25+ Pieces of Writing Software You Should Know About

25+ Pieces of Writing Software You Should Know About 25+ Pieces of Writing Software You Should Know About 25+ Pieces of Writing Software You Should Know About By Ali Hale Of course, all you really need in order to write is a notebook and pen. But there are lots of software packages that can make life easier for writers. Whatever you want to be able to do, there’s almost certainly some software out there to help you. The list below includes the best packages to help you plan and structure a novel, share documents online with other people, format your screenplay or script correctly, minimize writing distractions, improve your English and more Collaborative Documents Often when writing, you’ll want to share a document with other people – either to ask for feedback, or to get them to add to it. All of these pieces of software allow you to share documents online, so that multiple people can have access to and edit them. I’ve found this very successful for receiving feedback from friends on my short stories. Google Docs FREE â€Å"You can easily do all the basics, including making bulleted lists, sorting by columns, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and more. And its free. †¦ Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc. So go ahead and upload your existing files.† Writeboard from 37 signals FREE â€Å"Writeboards are sharable, web-based text documents that let you save every edit, roll back to any version, and easily compare changes. Use Writeboard to write solo or collaborate with others.† Word Processors Microsoft Word $324.99 for Microsoft Office 2007 Standard version $109.99 for Student version â€Å"Microsoft Office Standard 2007 offers the core Microsoft Office applications, but significantly updated for faster, better results. Comprised of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, this software suite empowers you to create high-quality documents and presentations, build powerful spreadsheets, and manage your e-mail messages, calendar, and contacts.† Word Viewer FREE â€Å"View, print and copy Word documents, even if you dont have Word installed.† Open Office FREE â€Å"OpenOffice.org 2 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.† As a hard-up student (who preferred to spend money on booze than software), I used Open Office throughout my degree, and found it an excellent alternative to Microsoft Office. It’s a whole office suite, so can also be used to replace Excel, Powerpoint and more. AbiWord FREE Famous open source word processor, and ideal for someone looking for a light and compact software. It comes with all the basic features that you would expect from a word processor, and it also supports different languages and operating systems. Fiction: Writing Novels and Screenplays If you’ve tried a bit of fiction and you want some help with writing longer pieces, there are a number of software packages you might want to try out. Here’s some reputable, well-established ones: New Novelist $54.99 download, $59.99 download and CD â€Å"If you’ve ever tried to write a novel (or even just thought about it), you know the routine. You just can’t put everything together. You’ve got to work step by step to write a great book, right? NOT ANYMORE! NewNovelist Software has turned the writing process on its head. With this revolutionary software, you can write your novel the way you want to.† I used version 1.0 of this myself, and it definitely helped me with my world building and pre-writing notes. None of the twelve structures it suggested quite worked for the novel I was planning, but you can change the headings to suit yourself. Character Pro (Now called Character Writer, see below) 60 days free, then $69.99 â€Å"Character Pro puts a proven system for understanding human behavior at your fingertips The Enneagram to create a character spine for your character. But thats only the beginning. Character Pro isolates each part of the character, provides tools and extensive help files to guide you to a well-rounded, complex and realistic character.† Quick Story (Now called Character Writer, see below) $49.99 â€Å"Create a basic story structure with the Story Generator then use the tree to organize your structure while you develop the story in the edit box on the right. Simply drag and drop or insert and delete story items until your story is perfectly structured.† Character Writer $69.99 This version combines features of both Character Pro and Quick Story, and is Java Based (so runs on almost any system), for $69.99. Writers Cafà © Demo version free, $45 download,  £32.90 (approx $65) on CD. â€Å"Writers Cafà © is a software toolkit for all fiction writers, whether experienced or just starting out. The heart of Writers Cafà © is StoryLines, a powerful but simple to use story development tool that dramatically accelerates the creation and structuring of your novel or screenplay.† Writing: Organising and Formatting your Manuscript One of the biggest headaches for fiction writers is coming to the end of a project only to realise that every scene or chapter is in a separate file (and sometimes in different formats), and that pulling this all together – and editing it to match editorial conventions – is going to take ages. These packages can help you keep things organised: Celtex FREE â€Å"Celtx is the worlds first fully integrated solution for media pre-production and collaboration. It replaces old fashioned paper, pen binder media creation with a digital approach to writing and organizing thats more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share.† Scrivener 30 days free, then $39.99 Mac Only â€Å"Scrivener is a word processor and project management tool created specifically for writers of long texts such as novels and research papers. It wont try to tell you how to write it just makes all the tools you have scattered around your desk available in one application.† Minimise Distractions When Writing If you’re anything like me, distractions come up constantly when trying to write. Whether your problem is instant messenger, web browsing, email, or just using all the fancy formatting features on your word processor, a simpler writing environment can be the solution. Wordpad FREE If you’re running Windows, this almost certainly came free with your computer. Some people find all the extra bells and whistles of a full wordprocessor distracting when writing. If you have trouble knuckling down to write, Wordpad allows formatting (bold, italics, etc) and can be easier to use than Word. Write Room Free trial, then $25. Mac only. â€Å"For people who enjoy the simplicity of a typewriter, but live in the digital world. WriteRoom is a full-screen writing environment. Unlike the cluttered word processors youre used to, WriteRoom is just about you and your text.† Dark Room FREE Windows version of Write Room Both Write Room and Dark Room have a retro feel of green text on black background (though you can change the background of Write Room). I’ve used Dark Room when suffering from a severe bout of procrastination on my novel, and would certainly recommend it. Scientific Writing For specialised types of writing, such as creating scientific documentation, normal word processing software may not be enough. Latex FREE â€Å"LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system; it includes features designed for the production of technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is the de facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents.† Improving your English (for native and non-native speakers) The spelling and grammar checks built into word processors can often leave much to be desired. If your English is shaky, or if you’re learning English as a foreign language, you might want to invest in software designed to help you improve your grammar and style. JaLingo FREE This cool little program will bring a handy dictionary to your desktop, that you can use to confirm spelling of words or to check their meanings. The advantage of JaLingo is that it is OS independent, so it will work smoothly on most computers. WhiteSmoke $79.99 for â€Å"General† version, $99.99 for â€Å"Business† version other specialised ones. Executive writing version usually $250 but currently $125. â€Å"WhiteSmoke is an innovative software tool that improves and edits your English writing. Based on patented natural language processing (NLP) technology, WhiteSmoke performs advanced and context-based English grammar, spelling, and punctuation checking, as well as text enrichment to enhance your writing.† StyleWriter $160, which includes a â€Å"Software for writers† CD â€Å"Designed by journalists, editors and business writing tutors, StyleWriter gives you the skills of a good editor. Simply click the StyleWriter button in Microsoft Words or WordPerfects toolbar (or any clipboard text) to launch a check for thousands of faults and bad habits found in writing. Trimming the excess words, simplifying and clarifying your style, checking for good English usage - editing is easy with StyleWriter.† Typing Software After a mis-spent youth playing online text games, I learnt to touch-type without trying to, but I realise many people aren’t so lucky (or so geeky). Typing speed is a surprisingly big factor in being a successful writer, and if you’re still pecking away at the keyboard with two fingers, it’s worth investing in software to help you learn to type properly. Kaz-Type $19.95 download, $34.95 CD â€Å"KAZ will teach you how to learn to type and master your computer keyboard fast. Our interactive, multimedia typing tutor software uses a revolutionary learning method so you can learn to type really quickly without the need to resort to repetitive typing drills and games. Learning to touch type with KAZ is tested and proven with over 1 million users.† Miracle Type (Not Available Anymore) $19.99 â€Å"Miracle Type is the perfect answer for you if typing on your computer is just taking far too long or if you have given up in frustration after trying to teach yourself to Touch Type with other typing software.† Blogging Platforms If you run your own blog or website, you’ve almost certainly heard of WordPress and Movable Type. Both are content management systems that you install on space provided by your web host, allowing you to easily publish new posts to your blog and modify existing ones. WordPress FREE (but you’ll need to pay for web hosting) â€Å"WordPress is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.† Moveable Type FREE (but you’ll need to pay for web hosting) â€Å"Movable type is a professional publishing platform.† There are also many blogging services which will host your blog for you, such as blogger.com, livejournal.com, but these are more â€Å"sites† than â€Å"software† (you don’t install them on your own webspace.) Journalling Software At the moment, I journal on paper, as I like to get away from the computer screen and take fifteen minutes alone with my thoughts. I also enjoy writing with a good fountain pen, in a nice hardback notebook. However, this does make it hard to search for anything†¦ David RMs The Journal $39.95 download / $49.95 CD / $69.95 for â€Å"Writers’ edition† â€Å"The Journal is a powerful journaling and writing tool that can help you take control of your life. Create a digital scrapbook of your life! Organize your notes about your family, about your work, about a hobby, about anything. Write a short story, a magazine article, or even a novel. Remember your appointments, events, tasks special days! Find whatever youre looking for with The Journals powerful searching. Get inspired!† Debrief FREE basic version, $29.95 for standard version, $39.95 for professional version â€Å"Debrief ® is software for saving notes on your PC. Ideas. Experiences. Research. Thoughts. They come from projects, meetings, status, tasks, issues, changes, risks, decision, contacts, brainstorming, pondering, work, studies, school. Capture them while you can and put them to good use later† Suggested by Our Readers Final Draft $229 Use your creative energy to focus on the content; let Final Draft take care of the style. Final Draft is the number-one selling word processor specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodics and stage plays. This sure is not a cheap writing software, but it is supposed to be the industry standard when it comes to script writing. Q10 FREE A free alternative for Dark Room and WriteRoom, Q10 brings you a full screen word processor that will let you focus entirely on what you are writing. Additionally, it also come with customizable features like paragraph styling and live statistics about your pieces. Scripped FREE An online service that lets you write, edit and print your scripts straight on their website. The advantage is that you can work on your scripts from different locations and from different computers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" 3 Types of HeadingsWhat is an Anagram?

