Refugee Blues and Disabled Comparison Essay

The subject of war and the loss of human life has had a deep influence on poetry of the first half of the 20th century. Many poets from around the world had felt the direct impact of earth-shattering wars and went on to express their opinions through their works. It was during wartime eras that the poems â€Å"Disabled† and â€Å"Refugee Blues† were written by Wilfred Owen and W.H. Auden respectively. Both of the given war poems are considered to be some of the most significant pieces of poetry of their time and the fact that they were written during times of worldwide conflict explains their brutal honesty, grim atmospheres and the poets’ desire to convey both shock and sadness through their interpreted image of war. â€Å"Disabled† was written by Wilfred Owen when he was in England to recover from war trauma. The title gives a glimpse of what the poem is about – a lonely soldier forced to be amputated. Although it is only a single piece of his str ing of anti-war poems, â€Å"Disabled† is arguably one of his most effective and significant works. The context of the poem takes place in Britain during its involvement in the Great War and tells a story of a disabled (hence the title) soldier who resides in a hospital. To shock the readers, Owen reveals that the soldier is actually a young adolescent, aged 17-19, who returning from the Western Front, was forced to have his limbs amputated. In contrast, â€Å"Refugee Blues† is a poetical work of W.H. Auden in 1939 – the year World War Two broke out. The name of the title is a reference to an old musical genre – blues. They were originally sang by early African slaves on American soil. The songs of the particular genre were mostly about sadness and depression. This, combined with the term ‘refugee’, create an interesting title, that is useful to identify what type of person is the protagonist and why the structure of the poem is reminiscent of a (blues) song. Although compared to â€Å"Disabled† it is slightly less heavy in terms of tone and atmosphere, the second (or third) reading of the poem should convince most readers that the horrors of war are actually very prominent and are shown through the terrified eyes of an innocent citizen. The story within tells about a German Jew and his wife, both taking numerous attempts to escape their homeland in hopes for salvation as their life becomes that of downward spiral following the rise of the fascist regime. Although the poets Wilfred Owen and W.H. Auden express their attitudes differently, it can be considered that both voice their opinion on the same side of the arguement. As said above, both â€Å"Disabled† and â€Å"Refugee Blues† share anti-war ideals, however they refer to different issues. This is most probably because, the two poems were written during different political eras, the Great War and the Second World War. â€Å"Disabled†, written in 1917, addresses the brutality experienced by British soldiers on the Western Front and how the youth was fooled into volunteering by the older members of the nation’s upper class who did nothing but scrutinized them, living in their safe, comfortable English homes while their sons died in the name of â€Å"patriotism†. Nonetheless, Owen’s poetry expands on that point to show that it is not only old men who do the trickery, but it is also ordinary people who encourage and ultimately, let down the soldiers. An example of that would be â€Å"Aye, that was it, to please the giddy jilts†. This only us what led the disabled trooper to his tragedy, but to make his existence in this world even more depressing and sad, Owen goes on with â€Å"How cold and late it is! Why don’t they come?† The readers are shown that after the war ends, whether the soldier is dead or alive, there won’t be much good left to him, as their somewhat ignorant society decides to abandon the men who put their lives on stake for their flag. Perhaps this serves to state that true patriotism is ultimately pointless and obsolete, or that no matter what form it takes, it does more harm than good by painting a false image of â€Å"glory† in people’s minds. It can be said that â€Å"Disabled† is written to show how soldiers adapt to a wartime/post-war society. The poem is a reflection of Owen’s surroundings while in fighting in France and resting at the military hospital in England. A widely-considered opinion that soldiers are state-sponsored killers is being turned down by the poet to show how these young, inexperienced and unwilling men are being put in position that is a matter of life and death, from which, most who manage to return are either scarred mentally or broken physically. Looking at the language of the poem, Owen’s overall attitude can be interpreted as more pessimistic, as he leaves a rather sour taste about the subject of war. W.O. tries to convince the readers that the war does not necessarily make one a hero, and neither does it bring true pride to combatants, rather using it to lure the men to their death. In fact, if there was anyone to feel a sense of glory or pride, it would be those who didn’t participate or lacked the courage to face the horrific effects of war, which is the idea Wilfred was trying to bring across to future generations. It should be noted that this poem, among his many others, was written during the brief period in-between Owen’s deployments to France, which gives it a feeling of raw energy that came from his recently-seen experiences at the front, which resulted in the brutal honesty of the poem. Whereas W.O. wrote about volunteers and how they were ignored and exploited by citizens, Auden seems to be more concerned about innocent people rather than troops, specifically minorities, almost as if â€Å"Refugee Blues† is the flip-side of â€Å"Disabled†. There is only one occasion in the entire poem where the soldiers (who serve the regime) appear – at the very end. Their primary purpose there was to destroy any sense of optimism l eft in the poem. The quote to represent that is: â€Å"Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro: looking for you and me, my dear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The fact that none of the soldiers were described or weren’t given any personal development is a rather bland effort by Auden (in my opinion, of course) because it is well known that despite a high morale, there were members of the Wehrmacht who did not see eye-to-eye to Hitler or his policies and were renegades and deserters. Therefore, it is implied that Auden saw all German soldiers within the same group – anti-Semitists. On the other hand, he had a good arguement for the plight of refugees, after all, they were German nationals no matter their religion/ethinity, but were hunted down anyways. This shows how inhumane the regime was to their countrymen and allows the reader to understand that racial and religious topics could be used to kill innocents, rather than to promote peace. Regarding attitudes, the two poets ultimately bring the same me ssage: they wished to bring an end to the wars that revolved around their lives. Differences, however, should be noted between the two: Owen displays his attitude quite clearly, criticizing the Great War at every possible turn – literally and figuratively. This is because of his prior military history and the fact that he was fooled into serving by being a staunch supporter of his country – he should have known better. W.H. Auden is indifferent to what happens to the troops, instead, he writes from a civilian’s point of view to represent their agony. There is still some optimism in him, however. For example in the quotation: â€Å"But we are still alive my dear, we are still alive†. He isn’t as harsh a critic of war as Owen due the fact that the latter served as a Sergeant and went through though times such as defending trenches from bombings and seeing his men die, all experienced first-hand. Another reason could be that the Second World War was just beginning when the poem was written (1939) and its main focus was on the Holocaust. Therefore the comparison between the two should not be about war, but about inhuman conditions and about betrayal – Jews in â€Å"Refugee Blues† and soldiers in â €Å"Disabled†. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be assumed that Auden wasn’t exposed to war – he was a civilian asset for the Republic during the Spanish Civil War as well as travelling to China during their war with Japan to write â€Å"A Journey to War†. Poems â€Å"Disabled† and â€Å"Refugee Blues† employ slightly different structures. â€Å"Disabled† is written in regular stanzas consisting of six to eight lines each. The stanzas are used by the poet to tell a narrative that takes time in past, present and future. Every stanza switches between past and present to describe his life in a â€Å"before† and â€Å"after† scenario. This way of poetic storytelling is quite effective, because in this case it allows us to see how far armed conflicts and wars evolve average individuals. The last stanza is written in a future tense in order to show what it (future) would bring to the disabled veteran’s life. It can be said that not much good will come out of it. In a way, Owen makes the atmosphere seem somewhat dystopian, seeing how there was very little reason to continue to live for that soldier, and how his future is already predicted and how he will have to follow regulations set by others†¦ for doing nothing, other than serving his country. This makes it shocking, considering WWI happened before. Another noticeable feature within the structure of â€Å"Disabled† is that it contains a stanza that stands out from the norm. This referred stanza is used to show that there actually were people who could show a sense of appreciation, for example a man in line 2. This is demonstrated in the lines: â€Å"Only a solemn man who brought him fruits†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Thanked him†¦.†. This quotation is important because Owen embraces the fact that among the spoiled, hypocritical and ungrateful citizens, there were certain individuals who remained committed and loyal to their heroes no matter how ugly the war was going. This stanza lasts only three lines to reflect on the point that the soldier’s life only had very rare and brief moments of hope and that the rest of his time in the institution was boring and agonizing, just like the length of the poem. Regarding rhyming, â€Å"Disabled† is inconsistent in that aspect, as it lacks a rhyming pattern to unify and join the stanzas together. For example: the first stanza rhymes as A,B,A,C,B,C while the second stanza is A,B,C,B,C,D,B. Perhaps the inconsistency of the rhyme is intended to represent either the volatile nature of war or the uncertainty regarding the soldier’s future, although the latter is an unlikely theory. With â€Å"Refugee Blues†, the structure of the poem is fairly simple – Auden wrote it as a recreation of blues song. Every stanza within the poem consists of three lines. The poem’s narrative goes within a chronological order, although the stanzas all represent flashbacks, it is most likely that they are in order. Auden’s poem follows a simple rhyming pattern – A,A,B for most of the time. At the end of each stanza, there is a third line which acts as a summary for the two previous lines and uses repetition. All third lines in the poem include the words â€Å"my dear† to represent a long-lasting hope within the hopeless atmosphere. One of the similarities between the structures of the two poems is that both â€Å"Refugee Blues† and â€Å"Disabled† contain at least one stanza which is three lines in length, albeit for different reasons – Owen wrote it as unique stanza to stand out since it is of lighter tone than the rest of the poem, while Auden constructed his poem to contain no more than three lines for the sake of structuring it as a blues song. On the other hand, there are much more contrasts between the two, for example â€Å"R.B.† rhymes most of the time, thanks to its organized structure – the fact that each stanza is only three line long helps maintain the pacing while reading it and therefore, the words rhyme as they s hould. â€Å"Disabled† is less restrictive and relies less on rhyming. Owen’s piece contains average stanzas with six to eight lines in length. Lastly the other noticeable difference is that â€Å"Refugee Blues† has a narrative that follows a chronological order, while W.O.’s poem switches between past and present with each stanza. Both poets W.H. Auden and Wilfred Owen use an expansive variety of different language techniques, such as metaphors, personification, senses, repetition and similes. Most notably, both poems feature similes and repetition. In â€Å"Disabled†, similes are used to create an irrational comparison between the protagonist and unrelated, vile, almost animalistic (to display how low he had sank on a social level) things, in this case, disease. A prime example of that would be the quotation: â€Å"All of them touch him like some queer disease†. This quote conveys the poet’s feelings towards how many war veterans were undeservingly alienated from their society. Alternatively, W.H. Auden uses the same technique to compare the extent of liberty given to an animal (fish) and a â€Å"sub-human† (as believed by fascists). To show the misery the Jews had to face, this point is given directly from the protagonist. As shown in the subsequent lines: â€Å"Saw the fish swimming as if they were free†. From here we can observe the fact that the poem’s main characters – the Jewish refugees had little to no rights at all as their agony made them wish to live as animals – fish in the harbour. Although this being a somewhat far-fetched attempt, it can be possible to infer that Auden may hold the value of freedom as above of civilization and progress, since it could be assumed that the characters would much rather live a primitive, yet free life than holding a place within an established society. It is ultimately clear that average, innocent citizens, as well as front-line soldiers had their lives greatly affected (in a negative way) by unnecessary wars which doomed their future, and although subtle, similes are a powerful way to depict their struggles. UNFINISHED(repetition/improve similes and do comparison/personification/senses/metaphors)

