Child Obesity Essay Example for Free

Child Obesity Essay America has it’s share of problems just like any other country throughout the world, but there is one issue in particular that has been a growing trend for years in America. Today’s topic of issue is child obesity, this is a huge problem in America and it seems to continue to grow in numbers. Child obesity is the highlight of my research, but due to lack of time there will only be an explanation of just one of the many issues with child obesity in America. So the question that the researcher has decided to research is: How does child obesity occur in America? After doing a lot of research, the author figured out that there are so many reasons that cause child obesity. Being obese has many risks associated with it like: diabetes, high blood pressure, trouble breathing, trouble with sleep and increased chance of heart disease. These risks stress the importance of preventing or managing child obesity. As we all know child obesity is very serious problem in America but like most problems there are ways that could either prevent child obesity or managed the child’s weight if they are already overweight. The author of this research topic decided to do a descriptive research to gather information for his topic. He basically collected data that was useful to answer the question for this topic from various reliable websites/sources. There are different issues that causes child obesity or obesity in general, like: some parents spoil their child and feed them anything the child wants with no limitations, some parents do not watch what their children eat, also parents just let their kids sit around and play videos games instead of making them go out to run around and play and some children cannot help it because obesity runs in their family. However, the author wanted to focus the attention of his audience on the question: How does child obesity in America occur and how can it be prevented or managed? Now according to American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, â€Å"the causes of obesity are complex and include genetic, biological, behavioral and cultural factors† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). The Mayo Clinic considered child obesity â€Å"particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start children on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). The author believes those extra pounds come from the person eating more calories than their body actually burns. Obesity in childhood can be caused by things like: â€Å"poor eating habits, overeating, lack of exercise, family history of obesity, stressful life experiences, low self esteem or depression† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). But those are only a few of the ways that could cause child obesity leading up to their adulthood. Just because a child is carrying a few extra pounds does not mean he/she is overweight or obese, some people have larger body frames than others† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). Not all children even adults are obese by the looks of their outer appearance; it could very well because they larger than normal body frames or as a lot people like to call it â€Å"big-boned†. If a parent is worried about whether their child is overweight or not, they could always visit their doctor who will measure their child’s body mass index (BMI) and compare the stats to other children of the same sex and age range. The Mayo Clinic says â€Å"Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most of the time its caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). According to American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry obesity in childhood can be caused by things like: â€Å"poor eating habits, overeating, lack of exercise, family history of obesity, stressful life experiences, low self esteem or depression† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). If parents would take more control of what and how much their children eat, that would alleviate some of the causes of their becoming overweight. Being aware of what their children eat is important for their child’s health because one of the main causes for child obesity, parents not being aware. The author obviously is not saying to starve or deny the children food, but do not feed the child too much to the point where it is effecting the child’s weight and overall health. Parents that do such things are harming their kids and either they are in denial about it or they do not realize it. lso parents should not let their children become â€Å"couch potatoes† laying in front of the television playing video games all day, they should have them go outside to play and run around, it helps with their child’s overall health, but even that has limitation due to safety issues that has developed over the years. The author also suggested the parents should keep thei r children active by signing them up for recreational sports such as basketball, baseball, and soccer or flag football. Obesity could also be part of that child’s family history, that is something the child cannot help but they can manage their weight so it become out of hand and become heavier than they have to be. Also they should not use their family history as an excuse to eat unhealthy or overeat. Even though they may be overweight due to family history, they could still manage their weight. People can help the issue of over feeding their child versus a child that cannot help their weight because of it running in their family. The author suggests the parents should be more specific on how much they will give their child to eat at certain time of the day, basically having a set schedule for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. His reason for suggesting this is because a person who actually has control over their weight can control what they eat and when they eat and since we are speaking on child obesity, it is the parent’s responsibility to control that. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says â€Å"Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem† (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,2011). Having stressful life experiences could also lead to low self esteem which can in turn lead to a person not caring too much about themselves and begin to harm themselves by â€Å"stuffing† themselves with food. We see these type of issues in schools, where children tease others about things in general which lower that child’s self-esteem, that in turn would lead to that child wanting to that child doing many things including eating entirely too much. But besides school there are other instances where people get their confidence lowered by general life experiences, again this happens everyday where the child or people in general would just hide themselves in their houses from the world because they feel no confidence with themselves. They should seek advice from reliable people they can trust and keep themselves around positive people who would give them encouragement to get past their condition and not let it hinder them from doing anything they want. To conclude, I would like to piggyback on a few things. First, child obesity or obesity in general can be managed even if the individual does not have a family history, which should not be an excuse to eat more than a person is supposed to. Today’s main question was: How does child obesity in America occur? Again, according to American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, â€Å"the causes of obesity are complex and include genetic, biological, behavioral and cultural factors† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). Child obesity is can be caused by a number of things, but the author/researcher only used a few of the causes like: â€Å"poor eating habits, overeating, lack of exercise, family history of obesity, stressful life experiences, low self esteem or depression† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). Poor eating habits, overeating and stressful life experiences to a certain extent can be managed in order to either prevent or manage a child’s weight gain and overall health. Also â€Å"Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem† (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). â€Å"Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most of the time its caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). A lot of this happens because of the children’s parents letting them overeat and not having them exercise and staying active as much as they should. If those parents would just control what their children eat and how much they eat, that part of the cause of obesity can be practically eliminated. Lack of exercise can also be managed, parents should not let their child be a â€Å"couch potato† but have their child go out doors to play and run around with friends because that could help with their child burning off calories that they may have added from eating, it also helps with their overall health.