How to Create a Homeschool Schedule

How to Create a Homeschool Schedule After deciding to homeschool and selecting  curriculum, figuring out how to create a homeschool schedule is sometimes one of the most challenging aspects of educating at home. The majority of today’s homeschooling parents graduated from a traditional school setting. The schedule was easy. You showed up to school before the first bell rang and stayed until the last bell rang. The county announced the first and last days of school and all the holiday breaks in between. You knew when each class was going to take place and how long you’d spend in each based on your class schedule. Or, if you were in elementary school, you just did what your teacher told you to do next. So, how do you make a homeschool schedule? The complete freedom and flexibility of homeschooling can make it difficult to let go of  the traditional school calendar mode. Let’s break homeschool schedules down into some manageable chunks. Yearly Schedules The first plan you’ll want to determine is your annual schedule. Your state’s homeschooling laws may play a  role in setting your yearly schedule. Some states require a certain number of hours of home instruction each year. Some require a specific number of homeschool days. Others consider home schools self-governing private schools and put no stipulations on attendance. A 180-day school year is fairly standard and works out to four 9-week quarters, two 18-week semesters, or 36 weeks. Most homeschool curriculum publishers  base their products on this 36-week model, making it a good starting point for planning your familys schedule. Some families keep their schedules very simple by choosing a start date and counting days until they’ve met their states requirements. They take breaks and days off as needed. Others prefer to have a framework calendar in place. There is still lots of flexibility even with an established yearly calendar. Some possibilities include: A typical school schedule from Labor Day until the end of May/first of JuneYear ‘round schooling with six weeks on/one week off or nine weeks on/two weeks offFour-day school weeks until youve satisfied attendance requirementsFollowing your city or countys  public/private school calendar (This option works well for families who homeschool some of their children while others attend a traditional school or families in which one parent works at a traditional school.) Weekly Schedules Once you’ve decided on the framework for your yearly homeschool schedule, you can work out the details of your weekly schedule. Take outside factors such as co-op or work schedules into consideration when planning your  weekly schedule. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that your weekly schedule doesn’t have to be Monday through Friday. If one or both parents have  an unconventional work week, you can adjust your school days to maximize family time. For example, if a parent works Wednesday through Sunday, you can make that your school week, as well, with Monday and Tuesday being your family’s weekend. A weekly homeschool schedule can also be adjusted to accommodate an  irregular work schedule. If a parent works six days one week and four the next, school can follow  the same schedule. Some families do their regular  school work  four days each week reserving the fifth day for co-op, field trips, or other outside-the-home classes and activities. Block Schedule Two other scheduling options are block schedules and loop schedules. A block schedule is one in which one or more subjects are allotted  a large span of time a couple of days a week instead of an hour or so every day. For example, you might schedule two hours for history on Mondays and Wednesdays and two hours for science on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Block scheduling allows students to fully focus on a particular subject without over-scheduling the school day. It allows time for activities such as hands-on history projects and  science labs. Loop Schedule A loop schedule is one in which there is a list of activities to cover but no  specific day  to cover them. Instead, you and your students spend time on each as its turn comes up on the loop. For example, if you’d like to allow space in your homeschool schedule for art, geography, cooking, and music, but you don’t have time to devote to them each day, add them to a loop schedule. Then, determine how many days you want to include loop schedule subjects. Perhaps, you choose Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesday, you study art and geography and on Friday, cooking, and music. On a given Friday, you may run out of time for music, so the following Wednesday, you would cover that and art, picking  up with geography and cooking on Friday. Block scheduling and loop scheduling can work well together. You may block schedule Monday through Thursday and leave Friday as a loop schedule day. Daily Schedules Most of the time when people ask about homeschool schedules, they’re referring to the nitty-gritty daily schedules. Like yearly schedules, your states homeschool laws may dictate some aspects of your daily schedule. For example, some states homeschooling laws require a specific number of hours of daily instruction. New homeschooling parents often wonder how long a homeschool day should be. They worry that they aren’t doing enough because it may only take two or three hours to get through the day’s work, particularly if the students are young. It is important for  parents to realize that a homeschool day may not take as long a typical public or private school day. Homeschooling parents don’t have to take time for administrative tasks, such as roll call or preparing 30 students for lunch or allow time for students to move from one classroom to the next between subjects. Additionally, homeschooling allows for focused, one-on-one attention. A homeschooling parent can answer his or her student’s questions and move on rather than answering questions from an entire class. Many parents of young children through first or second grade find that they can easily cover all subjects in just an hour or two. As students get older, it may take them longer to complete their work. A high school student may spend the full four to five hours – or more – dictated by state law. However, you shouldn’t stress even if a teen’s school work doesn’t take that much time  as long they are completing and comprehending it. Provide a learning-rich environment for your children and you will discover that learning happens even when the school books are put away. Students can use those extra hours to read, pursue their hobbies, explore electives, or invest in extracurricular activities. Sample Daily Schedule Allow your daily homeschool schedule to be shaped by your family’s personality and needs, not by what you think it â€Å"should† be. Some homeschool families prefer scheduling specific times for each subject. Their schedule may look something like this: 8:30 – Math9:15 – Language Arts9:45 – Snack/break10:15 - Reading11:00 – Science11:45 – Lunch12:45  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ History/social studies1:30 – Electives (art, music, etc.) Other families prefer a daily routine to a time-specific schedule. These families know that they’re going to start with math, using the example above, and end with electives, but they may not have the same start and end times each day. Instead,  they work through each subject, completing each and taking breaks as needed. Factors to Consider It’s important to note that many homeschooling families start much later in the day. They don’t start until 10 or 11 a.m. – or even until the afternoon! Some factors that may influence a homeschooling family’s start time include: Biology – Night owls or those who are more alert in the afternoon may  prefer a later start time. Early risers and those who are more focused in the mornings, usually prefer an earlier start time.Work schedules – Families  in which one or both parents work an atypical shift may choose to start school after that parent goes to work. When my husband worked second, we had our big family meal at lunch and started school after he left for work.Family needs – Factors such as a new baby, a sick parent/child/relative, a home-based business, or maintaining a family farm can all affect start times.Outside classes  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Homeschool co-op,  dual-enrollment, and other classes or activities outside the home may dictate your start time requiring that you  complete school work before or after these commitments.   Once you have teens who are working independently, your schedule may undergo a radical shift. Many teens find that they’re most alert late at night and that they also require more sleep. Homeschooling allows the freedom for teens to work when they’re most productive. The Bottom Line There is no one perfect homeschooling schedule and finding the right one for your family may take some trial and error. And it will likely need to be adjusted from year to year as your children get older and the factors affecting your schedule change. The most important tip to remember is to allow your familys needs to shape your schedule, not an unrealistic idea of how the schedule should or shouldnt be set up.

Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Leadership - Assignment Example It is difficult to measure and assess leadership potential as it cannot be calculated by any tool neither it can be measured in a specific value. It can only be analyzed by customers’ and employees’ satisfaction. This indicates that the organization’s leadership is communicating the vision of the company in a right way. Measuring Leadership: Leadership potential can be analyzed on the basis of the skills present in a person who is willing to take the role as a leader. It is imperative for a leader to know the vision of his organization in a clear manner. He should be aware of the vision and the values from the core. A leader should be aware of his strengths and weaknesses. He should know how to positively use his strengths as tools to win the situation and how to overcome the weaknesses to gain power and authority. Training and development are the essential components in measuring the leadership skills and to enhance them further. A leader should know how to buil d trust and how to develop flawless interpersonal relations with the employees or the subordinates. Situational Theory: Situational theory can be very helpful for the leaders to select the best course of action that are dependent on the situation and the circumstances. ... Answer: The Role of Values, Ethics and Morals in Leadership: Leaders are subjected to perform the â€Å"right things† in a right way. These right things should be morally and ethically right. A true leader seeks truth and rightly justification before taking any decision. A leader may fail to inspire his followers if he undermines the value of ethics, moral and truth in his actions. It is imperative for a leader to have a strong ethics and moral values in his personality. Values and ethics help a leader to develop moral conscience and without these basic elements, a leader cannot demonstrate true leadership. These elements define the level of trust between the leaders and the followers. Values help a leader to construct a positive behavior and personality. On the other hand, ethics enable a leader to commence the right conduct and to be more thoughtful in his actions and decisions. Leaders use moral reasoning to make decisions between what is right and what is wrong. Values pla y a central role in developing moral reasoning (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012). Martin Luther King, Jr. can be stated as a true leader who inspired his followers with his leadership based on moral and ethical values. He raised his voice against discrimination and was known in the history for the liberation of African-American nationals in America. His leadership revolved around nonviolence actions against racial inequality. He received Nobel Peace Prize due to his sincere efforts and true leadership. Some other known examples of behaviors exhibiting values, morals and ethics can be unbiased decisions by leaders, choosing the same for the followers what one chooses for oneself, valuing honesty without any fear and making right judgments.

