Thursday, September 26, 2019
Quantitative data about Tax, Education and Labor in Sweden Research Paper
Quantitative data about Tax, Education and Labor in Sweden - Research Paper Example The 1983, 1985, and 1990-1991 state tax reforms reduced the highest marginal tax from 85 percent to, at present, roughly 55 percent. At present, the marginal tax rate is roughly 30 percent for the low-income and average-income earners and roughly 50 percent for the high-income earner (Stenkula et al. 178). The development of the marginal tax wedges is similar to the development of the marginal tax rates but at a greater degree. The highest marginal tax wedge rose steeply during the World Wars and the 1930sââ¬â¢ depression. The highest marginal tax wedge reached at nearly 90 percent in 1980; following the 1983, 1985, and 1990-1991 tax reforms, the highest marginal tax wedge dropped and is currently standing at roughly 67 percent (Stenkula et al. 178-179). With a population of approximately 9.5 million, Sweden sustains a lavish welfare structure, with compensation packages for life-changing episodes like retirement or illness, and a focus on delivering equal benefits and privileges for everybody (Sonedda 692-4). Consequently, tax revenue as a portion of GDP in Sweden is elevatedââ¬âapproximately 45.8 percent in 2010 (OECD 1). Moreover, Sweden finances its equitable system of education by committing a comparatively high proportion of its GDP to its education system and by committing the topmost spending levels per student in the world. Roughly 7.3 percent of GDP is invested in education. This financing is channeled to both private and public education (OECD 1-2). The entire pre-primary, primary, secondary, and post-secondary non-tertiary education is publicly financed. Swedenââ¬â¢s numbers of enrollees reveal the nationââ¬â¢s remarkable success in putting majority of its population to school (World Education Forum para 4-6). For instance, all adolescents qualified for primary level compulsory education are enrolled. Likewise, compulsory education at the lower secondary level is attended by 100% of female and 99% of male students. These numbers
Scultpture in Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Scultpture in Architecture - Essay Example NOX explores the relationship between architecture and computers, making use of digital modeling, powerful large-scale processing and computer-aided modeling. All these techniques constitutes the framework of NOX designs and brings to fruition their construction and spatial ideologies. To make possible the use of electronic media, a facility known as V2_Lab has been developed. This forms the new medium in which the NOX engineers work to design the minute specifications of their buildings. V2_Engine, a program to assist the designers in their work, was developed by a collective effort of NOX architects Joan Almekinders and Pieter Heyman, completely on computer using animation software. This has transformed architecture and has made it into a non-linear form, as opposed to the former linear construction, and has made it time dependant. In fact, the V2_Lab was renovated using this program. The critical issue here was the incorporation of the program into the design philosophy, and to ma ke use of computer-generated designs into externalized, solid structures. For this, a technique, in which substances known as "springs", was used to change the diagram from a static picture on the board to a form process which operates on the coordination and interference of thousands of forces, whose vector forces can not be predicted, making motion and time a part of the organizational design for any pertinent building. The basic concept behind this strategy was to introduce motion into any construction medium/material. Inside the material, forces and events propagate in waves throughout its topological continuity. However, when external forces are applied on this material, they are not catered by these waves on the principal that subsequent lines intermitted by dots do not pass on forces as the dots pose as a hindrance to these forces, rather than joining the lines and allowing waves to pass on. To overcome this problem, substances called springs, which can be viewed as non-static dots capable of moving to and fro between the lines and, hence, passing on the forces, were introduced into the material. These springs in turn were linked together by lines called strings which then have to be directed towards the four extreme corners of the building to be constructed so that the forces travelling through the construction material are passed out to the extremes. These forces will then be reflected by the four corners along the same strings, where they will interact with new forces traveling outward toward the corners, and hence, each will interfere, and as these resultant or vector forces would be further interacting
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Nigeria's point of view in the UN SECURITY COUNCIL REFORMATION Essay
Nigeria's point of view in the UN SECURITY COUNCIL REFORMATION - Essay Example The submission of these issues was considered timely following the September 2008 decision (GA) 62/557 to move the issues from Working Groups to the Intergovernmental Negotiationsââ¬â¢ (Martini 2). The Nigerian undertaking was in accordance with policies laid down by his Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his Cabinet, and consisted of proposals to increase the elected members to thirty-five, to change the nature of the power of ââ¬Ëvetoââ¬â¢ from being an instrument of ââ¬Ëindividual powerââ¬â¢ to a collective and democratic instrument and to subject nuclear powers to accountability within a circle of client states. The meeting was attended by all fifteen members currently sitting, and there was a standing ovation after the conclusion of Mr. Oedinââ¬â¢s speech. Private consultation prior to sitting had also yielded some positive results ââ¬â there is clearly a ââ¬Ëclimate for changeââ¬â¢ among the members. However, when two of the delegations late r approached the Nigerian desk, with the intention of arranging a private meeting in April, it became immediately clear that there was a discrepancy between the intended content of our