Investigating the Sources and Use of Financial Information in the Essay

Investigating the Sources and Use of Financial Information in the Management of Prison - Essay Example The research proposal is set to investigate the sources and use of financial information in the management of the prison service in England and Wales. Justification There are various sources and uses of financial information in the management of an organization. However, these sources and uses differ from one organization to the other. Financial information is significant to an organization because it assists in rating the performance of the organization. The information also assists in improving financial auditing and management of the organization. Proper management is the key element to the success of any organization. The research is of great importance because it will help the prisons and the government to conduct duties efficiently. Thus, knowing the sources and uses of the financial information will help the government and the prison department in better management of the prison services in England and Wales. Review of Literature The main purpose of the Prison Service in Engla nd and Wales is to offer services to the public by keeping in custody those who have committed crimes; looking after these individuals humanely; and assisting them to lead useful and law-abiding lives during custody and after release. In order to support this purpose, the Prison Service has four objectives: to securely hold the prisoners, to minimize the possibility of prisoner re-offending, to offer well-ordered and safe establishments in which to treat the prisoners decently, lawfully, and humanely, and to offer an effective escort and custody service to criminal courts (Cope 2010, pix). Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS) runs 127 prisons and training centres throughout Wales and England. In a number of key areas, all the 127 prisons run independently with no centralized oversight and operations. The prison service lacks a shared system for the management of procurement, human resources, and finances (Hp 2009, p1). Each of the prison maintains its own exclusive financial s ystem. Data tracking, software, and the staff responsible for handling finances and inputting data vary at each location. Thus, HMPS does not have access to the organization wide view of the finances. Therefore, the prison service has found it difficult to measure its performance, enhance financial auditing, and target areas to minimize costs (Hp 2009, p2). In the past few years, HMPS installed an Oracle-based financial system to centralize its financial reporting and accounting, and also to offer a wide and encompassing image of the financial activities of the prison service. This ensures that the personnel from various facilities and departments are conscious of the financial impacts when making decisions. Higher quality data management and improved transparency and a devoted focus of the finance resources on exceptional financial issues have led to the realization of the mentioned benefits (Hp 2009, p7). Improved financial transparency and accessibility of timely and meaningful f inancial data or information across the organization has enhanced decision-making thus, has led to better operational performance (Oracle 2009, p2). The United Kingdom (UK) sector has undergone significant changes in risk management. The UK criminological research on the prisons has not explored the manner in which the general corporate governance and the financial management at various levels of the prison sector, have been

Remember the Titans Essay Example for Free

Remember the Titans Essay A scene in the film of which I thought it was strong was when the new coach takes the players into the woods for a run and they arrive at a sort of cemetery. He tells them about a lesson from the death; they have to come together, otherwise they will be destroyed. He tells them whether they like each other or not, they should respect each other. I really like this scene of the movie, first, because I think it takes place in a special surrounding. All the players are exhausted from the running and kind of impressed by the place. Second, I like this part because I like the message and the way the coach tries to create one team out of two groups. The third message I got from the video is the fact that sports brings people together. No matter what race, as friends in a team you can make it work. In the video the white boys and the African-American boys have each their own team with their own rituals. Along the road, their passion for football and their desire to win brings them together. They combine their habits and the difference in their cultural backgrounds gives them a special feeling of a united group and makes them stronger. Also in other situations can sports play an important factor, you can see it in the world with for example the Olympic Games, but also other major sports events. I think sports can unite individuals from different cultural backgrounds because the rules are the same in every culture and as people are playing, they do not necessarily have to speak the same language. So, if you put the messages all together, I would say that in my opinion the movie is a really good one. After watching it I realized even more that it is about personalities and characters instead of the way people look or the cultural background they are from. Although it can be hard for some individuals to act this way, for example because of pressure from their peers or because the way they are raised. I hope that for the future that every day more people will realize that it is not about the differences, but about the similarities.

Why Did the Central Powers Lose WW1?

