Apple Company Essay Example for Free

Apple Company Essay Apple Company was created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Now Apple Company became very famous company in the world. It was made a lot of machine and computers. In recent years it’s created something that was very helpful to the human. For example such as Ipad2, Ipad3, Ipad4 that is a small hand computer. Human can use it store a lot of things and they can use it to watch moves talk to each other, use it for GPS and so on. He also made Iphone3 to Iphone5. These phone are famous and useful and it was perfect phone. Iphone5 series has many kinds of function. It can help human to do anything they want. It is easy to use and convenience to everybody in their life. Now Apple Company has contracted with many companies, such as ATT, TSMC and so on. Apple Company has a lot of supporters all over the world. Creator and history In 1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple Company. Jobs growth after several twists and turns. First Jobs dont like bundle, when he was a student. before he started his elementary school. His mother gave him in advance how to learn. But this has led to the later he arrived at the school. He said he has nothing to do for a few years and usually look for trouble by himself. Jobs soon discovered they can do work. Jobs like natural work, rather than be disciplined by others. Jobs met in the different authority, he disliked it. He almost and obey them, his curiosity about all sorts of things that they almost captured him. Jobs in McCollum class only with a years time to learn over three years of course. Jobs have a project, he made a photocell switch device, this matter after exposure the school of science living the school can make the device, jobs gets knowledge from his father. And his is very interesting in laser. Jobs and a few friends partnership created belong to his light show stereo system. In McCollum’s class, jobs and a new graduate teachers to become friends. They especially like in the classroom with all the time to discuss their legend. His brother Stephen Wozniak worked in a swimming team almost five years, so jobs know more about electronic. But in the emotional and social he is a senior high school student, very weak. When Mike Markkula joined Jobs and Wozniak, Jobs their fledgling partnership into Apple Co., LTD. In January 1977,their valued about $5309. Four years later they think it is time to open the value. It is the first public in 1980, become most oversubscribe, apple company would be $1.79 billion. Yes, billion. In this change process it will make three hundred millionaires. Development Apple has a lot of competitors, Such as IBM, Microsoft, etc. They are rivals as well as a friend, in 1991 they had technical communication. In astronomy, the two stars orbit is binary system is closely related. Because of their attraction is interaction. In history have a similar situation, when a time made the relationship and competition two track star: In the twentieth century physics Albert Einstein and Bohr, for instance, in early American management, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander. Hamilton. For the first thirty years of the personal computer era, in the 1970 s, the definition of a binary star system is made up of two were born in 1955 college students of high energy control. Bill Gates and jobs has a very different character and background, although they have the same ambition interchange technology and business. Gates father is a Seattle famous lawyer, his mother a city in all kinds of famous leaders of the board of directors. He became a technical personnel a rebel, hippies, spiritual seekers, or members of the counterculture. Not a blue box destroy the phone company, gates in the school to create a program to help scheduling local traffic engineer and he such a car calculation procedure he got the girl. He went to Harvard, but he decided to leave school, this is not to find the enlightenment and the Indian master but a computer software company. Jobs also have the same thing. This is twin cooperation. When the first developed was Macintosh, Jobs to visit near Seattle gates office. Microsoft wrote some applications for Apple II , including one called Multiplan spreadsheet program, jobs want to stimulate gates and his company, for the upcoming Macintosh computer do more. Sitting in the Gates meeting rooms, jobs for public computer made a tempting perspective, friendly interface, this show is in a California factory automation has millions of production. He in the California suction silicon components and cultivate complete dream factory lead to Microsoft team Macintosh computer program code sand. They even put engineering reverse to a acronym, Steves amazing new devices. But in the end they twin and no successful cooperation. In 1988 when jobs announced the future computer, caused a excited. The second year began to sales, computer finally failed. The ability of jobs, move in media began to fail him, a series of things that companies get into trouble. Because of the presence of relatively small software running, so then, it has been difficult to attract customers. Jobs was fired the board of directors, in 1996 the second back to apple. Apple Story Apple the pursuit of perfect, it also led to the growth of its ups and downs. Jobs not willing to give up work and control anything, especially when it may affect the customer experience. But he was faced with a problem. There is a part of the process he does not control: in a store to buy apple products experience. He went on to do a insightful views: this difference in design philosophy, he said, he and the apple is not good at cooperation with other companies. Because Woz and I made the company based on the whole banana, we are not so good at working with people, he said. I think if apple in its DNA can have more, may make him its very good. As early as in 2002, jobs have been impatient, Microsoft engineer development platform of computer software developed, it allows users to pen or pen input information on the screen. Some manufacturers released tablet PC this year using software, but have no effect on field. Jobs have been eager to prove no pen in how to use! But when he saw the development of apple is touch technology, he has decided to the first to use it in the iPhone. The first Apple computer was created in 1985s. It is name â€Å"Mac XL† By the end of 1985 apple MAC computers sold only 500000, no hit the two million mark, until 1988. Then they created â€Å"Mac128†, â€Å"Mac512†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Quadra 700† that was the first apples new MAC computer sales specifically for enterprise and graphics professionals provided. And then they created Mac 9500. Computer Mac 9500 is the first based on the PowerPC and can replace CPU tower daughter card. And in recent years at 2003 they created the first flat-panel iMac. â€Å"We must always give our customers the pure sex. It is like a in the back seat of a car with a beautiful girl rendezvous. Peoples experience and personal computer should be able to give you the biggest high tide.