document and the interpretation by these delegations. Nevertheless, a window of opportunity has opened up for further discussions. Background to Problems The UN Security Council (UNSC) is the enforcement arm of the United Nations and has been in operation since 1945, with initially eleven members of which five were permanent, with individual powers of ââ¬Ëveto, and six were elected members. In 1965, the latter body was increased to ten, bringing the total number of UNSC members to fifteen. The mandate of the UNSC has remained unchanged during the 55 years of its operation and it is now ââ¬â as it was then ââ¬â charged with keeping the Peace. The missions the UNSC carried out under this aim were greatly hampered during the ââ¬ËCold Warââ¬â¢1, obscuring systemic problems within the stru cture of the UNSC for over forty years. It is therefore mainly during the past twenty years that these problems have become obvious, through repeated unauthorized military actions by states as well as self-motivated use of veto powers by the permanent five members (Butler 10pp). In addition, the increase in member states of the United Nations between 1947 and 2011, from 50 to 1921 is in no way reflected in the increase in the numbers in the UNSC during the same period. The former nearly quadrupled whereas UNSC membership has only been increased by less than a quarter, making it questionable that member states are now adequately represented. This is particularly true when viewed from a regional perspective, as Latin America, the Middle East and Africa do not currently have a permanent voice through a permanent UNSC member (Jaramillo). Although Nigeria has been able to represent its concerns on three previous occasions3, this does ultimately not amount to permanent representation. Thi s is clearly also a general sentiment among the UN member states, which have often felt that the decisions of the Security Council do not reflect the will of the General Assembly as a whole but rather are often motivated by self-interest (Martini 2). There have been numerous past reform proposals for both the membership numbers and the powers of veto but, despite all efforts so far no solution has emerged that might have success of being debated in the UNSC (quotation needed) Nigerian proposal for reforms tabled at the March Council: His Excellency,
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17
Final - Essay Example Then, in an essay that synthesizes at least four of the six provided sources for support, take a position that qualifies the claim that GMO should be discouraged because it is a probable health risk and an environmental hazard. This article presents an assessment of the effect GMO technology is having on global agriculture from both economic and environmental perspectives. The article seems to assert that there could be a possibility of having positive economic impact when all factors are put into consideration. This source is significantly resourceful in presenting counterargument when discussing the negative impacts of GMO technology. This article highlights some of the widely argued biomedical risks of GM foods such as potential allergenicity, and most importantly, horizontal gene transfer. The source also discusses the environmental side effects on biodiversity. Since the source also discusses the benefits of the first generation of GM foods, then a good comparison can be made from the same source. This source gives a clear list of reasons why GMOs should not be used. The article highlights little knowledge on GMOs as one of the issues challenging use of GMOs. Increased pesticide use is also a notable cause for alarm on use of GMO. This source gives a quick peek. However, it offers a good start into more indepth research
Monday, September 23, 2019
A Problem In the Field of Finance Annotated Bibliography - 1
A Problem In the Field of Finance - Annotated Bibliography Example She describes the major elements and features of sovereign debt crisis, its implications and impact in the general sense and provides a critical case review of the US sovereign debt crisis. Sovereign debt crisis is a situation where a countrys government is unable to pay its bills (Amadeo para 1). This occurs when the government spends more money than it has. In such a case, the government will not be able to get money from its normal funding sources. Rather, it will need to find ways and means of getting money to fulfill its payment obligation and the most common method is to borrow. In explaining the cycle of sovereign debt crisis, Amadeo identifies that where a government enters a situation where honoring its sovereign debt is an issue, lenders see risks and begin to panic. In other words, the government cannot guarantee a low interest rate for lenders, thus, the lenders become concerned that the country cannot pay its bonds. In such a situation, the lenders will begin to demand higher yields to compensation for the speculation and anxiety that comes with the threat of sovereign debts. They therefore begin to panic and the economy gets into chaos. One of the obvious solutions that most governments employ is quantitative easing which involves the printing of more money to ease the issues with the sovereign debt threats (Amadeo para 7). This causes inflation and affects the value of the nations currency. Thomas Reuters provides statistical information and facts about the US Sovereign debt criss. As of October 2013, the United States governments borrowing was over $16.7 trillion (Thomson para 4). This was at par to the actual size of the US economy. Thus, as part of a trend, the Fitch rating system sought to downgrade the United States from its AAA rating to a lower rating. Prior to the events of October 2013, notable rating agencies like Standard & Poors had downgraded the USs rating to an AA rating. This occurred in August
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Cover Note Essay Example for Free
