Acquisition is a High Risky Strategy Essay Example for Free

Acquisition is a High Risky Strategy Essay In the literature, several motives for takeovers have been identified. One is the desire for synergy. That is, similarities or complementarities between the acquiring and target firms are expected to result in the combined value of the enterprises exceeding their worth as separate firms (Collis and Montgomery, 1998). A second motive involves the expectation that acquirers can extract value because target companies have been managed inefficiently (Varaiya, 1987). A third motive is attributed to managerial hubris the notion that senior executives, in overestimating their own abilities, acquire companies they believe could be managed more profitably under their control. Agency theory motive is the anticipation that firm expansion will positively impact the compensation of top managers since there tends to be a direct relation between firm size and executive pay. Contemporary specialists contend that managerial ownership incentives may be expected to have divergent impacts on corporate strategy and firm value. This premise has been recognized in previous studies. For instance, Stulz (1988) has examined the ownership of managers of target companies and has proposed that the relationship between that ownership and the value of target firms may initially be positive and then subsequently become negative with rising insider ownership. Moreover, Shivdasani (1993) empirically shows that the relationship of the ownership structure of target companies with the value of hostile bids is not uniformly positive. McConnell and Servaes (1990) have likewise analyzed the relationship of equity ownership among corporate insiders and Tobins q. Their results demonstrate a non-monotonic relation between Tobins q and insider equity stakes. Wright et al. (1996: 451) have shown a non-linear relationship between insider ownership and corporate strategy related to firm risk taking. Ownership Incentives and Changes in Company Risk Motivating Acquisitions An agency-theoretic motive for acquisitions has been used to explain managerial preferences for risk-reducing corporate strategies (Wright et al., 1996). The implication is that both principals and agents prefer acquiring target companies with higher rather than lower returns. In that, shareholders and managers have congruent interests. The interests, however, diverge in terms of risk considerations associated with acquisitions. Because shareholders possess diversified portfolios, they may only be concerned with systematic risk and be indifferent to the total variance of returns associated with a takeover. Senior managers may alternatively prefer risk-reducing corporate strategies, unless they are granted ownership incentives. That is because they can not diversify their human capital invested in the firm. In the literature, it has been argued that agency costs may be reduced as managerial ownership incentives rise. The reason is that, as ownership incentives rise, the financial interests of insiders and shareholders will begin to converge. Analysts conjecture, however, that such incentives may not consistently provide senior executives the motivation to lessen the agency costs associated with an acquisition strategy. Inherent is the presumption that the nature of executive wealth portfolios will differently influence their attitudes toward corporate strategy. The personal wealth portfolios of top managers are comprised of their ownership of shares/options in the firm, the income produced from their employment, and assets unrelated to the firm. Presumably, as senior executives increase their equity stakes in the enterprise, their personal wealth portfolios become correspondingly less diversified. Although stockholders can diversify their wealth portfolios, top executives have less flexibility if they own substantial shares in the firms they manage. Hence, if a significant portion of managers wealth is concentrated in one investment, then they may find it prudent to diversify their firms via risk-reducing acquisitions. In the related literature, however, takeovers and risk taking have been approached differently from the described approach. Amihud and Lev (1999) have contended that insiders employment income is significantly related to the firms performance. Thus, managers are confronted with risks associated with their income if the maintenance of that income is dependent on achieving predetermined performance targets. Reasonably, in the event of either corporate underperformance or firm failure, CEOs not only may lose their current employment income but also may seriously suffer in the managerial labor market, since their future earnings potential with other enterprises may be lowered. Hence, the risk of executives employment income is impacted by the firms risk. The ramification of Amihud and Levs (1999) contentions is that top managers will tend to lower firm risk, and therefore their own employment risk, by acquiring companies that contribute to stabilizing of the firms income, even if shareho lder wealth is adversely affected. Consistent with the implications of Amihud and Levs arguments, Agrawal and Mandelker (1987) have similarly suggested that managers with negligible ownership stakes may adopt risk-reducing corporate strategies because such strategies may well serve their own personal interests. With ownership incentives, however, managers may be more likely to acquire risk-enhancing target companies, in line with the requirement of wealth maximization for shareholders. The notion that at negligible managerial ownership levels, detrimental risk-reducing acquisition strategies may be emphasized, but with increasing ownership incentive levels, beneficial risk-enhancing acquisitions may be more prevalent is also suggested in other works (Grossman and Hoskisson, 1998). The conclusion of these investigations is that the relationship between insider ownership and risk enhancing, worthy corporate acquisitions is linear and positive. Some experts assert that CEOs personal wealth concentration will induce senior managers to undertake risk-reducing firm strategies. Portfolio theorys expectation suggests that investors or owner-managers may desire to diversify their personal wealth portfolios. For instance, Markowitz (1952: 89) has asserted that investors may wish to diversify across industries because firms in different industries. . . have lower covariances than firms within an industry. Moreover, as argued by Sharpe (1964: 441), diversification enables the investor to escape all but the risk resulting from swings in economic activity. Consequently, managers with substantial equity investments in the firm may diversify the firm via risk-reducing acquisitions in order to diversify their own personal wealth portfolios. Because they may be especially concerned with risk-reducing acquisitions, however, their