Managing Groups in a Multicultural Setup

Surviving and succeeding in today’s global competitive business environment is obviously difficult. Cross-cultural working, managing changes, technological advantages give the much needed edge to set organizations apart. Our progress and approach strategies clearly defines our success. Developments in recent years have reinforced the view that we are moving from a world in which we determined our destination to one in which we must learn to navigate a path between myriad future possibilities (Stickland,1998).I had been assigned to a study group, which I was to work with, during the first semester. The group members met each other for the first time in the lecture theatre and decided to meet after class. The meeting was informal and we all introduced ourselves, exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers. All five team members talked about their backgrounds and I seemed to like the team from the beginning.Everyone seemed humble. As we kept on talking, it became apparent that s ome team members were more talkative than others. Team members, A and B were very talkative and kept asking questions while C and D were more quiet. I was more like an average participant, but in the end I too talked less. A and B looked at each other and me but not at C and D; C and D were thus not included in the conversations. I noticed this, but decided to ignore it for the time being. I thought I need to only change it later.The five members came from different countries across four continents. A was from India and from experience I knew that Indians would talk a lot and have strong opinions. B was from Honduras whom I thought would be talkative and easy going like my friends from Nicaragua and other Central American countries. While C was from Georgia, a country I did not know much about, D was from the US whom I thought would be a hard working, self-centered and confrontationist.The team was truly diverse. Having lived in Asia, North America and Europe, working with several m ulticultural teams for over a decade; I knew from the beginning that I had to learn more about their cultures and backgrounds. This was perhaps the only way I could interpret their behavior and adapt to them, while they could adapt to me too. I believed that judging people even before you get to know them was wrong, while at the same time I was sure that my assumptions about certain cultures and the norms within these cultures, were mostly right.We were assigned the first group task in management science. I walked into the assignment with a positive attitude and everyone else in the group did, too. After all, the first get-to-know meeting had been positive. Once we had gathered, we decided on where to work. We sat down and focused on the task that had been given to us. We read the assignment and were ready to discuss the task.Here things started to go wrong. As group members are not much familiar with each other, there is a certain amount of uncertainty and suspicion, when interpret ing each other’s conduct and action. Lack of positive relationship carries opportunities for development of serious conflicts. These may not only be difficult to resolve, but also decrease team performance, particularly when a relationship conflict is not differentiated from task disagreements. (Pamela and Sara 2002)As we had not established a hierarchy structure, there was no leader. It was an equal platform for all to put forth their contributions, at an identical level. I come from a consensus driven society and thought that it was the right approach. I believed that everyone knew how dynamics in a consensus driven group works. However, I was proven wrong. People were not listening to each other! People would not let each other talk. Instead they interrupted each other!I could not overcome the feeling that some people wanted to prove that they were intelligent and knowledgeable. We did not have a dialogue. The task’s problems and scope were not discussed. We did not talk about how to solve the task at hand. Instead people presented their solutions!. The team found it hard to keep up the schedules, and inefficient communication was taking its toll.I have worked as a management and strategy consultant in many countries and even founded companies in cultures foreign to me and I had never seen such chaos and unstructured behavior. In fact, gradually the team structure itself broke down and began functioning like two divided teams working on separate agenda. Did this have to do with some people’s inexperience?! Or was this peculiar only to me?.I went along with what was happening in the group, always trying to pull people back to discuss the task’s scope. The group agreed that we needed to look at the scope and understand it. However, people continued to argue their causes defending their ideas. We were not getting anywhere. Time was running out and I knew that we did not have a good solution. This was confirmed when we saw what other groups presented. Now, I wondered whether the other people in the group saw it the same way? But I never asked them. We had talked to each other in the first assignment but not with each other now . We were not communicating well.Several days later, the second assignment was given to us. We went back to the same room we had used earlier. We read the task and, to my surprise, nobody’s approach had changed. Everyone was talking and no one listening. D who had been quiet in the first meeting tried to explain his idea which I thought was good. I wanted people to listen to D and they did after I specifically asked them to. D has only studied English for four years and he had a hard time expressing his thoughts, lacking the necessary vocabulary.Everyone else in the group speaks English fluently. I believed this might be the reason why no one listened to him. Anyway, after D had talked, they resumed their unconstructive debating, ignoring D’s ideas. After I initiated a secon d attempt to get D back into the discussion without any success I must admit that emotions replaced my otherwise logical and rather rational thinking. The other group members’ ignorance upset me. I decided not to participate anymore. Instead, I decided to observe what was going on in the team, making mental notes and checking my initial assumptions about each others’ attitudes.I then realized that initiating a groupwork successfully is very important and difficult. Perhaps the task or objectives at hand need to correspond to an initiation level too. Not much has been said or written on tasks, which are more suitable for groupwork, particularly at the initiation level. But it has been widely accepted that group work must be established in defined stages or steps, so that there is a better sense of direction and focus at the early stages. It would also be more beneficial if the topics and activities are initially focused at a simpler, straightforward and interesting agen da, gradually moving on to complicating issues. (Elisabeth 1990)Once again, we ran out of time without having completed the task, we returned to the lecture theatre only to find that our solution was substandard. At this point, I thought we have had enough and decided that we need to have a team discussion to analyze why we were under performing and how can we improve?. I sent out an e-mail to the group on this and to my surprise the team agreed with me, and we met the next day. During the subsequent meeting everyone admitted that we have been under performing.We also agreed that an important problem was that we were not letting everyone speak up and that some members dominated the discussions. We had to change this. This is when we created a â€Å"Group Work Guidebook† and work structure guidelines. We established guidelines on courtesy, respect, conduct and criticism, which are to be exhibited by all, in the course of our groupwork. We also took certain strategic initiative s like sharing our strengths and weaknesses and setting up a roadmap for achieving our objectives.Even though we did not have specific roles I soon became the facilitator, with many suggesting that I take over as a secretary. I made sure to empower others in the group as we went along but also made sure that discussion went smoothly without getting stuck in details. When emotions started to come up in discussions I tried to intervene usually with humor. I had to skip a meeting as I was sick; however it gave me an opportunity to understand how the team performed in my absence. I was surprised to note that the team was indeed more receptive to each other than before. Meetings were however becoming more hectic due to time constraints caused unnecessarily by professors, and at times we felt like we were slipping off as before.What made me uncomfortable at times was that some group members started to see me as the leader, which I did not like. Group members would look at me when there wa s an argument or when they had questions. I felt like a judge! I did not want this because I felt that it would hold the group back from having open and productive discussions. I believed that we could have â€Å"new leaders† every time depending on what we talked about. The leader would naturally emerge and it would obviously be the one who knew the most about the matter at hand. When I received for example questions, and people looked at me.I would give my opinion but then make sure that I asked everyone else what they thought. It was a time consuming process and ate into our efficiency but it was worth it. We ended up with good results and everyone felt involved. However, not everyone felt that they had been involved every time we met. C had never worked in a multi-cultural team before and likes task-focused approaches. C took over the role of coordinator without us noticing.A says that she comes from a passive culture and thinks she is helping us which isn’t. . In the session, A mentioned that she was not feeling that everyone understood her and she had a hard time expressing her feelings in the group. I spoke to A about it, who needed more reassurance when she worked in groups. She had a tendency to talk a lot and many group members found it distracting and I sensed that she was being kept outside the team a little bit. We had agreed on some guidelines but, especially A and C wanted to work the way they were used to, unwilling to accept others’ ways of working. We started to prepare slides so that we could hit the ground running and it took a long time before we felt comfortable with dividing tasksThe initial phase helped us to bond. As we went along, the group worked harmoniously with some few interruptions. The group bonded more and more as we went along. Mostly, because we now understood each other’s needs and how everyone liked to work. Our team outing also contributed to this bonding, giving us an opportunity to talk on so mething personal. Also, we started to split tasks and worked in small groups. The objectives and approaches were discussed with the team.Then tasks were delegated. We were able to work faster this way. This also satisfied C who wanted a more task oriented approach. However, we did not exaggerate the task focus. A admitted that she in general has problems to express feelings, and we as a team assured her that everyone does have it, but that it is better to talk to us, so that we can support her as we work together almost every day. We were here to learn, try new things and have fun. In the â€Å"group therapy† session, the team agreed that efficiency was an issue although, it had improved over the past weeks. The question now was how quickly we could improve our efficiency and how?. We decided, especially during our project, to pick up the pace and set more deadlines.As we continued to progress well, it was becoming obvious that some team members missed a hierarchical structur e. The more experienced members however, were fine with not having one, while the less experienced ones looked for guidance and at some time even thought that they had turned into leaders as they tried to enforce a hierarchy or assigned themselves tasks such as structuring meetings, etc. I believe this helps them tackle their insecurity.The younger members showed that they could not handle stress very well. When we had client meetings C would get nervous and start bossing people around. I laughed at it initially, but pointed it out to him. Even other group members pointed it out to him and he improved. As we entered the final phase of the project I discovered that the younger members liked to talk in the â€Å"I† form more and more. When I had put together a model with A or C they would still say â€Å"I created XYZ† in the group. B picked up on this and it irritated her as well as me. I explained to them the importance of teamwork and made it clear that it should alwa ys be ‘We’ and not ‘I’.The study group bonded more and more. Even C who in the beginning thought that dinners were simply a waste of time now started to enjoy them and even initiates them. He felt comfortable with the team and the team in general spoke openly about everything. Today, we are still improving our organizational skills and efficiency. However, we are very comfortable with each other, joking and laughing more than we work at times. This slows down work, but we still achieve good results and most importantly we discuss things outside the assignment, which is also a way of developing.The project presentation went very well. C talks and jokes more than he has ever done before – not just with the group. D has found a humorous side as well and has been very calm throughout the process. B is very involved sometimes at a level that is too detailed but she keeps everyone positive. A is motivated again after the Management Science debacle when we scored lower than we had expected. I am more structured in my approach and communicate much clearer (harder) than before pulling the teams back to the essential problems, when needed. And, yes, I still spend much time talking to group members outside the group, helping in any way that I possibly can. Did it require much energy and time? Yes! But it was worth it.I look forward to working with this group again, because we are now working well together, learning more and faster; being adapted to each other’s working style and body language. There are people in the MBA with whom I do not want to work with. These are people who do not understand integrity, honesty and respect. Selfishness does not go well with me. I have understood and realized this only in the past few weeks, more than ever before. I continue to believe that my passive leadership style in which I try to make people discover their flaws themselves is good. Sometimes I have to be more direct, or there will be misun derstandings leading to potential conflicts.Creating a group and implementing a working plan or road map is a difficult and time-consuming task. The planning stage is very crucial for the effective working of the group, however it is also essential that we do not hold on completely to the plan. The group and leader must react to situations impulsively. (Linda 1997). I see myself more of a transformational type leader who set goals and inculcate awareness on the setting and achieving of goals by others to pull them from unworthy preoccupations.Transformational leadership elevates levels of morality and motivation among others and are more effective, It has not been possible to relate their leadership with demographic, social or personal characteristics (Linda et al). I have indeed been benefited by this groupwork experience, a benefit that will remain with me, contributing to whatever I would be involved in.REFERENCESLinda et al., 2001;Organizational Behavior; A Management Challenge, Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesLinda. F. Groupwork in Occupational Therapy. Nelson Thornes (1997)Elisabeth D. Talking and Learning in Groups. Routledge (1990).Pamela J. and   Sara. K Distributed Work   MIT Press, (2002)Stickland, F.; The Dynamics of Change. Publisher: Routledge, London (1998).