Cover Note Essay The Relation of Science and Religion is a transcript of a talk given by Dr. Feynman at the Caltech YMCA Lunch Forum on May 2, 1956. In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public. When we look at the past great debates on these subjects we feel jealous of those times, for we should have liked the excitement of such argument. The old problems, such as the relation of science and religion, are still with us, and I believe present as difficult dilemmas as ever, but they are not often publicly discussed because of the limitations of specialization. But I have been interested in this problem for a long time and would like to discuss it. In view of my very evident lack of knowledge and understanding of religion (a lack which will grow more apparent as we proceed), I will organize the discussion in this way: I will suppose that not one man but a group of men are discussing the problem, that the group consists of specialists in many fields ââ¬â the various sciences, the various religions and so on ââ¬â and that we are going to discuss the problem from various sides, like a panel. Each is to give his point of view, which may be molded and modified by the later discussion. Further, I imagine that someone has been chosen by lot to be the first to present his views, and I am he so chosen. I would start by presenting the panel with a problem: A young man, brought up in a religious family, studies a science, and as a result he comes to doubt ââ¬â and perhaps later to disbelieve in ââ¬â his fathers God. Now, this is not an isolated example; it happens time and time again. Although I have no statistics on this, I believe that many scientists ââ¬â in fact, I actually believe that more than half of the scientists ââ¬â really disbelieve in their fathers God; that is, they dont believe in a God in a conventional sense. Now, since the belief in a God is a central feature of religion, this problem that I have selected points up most strongly the problem of the relation of science and religion. Why does this young man come to disbelieve? The first answer we might hear is very simple: You see, he is taught by scientists, and (as I have just pointed out) they are all atheists at heart, so the evil is spread from one to another. But if you can entertain this view, I think you know less of science than I know of religion. Another answer may be that a little knowledge is dangerous; this young man has learned a little bit and thinks he knows it all, but soon he will grow out of this sophomoric sophistication and come to realize that the world is more complicated, and he will begin again to understand that there must be a God. I dont think it is necessary that he come out of it. There are many scientists ââ¬â men who hope to call themselves mature ââ¬â who still dont believe in God. In fact, as I would like to explain later, the answer is not that the young man thinks he knows it all ââ¬â it is the exact opposite. A third answer you might get is that this young man really doesnt understand science correctly. I do not believe that science can disprove the existence of God; I think that is impossible. And if it is impossible, is not a belief in science and in a God ââ¬â an ordinary God of religion ââ¬â a consistent possibility? Yes, it is consistent. Despite the fact that I said that more than half of the scientists dont believe in God, many scientists do believe in both science and God, in a perfectly consistent way. But this consistency, although possible, is not easy to attain, and I would like to try to discuss two things: Why it is not easy to attain, and whether it is worth attempting to attain it. When I say believe in God, of course, it is always a puzzle ââ¬â what is God? What I mean is the kind of personal God, characteristic of the western religions, to whom you pray and who has something to do with creating the universe and guiding you in morals. For the student, when he learns about science, there are two sources of difficulty in trying to weld science and religion together. The first source of difficulty is this ââ¬â that it is imperative in science to doubt; it is absolutely necessary, for progress in science, to have uncertainty as a fundamental part of your inner nature. To make progress in understanding we must remain modest and allow that we do not know. Nothing is certain or proved beyond all doubt. You investigate for curiosity, because it is unknown, not because you know the answer. And as you develop more information in the sciences, it is not that you are finding out the truth, but that you are finding out that this or that is more or less likely. That is, if we investigate further, we find that the statements of science are not of what is true and what is not true, but statements of what is known to different degrees of certainty: It is very much more likely that so and so is true than that it is not true; or such and such is almost certain but there is still a little bit of doubt; or ââ¬â at the other extreme ââ¬â well, we really dont know. Every one of the concepts of science is on a scale graduated somewhere between, but at neither end of, absolute falsity or absolute truth. It is necessary, I believe, to accept this idea, not only for science, but also for other things; it is of great value to acknowledge ignorance. It is a fact that when we make decisions in our life we dont necessarily know that we are making them correctly; we only think that we are doing the best we can ââ¬â and that is what we should do. Attitude of uncertainty I think that when we know that we actually do live in uncertainty, then we ought to admit it; it is of great value to realize that we do not know the answers to different questions. This attitude of mind ââ¬â this attitude of uncertainty ââ¬â is vital to the scientist, and it is this attitude of mind which the student must first acquire. It becomes a habit of thought. Once acquired, one cannot retreat from it any more. What happens, then, is that the young man begins to doubt everything because he cannot have it as absolute truth. So the question changes a little bit from Is there a God? to How sure is it that there is a God? This very subtle change is a great stroke and represents a parting of the ways between science and religion. I do not believe a real scientist can ever believe in the same way again. Although there are scientists who believe in God, I do not believe that they think of God in the same way as religious people do. If they are consistent with their science, I think that they say something