Contemporary Issues in Leadership

Contemporary Issues in Leadership Leadership is the process of influencing the behavior of others to work willingly and enthusiastically for achieving predetermined goals. It may be seen in terms of relationship between a leader and his followers (individuals / groups) which arises out of their functioning for common goals. The followers work willingly to achieve goal, thus there is no coercive force which induces the followers to work. LEADERS AS Shapers of Meaning Framing Issues. Framing is a way to use language to manage meaning. Its a way for leaders to influence how events are seen and understood. Contemporary roles relating to lead team as managing the conflicts; coaching to improve team member performance; used to serve as troubleshooters. It seems to respond in a group in which they have to participate with the leader. It involves mentor who is a senior employee who sponsors and supports a less experienced employee. Leadership can be taught online as it builds trust in the working environment of the organization. Challenges facing to leadership can be on the basis of qualities attributed as leaders are intelligent, ongoing, have strong verbal skills, understanding, are aggressive and industrious. Actually they perceive or project the appearance of being a leader. Many people today are seeking to understand and many people are writing about the concept and practices of leadership.. The concept of leadership is relevant to any aspect of ensuring effectiveness in organizations and in managing change. There has been an explosion of literature about leadership lately. Leading is a very human activity were all human so there are many people who consider themselves experts on leadership. There are a great many reasons for the popularity of the topic, including that organizations are faced with changes like never before. Understanding the concept of leadership requires more than reading a few articles or fantasizing about what great leaders should be. Contemporary issues includes [1] out of the box thinking; [2]leading by example; [3]globalization;[ 4]changing group dynamics; [5]technology; [6]quick decision making; [7]dealing with change and uncertainty; [8]mentoring; [9]ethical behavior; [10] recruiting and retaining quality workers. Now, managerial and leadership effectiveness depends on the ability to gain the trust of the followers. A recent survey in U.S. employees found that only half trusted their senior manager. Also the bad practices of corporations in the U.S. like the leaders of ENRON, WORLDCOM, etc that were accused of engaging in activities like secret loans, insider trading, manipulating profit figures, evading taxes all these has lost the confidence and trust of employees and investors, supplier, customers in senior executives. Unfortunately, many people make strong assertions about leadership without ever really understanding a great deal about leadership. Leaders need basic intelligence and job related knowledge but this is not enough. They are necessary but not sufficient. It is emotional intelligence that makes him a star performer. These are: Self-awareness exhibited by self confidence, realistic self assessment and a sense of humor. Self management. Exhibited by trustworthiness, integrity, and comfort with ambiguity, openness to change. Self motivation: exhibited by strong drive to achieve, optimism, and high organizational commitment. Empathy cross cultural sensitivity, expertise in building talents. ABSTRACT: However, subsequent scientific studies find that leaders are not exceptionally brilliant, splendid speakers or highly energetic. Instead, leaders know how to forge relationships and accomplish tasks. In fact, analysts find that leaders ability to accomplish tasks is even more important than their interpersonal skills. Leadership Personalities Academic studies achieve varied results when they try to isolate the characteristics of effective leaders. In work done in 1948 that is still well-regarded, scholar Ralph Stogdill proposed that leaders have five clusters of characteristics that make them good at leading. The five are: capacity (intelligence, judgment); achievement (knowledge, scholarship); responsibility (dependability, aggressiveness, self control, and desire to excel); participation (activity, sociability, cooperation, adaptability) and status (position, popularity). In 1990, subsequent research identified five more factors that leaders have in common: they are reliable, agreeable, extroverted, and emotionally stable and open to new experiences. Current theory proposes that anyone can become a leader to some degree if he or she can: Be confident about taking action, and controlling his or her life. Use power in pro-social ways that extend beyond personal gain or narcissism. Develop personal vision by seeing the future impact of todays actions. Leaders must have vision, a future view of events. Good leaders have the ability to convey their visions and make the future unfold as they hope it will. This generally begins with writing a vision statement, a process that often goes badly. Commonly, vision statements are confusing. They tend to cite goals that are really associated with strategies and objectives, not vision. To craft an effective vision statement, write a brief, memorable declaration. Then share your vision; make it more tangible by telling stories and using metaphors. Good leaders consistently align their actions with their verbal messages. They see their followers in a positive light, and care about their well being. Strong leaders provide the proper support to help their followers accept new challenges. Leaders assist others in finding meaning in their work and in their lives. Emotional Intelligence Leaders forge relationships with groups or individuals. The individual relationships tend to be more intellectual but, in both cases, good leaders exhibit highly developed emotional or social intelligence. They are self-aware, socially skilled, disciplined and able to deal capably with other people. People with emotional intelligence think before they act, focus on their goals, understand other peoples emotions and have the skill to establish common grounds for discussion. In this instance, scholars concluded that even the most talented executive cannot succeed without emotional intelligence. Some major corporations that wanted to encourage future leaders in their ranks hired psychologists to sort out leadership characteristics. The psychologists found that leaders are smart and have solid, long-term vision, but that their emotional intelligence is twice as important as either intellect or vision. One study shows that companies where the employees have high emotional intelligence earn higher profits. The reverse is also demonstrably true. A workforce marked by a lack of emotional intelligence can mean lower profits. Leaders can learn emotional intelligence. People who know their limitations can plan to avoid stressful situations or to work around events that tug at their weaknesses. One-on-one training is the best way to learn how to improve your emotional intelligence. Such training focuses on correcting undesirable social habits, such as acting impulsively or being a bad listener. Because this process requires people to correct brain-based emotional drives, it is time-consuming. Theory of Leadership Leadership has been described as the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith of Genentech states that, Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. According to Ken Ogbonnia effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals. Leadership remains one of the most relevant aspects of the organizational context. However, defining leadership has been challenging and definitions can vary depending on the situation. According to Ann Marie E. McSwain, Assistant Professor at Lincoln University, leadership is about capacity: the capacity of leaders to listen and observe, to use their expertise as a starting point to encourage dialogue between all levels of decision-making, to establish processes and transparency in decision-making, to articulate their own values and visions clearly but not impose them. Leadership is about setting and not just reacting to agendas, identifying problems, and initiating change that makes for substantive improvement rather than managing change. The following sections discuss several important aspects of leadership including a description of what leadership is and a description of several popular theories and styles of leadership. This article also discusses topics such as the role of emotions and vision, as well as leadership effectiveness and performance, leadership in different contexts, how it may differ from related concepts (i.e., management), and some critiques of leadership as generally conceived. Trait Theory Trait theory tries to describe the types of behavior and personality tendencies associated with effective leadership. In modern times, Thomas Carlyle (1841) can be considered one of the forerunners of trait theory, seeking to identify the talents, skills and physical characteristics of men who rose to power Although trait theory has an intuitive appeal, difficulties may arise in proving its tenets, and opponents frequently challenge this approach. The strongest versions of trait theory see these leadership characteristics as innate, and