Comparitive Studies of Enviormental Policies in China & USA Essay

Comparitive Studies of Enviormental Policies in China & USA - Essay Example These policies have become necessary because of increasing population growth rates in both countries. Presently, the population of the United States is estimated as 311, 591, 917 people whiles that of China is given as 1,344,130,000; the highest in the world (FAO, 1986). Looking at the difference, there is every justification in the fact that China would have a stricter population control policy and that is exactly what the case is. Presently, there are policies such as one-child policy, which has an aim of providing better health care to mothers and the general population by reducing the number of children each woman bears to one. There have also been birth control policies in China. In the United States however, birth control campaigns have been the major policies whiles excluding a restrictive policy like one-child per family. Consequently, China has a firmer population control policy than the United States and the understanding is in the difference in population between the two c ountries. On pollution control, analysts argue that the United States is far advanced and ahead than China. What has perhaps created the difference in significance towards the policy approaches has to do with the ideologies that both countries have in terms of modern development (Asian Development Bank, 2002). it would be observed perhaps that whereas the United States sees herself as a nation who has achieved so much in terms of development and does not have to be very pragmatic towards national development to the detriment of the environment, China sees herself as a new global perspective for development, who must take advantage of all forms of industrialization to complete her development dreams. For this reason, there are more freedoms on the use of pollutants that may eventually result in pollution in China in the name of industrialization than there is in the United States. There could therefore be very tangible policies such as air pollution regulations, US pollution control laws and regulation, and nonpoint source water pollution regulation all in the United States. Just as with pollution, the United States presents its industries and the general public with stricter policies that guide against global warming. It would be noted that some key components of pollution such as air pollution that is related to the emission of harmful carbon chemicals is directly related to global warming (Bockstael et al, 2000). This means that policies in both countries that are used to cater for air pollution could directly be related and liked to the control of global warming (Dyson, Bergkamp and Scanlon, 2004). From this direction, it could clearly be said that the United States with the Environmental Protection Agency fully in force to clamp down on all forms of air pollution and carbon emission also caters for global warming in a much vehement way than it is done in China. A clear justification of this could be seen with the liberty given to Chinese industries to buil d chimneys as precautious measures whereas in the United States it is an enforcement to do so. Both the United States and China are fast growing on the need to preserve the environment through the promotion of the use environmentally friendly energy supply. It would be seen for instance that in the United States, there is presently a policy that is fading the era of use of non-renewable energy such as gas. The use of hydropower is also being minimized as the

Produce a report describing, comparing and evaluating 2 types of documents Essay Example for Free

Produce a report describing, comparing and evaluating 2 types of documents Essay The first group of documents are payslips and were collected from the following banks: Barclays, Lloyds TSB and HSBC. Barclays Payslip: The Barclays payslip I collected is a strip of paper about 15cm by 6cm. This document contains all the relevant information for its purpose. The layout of this document is very neat and professional. The payslip contains tables, numbers, text and a logo. The documents readability is simple but is aimed at people who have a reasonable knowledge about banking, i. e. not aimed at children. The document is very bland, and only uses black and white. The justification on this document is very central and organised. Lloyds TSB: The 2nd document I collected was a Lloyds TSB payslip, roughly the same size as the Barclays payslip except it is slightly wider. The layout is very spacious and clear. It contains similar contents to the Barclays payslip, including tables, text, logo, numbers and a receipt. The documents can easily be read and would not be so confusing to people who do not have such a wide knowledge on backing. Different use of colour creates a more pleasurable sight. The tables are either justified to the right or the left hand side. Jonathan Fraser-Gadd Report Unit 1 Task 2: HSBC: The 3rd and final Payslip I have is from HSBC. This payslip is very similar to the Barclays payslip in terms of layout and positioning; however the HSBC payslip is 1cm wider and has an extra 3. 5cm in length. This creates more space whilst holding the same amount of information. The payslip contains a number of tables. The HSBC payslip is the only company that does not display their logo on the payslip. This document is printed in black and white. Brochure: The second group of documents I have collected are brochures all from the same organisations. The brochures I have collected are used by each company to show, what they have to offer the customers. Barclays Brochure: The brochure I have collected from Barclays bank shows the insurance plans that they have to offer a client. The document is a bout 16cm by 11cm. The front page of this brochure has two 3 different shades of blue and a hint of orange. It also contains a logo on the front page so the consistency is at a good standard. The layout of the brochure is very well structured, neat and spacious. The writing is written in columns and its readability is easy and quick to the point, however on the back page the writing is very small and people with bad eye sight may struggle. This document does not contain any images, tables or charts. Lloyds TSB Brochure: Lloyds TSB have a brochure concerning all those wanting to take out a loan. This documentation is the same width as the Barclays brochure but is a 1cm shorter in length. Lloyds TSB have tried a different approach too Barclays because they have decided to use their images to a maximum to create an emotion amongst the readers. Lloyds have consistency used their logo on the brochure and the payslip. The layout is very basic but effective. The layout contains a contents page, images and lots of information on loans, however like in the Barclays brochure on the back page there is a lot of writing which uses a very small font. The style is very interesting and attractive. HSBC Brochure: HSBC have a brochure for clients wanting to take out insurance. This document size is very different to the other brochures which were similar to each other. Instead the size of this document is 5cm by 16cm, making it very narrow. It uses many images of happy people. It contains a contents page to make the document very organised. HSBC do not use a lot of small font writing on the back of the page unlike Lloyds and Barclays, however it does contain a free post envelope attached to the back. It has headings for each topic and the writing is neatly presented. Jonathan Fraser-Gadd Report Unit 1 Task 2: Good and bad points: In this part of my report I shall point out the good and bad parts on each of the above documents. Barclays Payslip: The Barclays payslip is very professional and contains the information required. The good attributes are clear on this document, these are: 1. Use of logo: they have decided to use their logo on the payslip for recognition and to make it more professional. 2. Size: the size of the paper is good because its not big and this creates a more attractive look. 3. Organised neatly in boxes: this makes the documentations readability easier and helps guide the client to where they should write. 4. The information: this information is relevant to the document improving the document.

Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure

Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Abstract Historically, rail transport systems in Europe have been running as per national standards through the monopolistic and vertically integrated state owned operators. Most of the railway network in Europe is designed for different technical and operational standards of the member states, which makes it impossible or expensive for rail transport across borders. With a vision of achieving a single European railway network, in 1991, the European commission adopted a policy of revitalizing the railway sector to harmonize the technical and operational standards across the member states. This policy promotes a single set of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs)todefine common railway system architectureanda common approach to railway safety management. The long-term objective of such a policy is to open up the rail passenger and freight market for competition and promote the rail transport as sustainable means of transportation. The future of the rail supply industry in Europe is linked to the creation of sustainable transport system, which can only be achieved by increasing the competition in the industry to provide cost effective solutions. Harmonization of the railway networks in Europe will be one of the important driving forces in shaping the rail supply industry in Europe. This paper analyses the current structure of the German rail supply industry and how the industry may evolve given the current drive for interoperability through harmonization of standards and technologies. The policies of interoperability were conceived during the early 90s, but the impact of such policies are yet to be seen due to the lack of co-ordination between the manufactures, the regulatory mechanism, insufficient funding and the political will. Though the rail supply industry of Europe is in favour of achieving the common technical standards, the resulting market dynamics due to the common European market remains unanswered. 1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of harmonization of railway infrastructure in Europe on the rail supply industry in Europe with focus on Germany. Various directives and regulations of European commission have set off a series of dramatic changes in the European railway sector. The liberalization process has seen unbundling of the vertically integrated state owned operators. The directive of interoperability is enforcing the member states to transition from the existing signalling systems to common rail traffic management systems across Europe. Besides the control systems, there is significant thrust by the European commission to harmonize the technical and operational standards of the other components of the railway infrastructure like the tracks, electrification, power supply substations etc. These would render common product characteristics across the infrastructure segments with some exceptions in the stations and tunnel construction as the nature of these requ irements varies depending on the local needs and resource restrictions and also these components doesnt contribute to the desired interoperability. Thus the harmonization process would increase the size of the accessible market for companies in rail supply industry. Hence harmonization is bound to have a significant effect on how the industry is structured and the competition within the industry. The German railway infrastructure is the key component of the entire railway transport industry, where in the state owned operator and Logistics Company, Deutsche Bahn AG owns the entire infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) has a monopoly on the upstream of the value chain of German railway industry and at the same time DB exists as a monopsony at the downstream of the value chain. Thus, DB is a single buyer of the infrastructure services and products with very high bargaining power over their suppliers. The processes of harmonization and liberalization in the European railway sector have been shaping the complete value chain of industry. The increasing competition among the railway operator has brought in many benefits to the consumers and also to all other stakeholders involved in the industry. The German rail supply industry is highly fragmented with small to large companies involved in different segments of infrastructure services. The Fragmented nature of the industry has given rise to aggressive competition in the industry with many large players trying to claim their stakes in the market. The presence of only a single buyer, Deutsche Bahn, has defined the competition as price oriented, with many infrastructure companies trying to innovate on the technology and process to provide the infrastructure as per the national standards and at lower costs. This paper will discuss the benefits of the standardization in the industry and would also discuss how the rail supply industry in Germany may restructure to the changing market dynamics once the single European market is in place for the railway sector. Chapter 2 of this paper presents entire value chain of the German railway transport industry. This will be followed by the description of the key stake holders of the industry and the interaction mechanism between them. Further the analysis will focus on the railway infrastructure part of the value chain. The analysis in this section will try to evaluate the forces that drive the industry and the bargaining power of the decision makers. Chapter 3 of the document discusses process of harmonization through the EU directives of interoperability and safety. The analysis here will try to explain the various regulation, time frames and governing bodies involved in the process. The discussion will also highlight the progress of harmonization and the issues and obstacles to achieving the desired targets of interoperability. Chapter 4 will discuss the benefits of harmonization to the industry and chart out the current strategic environment of the German rail supply industry. This section will include a note on the key causal factors and actors influencing harmonization and will develop and discuss few scenarios as to how the industry may evolve post harmonization of the railway infrastructure in Europe in general and Germany in particular. The analysis in this section will draw inferences from the views of some opinion leaders and academics who are involved with the industry. Finally the conclusions of the study will be presented in the chapter 5 which will summarize the findings and hypothesis of chapters 3 and 4 respectively. The conclusion will highlight the limitations of this research paper and will also suggest further research options concerning the rail supply industry. 2. The Value chain of German Railway Industry 2.1. Over view of value chain The German railway industry is composed of various players along the value chain. A brief overview of the Railway industry value chain is as shown the figure1. The first link in the value chain of German railway industry is the infrastructure construction, which includes the building and maintaining various infrastructure components that support the railway network. The infrastructure components can be track, electrification, power supply substation, electro mechanical works, signalling and command control, railway stations, maintenance and upgrade of tracks and public announcement, displays, ticketing devices etc. Many private companies as well as the subsidiaries of DB are active in this part of the value chain. The second component of the value chain is the infrastructure management, which is driven by many stake holders, but is controlled mainly by DB Netze, which owns the complete mainline and high speed railway network in Germany. The infrastructure for the urban transport is usually owned by the urban transport operators. The governing bodies like Federal Railway Authority of Germany and the Public Transport Authorities of the various states are the key decision makers for infrastructure management. The most important component of the value chain is the network operation and logistics. This segment of the industry caters to the rail transport market, by providing services to the end customers. The main players in this segment are the Deutsche Bahn, which is a monopoly with around 85% of market share in Germany. The liberalization process has led to the advent of few private operators, who lease the infrastructure from the DB Netze. The urban transport operators are active players in the metro/ tram segment of the railway transport market. The last link of the value chain includes the end customers, which is constituted of both the passenger and freight transport market. Customers are the central focus for the various reforms in the industry as the growth is dependent on the ability of the industry to provide the transport services at affordable prices in comparison with other alternatives like road and air transport. The details of different segments of the rail transport market and the related statistics are provided in Appendix 1. As seen from the figure 1, the intensity of the competition increases as we move up the value chain from the network operators to the infrastructure suppliers. The process of liberalization has induced competition amongst the operators, but the very high sunk costs involved, have erected a strong barrier for new entrants. Further up the value chain, there are many players involved in infrastructure management and infrastructure construction due to the attractive market size. Though the liberalization process has contributed to the opening up of this market, historically many small and big players are involved in this part of the value chain leading to an increased competition. 