Why Did the Central Powers Lose WW1? On November 11th 1918 Germany signed and armistice to finally end the four year conflict of World War One. At the end of 1917 Germany was in a good position. Although the United States had entered the war, that had yet to have any impact on the western front. Russia, having just gone through a communist revolution, had lost the war and was willing to make peace at any price. By 1918 Germany had begun to break through allied lines and even came within striking distance of Paris but by the end of November in the same year Germany was looking for a stop to the fighting. Why was this? A few reasons could be the that the Schlieffen Plan had failed resulting in Germany fighting a war on two fronts for most of the war, the British naval blockade on Germany and the entry of the United States into the fray. The Schlieffen Plan was Germanys main offensive strategy during the outbreak of World War 1. The plan involved utilizing 91% of Germanys armed forces (also known as Kaiserreichsheer) to attack France. Fearing that the French forts on the border would slow down a German advance, Chief of Staff Alfred von Schlieffen suggested an attack through Belgium into the northern part of France for a quicker invasion. The rest of the German Army would then be set up in a defensive position on the eastern front in order to stop an improbable Russian advance. There are quite a few reasons why the Schlieffen Plan had failed though. Firstly, the Germans had underestimated the capabilities of the Belgian Army. While the Belgians had only 43,000 men, they had put up a strong fight that was even unanticipated by the Germans. Some tactics even flooding their own land or destroying their own infrastructure in order to slow down the German advance Secondly, the lack of communications between the German arm ies along with a failure to resupply efficiently weakened the troops. . This helped the Allies by giving the British more time to reinforce the French lines and when Germany finally had broken through Belgium into France, they were intercepted at the River Marne in France by the allied troops. Attempts to reinforce the German united battling the Allies also left a gap between them and the German 2nd force, allowing Allies to move up and split apart the two German forces. Fritz Fischer reffered to the Schlieffen Plan as a brash stroke so common to bombastic Wilhelmine Imperial Germany. (Fischer, 1979) But not all historians agreed on that the Schieffen plan was a complete failure. An American officer in the Army, creator of combat modeling software and military theorist Trevor N. Dupuy argued that the Schlieffen Plan was secret the of institutionalizing military excellence. (Dupuy, 1970) The United States joined the First World War on the 6th of April 1917; three years after the war had begun. This was due to the then American political view that being an isolationist country was the best way that American would grow and as a result took the view that the European conflict did not require any American intervention. In 1915 German U-boats were ordered to attack any ship that was headed towards Britain due to suspicions of ammunition being smuggled through passenger liners and Q-ships, these were merchant ships that had disguised heavy guns. The Q-ships were also one of the reasons that German submarines stopped warning the target that they were about to attack. This was brought to the attention of the American people when the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by U-20 on the 7th of May 1915. The Zimmerman note was probably one of the more direct reasons that the Americans decided to join the war. The content of this note is that if Mexico attacked America for the land t hey had claimed before, then Germany would support them with arms and supplies. This was a very big threat to America and as a result they thought it would be in their best interests to join the war. By 1917, both sides of the conflict were exhausted and demoralized. The United States were able to support the Allied front with a million fresh soldiers, this greatly improved Allied morale and demoralize the Germans and her allies further. In addition to this, more supplies were also being brought in by the United States and helped relive some of the burdens born by the allies. The British Blockade was one of the key factors in the defeat of Germany and her allies. Drafted by Winston Churchill, the then Secretary of the Royal Navy, it was intended to take Germany out by starving her out of the war. When the blockade was put into effect towards the end of 1914, Germanys imports had fallen by 55% of pre-war import levels. One of the more prominent imports that were cut off were nitrates, these were used to create explosives and fertilizer. The resulting shortage of the latter led to extreme shortages in foods and by 1916 many civilians were consuming ersatz products such as war bread (also known as Kriegsbrot) and powdered milk. These food shortages also caused riots and social unrest, not only in Germany but also for most of the Central powers as well in places like Vienna or Budapest. While the German government did make attempts to counter the effects of the British Blockade, they only limited success. The Hindenburg Programme is one such example. It was d esigned to increase productivity and provide cheap mass meals to the population but that average daily diet of 1,000 calories provided was not enough to maintain a good standard of health even for babies. This resulted in many malnutrition related disorders such as scurvy, dysentery and tuberculosis and by 1918 and estimated 