Business Leadership Essay Example for Free

Business Leadership Essay 3. Introduction Leadership has long been a major field of interest among the organization and businesses in the world. It is an issue that affects us all, be in the corporate world or at home. Not only we influenced and affected by it, we are also called upon to exercise it. Whether we are involved in leading government or business, guiding young minds or leading a family, everyone has a leadership role to play. Morse and Buss (2007) defines leadership as a process of influence where a person or group influences others to work towards a common goal. Good leaders inspire others to do their best. They help others to work together to accomplish their goals. Leadership is also about being a good role model. According to Stashevsky and Burke (2006) leadership is about coping with change. Leaders set up direction by developing a vision of the future, aligning others by communication the vision and inspiring their people to overcome problems. According to McKinney (2000), American newspaper commentator Walter Lippmann defined leaders as the custodians of a nations ideals, the beliefs it cherishes, of its permanent hopes, of the faith which makes a nation out of a mere aggregation of individuals. In other words, leaders have the ability to affect human behavior to accomplish a mission or to achieve a specific goal. Leadership is subjected to close research from the theoretical and practical viewpoints. In the early days, leadership theories mainly focused on the characteristics or behaviors of successful leaders. Today, leadership theories have expanded to consider the role of the followers and contextual natural of leadership. Adair (2003, page 7-38) described a leader as a person (with leadership qualities) who has the appropriate knowledge and skill to lead a group to achieve their goals and objectives willingly. However, personality and character cannot be left out of the leadership. Their personal qualities, their reaction to the demands of the situation, or a combination of these, attract followers to their leadership style. An individual who is appointed to a leadership position (manager), must possess adequate personal attitude and skills to lead the team. They need to continuously improve their attitude, skills and knowledge to achieve higher levels of excellence. According to Coate (2007, p.304) leaders and managers need to see beyond the next quarterly returns or the immediate production deadline. They need to look at the big pictures, peep into the future, and set the organization’s mission and vision firmly in place. An effective leader is a good planner, instructor and organizer. Leader needs to be good at evaluating performance, judging people (customers or crews) and to be able to foresee the outcome of an action (or inaction). The visionary leader leads the team to stay focused on their targets and objectives. Leaders can push a team to achieve things they didn’t know were possible. Visionary leadership is an indispensable guide leaders at all levels, from top executives to head of divisions and departments, from large corporations to small business, from manufacturing and service organizations to government and non-profit institutions (Bass, 1995). Leadership style models help to achieve effective leaders which include the involvement of the employees in discussions with their supervisors from time to time and decision making. The leadership style will have great impact on others. Effective leaders provide motivation, inspiration and are well connected with their team members. Effective leadership style will bring proper accomplishment of goals and objectives. It also helps to understand human behaviour in wider perspective and helps in developing positive self-awareness. They providing mentorship and guidance, and rallying the team to achieve bigger and better things. Motivation is another important aspect of good leadership (Curry, 1998). Motivation can improve morale and productivity, resulting in overall improvement in efficiency and team productivity. Every organization needs leaders at every level. Leadership in business is important because it is about building teams and communicating so that everyone works to crate synergy. This is a key ingredient to successful businesses and championship teams. Although thousands of research studies have been conducted to prove which leadership style is best applicable in the organization, but still there are no conclusions. The â€Å"best† leadership seems to occur when the leaders’ style matches to the actual situation. Each of the leadership styles can be effective in the right situation. The most effective leadership styles depend on the interaction among people, characteristics of the situation, and the leader (manager) personality. 4. The analysis of Steve Jobs personality and leadership with leadership theories Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO and the man who almost single handed-ly made Apple one of the key players in advance technologies. I disagree that Steve Jobs’ leadership style does not match the theories of leadership. Although he had his fair share of unconventional ways, Steve did indeed practice numerous leadership styles that are aligned to theories presented in textbooks and business journals. In fact, there is a general consensus that Steve Jobs is a wilful and driven leader and he is the leader of one of the most outstanding companies in the history of business. Visionary and Transformational Leadership Steve Jobs once said â€Å"I want to put a ding in the universe.†-Steve Jobs (Kahney, 2011. p.150). This statement gives us some insight into his leadership characteristics and the focus on ideation that led Apple to where it is today under his leadership. Indeed, Steve was driven by passion and a powerful vision. Steve’s visionary leadership articulate his people with great inspiration, thus transforming it in same way. The strength of Steve’s vision and passion, coupled with innovation culture that was already in place made the generation of group passion, and eventually the task, and ultimately the sale, much easier (Sander, 2012 p.52). He was able to combine his great ideas with his strong perception of consumer desires, marketing strategy and management skills. Steve had planned for the products; he provided the visions, the tools and the solid working environment for his people. He transmitted energy to his people, giving them a new sense of confidence in a chieving the vision. He was a follower of Zen (Sander, 2012), honed by Zen’s training and ideology. Focus was ingrained in Steve’s personality. A leader needs to love what he or she does (Graves, 2011). Steve focuses his attention on his products, believes in his ideas and never gives in to failure. These are perhaps the keys to his success as a transformational leader. Cherry (2012) defined transformational leadership as a type of leadership style that leaders to positive changes in those who follow. Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic, visionary and passionate. Not only are these leaders concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on helping every member of the group succeed. Steve Jobs has created the whole culture within his company, a culture that pursues innovation, devotion to creating great â€Å"killer† products, motivation and promotion of self-interest among his people, marketing vision and concentration on quality. Transformational leaders encourages promotes values, belief, and sense of responsibilities (Bass Ringgio, 2006). Steve Jobs has all the necessary att ributes to be considered on. In 1997, Steve returned to Apple when the company was in the crisis. He took the reins and made sweeping changes, re-structuring and resizing the organization. He reviewed the situation and concluded that a small team of talents is more useful and productive than crowds of less talented people. From there, he delegated and gave full support to the team. One of the recurring themes was Jobs’ â€Å"reality distortion field,† his ability to convince those around him that his version of reality was true, his ability to impose his will upon others in a way that made the seemingly impossible become possible. Jobs felt that if he could make Apple’s products attractive, stylish and appealing, people would ultimately flock to them. Jobs was convinces that he knew the best, eschewing market research in lieu of the belief that consumers would want what he tells them to want, insisting on a closed system of end –to-end control by Apple because he didn’t want outsiders screwing up what he was creating. â€Å"The more you saw him as having mystique, the more it went hand in hand with him being a visionary.† (Dailey, 2011) Steve Jobs’ carefully constructed web secrecy, peppered with some hints of vulnerability and accessibility-he was famous for answering customer emails-only added to the looming legend that grew with each Apple innovation. Jobs had received numbers of honors and recognition for his influence in the mobile technology and music industries. He has widely been referred as visionary leader. Charismatic Leadership Steve Jobs also classified as charismatic and visionary leader. Charismatic leadership results when a leader uses the force of personal abilities and talents to create profound and extraordinary effect on followers (Nelson, 2012). Many people who worked for Jobs experienced burnout and describes him as an intimidators, but on hindsight they appreciate and relish the experience. Research shows that people who work for the intimidator (Steve Jobs) were often find the experience â€Å"profoundly educational, even transformational.