corporate strategies may not enhance firm value through takeovers, although managerial intention may be to boos t corporate value. The above discussion is compatible with complementary arguments that suggest that insiders may acquire non-value-maximizing target companies although their intentions may be to enhance returns to shareholders. For instance, according to the synergy view, while takeovers may be motivated by an ex-ante concern for increasing corporate value, many such acquisitions are not associated with an increase in firm value. Alternatively, according to the hubris hypothesis, even though insiders may intend to acquire targets that they believe could be managed more profitably under their control, such acquisitions are not ordinarily related to higher profitability. If acquisitions which are undertaken primarily with insider expectations that they will financially benefit owners do not realize higher performance, then those acquisitions which are primarily motivated by a risk-reducing desire may likewise not be associated with beneficial outcomes for owners. Additionally, it can be argued that shareholders can more efficiently diversify their own portfolios, making it unnecessary for managers to diversify the firm in order to achieve portfolio diversification for shareholders. Risk Associated with HRM practices in International Acquisitions There are a number of reasons why the HRM policies and practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) and cross-border acquisitions are likely to be different from those found in domestic firms (Dowling, Schuler and Welch, 1993). For one, the difference in geographical spread means that acquisitions must normally engage in a number of HR activities that are not needed in domestic firms such as providing relocation and orientation assistance to expatriates, administering international job rotation programmes, and dealing with international union activity. Second, as Dowling (1988) points out, the personnel policies and practices of MNCs are likely to be more complex and diverse. For instance, complex salary and income taxation issues are likely to arise in acquisitions because their pay policies and practices have to be administered to many different groups of subsidiaries and employees, located in different countries. Managing this diversity may generate a number of co-ordination and communication problems that do not arise in domestic firms. In recognition of these difficulties, most large international companies retain the services of a major accounting firm to ensure there is no tax incentive or disincentive associated with a particular international assignment. Finally, there are more stakeholders that influence the HRM policies and practices of international firms than those of domestic firms. The major stakeholders in private organizations are the shareholders and the employees. But one could also think of unions, consumer organizations and other pressure groups. These pressure groups also exist in domestic firms, but they often put more pressure on foreign than on local companies. This probably means that international companies need to be more risk averse and concerned with the social and political environment than domestic firms. Acquisitions and HRM Practices: Evidence from Japan, the US, and Europe In contemporary context, international human resource management faces important challenges, and this trend characterizes many Japanese, US and European acquisitions.   From the critical point of view, Japanese companies experience more problems associated with international human resource management than companies from the US and Europe (Shibuya, 2000). Lack of home-country personnel sufficient international manage ­ment skills has been widely recognized in literature as the most difficult problem facing Japanese compa ­nies and simultaneously one of the most significant of US and European acquisitions as well. The statement implies that cultivating such skills is difficult and that they are relatively rare among businessmen in any country. Japanese companies may be particularly prone to this problem due to their heavy use of home-country nationals in overseas management positions. European and Japanese acquisitions also experience the lack of home country personnel who want to work abroad, while it is less of an impediment for the US companies. In the US acquisitions expatriates often experience reentry difficulties (e.g., career disruption) when re ­turning to the home country: This problem was the one most often cited by US firms.   Today Japanese corporations report the relatively lower incidence of expatriate reentry diffi ­culties, and it is surprising given the vivid accounts of such problems at Japanese firms by White (1988) and Umezawa (1990). However, the more active role of the Japanese person ­nel department in coordinating career paths, the tradition of semi ­annual musical-chair-like personnel shuffles (jinji idoh), and the continu ­ing efforts of Japanese stationed overseas to maintain close contact with headquarters might underlie the lower level of difficulties in this area for Japanese firms (Inohara, 2001). In contrast, the decentralized structures of many US and European firms may serve to isolate expatriates from their home-country headquarters, making reentry more problematic. Also, recent downsiz ­ing at US and European firms may reduce the number of appropriate management positions for expatriates to return to, or may sever expatri ­ates relationships with colleagues and mentors at headquarters. Furthermore, within the context of the lifetime employment system, individ ­ual Japanese employees have little to gain by voicing reentry concerns to personnel managers. In turn, personnel managers need not pay a great deal of attention to reentry problems because they will usually not result in a resignation. In western firms, reentry problems need to be taken more seriously by personnel managers because they frequently result in the loss of a valued employee. A further possible explanation for the higher incidence of expatriate reentry problems in western multinationals is the greater tendency of those companies to implement a policy of transferring local nationals to headquarters or other international operations. Under such a policy, the definition of expatriate expands beyond home-country nationals to en ­compass local nationals who transfer outside their home countries. It may even be that local nationals who return to a local operation after working at headquarters or other international operations may have their own special varieties of reentry problems. Literature on international human resource practices in Japan, the US and Europe suggest that the major strategic difficulty for the MNCs is to attract high-caliber local nationals to work for the company. In general, acquisitions may face greater challenges in hiring high-caliber