like this to themselves: I am almost certain there is a God. The doubt is very small. That is quite different from saying, I know that there is a God. I do not believe that a scientist can ever obtain that view ââ¬â that really religious understanding, that real knowledge that there is a God ââ¬â that absolute certainty which religious people have. Of course this process of doubt does not always start by attacking the question of the existence of God. Usually special tenets, such as the question of an afterlife, or details of the religious doctrine, such as details of Christs life, come under scrutiny first. It is more interesting, however, to go right into the central problem in a frank way, and to discuss the more extreme view which doubts the existence of God. Once the question has been removed from the absolute, and gets to sliding on the scale of uncertainty, it may end up in very different positions. In many cases it comes out very close to being certain. But on the other hand, for some, the net result of close scrutiny of the theory his father held of God may be the claim that it is almost certainly wrong. Belief in God ââ¬â and the facts of science That brings us to the second difficulty our student has in trying to weld science and religion: Why does it often end up that the belief in God ââ¬â at least, the God of the religious type ââ¬â is considered to be very unreasonable, very unlikely? I think that the answer has to do with the scientific things ââ¬â the facts or partial facts ââ¬â that the man learns. For instance, the size of the universe is very impressive, with us on a tiny particle whirling around the sun, among a hundred thousand million suns in this galaxy, itself among a billion galaxies. Again, there is the close relation of biological man to the animals, and of one form of life to another. Man is a latecomer in a vast evolving drama; can the rest be but a scaffolding for his creation? Yet again, there are the atoms of which all appears to be constructed, following immutable laws. Nothing can escape it; the stars are made of the same stuff, and the animals are made of the same stuff, but in such complexity as to mysteriously appear alive ââ¬â like man himself. It is a great adventure to contemplate the universe beyond man, to think of what it means without man ââ¬â as it was for the great part of its long history, and as it is in the great majority of places. When this objective view is finally attained, and the mystery and majesty of matter are appreciated, to then turn the objective eye back on man viewed as matter, to see life as part of the universal mystery of greatest depth, is to sense an experience which is rarely described. It usually ends in laughter, delight in the futility of trying to understand. These scientific views end in awe and mystery, lost at the edge in uncertainty, but they appear to be so deep and so impressive that the theory that it is all arranged simply as a stage for God to watch mans struggle for good and evil seems to be inadequate. So let us suppose that this is the case of our particular student, and the conviction grows so that he believes that individual prayer, for example, is not heard. (I am not trying to disprove the reality of God; I am trying to give you some idea of ââ¬â some sympathy for ââ¬â the reasons why many come to think that prayer is meaningless. ) Of course, as a result of this doubt, the pattern of doubting is turned next to ethical problems, because, in the religion which he learned, moral problems were connected with the word of God, and if the God doesnt exist, what is his word? But rather surprisingly, I think, the moral problems ultimately come out relatively unscathed; at first perhaps the student may decide that a few little things were wrong, but he often reverses his opinion later, and ends with no fundamentally different moral view. There seems to be a kind of independence in these ideas. In the end, it is possible to doubt the divinity of Christ, and yet to believe firmly that it is a good thing to do unto your neighbor as you would have him do unto you. It is possible to have both these views at the same time; and I would say that I hope you will find that my atheistic scientific colleagues often carry themselves well in society. Communism and the scientific viewpoint I would like to remark, in passing, since the word atheism is so closely connected with communism, that the communist views are the antithesis of the scientific, in the sense that in communism the answers are given to all the questions ââ¬â political questions as well as moral ones ââ¬â without discussion and without doubt. The scientific viewpoint is the exact opposite of this; that is, all questions must be doubted and discussed; we must argue everything out ââ¬â observe things, check them, and so change them. The democratic government is much closer to this idea, because there is discussion and a chance of modification. One doesnt launch the ship in a definite direction. It is true that if you have a tyranny of ideas, so that you know exactly what has to be true, you act very decisively, and it looks good ââ¬â for a while. But soon the ship is heading in the wrong direction, and no one can modify the direction any more. So the uncertainties of life in a democracy are, I think, much more consistent with science. Although science makes some impact on many religious ideas, it does not affect the moral content. Religion has many aspects; it answers all kinds of questions. First, for example, it answers questions about what things are, where they come from, what man is, what God is ââ¬â the properties of God, and so on. Let me call this the metaphysical aspect of religion. It also tells us another thing ââ¬â how to behave. Leave out of this the idea of how to behave in certain ceremonies, and what rites to perform; I mean it tells us how to behave in life in general, in a moral way. It gives answers to moral questions; it gives a moral and ethical code. Let me call this the ethical aspect of religion. Now, we know that, even with moral values granted, human beings are very weak; they must be reminded of the moral values in order that they may be able to follow their consciences. It is not simply a matter of