The raise of Militarization of American Police Essay

The raise of Militarization of American Police - Essay Example On the other hand, community, policing is most concerned with addressing the issues that the community is most concerned about and other concerns that the members of the community may have. Ties are established by assigning officers to certain regions for extended periods so as to get to know the people and to have a better understanding of the geographical location. Call-in programs and town meetings are some of the ways in which rapport is created. This paper looks at the effectiveness of community policing and the reasons as to why it is being adopted by many police departments. Community policing has over the years been evolving and is being changed to become more adaptable with the different setting in which it is to be applied. Its origin is traced to the civil rights movements of the 1960s. It was meant to address the challenges and social upheavals that were made manifest during this time. Riots and racial injustices caused many tensions and led many to view the police service as a symbol of political authority causing wide public criticism. As a result, the president of the Unite States at the time set up a commission in 1967. The committee findings were that the police service ought to be made more sensitive and responsive a rapidly changing society (Kappeler & Gaine, 2012). Over the years, a few factors have led to its evolving in into the many forms of community policing that exist today.. The concern of most of the people was the unfair treatment of the minorities, especially black people by the police. The treatment led to the restructuring of th e police service into geographical regions and aspects such as foot patrol and line officers being introduced. In the 1970s, academic interest in this discipline increased as the many researchers began examining the role and the effectiveness of the traditional strategies that the police service

Leadership Skills Theory at HSBC Life Assurance Malta

Leadership Skills Theory at HSBC Life Assurance Malta Chapter 1 Introduction Leadership skills are the focus of this study and therefore the author will be, in this chapter introduce leadership and the concept of the leader versus the manager as a primary source. In this section the author will define the meaning of leadership enabling one to understand better the next stages of this study. Furthermore one can find the objective of this study and the organisation studied. The structure section will define the construction of the complimenting chapters. 1.1 Objective The scope of this organisational case study is to compare and contrast the leadership skills theory and the selected organisations leadership and provided the concept of leadership versus management in order to understand better leadership skills which are defined later on in this study. Leadership skills will be reviewed by means of secondary research. Subsequently the leadership skills within the organisation will be studied by means of a primary research methodology. This will enable the author to reach the main objective which aim is to highlight the theory of leadership skills and present findings of the selected organisations current leadership practices. One will eventually benefit from the authors recommendations and conclusions based on the out come of the data analysis. 1.2 The Organisation The selected organisation for this study was HSBC Life Assurance Malta Limited. HSBC Life Assurance Malta Limited was set up in 1995 and is a fully owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank Malta Plc, regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Over the years, HSBC Life has developed into one of the leading life assurance product providers on the island with its full and diversified product range, including group and individual term assurance products, mortgage protection policies, etc. This study research thus moves towards assessing all the concepts of leadership styles, skills, coaching, team building. The organisation is in the direction of the Managing Director. 1.3 Structure The structure of this study will be based on 5 chapters. The introduction, chapter 1, has highlighted leadership and the concept of leadership versus management, the objective and the organisation under investigation. Chapter 2 will follow with a literature review of leadership skills from previous studies whilst chapter 3 will cover the research methodology. Chapter 4 will present the findings and finally chapter 5 will cover the authors views and recommendations. Chapter 2 2.0 Leadership Leadership can be defined as: The ability to persuade others willingly to behave differently. The function of team leaders is to achieve the task set for them with the help of the group (Michael Armstrong 2003: 259). Another definition of leadership is: The task of a great leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision. Those leaders who do not are ultimately judged failures, even though they may be popular at the moment (Henry Kissinger). Clawson (2006) explains that leadership consists of three components: the ability to influence others; the willingness to influence others; and the exercise of influence in a way that others respond voluntarily. Thus, while leadership included the use of power, not all uses of power are leadership. The highlight of leadership within an organisation is an emphasis on the importance of a strong human relation and the importance of creating rewarding high-performance teams of motivated and empowered employees. Human understanding and sensitivity are absolutely critical for leadership success. Leadership also consists of identifying proven talent within an organisation and optimising on this talented human resource by developing, retaining and partnering smartly together. Leadership has been perceived to be a primary key to successful strategy implementation. One of the key factors in implementing a strategy is building consensus. A consensus built by motivating, persuading people and by shaping culture and values within an organisation to support the new strategy (Ashby and Miles, 2002). Taking IBM as an example CEO Sam Palmisano has embarked on a leadership mission to get people within the organisation to focus on strategy formulation and implementation. He embarked on a mission to persuade people to focus on the on-demand vision and communicating clear directions. With this positive attitude and employee empowerment he made employees feel motivated and challenged to follow new strategic goals. In this changing world of globalisation, organisations are constantly facing changes within their set ups and therefore leadership plays an important role. Three important aspects of leadership would be people, influence and goals. In order to influence, the relationship between the leader and the follower must not be passive but assertive (Draft, 2006). Within an organisation, leadership directly impacts the effectiveness of costs, revenue generation, service, satisfaction, earnings, market value, share price, social capital, motivation, engagement, and sustainability. In this view one can identify the importance of vision within leadership. In order to move a group successfully towards its goal the leader must communicate the vision or visions with his or her followers. For effectiveness, a vision should appear to be simple, appear desirable enough to energise followers and should describe the organisations future position, which must be credible and preferable to the present state. The leader must communicate these visions adequately to ensure the followers feel as if the vision has been created by themselves (Renesch, 1994). Nonetheless one would need to understand that although leadership focuses on people, influence and goals it cannot be easily defined in such a generic context. However according to Scott (2007) a leader needs to understand that the follower may value a leader differently. Some may prefer a task oriented leader where others may prefer a people oriented leader. In this view the leader must identify the followers needs and how they construe effective leadership. One can see that self awareness is the foundation of effective leadership and one ought to communicate the vision and help the followers fit into that vision. Effective leaders need to change their approach according to the situation, as with one follower, a leader may need to be directive while with others, a leader may need to coach. 2.1 The History of Leadership Leadership, and the study of it, has roots in the beginning of civilisation. Egyptian rulers, Greek heroes and biblical patriarchs all have one thing in common leadership. There are numerous definitions and theories of leadership; however, there are enough similarities in the definitions to conclude that leadership is an effort of influence and the power to induce compliance (Wren, 1995). Our work, our environment, the motivation to work, leaders, leadership, leadership style, and a countless of other work-related variables have been studied for almost two centuries. The organisational focus of the leader has evolved over this same period. Early organisations with authoritarian leaders who believed employees were basically lazy transitioned into way to make work environments more conducive to increased productivity rates. Today, organisations are transforming into places where people are empowered, encouraged, and supported in their personal and professional growth throughout their careers. As the focus of leaders has changed over time, it has influenced and shaped the development and progression of leadership theory. 2.1.2 Early Leader Studies The Industrial Revolution shifted Americas economy from an agriculture base to an industrial one and, thereby, ushered in a change how leaders would treat their followers. The Industrial Revolution created a paradigm shift to a new theory of leadership in which common people gained power by virtue of their skills (Clawson, 1999). New technology, however, was accompanied and reinforced by mechanisation of human thought and action, thus creating hierarchical bureaucracies (Morgan, 1997). One major contributor to this era of management and leadership theory was Max Weber, a German sociologist who observed the parallels between the mechanisation of industry and the proliferation of bureaucratic forms of organisation (Morgan, 1997, p. 17). He noted that the bureaucratic form routinized the process of administration in the same manner that the machine routinized production. 2.1.3 Classical Management Theory and Scientific Management Webers concerns about bureaucracy, however, did not affect theorists who set the stage for what is now known as classical management theory and scientific management. Classical theorists focused on the design of the total organisation while scientific managers focused on the systematic management of individual jobs. In contrast to Weber, classical theorists such as Henri Fayol and F. W. Mooney, staunch advocates of bureaucratisation, devoted their energies identifying methods through which this kind of organisational structure could be achieved (Bass, 1990; Morgan, 1997). Collectively, these theorists set the basis for many modern management techniques, such as management by objectives. Scientific management, an approach heralded by Frederick Taylor, was technological in nature (Hersey, Blanchard Johnson, 1996). Taylor fused the perspective of an engineer into management with a strong emphasis on control, ruthless efficiency, quantification, predictability, and de-skilled jobs. He initiated time-and-motion studies to analyse work tasks to improve worker productivity in an attempt to achieve the highest level of efficiency possible. Consequently, he has been accused of viewing people as instruments or machines to be manipulated by leaders. The function of the leader under scientific management theory was to establish and enforce performance criteria to meet organisational goals; therefore, the focus of a leader was on the needs of the organisation and not on the individual worker. Although the classical and scientific approaches were different, the goals were similar organisations are rational systems and must operate in the most efficient manner possible to achieve the highest level of productivity (Morgan, 1997). Both theories relied on the machine metaphor with a heavy emphasis on mechanisation of jobs, which undermined the human aspect of the organisation and failed to recognise organisations as complex organisms. Although mechanistic organisations proved productive, there were limits to hierarchical bureaucracy. Emerging theorists encouraged leaders to recognise that humans were not machines and could not be treated as such. A post bureaucratic shift in the mid-1940s moved toward everyone taking responsibility for the organisations success or failure (Heckscher Donnellon, 1994). Researchers began to examine the relationship between leader behaviour and follower satisfaction level and organisational productivity and profitability. 