local employees than do domestic firms due to lack of name recognition and fewer relationships with educators or others who might recommend candidates. However, researchers suggest that this issue is significantly more difficult for Japanese than for US and European multinationals. When asked to describe problems encoun ­tered in establishing their US affiliates, 39.5% of the respondents to a Japan Society survey cited finding qualified American managers to work in the affiliate and 30.8% cited hiring a qualified workforce (Bob ; SRI, 2001). Similarly, a survey of Japanese companies operating in the US conducted by a human resource consulting firm found that 35% felt recruiting personnel to be very difficult or extremely difficult, and 56% felt it to be difficult (The Wyatt Company, 1999). In addition to mentioned problem, Japanese acquisition encounter high local employee turnover, which is significantly more prob ­lematic for them due to the near-total absence of turnover to which they are accustomed in Japan. The US, European and Japanese companies admit very rarely that they encounter local legal challenges to their personnel policies. However, in regard to Japanese acquisitions large   amount of press coverage has been given to lawsuits against Japanese companies in the United States and a Japanese Ministry of Labor Survey in which 57% of the 331 respondents indicated that they were facing potential equal employ ­ment opportunity-related lawsuits in the United States (Shibuya, 2000). Conclusion This research investigates whether corporate acquisitions with shared technological resources or participation in similar product markets realize superior economic returns in comparison with unrelated acquisitions. The rationale for superior economic performance in related acquisitions derives from the synergies that are expected through a combination of supplementary or complementary resources. It is clear from the results of this research that acquired firms in related acquisitions have higher returns than acquired firms in unrelated acqui ­sitions. This implies that the related acquired firm benefits more from the acquirer than the unrelated acquired firm. The higher returns for the related acquired firms suggest that the combination with the acquirer’s resources has higher value implications than the combination of two unrelated firms. This is supported by the higher total wealth gains which were observed in related acquisitions. I did however, in the case of acquiring firms, find that the abnormal returns directly attributable to the acquisition transaction are not significant. There are reasons to believe that the announcement effects of the transaction on the returns to acquirers are less easily detected than for target firms. First, an acquisition by a firm affects only part of its businesses, while affecting all the assets (in control-oriented acqui ­sitions) of the target firm. Thus the measurability of effects on acquirers is attenuated. Second, if an acquisition is one event in a series of implicit moves constituting a diversification program, its individual effect as a market signal would be mitigated. It is also likely that the theoretical argument which postulates that related acquisitions create wealth for acquirers may be underspecified. Relatedness is often multifaceted, suggesting that the resources of the target firm may be of value to many firms, thus increasing the relative bargaining power of the target vis-a-vis the potential buyers. Even in the absence of explicit competition for the target (multiple bidding), the premiums paid for control are a substantial fraction of the total gains available from the transaction. For managers, some implications from the research can be offered. First, it seems quite clear from the data that a firm seeking to be acquired will realize higher returns if it is sold to a related than an unrelated firm. This counsel is consistent with the view that the market recognizes synergistic combinations and values them accordingly. Second, managers in acquiring firms may be advised to scrutinize carefully the expected gains in related and unrelated acquisitions. For managers the issue of concern is not whether or not a given kind of acquisition creates a significant total amount of wealth, but what percentage of that wealth they can expect to accrue to their firms. Thus, although acquisitions involving related technologies or product market yield higher total gains, pricing mechanisms in the market for corporate acquisitions reflect the gains primarily on the target company. Interpreting these results conservatively, one may offer the argument that expected gains for acquiring firms are competed away in the bidding process, with stockholders of target firms obtaining high proportions of the gains. On a pragmatic level this research underscores the need to combine what may be called the theoretical with the practical. In the case of acquisitions, pragmatic issues like implicit and explicit competition for a target firm alter the theoretical expectations of gains from an acquisition transaction. Further efforts to clarify these issues theoretically and empirically will increase our understanding of these important phenomena. Bibliography Sharpe WF. 1964. Capital asset prices: a theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk. Journal of Finance 19: 425-442 Markowitz H. 1952. Portfolio selections. Journal of Finance 7: 77-91 Grossman W, Hoskisson R. 1998. CEO pay at the crossroads of Wall Street and Main: toward the strategic design of executive compensation. Academy of Management Executive 12: 43-57 Amihud Y, Lev B. 1999. Does corporate ownership structure affect its strategy towards diversification? Strategic Management Journal 20(11): 1063-1069 Agrawal A, Mandelker G. 1987. Managerial incentives and corporate investment and financing decisions. Journal of Finance 42: 823-837 Wright P, Ferris S, Sarin A, Awasthi V. 1996. The impact of corporate insider, blockholder, and institutional equity ownership on firm risk-taking. Academy of Management Journal 39: 441-463 McConnell JJ, Servaes H. 1990. Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value. Journal of Financial Economics 27: 595-612. Shivdasani A. 1993. Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers. Journal of Accounting and Economics 16: 167-198 Stulz RM. 1988. Managerial control of voting rights: financing policies and the market for corporate control. Journal of Financial Economics 20: 25-54 Varaiya N. 1987. Determinants of premiums in acquisition transactions. Managerial and Decision Economics 14: 175-184 Collis D, Montgomery C. 1998. Creating corporate advantage. Harvard Business Review 76(3): 71-83 White, M. 1988. The Japanese overseas: Can they go home again? New York: The Free Press. Bob, D., ; SRI International. 2001. Japanese companies in American communities. New York: The Japan Society.