having a right conscience; it is also a question of maintaining strength to do what you know is right. And it is necessary that religion give strength and comfort and the inspiration to follow these moral views. This is the inspirational aspect of religion. It gives inspiration not only for moral conduct ââ¬â it gives inspiration for the arts and for all kinds of great thoughts and actions as well. Interconnections These three aspects of religion are interconnected, and it is generally felt, in view of this close integration of ideas, that to attack one feature of the system is to attack the whole structure. The three aspects are connected more or less as follows: The moral aspect, the moral code, is the word of God ââ¬â which involves us in a metaphysical question. Then the inspiration comes because one is working the will of God; one is for God; partly one feels that one is with God. And this is a great inspiration because it brings ones actions in contact with the universe at large. So these three things are very well interconnected. The difficulty is this: that science occasionally conflicts with the first of the three categories ââ¬â the metaphysical aspect of religion. For instance, in the past there was an argument about whether the earth was the center of the universe ââ¬â whether the earth moved around the sun or stayed still. The result of all this was a terrible strife and difficulty, but it was finally resolved ââ¬â with religion retreating in this particular case. More recently there was a conflict over the question of whether man has animal ancestry. The result in many of these situations is a retreat of the religious metaphysical view, but nevertheless, there is no collapse of the religion. And further, there seems to be no appreciable or fundamental change in the moral view. After all, the earth moves around the sun ââ¬â isnt it best to torn the other cheek? Does it make any difference whether the earth is standing still or moving around the son? We can expect conflict again. Science is developing and new things will be found out which will he in disagreement with the presentday metaphysical theory of certain religions. In fact, even with all the past retreats of religion, there is still real conflict for particular individuals when they learn about the science and they have heard about the religion. The thing has not been integrated very well; there are real conflicts here ââ¬â and yet morals are not affected. As a matter of fact, the conflict is doubly difficult in this metaphysical region. Firstly, the facts may be in conflict, but even if the facts were not in conflict, the attitude is different. The spirit of uncertainty in science is an attitude toward the metaphysical questions that is quite different from the certainty and faith that is demanded in religion. There is definitely a conflict, I believe ââ¬â both in fact and in spirit ââ¬â over the metaphysical aspects of religion. In my opinion, it is not possible for religion to find a set of metaphysical ideas which will be guaranteed not to get into conflicts with an everadvancing and alwayschanging science which is going into an unknown. We dont know how to answer the questions; it is impossible to find an answer which someday will not be found to be wrong. The difficulty arises because science and religion are both trying to answer questions in the same realm here. Science and moral questions On the other hand, I dont believe that a real conflict with science will arise in the ethical aspect, because I believe that moral questions are outside of the scientific realm. Let me give three or four arguments to show why I believe this. In the first place, there have been conflicts in the past between the scientific and the religious view about the metaphysical aspect and, nevertheless, the older moral views did not collapse, did not change. Second, there are good men who practice Christian ethics and who do not believe in the divinity of Christ. They find themselves in no inconsistency here. Thirdly, although I believe that from time to time scientific evidence is found which may be partially interpreted as giving some evidence of some particular aspect of the life of Christ, for example, or of other religious metaphysical ideas, it seems to me that there is no scientific evidence bearing on the golden rule. It seems to me that that is somehow different. Now, lets see if I can make a little philosophical explanation as to why it is different ââ¬â how science cannot affect the fundamental basis of morals. The typical human problem, and one whose answer religion aims to supply, is always of the following form: Should I do this? Should we do this? Should the government do this? To answer this question we can resolve it into two parts: First ââ¬â If I do this, what will happen? ââ¬â and second ââ¬â Do I want that to happen? What would come of it of value ââ¬â of good? Now a question of the form: If I do this, what will happen?is strictly scientific. As a matter of fact, science can be defined as a method for, and a body of information obtained by, trying to answer only questions which can be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen? The technique of it, fundamentally, is: Try it and see. Then you put together a large amount of information from such experiences. All scientists will agree that a question ââ¬â any question, philosophical or other ââ¬â which cannot be put into the form that can be tested by experiment (or, in simple terms, that cannot be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen?) is not a scientific question; it is outside the realm of science. I claim that whether you want something to happen or not ââ¬â what value there is in the result, and how you judge the value of the result (which is the other end of the question: Should I do this? ) ââ¬â must lie outside of science because it is not a question that you can answer only by knowing what happens; you still have to judge what happens ââ¬â in a moral way. So, for this theoretical reason I think that there is a complete consistency between the moral view ââ¬â or the ethical aspect of religion ââ¬â and scientific information. Turning to the third aspect of religion ââ¬â the inspirational aspect ââ¬â brings