2.1.4 Hawthorne, Maslow, and Herzberg Environment and Worker Needs Much organisational research during this era focused on overcoming the perceived shortcomings of the classical and scientific schools of management. Elton Mayos Hawthorne Studies focused on the work situation and its effect on leaders and followers, indicating that the reactions of human beings influence their work activities as much as the formal design and structure of the organisation. Early on leaders could focus their attention on the environment factors of the organisations. The early theories and studies provided researchers with tangible and measurable performance outcomes that were directly transferable to profitability and spreadsheet bottom-lines. A new theory of organisations and leadership began to emerge based on the idea that individuals operate most effectively when their needs are satisfied. Maslows (1959) Hierarchy of Needs posited that once a workers physiological, security, and social (intrinsic) needs were met, productivity would only be possible of the employees ego and self-actualising (extrinsic) needs were also met. Leader focus became redirected toward worker needs. Herzbergs Dual Factor Theory, the evolution of intrinsic and extrinsic needs, furthered Maslows work stating the employees intrinsic and extrinsic needs could, and should, be met simultaneously. Herzbergs (1966) Motivation-Hygiene theory furthered the work of Maslow by providing insights into the goals and incentives that tend to satisfy a workers needs. Herzberg concluded that people have two categories of needs, which he termed hygiene (environmental factors such as working conditions, company policies, etc.) and motivators (factors involving the job itself). According to Herzberg, an employees intrinsic and extrinsic needs could and should be addressed simultaneously. 2.1.5 The Shift to Behavioural Factors Leader focus had moved to understanding the relationship between a leaders actions and the followers satisfaction and productivity. Theorists began to consider behavioural concepts in their analysis of organisational leadership. For example, Chester Barnard was instrumental in including behavioural components (Bass, 1990). Barnards work emphasised the ways in which executives might develop their organisations into cooperative social systems by focusing on the integration of work efforts through communication of goals and attention to worker motivation (Hatch, 1997). Barnard, for example, identified an effective organisational leader as one who determined objectives, manipulated means, initiated action, and stimulated coordinated effort (Bass, 1990, p. 31). Barnard (1938), whose work focused on the functions of the executive, was instrumental in including behavioural components in his analysis of organisational leadership, which claimed that leadership involves accomplishing goals wit h and through people. The theorists of this age argued that in addition to finding the best technological methods to improve output, it would behove management to address human affairs as well. It was claimed that the real power centres within an organisation were the interpersonal relationships that developed among working groups (Hersey, Blanchard Johnson, 1996, p.100). A new theory of organisations and leadership began to emerge based on the idea that individuals operate most effectively when their needs are satisfied. Additionally, when this happens they are more likely to increase their productivity which in turn impacts the organisations bottom line. According to McGregor (1960), the traditional organisation with its centralised decision making, hierarchical pyramid, and external control of work is based on certain assumptions about human nature and human motivation. He dubbed these assumptions Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X assumes that most people prefer to be directed, are not interested in assuming responsibility, and want safety above all else. Accompanying the Theory X philosophy is the belief that people are motivated by money, fringe benefits, and threat of punishment. Managers who espouse Theory X assumptions attempt to structure, control, and closely supervise employees. Although McGregor himself questioned whether Theory X was as accurate view of human nature, the assumptions persisted for a long time in leadership theory circles because it explained à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"some, though not all, of human behaviour within organisations (Pugh Hickson, 1993). Drawing heavily from Maslows (1959) Hierarchy of Needs, McGregor ultimately concluded that Theory X assumptions about human nature, when universally applied, are often inaccurate and that management approaches that develop from these assumptions may fail to motivate individuals to strive toward organisational goals (Hersey, Blanchard, Johnson, 1996). McGregor (1960) believed that management needed practices based on a more accurate understanding of human nature and motivation. The resulting concept, Theory Y, proposed that individuals are not, by nature, lazy and unreliable. People can be self-directed and creative at work if properly motivated (Pugh Hickson, 1993). Therefore, an essential task of management is to unleash this potential. Consequently, the goal of effective leadership was evolving and moving away from the earlier concepts of the classical and scientific management theories that treated workers as machines. Leaders were now challenged to actively involve followers in achieving organisational goals. McGregor (1960), whose work was closely linked to that of the behavioural theorists, is a reflection of that era, providing a foundation for the future emergence of the transformational leadership. McGregors Theory X and Theory Y assumed that employees and leaders had progressed beyond Taylors productivity models that employees could find ways to satisfy their needs within the organisations structure. McGregor assumed employees far more complex that the trait and behavioural theories of leadership assumed and that their complexity and the leaders response to that complexity would affect how and whether the leader and followers worked in tandem to reach mutual organisational goals. McGregor proposed a replacement of direction and control of employees with humanistic motivation. The resulting concept, Theory Y, proposed that individuals did not inherently dislike work and, and that under certain conditions, work could actually be a source of great satisfaction. Theory Y assumed individuals would exercise self-direction and self-control, accepting and seeking responsibility (Pugh Hickson, 1993). The essential concept McGregor and other behaviourists proposed was that organisations are interacting groups and that leaders are a part of these groups. The leaders interaction and relationship with the employee must be a supportive relationship so all members of the organisation feel the organisations objectives and their achievement, are of personal importance to them (Pugh Hickson, 1993). 2.1.6 Situational/Contingency Theory The Circumstantial Focus Unprecedented social change in the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s shifted societal focus from increasing economic wealth to ensuring social rights and equality. Along with this social change, technology was again preparing to jolt American businesses. The advent of the computer age was shifting employee requirements from brawn to brains. Leadership became an intricate process of multilateral brokerage where leaders were forced to focus on constituencies within and without the organisation to survive (Vanourek, 1995). The internal and external environments of organisations were changing. The transference of power from those doing the work to those possessing knowledge about how to organise work more closely levelled the playing field for leaders and followers. Society acknowledged that traditional methods of leadership were no longer effective. McCollum (1995) implied that companies in the information age were unsuccessfully trying to conduct their business using obsolete industrial age leadership theories. Change was the only thing of which everyone could be sure, a factor requiring leadership research and society to consider contingency/situational approaches to leadership if businesses were to remain successful and profitable in an ever-changing and increasingly complicated environment (Contee-Borders, 2003). Heysey and Blanchard (1996) proposed a contingency/situational theory advocating a leaders use of differing leadership behaviours dependent upon two interrelated maturity factors: (a) job maturity relevant task and technical knowledge and skills, and (b) psychological maturity the subordinates level of self-confidence and self-respect (Yukl, 1998). An employee who has a high level of job and psychological maturity requires little supervision; while an employee who has a low level of job and psychological maturity requires hand-on attention. Fielders contingency theory is viewed as the opposite of Hersey and Blanchards theory, maintaining that leaders are less flexible in their ability to change their behaviour based on followers maturity (the basic concept of Hersey and Blanchards theory) (Hughes, Ginnett, Curphy, 1993). Fielders contingency theory posited that leader effectiveness is determined by not the leaders ability to adapt to the situation, but by the ability to choose the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"right leader for the situation (though this theory does not identify who would be responsible for making this choice). Some leaders are simply better for specific situation than others and the situation determines the identified leaders success, though leaders would need to be capable of understanding when they were not right for the situation and remove themselves a task of humility. 2.2 Leadership Styles From a very classical autocratic approach to a very creative, participative approach, different styles were needed for different situations and each leader needed to know when to exhibit a particular approach. The most familiar model is the leadership scale devised by Tannenbaum and Schmidt. In this model, the leader is advised to choose a leadership style that it appropriate for the particular situation. These styles or behaviours, can be placed along continuum ranging from boss-centred at one-end of the scale to subordinate-centred at the other end, as illustrated in Figure 1.1 Inevitably, the opposite poles of this continuum have been labelled Authoritarian (or task-centred), and Democratic (or people-centred) and the inference has been drawn that a concern forgetting the job done is at the opposite end of the scale of the people involved. Tannenbaum and Schmidts article is not as shallow as that, but, like it or not, the impression is left that the two concerns are somehow incompatible. Other commentators advised that authoritarian leadership styles would be most effective in situations that were favourable to the leader and democratic styles would better suit situations that were unfavourable to the leader. Favourable in this context means that the leader has high formal authority, relations between the leader and the staff are good, and the task is highly structured. This further reinforces the assumption that democratic styles are for the leaders to fall back on when things are not going entirely their way; they would not want to be democratic if it could be avoided. The Democratic styles should be the preferred option, falling back on authoritarian styles only when circumstances require it. For example, when the fire alarm sounds tell everyone to leave the building; do not hold a decision about the best course of action. Or, when something bad can not be avoided, accept your responsibility as a manager and give instructions clearly and