2.2. Key players of German railway infrastructure management To understand the rail infrastructure industry in Germany, It is essential to understand the various stakeholders in the industry and their contribution and importance in driving the market dynamics. Figure 2 is a schematic of the industry structure with a focus on infrastructure management. 2.2.1. European Commission European Commission is a governing body which is one of the important demand drivers for the infrastructure market. The federal and local governments of the member states in the European Union are obligated to adhere to the regulations and policies devised by European Commission. European commission reviews and responds to the transportation needs of the member states of EU, which has the construction of modern, safe and integrated railway network in Europe as priority to fuel the growth of intra and international trade among the EU members. Hence, the reformatory regulations and their periodic reviews lie within the gamut of European commissions functions. European Commission has set up the European Railway Agency (ERA) to oversee the creation of integrated European railway network by enforcing and implementing safety and interoperability through standardizations and harmonization. ERA works as a coordinating body between the railway sector companies, national authorities, European Commission and other concerned parties. ERAs main task is to develop common technical standards and approaches for the European railway systems and infrastructure. ERA is also the system authority for the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS) project. Source: Adapted from the article separation of operators from infrastructure 2.2.2. Governments The German government oversees the overall transport sector through the Federal ministry for Transport, Building and Urban affairs. The Federal Railway Authority (Eisenbahn Bundesamt: EBA) is the supervisory authority for 30 railroad traffic operators and for 5 infrastructure companies mainly for the Deutsche Bahn AG. The functions of EBA include issuing licenses for infrastructure companies, providing investments and funding for infrastructure projects, making railroad access discrimination free, facilitates innovation within the accepted safety standards, ensures value creation for customers and also checks for unfair competitive practices. The supervisory authority of the urban transport lies with the 31 Public Transport Authorities (PTA) in the different federal states of Germany. The duties of the PTA are similar to those of EBA, but within the context of urban transport. PTAs work in conjunction with EBA for the infrastructure planning and funding activities at the local level. The political decision makers own the responsibility to define the legislative framework to fully integrate the European railways, in terms of enhanced market access, interoperability and safety rules. A sound legislative framework that works in tandem with the EU commission is expected to accelerate the harmonization process. 2.2.3. Network Operators/ Owners In Germany most of the mainline and regional rail networks infrastructure are owned and operated by the DB Netze AG , DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH, DB Station Service AG, DB Railionand the DB reise und touristik , who are all directly owned by the Federal Government. The DB Netze AG is responsible for track installations, coordination of network usage time tables and pricing. The DB Station Service AG operates, maintains and develops the passenger stations and also ensures the provision of services to travellers and railway undertakings. The DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH is responsible for local and regional traffic operation and infrastructure management. DB Railion is responsible for operation of freight traffic and DB Reise und touristik is responsible for long distance traffic operation. Besides these many new private traffic operators like Veolia Transportation, TX logistics, AKN Eisenbahn AG, Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH, S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, etc have entered the German railway market. Railway operators are responsible for improving the quality of services in terms of information accessibility, customer comfort, reservation and ticketing, network accessibility, availability of services, punctuality and reliability. The infrastructure managers or the network owners are responsible for optimising the capacity utilization of the available network infrastructure; ensure fair and non discriminatory access to network for all railway undertakings and also to ensure operational efficiency and safety. 2.2.4. Infrastructure providers Infrastructure providers are the companies that supply the railway transport industry with various infrastructure services like the rolling stock, track, electrification, maintenance etc. The infrastructure providers can also be termed as rail supply industry focused on the infrastructure development as per the standards and regulations set by the other stakeholders listed above. The rail supply industry is responsible for organising themselves to provide the ready to use equipment and infrastructure needed by the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The research and development of new products to promote the process of harmonization depends on the capabilities of rail supply industry. 2.2.5. Associations and Organizations Many organizations and agencies of the railway industry in Europe work closely with the EU and the national governments of the member states to support and promote the rail transport by setting technical standards and promoting fair competitive practices in the industry. Some of the important associations and agencies that are relevant to the rail supply industry are UNIFE, ERRAC, UITP, UIC, CER, EFRTC etc. Details of these associations are provided in the Appendix 2. 2.3. Overview of German rail supply market Worldwide, total rail supply market volume exceeds â‚ ¬ 120 bn. Of which, the size of the rail supply market in Germany is estimated to be around â‚ ¬ 6.3 bn. Based on the railway network type and usage characteristics, the rail supply markets can be further classified as High speed and very high-speed lines, conventional and regional rail lines and the urban rail transport networks. While Deutsche Bahn is the single customer in the high speed and very high speed lines and the conventional and regional lines segments, the different public transport authorities are the customers in the urban rail infrastructure market. High speed and very high-speed lines: These are usually the rail networks that spans across the borders to enable faster connectivity across Europe. The high speed lines between the important cities within the country also fall into this category, as they have the future potential to be integrated with cross border traffic. In Germany, this segment is currently small in size and is expected to grow especially due to the increasing need of cross border traffic. Conventional and regional lines: These are usually referred to as main lines and consist of the rail networks that connect the different regions with in a country. So, the entire regional rail transport networks that support the intra train transport with in a country and the freight transport networks can be grouped into this category. Currently this segment is built and operated as per the national standards set by the Federal railway authority and the volume of this network is very huge and is highly heterogeneous and is also operationally underutilised. Urban rail networks: This market segment consists of metros and the commuter/sub urban rail networks which support the public transport with in a city. The product requirements within this segment can vary depending on the local geographical characteristics and funds availability. This segment is mostly independent of and incompatible with the other segments and so provides many avenues of differentiation for the companies that are active in this segment. As of now there are no regulations enforcing harmonization of these networks. 2.4. Structure of rail supply industry in Germany The rail supply industry in Germany is classified into four segments namely; Rolling stock, Infrastructure, Signalling and control system and services. Figure 3 represents a schematic of the different segments of the German rail supply industry. Rolling stock: The products in this segment are characterized by all the vehicles that run on the railways like locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons. Due to the high capital investments, this segment usually consists of large companies like Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom. Infrastructure: This segment is characterized by the infrastructure components like tracks, electrification and stations. Many companies with diversified products serve in one or more of the components of this segment. Signalling and control systems: The infrastructure components like the track side signal installations, on board control equipment, control stations etc are grouped as signalling and control systems. Services: This segment includes the service and maintenance for all the other segments. This segment also comprises the project management and turnkey solutions. In Germany most of the maintenance and project management is carried out by the subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn. 2.5. Segmentation of the German rail supply market Putting the rail supply market and the rail supply industry segmentation together will provide a complete segmentation matrix, which will help in the better understanding and analysis of the market. The segmentation matrix is provided in figure 4. Figure 4: German rail supply Market Segmentation matrix In the above matrix, the shaded regions indicate an overlap of product and service similarities in the different infrastructure components and the market segments of the railway industry. 3. Harmonization For a successful, larger and integrated Europe, the availability of efficient transport systems is essential for supporting sustainable economic growth and social development. Passenger and freight transportation by rail is a potentially effective instrument to combat congestion, pollution, global warming and traffic accidents. These negative externalities undermine the capability and efficiency of European economy and the health of future generations. The growing European Union and the globalization of the world economy have necessitated an international transport market, to support the outpacing economic growth. Today, the rail sector faces an ever increasing demand of accommodating higher transport volumes, a result of transport growth, and of policies favouring competition in the sector. Rail transport in Europe is a future-oriented industry, striving to offer attractive, affordable, safe, clean, competitive and reliable transport mode. Harmonization is the process of standardization of infrastructure components like types of track gauges, different types of power supply, speed control systems, train safety systems and technologies as well as the job profiles of drivers. The objective of harmonization is to achieve interoperability between the heterogeneous railway networks of the member states with in EU. Harmonizing products and technologies through innovation is a necessity for the rail supply industry to deploy its potential, and for its stakeholders to deliver cost-effective services for intermediate and final clients. 3.1. Need for harmonization Prior to the formation of European Union, the railway systems in Europe were run at the national level and were managed and operated by vertically integrated state owned companies. These railway systems were designed under different national operational rules, policies and standards. This resulted in the lack of interoperability in the railway transport sector which hampered the goal of growth in European economy through increased trade activities amongst the member states. The EU thus envisaged a goal of unified railway transport network across the EU member states to promote the trade and thus foster the economy. This goal transformed into a number of directives and regulations to achieve a Trans European network. 3.2. Components of harmonization To transition from the heterogeneous railway networks to a homogenised railway transport infrastructure across Europe, different components of harmonisations were evaluated by the European commission. European commission defined the homologation process in terms of interoperability, safety and signalling systems. 