me to the central question that I would like to present to this imaginary panel. The source of inspiration today ââ¬â for strength and for comfort ââ¬â in any religion is very closely knit with the metaphysical aspect; that is, the inspiration comes from working for God, for obeying his will, feeling one with God. Emotional ties to the moral code ââ¬â based in this manner ââ¬â begin to be severely weakened when doubt, even a small amount of doubt, is expressed as to the existence of God; so when the belief in God becomes uncertain, this particular method of obtaining inspiration fails. I dont know the answer to this central problem ââ¬â the problem of maintaining the real value of religion, as a source of strength and of courage to most men, while, at the same time, not requiring an absolute faith in the metaphysical aspects. The heritages of Western civilization Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientific spirit of adventure ââ¬â the adventure into the unknown, an unknown which must be recognized as being unknown in order to be explored; the demand that the unanswerable mysteries of the universe remain unanswered; the attitude that all is uncertain; to summarize it ââ¬â the humility of the intellect. The other great heritage is Christian ethics ââ¬â the basis of action on love, the brotherhood of all men, the value of the individual ââ¬â the humility of the spirit. These two heritages are logically, thoroughly consistent. But logic is not all; one needs ones heart to follow an idea. If people are going back to religion, what are they going back to? Is the modern church a place to give comfort to a man who doubts Godmore, one who disbelieves in God? Is the modern church a place to give comfort and encouragement to the value of such doubts? So far, have we not drawn strength and comfort to maintain the one or the other of these consistent heritages in a way which attacks the values of the other? Is this unavoidable? How can we draw inspiration to support these two pillars of western civilization so that they may stand together in full vigor, mutually unafraid? Is this not the central problem of our time? I put it up to the panel for discussion.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Leadership Development Case Study
Leadership Development Case Study Student Name: Yu Bao Assumption1: Susan is an Authority-Compliance leader. This kind of leader just like Susan places heavy emphasis on task and job requirements, and less emphasis on people, except to the extent that people are tools for getting job done (Northouse 2017, p75). During Susans work, she likes to her staff have high efficiency and demonstrating strong organizational citizenship behavior. Assumption2: Susan and in-group members have high-quality leader-member exchanges. Mature partnership refers that high degree of reciprocity between leaders and followers (Northouse 2017, p143). In-group members are skilled in getting job done that cause General Manager trust Susan can get everything done. At the same time, members can gain more opportunities. Assumption3: Susan and out-group members are during stranger phase. During this phase leaders and followers relate to each other within prescribed organizational roles (Northouse 2017, p142). when out-group members have some mistakes or problems in work, Susan just asked the assistant managers to make a strict task criteria attached to solving the issues rather than talk to members who have some negative emotions. Assumption4: Susan is a Transactional leadership. This kind of leader is in the best interest of followers for them to do what the leader wants instead of focus on followers need and their personal development. Susan likes to train her staff to be more efficient and task-focused, and also doesnt suffer fools lightly. Its means she doesnt have patience to help some staff to develop their capacity. Assumption5: If Susan want to her staff getting better she needs to change her leadership to Transformational Leadership. Transformational leadership produces greater effects than transactional leadership. Whereas transactional leadership results in expects outcomes, transformational leadership results in performance that goes well beyond what is expected (Northouse 2017, p142). Question2 In this case, there are two kind of relationship between Susan and her staff. Susan is known as a heavy emphasis on task and efficiency. Under her leadership, she likes to see staff who shows highly organizational citizenship behaviors(OCBs). Because of that, a part of her staff who adapts to her style or willingness to get the job done form an in-group. In the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory of Leadership, followers who are interested in negotiating with the leader what they are willing to do for the group can become a part of the in-group. In the meantime, leaders prefer to provide more information, opportunity, right to followers (Northouse 2017, p139). This is due to LMX makes the concept of the dyadic relationship the centerpiece of the leadership process (Northouse 2017, p146). It is focus on both leaders and followers perspective. In this way, followers also pay more attention, show more trust, provide more support to their leaders. As mentioned earlier, this kind of bi-directional theory will train a virtuous cycle. In other words, it will foster h igh-quality leader-member exchanges. Graen and Uhl-Bien (1991) suggested that leadership making develops progressively over time in three phases: (1) the stranger phase, (2) the acquaintance phase, and (3) the mature partnership phase. In Susans case, she and her in-group members are in the phases 3, they are highly efficient, getting things done, and also have more opportunity to new internal job as well as which is the most favored by management team. Overall, Susan and her in-group members have same goals and more egalitarian , the most important, they have a reciprocal influences to each other. On the other hand, Susans leader style is focus on task and job requirements. She does not like to sitting down and askingwhy. Because of this, a number of members who are oppose to Susans leading method become an out-group. followers in the out-group are less compatible with