accordingly label some people as born leaders due to their psychological makeup. On this reading of the theory, leadership development involves identifying and measuring leadership qualities, screening potential leaders from non-leaders, then training those with potential. In response to criticisms of the trait approach, researchers have begun to assess leader attributes using the leadership attribute pattern approach. Behavioral and style Theories In response to the criticism of the trait approach, theorists began to research leadership as a set of behaviors, evaluating the behavior of successful leaders, determining behavior taxonomy and identifying broad leadership styles. David McClelland, for example, saw leadership skills, not so much as a set of traits, but as a pattern of motives. He claimed that successful leaders will tend to have a high need for power, a low need for affiliation, and a high level of what he called activity inhibition (one might call it self-control The researchers evaluated the performance of groups of eleven-year-old boys under different types of work climate. In each, the leader exercised his influence regarding the type of group decision making, praise and criticism (feedback), and the management of the group tasks (project management) Situational and contingency Theories Situational theory also appeared as a reaction to the trait theory of leadership. This theory assumes that different situations call for different characteristics; according to this group of theories, no single optimal psychographic profile of a leader exists. According to the theory, what an individual actually does when acting as a leader is in large part dependent upon characteristics of the situation in which he functions. Some theorists started to synthesize the trait and situational approaches. The descriptive models of leadership climates, defining three leadership styles and identifying in which situations each style works better. The authoritarian leadership style, for example, is approved in periods of crisis but fails to win the hearts and minds of their followers in the day-to-day management; the democratic leadership style is more adequate in situations that require consensus building; finally, the laissez faire leadership style is appreciated by the degree of freedom it provides, but as the leader does not take charge, he can be perceived as a failure in protracted or thorny organizational problems. Thus, theorists defined the style of leadership as contingent to the situation, which is sometimes classified as contingency theory. Four contingency leadership theories appear more prominently in the recent years: Fiedler contingency model, Vroom-Yetton decision model, the path-goal theory, and t he Hersey-Blanchard situational theory. Functional Theory Functional leadership theory is a particularly useful theory for addressing specific leader behaviors expected to contribute to organizational or unit effectiveness. This theory argues that the leaders main job is to see that whatever is necessary to group needs is taken care of; thus, a leader can be said to have done their job well when they have contributed to group effectiveness and cohesion (Fleishman et al., 1991; Hackman Wageman, 2005; Hackman Walton, 1986). While functional leadership theory has most often been applied to team leadership (Zaccaro, Rittman, Marks, 2001), it has also been effectively applied to broader organizational leadership as well (Zaccaro, 2001). In summarizing literature on functional leadership (see Kozlowski et al. (1996), Zaccaro et al. (2001), Hackman and Walton (1986), Hackman Wageman (2005), Morgeson (2005)), Klein, Zeigert, Knight, and Xiao (2006) observed five broad functions a leader performs when promoting organisations effectiveness. These functions include: (1) environmental monitoring, (2) organizing subordinate activities, (3) teaching and coaching subordinates, (4) motivating others, and (5) intervening actively in the groups work. Leader as a communicator the framing Framing is a way of communicating to shape meaning. Its a way for leaders to influence how others see and understand events. Selecting and highlighting one or more events while excluding others. It is the ability of the leader to influence others to act beyond their self interests Two contemporary theories of leadership with a common theme. Charismatic leadership Transformational leadership Charismatic Leadership The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through dint of personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority. The searchlight of attention It is interesting to watch a Charismatic Leader working the room as they move from person to person. They pay much attention to the person they are talking to at any one moment, making that person feel like they are, for that time, the most important person in the world. Charismatic Leaders pay a great deal of attention in scanning and reading their environment, and are good at picking up the moods and concerns of both individuals and larger audiences. They then will hone their actions and words to suit the situation. Pulling all of the strings Charismatic Leaders use a wide range of methods to manage their image and, if they are not naturally charismatic, may practice assiduously at developing their skills. They may engender trust through visible self-sacrifice and taking personal risks in the name of their beliefs. They will show great confidence in their followers. They are very persuasive and make very effective use of body language as well as verbal language. Deliberate charisma is played out in a theatrical sense, where the leader is playing to the house to create a desired effect. They also make effective use of storytelling, including the use of symbolism and metaphor. Many politicians use a charismatic style, as they need to gather a large number of followers. If you want to increase your charisma, studying videos of their speeches and the way they interact with others is a great source of learning. Religious leaders, too, may well use charisma, as do cult leaders. Leading the team Charismatic Leaders, who are building a group, whether it is a political party, a cult or a business team, will often focus strongly on making the group very clear and distinct, separating it from other groups. They will then build the image of the group, in particular in the minds of their followers, as being far superior to all others. The Charismatic Leader will typically attach themselves firmly to the identify of the group, such that to join the group is to become one with the leader. In doing so, they create an unchallengeable position for themselves. Key characteristics of charismatic leadership Vision and articulation; Sensitivity to the environment; Sensitivity to member needs; Personal risk taking; Performing unconventional behavior Vision and articulations Has a vision Expressed as an idealized goal The goal proposes a future better than the status quo Is able to clarify the importance of the vision in terms that are understandable to others. Personal risk Willing to take on high personal risk Incur high costs Engage in self sacrifice to achieve the vision Sensitivity to followers needs Perspective of others abilities Responsive to others needs and feelings. Unconventional behavior Engages in behaviors in behaviors that are novel and counter to norms. Personality of charismatic leaders Extraverted Self confident Achievement oriented Articulate an over arching goal Communicate high performance expectations Empathize the needs of their followers Project a powerful confident and dynamic presence Captivating and engaging voice tone Three step process of becoming a charismatic leader An individual needs to develop an aura of charisma by maintaining an optimistic view, using passion as a catalyst for generating enthusiasm and communicating with the whole body, not just with words. .An individual draws others in by creating a bond that inspires others to follows. . An individual brings out the potential in followers by tapping into their emotions. Charismatic Leadership Issues People following these leaders will be exerting extra effort, express greater satisfaction. Charismatic effectiveness and situation Charisma works best when: The followers task has an ideological component There is a lot of stress and uncertainty in the environment The leader is at the upper level of the organization Followers have low self-esteem and self-worth Dark Side of Charisma Ego-driven charismatic allow their self-interest and personal goals to override the organizations goals Very effective leaders who possess the four typical leadership traits: Individual competency Team skills Managerial competence Ability to stimulate others to high performance Plus one critical new trait A blend of personal humility and professional will Personal ego-needs are focused toward building a great company Take responsibility for failures and give credit to others for successes Prided them on developing strong leaders inside the firm who could direct the company to greater heights after they were gone. Transactional and transformational Theories The transactional leader (Burns, 1978) is given power to perform certain tasks and reward or punish for the teams performance. It gives the opportunity to the manager to lead the group and the group agrees to follow his lead to accomplish a predetermined goal in exchange for something else. Power is given to the leader to evaluate, correct and train subordinates when productivity is not up to the desired level and reward effectiveness when expected outcome is reached. The transformational leader (Burns, 1978) motivates its team to be effective and efficient. Communication is the base for goal achievement focusing the group on the final desired outcome or goal attainment. This leader is highly visible and uses chain of command to get the job done. Transformational leaders focus on the big picture, needing to be surrounded by people who take care of the details. The leader is always looking for ideas that move the organization to reach the companys vision. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Ten Lessons for Leaders and Leadership Developers In the early 1980s we set upon a quest to discover what it took to become a leader. We wanted to know the common practices of ordinary men and women when they were at their leadership bestwhen they were able to take people to places they had never been before. Strategies, tactics, skills, and practices are empty (or worse yet, manipulative and exploitative) unless we understand the fundamental human aspirations that connect leaders and constituents. Leadership is certainly not conveyed in a gene, and its most definitely not a secret code that cant be understood by ordinary folks. Our analysis of thousands of cases and surveys from over a dozen years of research has revealed a consistent pattern of exemplary leader- ship practices and fundamental constituent expectations. But knowing that the portrait emerging from the study of personal-best leadership experiences was only a partial picture, we also explored the expectations that the constituents have of people they would be willing to follow. What weve learned from studies specifically with college student leaders over the past five years has only strengthened our fundamental appreciation that Leadership is not a mysterious, mystical, or ethereal conceptone that is somehow beyond the scope and imagination of the vast majority of people. Our research has shown us that leadership is an observable, learnable set of practices. Indeed, the belief that leadership cant be learned is a far more powerful deterrent to development than is the nature of the leadership. Where Are Our Future Leaders? Who will lead us into the twenty-first century? It is time for us to decide. A generation ago the objective of African-American activists was to destroy racial segregation and integrate mainstream political and economic institutions. Instead we must recognize that one of the root causes of our divisions and social unrest is an absence of creative, dynamic leadership. Oppressed people need leaders to liberate them. Many of us accomplished these goals. But despite examples of individual success, there remains a simmering leadership crisis that can split our community apart. This common experience of racial oppression gave us a sense of solidarity and interdependence. Black physicians depended on Black patients; Black lawyers and accountants served Black clients. With desegregation, many affluent African-Americans moved from the ghetto into integrated suburbs. Graduates of Howard and Spelman now end their children to Harvard and Swarthmore. In the cities, our sense of community has gradually deteriorated. Millions of our young people are trapped in a destructive web of inferior schools, violence, drugs, and unemployment. Historically the social classes in the Black community were bound together by Jim Crow segregation laws. Blacks on welfare and Black Ph.D.s alike were ordered to the back of the bus or denied work because of their race. We cant depend on the political systemthe Democrats or Republicansor the corporate world to solve our problems; all too often their policies have contributed to them. These leaders must be women and men with vision who have the capacity to articulate the common grievances and goals of the community. How Women Can Find Mentors in a World with Few Role Models Do women have a tougher time finding mentors than men? Thats what women managers tell me, time and again. The rest must find their own mentors. Heres some advice. (Minorities and others who have trouble finding role models in upper management can learn about creative ways to build mentoring relationships, as well.) Few women hold positions of power, the story goes. Meanwhile, members of the predominant mentoring classwhite malesare too busy seeking clones of themselves. And this serves as an effective barrier to top-level jobs. So whats to be done? A number of local and even national programs are increasing mentoring opportunities for women, but they only reach a handful of those needing guidance. Wanted: Company Change Agents The most sought-after person in todays workplace is someone known as a change leader, a new breed of middle manager whos in short supply. Very different from your run-of-the-mill general managers, these mavericks get big results when you need them. They are focused, determined, willing to break rules, and great at motivating their troops. But how do you identify these people in your organization? How do you build a cadre of such quirky but essential agents of change? McKinsey Co. director Jon R. Katzenbach has some answers. For the past three years he and a team of six McKinsey partners have been studying middle-manager change agents at organizations from Compaq Computer to Mobil to the New York City Transit. The fruit of this research is the forthcoming book Real Change Leaders. Katzenbach recently sat down with Stratford Sherman, a member of Fortunes board of editors, to discuss what he learned. Why are midlevel change leaders so important to todays organizations? For some time now companies have wanted to change the behaviors and skills of large numbers of their employees. Theyre not, however, very good at that yet. I dont see many victories; I dont think even GE would claim complete victory. You can create a good program-like [former CEO] John Akerss plan in the early 1990s to transform IBMbut it doesnt work. Something goes wrong in the middle ranks of the company, and all the admonitions from the top dont get through. For large-scale transformations, you need a critical mass of change leaders in the middle of the organization. DATA TOOLS: Leadership and emotions Leadership can be perceived as a particularly emotion-laden process, with emotions entwined with the social influence process. In an organization, the leaders mood has some effects on his/her group. These effects can be described in following method: The mood of individual group members. The leaders transmit their moods to other group members through the mechanism of emotional contagion. Mood contagion may be one of the psychological mechanisms by which charismatic leaders influence followers. Group members with leaders in a positive mood experience more positive mood than do group members with leaders in a negative mood. The affective tone of the group. Group affective tone is an aggregate of the moods of the individual members of the group and refers to mood at the group level of analysis. Groups with leaders in a positive mood have a more positive affective tone than do groups with leaders in a negative mood. Group affective tone represents the consistent or homogeneous affective reactions within a group. Group processes like coordination, effort expenditure, and task strategy. Public expressions of mood impact how group members think and act. For example, expressions of positive moods by leaders signal that leaders deem progress toward goals to be good. The group members respond to those signals cognitively and behaviorally in ways that are reflected in the group processes. When people experience and express mood, they send signals to others. Leaders signal their goals, intentions, and attitudes through their expressions of moods. In research about client service, it was found that expressions of positive mood by the leader improve the performance of the group, although in other sectors there were other findings. Beyond the leaders mood, his behavior is a source for employee positive and negative emotions at work. Examples feedback giving, allocating tasks, resource distribution. Since employee behavior and productivity are directly affected by their emotional states, it is imperative to consider employee emotional responses to organizational leaders Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage moods and emotions in the self and others, contributes to effective leadership in organizations. Leadership is about being responsible. The leader creates situations and events that lead to emotional response. Certain leader behaviors displayed during interactions with their employees are the sources of these affective events. Leaders shape workplace affective events. Leadership styles Leadership styles refer to a leaders behavior. It is the result of the philosophy, personality and experience of the leader. Dictator Autocratic Participative Laissez Fair Dictator Leaders A leader who uses fear and threats to get the jobs done. As similar with a leader who uses an autocratic style of leadership, this style of leader also makes all the decisions. Autocratic or Authoritarian Leaders Under the autocratic leadership styles, all decision-making powers are centralized in the