† said by Jean-Louis. Apple iPhone  They use an iPod that makes calls. By 2005 iPod sales soared. A surprise number twenty million. One year, is equivalent to the amount of the first four years. IPod products more and more important, this year, the companys bottom line, accounting for 45% of revenue, And it is also exaggeration polishing company image, driving, MAC computer sales. The same thing will happen to iPod, if mobile manufacturers begin to build music player to their mobile phones. Everyone carry a cell phone, it will make iPod unnecessary. Customers will want to use the prospect that jobs and his team became excited, construct a phone call. Their original method is to modify the iPod. They tried to use track wheel as a way for users to roll call option. No keyboard, try to enter the Numbers. It is not a natural choice. At that time they had a second project in apple: A secret efforts to build a computer platform. In 2005, the story is divided, iPod idea actually from before, in order to help s hape the iPhone. The value of the Apple More than $50 billion has been cut off, science and technology giant apples market value as its share price slump. Share price dropped 12%, make poor iPhone in Christmas and Halloween sales plunged, mini iPod effect is the main reason for the company sales performance. The latest computer giant data showed that Mac sales fell 21.2% from the same period last year, Believe that the consumer is so infatuated with they buy the tablet PC, rather than a more expensive Mac computers. Some reports even claimed that smaller, cheaper iPod mini have similar influence on the size iPod sales. Because the Christmas iPhone sales not beautiful, apple shares dropped 12%, Apple Company is may lose it’s in intelligent mobile phone market dominant position. Conclusion  Since Jobs created the Apple Company and developed from 1976 to now. This company it also led to the growth of its ups and downs. And introduced Jobs grew up. Jobs dont like bundle, when he was a student. In 1985 Apple Company had the first computer they created. At 2003 they created the first flat-panel iMac. They use an iPod that makes calls. Their original method is to modify the iPod. They tried to use track wheel as a way for users to roll call option. No keyboard, try to enter the Numbers. It is not a natural choice. At that time they had a second project in apple: A secret efforts to build a computer platform. Then the iPhone was born. Due to the mini iPod encroach on apples profits, Mac computer sales profit rate is low, Former CEO Steve Jobs introduced the new iPhone in January 2007. Some have attributed the decline in sales to the underwhelming launch of the iPhone 5 and the rise in other smartphones.

Transactional Vs Transformational Leadership

Transactional Vs Transformational Leadership This essay is required to conduct a better understanding of leadership styles transactional and transformational leadership styles from researching on Richard Branson and Steve Jobs success, and discuss about different types of changes (incremental and radical changes) may occur in an organisation in order to learn change management methods can be applied to a real case (Virgin Group). Although both of the excellent leaders exhibit characteristics of both transactional and transformational leadership styles, this essay will identify Steve Jobs as a transactional leader and Richard Branson as a transformational leader with three reasons for each statement. This essay will identify and describe six examples of changes (incremental and radical) for each leader (three examples each type). At last, this essay will discuss about the concepts of change management and explain Kotters 8-Step Change Model by applying to a real case (Virgin Group). Transactional Leadership VS Transformational Leadership Good leadership is the key to the success of an organization. Transactional leadership is performance-oriented and transformational leadership is people-oriented. To be more specific, transactional leadership involves reinforcement to monitor and justify followers performances by using reward and punishment, while transformational leadership tends to inspire and motivate the followers loyalty and concentration by leaders charisma. Steve Jobs as Transactional Leader Transactional leaders characteristic behaviours are: (Barbuto, 2005) Contingent Reward Contingent reward is actually a usual way that most of the managers use to motivate teams, create positive competition and improve effectiveness. Steve Jobs had the impressive ability to notice talent and active employees and allocate them to the right place in the company. Each year, Jobs took his top 100 people on a retreat. It is not only a reward as a vacation, but also an acknowledgement from STEVE JOBS! In my opinion, acknowledgements from successful genius would be the best reward for my hard working. Management by exception Transactional leaders take actions based on the exceptions (performance) of the employees. Steve Jobs categorised his followers as either geniuses or bozos, and quickly firing those who fall in the latter camp (Greene-Blose, 2012). Another characteristic of transactional leadership would be the desire for control which is typical Steve Jobs style. His favourite presentation tools were a whiteboard and a Magic Marker, which gives him fully control in the conference. After his reinventing Apple, Jobs had several weeks of product review sessions. Finally he run out of patience and shouted the team to stop, grabbed a Magic Marker to the white board and wrote down four words: Consumer, Pro., Desktop and Portable. Then he said:Here