† (Kahney, 2011 p.172) Steve often insists on things that are seemingly impossible. He believes that eventually even the thorniest problem is solvable. He works people hard and heaps on stress. But, the end result is usually a great piece of work. He believes in his decisions for the company; and his self-confidence led him to success. True leaders are always looking over the horizon for the next opportunity. It is this quest that keeps them going and so metimes they find their true mission along the way, as Steve did (Elliot Simon, 2011). Innovative Leadership Sander (2012) defined innovation in a way that made sense to Steve Jobs â€Å"Innovation is an invention with customer and a marketable vision in mind† Innovation is to introduce something new. A combination of two processes: generating new ideas and implementation the new idea. Innovation calls for good leadership and management at all levels of the organization. Good leaders will stimulate their team to be more ‘hands on’ and to have greater interest in their work, which in turn, leads to the generation of more great ideas (Adair and Thomas, 2004). An innovative leader faces two key challenges. Firstly, to strike the right balance between running the current business and growing the new business. Secondly, in sensing untapped market needs and choosing a promising area to purse (Deschamps, 2008). In Steve’s innovation model has six important components: Customer, Vision, Culture, Product, Message and Brand (Sander, 2012). Steve Jobs inspired his people, he is deeply involved at almost every level with almost every critical projects. He injects energy and guides his people towards developing a solution. His deep involvement makes them feel important and as a result, eager to beat expectation. â€Å"There’s not an ounce of democracy at Apple. That’s what makes it a paragon of such traditional corporate values as top-down leadership, sharply hierarchical organisation and centralised control. It’s Steve’s company — pursuing his vision, at his pace, with his team, making his products. Without Steve Jobs’ authoritarian leadership, Apple would be just another Silicon Valley outfit†(Chaudhury, 2012). When Steve return to Apple, he was described as practising tyrannical leadership style — fire and forced at will — t o ensure that his employees delivered products that consumers lusted for, in an ever-evolving digital world. It certainly worked. Steve is the follower of Zen. Maslin (2001) researched that â€Å"His Zen awareness was not accompanied by an excess of calm, peace of mind or interpersonal mellowness,† and â€Å"He could stun an unsuspecting victim with an emotional towel-snap, perfectly aimed.† As an autocratic leader, Steve Jobs is forceful and demands nothing less than total control. He makes the decisions, announces them and expecting others to carry them out without a question. One of the things that Mr Jobs did, which was very unlike anyone else, was he did it his way, (Dailey, 2011). Steve Jobs choose to lead his team from the front, spearheading the innovation and constantly renewed products of the company. The autocratic nature of his leadership also bears some transactional traits, such as using verbal lashings at employees (Lin, 2011). In meetings, Jobs was infamous for creating an atmosphere of fear. He had been described by some as being harsh, petulant and even boorish at times. Although it was not easy working for J obs, those who can weather it tend to be loyal (Kahney, 2011. p.108). Steve gained respect from both inside and outside the company by maintaining his focus despite his fame and fortune. He was certainly one of the most influential business leaders of his time. â€Å"There’s not an ounce of democracy at Apple. That’s what makes it a paragon of such traditional corporate values as top-down leadership, sharply hierarchical organisation and centralised control. It’s Steve’s company — pursuing his vision, at his pace, with his team, making his products. Without Steve Jobs’ authoritarian leadership, Apple would be just another Silicon Valley outfit†(Chaudhury, 2012). When Steve return to Apple, he was described as practising tyrannical leadership style — fire and forced at will — to ensure that his employees delivered products that consumers lusted for, in an ever-evolving digital world. It certainly worked. Steve is the follower of Zen. Maslin (2001) researched that â€Å"His Zen awareness was not accompanied by an excess of calm, peace of mind or interpersonal mellowness,† and â€Å"He could stun an unsuspecting victim with an emotional towel-snap, perfectly aimed.† A s an autocratic leader, Steve Jobs is forceful and demands nothing less than total control. He makes the decisions, announces them and expecting others to carry them out without a question. One of the things that Mr Jobs did, which was very unlike anyone else, was he did it his way, (Dailey, 2011). Steve Jobs choose to lead his team from the front, spearheading the innovation and constantly renewed products of the company. The autocratic nature of his leadership also bears some transactional traits, such as using verbal lashings at employees (Lin, 2011). In meetings, Jobs was infamous for creating an atmosphere of fear. He had been described by some as being harsh, petulant and even boorish at times. Although it was not easy working for Jobs, those who can weather it tend to be loyal (Kahney, 2011. p.108). Steve gained respect from both inside and outside the company by maintaining his focus despite his fame and fortune. He was certainly one of the most influential business leaders of his time. â€Å"There’s not an ounce of democracy at Apple. That’s what makes it a paragon of such traditional corporate values as top-down leadership, sharply hierarchical organisation and centralised control. It’s Steve’s company — pursuing his vision, at his pace, with his team, making his products. Without Steve Jobs’ authoritarian leadership, Apple would be just another Silicon Valley outfit†(Chaudhury, 2012). When Steve return to Apple, he was described as practising tyrannical leadership style — fire and forced at will — to ensure that his employees delivered products that consumers lusted for, in an ever-evolving digital world. It certainly worked. Steve is the follower of Zen. Maslin (2001) researched that â€Å"His Zen awareness was not accompanied by an excess of calm, peace of mind or interpersonal mellowness,† and â€Å"He could stun an unsuspecting victim with an emotional towel-snap, perfectly aimed.† A s an autocratic leader, Steve Jobs is forceful and demands nothing less than total control. He makes the decisions, announces them and expecting others to carry them out without a question. One of the things that Mr Jobs did, which was very unlike anyone else, was he did it his way, (Dailey, 2011). Steve Jobs choose to lead his team from the front, spearheading the innovation and constantly renewed products of the company. The autocratic nature of his leadership also bears some transactional traits, such as using verbal lashings at employees (Lin, 2011). In meetings, Jobs was infamous for creating an atmosphere of fear. He had been described by some as being harsh, petulant and even boorish at times. Although it was not easy working for Jobs, those who can weather it tend to be loyal (Kahney, 2011. p.108). Steve gained respect from both inside and outside the company by maintaining his focus despite his fame and fortune. He was certainly one of the most influential business leaders of his time. â€Å"There’s not an ounce of democracy at Apple. That’s what makes it a paragon of such traditional corporate values as top-down leadership, sharply hierarchical organisation and centralised control. It’s Steve’s company — pursuing his vision, at his pace, with his team, making his products. Without Steve Jobs’ authoritarian leadership, Apple would be just another Silicon Valley outfit†(Chaudhury, 2012). When Steve return to Apple, he was described as practising tyrannical leadership style — fire and forced at will — to ensure that his employees delivered products that consumers lusted for, in an ever-evolving digital world. It certainly worked. Steve is the follower of Zen. Maslin (2001) researched that â€Å"His Zen awareness was not accompanied by an excess of calm, peace of mind or interpersonal mellowness,† and â€Å"He could stun an unsuspecting victim with an emotional towel-snap, perfectly aimed.