the leader and usually just come to work, do their job, and go home (Northouse 2017, p139). In this case, Johnson Fellows who is a member of out-group start to absent demonstrations of company products, morning teas and so on. After Susan hear about this, she just uses a transactional technical approach and never solved emotional states. Therefore, this situation become worse and worse. Susan and out-group members are in the stranger phase. The interactions in the leader-follower dyad generally is rule bound, relying heavily on contractual relationships. They have lower-quality exchanges. The motives of the follower during the stranger phase are directed toward self-interest rather than toward the good of the g roup (Graen Uhl-Bien 1995 ). Because of Susans leadership style, the out-group members are increasingly demonstrating. The LMX theory also has some criticisms, one of the most important drawback is the theory runs counter to the basic human value of fairness. it gives the appearance of discrimination against the out-group. (Northouse 2017 ,p147) It is perhaps the mean reason why Johnson does not attend to some meeting hostile to other staff. The felling about unfair will cause conflict and deteriorate relationship between leader and members. This situation would tend to low staff morale even to increasing the rote of staff turnover. Question3 In Ridgeway case, there are several problems. In the first place, staff is divided into two organize under Susans leading. In addition, because of Susan used modulating the emotional strategy during her work and does not acknowledge her staffs feeling as valid also not going to work to alleviate them. It causes that out-group members are dissatisfied to her. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, some staff who have worked for Ridgeway for more than 10 years miss and hope to the high-quality LMX. To the first problem, Followers in the in-group receive more information, influence, confidence, and concern from their leaders than do out-group followers (Northouse2017, p139), so that, out-group members have no chance to communicate with their manager, and also the manager would not waste time on contribute a high-quality LMX with members. After that, the relationship between Susan and out-group will be worse. The solution to this problem Susan should to spend more time on talk with the staff who have negative emotions and try to address the source of the problem. And also need her to treat every employee fairly. In this way, she maybe will enhance the quality of LMX. And try her best to narrow the gap between two group. To the second and third problem, Susan can use the strategies of interpersonal emotion management(IEM)In her case, she like to solve problems via strict task criteria instead of address why they have negative emotions. It makes a lot people resent her stance or complain her. Williams (2007) outlined four interpersonal emotion management strategies used to manage others emotions: situation modification, cognitive change, attentional deployment, and modulating the emotional response. (GootyWilliams 2016) Hence, there are two kinds of solutions. In short-term, Susan can use attentional deployment in this case. Attentional deployment involves distracting attention away from the elements of a situation. Susan can use humor distracting the follower in order to induce more positive emotions.it will reduce negative emotions over a period of time. By using this strategy, leader does not alleviate source of negative emotion in the environment. Meanwhile even though followers feel good at that time, after a few days or several times, they will feel leaders ignored their emotion and also not be concerned. GootyWilliams(2016) suggest Attentional deployment is a kind of emotion-focused IEM. And it will negatively relate to LMX. In this way, Susan just could use it during a period of time. In contrast, she can use situation modification or cognitive change in long-term. In her case, she has to change her mind, she can address why the staff do not want to attend the meeting and try to fix the problem by communicate with who has negative emotions. On the other hand, she also can courage the depress staff, show them the situation in a positive light, and everything will be better day by day. In both way, they are problem-focused strategy. Leader who use these strategies should attain 3 main points: met role expectations of the leader, create an attribution of benevolence, emotion rich communication in the relationship. After that, followers obligation is created, followers will fell their leader care about them and is watching out of them, and validated and promote open communicate of followers thought. Thus, LMX is enhanced, the core of IEMS is formed, the stage for the relationship better is set. (GootyWilliams 2016) Question4: Susans leader style is quite conform with Transactional Leadership. In this kind of leadership have two factors: Contingent reward and Management-by-exception. Contingent reward is an exchange process between leaders and followers in which effort by followers is exchanged for specified rewards. (Northouse 2017, p171) In Susans case, staff by improving the efficiency for more opportunities or appreciated from general manager. Management-by-exception It is leadership that involves corrective criticism, negative feedback, and negative reinforcement. (Northouse 2017, p171) Susan also using passive corrective criticism during her work. She gives employee a poor performance evaluation without ever talking with them about their prior work performance. Then she uses more negative reinforcement patterns to forcing staff depressive emotions and improving the efficiency. Meanwhile her method is quite similar with some part of Pseudotransformational leadership, which refers to leaders who are se lf-consumed, exploitive, and power oriented, with warped moral values. (Northouse 2017, p163) In brief, Susan always focus on her own goal instead of listens carefully to the needs of staff. She does not like her staff have different idea with her and would not give her subordinates more time to find a unique way to solve problems. For example: Ben and his group. If Susan want to change her leadership