3.2.1. Interoperability Interoperability of the rail systems renders a safe and uninterrupted movement of trains, while accomplishing the required and specified levels of performance. Interoperability rests on all the technical, operational and regulatory conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the essential requirements. Interoperability has been mandated by several EU directives. The first one is the Directive 96/48/EC, which was passed in 1996 and is only concerned with the interoperability of the Trans- European high speed rail system. The second one is the Directive 2001/16/EC, which applies interoperability to lines within the trans-European transport network and other infrastructure facilities. Both these directives were later modified by the directive 2004/50/EC along with the corrigendum for the former directives. Most recently the directive 2008/57/EC was passed to include the community railway systems within the scope of interoperability. A consolidated history of regulatory framework evolution concerning interoperability in European railways is provided as Appendix 3. To overcome the technical fragmentation of rail networks, the interoperability directives provided that the Community legislation is gradually establishing mandatory so called Technical Specifications for Interoperability, commonly referred to as TSIs. The European Railway Agency owns the responsibility to draw up and revise the TSIs, on the basis of inputs provided by the member states and other stakeholders of the railway sector. Several subsystem constituents of interoperability of railway transport for both conventional and high speed lines are as below: Infrastructure( track works, tunnels, bridges and stations) and energy (electrification system) Operation and telematic application for passengers: related equipment and procedures to enable a coherent operation of different subsystems and also the requirements of professional qualification for the skilled labour involved in operations. Rolling stock: vehicle dynamics, superstructure, on board command and control system equipment, current-collection devices, traction units, energy conversion units, braking, coupling and running gear and suspension, doors, man/machine interfaces, passive or active safety devices. Maintenance: procedures and processes, technical documentation, related equipments, logistics centres for maintenance work. 3.2.2. Safety Safety is one of the important components of the railway systems which is highly regulated at both national and EU level. Safety is one of the prime concerns of the customers of rail transport and hence there is a special focus on the safety standards which have to be designed in line with the interoperability directives. Hence common safety standards, practices and targets have to complement interoperability to successfully achieve the desired homologation of the trans-European railway network. The European commission issued many directives to mandate the safety methods to support the harmonization process. These directives include Directive 2004/49/EC, Directive 2007/59/EC, the directive on certification of train drivers and other relevant EU legislation. ERA acts as a supporting organization to the European commission to develop the further implementation plans for the EU directives by networking with the national bodies of the member states. ERA has structured four different business sectors concerning railway safety and provides central support to the stakeholders involved in the complete process from formulation of regulation to implementation and periodic reviews. The four different segments are: Safety Assessment: developing common safety methods for risk evaluation and assessment and common safety targets according to articles 6 and 7 of the Directive 2004/49/EC. This unit assists each member state to define their safety targets and develop a methodology for calculating and assessing the achievement of those targets. This unit also collaborates to define safety requirements for TSIs and to support technical opinions to be given to European commission. Safety Certification: define, develop and evaluate implementation of common safety methods for certification of railway undertakings as well as certification for train drivers and authorization of infrastructure managers. The objective of this unit includes proposing a migration strategy towards a single Community Safety certificate. Safety Reporting: Monitors and analyzes the development of safety on Europes railways and disseminates information, reports biennially on the safety performance of railways within the European Union. Functions also include developing and maintaining public databases of safety related documents such as safety certificates, licenses, national safety rules, investigation reports and indicators. Responsibility of coordinating with the national investigation bodies concerning safety and facilitating information exchange between them lies with this unit Safety Regulation: Functions include, validating the notification of national safety rules, register and notify the national safety rules accepted by the commission, analyze the way in which the national safety rules are published, maintain the communication protocol between the member states and the responsible organizations for railway regulation. 3.2.3. ERTMS The command control and signalling systems is an important instrument that should also be harmonised to support the much required interoperability of the trans-European railway network. ERTMS is considered to be a first major step in fostering the creation of single European railway market. ERTMS would also address the increasing costs of operation due to the incompatible and obsolete signalling systems across Europe. Currently around 20 signalling systems are in place across Europe, most of which are adopted by the network operators of the member countries as stipulated by national standards. These different signal systems impose a restriction on the rail transport across the borders of the member states of EU, as the costs of incorporating compatibility with the international networks increases. A common standards and systems for intra as well as international rail traffic management in the EU member countries would enhance the attractiveness of rail transport making it affordable and environment friendly. The idea of common traffic management systems for European railways was conceived during the late 1980s, but the process of drawing up technical specification was started during 1998, following the interoperability directive of 1996. The ERTMS specification was approved by EU in 2000, followed by which, between 2005 and 2008, the implementations plans were charted out for the six freight corridors across Europe and the memorandum of understanding was signed between the EU, member states and the other railway stakeholders. The implementation plan was devised considering the national implementation plans of the member states, which was then consolidated taking into consideration the priority for the freight corridors connecting different member states. The proposed completion of implementation of ERTMS across Europe is by the end of 2020. UNIFE and a consortium of railway signal equipment manufacturers are working closely with the European commission and the infrastructure managers of member companies for the development and implementation of cost effective technical solutions concerning ERTMS implementation. 3.3. Process of Harmonization For successful harmonization of European railways, close cooperation of the institutional bodies, political representations and also commitment of the railway operators and rail supply industry are required. The harmonization and standardization process to achieve European railway interoperability can be grouped into two stages: 3.3.1. Directives to Standards The directives of the European Commission are transformed into the TSIs by ERA, which are then validated against the standards requirement at the national and the EU level by relevant standardization organization like CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. At the end of this stage a detailed documentation of the standards, while adopting the TSIs are produced. Figure 5 provides and illustration of this process. Source: Dealing with standardization in liberalized network industries by Dr Marc Laperrouza 3.3.2. Standards to Products Once the directives are turned into standards, the next challenge is to transform the standards into the products. The standards are again reviewed by the ERA and then passed over to the European Union for the legal process. Once the compliance with legal process is established, the standar Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Abstract Historically, rail transport systems in Europe have been running as per national standards through the monopolistic and vertically integrated state owned operators. Most of the railway network in Europe is designed for different technical and operational standards of the member states, which makes it impossible or expensive for rail transport across borders. With a vision of achieving a single European railway network, in 1991, the European commission adopted a policy of revitalizing the railway sector to harmonize the technical and operational standards across the member states. This policy promotes a single set of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs)todefine common railway system architectureanda common approach to railway safety management. The long-term objective of such a policy is to open up the rail passenger and freight market for competition and promote the rail transport as sustainable means of transportation. The future of the rail supply industry in Europe is linked to the creation of sustainable transport system, which can only be achieved by increasing the competition in the industry to provide cost effective solutions. Harmonization of the railway networks in Europe will be one of the important driving forces in shaping the rail supply industry in Europe. This paper analyses the current structure of the German rail supply industry and how the industry may evolve given the current drive for interoperability through harmonization of standards and technologies. The policies of interoperability were conceived during the early 90s, but the impact of such policies are yet to be seen due to the lack of co-ordination between the manufactures, the regulatory mechanism, insufficient funding and the political will. Though the rail supply industry of Europe is in favour of achieving the common technical standards, the resulting market dynamics due to the common European market remains unanswered. 1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of harmonization of railway infrastructure in Europe on the rail supply industry in Europe with focus on Germany. Various directives and regulations of European commission have set off a series of dramatic changes in the European railway sector. The liberalization process has seen unbundling of the vertically integrated state owned operators. The directive of interoperability is enforcing the member states to transition from the existing signalling systems to common rail traffic management systems across Europe. Besides the control systems, there is significant thrust by the European commission to harmonize the technical and operational standards of the other components of the railway infrastructure like the tracks, electrification, power supply substations etc. These would render common product characteristics across the infrastructure segments with some exceptions in the stations and tunnel construction as the nature of these requ irements varies depending on the local needs and resource restrictions and also these components doesnt contribute to the desired interoperability. Thus the harmonization process would increase the size of the accessible market for companies in rail supply industry. Hence harmonization is bound to have a significant effect on how the industry is structured and the competition within the industry. The German railway infrastructure is the key component of the entire railway transport industry, where in the state owned operator and Logistics Company, Deutsche Bahn AG owns the entire infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) has a monopoly on the upstream of the value chain of German railway industry and at the same time DB exists as a monopsony at the downstream of the value chain. Thus, DB is a single buyer of the infrastructure services and products with very high bargaining power over their suppliers. The processes of harmonization and liberalization in the European railway sector have been shaping the complete value chain of industry. The increasing competition among the railway operator has brought in many benefits to the consumers and also to all other stakeholders involved in the industry. The German rail supply industry is highly fragmented with small to large companies involved in different segments of infrastructure services. The Fragmented nature of the industry has given rise to aggressive competition in the industry with many large players trying to claim their stakes in the market. The presence of only a single buyer, Deutsche Bahn, has defined the competition as price oriented, with many infrastructure companies trying to innovate on the technology and process to provide the infrastructure as per the national standards and at lower costs. This paper will discuss the benefits of the standardization in the industry and would also discuss how the rail supply industry in Germany may restructure to the changing market dynamics once the single European market is in place for the railway sector. Chapter 2 of this paper presents entire value chain of the German railway transport industry. This will be followed by the description of the key stake holders of the industry and the interaction mechanism between them. Further the analysis will focus on the railway infrastructure part of the value chain. The analysis in this section will try to evaluate the forces that drive the industry and the bargaining power of the decision makers. Chapter 3 of the document discusses process of harmonization through the EU directives of interoperability and safety. The analysis here will try to explain the various regulation, time frames and governing bodies involved in the process. The discussion will also highlight the progress of harmonization and the issues and obstacles to achieving the desired targets of interoperability. Chapter 4 will discuss the benefits of harmonization to the industry and chart out the current strategic environment of the German rail supply industry. This section will include a note on the key causal factors and actors influencing harmonization and will develop and discuss few scenarios as to how the industry may evolve post harmonization of the railway infrastructure in Europe in general and Germany in particular. The analysis in this section will draw inferences from the views of some opinion leaders and academics who are involved with the industry. Finally the conclusions of the study will be presented in the chapter 5 which will summarize the findings and hypothesis of chapters 3 and 4 respectively. The conclusion will highlight the limitations of this research paper and will also suggest further research options concerning the rail supply industry. 2. The Value chain of German Railway Industry 2.1. Over view of value chain The German railway industry is composed of various players along the value chain. A brief overview of the Railway industry value chain is as shown the figure1. The first link in the value chain of German railway industry is the infrastructure construction, which includes the building and maintaining various infrastructure components that support the railway network. The infrastructure components can be track, electrification, power supply substation, electro mechanical works, signalling and command control, railway stations, maintenance and upgrade of tracks and public announcement, displays, ticketing devices etc. Many private companies as well as the subsidiaries of DB are active in this part of the value chain. The second component of the value chain is the infrastructure management, which is driven by many stake holders, but is controlled mainly by DB Netze, which owns the complete mainline and high speed railway network in Germany. The infrastructure for the urban transport is usually owned by the urban transport operators. The governing bodies like Federal Railway Authority of Germany and the Public Transport Authorities of the various states are the key decision makers for infrastructure management. The most important component of the value chain is the network operation and logistics. This segment of the industry caters to the rail transport market, by providing services to the end customers. The main players in this segment are the Deutsche Bahn, which is a monopoly with around 85% of market share in Germany. The liberalization process has led to the advent of few private operators, who lease the infrastructure from the DB Netze. The urban transport operators are active players in the metro/ tram segment of the railway transport market. The last link of the value chain includes the end customers, which is constituted of both the passenger and freight transport market. Customers are the central focus for the various reforms in the industry as the growth is dependent on the ability of the industry to provide the transport services at affordable prices in comparison with other alternatives like road and air transport. The details of different segments of the rail transport market and the related statistics are provided in Appendix 1. As seen from the figure 1, the intensity of the competition increases as we move up the value chain from the network operators to the infrastructure suppliers. The process of liberalization has induced competition amongst the operators, but the very high sunk costs involved, have erected a strong barrier for new entrants. Further up the value chain, there are many players involved in infrastructure management and infrastructure construction due to the attractive market size. Though the liberalization process has contributed to the opening up of this market, historically many small and big players are involved in this part of the value chain leading to an increased competition. 2.2. Key players of German railway infrastructure management To understand the rail infrastructure industry in Germany, It is essential to understand the various stakeholders in the industry and their contribution and importance in driving the market dynamics. Figure 2 is a schematic of the industry structure with a focus on infrastructure management. 