is what we need! (Isaacson, 2012) This is Steve Jobs, full of power and passion, who gave clear incentives and strategies to his followers with his wisdom and visions. Richard Branson as Transformational Leader Transformational leaders characteristic behaviours are: (Barbuto, 2005) Idealized influence Richard Branson has become a role model for his followers inside or outside of his Virgin Empire by his own passionate and fearless life style. With his own words, You want to create something you are proud ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ That has always been my philosophy of business (Branson), Richard Branson broke many world records such as the fastest recorded Atlantic crossing by boat, the first Atlantic crossing by hot-air balloon, etc. He proved that anything is possible to his followers and the rest of the world with real examples. (Ocker, 2008) Inspiration motivation Richard Branson is a visionary leader with dreams and relentless work attitude which make those dreams come true. At the early stage of Virgin Group business, he once said:I want Virgin to be as well-known around the world as Coca-Cola. (Branson) After decades of time, the brand of Virgin have become world well-known, and covers many different areas of business which Coca-Cola wound not dare to try. Those kinds of ambitions and courage ties his group together and close, and leads him to keep on improving Virgin Group services and productions. Individualized consideration Richard Branson business maxim is staff first, customers second and shareholders third (Locke, 2009). One of his most famous and interesting story would be the lawsuit against British Airways for its protracted libel actions and ended with a settlement of about  £600,000 total. After Richard Branson got the money, he divided it to all his employees for their hard working. It was not only a reward, but more like sharing a triumph. On the other hand, the major reason of Richard Bransons business success is that he takes care of customers needs with innovations and consideration, such as placing a rubber ducky in each bathroom of Virgin-owned hotels in order to make guests feel ate home, putting Listening Posts in their record stores and allowing customers to listen to entire CDs before purchasing. (Richard Branson Virgin) In general, transformational leadership style is considered more as a friendly and flexible way to organize a company, while transactional leadership is considered more tough and efficient. It is hard to say which one is better. All the good leaders all over the world (include the two above) have the characteristics of the both leadership styles., such as Steve Jobs charismatic characteristics and spiritual motivating speech skills (Transformational), and Richard Branson strict management ways on the lower level positions in the organisation (Transactional). Transformational leadership does not replace transactional leadership but improves the effectiveness of transactional leadership from a different angle. (Bernard, Bass, Riggio, 2005) Incremental Changes VS Radical Changes Changes are inevitable in human lives as well as in business operations. Incremental change takes place over a long time period for development purposes, while radical change is more often triggered by a crisis or a business opportunity. There are several differences listed in the following table. Incremental Changes Radical Changes Reasons Business development Expansion Dealing with crisis Seizing a significant business opportunity Period Long period of time Short period of time Examples Improvement Such as TQM, new system implementation Revolutionary changes Such as restructuring, merger, take-over Approaches types May be small, slow, on-going May be onetime events, quick Respond and effect Hardly noticed by the management level Immediately adapt May cause resistance to changes Steve Jobs Incremental Changes Example1: Pixar In 1986, Steve Jobs bought The Graphics Group from Lucasfilm for $10 millions, changed the name to Pixar and started his career in animation manufacturing. With his visionary plans and technology support from his computer company NeXT, Pixar developed a software package called RenderMan (which has been widely accepted and used in filmmaking industry). RenderMan was implemented into the existing Pixar production line slowly in order to improve quality of the products. After ten years time, Pixar finally achieved an amazing success in the animation filming industry. It kept producing a series of animation films, beginning with Toy Story (1995), which led Pixars worth to over $1.5 billion. It took 10 years to implementing and perfecting the new software into production and transferring Steve Jobs leadership style into Pixars existing operation, and achieves a remarkable improvement at the end. This is an incremental change made by Steve Jobs. Example2: Digital hub strategy After Steve Jobs returning to Apple in 1997 as an interim CEO, he successfully brought Apple back to profitability with a amazing consumer desktop computer iMac. By facing negative predictions about proclaiming PCS would disappear within a couple of years, Steve Jobs continuously led Apple to keep on perfecting i products with the meaning of internet, individual, instruct, inform and inspire as the same way Apple always do. (Steve Jobs introductory 1998 iMac slide show) In 2001, Steve Jobs unveiled the Digital Hub Strategy to the public and in the next 10 years time he kept on launching a series of new products which extremely changed and led the trade of the whole world. (Kurian, 2012) There was an interesting event that Steve Jobs called himself as the iCEO of Apple instead of interim CEO humorously which entertained the public very much (Macworld San Francisco 2000). It was also a smart way to promoting i products while teasing with the board of Apple for rehiring him as a temporary executive officer. This huge successful change took 10 years to be accomplished followed by Steve Jobs leadership piece by piece. It maintained the old producing direction and improved production qualities. It was a long period on-going process of implementing Jobs wisdom into Apple Company. Example3: Retirement from Apple Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, but he kept on denying any serious problem. That is why everyone was surprised when Apple announced that Steve Jobs would