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay Example for Free

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay The law of Habeas Corpus was created to permit the guilty to present their case in court and to be tried fairly. In todays war on terror, the amount of such enemy combatants who were detained indefinitely without any trial has raised. The courts are split up on following the law by the letter or to practically change it according to the situations needs. I feel its necessary to follow these laws in the same context in which they were written, and the pragmatic approach leaves room for reckless changes. To deny an enemy combatant his or her day in court cannot be justified as taking the pragmatic approach in dealing with war criminals. This paper is an attempt to present the state of law today towards war criminals and the implications of denying the basic right of Habeas Corpus to suspected terrorists. Ever since the onset of civilization, arguments have routinely erupted between various members, families, factions, and groups within civilizations and between civilizations. In ancient times, arguments would be resolved by crude means, means not limited to the powerful person using brute force to show he was in the right. The stronger person would always have, say for example, the first right to food, to agricultural produce, cattle and to wealth etc. The weak wouldn’t dare pick an argument over the stronger person in fear for their life. But as civilizations grew and advanced over time, a code of ethics and laws began to form. Societies began to incorporate and adapt these laws in their daily functioning. Drawing inspiration from religion, past civilization practices and their mistakes, it was only natural that basic human rights were thought about and codified. The rights were guaranteed to all human beings, irrespective of who was physically stronger. The American Revolution has beyond doubt shaped the basic structure of human rights for the entire world to follow. Among many undeniable rights to citizens, the writ of Habeas Corpus was identified and established very early on in the Revolution. In Europe, the writ of Habeas Corpus was first traced to be used around the 12th and 13th centuries during the medieval period. Habeas Corpus translates from Latin to mean â€Å"you may have the body† or you may examine the body. It is essentially a writ that requires any person detained by law enforcers to be tried in a court of law and have his detention validated (Bbc. com, 2005). The writ doesn’t decide whether the accused is guilty or not, it merely stipulates that the accused be tried and detained if only found guilty of the crime being accused for. The US inherited this law from the English and codified it in the constitution in Article 1, section 9. The UN later incorporated it in their international human rights in 1952. The point of contention with the habeas corpus right is to whom it applies. The law stipulates that this right be never be suspended or denied except in cases of rebellion, invasion or when perceived as a threat to public safety. Surprisingly, this writ has been previously suspended twice in the past for seemingly similar reasons. President Lincoln suspended the writ in 1861 to prosecute the war prisoners captured during the American Civil war. His argument was that the confederates were a threat to the union and hence issued the order (Dueholm, 2008). This law was later restored after the war ended in 1866. President Bush in 2006 issued a similar suspension of the habeas corpus writ to detain enemy combatants captured in the global war against terror. It deemed these accused terrorists as a threat to national security and denied them the right to be presented and tried in court. This paper will focus on the consequences faced by the accused and the validity of enforcing such a suspension. Just suspending the writ wouldn’t seem very harmful when looked at by itself. But consider for a moment who the government arrests. American policy makers routinely count any military age males as enemy combatants. Drone strikes assume anyone in the vicinity of a drone strike of military age to be a enemy combatant first and then when sufficient intelligence is available to the contrary, they are posthumously declared civilians (Balko, 2012). In a likewise fashion, arrests were also made based on the very broad physical description of an age group, or depending on where they are and who they interact with, were picked up after being accused of terrorism. Next, consider the location of their detention. Accused terrorists were detained at prison, run by US military personnel backed by US administration; set up in a foreign land i. . Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The single reason for maintaining such an institution away from US soil was to escape the jurisdiction of laws that govern detainees which would apply if held on US soil. Laws of detention stipulate not only the kind of treatment but also the punishment meted out to convicted terrorists. The captors were free to torture their captives in any way they saw fit to gather any amount of relevant information, regardless of whether the person accused is an actual terrorist holding any real information to share. Terms such as enhanced interrogation techniques had to be invented to pass them as legal and humane methods in congress. Add to this polarized scenario, the suspension of the one single law that could serve as the difference between life and death of an innocent civilian the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The suspension took away with it the only chance an innocent civilian had to prove his innocence. In short, simply standing at the wrong place at the wrong time can get you to serve a lifetime of torture with not even a hint of a fair trial. Naturally, concern about the handling of such detainees grew and petitions filed by family and friends of detainees finally began to reach the courts. The Supreme Court finally in a landmark case of Boumediene v. Bush ruled against the suspension of habeas corpus for the detainees with a 5-4 majority. It declared that the suspension of the writ was indeed unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy who ruled with the majority supported his stand with examples from the history of the writ back in the 12th century and its recent applicability in territories outside the border of US but still falling in its control, such as Chanel Islands. His summary also compared the legality of this writ in Scotland, which is a sovereign nation and yet still under English laws. Once US jurisdiction was proved, Justice Scoter, Ginsburg and Bryer pointed out that it would have to be one that was based on the constitution or no jurisdiction at all. Justice Scalia argued that the habeas corpus law was in fact protected by the Detainee Treatment Act, and refuted the entire judicial intervention. He was supported by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito and Thomas. The Justices did a fine job of evaluating the suspension of the writ. From establishing jurisdiction and what kind of jurisdiction, to an alternate mechanism to protect the habeas corpus in spirit, all avenues were thoroughly investigated. The courts also recognized the extremely difficult nature of assessing an individual in a warzone to be a combatant or a civilian in a foreign location. And yet, the writ cannot be suspended out of fear of failure in acquiring adequate proof against the detainee. Personally, I feel strongly that the writ of habeas corpus is a right so basic that it cannot be suspended in any scenario. The very least an accuser can do is to offer a fair trial to the accused. I feel that the President was wrong to remove the last ray of hope of an innocent civilian that might have been unfairly detained. The case also established the judicial soundness of our nation even at times of war, and the entire exercise in judiciary coming in between the functioning of Congress was an example to the world. Denying such a basic right makes us no different than the terrorists who accuse and punish others that broadly fit their own enemy description. Living as a part of a civilized nation for over 200 years, we owe it to ourselves to act in a dignified manner, even with our captives.