2.2.1. European Commission European Commission is a governing body which is one of the important demand drivers for the infrastructure market. The federal and local governments of the member states in the European Union are obligated to adhere to the regulations and policies devised by European Commission. European commission reviews and responds to the transportation needs of the member states of EU, which has the construction of modern, safe and integrated railway network in Europe as priority to fuel the growth of intra and international trade among the EU members. Hence, the reformatory regulations and their periodic reviews lie within the gamut of European commissions functions. European Commission has set up the European Railway Agency (ERA) to oversee the creation of integrated European railway network by enforcing and implementing safety and interoperability through standardizations and harmonization. ERA works as a coordinating body between the railway sector companies, national authorities, European Commission and other concerned parties. ERAs main task is to develop common technical standards and approaches for the European railway systems and infrastructure. ERA is also the system authority for the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS) project. Source: Adapted from the article separation of operators from infrastructure 2.2.2. Governments The German government oversees the overall transport sector through the Federal ministry for Transport, Building and Urban affairs. The Federal Railway Authority (Eisenbahn Bundesamt: EBA) is the supervisory authority for 30 railroad traffic operators and for 5 infrastructure companies mainly for the Deutsche Bahn AG. The functions of EBA include issuing licenses for infrastructure companies, providing investments and funding for infrastructure projects, making railroad access discrimination free, facilitates innovation within the accepted safety standards, ensures value creation for customers and also checks for unfair competitive practices. The supervisory authority of the urban transport lies with the 31 Public Transport Authorities (PTA) in the different federal states of Germany. The duties of the PTA are similar to those of EBA, but within the context of urban transport. PTAs work in conjunction with EBA for the infrastructure planning and funding activities at the local level. The political decision makers own the responsibility to define the legislative framework to fully integrate the European railways, in terms of enhanced market access, interoperability and safety rules. A sound legislative framework that works in tandem with the EU commission is expected to accelerate the harmonization process. 2.2.3. Network Operators/ Owners In Germany most of the mainline and regional rail networks infrastructure are owned and operated by the DB Netze AG , DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH, DB Station Service AG, DB Railionand the DB reise und touristik , who are all directly owned by the Federal Government. The DB Netze AG is responsible for track installations, coordination of network usage time tables and pricing. The DB Station Service AG operates, maintains and develops the passenger stations and also ensures the provision of services to travellers and railway undertakings. The DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH is responsible for local and regional traffic operation and infrastructure management. DB Railion is responsible for operation of freight traffic and DB Reise und touristik is responsible for long distance traffic operation. Besides these many new private traffic operators like Veolia Transportation, TX logistics, AKN Eisenbahn AG, Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH, S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, etc have entered the German railway market. Railway operators are responsible for improving the quality of services in terms of information accessibility, customer comfort, reservation and ticketing, network accessibility, availability of services, punctuality and reliability. The infrastructure managers or the network owners are responsible for optimising the capacity utilization of the available network infrastructure; ensure fair and non discriminatory access to network for all railway undertakings and also to ensure operational efficiency and safety. 2.2.4. Infrastructure providers Infrastructure providers are the companies that supply the railway transport industry with various infrastructure services like the rolling stock, track, electrification, maintenance etc. The infrastructure providers can also be termed as rail supply industry focused on the infrastructure development as per the standards and regulations set by the other stakeholders listed above. The rail supply industry is responsible for organising themselves to provide the ready to use equipment and infrastructure needed by the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The research and development of new products to promote the process of harmonization depends on the capabilities of rail supply industry. 2.2.5. Associations and Organizations Many organizations and agencies of the railway industry in Europe work closely with the EU and the national governments of the member states to support and promote the rail transport by setting technical standards and promoting fair competitive practices in the industry. Some of the important associations and agencies that are relevant to the rail supply industry are UNIFE, ERRAC, UITP, UIC, CER, EFRTC etc. Details of these associations are provided in the Appendix 2. 2.3. Overview of German rail supply market Worldwide, total rail supply market volume exceeds â‚ ¬ 120 bn. Of which, the size of the rail supply market in Germany is estimated to be around â‚ ¬ 6.3 bn. Based on the railway network type and usage characteristics, the rail supply markets can be further classified as High speed and very high-speed lines, conventional and regional rail lines and the urban rail transport networks. While Deutsche Bahn is the single customer in the high speed and very high speed lines and the conventional and regional lines segments, the different public transport authorities are the customers in the urban rail infrastructure market. High speed and very high-speed lines: These are usually the rail networks that spans across the borders to enable faster connectivity across Europe. The high speed lines between the important cities within the country also fall into this category, as they have the future potential to be integrated with cross border traffic. In Germany, this segment is currently small in size and is expected to grow especially due to the increasing need of cross border traffic. Conventional and regional lines: These are usually referred to as main lines and consist of the rail networks that connect the different regions with in a country. So, the entire regional rail transport networks that support the intra train transport with in a country and the freight transport networks can be grouped into this category. Currently this segment is built and operated as per the national standards set by the Federal railway authority and the volume of this network is very huge and is highly heterogeneous and is also operationally underutilised. Urban rail networks: This market segment consists of metros and the commuter/sub urban rail networks which support the public transport with in a city. The product requirements within this segment can vary depending on the local geographical characteristics and funds availability. This segment is mostly independent of and incompatible with the other segments and so provides many avenues of differentiation for the companies that are active in this segment. As of now there are no regulations enforcing harmonization of these networks. 2.4. Structure of rail supply industry in Germany The rail supply industry in Germany is classified into four segments namely; Rolling stock, Infrastructure, Signalling and control system and services. Figure 3 represents a schematic of the different segments of the German rail supply industry. Rolling stock: The products in this segment are characterized by all the vehicles that run on the railways like locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons. Due to the high capital investments, this segment usually consists of large companies like Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom. Infrastructure: This segment is characterized by the infrastructure components like tracks, electrification and stations. Many companies with diversified products serve in one or more of the components of this segment. Signalling and control systems: The infrastructure components like the track side signal installations, on board control equipment, control stations etc are grouped as signalling and control systems. Services: This segment includes the service and maintenance for all the other segments. This segment also comprises the project management and turnkey solutions. In Germany most of the maintenance and project management is carried out by the subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn. 2.5. Segmentation of the German rail supply market Putting the rail supply market and the rail supply industry segmentation together will provide a complete segmentation matrix, which will help in the better understanding and analysis of the market. The segmentation matrix is provided in figure 4. Figure 4: German rail supply Market Segmentation matrix In the above matrix, the shaded regions indicate an overlap of product and service similarities in the different infrastructure components and the market segments of the railway industry. 3. Harmonization For a successful, larger and integrated Europe, the availability of efficient transport systems is essential for supporting sustainable economic growth and social development. Passenger and freight transportation by rail is a potentially effective instrument to combat congestion, pollution, global warming and traffic accidents. These negative externalities undermine the capability and efficiency of European economy and the health of future generations. The growing European Union and the globalization of the world economy have necessitated an international transport market, to support the outpacing economic growth. Today, the rail sector faces an ever increasing demand of accommodating higher transport volumes, a result of transport growth, and of policies favouring competition in the sector. Rail transport in Europe is a future-oriented industry, striving to offer attractive, affordable, safe, clean, competitive and reliable transport mode. Harmonization is the process of standardization of infrastructure components like types of track gauges, different types of power supply, speed control systems, train safety systems and technologies as well as the job profiles of drivers. The objective of harmonization is to achieve interoperability between the heterogeneous railway networks of the member states with in EU. Harmonizing products and technologies through innovation is a necessity for the rail supply industry to deploy its potential, and for its stakeholders to deliver cost-effective services for intermediate and final clients. 3.1. Need for harmonization Prior to the formation of European Union, the railway systems in Europe were run at the national level and were managed and operated by vertically integrated state owned companies. These railway systems were designed under different national operational rules, policies and standards. This resulted in the lack of interoperability in the railway transport sector which hampered the goal of growth in European economy through increased trade activities amongst the member states. The EU thus envisaged a goal of unified railway transport network across the EU member states to promote the trade and thus foster the economy. This goal transformed into a number of directives and regulations to achieve a Trans European network. 3.2. Components of harmonization To transition from the heterogeneous railway networks to a homogenised railway transport infrastructure across Europe, different components of harmonisations were evaluated by the European commission. European commission defined the homologation process in terms of interoperability, safety and signalling systems. 3.2.1. Interoperability Interoperability of the rail systems renders a safe and uninterrupted movement of trains, while accomplishing the required and specified levels of performance. Interoperability rests on all the technical, operational and regulatory conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the essential requirements. Interoperability has been mandated by several EU directives. The first one is the Directive 96/48/EC, which was passed in 1996 and is only concerned with the interoperability of the Trans- European high speed rail system. The second one is the Directive 2001/16/EC, which applies interoperability to lines within the trans-European transport network and other infrastructure facilities. Both these directives were later modified by the directive 2004/50/EC along with the corrigendum for the former directives. Most recently the directive 2008/57/EC was passed to include the community railway systems within the scope of interoperability. A consolidated history of regulatory framework evolution concerning interoperability in European railways is provided as Appendix 3. To overcome the technical fragmentation of rail networks, the interoperability directives provided that the Community legislation is gradually establishing mandatory so called Technical Specifications for Interoperability, commonly referred to as TSIs. The European Railway Agency owns the responsibility to draw up and revise the TSIs, on the basis of inputs provided by the member states and other stakeholders of the railway sector. Several subsystem constituents of interoperability of railway transport for both conventional and high speed lines are as below: Infrastructure( track works, tunnels, bridges and stations) and energy (electrification system) Operation and telematic application for passengers: related equipment and procedures to enable a coherent operation of different subsystems and also the requirements of professional qualification for the skilled labour involved in operations. Rolling stock: vehicle dynamics, superstructure, on board command and control system equipment, current-collection devices, traction units, energy conversion units, braking, coupling and running gear and suspension, doors, man/machine interfaces, passive or active safety devices. Maintenance: procedures and processes, technical documentation, related equipments, logistics centres for maintenance work. 3.2.2. Safety Safety is one of the important components of the railway systems which is highly regulated at both national and EU level. Safety is one of the prime concerns of the customers of rail transport and hence there is a special focus on the safety standards which have to be designed in line with the interoperability directives. Hence common safety standards, practices and targets have to complement interoperability to successfully achieve the desired homologation of the trans-European railway network. The European commission issued many directives to mandate the safety methods to support the harmonization process. These directives include Directive 2004/49/EC, Directive 2007/59/EC, the directive on certification of train drivers and other relevant EU legislation. ERA acts as a supporting organization to the European commission to develop the further implementation plans for the EU directives by networking with the national bodies of the member states. ERA has structured four different business sectors concerning railway safety and provides central support to the stakeholders involved in the complete process from formulation of regulation to implementation and periodic reviews. The four different segments are: Safety Assessment: developing common safety methods for risk evaluation and assessment and common safety targets according to articles 6 and 7 of the Directive 2004/49/EC. This unit assists each member state to define their safety targets and develop a methodology for calculating and assessing the achievement of those targets. This unit also collaborates to define safety requirements for TSIs and to support technical opinions to be given to European commission. Safety Certification: define, develop and evaluate implementation of common safety methods for certification of railway undertakings as well as certification for train drivers and authorization of infrastructure managers. The objective of this unit includes proposing a migration strategy towards a single Community Safety certificate. Safety Reporting: Monitors and analyzes the development of safety on Europes railways and disseminates information, reports biennially on the safety performance of railways within the European Union. Functions also include developing and maintaining public databases of safety related documents such as safety certificates, licenses, national safety rules, investigation reports and indicators. Responsibility of coordinating with the national investigation bodies concerning safety and facilitating information exchange between them lies with this unit Safety Regulation: Functions include, validating the notification of national safety rules, register and notify the national safety rules accepted by the commission, analyze the way in which the national safety rules are published, maintain the communication protocol between the member states and the responsible organizations for railway regulation. 