Benefits of Social Media

In today’s society, communication is somewhat effortless with as much as a cell phone or computer. A text or instant message, via one of the various social networking sites, is how the majority of people today interact with one another. Social media has allowed new unconventional means of education to thrive amongst students of all ages and facilitated new means of easier communication among family and friends. However, along with a broadened network of communication there are precautions and concerns that many have taken in response to the vulnerability of this vast cyberspace. Although social media has its pitfalls, it has also changed the world for the better because it has introduced new innovative methods of education, facilitated easier communication, and has created a new environment for self-expression. Social networking, such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Formspring, and Instagram, has virtually enabled students around the world to create online study groups and chat rooms to enhance their learning experience. In an article by Paulette Stewart, an author for Feature magazine, a group of high school library volunteers are brought together by their librarian to test out an online literature study group on Faceboook. The students mingle and begin to become thoroughly engaged as they read one book each month and then converse about the literature they had read. Throughout the simulation, the students begin to come forward and speak more openly about their opinions and literary views of the novels they had read (29). This example shows how Facebook, a social networking site, proved to be a productive educational outlet for students to engage socially with each other in a virtual classroom which resulted in authentic research and easier communication amongst students via a social media outlet. Although social media such as Facebook, has helped broaden education into different outlets other than the traditional classroom, there are some questions many people have about how safe these online environments are. Dr. Stephanie Huffman, an Associate Professor at the University of Central Arkansas with a PhD in Leadership Studies, reveals that â€Å"social networking increases the likelihood of new risks to the self†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦loss of privacy† are very prominent aspects of joining a social networking site (154). There are many disputes today that debate whether social networking is safe because it allows, not only friends and family, but an entire network of people, most of whom are strangers, to see personal information, interactions with others, and individual thought. Although there are some risks of putting information on the web that reveals ones identity, as Stewart mentioned in her article previously, there are many privacy settings that are enabled to the user of the account (30). For example, on Facebook there are settings that allow the user to limit their profiles to be viewed by only people that they are friends with, which are called â€Å"Privacy Settings†. Websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social media are very beneficial in many ways that are helpful for education and introduces new styles of education to educators. Even though these new forms of learning are not traditional and physical forms of a classroom setting, these virtual classes still provide all the necessary components of learning. For example, Stewart conveyed activities such as social camaraderie amongst students by working together, researching subjects in more depth due to access to more information, and students having more honest opinions in a non face-to-face environment versus an online group chat (32). However, students are warned to remain aware that â€Å"once information is released into cyberspace, it becomes a part of a global network† (Huffman 155). On the other hand, students do have the choice to take full advantage of privacy settings and monitoring the status of their information that they release to the web, friends, and potentially unknown viewers of their information. Overall, when using social media for educational purposes there are many benefits that, when taken advantage of, enhance educational experiences because of modern-day advancements in social media and networking. Over the last decade, social media has undoubtedly changed the way people communicate. Two people no longer have to be face to face to communicate and can now receive responses within seconds. In an article written by Nafaa Jabeur, Sherali Seadally, and Biju Sayed, authors for the Communications of the ACM journal, called â€Å"Mobile Social Networking Applications†, GPS tracking systems in Mobile Social Networking (MSN) devices allows users to locate other users, areas and amenities nearby that concern the same interests as them (74). Social media has assisted communication by facilitating the means of connecting multiple individuals. Examples include Jabeur, Zeadally, and Sayed’s article’s claim that news is easier spread using the technology of MSN, which helps notify copious amounts of people in an urgent manner, of incidents in their local areas (Jabeur. Zeadally, Sayed 76). However, there are questions about if social media is taking over society in a negative aspect rather than helping it. In a study called â€Å"Problematic Use of Social Networking Sites†, documented by Dr. Parth Singh Meena, Pankaj Kumar Mittal and Ram Humar Solanki, Psychiatrists for the Industry Psychiatry Journal, research shows that social media is greatly increasing in, mainly, teenagers and young adults to somewhat of a dangerous high (94). Studies have shown that â€Å"from April 2008 to April 2009, the total minutes spent on Facebook in the U. S. , in particular, has increased from 1. 7 billion minutes to 13. 9 billion minutes† (Meena, Mittal, and Solanki 95). Although these numbers of the increased amount of social media users is shocking, there are many beneficial reasons for taking advantage of new technology. A positive example of why excessive use of social media may be helpful is received through an article called â€Å"Targeted Social Mobilization in a Global Manhunt† where Alex Rutherford, data scientist at the UN Global Pulse Research Center, and many other researchers followed a simulation to track down five individuals in many different cities and states based on just a headshot, using nothing but social media sites for urgent information (1). Using websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google search engine, the simulation found three out of the five individuals only used social media (Rutherford, et. al. 2). This example shows how using social media can be helpful in communicating with people around the world in urgent situations. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Formspring, and Myspace make it capable to talk to people’s next-door neighbors or to talk to someone halfway across the world. These sites allow individuals to create profiles and custom pages that showcase personal information, interests and hobbies for virtually anyone to see. For example, Twitter has a certain section of the website that allows users to see â€Å"Trending Topics† around the world that involve the most popular topics of conversation to be shared with the entire Twitter community. By using the Trending Topics the user is connected with, virtually, the entire world by communicating with people from different countries, backgrounds, languages, and cultures. Dr. Stephanie Huffman, as mentioned earlier, believes that social networking allows users to broaden their experiences â€Å"through presentation of self, learning, building relationships, exposure to other diverse groups† and many more valuable attributes (154). An important issue to be made aware of in social media is cyber-bullying. There have been numerous studies and extensive research about the effects of cyber-bullying and speculation of how to put an end to this phenomenon. Neal Geach, a professor and extensive researcher at the University of Hertfordshire, and Nicola Haralambous, a researcher and professor of Criminal Law at Coventry University, produced an article, â€Å"Regulating Harassment: Is the Law Fit for the Social Networking Age? †, that discusses the dangers of cyber bullying and the laws that are being put into place to regulate it. Their article exhibits many laws, some of which do pertain to the Internet and social media. There are laws being put into place specifically dealing with harassment that occurs on online social media sites (Geach and Haralambous 248). Dr.  Peter Kiriakidis, a professor of research at the University of Queens and has a Ph. D. in Educational Leadership, and Dr. Demarques Lakes performed a case study on student-to-student bullying to gain insight from teachers and educational staff on what they have observed about online bullying. Their research found that â€Å" most teachers also reported that they associate academic underperformance of certain students to be the result of some form of cyber bullying† which supports the idea that educator’s are becoming more aware of this issue and it’s side effects and trying to find helpful solutions (Kiriakidis and DeMarques 109). The Internet can be a productive and innovative outlet for positive self-expression if used correctly and cautiously. Social networking sites help users gain insight for themselves and others by discovering new interests and groups of people that enjoy the same pastimes as them (154). Although these freedoms come with a price, there are many ways to cut down online obstacles such as bullying, harassment, and negative pressures of society. There are several privacy settings on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace that eliminate the chance of an unknown user viewing your profile and personal information (Stewart 30). Also available to all users on every social networking site is a â€Å"Block Report† button that allows the user to block as many other users as they want from their page so that none of their information, comments, or personal information is released to that certain user. If a certain user is becoming an issue with violent or irrational behavior over the Internet, every user also has the option to report another user for inappropriate behavior to the site to resolve the issue. In conclusion, society has benefitted greatly from social media networks and offers a multitude of advantages for many reasons. Education has been greatly impacted by the numerous and endless possibilities of transforming the concept of learning into a more modern and experimental structure. Social media has facilitated a new form of open communication that has made long distance relationships possible and global communication easier. Social networking has also introduced a new era of presentation of self by allowing online users to share their monumental, life moments through pictures, status’, comments, and interests. When all is considered, social media among children, teens, college students, and other adults is overall beneficial and innovative to society.