not go on stage for the Macworld keynote in 2009, and he took six months off at the same year. Jobs finally resigned as CEO of Apple in 2011 but remained as the Chairman of the companys board, and he passed away after 6 weeks. (Kurian, 2012) There may be some radical changes involved for damage control purpose, but in general, Steve Jobs took care of his retirement carefully and smoothly to avoid negative impact within 3 years time. For instance, he distributed his responsibilities to other executives step by step, and before his final resign, he strongly recommended Tim Cook in written, that letter was released to the public later in order to retain faith. The whole process was carefully planned and implemented in a long time step by step. In my opinion, it can be an incremental change. Steve Jobs Radical Changes Example1: Macintosh VS Lisa In the early 80s, Apple was creating a business-oriented computer named Lisa under Steve Jobs supervising, but later after that, Steve Jobs thrown out of the Lisa project because of his bad temper. He was so angry and decided to take revenge by developing a small project called Macintosh in order to destroy the sales of Lisa. (Kurian, 2012) It was a radical strategy. Macintosh had user-friendly interface (point-and -click) which inspired other computer manufactories and changed the direction of computer industry since then, but it was not as welcome to the market as Jobs expected though. At that time, IBMs PC was more compatible with its cheaper price. Because this action was taken rapidly without well planning and careful market researching, Macintosh project failed. Example2: Staging a Coup There was another revenge taken by Steve Jobs after his removal from Lisa project, he tried to stage a coup. As we all know, he failed again. (Kurian, 2012) It was a restructuring plan, and he took actions rapidly. But without endorsement from Apple board of directors and support from other colleagues, he got fired from his own company. Example3: Reinventing Apple By 1996, Apple rehired Steve Jobs as an informal adviser to the CEO. At that time, Apple was keeping on losing money and Steve Jobs staged another coup. He successes this time and became an interim CEO in 1997.The first thing he had done after his promotion is cutting off the production lines and focused on four products. This effective decision brought the lost confidence back to the Apple community (Kurian, 2012). In the meantime, Jobs took other actions such as announcing a new slogan Think Different and launched an amazing project which brought Apples resurgence lately, the iMac. (Edwards, 2008) Those actions and decisions above are radical changes (restructuring and redesigning the production processes). They were new strategies to the company for solving a financial crisis in a short time period. Richard Branson Incremental Changes Example1: Virgin Atlantic There are some unique features Virgin Atlantic has while other airways may not have can be considered as incremental changes. Such as, serving a cup of ice cream while passengers watching movies during travelling in order to provide a better service. Virgin Atlantic does not provide meals for short distance flight in order to reduce ticket price. This kind of services is provided for improving quality of service. Example2: Virgin Group Because Richard Branson received a lot of support from his family and friends during hi early period of business stage (borrowed money from his auntie and supported by John Lennon), the whole Virgin Group services can be considered as a long term process for implementing Richard Bransons plan of giving back to the society and helping those people who has ambitious but doesnt have opportunities. Such as, Virgin Money provides a set of formalised documentations help people who need loans. Although Virgin Money U.S. did not work well in USA, Richard Branson helped millions of people with his good heart in UK. Those actions can be considered as Incremental Changes. Example3: Eco-friendly efforts In 2007, Richard Branson launched Virgin Earth Challenge dedicating in to environmental issues. He made several decisions that supervised the whole world, such as a $25 millions prize for inventors who comes up with a viable solution for scrubbing carbon gases from atmosphere. He also pledged to reinvest all profits from Virgin transportation business over the decade into developing ecologically benign fuels. This kind of actions may not affect other Virgin companies, but they will improve Virgin Groups reputation, it is also a long time period project. Richard Branson Radical Changes Example1: Virgin Records Shop At the beginning, Richard Branson started his records business as mail ordering company in London, and it went well. After a postal strike, the mail order business was crippled. Richard Branson was forced to seek new outlets and he opened his first retail store in Oxford Street in 1971. This was a strategy for dealing with a crisis situation, and operated immediately. It changed Virgin Records business process and structure. Example2: Selling Virgin Music Group Selling Virgin Music probably would be the hardest decision Richard Branson has ever made in his whole lifetime. This decision was made in order to get money to take Virgin Atlantic back into private ownership (Vinnedge, 2009). This change was forced by a financial crisis and included restructuring process. Example3: Closing Virgin Money U.S. Richard Branson launched a loan servicing company called Virgin Money U.S. in America in 2007, and began its withdrawal after 2 years (Lepro, 2010). Its social loans were transferred to Graystone Solutions. This time, Richard Branson misjudged the market and had to make the decision in order to limit the damage. Other reasons of this collapse might be the bad economy and different culture in America. This change included restructuring and take-over in a short time. To sum up the above examples and explanations, incremental changes are normally well planned and taken over by pieces, there is less possibilities of failure. Radical changes are immediate responses for a crisis or significant opportunity, there are chances of failure. Change Management in Virgin Group Story of Virgin Mobile In 2007, Virgin Group announced the completion of its biggest challenge which brought over 10 million customers and 13,000 employees merger of NTL, Telewest