assertively. Otherwise, the benefits of the bringing several brains to bear on an issue, and the commitment that democratic approaches tend to foster, usually outweigh the inevitable untidiness of getting everyone involved in decision-making . Interestingly, research into animal social groups has found that decisions arrived at communally or democratically are usually more beneficial for the group and its individual members than despotic decision-making, and tend to be less extreme. Whether lessons drawn from the observation of animal behaviour can usefully be applied directly to human groups depends on how much corroborating evidence there is. 2.3 Leadership versus Management Creech (1995) defines the manager versus the leader. She explains how a manager is typically well-educated and would generally possess very high conceptual skills. Managers are mostly focused on the latest management literature. Furthermore managers are very aware of the system, rules and procedures both documented and undocumented. They tend to be very productive oriented rather than people oriented persons and this style proves that they are usually inaccessible or have very little time to listed to the people they manage. This also results form their heavy busy schedules. In addition managers face highly intensive stresses and become very intolerant of any mistakes. They rarely motivate their people to take significant risks to improve operationally or personally and in moments of crisis they can easily consider to re-establish who is in charge, believing that they will achieve the expected performances and organisational goals. Nonetheless, they are very conscious of what others think about them and expect to be liked, despite being aware that this is rather impossible, due to the conflicting roles between management and workers. Furthermore managers ask subordinates for participative input, but rarely encourage real dissent with their own views (Creech, 1995). In contrast, leaders are very people oriented and although they are conscious of what people think of them they are generally less concerned. However, leaders feel themselves as helpers to the organisation as opposed being in command. They are inventive and imaginative movers and participate in achievement of goals. Arguably, leaders have a more positive style to achieving goals and during time of financial or operational turbulences they focus on asking team members for help in strategies and innovation in order to regain competitive advantage. Opposed to this, managers would consider downsizing and cost cutting (Creech, 1995). One can that this is visionary and leaders do communicate widely with simple clear cut visions and goals. They intend to simplify communication to ensure the message gets through without ridiculing anyone in the event of misunderstandings. Additionally they are tolerant of mistakes during the process of development and goal achievement and they are fond of acknowledging their mistakes and do not fear to take whatever measures are required to rectify them (Creech, 1995). Bennis and Goldsmith (1997) define the difference between manager and leader using the following paired contrasts: The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it. The manager focuses on systems and structures; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon. The manager imitates; the leader originates. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. The manager is the classis good soldier; the leader is his or her own person (Bennis and Goldsmith, 1997, p.9). Chapter 3 Literature Review For the purpose of this literature review it has been classified as follows: Human Relation Skills including follower leader relation, and conflict management and counselling as intrapersonal skills. Intrapersonal Skills includes self confidence, stress management, and time management whilst Organisational Skills include leadership styles and motivation and finally Creativity Skills. Human Relation Skills and Intrapersonal Skills follow the same paths and are the abilities how one interacts with others. However Intrapersonal Skills is ones own personal development whilst Organisational Skills is the skill to have a conceptual focus. Finally, Creativity Skills are the having of new ideas. The author introduced these skills in the above sequence as she believes that without having human relation skills one cannot help ones personal development and cannot encourage motivation or creativity. Needless to say, that without motivation one would find difficulties creating new ideas. 3.1 Human Relations and Intrapersonal Skills 3.1.2 Follower Leader Relation In order for a leader to achieve effectiveness through human relations, Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt (2001) shared four important insights and beliefs about the nature of their relationships with their followers: Firstly, they explain how positively effective it is, to gradually and gently direct the follower towards the established goals rather than throwing them into heavy burdens to accomplish corporate purposes. When a mutual agreement of mutual interest is established leaders would smartly lay down the red carpet to the follower and will satisfy the goals of both parties. Rigid commands from the hierarchy within an organisation normally lead to unsatisfactory results and frustration (Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt, 2001) Secondly, it is in the leaders interest to strongly understand their followers, by recognising their needs, what motivates them , their various stages of personal development, and their goals. This is seen through a flow of communication and observations. The leaders challenge in such scenario would be to reach satisfactory levels of both the follower and the organisation. During such a process of identifying the followers needs the leader must show sensitivity, ingenuity and judgement when putting together corporate and personal objectives through communication. The leader should address those areas identified to be low in self confidence and capability by the follower in order to achieve maximum results (Isaac, Zerb and Pitt, 2001) Thirdly, leaders have to establish motivating conditions not only to motivate the follower but to encourage self motivation. One of the motives encouraging the self motivation process would be organisational rewards however this makes the leaders responsibility intense, as he/she would need to determine the various intrinsic or extrinsic rewards to followers. Intrinsic motivational states are beyond leaders control however they can possibly enhance such feelings and emotions by: Spending time with the follower and enhancing, rather than undermining, self-confidence. Increasing follower knowledge, skills and abilities through exposure to various educational and training programs, as well as experiences. These activities enhance both follower capability and self-confidence. Establishing realistic, meaningful and attainable goals with the follower to both parties. Creating a climate of mutual respect. Showing appreciation when the follower meets or exceeds expectations, or addressing problematic issues regarding the followers performance by focusing upon the work rather than the individual. (Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt, 2001, p.212) The fourth and final insight relates to the importance of honesty and consistent behaviour showed to the followers. Leaders can loose credibility through promises that are rather difficult to fulfil at a later stage, and will also be exposed to deducting the followers motivation. On the other hand consistency generates a clear path to the followers especially in matters such as fairness, expectations and personal cose of conduct. In addition, leader must reduce distinctions of status that might cause some followers to feel degraded and not regarded (Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt, 2001). Relationship closeness, is the extent to which an employee has a sharing, open, familiar relation with management. Thus, relationship closeness is a broad concept that encompasses several specific constructs like interaction, open communication, and informal relations between employees and management(Mcknight, Ahmad and Schroederet, 2001, p.466). As one can see from the above four insights of human relations skills incorporates a strong degree of interpersonal skills and as Leadership Skills Theory at HSBC Life Assurance Malta Leadership Skills Theory at HSBC Life Assurance Malta Chapter 1 Introduction Leadership skills are the focus of this study and therefore the author will be, in this chapter introduce leadership and the concept of the leader versus the manager as a primary source. In this section the author will define the meaning of leadership enabling one to understand better the next stages of this study. Furthermore one can find the objective of this study and the organisation studied. The structure section will define the construction of the complimenting chapters. 1.1 Objective The scope of this organisational case study is to compare and contrast the leadership skills theory and the selected organisations leadership and provided the concept of leadership versus management in order to understand better leadership skills which are defined later on in this study. Leadership skills will be reviewed by means of secondary research. Subsequently the leadership skills within the organisation will be studied by means of a primary research methodology. This will enable the author to reach the main objective which aim is to highlight the theory of leadership skills and present findings of the selected organisations current leadership practices. One will eventually benefit from the authors recommendations and conclusions based on the out come of the data analysis. 1.2 The Organisation The selected organisation for this study was HSBC Life Assurance Malta Limited. HSBC Life Assurance Malta Limited was set up in 1995 and is a fully owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank Malta Plc, regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Over the years, HSBC Life has developed into one of the leading life assurance product providers on the island with its full and diversified product range, including group and individual term assurance products, mortgage protection policies, etc. This study research thus moves towards assessing all the concepts of leadership styles, skills, coaching, team building. The organisation is in the direction of the Managing Director. 1.3 Structure The structure of this study will be based on 5 chapters. The introduction, chapter 1, has highlighted leadership and the concept of leadership versus management, the objective and the organisation under investigation. Chapter 2 will follow with a literature review of leadership skills from previous studies whilst chapter 3 will cover the research methodology. Chapter 4 will present the findings and finally chapter 5 will cover the authors views and recommendations. Chapter 2 2.0 Leadership Leadership can be defined as: The ability to persuade others willingly to behave differently. The function of team leaders is to achieve the task set for them with the help of the group (Michael Armstrong 2003: 259). Another definition of leadership is: The task of a great leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision. Those leaders who do not are ultimately judged failures, even though they may be popular at the moment (Henry Kissinger). Clawson (2006) explains that leadership consists of three components: the ability to influence others; the willingness to influence others; and the exercise of influence in a way that others respond voluntarily. Thus, while leadership included the use of power, not all uses of power are leadership. The highlight of leadership within an organisation is an emphasis on the importance of a strong human relation and the importance of creating rewarding high-performance teams of motivated and empowered employees. Human understanding and sensitivity are absolutely critical for leadership success. Leadership also consists of identifying proven talent within an organisation and optimising on this talented human resource by developing, retaining and partnering smartly together. Leadership has been perceived to be a primary key to successful strategy implementation. One of the key factors in implementing a strategy is building consensus. A consensus built by motivating, persuading people