3.2.3. ERTMS The command control and signalling systems is an important instrument that should also be harmonised to support the much required interoperability of the trans-European railway network. ERTMS is considered to be a first major step in fostering the creation of single European railway market. ERTMS would also address the increasing costs of operation due to the incompatible and obsolete signalling systems across Europe. Currently around 20 signalling systems are in place across Europe, most of which are adopted by the network operators of the member countries as stipulated by national standards. These different signal systems impose a restriction on the rail transport across the borders of the member states of EU, as the costs of incorporating compatibility with the international networks increases. A common standards and systems for intra as well as international rail traffic management in the EU member countries would enhance the attractiveness of rail transport making it affordable and environment friendly. The idea of common traffic management systems for European railways was conceived during the late 1980s, but the process of drawing up technical specification was started during 1998, following the interoperability directive of 1996. The ERTMS specification was approved by EU in 2000, followed by which, between 2005 and 2008, the implementations plans were charted out for the six freight corridors across Europe and the memorandum of understanding was signed between the EU, member states and the other railway stakeholders. The implementation plan was devised considering the national implementation plans of the member states, which was then consolidated taking into consideration the priority for the freight corridors connecting different member states. The proposed completion of implementation of ERTMS across Europe is by the end of 2020. UNIFE and a consortium of railway signal equipment manufacturers are working closely with the European commission and the infrastructure managers of member companies for the development and implementation of cost effective technical solutions concerning ERTMS implementation. 3.3. Process of Harmonization For successful harmonization of European railways, close cooperation of the institutional bodies, political representations and also commitment of the railway operators and rail supply industry are required. The harmonization and standardization process to achieve European railway interoperability can be grouped into two stages: 3.3.1. Directives to Standards The directives of the European Commission are transformed into the TSIs by ERA, which are then validated against the standards requirement at the national and the EU level by relevant standardization organization like CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. At the end of this stage a detailed documentation of the standards, while adopting the TSIs are produced. Figure 5 provides and illustration of this process. Source: Dealing with standardization in liberalized network industries by Dr Marc Laperrouza 3.3.2. Standards to Products Once the directives are turned into standards, the next challenge is to transform the standards into the products. The standards are again reviewed by the ERA and then passed over to the European Union for the legal process. Once the compliance with legal process is established, the standar

Overcoming Barriers To Effective Communication Essay -- Communication

Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communications Everyone has experienced, at one time or another the frustration of feeling misunderstood and being unable to make ourselves understood by another person. Anything which, blocks the meaning of a communication, is a barrier to communication. Effective communication is like a house built one block at a time. First to build a house trust must be built; trust is not a group process it is created in one to one connections with each individual. Second, be bold and open, better communications are clear, direct, respect, reflective and frequent. And finally, strive to continually overcome the barriers to effective communication, challenge others to grow and educate your self. There are many barriers to effective communication, we will examine four of the main ones, stereotyping, language, showing approval or disapproval, and becoming defensive. One of the greatest barriers to communication is stereotyping. A stereotype is defined as "A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image"(www.dictonary.com). When an individual has a preconception about another individual, it makes it difficult for the individual not to view the other individual's communication with prejudice. Within stereotyping there are many facets in which one hold's bias views to another individuals message. Of these there are stereotypes for race, religion, and gender. To better understand how stereotyping can hinder effective communication each area needs to be scrutinized in greater detail. To this day, some people are still judging others by the color of their skin. Racial stereotyping is an extremely detrimental facet of stereotyping. It can very well pave the road to out right racism. R... ...uickly bringing any major conflicts into the open and resolves them as a team; build common ground. Since there has been many different examples expressed of barriers related to everyday communication, whether at home, or at work, you now have the tools to overcome these barriers. Just remember to be patient, listen and make yourself more effective at communicating. What it is you want to say? Build a house strong and others will follow. References htÂ…/fulltext.assp?resultSetId=R00000000&hitNum=5&booleanTerm=effective%20 communication&fuzzy/Term 10/12/2000 htÂ…/fulltext.assp?resultSetId=R00000000&hitNum=6&booleanTerm=effective%20 communication&fuzzy/Term 10/12/2000 http://www.mediate.com/articles/foster.cfm?plain=t 10/12/2000 http://www.health.ufl.edu/nursing/fall99/nur3065c/hx/tsld014.htm 10/12/2000 www.dictonary.com

Leadership & Power

MCOM200 Management Communication GROUP REPORT 2008 b MCOM231- 08(A) Group Report: Leadership, Power & Influence. {draw:frame} Which form of power has the best influence on effective leadership? Word count: 2,746 Executive Summary Leadership, power and influence is a theme within management that is constantly developing overtime. Leaders are continuously developing new and innovative ways to empower their followers in order to get the best out of them. For the purpose of this report, we have decided to look at the assumption that leadership is based on the different types of relationships between people, rather than the skills and abilities of just one person. We know this theory allows for a network of interaction of people from all walks of life, it has the ability to shape these people through the influence and power of the leader. So the objective behind this report was to examine the forms of power and the relationships of these different power forms relative to leader effectiveness. There are five sources of power that are commonly referred to when describing leadership approaches to their followers. This report outlines these different approaches with supporting evidence gathered from successful New Zealand leaders. They demonstrated the challenges that they have faced and how they have overcome these obstacles through the use of leadership, power and influence. Table of Contents Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Literature review †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Method †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Results & Di scussion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Conclusion & Recommendations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 Appendices †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 15 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 24 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Introduction As a group we have decided on the theme Leadership, Power and Influence as basis for this report with our key focus being that of  "Which form of ‘power’ has the best influence on effective leadership? This strand of management is an essential element of any and all organisations and runs right to the core. We were aware that in order for us to be able to understand effective leadership we would essentially need to analyse the multifarious network of power relationships and influence processes in organisations. For the purpose of our report we have decided to specifically look firstly at the concepts of power, influence and leadership as a partnership. Then, at the five different forms of power, commonly used by leaders today. We will identify and explain each one individually, then go on recognise the role of leadership power exercised by leaders from the Royal Society leadership website (RSNZ) and acknowledge commonalities and differences between them. Research shows that referent power often results in subordinate loyalty to the leader and in most cases this is the most effective form of leadership, however, the effectiveness of any power depends upon the skill and appropriateness with which it is used. Leaders should exercise authority politely and clearly and verify compliance. Yukl, & Taber 1983) All sources of power come with flaws, however, many have aspects of leadership that work well within certain organisations. This report will voice our personal opinion on which source of power we believe to be the most effective at influencing followers in a positive way that enables the leaders to get the most out of those who follow them. Literature Review Of the literature we have reviewed there are commo n themes and approaches in relation to power and leadership. Many leaders are now finding that there is a diminishing use of power relating to their position/rank. The traditional power that derives from one’s position in a hierarchy has been lost. But in its place, a very different kind of leadership power has begun to emerge. This new power is rooted in a leader’s personal values and convictions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Acting from the centre) McShane and Travaglione refer to this type of power as ‘Legitimate power’. It has been said that â€Å"today’s leaders must rely on core values to keep the organization centred and balanced† (acting from the centre), perhaps this is why a traditional approach of leaders relying solely on their position to influence followers no longer stands for much today. Leaders must adopt a strategy that in turn gains the respect of followers by leading through exemplary behaviour and standing for values that are communicated openly and often with others. â€Å"John Gillespie, former CEO and vice president of operations at Innovation Luggage, Secaucus, says the following: â€Å"I found that if I wanted people to follow me, I had to be the first person to take risks and work without a safety net under me†. (Acting from the centre) It is through actions such as this that leaders gain the respect of followers and in turn gain what is known as ‘referent power’. McShane & Travaglione, 2007, p. 359). Like many other leaders, Don Makie, vice president of quality assurance, has had to face the following question: â€Å"how can they (leaders) help others in the organization evolve so that they, too, reflect and embody those values? † (Acting from the centre) This tie's in with the ideas of referent and expert power; when followers hold respect for a leader they are more willing to believe in their expertise and ideas, â€Å"leaders empower their followers† (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). Makie believes in this concept of respect and gaining referent power over followers. As a leader he personally looked â€Å"for managers who wanted to get on the shop floor, communicate with people and learn†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦he believes â€Å"you can’t manage change from a distance†. (Acting from the centre) Referent power can be linked to a concept such as ‘value-centred leadership’. â€Å"Value-centred leaders look within and guide their actions accordingly†. Acting from the centre) â€Å"Essentially, this is about earning the right and respect to lead through direct individual involvement and action† (Kouzers, J. M. , & Posner, B. Z. , 2002). Leaders who put this concept into practice are said to have a leadership style that â€Å"is grounded in the beliefs† they hold to â€Å"make decisions about people and strategy†. (Acting from the centre) Values are derived knowing they will develop the organization not hinder it. These valu es should then be turned into actions i. e. walking the talk’, and making it known to your employees that â€Å"you’re not offering†¦a cure-all that represents the â€Å"right† way or the â€Å"safe† way to do things. You simply have chosen to lead with these values in the face of uncertainty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Acting from the centre) An opposing view suggests power is just merely an image. â€Å"Powerful people are not born powerful. Rather, powerful people have a talent for dramatizing, communicating, using, and exploiting whatever resources they process. Being powerful is a skill†. The power image) If a leader only has ‘skills’ that make them appear to be powerful, people will eventually see straight through this and they will not view them as legitimate leader nor will they respect them. Therefore this ‘leader’ will not really have any legitimate power to fall back on or use to positively influence followers. Leaders that hold power such as that of the referent, legitimate and expert types can be categorized as being socialized and authentic leaders. â€Å"Socialized and authentic leaders†¦are other-oriented and work to empower followers in an effort to achieve collective goals†. Journal of business ethics) Common themes within this literature favour such leaders that gain the respect of followers and in turn hold power that they use in a positive way. Unlike those leaders who abuse their authortative position, and rely on coercive power to â€Å"gain respect through instilling fear†. (The power image) It is appears that those leaders who are ‘socialized and authentic’ achieve much more success as they are able to get followers onside and work toward a common vision. Method To gather the necessary information required for this report, we were to research online on the RSNZ website, (http:// rsnz. leadership. org) to find the seven video interviews of well-known New Zealand leaders, to hear their discussions and thoughts on leadership. This method required us to watch all seven videos and take notes on the parts we felt may be relevant for our report. In a group of six, it made sense to delegate the tasks of video watching down to easy manageable parts, for everyone to complete in their own time and bring back to the group at a later date. We had one group member assigned to research and present a discussion on all the different forms of leadership and provide two video examples from the RSNZ website, other members were delegated two interviews each and asked to choose which form of leader their person was and to write about it, giving detailed examples, a final member f the group was responsible for the writing the introduction, executive summary, and literature review and all other bits and pieces to tie the report in as one. When all the assigned roles were completed we meet as a group to piece them together in an appreciate way that followed well together. Results and Discussion It is important to note that with the constant evolution of our society, leadership has become more significant than ever before. In any organisation that has been created