JVA Corporation Simulation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

JVA Corporation Simulation - Assignment Example Additionally, a communications and consultation plan needs to be put in place, so that employees understand the reason for these changes and see them as an alternative to redundancies, which would be a far worse option because they fail to take into account the future of the workers (Rue & Lloyd, 2009). Internal equity is when the job evaluation determines the internal value of the job. The point factor job evaluation is the quantifiable process explaining the reasons for pay differences and classifications. The point factor jobs evaluation determines the internal value of jobs by placing them in a hierarchy of grades based on compensable factors. Compensable factors include experience, education, technical skills, and working conditions (Rue & Lloyd, 2009). This approach is to be retained, with no major changes proposed to core salary levels. This will reassure workers. External equity is the second principle in compensation and it compares the salaries and benefits of the JVA Corporation employees to other workers in the same industry. In order to be competitive, the JVA Corporation must conduct a survey to see if the salaries/additional compensation perks are similar in other agencies. The jobs in other companies dealing in wireless technology devices are benchmarked because they include bonuses, travel rewards, commissions, profit sharing, and duties in a broad range of jobs. External equity can help managers make strategic decisions regarding the company’s compensation programs (Flannery, 2011).

How might a rights-informed approach to social care provision and Essay

How might a rights-informed approach to social care provision and delivery result in better outcomes for users of social care se - Essay Example For instance, the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities encompasses rights to: participation in decision making; physical integrity and personal mobility; participation, dignity, and non-discrimination; and to live independently and actively within the community. A rights-based approach facilitates the realization of human rights by: fostering the inclusion of marginalized, socially excluded, vulnerable, or at-risk groups of people; addressing and challenging the barriers, inequalities, and injustices that are prevalent within the society; pursuing policies and programs that facilitate the well being of the service users. In most case, a rights-based approach gives services providers a stronger role to play in the manner in which services are designed and delivered. As a result, social care service users are rendered recipients of services that transform their lives and safeguard them against discriminatory treatment (Great Britain 2007, p.177). A right-based approach highlights the significance of empowerment and participation of parties impacted on by decisions to claim the rights, and accountability and capability to deliver from those responsible for social care service provision and delivery. ... need to reform institutions and transform power relations via enhanced participation, accountability, and participation and via compelling organizations to meet their rights obligations. A rights-informed approach to social care delivery and provision rests on guaranteeing that health and social care is provided and made accessible to all persons on a fair basis (Chapman 1994, p.4). Human rights represent the fundamental and irreducible rights for all individuals, which represent the moral and ethical principles that are critical to a democratic society. Human rights are grounded in a framework of fundamental values such as dignitary, equality, autonomy, respect, and fairness. The relevant human right instruments referred to in the paper entail: Human Rights Act, European Convention on Human Rights, especially Articles 2, 3, and 8; UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and, UN Conventional n Rights f Personas with Disabilities, especially Article 19. The European C onvention on Human Rights articles entail: the right to life (Article 2); the right to respect for private and family life (article 8); and, the right of not to be subjected to discrimination with relation to any of the rights within the Act (article 14). With regard to values, a rights-based approach highlights PANEL principles, namely: participation, accountability, non-discrimination, empowerment of individuals, and legality (appreciation of legal principles) (Steiner, Alston and Goodman 2008, p.300). Human rights apply to all, but are especially significant for persons who are at enhanced risk of poor treatment. Human rights can avail practical guidance to the formulation, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring of social care provision and delivery. The rights-informed approach

Reflections on the Toyota Debacle + When Theres No Such Thing as Too Article

Reflections on the Toyota Debacle + When Theres No Such Thing as Too Much Information - Article Example lity products developed, acceleration pedals that stuck on the loose floor mats and the sticky pedal materials after exposure to moisture and friction (Cusumano 34). Answer: In my opinion, Toyota was not comfortable with its success. This was because; the company kept on trying to rise far above its competitors. Another thing was the company was keen to give customers the best quality especially after the many complains. A comfortable company could have just sat and continue production without minding the many companies made. Answer: Several things have surprised me about the article. One, the author seems to be so keen on every aspect of Toyota Company as far as automobiles are concerned. Two, another surprise is on how Toyota has managed to remain in the top of the auto industry even after being the company with the most defects detected. Answer: Blockbuster Video rental chain has been a thriving company until the introduction of technology. Majority of the people now are able to access online videos, which has reduced the customers flow to the rental shops. Answer: Pillsbury is a food production company. Due to its growing global market share the business has a growing information need for both its customers and its employees. It now uses StatServer to convey customized data, analysis and educate employees on their desktops (Tibco 1).The tool has enhanced the company’s productivity by allowing employees to upgrade individual desktop data analysis tools. Apex industries deal with plastic fabrications. It employees comprise of a team of engineers, artisans, and project managers. To continue providing high quality products and services to their customers, the company uses a refined ERP system (Localdirectory 1). This has enabled them earn a high customer satisfaction and employee efficiency in

Mexican-American War (i would prefer either domestic or personal level Essay

Mexican-American War (i would prefer either domestic or personal level of analysis ) - Essay Example As such, the move undermined the Mexican population. The master plan focused on the region occupied by the freehold and yeoman farmers. The eventual impact ignited a political hiccup associated to slavery and inhuman practices. Although other levels of analysis can be applied, I believe that the Mexican American war is best explained through a domestic level of analysis. In the year 1898, a conflict between Spain and the United States of America ignited an armed battle between the two countries. Americans managed to gain access into the Latin America, as well as the Western Pacific, by the end of the war. The events resulted in a great territorial expansion from the American authority. The military involvement in the war signified a historical event. As such, America’s image portrayed a self-centered institution operating on self-interest. Additionally, the events attracted the world’s attention as the media documented the details of the entire war. America advanced about 525,000 square miles into the Mexican territory. The incident led to the signing of a treaty agreement that marked the end of the war. The treaty signing redefined American from a national state to a transcontinental state. As such, both parties engaged in diplomatic settlement scheme to end the war. Other documentation of the treaty revealed the onset of colonialism. The colonialism feature paved way for a commercial assumption and resource expropriation (Lynn, 2013). The impact of colonialism in Mexico resulted in obdurate legal disputes over the vast land. These occasions prompted the advent of different theories to explain the superiority of the involved states. Significant changes defined other perceptions of the colonialism. The onset of communication advancement, development of the transport industry resulted in national pride. The Mexicans believed that the American move served a divine ordination in the vast Mexico territory. The Mexican-American war served as an indicator

Professional Nursing Boundaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Professional Nursing Boundaries - Essay Example Other boundaries include respecting the integrity of personal information, separating the professional demands from emotions, inability to call patient nicknames such as honey or sweetie (Barton, n.d). In addition, professionals can not touch the patients in appropriately and the demeanor of the physician should always be professional. In addition, tips, gifts or favors are also boundaries that exist in all health care settings (Barton, n.d). In the situation where I would witness a colleague violating professional boundaries, I would first confront him or her and explain the situation. Depending on the nature of the situation, I would observe and see if he or she makes any changes. If the colleague continues to violate the boundaries, I would have no choice but to report the issue to my superiors. However, if the violation involves more serious scenarios that jeopardize the health of the patient, I would report the situation