and Virgin Mobile under the Virgin Media brand. It is known as the largest Virgin Company in the world. This operation took more than two years to complete the whole the merger, and Virgin Group handled it carefully, especially on employees resistance. Reasons of employees resistance to this change and strategies It is necessary for leaders to understand that resistances to changes are normal. In order to deal with those obstacles, leaders have to identify reasons of employees resistances firstly and develop different strategies for different situations. Some common reasons are following: Fear Mostly, employees fear comes from uncertainty about their career. In this situation, employees were worried about if there would be a layoff or if they were qualified for the new company. Strategies: Virgin Group kept employees involved during managing changes. The high level of the management went done to the front line staff and listened to the staffs ideas and problems, and shared their own experiences. Richard Branson took care of individual needs carefully. Meanwhile, he also announced that if the employees no longer have the enthusiasm, they would be better to find a new job. As long as the employees performed with full responsibilities, they would always be considered as a part of the company. This kind of instructions increased the sense of the urgency, and motivated employees to move on positively. No faith in new process Former NTL and Telewest employees might have uncertainties about the new process of Virgin Group. Because NTL and Telewest Company had several years of struggling with the bad economy environment, they could not be sure whether the new company would lead them to improve the organisational performance. Strategies: Richard Branson gave responsibilities to his employees, and went to the front line personally to inform clear instructions. Establishing clear instructions and explanations, and demonstrating a picture of a better future would increase employees faith and certainty of the new process. Comfort personal preference Former NTL and Telewest employees had their own ways of daily operations, and the new company brought its new ways of doing business, so they might have the difficulties to adopt the new culture. Such as, those staff had their old way of dealing with customers calls by following the instructions and scripts strictly, while Richard Branson believes that each customer would have his/her unique problem, staff should help different customers differently. Strategies: Richard Branson threw away all the scripts and told call-center employees to help customers within one call if possible. In order to support their work, he allocated necessary resources to the font line. Lack of knowledge Although some former NTL and Telewest employees were expert in their old company, they might need to start from the beginning since the new company had its unique ways of doing business. Strategies: For this kind of anxiety, Richard Branson responded with three words only: Live and Learn! He provided resources and training programs for employees in order to create a positive learning environment, and he also encouraged communication among different levels of the management to understand individual difficulties. Lack of trust Virgin Group has different diversity of businesses and it used to prefer small piece of business, whether Richard Branson has the ability to lead the large company to make profit and keep growing would be unpredictable. This is the reason that some employees might have difficulties to adapt the changes. Strategies: Richard Branson kept developing new products and services, and led the company to profitability, such as more packages of Virgin Broadband, more channels and TV programs for Virgin Media Television, and etc. Those successes brought back the trust in several years, not immediately. Application of Kotters Change Model Create Urgency At this stage, it is necessary to deliver a message that the whole company really needs this change. The company has to provide solid reasons and convincing dialogues support this decision. To Kotters belief, this stage is the most important stage; lack of preparation would easily lead to a project failure. In Virgin Medias case, leader should show people NTL and Telewests poor performance reports and most importantly, the potentials, because no one will have faith in a failed business. With a brief introduction of development scenarios, leader should emphasise the opportunities and benefit from this merger. Form a Powerful Coalition In order to influence people to accept the change, leader needs a group of key people from different department to support the change management process. They dont necessary have to be who has legitimate power, but also can be expert, and other influential people. In Virgin Medias case, leader should select powerful and influential people from ex-NTL and ex-Telewest Company, and select good communicators from Virgin Mobile, in order to organise a supportive team. Once organised, the team needs to work together and continuing to create urgency in their own working areas. Create a Vision for Change The next step would be generating an overall vision about the change, including values and reasons of the change, short summaries, and strategies to execute that vision. In Virgin Medias case, leader should have a clear idea about what to do with ex-NTL and ex-Telewest, and why Virgin Mobile needs to conduct a merger with them. As the matter of the fact, Richard Branson was trying to build the first quadruple play  [1]   media company in UK, and after couple of years hard working, he did it. Communicate the Vision After creating the vision, leader should deliver the message to the team members, and with their help, the message can be distributed to all aspects of the company. The message should not be sent through meetings only, most importantly through daily communications among the whole company. In Virgin Medias Case, Richard Branson tried to communicate with employees as much as possible and motivate them to maintain in a positive working attitude. Those ideas and visions were implanted into employees mind during those communications. Remove Obstacles In order to ease employees resistance to changes, leader should avoid having resistance to employees resistance. Leader should be willing to listen and understand employees