† As an autocratic leader, Steve Jobs is forceful and demands nothing less than total control. He makes the decisions, announces them and expecting others to carry them out without a question. One of the things that Mr Jobs did, which was very unlike anyone else, was he did it his way, (Dailey, 2011). Steve Jobs choose to lead his team from the front, spearheading the innovation and constantly renewed products of the company. The autocratic nature of his leadership also bears some transactional traits, such as using verbal lashings at employees (Lin, 2011). In meetings, Jobs was infamous for creating an atmosphere of fear. He had been described by some as being harsh, petulant and even boorish at times. Although it was not easy working for Jobs, those who can weather it tend to be loyal (Kahney, 2011. p.108). Steve gained respect from both inside and outside the company by maintaining his focus despite his fame and fortune. He was certainly one of the most influential business leaders of his time. In reality, Steve truly appreciates and cherishes his people. Free products are the norm, with every employee receiving an iPhone at the product’s launch. According to Elliot and Simon (2011, p.73-83), the most memorable example is Steve’s decision that the signature of the original engineer would be etched on the inside of the cases of Macs. Such rewards created much staff satisfaction and motivation, as they felt that they are part of the product. People become more connected to their work. Indeed, he finds ways to assure his employees that he appreciates their contribution and that they are essential to the product’s success. Steve Jobs’ leadership style was complex. He was intensely focused when committed, confident to take risky leaps, and charismatic enough to enlist corps of employees and customers in the incessant pursuit of his aspirations. Steve was firm when he stepped back into Apple and began his drastic reorganization. He was clear and knew what had to be done. He is passionate of what he did, believing that he is pursuing a higher cause in the processes. The result is an Apple culture that borders brand fanaticism and radical customer devotion. Although Jobs was highly criticized for his autocratic leadership style, he has successfully revolutionized the Apple Company. 5. Steve Jobs’ leadership style within contemporary leader Steve Jobs will likely be remembered as one of the most successful and iconic leaders of the last half century. He is admired for his vision, innovation and passion on products yet often hated for his autocratic and intimidating leadership style. In comparison, William (Bill) H. Gates III, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation has also been described as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. Despite their similar ambitions in the technology and business arena, they have very different personality and leadership style. The competition and rivalry between Gates and Jobs has become one of the most enduring and fascinating subject in the American business industry. Both of them had important impacts on the world. Both young men were born in the same year (1955), they set out from the same beginning point, but with radically different personalities. Both dropped out of college and launched their own businesses. Apple ushered in the era of personal mobile computing in many respects. Microsoft’s had made it possible for a generation of computer scientists to learn and thrive. Apple has perfected the art of delivering fantastic consumer products. Microsoft has worked diligently to make the enterprise more efficient. It is impossible to deny each corporation’s contribution. Each has his own unique strengths. Nevertheless, both are well-known and idolized by many. Comparing their business philosophy, Microsoft’s â€Å"A computer on every desk in every house, running Microsoft software† (Livingston, 1994) is concerned about running their software in every computer. Apple’s â€Å"Make computers accessible to everyone and make it easy to use† (Gruman, 2011) is more about making their computers easy to use and easily accessible to everyone. â€Å"He was every bit as intense, believed in revoluti onary way of using computers. But not in engineer approach, (but rather) a design approach, and that had huge strength, particularly the last where he ran Apple. He was able to do incredible work.† (Parrish, 2012) Steve Jobs was more intuitive and had a greater instinct to make â€Å"impossible† happen and design delightful. He had passion for perfection, which make him demanding. In Steve Jobs organization, there are only two categories, thought: If you weren’t brilliant, you were that other thing, a bozo. But with Steve, no matter how brilliant he knew you were, one remark that didn’t, by his standard, measure up, and he’d immediately label you a bozo. Even in front of other people (Elliot and Simon, 2011). Steve Jobs relies on forcing to resolve conflict such as in questions about design issues (DuBrin, 2008). According to Kahney (2011), Steve is forceful, intimidating, brutal, and ruthless, and tyrants were words used to describe Steve’s autocratic leadership style. He was obsessively controlling, throwing tantrums and yelling at employees and board members. â€Å"A bunch of amateurs† or â⠂¬Å"well, you’re a bunch of idiots.† (Kahney, 2011) He could tear down someone’s ideas or the person in public if they not able to achieve what he wanted. Bill is known to project a more democratic leadership style. Although he does not address anyone by name, hand out praise or stroke any egos, he does listens intently and has his temper mostly in check. He is good in computer technology knowledge and coding. His thinks more practically. His mind is more practical, disciplines and abundant in analytic processing power. Even when he disagreed with a staff’s analysis of certain issue, his response was â€Å"Educate me on that†. After a minute or so, he cuts off the discussion by saying, â€Å"Send me the specs† (Isaacson, 1997). In Apple, there is much secrecy in corporate decision making, which often led to sudden and unanticipated changes. According to Elliot and Simon (2011), Steve will gather the people in separate teams, kept isolated from the distractions and interferences of the rest of the company. Each team knew only of the parts they need to create, without any discussion or knowledge of the big picture. In contrast, Gates spends much of his time communicating with his team and consulting his IT specialist about how new products can be woven into industry standard products. He involved his subordinate in decision making. Bill Gates’ democratic leadership style is a reflection of his more practical and disciplined mind set (Isaacson, 1997). Under Gates’ leadership, Microsoft Corporation flourished, consistently landing in Fortune’s â€Å"100 Best Companies to Work For† (Lussier, 2008). Both leaders are practising different leadership style: Democratic and Autocratic. The leadership styles are extreme, whereas in practice the behaviour of many, perhaps most, leaders in business will be somewhere between the two. Jobs and Gates believe in recruiting and retaining the best talents. However, Apple does not offer relevant formal training or development opportunities for its employees. Rather, employees are expected to gain new knowledge on their own (Muller, 2010). One of the Steve’s principal is to hire the best-â€Å"A-people† (Elliot and Simon, 2011). Steve wants only real talent people in the company. There are no training or knowledge sharing in projects or pr oducts. He expects excellent ideas and results from his people. In Microsoft, on the other hand, believes in staff training and development. â€Å"We’ve had technology a long time. We had some very sophisticated staff members. What Gates really allowed us to do is to roll it out further to more locations and people and give our staff the training and support to make that happen. (Greiner, 2003) They believe training is the most basic and sometimes most overlooked from knowledge sharing that need to go in a company. Despite the past decade of U.S. economic stagnation, Apple have grown continuously, and the stock price has advanced to the point where Apple is now the world’s most valuable firm, with a market cap of $391 billion, followed by Exxon-Mobil ($380 billion), IBM ($230 billion), and Microsoft ($228 billion) (Salsman, 2011). Steve Jobs had owned the wealthy company. Nevertheless, Steve Jobs is not known to be a philanthropist. Neither is he active in the charity work as compare to Bill Gates. Steve only concentrated on his products and company. He only public face his visions and products. He does not have the sense of â€Å"giving back† to the community. As a charity leader, Bill Gates frequently encourages his staff to contribute to charity, both in terms of money and time. Giving is large part of Microsoft’s corporate culture. Bill Gates and his wife started The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; take up issues such as poverty, famine, and disease around the world (Lesinski, 2009). This foundation focus on finding cures of diseases which are common in poor nations, also global development in farming and education. Bill Gates’ contribution to the community is a reflection of his character and moral. Bill Gates has shown a good example that other leaders should practice and imitate his humanity towards other nations who need helps. Steve Jobs is respected for his products, but Bill Gates is respected for both his products and philanthropic leadership. A well-rounded organization is not unlike a well-rounded individual, they should balance the prio rity of work, family, charity and personal interest (Brown, 2006). Gates’ visionary leadership style did not stop at product creation but extended to the creation of a dynasty. Microsoft has sales offices in nearly 60 countries and an international staff of 6200. Almost all of the employees are natives of the country in which they work. It is estimated that each overseas employees generates more than $1million in annual revenues. Gates tries to make certain that his foreign partners are in charge and that they share in the wealth (Lowe and Gates, 1998 p.74). He had acquired great wealth, something which he gladly shared with stockholders and employees. From his caring nature, Bill Gates had created â€Å"Microsoft Millionaires† from his programmers, managers and even secretaries. Gates’ vision of wealthy sharing has resulted in lifestyle improvement for every level of his employees. Although, Apple staff are well paid, their rewards for success are vastly and nowhere near that of Microsoft’s. According to Yourdon (2004), Steve commented that Macintosh projects â€Å"The journey is the reward.