The success of transformational leadership

The success of transformational leadership Drawing on a critical examination of both theory and empirical research, how can the role of leadership be best understood in organizational change? Key to evolution of an Organization is how well it can adapt to changes be it structural or financial. A good leadership plays a pivotal role in such transitions and will often be the most influential aspect in such changes being implemented successfully. Considering the fact that both Organizational Change and Leadership are very widely defined, for the purpose of the essay I would like to use the following definitions, Leader is a person with vision, energy, authority, and strategic direction ref: (Robert Coffee and Gareth Jones, 2000), Organizational Change is the process of continually renewing an organizations direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal customers- ref: (Moran and Brightman, 2001). Change is one of challenges an organization can face. It, being a continuous process, dealing successful with it is critical to an organizations success- ref: (Kudray and Kleiner, 1997), and certain management levers, such as, strategy, operations, should be constantly altered for the organization to be aligned with the market place. Having said that, it is also very important to critically identify the needed change within the organization. If a certain change is identified as a pivotal one for the growth of the organization, it is also important to consider how the change will be received by the people who will be a part of it. Resistance in our context is opposing to the change. Resistance is very likely with-in the team when the importance of the change is not know. There are various known reasons for someone to resist the change. Some of which are job insecurity and the fear of losing the power. There are existing theories which say that resistance is good and it is related to the individual identity and organizational values. Despite of being a time consuming process, it is very important to overcome resistance to implement the change successfully. Lewins 3 step model for change, Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze: ref ( Lewin, 1951) is considered to be there mother of all change models. The point here was to have organizations prepare initially to ease the process of the change in order to overcome resistance. It has been argued upon, that this theory might not be holding good for the current day situation, as organizations are constantly changing and they will never be having the opportunity to refreeze or attain the new state of equilibrium. Kotters 8 Step Model, ref: ( Kotter, J , 1995) also talks about implementing a change within the organization but considering the present day needs and situation. This model tries to address the developed resistance in the implementation on the change. An effective leadership will always try and overcome resistance and help successfully implement the change, which need not be a top down approach. For a change to be accepted, Nahvandi (2003), believes that you need to first motivate those in y our guiding collation or transformational leadership team. This, per him, is the best achieved through inspiration of the team, which enables them to enact change. Transformational leadership includes inspiring them with a charm and charisma, challenging the team to solve the problems rather than we doing it ourselves and developing personal relationship with each one of them. A combination of these 3 attributes is the best known vehicle to overcome resistance. ref( Nahvandi, 2003). Transformational leadership is that which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ facilitates a redefinition of a peoples mission and vision, a renewal of their commitment and the restructuring of their systems for goal accomplishment. It is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. Hence, transformational leadership must be grounded in moral foundations. ref(Leithwood, as cited in Cashin et al., 2000, p.1) . According to Bass (1990b, p. 21) transformational leadership occurs when leaders broaden and elevate the interests of their employees, when they generate awareness and acceptance of the purposes and mission of the group, and when they stir employees to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group. Success of transformational leadership has been demonstrated by studies in diverse settings such as schools, corporations etc. -ref(Bryant, 2003, p. 36).Also there are existing studies to prove the effectiveness of transformational leadership regardless of culture ref:(Perttula Xin,2005) . Per Carlson and Perrewe (1995, p. 834), as a result of transformational leadership, changes in the organizations mission, strategy, and subordinate commitment levels are very likely to emerge. Also, Odom and Green (2003) argue that principles of transformational leadership (i.e., intellectual stimulation, idealized influence) applied to ethical dilemmas faced by managers offers the prospect of less litigation and better ethical outcomes than the more common transactional approach to ethics. Though Transformational Leadership is the latest buzz word, there have been many people in the past who have demonstrated the traits of this form of leadership. For instance, Genghis Khan was a transformational leader who, during the late 12th and early 13th centuries, united fiercely independent Mongol tribes to ultimately create one of the largest land empires ever seen ref(Yates, 2002). Lee Iacocca is a transformational leader who is credited