and by shaping culture and values within an organisation to support the new strategy (Ashby and Miles, 2002). Taking IBM as an example CEO Sam Palmisano has embarked on a leadership mission to get people within the organisation to focus on strategy formulation and implementation. He embarked on a mission to persuade people to focus on the on-demand vision and communicating clear directions. With this positive attitude and employee empowerment he made employees feel motivated and challenged to follow new strategic goals. In this changing world of globalisation, organisations are constantly facing changes within their set ups and therefore leadership plays an important role. Three important aspects of leadership would be people, influence and goals. In order to influence, the relationship between the leader and the follower must not be passive but assertive (Draft, 2006). Within an organisation, leadership directly impacts the effectiveness of costs, revenue generation, service, satisfaction, earnings, market value, share price, social capital, motivation, engagement, and sustainability. In this view one can identify the importance of vision within leadership. In order to move a group successfully towards its goal the leader must communicate the vision or visions with his or her followers. For effectiveness, a vision should appear to be simple, appear desirable enough to energise followers and should describe the organisations future position, which must be credible and preferable to the present state. The leader must communicate these visions adequately to ensure the followers feel as if the vision has been created by themselves (Renesch, 1994). Nonetheless one would need to understand that although leadership focuses on people, influence and goals it cannot be easily defined in such a generic context. However according to Scott (2007) a leader needs to understand that the follower may value a leader differently. Some may prefer a task oriented leader where others may prefer a people oriented leader. In this view the leader must identify the followers needs and how they construe effective leadership. One can see that self awareness is the foundation of effective leadership and one ought to communicate the vision and help the followers fit into that vision. Effective leaders need to change their approach according to the situation, as with one follower, a leader may need to be directive while with others, a leader may need to coach. 2.1 The History of Leadership Leadership, and the study of it, has roots in the beginning of civilisation. Egyptian rulers, Greek heroes and biblical patriarchs all have one thing in common leadership. There are numerous definitions and theories of leadership; however, there are enough similarities in the definitions to conclude that leadership is an effort of influence and the power to induce compliance (Wren, 1995). Our work, our environment, the motivation to work, leaders, leadership, leadership style, and a countless of other work-related variables have been studied for almost two centuries. The organisational focus of the leader has evolved over this same period. Early organisations with authoritarian leaders who believed employees were basically lazy transitioned into way to make work environments more conducive to increased productivity rates. Today, organisations are transforming into places where people are empowered, encouraged, and supported in their personal and professional growth throughout their careers. As the focus of leaders has changed over time, it has influenced and shaped the development and progression of leadership theory. 2.1.2 Early Leader Studies The Industrial Revolution shifted Americas economy from an agriculture base to an industrial one and, thereby, ushered in a change how leaders would treat their followers. The Industrial Revolution created a paradigm shift to a new theory of leadership in which common people gained power by virtue of their skills (Clawson, 1999). New technology, however, was accompanied and reinforced by mechanisation of human thought and action, thus creating hierarchical bureaucracies (Morgan, 1997). One major contributor to this era of management and leadership theory was Max Weber, a German sociologist who observed the parallels between the mechanisation of industry and the proliferation of bureaucratic forms of organisation (Morgan, 1997, p. 17). He noted that the bureaucratic form routinized the process of administration in the same manner that the machine routinized production. 2.1.3 Classical Management Theory and Scientific Management Webers concerns about bureaucracy, however, did not affect theorists who set the stage for what is now known as classical management theory and scientific management. Classical theorists focused on the design of the total organisation while scientific managers focused on the systematic management of individual jobs. In contrast to Weber, classical theorists such as Henri Fayol and F. W. Mooney, staunch advocates of bureaucratisation, devoted their energies identifying methods through which this kind of organisational structure could be achieved (Bass, 1990; Morgan, 1997). Collectively, these theorists set the basis for many modern management techniques, such as management by objectives. Scientific management, an approach heralded by Frederick Taylor, was technological in nature (Hersey, Blanchard Johnson, 1996). Taylor fused the perspective of an engineer into management with a strong emphasis on control, ruthless efficiency, quantification, predictability, and de-skilled jobs. He initiated time-and-motion studies to analyse work tasks to improve worker productivity in an attempt to achieve the highest level of efficiency possible. Consequently, he has been accused of viewing people as instruments or machines to be manipulated by leaders. The function of the leader under scientific management theory was to establish and enforce performance criteria to meet organisational goals; therefore, the focus of a leader was on the needs of the organisation and not on the individual worker. Although the classical and scientific approaches were different, the goals were similar organisations are rational systems and must operate in the most efficient manner possible to achieve the highest level of productivity (Morgan, 1997). Both theories relied on the machine metaphor with a heavy emphasis on mechanisation of jobs, which undermined the human aspect of the organisation and failed to recognise organisations as complex organisms. Although mechanistic organisations proved productive, there were limits to hierarchical bureaucracy. Emerging theorists encouraged leaders to recognise that humans were not machines and could not be treated as such. A post bureaucratic shift in the mid-1940s moved toward everyone taking responsibility for the organisations success or failure (Heckscher Donnellon, 1994). Researchers began to examine the relationship between leader behaviour and follower satisfaction level and organisational productivity and profitability. 2.1.4 Hawthorne, Maslow, and Herzberg Environment and Worker Needs Much organisational research during this era focused on overcoming the perceived shortcomings of the classical and scientific schools of management. Elton Mayos Hawthorne Studies focused on the work situation and its effect on leaders and followers, indicating that the reactions of human beings influence their work activities as much as the formal design and structure of the organisation. Early on leaders could focus their attention on the environment factors of the organisations. The early theories and studies provided researchers with tangible and measurable performance outcomes that were directly transferable to profitability and spreadsheet bottom-lines. A new theory of organisations and leadership began to emerge based on the idea that individuals operate most effectively when their needs are satisfied. Maslows (1959) Hierarchy of Needs posited that once a workers physiological, security, and social (intrinsic) needs were met, productivity would only be possible of the employees ego and self-actualising (extrinsic) needs were also met. Leader focus became redirected toward worker needs. Herzbergs Dual Factor Theory, the evolution of intrinsic and extrinsic needs, furthered Maslows work stating the employees intrinsic and extrinsic needs could, and should, be met simultaneously. Herzbergs (1966) Motivation-Hygiene theory furthered the work of Maslow by providing insights into the goals and incentives that tend to satisfy a workers needs. Herzberg concluded that people have two categories of needs, which he termed hygiene (environmental factors such as working conditions, company policies, etc.) and motivators (factors involving the job itself). According to Herzberg, an employees intrinsic and extrinsic needs could and should be addressed simultaneously. 2.1.5 The Shift to Behavioural Factors Leader focus had moved to understanding the relationship between a leaders actions and the followers satisfaction and productivity. Theorists began to consider behavioural concepts in their analysis of organisational leadership. For example, Chester Barnard was instrumental in including behavioural components (Bass, 1990). Barnards work emphasised the ways in which executives might develop their organisations into cooperative social systems by focusing on the integration of work efforts through communication of goals and attention to worker motivation (Hatch, 1997). Barnard, for example, identified an effective organisational leader as one who determined objectives, manipulated means, initiated action, and stimulated coordinated effort (Bass, 1990, p. 31). Barnard (1938), whose work focused on the functions of the executive, was instrumental in including behavioural components in his analysis of organisational leadership, which claimed that leadership involves accomplishing goals wit h and through people. The theorists of this age argued that in addition to finding the best technological methods to improve output, it would behove management to address human affairs as well. It was claimed that the real power centres within an organisation were the interpersonal relationships that developed among working groups (Hersey, Blanchard Johnson, 1996, p.100). A new theory of organisations and leadership began to emerge based on the idea that individuals operate most effectively when their needs are satisfied. Additionally, when this happens they are more likely to increase their productivity which in turn impacts the organisations bottom line. According to McGregor (1960), the traditional organisation with its centralised decision making, hierarchical pyramid, and external control of work is based on certain assumptions about human nature and human motivation. He dubbed these assumptions Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X assumes that most people prefer to be directed, are not interested in assuming responsibility, and want safety above all else. Accompanying the Theory X philosophy is the belief that people are motivated by money, fringe benefits, and threat of punishment. Managers who espouse Theory X assumptions attempt to structure, control, and closely supervise employees. Although McGregor himself questioned whether Theory X was as accurate view of human nature, the assumptions persisted for a long time in leadership theory circles because it explained à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"some, though not all, of human behaviour within organisations (Pugh Hickson, 1993). Drawing heavily from Maslows (1959) Hierarchy of Needs, McGregor ultimately concluded that Theory X assumptions about human nature, when universally applied, are often inaccurate and that management approaches that develop from these assumptions may fail to motivate individuals to strive toward organisational goals (Hersey, Blanchard, Johnson, 1996). McGregor (1960) believed that management needed practices based on a more accurate understanding of human nature and motivation. The resulting concept, Theory Y, proposed that individuals are not, by nature, lazy and unreliable. People can be self-directed and creative at work if properly motivated (Pugh Hickson, 1993). Therefore, an essential task of management is to unleash this potential. Consequently, the goal of effective leadership was evolving and moving away from the earlier concepts of the classical and scientific management theories that treated workers as machines. Leaders were now challenged to actively involve followers in achieving organisational goals. McGregor (1960), whose work was closely linked to that of the behavioural theorists, is a reflection of that era, providing a foundation for the future emergence of the transformational leadership. McGregors Theory X and Theory Y assumed that employees and leaders had progressed beyond Taylors productivity models that employees could find ways to satisfy their needs within the organisations structure. McGregor assumed employees far more complex that the trait and behavioural theories of leadership assumed and that their complexity and the leaders response to that complexity would affect how and whether the leader and followers worked in tandem to reach mutual organisational goals. McGregor proposed a replacement of direction and control of employees with humanistic motivation. The resulting concept, Theory Y, proposed that individuals did not inherently dislike work and, and that under certain conditions, work could actually be a source of great satisfaction. Theory Y assumed individuals would exercise self-direction and self-control, accepting and seeking responsibility (Pugh Hickson, 1993). The essential concept McGregor and other behaviourists proposed was that organisations are interacting groups and that leaders are a part of these groups. The leaders interaction and relationship with the employee must be a supportive relationship so all members of the organisation feel the organisations objectives and their achievement, are of personal importance to them (Pugh Hickson, 1993). 