contact sport. Physical contact is considered a violation and will cause a foul on the team who made the contact. Whereas, Football is a full contact sport. Physical confrontation, tackles and rough play is expected and required in this sport. Some watch Football for the excitement of the physical aggression of the game. While Basketball is watched for the intense excitement of the scores being made. Basketball requires no protective equipment since it is considered a non-contact sport. The uniform is simply shorts, sleeveless shirt and tennis shoes. Football on the other hand requires the use of protective equipment because of the aggressiveness of the sport. Most players wear shoulder pads, hip pads, thigh pads, knee pads, tail bone pad, and a helmet for protection. Some players even wear a rib guard for added protection. Another difference between these two sports are the surfaces they are played on, as well as the elements they are exposed to. Basketball is played indoors on a shiny court approximately a quarter of the size of a football field. While Basketball is typically played indoors, it can also be played outdoors on a concrete court. This is commonly known as street ball. Basketball is enjoyed more due to the fact that its indoors and the climate is controlled. Football is played outdoors on a grass or turf field one hundred yards in length, where you are exposed to all the inclements of weather. Finally, both basketball and football are among the many favorite pastimes today. Both sports are played by both men and women and both require a certain amount on physical fitness. These two sports teach self-discipline, help players develop physically, and team work. Larry Foster English 101/Pierce College Compare & Contrast Final Draft 26 April 2014 Brown Ball Basketball and Football are two entirely different sports but relate in so many ways. Americans and other countries have the pastimes of both Basketball and Football for many many years with family and friends. They are both competitive, fun team sports with many similarities and differences. However, their formation and composition a very similar. Basketball and Footballs have many similarities. They are both a team sport. They both require teamwork by all players, but the team is still affected by the actions of an individual. Both sports have a designated amount of players required to play at one time. Basketball has five players and Football has eleven players. In addition, substitutes are needed for both sports to fill in for injuries, etc. Basketball and Football both use a lightweight ball during play. Although they are the same color, the shape and material for which they are made is different. In both sports the ball is used to score points. In Basketball, the ball is used to shoot a basket and score 2-3 points. In Football, the ball is carried to the end zone to score 6 points. You can say that basketball is a game of ups and football is a game of downs! There is also many differences in Basketball and Football. Basketball is a non-contact sport. Physical contact is considered to be a violation and will cause a foul on the team who made the contact. Whereas, Football is a full contact sport. Physical confrontation, tackles and rough play is expected and required in this sport. Some watch Football for the excitement of the physical aggression of the game. While Basketball is watched for the intense excitement of the scores being made and the closeness of the scores.  Basketball requires no protective equipment since it is considered a non-contact sport. The uniform is simply shorts, sleeveless shirt, and tennis shoes. Football on the other hand requires the use of protective equipment because of the aggressiveness of the sport. Most players wear shoulder pads, hip pads, thigh pads, kneepads, tailbone pad, and a helmet for protection. Some players even wear a rib guard for added protection. Another difference between these two sports is the surfaces they are played on, as well as the elements they are exposed to. Basketball is played indoors on a shiny court approximately a quarter of the size of a football field. While Basketball is typically played indoors, it can also be played outdoors on a concrete court. This is commonly known as street ball. Basketball is enjoyed more due to the fact that its indoors and the climate is controlled. Football is played outdoors on a grass or turf field one hundred yards in length, where you are exposed to all the inclement of weather. Finally, both basketball and football are among the many favorite pastimes today. Both men and women play both sports and both require a certain  amount on physical fitness. These two sports teach self-discipline, help players develop physically, and team work.

Cold War Vs. Soviet Union - 1465 Words

Cold War Argumentative Paper The cold war lasted from 1947 to 1991 and was the closest that the United State had ever come to total destruction and nuclear war. In this paper I will analyze the main moments leading to the close of the Cold War. The moments leading up to the decision that would end the Cold War are full of tension and uncertainty. In Adzhubei’s account of his visit to America and his meeting with John F.Kennedy and other officials and journalists you can tell that there is lots of tension and as Adzhubei clearly mentions there is a lot of uncertainty about how this conflict will end. â€Å"In the United States there is now a heightened nervousness and extraordinary interest in taking any step, which could occur in one way or another, that from the point of view of Americans promotes the possibility of reconciling American-Soviet differences.† This document clearly tells you that there is a great amount of tension that has built and is building between the U.S and the Soviet Union. This moment during the Cold War shows the way the J.F.K and officials of the Soviet Union feel about each other and clearly states that known fact that both sides believe that something will have to be done soon to prevent fallout between the two countries. 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