by people there has always been a struggle for power as it is a great element that affects human reality. As civilization becomes more complex and dynamic the traditional conception of power becomes insufficient Leadership is impossible without power since a leader must modify attitudes and behaviours. Yet influencing others does not automatically qualify as leadership; power must be used in pursuit of group goals to merit leadership classification. Hackman & Johnson, 2004, p 136). Influence, on the other hand is â€Å"the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc. , of others† (Dictionary. Com, 2008). The success of an influence attempt can be distinguished among qualitatively distinct outcomes, commit ment, compliance or resistance. If success results in commitment, then the decision or request has been agreed upon and is carried out or decision implemented effectively. This is similar to compliance, an outcome in which a subordinate is willing to carry out the task but is more lethargic than enthusiastic about it. The flipside to this is resistance. This occurs when the task is rejected; the subordinate or follower is opposed to carrying out the request or action. This is also referred to as counter-power. The concept of ‘power’ itself is fairly broad. It is a mysterious phenomenon that will be experienced by most at some stage, at least once, in a lifetime. The most basic prerequisite of power is that one person or group believes it is dependent on another person or group for something of value. Thus power exists when others believe that someone controls resources that they want. (McShane & Travaglione, 2007, p. 356). Power can be defined as: â€Å"possession of controlling influence†. It is only the capacity of a person, team or organization to influence others; it is not limited exclusively to leaders and managers. I think it important to mention authority at this stage, this is power vested in a specific position, and is therefore exclusive to that position. Power is not the act of changing others attitudes or behaviour; it is only the potential to do so. Power is derived from five sources: Legitimate, Reward, Coercive, Expert, and; Referent. Leaders throughout the world are very diverse and with that come many ways to lead, each with their own styles and attributes, sometimes based on one’s culture and other characteristics. There have been many discussions in the past about which the best way to lead is, and which source of power will get the best out of followers and still encourage them to strive to perform better. Expert Power is power that â€Å"originates from within the person, not the position, it contrast with legitimate power. It is an individual’s or work unit’s capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that the others value. Demonstrating practical knowledge and skills can also build expert power. For this reason, members of an organization often have little legitimate power but a great deal of expert power. † (McShane & Travaglione, 2007, p. 359). Barbara Kuriger is a leader who exhibits this â€Å"expert power†. As â€Å"a former member of the Fonterra Shareholders Council, Barbara has chaired the LIC National Council and has had 20 years of involvement with Sharemilker of the year and the Dairy Industry Awards†. (www. dairynz. co. nz) has a lot of experience within the dairy industry due to her involvement and various leadership roles over the years. It is because of this she holds such power over other individuals in terms of the respect and admiration they may hold for her skills, work ethic and achievements. Barbara affirms that â€Å"If you believe in something strong enough and you can convince other people that it’s a good idea then they’ll come on board with that process†¦ † Maybe a lot of the success Barbara has encountered as a leader has been due to her ability to gain the respect of people through implementing expert power to convince others that what she believes in will work. Another commonly enforced source of power is that of Referent power. We recognize this power within leaders we can see that others identify with them, like them or otherwise respect them. As with expert power, referent power comes from within the person. It is largely a function of the person’s interpersonal skills and usually develops slowly. It is often associated with charismatic leadership. Charisma can be defined as a form of interpersonal attraction whereby followers develop a respect for and trust in the charismatic individual. (McShane & Travaglione, 2007, p. 359). Graeme Milne is a prominent figure in the New Zealand dairy industry, and a great example of the use of referent power. He has been involved in the industry as CEO of various organizations like NZ dairy board and Fonterra for over thirty years and has a lot of experience in managing and growing companies in this industry. This power by which he chooses to lead comes from within himself, it is a function of his interpersonal skills developed over the years as CEO and his success he has displayed in these various organizations. His experience and capability has created a sense of respect from his employees who identify with him and like him as their leader. His referent power is also derived from treating his employee’s right. Graeme believes that management is about managing the resources, and people are the essence of resource management. Therefore if you treat people right by acknowledging their contribution to the success of the organization and giving them credit, you will get the best out of them, and you will be a successful leader by utilizing the best that your employees has to offer. Paul Spicer’s management and leadership style of Norsewear clothing is also that of referent. When asked how he managed the process he says: â€Å"when I looked at my background it wasn’t that I had all the answers†¦ nd I often say†¦ not everyone even knows the questions let alone the answers†¦ but I understood the issues and I wanted to share my knowledge†¦ I didn’t dictate the process, so much as shared my dream†¦ and tried to build a team, and you turn what starts off as probably a large percentage of negativity into the positives† (Paul Spicer, 2007). This humb le and modest leadership approach demonstrates how Paul would have gained the respect and loyal following of his fellow workers through referent power. Referent power develops over time. Paul Spicer has demonstrated a desire for referent power from the very beginning. â€Å"I always thought if I ever got into a position of authority I would always try very hard to relate to the people that made the difference and be one of them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Paul Spicer, 2007). Spicer has followed through with this personal value, when he became CEO of Norsewear he took made this evident. â€Å"I started by having a lunch for the whole factory and we’d attend that every month and we’d give an honest appraisal of where we’re at, how we were going, where we felt we were going and what was good and bad about the business†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . All the staffs have freedom to speak†¦I always thought it was great to have so much input from the team at every level†. (Paul Spicer, 2007) This respect has spread to his employees and into the very essence of the garments Norsewear produces. Spicer believes in his business and products, he emphasises: â€Å"Theyâ€⠄¢re items that I think need to be made here. If we were to make this offshore then it would lose all its impact and all its integrity†¦ this is 100% New Zealand made, and is very important†. (Paul Spicer, 2007) Reward power is another form of power demonstrated by leaders such as Sir. Angus Tait and Kingi Smiler. It is derived from the person’s ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sanctions. Managers have formal authority that gives them power over the distribution of organizational rewards such as pay, promotions, time off, holiday schedules and work assignments. (McShane & Travaglione, 2007, p. 358). Reward power relates to the power leaders hold in rewarding their followers E. g. employees. (McShane & Travaglione, 2007, p. 358). Sir Angus Tait paid a girl and persuaded her to leave her university and take a special job. Reward power is an efficient and effective way to persuade other people, because people will get motivation from the reward and find their own values. Reward power also can set up a tighter relationship between employers and employees. A suitable reward will encourage trust for the leader amongst followers. However, reward power can also bring problems, as people begin to focus on the reward not performance. Some people may also resort to negative means in order to gain a reward. Sir Angus Tait uses reward power effectively through his mutual loyalty with staffs. Kingi Smiler and John Luxton both combine reward and referent power to empower their employees. Story telling is one way Smiler gives his employees reference. Though the stories enable staff to have a reference point with Smiler, it takes a long time to get collective stories and it is not easy to get every potential follower on board, as everyone has different opinions etc. Referent power is often associated with interpersonal attraction whereby employees develop a value and trust in the charismatic individual. (McShane & Travaglione, 2007). Smiler’s second form of power is that of reward power. He hereby encourages followers to get involved in different activities outside their business so they gain more experience that they can implement and put into practice. He also offers scholarships to support employees for helping them to shape and encourage their motivation. Such forms of power encourage those who are eager to gain more skills or capabilities. John Luxton was previously working in Public Service and didn’t find working there quite motivating and stimulating; as nobody was bothered about the effort being put by an individual. People didn’t recognise that he was putting in more effort than what he was being paid. He considers rewarding people for their output very essential. People respond to incentives whether it is monetary incentive or just an acknowledgement by leaders that one is doing a good job. It is not necessary to criticise them when they have done a poor job, but a leader should provide constructive feedback and encouraging them to do a better job next time. Annah Stretton is an Inspirational fashion designer and founder of Annah Stretton Clothing Company, Annah S is an influential figure in the New Zealand fashion industry. Her strong will and precise nature, has caused her to be labelled a bitch and her â€Å"it’ll do† attitude at times hasn't been received well by workers as they become frustrated and annoyed. A form of leadership style Annah Stretton practices occasionally is ‘sea gull management’; it describes a leader who would fly in and shit on everyone then leaves. â€Å"(Tony Hope, 2008). In other words the leader expects their employees to be as capable as they are and can be seen to expect others to do things beyond their capability, and if they are not up to their standard they generally impose negative reinforcements such as reducing status. This practise can be seen as coercive power, is the ability to apply punishment or to give negative reinforcements. Examples of coercion range from reducing status, salary, and benefits to requiring others to do something they don't like. In the most extreme form, coercive power translates into brute physical force. (Hackman & Johnson, 2004,). Annah Stretton's sea gull management can be seen as coercive power because she would expect her employees to do things beyond their capability and has occasionally fired those whom, she believes are not up to the standards she sets for employees within her organisation. James Milton along with his wife runs their family business Milton Wineries. He recounts his meeting with a winegrower in France. He had a beautiful winery and a well maintained cellar and his staff were quite friendly as well. Milton was amazed at how well the French winegrower managed it and enquired about the secret behind his success. He described his leadership style by the metaphor of carrot, whip and good restaurants. By carrot he meant that his cellar was an inspirational sought after place to work whip and good restaurants. Good restaurants-At the end of the harvest season he would take his staff to different restaurants in Paris to show how the customers appreciated the wine. Whip referred that he had a clear direction about how he wanted everything done. In order to maintain the superior quality of his product, he used his authority and ordered his employees to do work his way. This leadership style links with legitimate power which is an agreement between organizational members that people in certain roles can request certain behaviours of others. This perceived right comes from job descriptions as well as informal rules of conduct. Executives have considerate legitimate power, but all employees also have this power based on company rules and government laws. (McShane & Travaglione, 2007, p. 357) Conclusion and Recommendations Leadership involves the use of various forms of power to exert influence over others. Different leaders have different approaches to the use of power depending on the situation and the individual. The report has discovered that out of the five forms of powers, referent power was the best, as it is a form of power derived from the leader himself rather than from his position. Referent power draws respect from the follows through the charisma of the leader. However, this form of power is developed overtime, and cannot be given through the authorities, thus it differs to legitimate power where the power was given to the person in the position. In our report Graeme Milne was referred to as a leader from the RSNZ website who has demonstrated a good use of referent power. Graeme demonstrated the use of this power in leadership through his experience as CEO over thirty years. Reward power often compliments referent power. It is important to note that this should not be abused and should be used not as a bribe, but to reinforce desirable behaviours after they occur. (Yukl, & Taber, 1983) Recommendation Based on the report, referent power is the best sustainable form of power to exert over employees. This is effective because once you've gained it through hard work and ‘walking the talk', then your followers should always respect you; and be willing to work towards a common goal. A leader must accumulate and foster expert power and referent power over time by showing himself to be confident, decisive, considerate, and protective of subordinates' interests. Yukl, & Taber, 1983). In short, it all comes back to the golden rule that you should do unto others that you would have them do unto you. If you are going to lead under â€Å"seagull management† then chances are that that there will be a lack of loyalty from your subordinates. Whilst this may still get the job done, it is not the most eff ective way to get the most out of your followers. Appendices Appendix 1 – Blog 1 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Appendix 2 – Blog 2 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Appendix 3 – Blog 3 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Appendix 4 – Personal Reflection: D. Frederikson †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Appendix 5 Personal Reflection: S. Gledhill†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Appendix 6 Personal Reflection: L. Norman†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Appendix 7 – Personal Reflection: D. Yiyang Zhang †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Appendix 8 – Personal Reflection: D. Pathak†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Appendix 1 Blog 1 ? THE GENUINE ANGEL VS THE WAR CRIMINAL Sarah Gledhill Posted @ 19/08/2008 7:29 p. m. As a group we found Oprah Winfrey to be a superior leader who inspires trust amongst her loyal followers. Like many other leaders before her, Oprah has had an intriguing life, through her many hardships she has overcome o bstacles and emerged as a positive and compassionate leader. It is not hard to see why she has been named â€Å"the world’s most powerful woman† by CNN & Time. com Her accomplishments and achievements have had a great impact on a diverse range of followers worldwide. Some of the many ways Oprah touches the hearts of these people is through her talk show, O The Oprah Mag, Oprah. com, plus her involvement in