difficulties and find a way to help them walk through it. In Virgin Media case, Richard Branson provided clear instructions to all employees, and went to the front-line in person to listen to employees. He allocated necessary resources to them and tried to create a learning environment, in order to improve performance. Create Short-term Wins Celebrations for short-term wins would be the easiest and most efficient way to prove that we are doing the right things and we are doing things right. It is not only for motivating employees passion of working, but also for gaining trust. In Virgin Medias case, leader should recognize and reward people for their excellent performance and making changes happen, and encourage them to keep on working positively. Build on the Change Kotter believes that it is very important for leaders to avoid celebrating too early and being complacent about current short-term success. There would be always rooms for improvement. In Virgin Medias Case, Richard Branson kept on producing and developing new products and services, and tracking on employees performances all the time. He went through daily operations in details in person to seek for ways of improvements. Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture Formalising the changes and including them as part of organisations culture would be the last step of change management process. This step can be considered as a closure and promotion. In Virgin Medias case, Richard Branson announced Virgin Groups success to the public all the time through different kind of channels, such as TV, radio, Virgin websites, blogs, magazines and etc. Conclusion After researching on Steve Jobs and Richard Branson life stories as a leader, this essay is conducted in order to gain a better understanding about the concepts of being an excellent leader. Leadership Style Steve Jobs was considered as a tough and strict (even dictatorial) leader, but he was also a respectful leader who could inspire and motivate followers by using his wisdom and charismas. Richard Branson is considered as gentle and flexible leaders, but he is very strict on day-to-day operations. As a leader, being transactional can improve employees performance while being transformational can improve effectiveness. Therefore, there is no one simple leadership style for one organisation. Both of the leadership styles are crucial to a business success. Types of changes Incremental change may takes place over a long time period for development and improvement purpose, while radical change may be triggered by a crisis or a business opportunity and generated in a short time period. Because incremental changes are normally well planned and taken over by pieces, there is less possibilities of failure. Radical changes are initiated immediately after realising a crisis or significant opportunity, so without a careful plan and on-going monitoring there are chances of failure. Change Management It is important to understand that employees resistance to changes are natural, but how to manage those negative feelings are critical. In general, leader should keep employees involved in the decision making, address their problems and seek for solutions, create a positive learning environment and make the change happen by working with employees as an example. Change management processes should be carefully planned and operated, especially the preparing stage (Create Urgency). A powerful coalitions positive support would make the operations accomplished smoothly, that is why selecting the right team member is very important. Leader and coalition should lead by examples, communicate with employees and deliver visions as much as possible. Do remember celebrating on short-term wins and establish big victory formally as companys culture.

The Impact of a Third Party America´s Two Party Political System Essay

The Impact of a Third Party America ´s Two Party Political System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For hundreds of years, the two party system has dominated the American culture, but many people are confused by what a two party system actually means. Although a two party system is defined as two parties that are bigger than the rest, third parties have greatly impacted elections for over a hundred years. Minor parties still continuously voice their opinions in issues, causing other candidates of either major party to adopt their philosophies. Furthermore, some parties, such as the Reform have actually been successful in obtaining a position, such as governor. Finally, third party candidates have actually taken away votes from a number of nominees over the years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third parties have become a necessity in this modern age with their ability to promote their beliefs onto other parties who advocate those policies in later elections. Therefore, it is obvious that the viewpoints of the Democratic and Republican parties have been affected by minor parties. Throughout American history, minor parties have adjusted and formed new parties concerning the issues, so the two major parties must switch their position as the issues change, allowing for the acceptance of many third party ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example, the Socialist Party is supposed to be responsible for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, which greatly helped many Americans. This shows that many Presidents reflect on the ideas of other parties and adopt them during their tenure in office. In addition to the New Deal, minor parties Eugene Debs, who ran four times fighting for the factory workers, and Ross Perot, who endeavored to eradicate the national debt, both inspired Presidents to accept their policies. Warren G. Harding approved the ideas of Eugene Debs while Clinton actually turned the national debt into a surplus before leaving office. Factional parties, such as the Bull Moose Party have also influenced the major parties to change their views. The Bull Moose Party called for more attention to not only business regulations but also party reform. Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for President and the Republican Party was forced to make a strong reform in their usual policy. These various examples, throughout the years, prove how strong the minor parties were in impacting the presidential elections through other part... ...ile Lincoln received about 1.85 million of the popular vote. This shows how a split only causes losses while sticking together allows for victory according to statistics. Lincoln won only approximately 40 percent of the popular vote but still won presidency. Obviously, third parties have changed many presidential elections in our nation’s history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third parties have shown their mark on presidential elections throughout the United States’ history. Whether it was through other candidates adopting their policies, with their local success, or with their impact on elections, third party candidates have caused major change on various presidential elections. Minor parties will continue to impact other candidates and the rest of the country into adopting their views on certain issues. According to Nader, â€Å"The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door.† Obviously third party candidates will continue to run and impact elections for years to come. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/politics101/politics101_thirdparties.html http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h832.html

Frankenstein And Schizoprenia (My Teacher LOVED This Paper) :: essays research papers fc

Schizophrenia and Frankenstein In a psychoanalytic view of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert Walton develops, during a â€Å"dreadfully severe† trip through the Arctic, a type of schizophrenia; this mental condition enables him to create a seemingly physical being representing each his superego and his id (9). In his mind, Walton creates Victor as his very own superego and the monster as his id. The superego and the id battle throughout the story to produce the final result: Walton, the ego. Many of the qualities Walton develops during his trip are symptoms of schizophrenia. His letters exude an aura of depression, loneliness, In his second letter, Walton emphasizes an obsession with his aspiration to lose his loneliness. He â€Å"desires the company of a man who could sympathize with [him]† (Shelley 7). According to Merrell Dow, Preoccupations†¦are fixed ideas, not necessarily false (like delusions) but overvalued. They take on extraordinary importance and take up an ordinate amount of thought time. One idea often returns and returns†¦Characteristically, the worry grows and becomes unrealistic (par 16). Walton reiterates his loneliness; even though he is surrounded by people on his ship, he â€Å"[has] no friend† (Shelley 7-8). Contributing to this feeling of isolation, Walton uses a tone of depression in his letters, a recurring feeling he experiences. He hints in nearly every letter clues indicating his fear of death. He wants his sister to â€Å"remember [him] with affection; should [she] never hear from [him] again† (Shelley 10). By constantly mentioning the possibility of his own death in his letters, Shelley stresses Walton’s overvalued worry of dying. Walton longs to see his sister; his mental condition leads him to even consider himself abandoned. Walton admits that success during this mission will lead to â€Å"many, many months, perhaps years† before they would meet again; however, failure results in either quick departure for home, or death (Shelley 6). Whether he succeeds or fails, he will have negative results. These constant recurrences emph asize the validity of his mental illness. As he develops the mental disease, Walton creates a world that makes sense in his mind, and his mind alone; he â€Å"[lives] in a Paradise of [his] own creation† with characters whom spawn from his own psyche (Shelley 5). Once schizophrenia becomes severe, Walton develops two seemingly real characters in his imagination. Walton’s mental condition and obsessive longing for someone to connect with leads him to separate himself mentally from his superego and id.

Custom Essay - Racial Prejudice and Anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice :: Merchant of Venice Essays

Racial Prejudice and Anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare's comedy, The Merchant of Venice, uses satire to present Shakespeare's views on racial prejudice and anti-Semitism. The premise deals with the antagonistic relationship between Shylock, a Jewish moneylender and Antonio, the Christian merchant, who is as generous as Shylock is greedy. This essay will examine how the themes of racial prejudice, and anti-Semitism are presented in The Merchant of Venice.    Shylock is stereotypically described as "costumed in a recognizably Jewish way in a long gown of gabardine, probably black, with a red beard and/or wing like that of Judas, and a hooked putty nose or bottle nose" (Charney, p. 41).   Shylock is a defensive character because society is constantly reminding him he is different in religion, looks, and motivation. He finds solace in the law because he, himself, is an outcast of society. Shylock is an outsider who is not privy to the rights accorded to the citizens of Venice. The Venetians regard Shylock as a capitalist motivated solely by greed, while they saw themselves as Christian paragons of piety.    When Shylock considers taking Antonio's bond using his ships as collateral, his bitterness is evident when he quips, "But ships are but board, sailors but men. There be land rats and water rats, water thieves and land thieves -- I mean pirates -- and then there is the peril of waters, winds, and rocks" (I.iii.25). Shylock believes the Venetians are hypocrites because of their slave ownership. The Venetians justify their practice of slavery by saying simply, "The slaves are ours" (IV.i.98-100). During the trial sequence, Shylock persuasively argues, "You have among you many a purchased slave, which (like your asses and your dogs and mules). You us in abject and in slavish parts, because you bought them, shall I say to you, let them be free, marry them to your heirs... you will answer, `The slaves are ours,' -- so do I answer you: The pound of flesh (which I demand of him) is dearly bought, 'tis mine and I will have it" (IV.i.90-100).    Shakespeare's depiction of the Venetians is paradoxical. They are, too, a capitalist people and readily accept his money, however, shun him personally. Like American society, 16th century Venice sought to solidify their commercial reputation through integration, but at the same time, practiced social exclusion.