† Rewards in Apple are different. Steve allowed each designer to personally sign a placard that was reproduced and placed inside each Mac case (Sander, 2012). Rewards are nice and this is the way Steve reward and recognize his people. As a charismatic and autocratic leader, Steve’s vision ended at creating the most iconic and desired technological products in history, building the most valuable and renowned brand of his time. There is no doubt that Steve’s influence and vision will live on in the products and company he created. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the visionary leader who always think creatively and have great insight to expect the future, which eventually transform the IT technology and changed the world greatly. 6. Conclusion The purpose of this paper is to discuss of the relevant leadership idea and to explore the leadership styles and to explore the Steve Jobs’s leadership approach. Considering his influence and success at Apple, it is clear that a study of his leadership can provide valuable lessons for current and aspiring leaders. Steve has often been names one of the most prominent leaders in the US business circles. Despite his early demise, Steve Jobs has and is still touching the lives of people all around the world today. His life makes an amazing story because despite all the hardships he faced and against all odds he achieved what he said he set out to achieve: become a millionaire. He had dream and he would not stop until it was lived out. Despite the fact that Steve’s leadership style is sometimes considered overly authoritative and that his company as being too personality-centered, he was able to achieve unprecedented success. Some of his styles and principals can be considered universal and applicable to other business, but others should be applied with caution or adapted to the actual business situation. This brings to mind, one of the essential characteristics of the true leader-to be able to adopt and adapt as well as to accept differing opinion. There is much that we can learn from Steve-his passion, focus and influential nature. Influence does not stem from a set of management rules and techniques. Leaders who are passionate about their work, who are able to focus on things that matter most, and exercise unwavering resolve in their decision tend to have a greater influence on people around them. Only with such influence, can a leader create positive impact on their followers, their organization and even on themselves. 7. Reference : Adair, John (2003) Concise Adair on Leadership. Olympia Elibrary (Online) Available at : http://library.olympia.edu.my:2051/lib/olympia/docDetail.action?docID=10071301p00=good%20leader (Accessed : 21 May 2012). Adair, John and Thomas, Neil (2004) Concise Adair on Creativity and Innovation. London, GBR: Thorogood Publishing. Bass, Bernard M and Riggio, Ronald E (2008) Transformational Leadership, 2ndEdition. United States: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Bass, Jossey (1995) Visionary Leadership: creating a compelling sense of direction for your organization. Google Book (Online) Available at: http://books.google.com.my/books?id=RA3NgwfGEWYCdq=visionary+leadersource=gbs_book_similarbooks (Online) (Accessed: 23 May 2012). Brown, Mark Graham (2006) Baldrige Award Winning Quality. United States of America: Productivity Press. Cherry, Kendra (2012) Transformational Leadership. Available at: http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/transformational.htm (Accessed: 21 May 2012). Chaudhury, Arindam (2012) The best CEO Are Autocrats. Available at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/51508-the-best-ceos-are-autocrats.html (Accessed: 23 May 2012). Coate, Patricia (2007) Focus on Leadership. Bradford, GBR: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. Curry, Myron (1998) Article-Leadership: What Makes A Good Leader? Available at: http://www.business-marketing.com/article-leaders.php (Accessed: 17 May 2012). Dailey, Kate (2011) BBC News Magazine: The Cult of Steve Jobs. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15194365 (Accessed: 23 May 2012). Deschamps, Jean Phillipe (2008) Innovation Leaders. England: John Wiley Son Ltd. DuBrin, Andrew. J (2008) Essentials of Management. Google Book (Online) http://books.google.com.my/books?id=dNThzoekGQcCpg=PA470dq=steve+jobs+autocratichl=ensa=Xei=n33dT76kLpDtrQeXksy6DQved=0CEEQ6A EwAjgU#v=onepageq=steve%20jobs%20autocraticf=false (Accessed: 17 June 2012) Elliot, Jay and Simon, William L (2011) The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation. United States of America: Vanguard Press. Greiner, Joy Marilyn (2004) Exemplary Public Libraries: Lessons in Leadership, Management, and Service. United States of America: A member of the Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Gruman, Galen (2011), Mac OS X Lion Bible. United States of America: John Wiley Son, Inc. Isaacson, Walter (1997) Time Magazine U.S: In Search of the Real Bill Gates. Available at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1120657-13,00.html (Accessed: 23 May 2012) Kahney, Leander (2011) Inside Steve’s Brain. London: Atlantic Books. Lesinski, Jeanne. M (2009) Bill Gates: Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. U.S.A: Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lin, Lucas (2011) Leadership Lesson from Steve Jobs. Available at: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Leadership-Lessons-from-Steve-Jobs/1423163. (Accessed at: 22 May 2012). Livingston, Brian (1994) Infoworld. Google Book (Online) Available at: http://books.google.com.my/books?id=gzgEAAAAMBAJpg=PA30dq=A+computer+on+every+disk+in+every+house,+running+Microsoft+softwarehl=ensa=Xei=1vnET7O5JY6qrAeJwYjKCQredir_esc=y#v=onepageq=A%20computer%20on%20every%20disk%20in%20every%20house%2C%20running%20Microsoft%20softwaref=false (Accessed: 29 May 2012). Lowe, Janet and Gates, Bill (1998), Bill Gates Speaks: Insight from the Worlds Greatest Entrepreneur. United States of America: John Wiley Son, Inc. Lussier, Robert.N (2008) Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development. Google Book (Online) http://books.google.com.my/books?id=p0AIEuN6kg0Cpg=PA30dq=bill+gates+leadershiphl=ensa=Xei=hIHdT-XKCc-HrAew-omzDQved=0CDkQ6AEwATgK#v=onepageq=bill%20gates%20leadershipf=false (Accessed: 17 June 2012) Maslin, Janet (2011) Books Of Times: Making the iBio for Apple’s Genius. Available at:

Behavioural Analysis in this reflective essay

Behavioural Analysis in this reflective essay The reflective essay will analyse my behaviour in accordance with my personality traits and motivational factors. Since, this essay compromises of reflective and behavioural analysis,definition of Behaviour;â€Å"Behaviour is an aspect of an individuals mind, the manner in which one reacts when one is confronted with a circumstance or an event† (Vecchio, Hearn Southey, 1992).Every individual possesses a unique behaviour of itself as it is directly proportional to the occurrences of events in their life. In this essay I will discuss my scores based on assessment question and support them based on my behavioural experiences within the particular environment, some of the results were surprising and I got to know positive as well as negatives aspects of my behaviour analysis. Behavioural Analysis in this reflective essay is based on the questionnaire â€Å"What about me† focusing mainly on personality insights (1.A.1 to 1.A.5) and motivational insight (1.C.1 to 1.C.10) listed in the organizational behaviour self assessment library CD, version 3.3 (Robbins Judge, 2007b). Beginning with the personality side of my behaviour; the initial analysis of (I-A-1). Whats my basic personality? (Robbins Judge, 2007b) .It accessed highly on conscientiousness with a score of 14, 13 extroversion, 13 Agreeableness,13 Emotional Stability and 9 openness to experience. Gordon Allport says that personality is â€Å"the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment† (Robbins, Millett Waters-Marsh, 2004, pp.100). A high score of 14 on conscientiousness is completely appreciated as I am conscientious and achievement oriented, decision of Principal and Staff in school to elect me as Head Boy during School (2002-03) proves a worth here, during my term I achieved objectives and goals allotted in my mission. Academic Awards in Science, Mathematics and Hindi, Inter School Sports Trophy for Soccer and Cricket, and Cultural Fest. I agree on my score of extroversion.I was the Student Coordinator for College Management Fest (MATTRIX 2007-08).I was coordinating with college teams from states all together. Agreeableness, the score of 13 is well suited to me,I am a person who can be trusted and cooperative, this quality was right there from childhood, in our Boarding School (Scindia School) we had Cafe Distribution,I was always considered for the distribution due to trusting and cooperative nature. Emotional stability score was unexpected,I partially agree with it, though I am not a calm person nor enthusiastic to the extent of my score of 13, when I was working with AOL (America Online Ltd.) during my tenure once I had to handle a situation where the customer was very impatient and non cooperative, even after I had resolved his Technical problem he was not agreeing on the fact that the problem was solved, it was already 45 minutes on that call,I really lost control over it, with a rude tone I just hanged up the call. I agree, I am not very open to experience and feel the moderate score of 9 (I-A-1) is justificable.Most of the times I prefer familiar things, but sometimes I do have wide range of interests and a fascination with novelty and innovation which is evident from the fact that I went to a trip to a place called Panchmari (India) which was about exploring the deep forests and attending a military training camp. Coming to (I-A-2) â€Å"Whats my Jungian 16 type personality?