Finance Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Finance Industry - Essay Example At present, debt factoring and debt subordination are the preferred means for companies to finance their needs for additional working capital. The financial flexibility provided by these two alternatives does not require the company management to relinquish any portion of their control or equity. They simply come with costs that then form part of the company's financing-related expenses. Many companies have huge accounts receivables in their balance sheets, relative to their other asset items. These accounts receivables can be of much better use to the company if they can be converted to cash sooner than their dates of collectability. Their conversion to cash through debt factoring should enable the company to do more business transactions and to produce higher income figures. (ABFA, 2009) Debt factoring is a three-party transaction that is consummated when a factor buys a company's accounts receivables, generally without recourse. Hence, the factor shoulders any losses resulting from the debtors' inability to pay. These debtors, by virtue of the factoring transaction, will be liable to pay the factor - not the original company creditor - the amounts due from them. (Brigham & Houston, 1998, p. 691) The factor does all three things: ensure the collection of the company's receivables, shoulder the losses resulting from bad debts and provide financing for the company through the purchase of its receivables. (Brealey, Myers & Marcus, 1995,p. 506) Meanwhile, debt subordination involves giving a specific creditor the last ranking in terms of claims on the debtor company's assets and income. Thus, subordinated debenture bonds - or uncollateralized debts - are issues that entitle owners to payments that are secured by what is left of the company after its secured debts, debenture bonds and other general liabilities have been settled. (Fabozzi, 2000, p. 86) Both debt factoring and debt subordination are available to companies with good credit records. Both can be handy tools for raising money to beef up the company's working capital, to take advantage of opportunities that require cash, to fund the company's acquisition of new plant equipments, to finance an expansion phase or to accomplish similar ventures. The Costs of Debt Factoring and Debt Subordination Factoring, then, helps to improve a company's cash flow. It also significantly reduces the expenses a company ordinarily incurs in doing preliminary credit investigation on each customer applying for a credit line and in ensuring the actual collection of their accounts receivable. In return for these benefits, debt factoring as an alternative comes with two costs that would have to be paid by the company: the interest and the fees. The interests charged amount to 1.50 to 3.00 percent over the prevailing base rate. Then fees in the scale of 0.75 to 2.50 percent of turnover are as well collected. (The UK Insolvency Helpline, 2009) Issuing subordinated debts, meanwhile, entail paying the service fees of investment companies and rating agencies and the interest rates attached to the debt instruments which may range from 10.00 to 15.00 percent. Related expenses are further incurred in the presentation, road-show and similar marketing activities that are all orchestrated to sell the company's subordinated debt instruments. Preparation