numerous charities, such as the Oprah Angel network. This is a charity â€Å"aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged others†; Oprah clearly uses her leadership ability to encourage and inspire others to follow in her footsteps. Winfrey’s genuine quality and love for helping others is also evident in the creation of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership academy for Girls, in South Africa. Her passion behind this stemmed from a desire â€Å"to†¦ give children exposure and opportunity and nurture them to understand their own power and possibility†. (Oprah) With reference to a previous blog (Presley Purcell’s), we agree with this group’s discussion about Branson’s ideas toward leadership. He states that â€Å"having a personality of caring about people is important; you can’t be a leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in people. † This group also acknowledges that Branson views his employees as part of his extended family. Similarly, Oprah expresses this value in regard to the girls attending her academy, describing them as â€Å"her daughters†. We believe Oprah demonstrates a down to earth nature when it comes to inspiring trust amongst her followers she is on the same wave length as everyday people; and her â€Å"leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people† (John D. Rockefeller. ) Whilst Oprah is the epitome of an inspiring leader, the president of her country George W. Bush fails to inspire trust amongst his followers. Being the president of the U. S. A Bush is arguably the most powerful leader in the world, yet he fails to gain the support of his countryman since his approval ratings has plunged down to an average of 28-32% in his second term in office. Leadership is as much about spreading values as it is about the use of power, values serve as guides to action, they inform our decisions as to what to do and what not to do. Values also motivate. They keep us focused on why we’re doing what we’re doing and on the ends toward which we’re striving. To clarify values as a leader you must engage in two essentials. Firstly, you must find your voice, it involves knowing who you are, what you stand for and what you care about, burn with desire to be true to something you hold passionately and lead according to the principle that matters most to you. We agree with the example that Presley Purcell gave in his blog regarding Martin Luther King. He inspired others to conduct an impossible challenge on racial segregation, the very principles which the nation was fundamentally built on, and continues to operate under, directed by the same group of people who benefited most from exploitation through racial inequality. However, in contrast with MLK stands George W Bush, his speeches were written by his talented speech writers, this is rather controversial as in doing so he was in fact speaking the words of someone else rather than following his own voice. In Graeme Harrisons interview â€Å"Beware of hollow leaders† a hollow leader was considered to be: â€Å"someone who has a high reputation and†¦ have got there through tap dancing, by jumping up and down around the subject rather than on the subject, when it really gets down to the hard stuff they go missing†. (RSNZ, 2008) This could be applied to Bush because he commonly enjoys projecting a glossy image of himself and his capability to lead America, but when hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans he was nowhere to be seen for two months, therefore Bush fits the criteria of a hollow leader. Moreover this is another indication of him not walking the talk because instead of leading the poor Americans out of misery he left them behind to the rage of Katrina. The second essential to clarify values is to affirm shared values, these are common values which your followers share, and it is the foundation for building productive and genuine working relationships. It was said that affirmed shared values cannot be imposed on others, but are formed out of their participation, George Bush has great power being the president of U. S. but even with his power he cannot convince most of his countryman the need to fight the war in Iraq. Most Americans wanted to put an end to the war, if Bush was to gain the trust of his followers he would need to listen to them as to why they do not agree with the war on Iraq, that way he would be able to work out a set of shared values between them. Word count: 881 Group Tutor: Charlie Gillard. Tutorial time: Thursday 8am-10am. Tutor: Charlie Gillard. Appendix 2 Blog 2 THE DANCING QUEEN vs. THE PRESIDENTAL HOPEFUL. Sarah Gledhill Posted @ 11/09/2008 4:47 p. m. Do the blogging readings make you feel differently about offline leadership? Discuss which conventional leaders might do well in blogging – and which not – and what the explosion of blogs means for contemporary leaders? Together as a group we agreed that when one reads a blog on a person, we carve out an image of that person in real life based on the values and ideas emphasized in the blog. This has its downfalls as forming a perception on a person based on their blog provides an incomplete picture, in other words the information we see on their blog is very limited; maybe we are only seeing what they want us to see. This can be proven to be a reality when we meet them in real life and get to discover their actual traits and values. We discussed in our previous blog, the issue of ‘hollow leaders’, this may arise in blogging also. Leaders may make big claims on their blogs about their capabilities but offline provide no evidence that they walk the talk. However, there is the flip side that also must be considered; sometimes blogging can correct our misconceptions of a person. It is well known that everyone tends to stereotype others, most commonly people see an employer as authoritarian, but perhaps if we browsed through their blog and discover their personal thoughts and ideas, our perception would change as a result of this information on their blog. The blogging readings have made us think differently about offline leadership, because in order to write a good blog the virtues of honesty and trust worthiness are really important which means that the blog entries need to be a true reflection of their leadership style. If one tries to fake the contents by over stating their capabilities then their blog readers would become annoyed and possibly leave negative comments. Like Scoble & Israel suggest â€Å"If you are going to blog, be authentic. Keep your conversations naked. Let people know who you are and where you’re coming from†. (Scoble & Israel, 2006). We originally thought that blogging was another platform where managers can dictate the content of information out flow and influence the way readers think in the same way newspapers can, but the readings have made us realize that blogging is more about people; their comments and feedback make up an important factor of blogging. This makes us believe that blogging is like a moral code of conduct for managers it is a sense of empowerment to subordinates and it is also a means of self analysis, as blogging feedback can direct a manager toward the possible areas for change thus having a direct effect on the offline leadership of a manager. Although we feel the phenomena of the increase in blogging among business people over the years is an excellent way for companies and their leaders to communicate with employees and followers, we strongly agree with Elaina Sheppard’s blog that trust and honesty cannot all be achieved alone online, leaders must continue to remain a face-to face contact, on a more personal level to remain trust amongst their followers. This point also reiterates what Scoble & Israel suggest as #tip10 of â€Å"how to be a successful blogger† â€Å"to get out into the real world†. Sir Richard Branson is a great example of a leader who walks the talk and resembles this honestly and openly through his actions and his blog; he is all about team work and daring to be different. His blog seems as laid back and fun as he himself offline; it easily allows followers to see what he has been doing, gives them room to comment and honestly emphasizes the ‘real’ Branson. (bransonblog. com) From the RSNZ website we found the ‘Team-based innovation’ interview with Peter Hubscher from Montana wines. It is all about challenges, team work and daring to be different. It encompasses what we believe to resemble Branson in a nutshell. Peter Hubscher is adamant that with team work â€Å"the challenge is always how to do it better†. Sir Richard Branson is a real ‘team player’ and by carrying this same approach into his blog he may achieve greater team work through the added interaction blogging may provide. Conventional leaders that might do well in blogging†¦ We see Suzanne Paul to be a conventional leader who might do well in blogging. Suzanne Paul is a well known icon in NZ and built the country's most successful direct marketing company, Prestige Marketing, developing and selling such products as Natural glow. Suzanne is also well known on our T. V screens, she has starred in shows such as ‘Guess Who's Coming to Dinner', ‘Garage Sale', ‘How's Life' and ‘Dancing with the stars’ where in 2007 she was crowned winner. It is important to acknowledge that the show â€Å"dancing with the stars† was based on the votes of which the NZ public see their favourite dancer to be; Suzanne obviously has a great following of NZ citizens behind her. A leader is also respected for not only how they display themselves through good times but even more so in the way they conduct themselves through their hardships. Suzanne Paul was declared bankrupt, but since then has bounced back very admirably; she seems to have laid her struggles out there for everyone to see and has overcome them. We’d like to add that this quality exhibits what David Wyld has commented on â€Å"developing a thick skin† being able to take on the negative comments as well as the positive. Susan has been slashed by the media, but has been able to turn around her entire reputation, now that takes courage; she is one strong lady with a thick skin. (Wyld, 2008). Suzanne Paul definitely has a story to tell, her â€Å"†¦ story is one of inspiration and perseverance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ through blogging she could easily present†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"this message in a very entertaining way, drawing on her many hilarious life experiences†. Scobel and Israel’s Tip 8- ‘Tell a story’, works well with Suzanne as â€Å"Corporate blogging is all about telling a story, your story†. (www. csnz. co. z) Suzanne Paul would no doubt have a successful blog; she is a business woman with products to sell, and she could get valuable customer feedback via her blog. Conventional leaders which might not do well in blogging†¦ The reading by Wyld. D. C (2008) states that in having a successful blog it is important that bloggers are legit. â€Å"You must be the author,' if your words are to be taken as authentic and interesting by your audience†. We believe John McCain, the U. S presidential hopeful to be a conventional leader that might not be good at blogging. McCain currently has a blog on his website that is up and running, although it’s not possible to see how much of the blog he himself is responsible for; there is also no interaction from him personally. We agree with the majority of groups before us stating that like John Mc Cain, Helen Clark would fail to be a good blogger, due to insufficient time available to him, through his stressful job priorities he would fail to continuously update his blog posts, leaving you to wonder whether a â€Å"ghost writer† has been employed to jump through the hoop for him doing all of the hard stuff. Admittedly John McCain has said he struggles to cope with the sophisticated technology of e-mailing whilst naming himself as computer e-literate all so. If Somebody like McCain has a blog but isn’t really the face or voice behind it he is neglecting a valuable tool that could deliver passionate and authoritative information to his fellow Americans. Maybe if John McCain used the blog to his full potential this could even strengthen his chances in becoming President. In accordance to Wyld Mc Cain doesn’t appropriately exhibit the qualities that make a good blogger, Tip2 â€Å"Do it yourself† and tip 4 â€Å"post regularly†. Thus making him a disappointing un-authentic blogger. What the explosion of blogs means for contemporary leaders†¦ The explosion of blogs comes with many positive and negative aspects for contemporary leaders. We see blogging as a fantastic way to promote one’s ideas or market a product and gain popularity. Whilst researching we came across a blog on Yahoo! ‘Answers by Hillary Clinton, Democratic Presidential Hopeful’. Through the blog she asked all Americans â€Å"Based on your own family’s experience, what do you think we should do to improve health care in America? † This was her way o convince people that she is a people’s leader and a leader ready to listen to the masses. Blogging is also an easy, cheap and convenient method of communication within an organisation. Due to the informal nature of blogging it allows for 360 ° feedback. As blogging is not a face to face communication subordinates would not be perturbed to comment on th eir boss’s performance. Blogging can easily create a sense of empowerment amongst followers. Recently one of the superstars in India, Amitabh Bachchan asked his fans on his blog to suggest a name for his upcoming movie. Imagine how you would feel if your suggestion was accepted. We agreed that blogging can be a great source in resolving problems within organizations. Most of the answers to the problems faced by big organisations don’t lie in the boardrooms; they come from the grass root level. Through blogging the executives can reach out to the grass root level workers and identify the problem and device a solution. Some negative aspects evolving from blogging include: There are many worthless ideas and comments that can create a sense of confusion, conflict and negative feeling amongst readers. Also, the fact that most blogs are open to comment for anybody on the net can be cause for trouble. Bloggers can easily disguise their identity and post irrelevant, personal, adverse comments. Once it’s on the net, it is very difficult to delete it. As discussed by David in the lectures, many a time certain ill intentioned people can post comments which can taint the reputation of an individual or an organisation and can cost them millions. Blogging can be can be quite a time consuming activity and it is important for employees to update blogs regularly to avoid them from becoming out of date. But doing so can mean less working time and lower productivity. Wordcount: 1716 Tutor: Charlie Gillard. Tutorial: Thursday 8am-10am. Group Members: Appendix 3 Blog 3 ? WHAT WE LEARNT Posted @ 2/10/2008 9:48 a. m. This blog will illustrate our individual and collective learning throughout this course. We will also demonstrate how the lectures, tutorials and RSNZ interviews have provoked thought and reflection within us, not only on leadership as a theme but also within ourselves. One aspect of the teachings that stood out for us as a group was the idea that a leader must have the following characteristics: logic, trust and passion. First, leaders should exercise their logical ability. A leader must have a clear objective and well-organized steps, ensuring a mutual confidence with followers. When people know what they should do, they work efficiency and effectively. Second, trust is necessary. As human beings, our many relationships depend on the trust. When there is trust placed in the team leader, it makes it easy for the team as a whole to strive for success as much as possible. The third is passion. If a leader tries doing a project without passion, it will hard for the team to be creative thinkers. Passion is a good way to motivate other people. Iris found this concept to be relevant to her personally in her transformation into a leader. â€Å"When I was doing my readings it occurred to me that if I wanted to go anywhere in leadership, if I display qualities of logic, passion and trust, I would be able to inspire those around me and go further as a leader. â€Å"Leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people† (John D. Rockefeller. ) This quote springs from the idea that anyone can be a leader; everyday ordinary people can do the extraordinary. â€Å"I like the example David used in lecture, time and time again, about the 9/11 attacks