†. My personality has been classified as ENTP type i.e. extrovert, intuitive, thinking and perceiving. It surprised me as I dont consider myself as a complete extrovert but person bordering on an introvert.I am a talkative person.I socialise well with people.During my flight to Melbourne I was in constant touch with the people around asking them about different things and restless trying to make contacts.But I avoid talking to people who tend to have an effect on me indirectly or directly as I can feel the negative vibes coming out of them, its my mental conditioning, this is also justified by psychologists who term it as â€Å"operant conditioning which means to develop a behaviour in order to gain a positive reward or prevent a negative event in ones life† (Robbins, Judge, Millet Waters-Marsh, 2008).I think a lot before presenting anything let it be a project or any decision. The only fact of â€Å"Whats my Jungian 16-type personality?† which I agree with is P type personality i.e. Perceiving.I think â€Å"if a person cannot self actualise their own worth its their destiny†. When I was in International Conference at Bangladesh we were given a group activity where this guy called Andrew from UK was very reluctant about a last minute change which a group decided,he just decided to back up and the group didnt have a problem from him backing out as I took the responsibility of covering the topic which he was suppose to,and we actually managed to be one of the top five teams scoring an average in the competition. (I-A-3) People with type-A personality are ones â€Å"who are geared towards making constant effort to gain more and more in limited time even at times of opposing forces which makes them impatient† (Robbins Judge 2007a).I took a hasty decision of giving 300$ to a landlord for booking a room for me as I didnt have accommodation arranged and I had applied for an on campus accommodation,but the university didnt give confirmation on campus accommodation so just one day before the check out I went and paid the amount to book a room,to my surprise I got a room confirmed the same evening, I landed up paying the 300$ which went waste.In group many a times my friends have pointed me out for cutting their conversation and interrupting in between even before they finish their conversations,these behavioural characteristics justifies my assessment score of 117. Ambiguity (I-A-4) is the ability which I developed as an when I stepped in outside world, a score of 21 is positive indication. In my previous company I was asked to sell a Swaraj Mazda bus to an unknown customer, it was a bit difficult situation as I use to handle Administration,but taking it as a challenge I sold 2 vehicles to the customer and was rewarded for it, this can be related to Variable ratio schedule also i.e. â€Å"reward varies relative to the behaviour of the individual†.(Robbins, Judge, Millet Waters-Marsh,2004, pg no.52). Creativity (I-A-5) is â€Å"Individualistic, novel, idea generating process†. (Gregory. B Margaret. A,1990, pp.210).I completely agree with my score of +3,as I am not creative to an extreme level.Sometimes I am creative by adding idea and thought to an ongoing process.During a Soccer match when my coach was suggesting a plan to be followed and he was surprised by an idea which I gave to implement in that plan which was more result oriented. Discussing questions on â€Å"Motivation Insights†. Motivation is the act of triggering an individual to strive towards their established goals in order to achieve it successfully (Robbins Judge, 2007a). (I-C-1) ‘What motivates me?†. I have been judged to have a high growth need of 16, which I completely agree. Alderfers ERG (Existence, Relatedness and Growth) theory classifies existence, relatedness and growth needs as three major groups of needs (Robbins Judge, 2007a). According to his theory different individuals attach different degree of importance to each of the above mentioned need categories and can strive to satisfy any of the need groups without following a set pattern which is in slight contrast to Maslows hierarchy of needs theory which followed a order in which lower level needs were satisfied before higher level needs could be satisfied (Robbins, Judge, Millet Waters-Marsh, 2004).Success achievement, that is what I desire.While working with Earnest and Young(Financial Organisation) I was able to analyse the financial markets and convert money into more realisable asset.I will pursue the same career with added value to my knowledge after MBA.Existence need s, score of 13 is not agreeable as I am considerate of job security within the organisation.I was offered a job in Northern Trust Co. to pursue a training in US for which there was no job guarantee so I rejected the offer. Discussing about dominant needs (I-C-2), my score is fair in terms of Achievement-21, Affliation-15, Autonomy-15 and Power-16. I think â€Å"no one is perfect; all improve from their past exposures†.I always try to perform better than my previous performances specially in studies, the difference can be seen in my Marks Cards from 12th Grade till Date as it shows an upwards trend.With success you automatically gain power its a proven fact which drive others towards me, in class whenever there was group presentation most of my classmates preferred my group.McClellands theory of needs also consider achievement, power and affiliation as three most motivating needs (Robbins, Judge, Millet Waters-Marsh, 2004). (I-C-3) â€Å"What Rewards Do I Value Most†?.I tend to get motivated by factors like Recognition, Job Security,Prestigious Title etc.Score of 5 in recognition and job security is agreeable as I like to be appraised for my work.I was judged as the best Speaker for the Debate competition held in Mayo College.I prefer a permanent job rather than a temporary job, you cant actually focus on your work and strive through efficiency if you are not secured in an organisation..My score of 4 in Good pay, prestigious Title, Interesting work, Chances to advance and friendly co-workers holds a little less importance. Discussing (I-C-4) â€Å"Whats My View On The Nature Of The People?†, I believe my score of 19 is truly justifiable, as I fall in between theory X and theory Y.I have a tendency to work with different individuals,it is a perfect picture of my view on nature of people.My class was divided into groups having rivalries but I was comfortable adjusting with everyone. (I-C-5) â€Å"What are my Course Performance Goals?†.Score of 11 has completely impressed me.I am a Goal Oriented individual.I decided to pursue MBA and will be specialising in finance as this directs me towards my objective.One factor I think is missing with performance goal is time which is explained in the Enriching Goal-Setting Theory with Time: An Integrated approach (Fried Slowik, 2004), according to this theory most of the motivation plan fail to integrate the time factor and hence are not completely valid as past, present and future depend a lot on time. (I-C-6) â€Å"How Confident I am in my abilities to succeed?†, score of 30 is perfect as I am confident.I took the challenge to pursue MBA in Melbourne even after the great media hype about Indians getting attacked. (I-C-7) â€Å"Whats my Attitude towards Achievement?†.Score of 43 Favour Seeing Successful People fall and 51 Favour Successful People Rewarded is sarcastic.It hardly affects me considering others success stories.It was great to see my friends accepting rewards for scoring high marks in 10th Grade and there were people who were expecting the reward but were not given,it didnt have much effect on me. (I-C-8)â€Å"How sensitive am I to Equity Differences†?,(I-C-9) Whats my Jobs Motivating Potential? , and (I-C-10) Do I want an Enriched Job?, the scores for the above questions were (I-C-8) 27, (I-C-9) 170, and (I-C-10) 4.1 . I dont agree with my score of 27(I-C-8) as it states category Entitleds,I am justified with the category Equity sensitive.I was involved in rotract club of my college where we conducted a blood donation camp it was a team effort we appreciated the consequences with equal appreciation, relating to Equity Theory â€Å"it is an exchange perspective, a perspective that views behaviour as a process in which workers exchange appropriate work behaviours for desired consequences† (Gregory B, Margaret A, 1990, pp.165).The MPS and enrichness in job result are nearby average indicating attachment towards challenging work and growth which motivates me to an extent.I was in Administrative department for Swaraj Mazda I had to make a marketing plan which I compl eted in a month.I realised my capabilities in Marketing field,the motivation provided by the Managing Director proved an added advantage. In Job Characteristics Model by J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham â€Å"there is set of job characteristics and these characteristics affect behavioural outcomes†. (Stephen P, Robbins, Timothy A,13th Edition,2009,pp 217). In the above essay I have analysed my behaviour in respect with the results