2.1.6 Situational/Contingency Theory The Circumstantial Focus Unprecedented social change in the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s shifted societal focus from increasing economic wealth to ensuring social rights and equality. Along with this social change, technology was again preparing to jolt American businesses. The advent of the computer age was shifting employee requirements from brawn to brains. Leadership became an intricate process of multilateral brokerage where leaders were forced to focus on constituencies within and without the organisation to survive (Vanourek, 1995). The internal and external environments of organisations were changing. The transference of power from those doing the work to those possessing knowledge about how to organise work more closely levelled the playing field for leaders and followers. Society acknowledged that traditional methods of leadership were no longer effective. McCollum (1995) implied that companies in the information age were unsuccessfully trying to conduct their business using obsolete industrial age leadership theories. Change was the only thing of which everyone could be sure, a factor requiring leadership research and society to consider contingency/situational approaches to leadership if businesses were to remain successful and profitable in an ever-changing and increasingly complicated environment (Contee-Borders, 2003). Heysey and Blanchard (1996) proposed a contingency/situational theory advocating a leaders use of differing leadership behaviours dependent upon two interrelated maturity factors: (a) job maturity relevant task and technical knowledge and skills, and (b) psychological maturity the subordinates level of self-confidence and self-respect (Yukl, 1998). An employee who has a high level of job and psychological maturity requires little supervision; while an employee who has a low level of job and psychological maturity requires hand-on attention. Fielders contingency theory is viewed as the opposite of Hersey and Blanchards theory, maintaining that leaders are less flexible in their ability to change their behaviour based on followers maturity (the basic concept of Hersey and Blanchards theory) (Hughes, Ginnett, Curphy, 1993). Fielders contingency theory posited that leader effectiveness is determined by not the leaders ability to adapt to the situation, but by the ability to choose the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"right leader for the situation (though this theory does not identify who would be responsible for making this choice). Some leaders are simply better for specific situation than others and the situation determines the identified leaders success, though leaders would need to be capable of understanding when they were not right for the situation and remove themselves a task of humility. 2.2 Leadership Styles From a very classical autocratic approach to a very creative, participative approach, different styles were needed for different situations and each leader needed to know when to exhibit a particular approach. The most familiar model is the leadership scale devised by Tannenbaum and Schmidt. In this model, the leader is advised to choose a leadership style that it appropriate for the particular situation. These styles or behaviours, can be placed along continuum ranging from boss-centred at one-end of the scale to subordinate-centred at the other end, as illustrated in Figure 1.1 Inevitably, the opposite poles of this continuum have been labelled Authoritarian (or task-centred), and Democratic (or people-centred) and the inference has been drawn that a concern forgetting the job done is at the opposite end of the scale of the people involved. Tannenbaum and Schmidts article is not as shallow as that, but, like it or not, the impression is left that the two concerns are somehow incompatible. Other commentators advised that authoritarian leadership styles would be most effective in situations that were favourable to the leader and democratic styles would better suit situations that were unfavourable to the leader. Favourable in this context means that the leader has high formal authority, relations between the leader and the staff are good, and the task is highly structured. This further reinforces the assumption that democratic styles are for the leaders to fall back on when things are not going entirely their way; they would not want to be democratic if it could be avoided. The Democratic styles should be the preferred option, falling back on authoritarian styles only when circumstances require it. For example, when the fire alarm sounds tell everyone to leave the building; do not hold a decision about the best course of action. Or, when something bad can not be avoided, accept your responsibility as a manager and give instructions clearly and assertively. Otherwise, the benefits of the bringing several brains to bear on an issue, and the commitment that democratic approaches tend to foster, usually outweigh the inevitable untidiness of getting everyone involved in decision-making . Interestingly, research into animal social groups has found that decisions arrived at communally or democratically are usually more beneficial for the group and its individual members than despotic decision-making, and tend to be less extreme. Whether lessons drawn from the observation of animal behaviour can usefully be applied directly to human groups depends on how much corroborating evidence there is. 2.3 Leadership versus Management Creech (1995) defines the manager versus the leader. She explains how a manager is typically well-educated and would generally possess very high conceptual skills. Managers are mostly focused on the latest management literature. Furthermore managers are very aware of the system, rules and procedures both documented and undocumented. They tend to be very productive oriented rather than people oriented persons and this style proves that they are usually inaccessible or have very little time to listed to the people they manage. This also results form their heavy busy schedules. In addition managers face highly intensive stresses and become very intolerant of any mistakes. They rarely motivate their people to take significant risks to improve operationally or personally and in moments of crisis they can easily consider to re-establish who is in charge, believing that they will achieve the expected performances and organisational goals. Nonetheless, they are very conscious of what others think about them and expect to be liked, despite being aware that this is rather impossible, due to the conflicting roles between management and workers. Furthermore managers ask subordinates for participative input, but rarely encourage real dissent with their own views (Creech, 1995). In contrast, leaders are very people oriented and although they are conscious of what people think of them they are generally less concerned. However, leaders feel themselves as helpers to the organisation as opposed being in command. They are inventive and imaginative movers and participate in achievement of goals. Arguably, leaders have a more positive style to achieving goals and during time of financial or operational turbulences they focus on asking team members for help in strategies and innovation in order to regain competitive advantage. Opposed to this, managers would consider downsizing and cost cutting (Creech, 1995). One can that this is visionary and leaders do communicate widely with simple clear cut visions and goals. They intend to simplify communication to ensure the message gets through without ridiculing anyone in the event of misunderstandings. Additionally they are tolerant of mistakes during the process of development and goal achievement and they are fond of acknowledging their mistakes and do not fear to take whatever measures are required to rectify them (Creech, 1995). Bennis and Goldsmith (1997) define the difference between manager and leader using the following paired contrasts: The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it. The manager focuses on systems and structures; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon. The manager imitates; the leader originates. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. The manager is the classis good soldier; the leader is his or her own person (Bennis and Goldsmith, 1997, p.9). Chapter 3 Literature Review For the purpose of this literature review it has been classified as follows: Human Relation Skills including follower leader relation, and conflict management and counselling as intrapersonal skills. Intrapersonal Skills includes self confidence, stress management, and time management whilst Organisational Skills include leadership styles and motivation and finally Creativity Skills. Human Relation Skills and Intrapersonal Skills follow the same paths and are the abilities how one interacts with others. However Intrapersonal Skills is ones own personal development whilst Organisational Skills is the skill to have a conceptual focus. Finally, Creativity Skills are the having of new ideas. The author introduced these skills in the above sequence as she believes that without having human relation skills one cannot help ones personal development and cannot encourage motivation or creativity. Needless to say, that without motivation one would find difficulties creating new ideas. 