leader as shown such leaders are dictators. They do not entertain any suggestions or initiative from subordinates. The autocratic management has been successful as it provides strong motivation to the manger. It permits quick decision-making as only one person decides for the whole group, and keeps it to them until they feel it is needed by the rest of the group. An autocratic leader does not trust anybody. Participative or Democratic Leaders The democratic leadership style favors decision-making by the group as shown, such as leader gives instruction after consulting the group. He can win the cooperation of his group and can motivate them effectively and positively. The decisions of the democratic leader are not unilateral as with the autocrat because they arise from consultation with the group members and participation by them. Laissez Faire or Free Rein Leaders A free rein leader does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to itself as shown; such a leader allows maximum freedom to subordinates. They are given a freehand in deciding their own policies and methods. Free rein leadership style is considered better than the authoritarian style. But it is not as effective as the democratic style. Transactional and Transformational Leadership Transactional Leaders Leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements Transformational Leaders Inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization; they can have a profound and extraordinary effect on followers Not opposing, but complementary, approaches to leadership Great transformational leaders must also be transactional; only one type is not enough for success Characteristics of the Two Types of Leaders Transactional Contingent Reward: Contracts exchange of rewards for effort, promises rewards for good performance, recognizes accomplishments Management by Exception: Active: Watches and searches for deviations from rules and standards, takes corrective action Passive: Intervenes only if standards are not met Laissez-Faire: Abdi

Effect of Love Stories on Real Life

Effect of Love Stories on Real Life Okikioluwa Akinbiyi Akindele How do love stories (in the media) affect our understanding of romance in real life? Romance is something that exists all around us. It can be said that many of us grew up with hearing epic love stories such as Cinderella, Snow White and the likes. Romantic movies have played a significant role in the entertainment industry. According to a recent survey carried out by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, romance is the third highest grossing genre coming behind adventure and action which are 1st and 2nd respectively (USBLS, 2013). However these romantic movies and love stories have played a part in the distortion of the understanding and expectation of love in real life. According to Jake and Melissa Kircher, â€Å"because of media and technology, the ways in which people fall in love, connect within relationship and experience sexuality are different than any other generation before this one.† (Kircher, 2011). They go ahead to point out that the root of any romance is love. This over-emphasis on love in this generation is encouraged by the media that tells s tories, sings songs and writes books about how true love conquers all, is ultimately fulfilling, brings a never-ending wealth of happiness and is rarely marred by significant conflict. As beautiful a picture that is, it does not happen that way in real life. However, the tantalising and intriguing images which are seen by these people give them a certain picture on how romance should be. These people get disappointed when they realise that sometimes romance gets boring. The appeal of fantastic love stories is undeniable. (Galloway, 2011). According to Bachen and Illouz, the contemporary portrayals of romantic love are a â€Å"visual affair†, reiterating the fact that where the written word may fall short, images impressed upon us can elicit strong emotional arousal. They go ahead to explain that mediated images and representations-such as those used on television, in films and adverts- â€Å"evoke strong mechanisms of identification, are intensely realistic and are the privileged discourse of sexual and romantic desire â€Å"giving them an air of credibility.† (Bachen Illouz, 1996). Galican points out that the source of much appeal is the absolution of any real personal responsibility in a romantic relationship. (Galician, 2009). If a relationship fails miserably, then obviously â€Å"this one† was not â€Å"the one† and individuals must continue to wait patiently for their damsel in distress or knight in shining armour as is in the case of stories like Rapunzel, Snow White and so on. As people get attached to these images of romance from the media, they begin to yearn for a romance that is filled with happiness and personal fulfilment. When it does not happen this way, these people believe that love is gone and this has led to the end of beautiful relationships that would have created ultimate happiness for both parties (Kircher, 2011). I will investigate, using relevant literature, and find out to what extent epic love stories affect our understanding of love in real life. I will then outline my proposed methodology which will be used and I will give the potential implications. Literature Review Movies as mass communication Many epic love stories are produced to the public in the form of movies. When one thinks of movies, the cinema immediately springs to mind. Over the years the cinema has been a neutral destination where couples go on dates, single people look for romance, friends go to relax, or to just have good family fun. According to Matzkin (1999) cited in Galloway (2011) movie audiences have become more â€Å"fragmented† and â€Å"homogenous† since the cinema’s inception and are â€Å"largely composed of young movie goers between the ages of 12 and 29† (Galloway, 2011). In the USA and Canada alone, multitudes numbering approximately 1,343,000,000, visit the cinemas each year. (Motion Picture Association of America, 2013). However more and more people are beginning to reduce their movie going because they would rather rent movies ands stay at home for free rather than pay at the cinema. Also staying at home saves time and energy as mobility is reduced. The advancement of technology has made the movie watching experience a lot better and more engaging. With the creation of 3D TV screens and surround sound system, movie viewers are able to have and enjoy the cinema experience in the comfort of their homes. Accordig to Anne Jackel ‘†¦powerful players in the film industry argued that a larger number of screens would provide greater diversity and more choice. (Albertazzi Cobley, 2010). She goes on to point that digital distribution offers a wider choice and has the capability to promote cultural diversity. The use of the internet is another way people are able to access these movies. With the ability to stream videos online, infrequent theater goers are able to watch newly released movies in the comfort of their own homes. With the furtherance of digital technology, viewers are susceptible to watch these movies and allow themselves be fed with different love myths. Love Myths â€Å"A basic function of the media is the creation of representation or simulations- reproduced versions of reality† (Foss, Foss, Trapp, 2002). There are certain themes or rather myths that are usually present in romantic stories which has an effect on the audience. Cassady Green (2013) points out that the audience often leaves the movie theatre yearning for a love similar to the one on the silver screen. She goes ahead to explain the problems involved as women and adolescents begin to expect similar qualities in their own love life, many of which are improbable or even unobtainable in reality. One prevalent myth in love stories is the notion of the soul mate. Two parties being â€Å"destined† or â€Å"made† for one another. These stories or movies leads to both soulmates finding each other. In the movie â€Å"Down To Earth (Weitz Weitz, 2001), Lance played by Chris Rockrides is riding on his bike when he spots Sontee(Regina King). They both share a moment of attraction. Unfortunately he is hit and killed by a truck, prematurely. To fix the mistake he is offered the body of an old grouchy unloving billionaire. When he sees Sontee at the billionaire’s house, he believes that Sontee is his soulmate and hence agres to take the body of Charles Wellington III, just to be with her. In the short while before he is killed, Lance and Sontee fall in love while Lance is still in the body of the old man. Even after he is killed and he comes back as another person, Joe Guy, who is not supposed to remember anybody from Lance’s past, he is still able to make some sort of connection with Sontee and the movie ends with both of them going out for coffee. This reiterates the myth of soulmates: no matter what happens both parties are destined to end up together. Cassady Green (2013) observes that â€Å"soulmates is a notion that can be particularly detrimental to real life relationships. This is because viewers are led to believe that they can have a one of a kind relationship which is special and unlike no one else’s. The likelihood of this happening is very slim and this goes a long way in explaining the impact these stories have on the viewer. Also there are instances where one person has incredibly strong feelings for someone, a â€Å"love epiphany† so to say. These movies give viewers the impression that it is not strange for someone to suddenly getstrong feelings of love for nother person. This has the power to lead to the dissatisfaction of one’s ownlove life due to the high expectations that viewers have for th eir relationships which are demonstrated in popular films. Another love myth is the notion of ‘love at first sight’. According to Gallician (2004) cited by Galloway (2011), â€Å"In the â€Å"reel† world, there is, in fact, â€Å"such a thing as love at first sight†. A fleeting gaze exchanged in a minute’s time registers as a moment of revelation, foreshadowing the fulfillment of an otherworldly bond between two strangers whose fates are inextricably intertwined. Often visual portrayals of these two myths emphasize the loneliness and lack that plagues one’s life prior to finding his or her â€Å"one and only.