provided by taking the questionnaire in the self assessment library (Robbins Judge, 2007b). It was a great discovery I could say about my behavioural and motivational aspects, quite surprising in few questions like Equity Differences, Extroversion, and Emotional Stability where I didnt agree with my results, but at the same time I have been able to identify positive personality motivational traits like conscientiousness, A type personality, growth relatedness needs which I value more in an organisation, I am a highly achievement oriented individual which motivates me a lot specially now doing my MBA at La Trobe University, the confident aspect considering my abilities to succeed in what I do is comparatively high. Overall the assessment results has given me a bird view point about my negative indicators and an opportunity to convert them into positive indicators of behavioural aspect and strengthen the per sonality aspects already acquainted by my personality. REFERENCES Fried, Y. Slowik, L. H., (2004), Enriching Goal-Setting Theory With Time: An Integrated Approach, Academy of Management Review, 29, 3, pp. 404-422, Wayne State University, (Accessed on 19th July, 2009). Robbins, S.P., Millett, B. Waters-Marsh, T., (2004), Organisational Behaviour, 4th Edition, Pearson Education Australia, Australia. Robbins, S.P. Judge T.A. (2007a), Organizational Behaviour, 12th Edition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Robbins, S.P. Judge T.A. (Eds.) (2007b), Prentice Halls Self-Assessment Library Version 3.3, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A., Millett, B. Waters-Marsh, T., (2008) Organisational Behaviour, 5th Edition, Pearson Education Australia, Australia. Vecchio, R. P., Hearn. G. Southey, G., (1992), Organisational Behaviour: Life at Work in Australia, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Australia. Stephen P. Robbins , Timothy A. Judge, (2009) Organisational Behaviour,13th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Gregory B. Northcraft, Margaret A. Neale, (1990), Organisational Behaviour (A Management Challenge), The Dryden Press, a division of Holt,Rinehart and Winston, Inc. APPENDIX S.P. Judge T.A. (Eds.) (2007b), Prentice Halls Self-Assessment Library Version 3.3, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey App. 1 1.A.1 Whats My Basic Personality? App.2 1.A.2 Whats My 16-Type Jungian Personality? App.3 1.A.3 Am I a Type-A? App.4 1.A.4 How Well Do I Handle Ambiguity? App.5 1.A.5 How Creative Am I? App.6 1.C.1 What Motivates Me? App.7 1.C.2 What are my Dominant Needs? App.8 1.C.3 What Rewards Do I value Most? App.9 1.C.4 Whats My View On The Nature Of The People? App.10 -1.C.5 What Are My Course Performance Goals? App.11- 1.C.6 How Confident Am I In My Abilities to Succeed? App.12- 1.C.7 Whats My Attitude Toward Achievement? App.13- 1.C.8 How Sensitive Am I To Equity Differences? App.14- 1.C.9 Whats My Jobs Motivating Potential? App.15- 1.C.10 Do I want an Enriched Job Questionnaire and Results are attached.

The Advantures Of Huck. Fin :: essays research papers

Books are known for teaching lessons. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirically presents the situation of how people of different color were treated unjustly, while at the same time amusing his readers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Isn’t it ironic that the character that grows on you most is Jim, the black runaway slave, who society looks down upon most during the time period of this book? Jim is treated poorly as a slave and as a person. For one, he is separated from his parents and children amongst different slave owners. On top of this, he is about to be sold for $800 to another owner even more far away from his family, which leads to his escape. Despite these situations, he remains a loyal, loving, father-like figure, and most importantly, he remains a great friend to Huckleberry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Society, even today, often puts children down by saying that they do not contain values. Well, Huck closes the door to this statement. Whenever Huck is challenged to make a decision on impact concerning the safety of Jim, such as the incident when the men are looking for blacks, his heart always seems to pilot him to the direction of Jim’s benefit, even though almost all of the rest of society would object to his decisions during this period of time. You can also see Huck’s distress and sorrow for the fact that Jim has to buy his family back in order to see them again. This absolutely breaks Huck’s heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Back in the 1800s, blacks were considered property, and whites were always the superior race. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain purposely makes Jim the best character in the book, in that he is the most compassionate, caring, and most appreciated by Huck, the main character in the book. At the same time he makes Pap, the white dead-beat father of Huck, the most detested, disrespected, low down character of this book. Twain causes his readers to contemplate of how foolish it is that a person can be judged on his outside appearance, rather than who the individual is on the inside. The Advantures Of Huck. Fin :: essays research papers Books are known for teaching lessons. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirically presents the situation of how people of different color were treated unjustly, while at the same time amusing his readers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Isn’t it ironic that the character that grows on you most is Jim, the black runaway slave, who society looks down upon most during the time period of this book? Jim is treated poorly as a slave and as a person. For one, he is separated from his parents and children amongst different slave owners. On top of this, he is about to be sold for $800 to another owner even more far away from his family, which leads to his escape. Despite these situations, he remains a loyal, loving, father-like figure, and most importantly, he remains a great friend to Huckleberry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Society, even today, often puts children down by saying that they do not contain values. Well, Huck closes the door to this statement. Whenever Huck is challenged to make a decision on impact concerning the safety of Jim, such as the incident when the men are looking for blacks, his heart always seems to pilot him to the direction of Jim’s benefit, even though almost all of the rest of society would object to his decisions during this period of time. You can also see Huck’s distress and sorrow for the fact that Jim has to buy his family back in order to see them again. This absolutely breaks Huck’s heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Back in the 1800s, blacks were considered property, and whites were always the superior race. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain purposely makes Jim the best character in the book, in that he is the most compassionate, caring, and most appreciated by Huck, the main character in the book. At the same time he makes Pap, the white dead-beat father of Huck, the most detested, disrespected, low down character of this book. Twain causes his readers to contemplate of how foolish it is that a person can be judged on his outside appearance, rather than who the individual is on the inside.

Unilever :: essays research papers

Unilever's Path to Growth Strategy: Is it Working 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What are the chief elements of Unilever’s diversification strategy? Is Unilever pursuing a multicountry or a global strategy? What aspects of the strategy do you like? What aspects of the strategy are you skeptical about and why? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Did Unilever pay too much to acquire SlimFast? Is there any reason to believe that SlimFast might be a better performer as part of Unilever than it would be a standalone enterprise? Explain. Is SlimFast a good strategic fit, given that there are no other important diet products in Unilever’s product/brand portfolio? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is going on at SlimFast in 2003? Why are sales nose-diving? What can be done to get things turned around? Should the SlimFast business be sold? Was the acquisition a mistake? Why did things look so good at the time of the acquisition and so dismal now? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Did Unilever pay too much to acquire Ben & Jerry’s? Is there any reason to believe that Ben & Jerry’s might be a better performer as part of Unilever than it would be a standalone enterprise? What problems will Unilever be likely to encounter with its Ben & Jerry’s acquisition? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Did Unilever pay too much to acquire Best Foods? Why or why not? What is your assessment of Best Foods’ recent performance and business portfolio? Is Best Foods a good strategic fit? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is your assessment of the caliber of Unilever’s lineup of businesses and brands as of late 2003? Did the acquisitions of SlimFast, Ben & Jerry’s, and Bestfoods enhance Unilever’s portfolio? Why or why not? 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How does Unilever’s product/brand portfolio stack up against those of its chief competitors? 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What issues does Unilever management need to be concerned about? What problems do you see as of late 2003?