with saving the Chrysler Corporation. He took over Chrysler when it was on the brink of bankruptcy and set about transforming the ideals of his closest subordinates. In turn, that began to reshape the corporations culture. Because a transformational leader encourages others to becomes transformational leaders, soon the entire organization was filled with effective leaders (Kelly, 2003). Within military and government contexts, General Colin Powell overcame entrenched racism (particularly in the US military) and low institutional expectations of African Americans to become chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989. He went further, becoming in 1991 the first African American to become US Secretary of State, a position some said he filled with vision and the qualities of a transformational leader (Chekwa, 2001). Other transformational leaders include Christine Nixon, the current Police Chief Commissioner in the Australian state of Victoria, who is popularly understood to have transformed the culture of that police force for the good, and Sir Richard Branson, responsible for international Virgin enterprises (Lussier Achua, 2004). These are positive examples of transformational leaders but as critics (e.g., Yukl, 1989) point out, transformational leadership is not without its dark side and other flaws. The morality of transformational leadership has been questioned, especially by libertarians and organizational development consultants (Griffin, 2003). A key criticism is that within it transformational leadership has potential for the abuse of power (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki Kepner, 2002). Leaders here, motivate followers by engaging them to strong beliefs, irrespective of the effects on them .Transformational leaders can exert a very powerful influence over followers, who offer them trust and respect. Some leaders may have narcissistic tendencies, thriving on power and manipulation. Moreover, some followers may have dependent characters and form strong and unfortunate bonds with their leaders: ref- (Stone, Russell and Patterson, 2003, p. 4). Yukl describes this as the dark side of charisma and goes on to note that for every example of a positive transformational leader demonstrating charismatic qualities (e.g., Mohandas [Mahatma] Gandhi), there is an equally negative example (e.g., Charles Manson).-ref: (Yukl, 1989) There is an argument that transformational leadership is facilitative of change because it contributes to organizational improvement, effectiveness and institutional culture (Barnett, McCormick Conners, 2001). An interesting study by Barnett, McCormick and Conners (2001), shows that teachers may in fact be distracted from concentrating on learning-and-teaching by, for example, taking time away from students to be involved in the corporate school initiatives an inspirational, transformational principal expects of them. Ref: (Barnett, McCormick and Conners (2001), a study conducted on 12 schools in New South Wales and Australia) Related Bibliography Robert Coffee and Gareth Jones, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, September-October 2000 Moran, J. W. and Brightman, B. K. (2001) Leading organizational change, Career Development International, 6(2), pp. 111-118. Gary Yukl Journal of Management 1989. Vol. 15, No. 2, 251-289 Bennis, W, (1994), On Becoming a Leader. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, ISBN:0-201-40929-1. Lucey, J.J, Why is the failure rate for organization change so high?, Management Services Winter 2008 Evans, M.G. (1970). The effects of supervisory behavior on the path-goal relationship. Organizational, Behavior and Human Performance. 5, 277-298 House, R.J. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16, 321-339. House, R.J., Mitchell, T.R. (1974). Path-goal theory of leadership. Contemporary Business, 3, 81-98. Dansereau, E, Jr., Graen, G., Haga, W.J. (1975). A vertical dyad linkage approach to leadership within formal organizations: A longitudinal investigation of the role making process. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. 13. 46-78. Kudray, L and Kleiner, B, Global trends in managing change, Industrial Management; May/Jun 1997; 39, 3; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 18 Lewin, K, Field Theory in Social Science, Harper and Row, 1951. Nahavandi, A. (2006). The art and science of leadership. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hay, Iain, Transformational Leadership: Characteristics and Criticisms# Leithwood, K. Jantzi, D. (2000). The effects of transformational leadership on organizational conditions and student engagement with school. Journal of Educational Administration, 38(2), p. 112. Bass, B.M. (1990b). From transactional to transformational leadership: learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 13, pp. 26-40. Bryant, S.E. (2003). The role of transformational and transactional leadership in creating, sharing and exploiting organizational knowledge. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 9(4), pp. 32-44. Spreitzer, G.M., Perttula, K.H. Xin, K. (2005). Traditionality matters: an examination of the effectiveness of transformational leadership in the United States and Taiwan. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 205-227. Carlson, D.S. Perrewe, P.L. (1995). Institutionalization of organizational ethics through transformational leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 14(10), pp. 829-839. Odom, L. Green, M.T. (2003). Law and the ethics of transformational leadership. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 24(1/2), pp. 62-69. Yates, M. (2002) Genghis Khan. LeaderValues. Retrieved August 3, 2006 from Kelly, M.L. (2003, January 1). Academic advisers as transformational leaders. The Mentor. Retrieved August 3, 2006, Chekwa, E. (2001, July 12-14). Searching for African American transformational leaders. Academy of Business and Administrative Sciences 4th International Conference, Quebec City, Canada. Manuscript available from the author. Lussier, R.N. Achua, C.F. (2004). Leadership: theory, application, skill development (2nd ed.). Eagan, MN: Thomson-West. Yukl, G.A. (1989). Leadership in Organizations (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stone, A.G., Russell, R.F., Patterson, K. (2003). Transformational versus servant leadership a difference in leader focus. Servant Leadership Roundtable October 2003. Retrieved August 3, 2006 Hall, J., Johnson, S., Wysocki, A. Kepner, K. (2002). Transformational leadership: the transformation of managers and associates. Retrieved August 3, 2006

Why should we stop supporting Israel :: essays research papers

The recent assassination of Sheik Saruman raises among some Americans the question—at what point should we reconsider our rather blanket support for the Israelis and show a more even-handed attitude toward the Palestinians? The answer, it seems to me, should be assessed in cultural, economic, political, and social terms. Well, we should no longer support Israel, when†¦ Mr. Sharon suspends all elections†¦plans a decade of unquestioned rule [and] suspends all investigation about fiscal impropriety as his family members spend millions of Israeli aid money in Paris. All Israeli television and newspapers are censored by the Likud party. Israeli hit teams enter the West Bank with the precise intention of targeting and blowing up Arab women and children. Preteen Israeli children are apprehended with bombs under their shirts on their way to the West Bank to murder Palestinian families. Israeli crowds rush into the street to dip their hands into the blood of their dead and march en masse chanting mass murder to the Palestinians. Rabbis give public sermons in which they characterize Palestinians as the children of pigs and monkeys. Israeli school textbooks state that Arabs engage in blood sacrifice and ritual murders. Mainstream Israeli politicians, without public rebuke, call for the destruction of Palestinians on the West Bank and the end to Arab society there. Likud party members routinely lynch and execute their opponents without trial. Jewish fundamentalists execute with impunity women found guilty of adultery on grounds that they are impugning the â€Å"honor† of the family. Israeli mobs with impunity tear apart Palestinian policemen held in detention. Israeli television broadcasts—to the tune of patriotic music—the last taped messages of Jewish suicide bombers who have slaughtered dozens of Arabs. Jewish marchers parade in the streets with their children dressed up as suicide bombers†¦ New Yorkers post $25,000 bounties for every Palestinian blown up by Israeli murderers. Israeli militants murder a Jew by accident and then apologize on grounds that they though he was an Arab—to the silence of Israeli society. Jews enter Arab villages in Israel to machine gun women and children. Israeli public figures routinely threaten the United States with terror attacks. Bin Laden is a folk hero in Tel Aviv. Jewish assassins murder American diplomats and are given de facto sanctuary by Israeli society. Israeli citizens celebrate on news that 3,000 Americans have been murdered. Israeli citizens express support for Saddam Hussein’s supporters in Iraq in their efforts to kill Americans. So until then, I think most Americans can see the moral differences in the present struggle.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Music Musician

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was probably the greatest genius in the world. He was born in Salzberg, Austria on January 27, 1756. The son of Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composer and violinist. At the age of three, Wolfgang showed signs of remarkable musical talent. He learned to play the harpsichord, a keyboard instrument related to the piano, at the age of four. Wolfgang began composing minuets at the age of five. When he was only six years old, he and his older sister, Anna Maria, embarked on a series of concert tours to Europe’s courts and major cities. They played for the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa at her court in Vienna in 1762. Both children played the keyboard, but Wolfgang became a violin virtuoso as well. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has be stated the greatest music composer to ever live. He and his sister were both gifted child prodigies. The gift of music came so natural o Mozart that he could distinguish notes when blindfolded. He also had the gift of â€Å"perfect pitch.† His first opera was performed when he was eleven years old. It would only take him about two weeks to write an entire symphony or concerto. There are not many composers who can do an entire piece in such little time. He wrote twenty seven piano concerti. Mozart gave a series of twenty two piano concerts and conducted a few of them in a five week period. After his father Leopold died he became very depressed and his music turned dark and depressing. I find him to be a genius because he could compose music from his soul Mozart composed for several different genres, writing many different types of music such as concertos, symphonies, and German style operas to name a few.