Effects Of Mercury On The Enviroment

LA Gear and other shoe companies have been using mercury to make the switch active in their shoe that light up when a person walks. The shoes should return to the company after the user is done with the to be recycled. Since LA never advertises this, people just thrown them away like any other pair of old shoes. Eventually the shoes end up in a land fill and the mercury can leak out into the environment. Mercury is a highly toxic substance and is the cause of the Minamata Disease in the 1950’s. On the top 20 toxic chemical list, mercury rates 3rd. Mercury bioaccumulates in the body and has difficulty eliminating it. It may reach dangerous levels over time and causes sever damage to the central nervous system. Mercury’s Effect on the Environment and People Mercury is one of the biggest environmental problems that exist because it is hard to get of once in the environment. In the past, mercury was used to make things like paper, put in paint and thermometers, and as an agricultural pesticide. The Minamata Disease is a good example of what could happen if mercury enters into the environment. In the mid 1950’s, more than 100 Japanese were poisoned by fish that contained methyl mercury. The mercury came from industrial waste that had been dumped into the bay where the fish were caught. The mercury bioaccumulated up the food chain. The cats the were eating the fish showed the symptoms first. They began to act very strange; running into walls and acting like they were â€Å"in a trance. † The people in the village developed mental retardation, insanity, and birth defects from eating the poisoned fish. Fifty people died and 150 people suffered from these disorders. Another example of mercury’s effect on people and the environment comes from the saying â€Å"mad as a hatter. † In the 1800’s, hats were made with mercury to stiffened the brim. The hatters that made the hats worked with mercury all the time. The mercury was absorbed into their skin and caused them to develop neurological and physiological disorders. People just assumed they were going crazy. From then on, when someone thought another was going out of their mind they would say they were â€Å"mad as a hatter. †

Team Strategic Plan

Team Strategic Plan * Core Values: * Loyalty – stay committed to the team’s schedule. * Respect – Treat others as you would wish to be treated * Selfless Service – Put the best interest of the team and class above yourself * Integrity – Do what is right, even when no one is watching * Personal Courage – Do the hard right over the easy wrong * Operating Guidelines: * Zero tolerance for any member who refuses to contribute to the success of the team. * All team members are required to follow the Texas A&M-commerce’s code of conducts. * We will consult each other before taking any decisions. * SWOT Analysis: Internal Strengths- * Teamwork focused * Well rounded educational foundation * Diversity * Quantitative analysis * Writing skills * Internal Weaknesses- * 75% of members are 1st semester graduate students. * Ineffectiveness in communication because English is the second language for 75% of members. * None of the team members are famil iar with APA style. * External Opportunities- * Easy access to information about Strategic Management (textbook and library). * Abilities to research online needed information. * Aptitudes to ask for help to our wonderful well-educated teacher and at the Texas A&M-commerce library. External Threats- * Geographic distance * Limited time to achieve this assignment. * The high expectations of our teacher will not allow us to present a poor documented strategic plan. * Mission: (Who, what, when, where, why) This team was organized to enhance the collective learning experience and draw from the diverse backgrounds of its team members in order to successfully complete all MGT 591 course requirements to the highest standards . * Vision: (What we want to be): we will present to this class a strategic plan on the addressed topic: The potential Impact of Compassionate Leaders on Performance Excellence Initiatives. Goals: (Must be Specific, Measurable) * Broad Goals- write a research paper on the potential Impact of Compassionate Leaders on Performance Excellence Initiatives. * Specific Goals- * 1-Submit the team strategic plan on or before 11:30p. m. CST on 9/8. * 2- Submit the team Research Paper any time before 11:30p. m. CST on 10/27 * Strategy: (The plan of how and when to Achieve the Goals & Objectives. Who will do what, when) * Strategy Formulation- in order to be fully on time with the schedule, we will use all sources of communication available such as online chat, emails, phones, and face-to-face intercourse. Strategy Implementation- * First day of meeting: we will get to know each team member, choose a topic, and brainstorming on the best ways to get this assignment done on time. * Second day of meeting: first we will set a fix and detailed schedule. Then, we will found a common ground on whether to assign each team member with a specific part to research on, or to research the topic as a whole. * From then on until the final day: we will make sure to help eac h other stay on schedule. * Critical Success Factors: (Only two or three): * All team members must do thorough research on the topic. It is imperative to submit on time to avoid penalties. * Effective communication among team members. * Distinctive Competencies: (Different than Core values, but in line with them): the source of our competitive advantage comes from our diverse backgrounds. Each one of us has a different culture, which enables us to provide a synergy beneficial to this research paper. * Measurements and Feedback: this section will be use each and every day to avoid any misunderstanding. At any time, we will let each other know what we think should be done.