Reviews on Financial Risk Management Essay Example for Free

Reviews on Financial Risk Management Essay The definition and types of financial risk III. Risk management and the theoretical foundation IV. The process of financial risk management V. The challenges faced by the modern financial risk management theories ?Abstract? Financial risks are exposures of uncertainties for those participants in financial market. Financial risks can be divided into four categories: market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and operational risk. Risk management has become more and more crucial for a market participant to survive in the highly competitive market. As the development of the global financial market, there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by traditional financial risk management theories. These phenomena have accelerated the development of behavioral finance and economic physics. The financial management theories have already improved a lot over the past decades, but still facing some challenges. Therefore, this report will review some important issues in the financial risk management; introduce some theoretical foundation of financial risk management, and discuss the challenges faced by the modern financial risk management. I. Introduction Financial risk is one of the basic characteristics of financial system and financial activities. And financial risk management has become an important component of the economic and financial system since the occurrence of financial in human society. Over the past few decades, economic globalization spread across the world with the falling down of the Bretton Woods system. Under above background, the financial markets have become even more unstable due to some significant changes. Many events happened during the decades, including the â€Å"Black Monday† of the year 1987, the stock crisis in Japan in 1990, the European monetary crisis in 1992, the financial storm of Asia in 1997, the bankruptcy of Long-Term Capital Management in 1998, and the most recent global financial crisis triggered in the year 2008. All these changes brought enormous destruction of the smooth development of the world economy and the financial market. At the same time, they also helped people realized the necessity and urgency of the financial risk management. Why did the crisis happened and how to avoid the risk as much as possible? These questions have been endowed more significant meaning for the further development of the economy. Therefore, this report will review some important issues in the financial risk management; introduce some theoretical foundation of financial risk management, and discuss the challenges faced by the modern financial risk management. II. The Definition and Types of Financial Risk The word â€Å"risk† itself is neutral, which means we cannot define risk a good thing or bad. Risk is one of the internal features of human behavior, and it comes from the uncertainty of the future results. Therefore, briefly speaking, risk can be defined as the exposure to uncertainty. In the definition of risk, there are two extremely important factors: first is uncertainty. Uncertainty can be considered as the distribution of the possibility of one or more results. To study risk, we need to have a precise description about the possibility of the risk. However, from the point view of a risk manager, the possible result in the future and the characteristic of the possibility distribution are usually unknown, so subjective factors are frequently needed when making decisions. The second factor is the exposure to uncertainty. Different human activities were influenced at different level to the same uncertainty. For example, the future weather is uncertain to everyone, but the influence it has over agriculture can be far deeper than that over finance industry or other industry. Based on the above description about risk, we could have a clearer definition of financial risk. Financial risk is the exposure to uncertainty of the participants in the financial market activities. The participants mainly refer to financial institutions and non-financial institutions, usually not including ndividual investors. Financial risk arises through countless transactions of a financial nature, including sales and purchases, investments and loans, and various other business activities. It can arise as a result of legal transactions, new projects, mergers and acquisitions, debt financing, the energy component of costs, or through the activities of management, stockholders, competitors, foreign governments, or weather. (Karen A. Horcher). Financial risk can be divided into the following types according to the different sources of risk. A. Market risk. Market risk  is the  risk  that the value of a portfolio, either an investment portfolio or a trading portfolio. It will decrease due to the change in value of the market risk factors. The four standard market risk factors are stock prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and commodity prices. The influence of these market factors have over the financial participants can be both direct and indirect, like through competitors, suppliers or customers. B. Credit risk. Credit risk  is an investors risk of loss arising from a borrower who does not make payments as promised. Such an event is called a  default. Almost all the financial transactions have credit risk. Recent years, with the development of the internet financial market, the problem of internet finance credit risk also became prominent. C. Liquidity risk. Liquidity risk  is the risk that a given security or asset cannot be traded quickly enough in the market to prevent a loss. Liquidity risk arises from situations in which a party interested in trading an  asset  cannot do it because nobody in the  market  wants to trade that asset. Liquidity risk becomes particularly important to parties who are about to hold or currently hold an asset, since it affects their ability to trade. D. Operational risk. Operational risk is the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events. Nowadays, the study and management of operational risk is getting more attention. The organizations are trying to perfect their internal control to minimize the possibility of risk. At the same time, the mature theory of other subjects, such as operational research methods, are also introduced to the management of operational risk. Overall, financial risk management is a process to deal with the uncertainty resulting from financial markets. It involves assessing the financial risks facing an organization and developing management strategies consistent with internal priorities and policies. Addressing financial risks proactively may provide an organization with a competitive advantage. It also ensures that management, operational staff, stockholders, and the board of directors are in agreement on key issues. III. Risk Management and the Theoretical Foundation Financial market participant’s attitude towards risk can be basically divided into the following categories. A. Avoid risk. It is irrational for some companies to think that they can avoid the financial risks though their careful management because of the following reasons. First of all, risk is the internal feature of human activities. Even though it doesn’t have direct influence, it could generate indirect influence though the competitors, suppliers or customers. Moreover, sometimes it might be a better choice for the manager of the company to accept risk. For example, when the profit margin of the company is higher than the market profit margin, the manager can increase the value of the company by using financial leverage principle. Obviously, it will be harder to increase the value of a company if the manager is always using the risk avoidance strategy. B. Ignore risk. Some participants tend to ignore the existence of risks in their financial activities, thus they will not take any measures to manage the risk. According to a research of Loderer and Pichler, almost all the Swedish multinational companies ignored the exchange rate risk that they are facing. C. Diversify risk. Many companies and institutions choose to diversify risk by putting eggs into different baskets, which means reaching the purpose of lower risk by holding assets of different type and low correlation. And the cost is relatively low. However, as to small corporations or individuals, diversifying risk is somehow unrealistic. Meanwhile, modern asset portfolio theory also tells us that diversifying risk could only lower the unsystematic risk, but not systematic risk. D. Manage risk. Presently, most people have realized that financial risk cannot be eliminated, but it could get managed though the financial theory and tools. For instance, participants can break down the risk they are exposed to by using financial engineering methods. After keeping some necessary risk, diversify the rest risk to others by using derivatives. But why do we need financial risk management? In other words, what is the theoretical foundation of the existence of financial risk management? The early financial theory argues that financial risk management is not necessary. The Nobel Prize winner Miller ;amp; Modigliani pointed out that in a perfect market, financial measures like hedging cannot influence the firm’s value. Here the perfect market refers to a market without tax or bankruptcy cost, and the market participants own the complete information. Therefore, the managers do not need to worry about financial risk management. The similar theory also says that even though there will be slight moves in the short run, in the long run, the economy will move relatively stable. So the risk management that is used to prevent the loss in short term is just a waste of time and resource. Namely, there is no financial risk in the long run, so the financial risk management in the short run will just offset the firm’s profits, and therefore reduce the firm’s value. However, in reality, financial risk management has already roused more and more attention. The need for risk management theory and measures soar to unprecedented heights for both the regulator and participants of the financial market. Those who think risk management is necessary argue that the need for risk management is mainly based on the imperfection of the market and the risk aversion manager. Since the real economy and the financial market are not perfect, the manager can increase a firm’s value by managing risk. The imperfection of the financial market is shown in the following aspects. First, there are various types of tax existing in the real market. And these taxes will influence the earning flow of the firm, and also the firm’s value. So the Modigliani ;amp; Miller theory does not work for the real economy. Secondly, there is transaction cost in the real market. And the smaller the transaction is, the higher the cost. Last but not least, the financial market participants cannot obtain the complete information. Therefore, firms can benefit from risk management. First, the firm can get stable cash flow, and thus avoid the external financing cost caused by the cash flow shortage, decrease the fluctuation range of the stock and keep a good credit record of the company. Secondly, a stable cash flow can guarantee that a company can invest successfully when the opportunity occurs. And it gets some competitive advantage compared to those who don’t have stable cash flow. Thirdly, since a firm possesses more resource and knowledge than an individual, which means it could have more complete information and manage financial risks more efficiently. If the manager of a firm is risk aversion, he can improve the manager’s utility through financial risk management. Many researches show that the financial risk management activities have close relation to the manager’s aversion to risk. For example, Tufano studied the risk management strategy of American gold industry, and found that the risk management of firms in that industry has close relation to the contract that the managers signed about reward and punishment contracts. The managers and employees are full of enthusiasm about risk management is because that they put great amount of invisible capital in the firm. The invisible capital includes human capital and specific skills. So the financial risk management of the firms became some natural reaction to protect their devoted assets. In conclusion, although controversy is still going on about the financial risk management, there is no doubt that the theory and tools of financial risk management is adopted and used by market participants, and continue to be enriched and innovated. IV. The Process of Financial Risk Management The process of financial risk management comprises strategies that enable an organization to manage the risks associated with financial markets. Risk management is a dynamic process that should evolve with an organization and its business. It involves and impacts many parts of an organization including treasury, sales, marketing, tax, commodity, and corporate finance. Company’s financial risk management can be divided into three major steps, namely identification or confirmation risk, measure risk and manage risk. Let’s illustrate it using the market risk as an example. First, confirm the market risk factors that have a significant influence to the company, and then measure the risk factors. At present, the frequently used measure of market risk approach can be divided into the relative measure and absolute measure. A. The relative measure method It mainly measures the sensitivity relationship between the market factors fluctuations and financial asset price changes, such as the duration and convexity. B. The absolute measure methods It includes variance or standard deviation and the absolute deviation indicator, mini max and value at risk (VaR). VaR originated in the 1980s’, which is defined the maximum loss that may occur within a certain confidence level. In mathematics, VaR is expressed as an investment vehicle or a combination of profit and loss distribution of ? -quantile, which stated as follows: Pr ( ? p ;lt;= VaR ) = ? , where, ? p said that the investment loss in the holding period within the confidence level (1 –? ). For example, if the VaR of a company is 100 million U. S. ollars in 95% confidence level of 10 days, which means in the next 10 days, the risk of loss that occurred more than 1 million U. S. dollars may of only 5%. Through this quantitative measure, company can clear its risks and thus have the ability to carry out the next step targeted quantitative risk management activities. (Guanghui Tian) The last step is management risk. Once the company identified the major risks and have a quantitative grasp of these risks through risk-measurement methods, those companies can use various tools to manage the risk quantitatively. There are different types of risk for different companies, even the same company at different stages of development. So it requires specific conditions for the optimization of different risk management strategies. In general, when the company considers its risk exposure more than it could bear, the following two methods can be used to manage the risk. The first way is changing the company’s operating mode, to make the risk back to a sustainable level. This method is also known as â€Å"Operation Hedge†. Companies can adjust the supply channels of raw materials, set up production plants in the sales directly or adjust the volume of inflow and outflow of foreign exchange and other methods to achieve above purpose. The second way is adjust the company’s risk exposure through financial markets. Companies can take advantage of the financial markets. Companies can take advantage of the financial markets wide range of products and tools to hedge its risk, which means to offset the risk that the company may face through holding a contrary position. Now various financial derivative instruments provide a sufficient and diverse selection of products. Derivative products are financial instruments whose value is attached to some other underlying assets. These basic subject matters may be interest rates, exchange rates, bonds, stocks, stock index and commodity prices, but also can be a credit, the weather and even a snowfall in some ski showplace. Common derivatives include forward contracts, swaps, futures and options and so on. V. The Challenges Faced by the Modern Financial Risk Management Theory Over the recent years, as the focus of risk management hifts from a control function to one of global financial optimization, the concern shifts from modeling the behavior of engineered contracts in selected markets to modeling the evolution of the entire economy. This change of focus calls for a vastly improved ability to model the time evolution of economic quantities. (Sergio Focardi). While those who do risk management are interested in predicting if assets will go up or down, the over-riding interest is in the relationship in movement to different assets. Though linear methods such as variance-covariance help to understand the co-movements of markets, a different set of tools is necessary to better manage risk. (Jose Scheinkman). Paradigms such as learning, nonlinear dynamics and statistical mechanics will affect how risk – from market and credit risk to operational risk – is managed. While the first attempts to use some of these tools were focused on predicting market movements, it is now clear that these methodologies might positively influence many other aspects of economics. For instance, they could be useful in understanding phenomena such as price formation, the emergence of bankruptcy chains, or patterns of boom-and-bust cycles. Lars Hansen, Homer J. Livingston professor of economics at the University of Chicago, remarks that these new paradigms will bring to asset pricing and risk management at enhanced understanding once the implicit underlying fundamentals are better understood. He says â€Å"What needed is a formal specification of the market structure, the microeconomic uncertainty, and the investor preferences that is consistent with the posited nonlinear models. Commenting on the need to bring together the pricing of financial assets and the real economy, he notes that an understanding of what’s behind pricing leads to a better understanding of how assets behave. â€Å"For risk management decisions that entail long-run commitments,† he observes, â€Å"it is particularly important to understand, beyond a purely statistical model, what is governing the underlying movements in security prices. † Blake LeBaron, professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Medison, observes that there is now more interest in macro moves than in individual markets. But traditional macroeconomics typically provides only point forecasts of macro aggregates. In the risk management context, a simple point forecast is not sufficient; a complete validated probabilistic framework is needed to perform operations such as hedging or optimization. One is after an entire statistical decision-making process. The big issue is the distinction between forecasts and decisions. (Blake LeBaron) Arriving at an entire statistical decision-making process implies reaching a better scientific explanation of economic reality. New theories are attempting to do so through models that reflect empirical data more accurate than traditional models. These models will improve our ability to forecast economic and financial phenomena. The endeavor is not without its challenges. Our ability to model the evolution of the economy is limited. Prof. Scheinkman notes that unlike in a physical system where better data and more computing power can lead to better predictions, in social systems when a new level of understanding is gained, agents start to use new methods. Prof. Scheinkman says â€Å"Less ambitious goals have to be set. Gaining an understanding of the broad features of how the structure of an economic system evolves or of relationships between parts of the system might be all that can be achieved. Prof. Scheinkman remarks that we might have to concentrate on finding those patterns of economic behavior that are not destroyed, at least not in the short-run, by the agent learning process. VI. Conclusion The theory foundation of modern financial risk management is the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, which notes that financial market is a linear balanced system. In this system, investors are rational, and they make their investment decision with rational expectations. This hypothesis shows that the changing of the future price of financial assets has no relation with the history information, and the return on assets should obey normal distribution. However, the study of economic physics shows that financial market is a very complicated nonlinear system. At the same time, behavioral finance tells us that investors are not all rational when making decisions. They usually cannot completely understand the situation they are facing unlike hypothesized. And most times they will have cognitive bias, when they use experience or intuition as the basis of making decisions. It will lead to irrational phenomena like overreaction and under reaction when reflected on investment behaviors. Therefore, it will be meaningful to study how to improve the existing financial risk management tools, especially how to introduce the nonlinear science and behavior study into the measurement of financial risk.