Allen Ginsberg Essay -- Biography Bio Poet

Allen Ginsberg, Covert Patriot Allen Ginsberg is, without a doubt, most famous for his poem "Howl" which he published in October of 1956 through City Lights Books in San Francisco. "Howl", like much of his other poetry, is an intensely personal and also very complex poetic expression lacking rhyme and, to many people, also lacking reason. In actuality, however, "Howl" serves as an autobiographical sketch and it acts, in some ways, as a precursor to his lesser known poem from the same publication, "America," which is his final articulation of his love for his country and his disillusionment with its current state of affairs. Together, both of these poems form a culmination (as of 1956) of the journals he had been keeping throughout his life and are the final "howl" of the simultaneous love and discontent with his situation as well as that of his country. Through "Howl" and "America" Ginsberg is expressing his disillusionment with American culture and his own life by retelling his own life experiences; however, he i s also demonstrating a love of America and American culture that he has held throughout his life and which he, finally, was able to put down in poetic verse in his compilation Howl and Other Poems. From a very early age, Ginsberg's life was chaotic, and that, in turn, produced a disenchanted view of society. His parents were both extremely politically active and were not in political agreement. As a result politics was a subject to which he became accustomed rather early because his mother, Naomi, was a member of the Communist part and his father, Louis, was a Democratic Socialist (Miles 6). Naomi and Louis fought often about politics and the situation, no doubt, left Ginsberg both passionate and confused about poli... ...sberg as a cynic, it is crucial to remember that, both as a poet and as a person, he is much more complex, as is his view of the country. Ginsberg was not anti-American, he loved a great deal about America and felt awful about its situation in the 1950s. Ginsberg was simply another man who wanted change. References Caveney, Graham. Screaming with Joy: the Life of Allen Ginsberg. New York: Broadway Books, 1999. Foster, Edward Halsey. Understanding the Beats. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1992. Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. 57th printing San Francisco: City Light Books, 2001. ---. Journals Mid-Fifties 1954-1958. Gordon, Ball Ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995. Merrill, Thomas F. Allen Ginsberg: Revised Edition. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1988. Miles, Barry. Ginsberg: A Biography. London: Virgin Publishing Ltd., 2000.

Hamlet Rough Draft

Throughout the play, Hamlet shows many examples of being an indecisive person and being unable to do anything he wants to, as if something stops him. An example would be in act five, when he decides to confess his love for Ophelia on her grave. He took too long to tell Ophelia or anyone for the matter about his love for her. Another example would be his mother remarrying, and Hamlet not being able to confess his true feelings about King Claudius being his new father. In the first four acts, Hamlet goes on about his life being miserable and in some kind of melancholy mood.He can’t find a way to deal with it, so he keeps all of his negative feelings to himself. This â€Å"depressed† funk he is in interferes with his will to act upon things that go on around him. However, he does manage the courage to finally step up and confront his feelings about King Claudius, which puts him in fear of Hamlet. Besides his mood affecting his will to act, how Hamlet over thinks his action s ruins his ability to do anything. For him, there is always something else that can go wrong, so he decides not to go with his original plan.While we all go around looking for an excuse whether or not to do something, Hamlet seems to have no problem just saying never mind to everything and chickening out. He thinks about a plan to make, then decides against it. â€Å"Why† is what I have to ask? Why didn’t Hamlet do everything he wanted to? Maybe his life would have changes completely and he would be in such a rough state. Maybe his life wouldn’t have changed at all. In Act Five Scene 1, Hamlet finally confesses his true love for Ophelia, who has already committed suicide. As if saying this is going to bring her back to life, he fights with her brother Laertes about who loves her more. Forty thousand brothers/ Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ make up my sum. † (V. i. ) The two literally jump into her grave and fight over her. Hamlet waits until Ophelia is dead to confess his love for her, while before, he had the chance to do so. (Claudius and Polonius set up a trap for Hamlet to see if he’s gone â€Å"mad† because of his love for Ophelia, or because he may actually be insane. )In this scene, Hamlet chooses to completely dis Ophelia and basically tell her he doesn’t love her at all. She was in on it the whole time, and was discouraged by his reaction.This may be the reason she actually killed herself. It is ironic to see how scared he seems of confronting anyone about how he feels. â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman! † (I. ii. ) Hamlet is completely in awe and disbelief that his mother would marry her own brother. Especially since it’s her own flesh and blood she’s married to. Hamlet feels that it hasn’t been nearly long enough to remarry or get over their loss which they suffered. Yet, Hamlet still shows no sign of courage to confront the new king, even though he feels so st rongly that this is so wrong.Before he says that to his mother, he also said, â€Å"That it should come to this,† meaning that she could have married anyone or anything else, and it still wouldn’t have been as bad as her own brother. That it would have to come to this, thinking that you can’t trust anyone again besides your own family members. Hamlet also believes that because of this awkward marriage, there is just a series of streaks of bad luck to come to him and his family. Sharing this with his mother would be the best idea, but like many other times, hamlet doesn’t say a word and keeps to himself.He hates his uncle being king, and wants so bad for it to change. This scares him though, thinking that saying something will just bring even more bad luck to him. Later on in the story, he does go and find his mother to tell him his trouble about this and what will happen if he doesn’t share this with her. Hamlet goes to his mother and finally share s what’s on his mind. He tells her things like, â€Å"don’t believe your husband that I/m crazy, because I’m really not,† or, â€Å"I’m only telling you this so Claudius doesn’t persuade you to think differently of me. He warns his mother to not go and â€Å"spread the compost on the weeds/ To make them ranker † By saying this, he doesn’t want the compost to be like a catalyst, and spread corruption throughout her own mind because of Claudius telling her so. Although Hamlet shows himself as indecisive and insecure, towards the end of the story he does show some act of courage; enough to finally go and kill King Claudius. At first, he finds himself procrastinating at the matter, because he comes up behind King Claudius while he’s praying. He originally planned on killing him right then and there, but wait!Hamlet stops and lets his inner coward win over yet again. After a series of deep thoughts, he does decide to kill hi s uncle, and realizes that he must go through with his plan quickly, before Hamlet himself is killed. †Thus conscience does not make cowards of us all;/ And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought;/ And enterprises of great pith and moment,/ With this regard, their currents turn away,/ And lose the name of action. † Hamlet here combines some themes of this play: death and life, the connection between thought and ction. In act five scene five, he goes into Claudius’ room to kill him. Like the last time he went to kill him, he was on his knees praying. Why send him to Heaven when he should go to Hell? His father wasn’t given a chance to repent his sins before he was murdered, so why should King Claudius? Hamlet thinks about this for a minute, and decides to wait for a more reasonable time to go through with this murder. Maybe he will get lucky and catch the king drinking, angry, or being a lustful man. Then he feels it would be right to kill him.When we do bad deeds, we feel bad about them sooner or later, or do we immediately regret doing them? This is something Hamlet does a lot throughout the entire play. One moment he is ready to confess his love for someone, and the minute they turn to look at him, he changes his mind. His indecisiveness seems to play a big part on his actions. If he wasn’t so afraid of the possible outcome, do you think he would go through with everything he says he will? Over the series of acts, Hamlet shows another emotion. Whether he’s happy, sad, angry, or in love, one mood will never seem to stay put.When I first read this, I kept losing my train of thought because of the consistent change of emotion. Hamlet seems to be insecure with everything he thinks about, which leads him to a world of hurt in the future. Look at what happened with Ophelia: he waited too long to tell her he loved her, said all of the wrong things to her, and she killed hersel f over it all. When his mother married his uncle, he was confused and angry, but didn’t say anything because he was afraid of hurting his mother and bring bad luck to him. Hamlet also doesn’t tend to give any one thought of his a chance before completely shooting it down with disbelief.I mean, leaving things to fall on their own makes sense to do, but not with every single problem or situation that comes around. For example, when we’re cold, do we go and get a blanket, turn the heat on, or even snuggle up on the couch? Or do we just wait until were so cold that were just numb? Of course we aren’t going to let ourselves freeze, so we go and do something about it without thinking about all of the negative repercussions. (Like being even more uncomfortable once we get up, or worse case scenario, tripping over something and breaking a limb. Hamlet needs to be more lenient on himself while making decisions, because he seems to be killing himself by doing this. He loses every chance he gets by not bothering with them in the first place. Shakespeare’s plays all have a theme based on the same basic thing: life and personal experience. Like a normal human being, he’s probably been through heartbreak, a loss of a loved one, and the experience of having to make a serious decision. Maybe he was the kind of author that makes his characters do everything he didn’t, and that’s what makes it so relatable to us as his audience.