3.1 Human Relations and Intrapersonal Skills 3.1.2 Follower Leader Relation In order for a leader to achieve effectiveness through human relations, Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt (2001) shared four important insights and beliefs about the nature of their relationships with their followers: Firstly, they explain how positively effective it is, to gradually and gently direct the follower towards the established goals rather than throwing them into heavy burdens to accomplish corporate purposes. When a mutual agreement of mutual interest is established leaders would smartly lay down the red carpet to the follower and will satisfy the goals of both parties. Rigid commands from the hierarchy within an organisation normally lead to unsatisfactory results and frustration (Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt, 2001) Secondly, it is in the leaders interest to strongly understand their followers, by recognising their needs, what motivates them , their various stages of personal development, and their goals. This is seen through a flow of communication and observations. The leaders challenge in such scenario would be to reach satisfactory levels of both the follower and the organisation. During such a process of identifying the followers needs the leader must show sensitivity, ingenuity and judgement when putting together corporate and personal objectives through communication. The leader should address those areas identified to be low in self confidence and capability by the follower in order to achieve maximum results (Isaac, Zerb and Pitt, 2001) Thirdly, leaders have to establish motivating conditions not only to motivate the follower but to encourage self motivation. One of the motives encouraging the self motivation process would be organisational rewards however this makes the leaders responsibility intense, as he/she would need to determine the various intrinsic or extrinsic rewards to followers. Intrinsic motivational states are beyond leaders control however they can possibly enhance such feelings and emotions by: Spending time with the follower and enhancing, rather than undermining, self-confidence. Increasing follower knowledge, skills and abilities through exposure to various educational and training programs, as well as experiences. These activities enhance both follower capability and self-confidence. Establishing realistic, meaningful and attainable goals with the follower to both parties. Creating a climate of mutual respect. Showing appreciation when the follower meets or exceeds expectations, or addressing problematic issues regarding the followers performance by focusing upon the work rather than the individual. (Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt, 2001, p.212) The fourth and final insight relates to the importance of honesty and consistent behaviour showed to the followers. Leaders can loose credibility through promises that are rather difficult to fulfil at a later stage, and will also be exposed to deducting the followers motivation. On the other hand consistency generates a clear path to the followers especially in matters such as fairness, expectations and personal cose of conduct. In addition, leader must reduce distinctions of status that might cause some followers to feel degraded and not regarded (Isaac, Zerbe and Pitt, 2001). Relationship closeness, is the extent to which an employee has a sharing, open, familiar relation with management. Thus, relationship closeness is a broad concept that encompasses several specific constructs like interaction, open communication, and informal relations between employees and management(Mcknight, Ahmad and Schroederet, 2001, p.466). As one can see from the above four insights of human relations skills incorporates a strong degree of interpersonal skills and as

Napa Valley Winery Inc

Quintal realized that the quantity of red table wine produced is closely associated to the sales. Ms. Quintal reviewed her past sales in order to predict future sales based on the amount of wine produced in 2008. The issue Quintal faced was the seasonality of wine sales; December being its peak time in sales. After careful consideration, Quintal determined that although her previous forecasting method had worked from an operational standpoint, however, there was still room to improve its accuracy.Quintal has to determine what the forecasting profits will be for the next 16 months (Septet's to DCE 2009) prior to the conclusion of any business deals with Transcontinental. The software that was used in order to predict the future sales was Stools. Stools provided me with four different methods (Moving Averages, Simple, Halt's & Winters' exponential smoothing) of forecasting to identify the most accurate prediction possible. With a Means Absolute Percentage Error (MAPS) of 3. 72% the Hal t's exponential smoothing method was determined to be the best method of predicting monthly wine sales for the next sixteen months (Figure 2).Background/Additional Research on Nap Valley Wineries The Nap valley is known for its stylish and exquisite wine blends. The highly acclaimed Paradox Winery was founded in 1994 and its current wine maker is David Marches'. Paradox is the only winery that is truly devoted to wine blends in the Nap Valley. Paradox has four different estates that produce grapes with distinct attributes that reflect the variations in soil, terrain, micrometer, and exposure. This vineyard has created a blend of zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, along with smaller amounts of Merlot and Petite Sarah to create the first Paradox vintage.One of Paradox's quality wines is the 2006 Postmark Monitor Ledge Vineyard Red Wine. This lend of Zinfandel paired with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot originates solely from our Monitor Ledge Vineyard which is known for producing concentrat ed and structured wines. This wine highlights red cherry and rose petal aromas, with notes of blueberry, blackberry, smoky cedar and cola. The flavors of the red fruit and warm blackberry with a dash of cinnamon spice. Analyzing the Problem The data used was gathered from previous sales from Jan. 2000 through Gauge. 2008.This data will be used in forecasting sixteen month time period starting with Septet. 2008 and all of 2009 wine sales. The forecasting tool used was Stools, which eloped in determining the total wine sales for the next sixteen months. The question that will be addressed: What is Northern Nap Valley Winners projected sales for the upcoming sixteen months? To better answer this question there are four different methods of forecasting (Figure 5 Moving Averages, Figure 4 Simple, Figurer Halt's & Figure 3 Winters' Exponential Smoothing) that will be used, of those four one will give the best prediction based on the past data.Forecasting methods where done dissocialized. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error is important when forecasting data. The closer the MAPS is to zero the more accurate the forecast. This will be the catalyst in determining the accuracy of the forecasts. Runs test (Null Hypothesis of Randomness) Prior to doing any forecasting it is important to determine whether or not the data is random or nonrandom. The software used to conduct the Runs Test for Randomness was Stool's. This test was used in order to determine if there were too many or too few runs in a series of data.Figure 5: Moving Averages I I Forecasting Constant I Forecast I Span 13 Mean Abs Err 1683. 03 631. 59 I I Moving Averages 1460. 00 1480. 16 I Root Mean Sq Err 14. 12% By using Stools a graph was formulated to show the fluctuation of sales from Jan 2000 through DCE. 2009. The moving average in this case for the next sixteen months produced a MAPS of 4. 12%. A MAPS of is considered to be very good so 4. 12% has limited forecasting errors and would be considered an exc ellent forecast. Although, the MAPS for the moving average was considerably accurate, the Halt's method produced a MAPS of 3. 2% which indicative of a more accurate forecast. The difference between the Moving Averages method and the Halt's method is the MAPS of . 4%, which makes the Moving Average less accurate than the Halt's Exponential Smoothing Method. Conclusion and Recommendation It is apparent that wine sales fluctuate monthly which could be based upon changes in the economy, climate, or preference. Annual forecasting is not conducive to wine sales since wine fluctuates on a monthly basis. An example of wine lactating would be in August sales are low but, in sales are at its peak.Ms. Quintal should forecast future sales on a monthly basis in order to maintain a more accurate account sales activity. It is recommended that Ms. Quintal utilize Stools as a means of automating her forecasting task and maintaining continuity of records. According to the sixteen month forecast the a mount of wine produced is closely related to the amount of wine sold. Reference Nap valley wineries. (2011, November 16). Retrieved from http:// www. Banqueters. Com/nap_valley_wineries. HTML (2011, November 16). Retrieved from http://www. Wisped. Org/

Concession and Refutation

Conceding and refuting are important language functions in English. Here are a few short definitions: Concede: Admit that another person is right about something. Refute: Prove that someone else is wrong about something. Often, speakers of English will concede a point, only to refute a larger issue:   Its true that working can be tedious. However, without a job, you wont be able to pay the bills.While you might say that the weather has been really bad this winter, its important to remember that we needed lots of snow in the mountains.I agree with you that we need to improve our sales figures. On the other hand, I dont feel we should change our overall strategy at this time.   Its common to concede and refute at work when discussing strategy or brainstorming. Conceding and refuting are also very common in all types of debates  including political and social issues. When trying to make your point, its a good idea to first frame the argument. Next, concede a point if applicable. Finally, refute a larger issue.   Framingthe Issue Begin by introducing a general belief that you would like to refute. You can use general statements, or speak about specific people that you would like to refute. Here are some formulas to help you frame the issue: Person or institution to be refuted   feel / think / believe / insist / that opinion to be refuted Some people feel that there is not enough charity in the world.Peter insists that we haven’t invested enough in research and development.ï » ¿The board of directors believes that students should take more standardized tests. Making the Concession: Use the concession to show that you have understood the gist of your opponent’s argument. Using this form, you will show that while a specific point is true, the overall understanding is incorrect. You can begin with an independent clause using subordinators that show opposition: While it’s true / sensible / evident / likely that specific benefit of argument, While it’s evident that our competition has outspent us on, ...While it’s sensible to measure students’ aptitudes, ... Although / Even though / Though  its true that opinion,   Although its true that our strategy hasnt worked to date, ...Even though it’s true that the country is currently struggling economically, ... An alternate form is to first concede by stating that you agree or can see the advantage of something in a single sentence. Use  concession verbs  such as: I concede that / I agree that / I admit that   Refuting the Point Now it’s time to make your point. If youve used a subordinator (while, although, etc.), use your best argument to finish the sentence: it’s also true / sensible / evident that refutationit’s more important / essential / vital that refutationthe bigger issue / point is that refutationwe must remember / take into consideration / conclude that refutation †¦ it’s also evident that financial resources will always be limited.†¦ the bigger point is that we do not have the resources to spend.†¦ we must remember that standardized testing such as the TOEFL leads to rote learning.   If youve made a concession in a single sentence, use a linking word or phrase  such as  however, nevertheless, on the contrary, or  above all  to state your refutation: However, we currently do not have that capability.Nevertheless, weve succeeded in attracting more customers to our stores.Above all, the peoples will needs to be respected. Making Your Point Once you’ve refuted a point, continue to provide evidence to  further back up your point of view.   It is clear / essential / of utmost importance that (opinion)I feel / believe / think that (opinion) I believe that charity can lead to dependence.I think that we need to focus more on our successful products rather than develop new, untested merchandise.It is clear that students are not expanding their minds through rote learning for tests.   Complete Refutations Let’s take a look a few concessions and refutations  in their completed form: Students feel that homework is an unnecessary strain on their  limited time. While its true that some teachers assign too much homework, we must remember the wisdom in the saying  practice makes perfect. It is essential that information we learn is repeated to fully become useful knowledge.   Some people insist that profit is the only viable motivation for a corporation. I concede that a  company must profit to stay in business. However, the larger issue is that employee satisfaction leads to improved interactions with clients. It is clear that employees who feel they are compensated fairly will consistently give their best.   More English Functions Conceding and refuting are known as language functions. In other words, language which is used to achieve a specific purpose. You can learn more about a wide variety of language functions and how to use them in everyday English.