Leadership theories in the context of healthcare management

Leadership theories in the context of healthcare management Do healthcare mangers need leadership theories? Critically evaluate at least two leadership theories in the context of healthcare management. According to Huczynski and Buchanan (2007), Leadership is defined as the process of influencing the activities of an organised group in its effort towards goal setting and goal achievement. Grint (2005:2) describes leadership as a function of relationship between leaders and followers, rather than simply focused on the person of the leader. According to Bass (1990:19), leadership is an interaction between two or more members of the group that often involves a structuring or restructuring of the situations, perceptions and expectations of the members. Thus it can be said from the above definitions that leadership is enacted through relationships with others i.e. the followers and leadership is widely distributed throughout the organization. Healthcare organisations around the world spend enormous amount of money in infrastructure and renovating facilities in hospitals, but spend a relatively less time or effort for the management of people who work in it. Effective leadership is therefore necessary for the smooth functioning of healthcare organization. According to Gunderman R. (2009), healthcare leaders should understand the nature of the organization where they work and should work in harmony with physicians, nurses, technologists, administrators and other members of organization. The people who work in healthcare organizations as leaders should understand the needs of the people they work with and should motivate them in order to increase their performance. Thus the overall performance of the organization depends upon the behaviour of leaders with their followers. Failure to understand human motivation can result in downfall of the organization. Medical leaders should look at the following questions: Which is more effective way to deal with the workers, benefits such as salary raises and public praise, or sticks, such as threat of termination and reduction in compensation? How can we improve workers performance, through tighter control or by increasing autonomy and empowerment? If the crucial needs of the workers are not fulfill ed it can affect their commitment towards organization and may result in financial instability of the organization. Leadership and management are often compared under the same platform. People are often confused and ask a question, Are managers leaders? The answer is NO, they differ from each other in many ways. Leadership is one of the roles that managers have to play and is therefore a subset of management. According to Gopee and Galloway (2009), management is about measuring and monitoring performance against pre-determined goals, following policies and procedures, controlling and organizing the structure and systems, working within resource allocation and maximizing output and productivity for the organization. Whilst on the other side leadership is about being visionary, anticipating change, motivating and inspiring workers and focusing on development of individuals. Watson (1983), describes seven Ss models to distinguish between leaders and managers. According to Watson (1983), managers mainly rely upon 3 Ss namely strategy, structure and systems, whereas leaders depends on 4 soft Ss called style, staff, skills and shared goals. Hollingsworth (1999) suggests fundamental differences between leaders and managers. According to him managers do things right i.e. they are transactional, while leaders do the right things i.e. transformational, managers administer while leaders innovate, manager focus on systems and structure while leaders focus on people. Thus leadership is a two-way process based on leader-follower relationship while management is based on relationship between the people working in the organization as individuals or teams. (Gopee and Gathway, 2009). Theories of Leadership: Several leadership theories have emerged over the past suggesting practical applications of leadership and its concept. Different leadership theories that are developed since 1920s are listed below: Time period 1920s 1940s Theory Trait or Great man theory Barnard (1938) for prescriptives: Ghiselli and Wald Doty (1954) for the descriptives. Style or behavioural theory Blake and Mouton (1964), Likert (1961) and McGregor (1960) Focus Intelligence, initiative and self-assurance. Participative culture, Represented a more democratic humanistic approach to the use of man in organisations and come at the time of reaction against scientific management. 1960s Contingency theory Fielder (1967), Schein (1980) and Vroom and Yetton (1973) An integrative way of looking at leadership, more specific to task work group and position of leader within that work group. A best fit approach. 1980s Post contingencies theory Bennis (1992), Kotter (1982), Mant (1983) and Peters and Waterman (1982) This theory particularly focused on American Business leaders with some perceptive comments as well as Anglo-Saxon leadership habits. 1990s Transformational leadership Bass and Avolio (1993), Cunningham and Kitson (2000a, 2000b) and Sushter (1994) Four components. 1. Idealised influence; 2. Inspirational motivation; 3. Intellectual stimulation; and 4. Individualised consideration. Late 90s-2000s Contemporary theories. Goleman (1999), Jumaa (2001), Alleyne (2002), Goffee and Jones (2000) Charismatic leadership Connective leadership Servant leadership Transactional leadership Transformational leadership Adapted from- Jasper M. and Jumaa M (2005), Effective Healthcare Leadership,page-25-26 Trait or Great man leadership theory. According to this theory certain persons have inborn leadership traits. Many studies were conducted by the end of 1950s which explored specific characteristics of effective leaders. (Handy 1993). These studies described significant correlation between leadership effectiveness and following traits: Intelligence Self-confidence Knowledge Initiative Supervisory ability Integrity Bass (1990), based on several findings from studies developed a profile of traits that are marked in effective leaders. These are categorised in 3 areas mainly: Intelligence -Judgement -Decisiveness -Knowledge -Fluency Personality -Adaptability -Alertness -integrity -Nonconformity Ability -Cooperativeness Popularity -Tact However the trait theory has certain weakness and problems like; the traits are very difficult to define accurately or to understand fully; many exceptional leaders do not possess all identified leadership traits; it cannot be concluded that a person is better or worse as a manager or leader only by possessing one or two traits. It is still questionable whether an individual could have all the traits for being a leader. However despite of many other leadership theories emerged today, trait theory has not been completely disregarded. For example- Recent research study conducted by kouzes and Posner (2007) concluded that Admired Leaders were likely to draw out specific characteristics, whereas 50% or more respondents selected: Honest (88%), Forward looking (71%), Competent (66%) and inspiring (65%). Around 28-47% of respondents selected intelligent, broad minded, straightforward, co-operative, dependable and imaginative as specific characteristics of effective leaders; while less than 25% of people selected ambitious, caring, mature, courageous, loyal, self controlled and independent. However there is no evidence between the correlation of nature and the essential characteristics of leader nor on what an effective leader is. It can be seen as trait of position, or power or knowledge and wisdom. Kotter (1990) suggested the functional approach and focused on the fact that the performance can be improved can be improved by training and the leadership skills can be developed over a period of time and perfected. He also suggested that organisations should not wait for leaders to come by their own rather grow their own by identifying employees which have certain potential to be a good leader. Transactional and Transformational theories have gained popularity for Leadership in Healthcare Organizations out of the various leadership theories available. Transactional leadership theory. Transactional theory of leadership is based on leading people by the virtue of management position held in the organizational hierarchy. It is seen that in this theory leaders identify the needs of the followers and transact with them. Thus this theory is considered as a social exchange process based on the power and reward system. In healthcare organisations this theory is related to the achievement of organizational goals which also includes attending health of local population.( Gopee and Galloway, 2005) According to Bass and Riggio (2006), the transactional theory is based on the leaders who are successful or effective in such a way that they maintain equilibrium and harmony by fulfilling their roles according to the procedures and policies and use incentives to enhance employee loyalty and performance. The transactional leader sets goals, gives direction and uses rewards to strengthen employees behaviour towards meeting or exceeding established goals (McGuire and Kennerly 2006). Although this theory supports status quo and is more predictable but it has also been criticised by various authors as it is lacking vision for future of the healthcare organisation. Thus the transactional theory of leadership has a very narrow focus and the leader can have a high self interest which may eventually lead to disturbance in the organisational structure.(Gopee and Galloway, 2009) Transformational leadership theory Transformational leadership is widely supported leadership approach for healthcare. According to Burnes (1978), transformational leadership is identified as a process where one or more person engage in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher level of motivation and morality. In transformational leadership leaders motivate their followers by transcending their own self interests, elevating their needs and making them aware of the mission of larger entity of the organisation where they belong. (Bass 1995). Transformational leadership is considered superior to the transactional leadership style as the whole workforce is developed as the part of the process whose main function is delivering organisations objective. This can be achieved by fostering identification, going beyond simple leader-follower transaction and developing and intellectually stimulating employees. (Vandenberghe et al. 2002). According to Murphy (2005), transformational leaders are visionary, self-confident, and self-aware in breaking professional boundaries to develop a multidisciplinary team approach towards patient care. Transformational leaders inspire the followers and motivate them to exercise leadership by encouraging their belief that have the potential to achieve high aims. Thus a transformational leader is the catalyst for creating new innovative organisational paradigms (Murphy 2005 :135). The transformational leadership style is described by Markham (1998) as collaborative, consultative and consensus seeking and attributing power to interpersonal skills and personal contact. Thus the transformational leadership allow the followers to develop ideas and aspirations on how things could be better in healthcare settings. It articulates a vision for betterment of the healthcare services and thus allows one to work for raising the standards of care and treatment. Manley (2001) identifies six transformational leadership processes in practice; Ability to develop a shared vision Inspiring and communicating Valuing others Challenging and stimulating Developing trust Enabling Using these processes, transformational leaders assist the people working with them to become empowered and take responsibility of ownership to practice challenges and solutions (Sashkin and Burke 1990). The impact of transformational leadership does not restrict to development of individuals but it can also produce significant changes in practice settings by influencing the organisational culture. One of the main features of the transformational leaders is that they can inspire other people to follow their clear vision and that they demonstrate self-confidence in their ability to articulate the vision and promote change.'