† (Galloway, 2011). This myth already conditions the mind of the viewer to believe that if in real life, a scenario where they come in contact with other people for the first- if that moment does not contain characteristics of a â€Å"love at first sight† moment, then the relationship is not meant to be. Another myth that we are shown in romantic stories is the idea that ‘all you need is love’. (Galician, 2009) This is when people begin to behave out of reason just because of love. According to Galloway (2011), â€Å"characters in television shows and movies give up or alter their own systems of belief in exchange for affection†. Characters in these stories believe that ‘problems will work themselves out in the name of love’ (Galloway, 2011). An example is The Little Mermaid (Clements Musker, 1989) where the protagonist,Ariel chooses to trade her voice for human parts just because she fell in love with Prince Eric. At the end of the movie, she gets her voice and still stays a human. This gives viewers the idea that because of love, you are able to have your cake and eat it. In the story of Snow White, where she had eaten the fruit and had gone into a deep sleep. It was an act of love, a kiss from a prince that broke the spell and woke her up and the â€Å"lived happily ever after†. The 2013 film â€Å"Frozen† is another example of how love is the ultimate. After plunging the kingdom into a never ending winter, Elsa finally realises that love is the way to end the problem. (Buck Lee, 2013). Another myth that is portrayed in the romantic stories is the idea that â€Å"the love of a good woman can change a man from a â€Å"beast† in to a â€Å"prince† (Galician, 2009). An example is the movie Beauty and The Beast (Trousdale Wise, 1991). Through the ‘power of love’ and the â€Å"goodness of her heart† Belle was able to change the scary, abusive,monstrous Beast into a handsome loving prince. According to Mary-Lou Galician, (2009), â€Å"Belle’s attempts to reform her captor would be most unwise in real life. We cannot change others- especially not abusive â€Å"heroes† who have a good heart inside if only the woman can be â€Å"good enough† to bring it out. This fallacy underlies much domestic violence.† Social Cognitive Theory This is a theory that suggests that individuals commit to memory behaviours they have observed to be later used as models on which to base their own behaviour. (Green, 2013). These behaviours are more likely to be modeled when they have been modeled by accompllished people whom the world agrees with and if the outcome of the behaviour appeals to the audience. When we talk about romantic stories in this case, the theory suggests that the audience may actively observe the behaviour within relationships depicted by the media in order to gain understanding in how they themselves could behave in their own relationships. (Green, 2013). This theory works for fashion trends also. If a celebrity decides to make a fashion choice, chances are that trend will take off and everyone will begin to dress as such. An example is David Beckham. Over theyears, he has managed to set trends for young men, especially in the UK when it comes to hairstyles. According to SS, (SS, 2009)â€Å"Beckhams differen t hairdos are talked about just as much as his soccer skills, and a new season often means a great new style.† Proposed Methodology I plan to organise a focus group comprising of people from different courses at my university. In this focus group, the main theme will be my topic: How love stories affect our understanding of love and romance in real life. We would also be discussing other questions like â€Å"what do you think is the reason why people believe the notions embedded within these stories and also what they feel about the importance of language within stories. I plan to do this because I would like to find oout According to Galloway(2011) content analyses of romantic media are useful. I would implement this methodology because one may find that the nature of modern movies has evolved to represent realistic relationships or regressed, depicting only mythic love storie (Galloway, 2011). Also I am planning to conduct an interview with members of a book club and get their views on romance from romantic books they have all read. In addition to organising the focus group, I plan to make use of questionnaires to carry out a survey. My aim of the questionnaires is to find out which gender is easily persuaded or more prone to believe the romantic myths given to us by media producers. I intend to utilise the questionnaire used by Lauren Galloway (2011) in her article. ‘Does Movie viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about love and marriage’ as a guideline in building my own survey questionnaires. I would use the results and findings I have gathered to develop a series of recommendations concerning love stories and their ability to deceive us into believing something that we are not supposed to. So these are the three methodologies I intend to use to tacke this research: focus group and interviews, content analysis and discourse analysis. The Association of Qualitative Research (AQR, 2013) defines the Focus group/interviews as a â€Å"term often applied to a group discussion carried out for market research purposes. Participants unknown to each other are brought together, in a particular neutral location, for the specific purpose of discussing an issue, or responding to ideas or materials of interest to the client of the research.† In this case, focus groups are important because they are useful in finding out an audience’s opinion on the representation of romance in movies. Content analysis is another interesting way because it shows how often something is represented. Satu Elo and Helvi Kyngas (2007) define content analysis as a method of analysing documents. Content analysis allows the researcher to test theoretical issues to enhance understanding of the dat a. (Elo Kyngas, 2007) In this case, it is important to know how often romance is represented in the movies and stories. Finally, discourse analysis/semiotics can be defined as explicit, systematic account of structures, strategies or processes of text or talk in terms of theoretical notions developed in any branch of the field. (Dijk, 2013) exists to find out what the representation means. Videography Buck, C., Lee, J. (Directors). (2013). Frozen [Motion Picture]. Clements, R., Musker, J. (Directors). (1989). The Little mermaid [Motion Picture]. Trousdale, G., Wise, K. (Directors). (1991). Beauty and The Beast [Motion Picture]. Weitz, C., Weitz, P. (Directors). (2001). Down To Earth [Motion Picture] Bibliography Albertazzi, D., Cobley, P. (2010). The Media: An Introduction. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. America, M. P. (2013). Theatrical Market Statistics. USA. AQR. (2013). Focus group. Retrieved April 2014, from Association of qualitative research: http://www.aqr.org.uk/glossary/?term=focusgroup Bachen, C. M., Illouz, E. (1996). Imagining romance: Young peoples cultural models of romance and love. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, pp. 279-308. Dijk, T. A. (2013, November 1). What do we mean by Discourse Analysis. Retrieved April 2014, from Discourse in Society: http://www.discourses.org/journals/das/whatisdiscourseanalysis/index.html Elo, S., Kyngas, H. (2007). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advance Nursing, 107-115. Foss, S. K., Foss, K. A., Trapp, R. (2002). Contemporary: perspective on rhetoric. Waveland Press Inc. Galician, M.-L. (2009). Sex, Love and Romance in the Mass Meida: Analysis and Criticism of Unrealistic Portrayals and Their influence. New York: Routledge. Galloway, L. F. (2011, August). Does Movie Viewing Cultivate Unrealistic Expectation About Love and Marriage. Nevada, U.S.A. Green, C. (2013). The Effects of Romantic Comedies on Women and Female Adolescents. The National Conference On Undergraduate Research (pp. 400-403). Georgetown: Georgetown College. Kircher, J. K. (2011, April 12). Does Media Distort Love. Retrieved April 2014, from Relevant: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/relationship/features/25275-distorting-love SS. (2009, June 24). David Beckham: Hairstyles of a Celebrity Trendsetter. Retrieved April 2014, from Thehairstyler.com: http://www.thehairstyler.com/features/articles/celebrity/david-beckham-celebrity-trendsetters USBLS. (2013, January 1). Motion Picture Industry Statistics. Retrieved April 2014, from Statistic Brain: http://www.statisticbrain.com/motion-picture-industry-statistics/