on The United States of America, where it was the cleaners, the fire fighters, who took charge and lead thousands of American’s out of the twin towers at the time of the attack. This just shows , anyone can be a leader- these people had dedication and will power to get out alive and help those around them, they may have not had the highest status of power, but they ed, and I feel their courage and determination is a remarkable and astonishing thing. â€Å"- Sarah. Here are these people, who may be seen as ‘ average lower-class’, they still managed to take charge and lead, their actions were seen as heroic that day and they will forever be seen as astonishing people who helped save the lives of thousands. The material in this course has highlighte d, to all of us as a group, certain universal leadership principles which resonate within us all, urging us to become the leaders that we know exists within us. Principles like: â€Å"Leadership comes from the front and the middle of the pack†, â€Å"A leader communicates vision by embodying it, personifying it, and by living it out†. Principles like the these have caused us to view leadership in a completely different light, thinking not only about the stereotypical leaders that everyone cites when asked to name leaders, these include, Nelson Mandela, Sir Edmund Hillary, Martin Luther King Jnr. etc. It seems as though when most people think of leaders they tend to think more about the positive leaders. â€Å"When I begun this course, I was one of them. When I thought â€Å"leader† I automatically thought â€Å"good†. People like Osama Bin Laden and Hitler never crossed my mind, But it is people like these who are often some of the most successful leaders, they put themselves out there in such a way that they managed to inspire a huge following that inspires change throughout the entire world. † – Leah I agree with Leah, that when I had previously thought about leaders, I had thought about, only the good ones also, people tend to fail to recognise or consider, those not so good, people in the world, who may be seen as â€Å"terrible leaders†, they may be terrible, or expressing bad idea’s, essentially though, there are people who follow them and they can be called leaders. † – Sarah â€Å"I disagree. An important value for l eaders is to be ethical. People like Hitler and Osama were involved with unethical practises and in my opinion do not qualify as leaders; however, it may be argued that they are great people anagers and orators, but not leaders. This reiterates another leadership principle that â€Å"Everyone influences someone. The question is what you will influence them to do? † Whether the influence is good or bad doesn’t really seem to make a difference. You just have to believe in yourself, believe in your cause and display this belief with passion. This passion needs to be infectious. It needs to spread through the crowds in such a way that you will make believers out of the people in the crowds too. There is a common argument about whether leaders are born and not made, this is particular was a concept of debate for members in our group for some time. â€Å"A lot of what I learnt stayed at the forefront of my mind for sometime. I was always one to believe that some people had it and some people don’t, the whole leaders are born not made argument, but listening to David in the lectures, he managed to change my mind somewhat, while I still believe that some people are born with natural leadership attributes, I now am swayed to the thought that these can also be taught and learnt, as with confidence, â€Å"fake it ‘till it’s real†. – Leah It was a common occurrence in lectures for David to tell us to â€Å"Get curious† about ourselves. Kouzes & Posner (2007) encourage leaders to ultimately find their voice. They emphasise that, â€Å"before you can become a credible leader- one who connects â€Å"say and do†- first you have to find your voice†. This seems obvious but so many leaders fail to do this and therefore fail to lead. We think very few leaders in this course and in general know exactly what they stand for and have found their ‘inner voice’. â€Å"David repeatedly told us to figure out why we do things the way we do. This prompted a different area of thinking within myself. â€Å"Now I am beginning to question my behaviour, my view points and certain ways that I prefer to manage tasks. † – Donna. This leads us to self disclosure. This is important to leaders, and made us realise that in order for your followers to trust you and support you, you must be open to them about yourself, let them know your background, your goals, your strengths and weaknesses. Letting them understand you, helps to create a greater communication link between you and your employees. Over time this would create relational depth. In the leadership videos Graeme Milnes mentioned that â€Å"no matter what, you don’t know everything, so be humble, and know what you know and what you don’t know†. Through this we realised that leadership is more about revelation and acknowledging the value of your staff. As Graeme Milne said â€Å"successful leaders are those who would value the ability of their followers, acknowledge their own strength and weakness, and disclose the problems they are facing†. A good leader does not need to know everything, but does need to know that they are not perfect and would need the help of their workers to get things done. If you divulge the problem you are facing and acknowledge that you can not do it alone and need their help then your workers would respond by coming together and solving the problem for you by filling in your weakness. Whereas if you do not make the problem known and pretend to be the perfect leader and keep all the information and credit to yourself then your workers would think that since the leader believes he or she is so perfect what does he or she need them for? So the difference between a good leader and a bad leader is that when they fail, a good leader who discloses information and acknowledges the value of their staff would see workers jumping in to help. Whereas a bad leader who tends to keep all the information and credit to himself would lose respect among workers, who would in turn not be so eager to help. â€Å"This has made me realise that great and successful leaders are not born to be who they are, they only become great leaders through the support of your followers, and this is done through self disclosure, information disclosure and also acknowledging the value of their workers. – Daniel â€Å"Communication is an integral part of leadership. It is a process and not just a distinct event. Communication is a circular two way process and leaders should be open to feedback from all sources. I have personally learnt that as leader you need to LISTEN. † – Devarsh David made clear in lectures the importance of Em otional Intelligence (EI). The display of the right mood to match the situation is an art that has to be first understood and then learnt. It is a very powerful tool of leadership. Generally speaking, this is an art, which we pick up normally in the course of life but very few of us have learnt to use this art as a tool. Certain situations are very clear; such as visits to the hospital, where one is expected to show concern, or take the instance of a visit to a home where a death has taken place. These are obvious situations and we learn from society the correct mood to display and say the right things that are to be said. From the leadership angle, by following a few established principles one should be able to get much more out of colleagues and followers than we normally do. Any team can be swayed to better performance by the correct display of positive leadership. â€Å"EI is not about being nice, but confronting someone with truth, not letting it all hang out or dumping but expressing it appropriately. † – Devarsh In general, the idea of looking down the tunnel and seeing a possible leadership role at the end is quite daunting. In an interview from the RSNZ website, Sir Angus Tait says that â€Å"if you can measure the difficulties that lie ahead and there will be many. In many instances you’ll never start. Therefore†¦ don’t look to deeply just say I’m going to do that; and proceed to do it†. This quote is one that we find inspiring. It makes us feel that we too, can be leaders. The readings and tutorial exercises have taught us a great deal, about what it takes to become leaders. The concepts, of â€Å"finding your voice†, and â€Å"affirm shared values†, are two hugely influential parts of leadership, that we will now try to consider in our own personal lives when taking on a leadership role. As a group, we feel as though we have learnt a lot of valuable lessons throughout the course, not just about the leadership qualities expected in the workforce, but also about ourselves and what we have learned and discovered on the leadership front thus far. Whilst a lot of the concepts brought to a front throughout this paper aren’t exactly entirely new concepts, the way in which they were presented to us however, have caused to us pause and re-evaluate our own leadership qualities and places where we can improve ourselves. Word Count: 1911 Group Members: Tutor: Charlie Gillard. Tutorial time: Thursday 8am-10am. Tutor: Charlie Gillard. Appendix 4 – The main concept I have grasped from this paper is how leaders empower their followers. (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). I always thought leaders had some degree of power that arose from their rank of position; I never considered that leadership really is regardless of your position. It is about who you are and what you are doing. Whilst power naturally evolves with leadership roles, I have learnt that the biggest source of power a leader can use and ‘feed’ from is the energy created when everyone around them becomes a leader also. Skills within this concept come first and foremost from finding out who one is as a person/leader. . e. ‘finding your voice’ (Kouzes & Posner, 2007) This is essential for leaders as once this is ‘found’; where they are going and what they want to achieve is clear. Being able to communicate your vision and beliefs often and genuinely acting upon such statements, is also essential for getting followers to side with you as a leader. â€Å"If you are clear about your values, and your actions are aligned, it makes all the hard work worth the effort†. (Kouzes & Posner, 2007) I am determined to develop these skills into my leadership roles by ensuring I stand for my values and be clear and open about who I am and what I want to do. This then can be shared with others by bringing them on board and empowering them as individuals and leaders all working toward a common goal. Donna Fredrikson Appendix 5 – This course has been a very eye-opening and enlightening experience. From day one I thought I had a fair understanding of leadership and what it entails, but after engaging with the materials and activities in the course I have learnt it is so much more complex and diverse than I had ever imagined. I main idea I took form this course was that leadership may not always be a position of power and status, but the effective ability to communicate, lead and influence. One quote I valued a lot in my reading of the course reader was this one, by (John D. Rockefeller. )Where he states, that â€Å"Leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people†. This quote emphasizes the idea that anyone can be a leader and ordinary people can do the extraordinary. David from lecturer, forth reinforced this idea, in his examples and discussions of the 9//11 attacks on the United States of America, where it was the cleaners , the fire fighters, who took charge and lead thousands of American’s out of the twin towers at the time of the attack. This shows, anyone can be a leader, these people had dedication and will power to get out alive and help those around them, they may have not had the highest status of power, but they led, and I feel their courage and determination is a remarkable and astonishing thing. Sarah Gledhill Appendix 6 – In blog three (Appendix 3), I was asked to reflect on what I have learned in this paper thus far, below are snippets from that blog and other lessons that throughout this course, the lectures, tutorials and RSNZ interviews have provoked thought and reflection within me, not only on leadership as a theme but also within myself. I feel as though I have learnt a lot of valuable lessons, not just about the leadership qualities expected in the workforce, but also about myself and what I have learned and discovered on the leadership front thus far. While a lot of the concepts brought to a front throughout this paper aren’t exactly entirely new concepts, the way in which they were presented to me however, have caused to pause and re-evaluate my own leadership qualities and places where I can improve myself. At this stage I haven’t exactly, in anyway, reached the pinnacle of my leadership potential, but I do believe that If I continue to work at it, I will keep inching closer to becoming a more together and confident individual who will inspire others to do as I have done. This paper has highlighted, to me, certain universal leadership principles which resonate within me, urging me to become the leader that I know exists within me. Principles like: â€Å"A leader communicates vision by embodying it, personifying it, and by living it out†, have encouraged me to want to better myself by putting forth my passion for what I do and passing it on to others. Leah Norman Appendix 7 – The success of an organisation depends on the employee’s contribution. No matter how good you are a leader you don’t know everything in your business, therefore you need your employees help. Leadership is about getting support and drawing on the best talents of your employees, in order to do so you must acknowledge their contribution to the organisation, that whatever the organisation has achieved is due to the team and give them credit, rather than taking it to yourself. If you treat people right you will get the best out of them, and you will be a leader, if you don’t then you will never be a successful leader. † (Graeme Milne, 2007). The consequences of a successful leader not empowering employees would be the incapability to grow the business by relying on employees in the leader’s absence. This reinforces with Graeme Milne (2007), that a successful organisation is one that does not need to rely on the leader too m uch. A successful organisation is one that would continue to grow in the absence of a leader. And this is achieved through staff empowerment. Ana Stretton is a successful leader but she takes decision making all to herself, the firm does not have the capability to function or grow without her, therefore if anything happens to her then the organisation would probably collapse. Daniel Zhang Appendix 8 – Since high school when I was the captain of the school cricket team, I comprehended that it was very important for me to have a better-quality performance, to gain respect of my team members. Over time I have also realised, that it is very important for a manger to be hands on and not just direct and supervise the subordinates. Observing an energetic and active manager can be quite motivating for the team and this way the manager can illustrate the best practice style. At my first job I was leading a small team of four. I had an authoritarian approach and listened to none. But when I started working part time, my manager had a similar style of leading. That’s when I realised and empathised with my subordinates how demotivating it felt. Since then I have modified my leadership style and allow more participation and involvement of my team members. I have personally initiated introspection practices recommended by David in the lectures like writing a diary and Johari window. Initially I used to get angry under high pressure situations at work. But while studying about EI in the course I have realised the importance of the need for the leader to be calm and composed. Leader is a role model for followers and their ill behaviour would have bad effect on their followers. Leaders need to be open for feedback from all sources. It is very important to constantly motivate employees by acknowledging their contribution and giving constructive feedback. Devarsh Pathak References ? Barrett, D. J. (2006). Strong communication skills; a must for today's leaders. Handbook of Business Strategy, 7(1), 385-390. ? Hackman, M. Z. , Johnson, C. E. 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