( Mullally 2001). Transformational leadership is also compared to that of a leadership style previously called as charismaticleadership which is now out of fashion. For example, people like Hitler, Churchill, Mussolini, Mao Tse Tung and The Reverend Moon have been perceived as charismatic leaders in the past but in todays modern era it will be difficult to call them as transformational leaders. Charismatic leaders are assumed to use their magnetic personalities to attract the followers. They are usually good orators and share their imaginary ideas with followers to create a common purpose. For example-Barack Obama demonstrated this ability during his election campaign and is believed to demonstrate complex ideas in a comprehensible manner to his followers. The concept of transformational leadership and its applications in complex organisations such as healthcare is based on four central components (Bass 1998), (Plesek and Wilson 2001): Idealised influence (charisma) Inspirational motivation Intellectual stimulation Individualised consideration Transformational leadership topic has been debated since the past three decades because the above four components can reflect the potential for causing organisational harm and destruction if the leader in the framework is supported by emotional intelligence (Goleman 2000a) to guide them through the swampy lowlands of organisational life (Schon 1983). According to Manley (2000) the transformational leadership approach is highly beneficial for the healthcare organisations as it has positive effects in the organisational change. An analysis of transformational leadership style in North America has shown qualities of integrity and honesty all strengthen by strong core of moral and ethical values (Bashor 2000). The key principle required in applying the transformational leadership in healthcare organisation needs much openness and honesty in all interactions (Jasper 2005). The use of personal qualities (such as charisma, influencing skills and communication) needs to be equally balanced by high levels of understanding and personal insight. This can be achieved through self perception and feedback from other colleagues. The ability to inspire and motivate depends upon the process of visioning. The leaders should be able to describe their ideas with clarity and details and should explain about the future consequences. To achieve this vision one should start working for the future vision by learning from the past realities and should show a collective effort where everyone has an opportunity to participate in the creation (Fenton 2003). Intellectual stimulation can be achieved by maintaining mental and intellectual alertness and acuity which can be gained by encouraging open criticism and deba te of wide ranging evidence base thus it helps to form the foundation of substantive change. The development of all individual towards their potential is one of the goals of transformational leadership. This can only be achieved by sharing thoughts of power bases in both organisations and interpersonal relationships. (Jumma and Jasper 2005). Thus it is seen that the two leadership approaches i.e. transformational and transactional approach are different from each other. Transactional leadership mainly involves transaction between the managers and their managed people while transformational leadership mainly focuses on various radical changes that can present challenges and growth for all. Comparison of Transformational and Transactional leadership approaches Transformational leadership Transactional leadership Merges own, followers and the organisations goals, desire values into common goal. Generates employee commitment to the vision. Challenges subordinate Rewards informally and personally Is emotional passionate about existing and new ventures Sees home and work on a continuum Aims to maintain equilibrium and status quo Is task-centred and orderly Coaches and fosters sheltered learning Uses extrinsic rewards High self-interest Sees home and work as separate entities. Adapted from- Gallow and Gopee (2009), Leadership and Management in Healthcare, page-59 Limitations of transformational theory: Although transformational leadership skills are highly desirable for effective functioning of an organisation, many management theorists like Bass, Avoliio and Goodheim (1987) think that transformational leadership alone can cause problem in long time. According to them transformational qualities must be coupled with more transactional qualities of day to day managerial role. According to Bass and colleagues, the transformational leader will fail without the traditional management skills. (Marquis and Huston 2009). They believe both sets of characteristics should be present in same person in different proportion. In Johnsons (2005) research he suggested that highly effective managers require both vision as well as specific plan to carry out their plans for achieving goals. Concept of leadership within the British National Health Service The New Labour Government included leadership as the part of their modernisation of the NHS and has been enshrined in the work of the NHS Leadership Centre, created in 2001as a part of NHS Modernisation Agency (The NHS Plan, DH 2000). The centre launched the NHS Leadership Qualities Framework in 2002 (NHS Leadership centre 2003) the components of this framework contains 15 qualities organised in 3 clusters of setting direction, personal and delivering the service. Components of NHS Leadership Qualities Framework Setting direction Personal qualities Delivering the service Broad scanning Intellectual flexibility Seizing the future Political astuteness Drive for results Self belief Self awareness Self management Drive for achievement Personal integrity Empowering others Holding to account Leading change through people Effective and strategic influencing Collaborative working These qualities reflect the values and beliefs intrinsic within the Governments political stance. Here the emphasis is on personal attributes and qualities as opposed to that of traditional source of authority and power or target driven incentives derived from business culture (Jumaa 2005). These qualities are considered as a set of key characteristics, attitudes and behaviours that a leader must possess in order to deliver the NHS plan; Setting the standard for leadership in NHS Assessing and developing high performance in leadership Integrating leadership across the service and related agency Individual and organisational assessment Adapting leadership to suit changing context. Case studies to demonstrate effectiveness of leadership theories. Case study 1. To measure the effectiveness of the new leadership framework in NHS, healthcare commission (now-Care Quality Commission) conducted a NHS staff survey. It was conducted in October 2003 and is probably the largest workforce survey in world. Total 572 organisations took part and around 203,911 NHS employees responded to the survey questionnaire. (www.cqc.org.uk) Results were produced before Healthcare Commission Executive Anna Walker. According to the survey more than 200,000 staff people told they liked working with NHS. Most of them were satisfied with their jobs but some part of the staff reported poorer work-life balance and higher level of work related stress. Thus healthcare commission urged NHS organisations to investigate and address these issues and try to get solution for it through more effective leadership approach. The fifth annual national survey of NHS staff was conducted between October and December 2007. In this survey 156,000 employees from all 391 NHS trusts in England responded to a questionnaire asking about their views and experience of working with the NHS. The aim of this survey was to look at the attitudes and experience of NHS staff so that the employers can review their own staff and take necessary action. The results of the survey showed that job satisfaction remained high among most of the staff. 75% of staff was satisfied or very satisfied as well as satisfaction with the amount of responsibility. While in terms of staff engagement mixed results were seen. Around only 23% i.e. less than quarter of staff agreed that senior managers involve staff in important decisions and only 22% agreed that communication between staff and senior management is effective. While only 26% of staff were satisfied, or very satisfied with the extent to which trust values their work. This was the sing le most common reason given by those thinking of leaving their jobs. Along with this 8% of staff said they had experienced some discrimination at work in the previous 12 months. About 3% said they had been discriminated against their ethnic background. Thus it can be concluded from the above two studies that the NHS staff were generally satisfied with their jobs. However there were some areas where significant action is needed for improvement. The NHS should also make some effective plans to value staff and engage them successfully in important decisions-making. While NHS should also do more in order to improve the communication between staff and senior management. Case study 2. The Healthcare Commission also conducted 5 surveys in 2004 to find out patients overall experience about the new NHS. The questionnaires and methodology were designed by the NHS Surveys Advice Centre at Picker institute Europe. About 850 eligible people were identified from each trust that took part. A total of 568 NHS organisations and 312,348 patients took part. The response rate for the patients varied from 63% for the adult in patient survey and 42% for the mental health survey. Results were published in first week of august 2004 and the Commission reported that patients gave positive opinions about the high quality care they received at the NHS. Majority of patients said they have trust and confidence in the clinical staff. They are listened to and treated with lot of dignity. Thus a great improvement in communication between the NHS staff and patients was seen and people were allowed to give their own suggestions regarding the facilities they would like to see as an improvement for the organisation. (Jasper and Jumaa 2005) Case study 3. The following case study is based on my experience of working at a Multinational Pharmaceutical company, Zydus-Cadila healthcare limited, India. It is an innovative global pharmaceutical company that discovers, manufacture and markets a wide range of healthcare products. It produces products like Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) to formulations like tablets, capsules, syrups etc Along with this it also manufactures various animal health products and cosmeceuticals. Headquarter of the company is located in Ahmedabad, India. It also has its offices spread across four continents and different countries including USA, Europe, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and 25 other emerging markets. They employ around 10,000 employees worldwide and have one of the best Research and Development centre for drug research. The motto of the group is Improving peoples lives through innovation. I had an opportunity to work there as a trainee for my under graduation internship for a duration of 6 months. My role included looking after the process involved in operation of different departments like production, packaging, storage, marketing and submitting daily report to the manager. The whole company was perfectly organised and the management was distributed in a systematic manner depending on the type of department. There were different mangers according to the department like for Human-Resource department, Production department, Quality-control department, RD (Research and development) department and the Marketing department. Each of the department had a head person above them under whose guidance all mangers used to work. According to me, the leadership approach in this organisation contained both transactional as well as transformational concepts of leadership theories. The manager under whom I used to work was a transactional leader. He was very particular about the work. Right from the first day of my training I found him a bit eccentric. He was not at all friendly with all of us working under him. He used to assign each of us a particular work for a day. For example- On the first day of my training I was told to go and check the ware house of the company where the finished goods were stored and to write the Standard Operating Procedure for dispensing the goods. Following his instructions we all went and did our report writing work. He came for a visit within 3 hours, gathered all of us and started asking questions about what we observed. Those who were unable to answer his question were scolded. He gave us first warning about our work and said those who will complete their work early and accuratel y will have the additional benefit i.e. they will be allowed to go home 1 hour early. This thing worked as an incentive amongst all of us and thus we became more enthusiastic towards our work. Slowly over a time it was realised that the way he was leading us was different from others. For him the sole purpose was getting the work done from us in such a way that each one of us feels excited about work. He was very professional at work while very jovial and friendly at home. He was totally task oriented and orderly person. He never accepted any ideas or suggestions from any of the followers. Thus he was more of a transactional type manager. The other type of manager under whom we were working is completely opposite of the above mentioned manager. He was our marketing department manager. He was a true example of transformational leader. The way he used to lead us was truly inspirational. He used to explain us the complete process before handling any work. He was very supportive at work and had a vision for companys success. His communication and motivation skills were excellent. Right from the first day of my training under him we liked working with him. He always welcomed new ideas and suggestions for marketing. He was very much focused about his vision and always strives hard to achieve it. He had good interactions with everybody in the team and always used to motivate us. He used to look at everybodys work personally and if he will notice any mistake in our work would teach how to correct it on the spot only. He used to ask for the feedback about his new ideas from each of us and correct himself if the feedback was no t satisfactory. This shows his eagerness to work with the team which created positive effects on each of the team members. He was never after rewards from the company. His only aim was taking companys sales to the epitome of success. He was fully dedicated to the company and worked with whole heartedness. Thus all of us used to work with great enthusiasm under his leadership. So he can be described as a perfect example of transformational leader. Hence the company Zydus-Cadila Healthcare limited has a mixture of transformational and transactional leaders which ultimately results in the success of company. Conclusion The essay here explains about various leadership theories in healthcare and its effectiveness by the use of some case studies. Healthcare organizations are complex in nature. It requires a well balanced management and leadership approaches to effectively run the organisation. Each individual in organisation should share their knowledge with others. This synergy among workers is the key part for generation of new ideas and concepts for the organisation. Many leadership theories have been developed since past and still it is continuously adapting a new change for the effective leadership theory. Considering leadership in healthcare it is seen from the example of NHS in the UK that the combination of both transactional and transformational leadership theory may be the most efficacious for an organisation. Thus the healthcare managers require leadership theories and put them in practice to make it work effectively. However, according to Grint (2005:105), one of the top secrets of leaders hip is not a list of innate skills and competences, or how much charisma you havebut whether you have a capacity to learn from you followers.