war crimes- what the publis should know Essay -- essays research paper

Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The term war crime brings to mind a combination of horrific images, concentration camps, ethnic cleansing, execution of prisoners, rape, and bombardment of cities. These images correspond in many ways to the legal definitions of the term, but international law draws lines that do not in all ways match our sense of the most awful behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  War crimes are those violations of the laws of war, or international humanitarian law (IHL) that deserve individual criminal responsibility. While limitations on the conduct of armed conflict date back at least to the Chinese warrior Sun Tzu (sixth century B.C.), the ancient Greeks were among the first to regard such prohibitions as law. The notion of â€Å"war crimes† appeared more fully in the Hindu code of Manu (around 200 B.C.), and eventually made its way into Roman and European law. The first true trial for war crimes is generally considered to be that of Peter von Hagenbach, who was tried in 1474 in Austria and sentenced to death for wartime atrocities. (Gutman and Rieff pg. 374) By World War I, States had accepted that certain violations of the laws of war, much of which had been defined in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, were crimes. The 1945 Charter of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg defined war crimes as â€Å"violations of the laws or customs of war,† including murder, ill-treatment, or deportation of civilians in occupied territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war; killing of hostages; raiding of public or private property; meaningless destruction of towns; and devastation not militarily necessary. (Gutman and Rieff pg. 374) The 1949 Geneva Conventions marked the first inclusion in a humanitarian law treaty of a set of war crimes and the grave breaches of the conventions. Each of the four Geneva Conventions (on wounded and sick on land, wounded and sick at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians) contains its own list of grave breaches. The list in its entirety is: willful killing; torture or inhuman treatment (including medical experiments); willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health; extensive destruction and misuse of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully; forcing a prisoner of war or civilian to serve in the forces o... ...e has been defined over and over by various war conventions over time. Sometimes the laws of war are confusing, because of loopholes that can be used to avoid actually committing these crime. International humanitarian law does not address the causes or beginnings of a particular war, or which side was right and which side was wrong, it can only address the way it was fought. So it is possible for an aggressive country to wage war and be in complete accordance with the Geneva Conventions, and for a defender to commit war crimes even in self defense. The fact that these laws cannot answer every question and determine every moral dilemma does not mean it has no answers and no protection against barbarism and pure evil. The types of war crimes that were touched on, as sad and heartbreaking as they might be are unavoidable. Works Cited Gutman, Roy and Rieff, David. Crimes of War: What The Public Should Know. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999 Jones Adams. â€Å"Care study: Genocide in Rwanda, 1994.† http://www.fatherryan.org./holocaust/rwanda. â€Å"Apartheid South Africa.† www.rebirth.co.za/apartheid.htm www.cs.students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html

Essay --

E. Who are some important contributors in this field? †¢ Gregor Mendel- Austrian monk who demonstrated how variations in organisms were passed to the next generation and how they occurred; in an article Experiments in Plant Hybridization, in which Mendel experimented with controlled pea plant crosses, he showed how traits are inherited in a predictable way as bits information he called factors (genes) †¢ biologist Thomas Hunt Morgan- he and his students wanted to explicate the relationship between evolution, variation, heredity, and chromosomes; he showed that genes are actual substances that can be located on chromosomes, and he laid foundation for modern genetics †¢ biologist/theoretical physicist Max Delbrà ¼ck and geneticist Nicolai Timofeeff-Ressovsky- proposed a technique for estimating the smallest possible size of a gene; though it proved to be unusable, it enforced the idea that genes are stable molecules rather than theoretical units †¢ Linus Pauling- one of the people who founded molecular biology †¢ bacteriologist Oswald Avery- proposed that DNA was accountable for heredity; this was supported by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase’s kitchen blender experiments †¢ biochemist Erwin Chargaff- discovered that in all DNA molecules, the nitrogenous bases of nucleotides had a one-to-one ratio-- the amount of adenine was the same as the amount of thymine and the amount of guanine is the same as the amount of cytosine †¢ James Watson, a biochemist, and Francis Crick, a biophysicist- proposed the double helix model; received pictures of crystalline DNA from crystallographer Rosalind Franklin and biophysicist Maurice Wilkins †¢ biochemist Frederick Sanger made the first thorough analysis of bovine insulin, a protein, which has molecules ma... ...iology can be used by scientists to study other things; expression cloning is used to recreate piece of DNA and put it into a cell to see the DNA in action †¢ DNA is helpful in studying evolution and taxonomic classification †¢ Studying what genes cause an egg to develop into a human being RELATE THIS FIELD TO OTHER FIELDS The field of molecular biology can be related to many fields, since it is basically a product of overlapping studies. It can be related to genetics; most molecular biologists have experience in genetics, and the one of the points of the field is finding out how genes for things such as disease are inherited. Molecular biology is also similar to biochemistry, which is chemical (such as enzymes) processes in living things. However, even though there is an overlap and similarities, molecular biology has to do more with nucleic acids/protein production.

Crisis Intervention

Crisis and Intervention An environmental crisis situation occurred on New Year's A tornado touched down in the area serve in Missouri. I was one of the first on the scene after the first responders Many of the victims had been evacuated and were not being allowed back into the are The few people that did service were In such shock that lust a cup of coffee and help In communicating with their loved ones was all they wanted at the moment. Ell towers, phone lines, power lines, etc were down In the area, so communication was difficult. On a dally basis however I encounter developmental crawls situations; these tuitions are developmental In nature because many have been raised In homes where financial crawls Is a dally event. Many of the clients I serve have been repeat clients for many years. Often times their parent's or grandparent's were also habitual clients.They often times are seeking food assistance as well as assistance In paying utility bills and rental cost. These situations a re all crisis because tot the effect they have on the individual. Whether the crisis is situational, environmental or developmental the basis emotion is the same tort the person in the midst tot the crisis. A crisis is a negative event that is often times unexpected to the individual. Even in the case of the person in need of utility assistance. Ear on a daily basis, â€Å"l thought rd get the money to pay my bill, I never thought I'd be disconnected. Crisis Intervention Crisis and Intervention An environmental crisis situation occurred on New Year's A tornado touched down in the area serve in Missouri. I was one of the first on the scene after the first responders Many of the victims had been evacuated and were not being allowed back into the are The few people that did service were In such shock that lust a cup of coffee and help In communicating with their loved ones was all they wanted at the moment. Ell towers, phone lines, power lines, etc were down In the area, so communication was difficult. On a dally basis however I encounter developmental crawls situations; these tuitions are developmental In nature because many have been raised In homes where financial crawls Is a dally event. Many of the clients I serve have been repeat clients for many years. Often times their parent's or grandparent's were also habitual clients.They often times are seeking food assistance as well as assistance In paying utility bills and rental cost. These situations a re all crisis because tot the effect they have on the individual. Whether the crisis is situational, environmental or developmental the basis emotion is the same tort the person in the midst tot the crisis. A crisis is a negative event that is often times unexpected to the individual. Even in the case of the person in need of utility assistance. Ear on a daily basis, â€Å"l thought rd get the money to pay my bill, I never thought I'd be disconnected.