to transformational leadership, she has to following the four components of transformational leadership: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. (Northouse2017, p167) At first, individualized consideration, Susan needs to help her staff to achieve their true potential by considering their unique needs and desires. She should to find out why out-group members have negative emotions. she also can create a learning environment to solve the problems both in work and in emotions. Thus , it will help growth development. After that, be a charisma leader, using Idealized influence and inspirational motivation. Image of an attractive, realistic, and believable future to her staff, articulating a direction and then consistently implementing the direction even though the vision may have involved a high degree of uncertainty. (Northouse 2017, p173) In addition, instead of criticism show more benevolence and patience to staff and also need to expression high expectation to them. In this way Susan will be admired, trusted and respected by their followers. In the end, intellectual stimulation which means leaders challenge their followers to question long-held assumptions and approach old situations in novel ways, stimulating them to be more innovative and creative. à ¯Ã ¼Ãâ Anderson Sun 2015à ¯Ã ¼Ã¢â¬ °Ben already showed a kind of tendency that he want to solved the problem in a more creative way, but Susan was really hurried to the result. Maybe she should give him more time to done this on his own way. Follow these steps transformational approach can be implemented. But when Susan Implement this method she also need to be cautious to negative impacts of transformational leadership. Such as followers may have the tendency to free-ride on the transformation leaders social networks to conserve resources so they will perhaps be less likely to develop their own social networksà ¯Ã ¼Ãâ Anderson Sun 2015à ¯Ã ¼Ã¢â¬ °or followers will think leaders not be harsh if they slack on performance.(NgChua 2016) Question5: Unlike many of leadership theories, authentic leadership is still in the formative phase of development. Formulations about authentic leadership can be differentiated into two areas: (1) the practical approach; and (2) the theoretical approach. On the practical approach side: Bill George identifies five dimensions of authentic leadership: purpose, values, relationships, self-discipline, and heart. In Susans case, which aspects will appropriate to her are values, relationships and heart. Values or values and behave means leaders who have a clear idea of who they are, where they are going, and what the right thing is to do. (Northouse 2017, p199) In this aspect, Susan need to realize that she is a leader, she just need to uses her value guide her leadership instead of hands-on everything. Relationship refer to leaders have the capacity to open themselves up and establish a connection with others. Through mutual disclosure, leaders and followers develop a sense of trust and closeness. (Northouse 2017, p199). The mean reason that Susans staff opposition to her is she never talk to them and address the source of problems. It makes their relationship became distant and lack of trust. Therefore, she should to communicate with her subordinates to create a trusting relationship. Heart and compassion is an important aspect of AL. It refers to being sensitive to the plight of others, opening ones self to others, and being willing to help them. (Northouse 2017, p200) Susan like her staff have high efficiency and doesnt suffer fools lightly. But, as an AL she need to empathizing with others and try to help them pull through. On the theoretical approach side, Walumbwa identified four components: self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency. In Susans case, balanced processing, and relational transparency will be appropriate. Balanced processing It refers to an individuals ability to analyze information objectively and explore other peoples opinions before making a decision. (Northouse 2017, p203) When Ben has different idea with Susan, as an AL, who will open about her own perspectives, but are also objective in considering others perspectives. In another word, she need give more time to Ben to complete his idea before her tell the GM. Relational transparency is about communicating openly and being real in relationships with others. As previously mentioned about relationship, Susan need to talk with her staff more not only Job-related but also about daily life. It is noteworthy that there are other factors such as positive psychological capacities, moral reasoning, and critical life events that influence authentic leadership. (Northouse 2017, p203) A lot of findings show that AL is directly and positively related to followers trust in the leader and the experience of positive emotions. (AgoteAramburu 2016) Susan could show more positive emotions just like confidence, hope and so on. It will have a positive impact to implement AL. List of references Agote, L. Aramburu, N. Lines, R. (2016), Authentic leadership perception, trust in the leader, and followers emotions in organizational change processes. The Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, Vol. 52, (1), 35-63. Anderson, M. H. Sun, P. Y. T. (2015), The downside of transformation leadership when encouraging followers to network. The Leadership Quarterly, 26, 790-801. Graen, G. B., Uhl-Bien, M. (1991). The transformation of professionals into self-managing and partially self-designing contributions: Toward a theory of leadership making. Journal of Management Systems, 3(3), 33-48. Graen, G. B., Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level, multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219-247. Little, L.M. Gooty, J. Williams, M. (2016), The role of leader emotion management in leader-member exchange and follower outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 85-97. Northouse, P. G. (2016), Leadership: Theory Practice. Sage Edge. London Ng, K.Y., Chua, R.Y.J. (2006). Do I contribute more when I trust more? Differential effects of cognition- and affect-based trust. Management and Organization Review, 2, 4366.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)