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Final Scene Essay

In the final scene of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chief Bromden is the main character. The only two characters in this scene are Bromden and McMurphy, and even though McMurphy would be considered the main character of the entire film, Bromden is the main character of this scene because he has the strongest desire. In fact, in this one scene, Bromden has many desires that to him, are life or death. Initially, after hearing rumours of McMurphy’s escape, when McMurphy returns to his bed, Bromden thinks that he has returned in order to escape with him. At this point, Bromden’s desire is simply to escape the ward. He then realizes that McMurphy has not returned to escape, but that he has actually been lobotomized. When he sees this, he smothers McMurphy to death, knowing that McMurphy would not want to live like this, or have the others see him in this state. At this point in the scene, Bromden’s desire is to protect McMurphy’s pride. Once he fulfills this, he returns to his initial desire, as well as what used to be McMurphy’s desire to escape. He achieves this by using McMurphy’s escape plan; lifting the impossibly heavy hydrotherapy console and throwing it through the window. In doing this, Bromden not only achieves his own desire, but also completes the goal that McMurphy was unable to complete. Throughout the movie, Chief Bromden’s status quo is that he is inactive and lacks opinions and feelings. All of the other patients at the hospital think he is â€Å"deaf and dumb†. McMurphy is the only one to later discover that Bromden is neither deaf, nor mute. Before the tension in the final scene takes place, Bromden seems too passive and nonchalant to escape on his own, and he definitely seems much too harmless to murder anyone. In this scene, Bromden is forced to change when he sees that McMurphy has been lobotomized. His respect for McMurphy, and despair that he has been lobotomized and is no longer the powerful leader he used to be initiates the change in Bromden. Wanting McMurphy to die with honour, and having others remember him the way he was, Bromden finds the power to smother McMurphy to death. After McMurphy is dead, Bromden still has the initial desire of escaping. Before, he had been waiting for McMurphy to escape with him, because McMurphy was more intrepid and gallant than Bromden, and would be able to lead him. Now that McMurphy is unable to escape with him, Bromden is forced to find the courage to escape on his own. In this scene, the stakes are very high for Bromden. If he does not escape, he will have to live miserably in the mental institution for the rest of his life. The stakes are raised when he discovers that McMurphy has been lobotomized. Now, he takes on the responsibility to do what he knew McMurphy would want him to do- not allow him to live and be seen as a lobotomized vegetable. If Bromden does not succeed in killing McMurphy, Bromden will feel like he has let down and humiliated McMurphy. Once Bromden has smothered McMurphy, the stakes are once again raised as now not only does he have to escape because he doesn’t want to live in the hospital for the rest of his life, but he also has to leave because he has just murdered McMurphy, even though he did so out of respect. If he does not escape right away, he most likely will get in trouble for the murder of McMurphy (and probably get lobotomized himself) , he will have to spend his life in the miserable existence of the institution, and he will not have fulfilled McMurphy’s and his own desire to escape. The main conflict that takes place in this scene is the fact that Bromden has such a strong desire to escape with McMurphy, but when McMurphy is no longer able to escape, it becomes much more difficult to Bromden. The audience fears that upon discovering that McMurphy has been lobotomized, he will not be assertive enough to escape on his own. Until it is confirmed that McMurphy has been lobotomized, the audi ence hopes that the two of them will successfully escape together, but when it becomes clear that this will not happen, the audience wonders how Bromden will deal with this. He resolves the conflict by finding the courage to escape on his own. Another conflict in this scene is the fact that McMurphy, who is the most outspoken and powerful patient in the ward has been lobotomized. The fact that he basically no longer has a mind of his own not only gets in the way of Bromden’s desire, but will also destroy any optimism and faith that any of the other patients have. This is also a conflict for Bromden because he knows that McMurphy would be miserable if the old him were to see the lobotomized him, and Bromden does not want McMurphy to be shamed. Bromden deals with this conflict by killing McMurphy, that way none of the other patients will see him in this state, and McMurphy will not have to live this way for any longer. The main twist in this scene comes when McMurphy returns. Bromden is relieved because he thinks that McMurphy has returned to escape with him, but instead he has been lobotomized and no longer has any desire to escape. This comes as a shock to both Bromden, because it is the opposite of what he has expected, and also to the audience, because seeing McMurphy in the state of being lobotomized completely contrasts the character of McMurphy that the audience has come to know. The technique of juxtaposition makes this twist extremely effective. McMurphy is a character who is always active, energetic, powerful, and lively. He prides himself on his non-alignment, so the audience knows that to McMurphy, receiving a lobotomy is the worst thing that could possibly happen to him. Another technique used to make this twist so powerful is the uncertainty of both Bromden and the audience. First, when the other patients talk about how McMurphy has escaped, both Bromden and the audience believe that this plausibly occurred. When McMurphy is seen returning, acting lifeless, by now we know how manipulative and calculating McMurphy is, so the audience is unsure of whether McMurphy has actually been lobotomized, or if he is just pretending to be obedient so he can return, and then escape. We do not know for sure that McMurphy has actually been lobotomized until Bromden discovers the scars on his head. This provides a real shock because up until now, both Bromden and the audience was pretty sure that McMurphy was just faking it and the two of them would end up escaping together. A secondary twist in this scene is when Bromden suffocates McMurphy. Although Bromden did this with the best intention for McMurphy, it is still surprising to the audience, because no one could’ve pictured Bromden killing anyone, especially McMurphy who he has so much respect for. As mentioned above, Bromden has many strong desires throughout this scene. His main desire is to escape the ward. His secondary desire is to make sure that McMurphy dies with honour and does not have to live being the opposite of the lively, outspoken person he once was. He fulfills both of these desires, and even though he is unable to escape with McMurphy, which was his original intention, he still is able to escape on his own, and free himself from the mental institution. McMurphy, on the other hand, does not have much desire in this scene. Throughout the film, McMurphy has more desire than any other character; he wants to be in charge, he doesn’t want to do work, he wants to help and lead the other patients in the ward, he is a hedonist, who wants to please himself, and ultimately, his main desire is to escape. Despite all of this, by the last scene, he has been lobotomized, and therefore all of his desire has been drained. He is now a vegetable, who is unable to and has no will to escape with Bromden. His lack of desire makes Bromden’s desire even stronger, because McMurphy was the most passionate patient of them all, but now he is basically brain dead. This ignites Bromden’s desire to put an end to McMurphy’s now meaningless life, and it further motivates his desire to escape the hospital, because he sees how it is able to drain even the most passionate and spirited person.