Euro Disney Essay

Introduccion The Walt Disney Company, is an American multinational corporation located in Burbank, California. It is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry. Disney has created new divisions of the company in order to market more mature content than it typically associates with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Studios, and today one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, LifeTime and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world. It also has a successful music division. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6, 1991. An early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, Mickey Mouse, is the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company. Focused on Euro Disney: Euro Disney S.C.A. is the company that owns and operates Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallà ©e, France. 39.78% of shares are held by The Walt Disney Company, 10% by the Saudi Prince Alwaleed and 50.22% by other  shareholders. The stock is traded on the Euronext Paris exchange. Disneyland Paris comprises Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disney Village, and seven on-site Disney Hotels. Val d’Europe is a new residential and shopping development. Another seven hotels/residences have been built not  far from the two Disney theme parks on land held under Euro Disney SCA’s lease, including properties from companies such as Holiday Inn, Kyriad, MyTravel and Radisson Hotels. The Resort is a result of an agreement signed on 24 March 1987 between The Walt Disney Company and the French Authorities for the development of a new tourist destination, and construction began within a year. Since opening on 12 April 1992, the Resort has created more than 30,000 jobs (both directly and indirectly) in the region to the east of Paris. Today it is the n umber one tourist destination in Europe with 14.5 million visits recorded for Financial Year. Offers/Suggestions: There are many companys which offers many packs for families. Below some examples. Esayjet: Esayjet offers the best prices on Paris Disney Area deals and get away on a Paris Disney Area holiday for less. easyJet Holidays has a fantastic range of prices and offers with a selection of easyJet flights and Paris Disney Area hotels available. http://holidays.easyjet.com/france/paris/paris-disney-area-holidays.htm Thomson: Thomson gives you the opportunity to cutomize your trip: – Accommodation in a Disney Hotel including breakfast – Tickets for both Disney Parks for each day – Access to Free Fastpass service for every member of your party: Cut down the queuing time at the most popular attractions – Extra Magic Hours: Get access to the Disneyland Park up to 2 hours before regular Park opening! http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/features/disneyland-paris.html Hotels inside the Amusement Park: There are many opptions for accomodation indide the park. In total there are 14 hotels. Some examples as follows: Disney’s Newport Bay Club: At Disney’s Newport Bay Club, enjoy all the style and charm of the late 19th Century New England seaside, right on the waters of Lake Disney. Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe: Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe offers you a taste of the monumental landscapes of America’s South West, along the legendary Route 66. Disneyland Hotel: If you you asked for the best. Disneyland Hotel offers the ultimate in Disney quality, service, hospitality and location! It’s right at the entrance to Disneyland Park. Location: Euro Disney is located in France (Paris). France is the largest country in Western Europe and the third-largest in Europe as a whole. It possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military, and political influence in Europe and around the world. France is a developed country,possessing the world’s fifth-largest and Europe’s second-largest economy. Questions A: 1) What did Disney do wrong in its planning for Euro Disney? EuroDisney made different financial ​​strategic mistakes .Taking into account the studies predicting the good economic panporama The growth would be very fast, which means good benefits for the region. But the reality was very different, It means the prediction was wrong. Maybe the will need to made two or more financial Studies befote taking a desition. Another of his errors was the European habits which had changed. From the American experience the highest assitance would be on friday’s, the opposite occurred. The company had difficulties planning the number of workers for those days. Another operational errors was the computers of the hotels. EuroDisney was based on that customers spent several days in the park. The reality was very different, customers arrived very early in the morning to spend the day in the park and get to the rooms at night to leaving the next day. Queues to pay dragged on the grounds that there was only one computer. They had to install several computers addicionales to reduce queues. 2)What recommendations would you make to Disney to deal with the problems of Euro Disney? EuroDisney uses Other Strategies to Solve the Problem of the Situation Name change to Eurodisney Disneyland Paris, so well adapted to European tastes and give a disastrous change in customer care. Through the emphasis of recognizing Paris, executives capitalize on the proximity of the park to the French capital. Keeping costs and increase revenues decreased 8.6% of its labor potential. In response to criticism of high ticket prices and hotels EuroDisney decided to introduce offers and new prices for hotels in low Seaton Disney company changed its marketing philosophy to attract customers from other countries such as Israel and Africa. Instead of offering the park as a holiday destination 3)What lessons can we learn from Disney’s problems with Euro Disney? Misunderstand food habits and customs of Europeans. They learned that for foreign market, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive study of the  customs in that country which they did not do. These results obtained in human resources can help l from this process and this be applicable everywhere in the world. The food market must require a study of economics, rights, culture, climatology, interests, customs, lifestyle, geography, work habits etc.. Questions B: 1.How should the park differentiate itself from the competitive treta posed by the growing number of European amsusement Parks? The main and most important reason is that it is the only amusement park in Europe related to Disney. In my point of view it would be important to provide prices, packs, etc. for children under 7 years, for example, for birthdays, facilitate price, queues etc†¦ Finally renovation, uptades or new attractions design quite often. 2. What target marketing strategy should be pursued in the face of the changing competitive environment? A marketing strategy that positions Euro Disney as a affordable, fully equipped and multicultural park rather than just an American import. This can be done through the following: Implementing more aspects of European culture and less American culture. Signs and ads should be multilingual Food and drinks should be fitting for European tastes. Characters and casts should be more presentable to French culture in specific and European in general. Euro Disney is for Europe and not a form of an Americanized location in Europe. 3. What branding-strategy decisions are relevant? When it comes to the branding strategy, the image of Disney as a brand needs to be maintained as an amusing and incredible experience for everyone. However, again it should be directed in a way to fit the European perceptions of Amusement parks and not the American style. Plus the brand should have the attribute of being the worlds best amusement park provider by displaying the success it has in the U.S.A and in Japan. Meaning that you can have the thrill and experience that Disney as an organization offers you but in Europe. 4. What can be done to make better use of underutilized resources (such as the Hotels) while increasing the profitability of well-patronized facilities? On the short term the most sensible idea is to have a well-fit price for the current economic situation in Europe. Disney Europe can offer packages and promotions for visitors based on the seasonality and demands of the European consumers. A combination of promotional packages can help boost the number of visitors who will find it more appealing to go to Euro Disney rather than any other park because it has a combination of facilities at a reasonable price. Conclution Disney wanted to Americanize European customs. That mistake led to the executives to build an amusement park of your dreams, but following a American model and thus strictly different from physical reality, financial and cultural center of Europe and France. To enter the European market, should make a more detailed study based on research into every applicable aspect of the economy, laws, culture, climate, interests, customs, habits in lifestyle, geography, work habits, among others. This case demonstrates the importance of taking into account the Consumer Comportamientodel when making decisions about new products or paraextender existing products to new markets. It is vitally importanciatener into account social factors such as habits, culture, customs, language,  demographics, socioeconomic status, etc.. What to darsecuenta of which is the best way to reach that market.