Comparing the Hero in Henry IV and Dr. Faustus :: comparison compare contrast essays

Becoming a Hero in Henry IV and Dr. Faustus      Ã‚   Hero worship has existed in this world since the beginning of time, from the Jews honoring Moses, to the Germans honoring Adolf Hitler.   Becoming a hero is a very difficult thing to accomplish.   One must be successful in gaining the reverence of one's peers while at the same time not developing to big of an ego. Two examples of men trying to become heroes are Prince Henry and Dr. Faustus. Both, in their respective plays, have the capabilities of becoming a hero, but only Prince Henry succeeds while Dr. Faustus fails.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the beginning of The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, Faustus is a well known doctor and is looked up to by his friends.   Hal, on the other hand, starts out in Henry IV, Part I, spending much of his time in a tavern engaged in talk with robbers and hoodlums, therefore being looked down upon by the high society which he is supposed to live in.   While it appears that Faustus seems to be headed to becoming a hero and Hal seems to be throwing away his chances, the audience can see from their soliloquies, that they both plan on changing their ways; Hal for the better and Faustus for the worse.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Faustus has risen to a great point in his life.   He was born to "parents base of stock (line 11)," but still has managed to gain a degree from the University of Wittengberg, thus acquiring much respect from the professional world.   From the onset though, Faustus has his mind set on other things; such as magic and necromancy.   Hal, on the other hand was born to a high society.   Even though he does all of these mischievous things, he plans on repenting and returning to his father.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The audience can see from Hal's soliloquy at the end of Act I, scene 2, that no matter how unruly the individuals are that he hangs out with, they do not have an influence on him:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yet herein will I imitate the sun,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who doth permit the base contagious clouds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To smother up his beauty from the world,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   That, when he please again to be himself,

In measure for measure,the characters of Angelo and Isabella are similar

In measure for measure there are two characters that at first glance seem to be from two different worlds but a closer analysis shows that they are actually very similar. This is the case with Angelo and Isabella. When we first meet Angelo we see a ruthless leader who enforces the law as severely as he can and Isabella is the complete opposite, she is a virtuous and chaste young woman who was ready to devote her life to God. Both Angelo and Isabella have strict moral views; they both exhibit pride and are guilty of self deception. In scene, when Isabella and Angelo first meet straight away we can distinguish the similarities between them. For example, Isabella uses the same language as Angelo and the two of them are able to finish each other's sentences indicating that they are on the same thinking level and that they are actually not that different as both knew what the other was intending on saying. Isabella like Angelo is denying her sexuality. Isabella uses religion as a repression of sexuality where as Angelo represses his sexuality by enforcing harsh rules in Vienna regarding fornification and does not allow himself to express any feelings openly. One could argue that both Angelo and Isabella are sexually frustrated. Isabella is a pure and chaste young woman who happens to be in a corrupted society and it could be argued that her decision to join the nunnery was a way of sexual control and that she does not trust herself in the society that she is in and needs restraint â€Å"but rather wishing a more strict restraint† (1:4,L3). Angelo is a puritan and as a puritan he has to be able to control his sexuality which is why he doesn't express he desires or emotions and this leads to characters describing him as â€Å"a man whose blood is very snow broth† and in his soliloquy Angelo can't describe what he is feeling towards Isabella because he was never able to speak out openly about sex, emotions, love etc. â€Å"What's this?† â€Å"What's this?† (2:2, L 164) .For both of these characters repressing their sexuality discourages the audience from identifying with them. Another similarity that Angelo and Isabella both share is that they are put in a sordid situation by the Duke. The Duke put Angelo in charge of power whilst he left knowing full well that Angelo is a man made out of steel and will enforce the strict laws and as a result Claudio was condemned for fornification by Angelo who led to Isabella pleading for his life. The Duke is the only character who could intervene but chose not to. Isabella and Angelo are both troubled characters struggling to come to terms with their own inner nature. Both characters share their feelings and thoughts with he audience in soliloquy. Angelo (2:2) and Isabella (2:4) this is the only time that the audience can begin to understand these characters more and are able to empathise with them. One could argue that another feature both of these characters share is hypocrisy Angelo is an authoritive figure but does not practice what he preaches. He is a hypocritical character because he is condemning Claudio for fornification whilst going against his own law by asking Isabella to sleep with him.Similarly, Isabella readiness to give away another person's chastity (Marianna) is quite hypocritical because she refused to give up her own chastity because it was not morally right but was quite eager for Marianna to give up hers. It could also be argued that both Angelo and Isabella are selfish characters. Angelo's selfishness is evident in the way he abandoned Marianna due a lack of dowry and Isabella's selfishness is evident in the way she was prepared to value her own virginity more than her brother's life and the fact that she wanted Marinna to give up her virginity could also be seen as a selfish act. Both Isabella and Angelo are proud characters. Angelo is a proud man because he will not back down from enforcing the severe laws in Vienna even when Isabella pleads with him to spare her brother's life. I think Angelo feels that if he backs down then people will begin to take advantage of him as they did with the Duke so I think he feels it's imperative to be proud and honourable because that is the only way people will know you mean business and will look up to you. Isabella is a proud character in the sense that she would rather her brother lost his life rather than her give up her virginity to save him. To Isabella honour and pride means more than saving her own flesh and blood. â€Å"Die, perish†¦.not words to save thee† In conclusion, many critics have noted the similarity between Isabella and Angelo D.L Stevenson in his book, The Achievements of Measure for Measure, Ithaca 1966 notes the similarities between Angelo and Isabella, He claims ‘She is kind of observe of Angelo†¦ the play is only allowed to come to an end only at the moment of exact equivalence between Isabella and Angelo. It only ends s when Isabella has really become the thing she has argued for in Act II, merciful' (against all sense† the duke points out). What D.L Stevenson is arguing here is that in a sense Isabella looked up to Angelo because he was this authorative male figure but Isabella is also a strong female who was able to withstand pressure from this authoritive male figure. I agree with D.L Stevenson, I think that Isabella does look up to Angelo because he is a proud, authoritive being and I think in a way Isabella actually see a bit of herself in Angelo in the sense that neither of them can express themselves sexually as freely as they would have liked to therefore they resort to extreme situations to avoid confronting their true inner selves. They are both proud yet hypocritical characters who don't see any wrong in their own actions but are quick to blame others, for Isabella a prime example is when Claudio asked her to give up her virginity and she was outraged by what he suggested â€Å"O you beast!, O faithless coward!, O, dishonest wretch!† but yet she expected Marianna to do the exact thing she refused to do.