434,000 people were dead due to malnutrition. In March, 1918 the Central Powers were sure to win the war. They had already beaten Russia and France and Britain were getting weak, they were losing the will to fight. For the first time German units were larger than the British and French combined. However eight months later, the Central Powers lost due to a failure in tactics, a new enemy entering towards the end of the war and being starved into submission by their enemies. The assumption of this topic is that when the Central Powers had lost World War 1 that the war had in fact ended. It could be said that World War 1 never ended. It may have taken a break but it had never truly ended until 1945, the year that signified the end of World War 2. Complications from the end of World War 1 would prove to be the advent of World War 2. World War One ended when Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles. This proved to be a humiliating defeat for the Germans. The size of Germany had been drastically reduced while those of France and Italy (a former German ally) grew. Germany was also forced to admit that they were to blame for the war and was made to compensate for damages. The military was also reduced to a minimal size but there were soldiers who would not stop fighting. They would eventually join and establishment of mercenaries called the Freikorps. The German commanders and generals also never had to admit to defeat. They merely told that if the German Peopl e had not been stabbed in the back (most likely referring to the newly formed Weimar Republic for accepting the terms) This theory became hugely popular with the German population that did not want to admit to defeat and generals that had signed the treaty were referred to as November Criminals. Adolph Hitler was obsessed with this idea and blamed the Marxists and Jews for this major blow to the people. Germany was seething with revenge and hate, just waiting for the right moment to strike back. In their minds, they were waiting for a chance to resume this conflict and get the justice that they deserved. Finishing in Leather: Strategies and Concepts Finishing in Leather: Strategies and Concepts Hassan Aly Hassan Introduction The word â€Å"finish† as a verb means bringing the task to an end or in another meaning is by completing the manufacture or decoration of (an article) by giving it an attractive surface appearance. (Dictionary). The same applies for leather when it reaches the final stage. The leather is now set to be modified and upgraded to give it more characteristics that meet with customer expectation. That’s why tanneries all around the world are putting more effort on the final stage in order to enhance and sell their leather. After tannage, all classes of leather, whether vegetable or chrome tanned have to be finished to make them suitable to the purpose for which they will be ultimately used. With the exception of sole leather, finishing may broadly be said to consist of (i) dyeing or colouring, (ii) treating the leather with grease for softening and water-proofing (technically called currying) and (iii) polishing or glazing. But the finish imparted to leather is peculiar to it, so that no two varieties are finished the same way Coming up with a finishing recipe high relays of different factors highly depending on what the customer wants. Giving an example when trying to achieve a shoe upper finish it differs from an upholstery finish. When finishing vegetable tanned leather it is neither dyed nor glazed. Its finishing is consisted in setting it out well to make it flat and smooth on the surface and pressing heavily to make it stiffer and water resistant. For chrome it differs it is run through more operation in order to achieve its final appearance starting with shaving in order to make the leather thin then neutralization taking place ending it up with stacking in order to make the leather softer then glazed to give it the glossy look and feel. What is the purpose of finishing? The purpose of finish is done in order to enhance certain qualities and characteristics for example protecting the leather upgrading the leather look and feel by providing a texture which is waxier and smother. Full grain leather can be addressed as the leather that does not go through the buffing stage and this is widely used when achieving furniture leather or automotive. Achieving a full grain can be expensive to most tanners. In order to achieve the natural grain of the leather it most not contain any marks or scratches, veins and putrefaction so it is very important on how to sort out your leather. The tanner should pick a good quality grade of crust leather in order to enable for finishing. Corrected grain leather is known as chrome tanned side leather which is buffed with emery paper on the grain enabling it to remove the defects of the leather and then applied to it a plastic resin and pigmented finish to he help being built up on the leather usually this type of grain is used in the footwear industry. Crust preparation Crust is mentioned as the dried leather after tannage. And as it’s widely known as chrome leather ends up drying quickly and that results in leather becoming stiffer and making it harder when rewetting, drying usually occurs after any normal retanning and fatliquoring. leather that is exported around the globe in usually in this state while still many prefer at wet-blue or pickled stage because this gives them more ability of the leather process. When crust preparation applied for full grain leather or corrected grain leather both operations are related except for some procedures for example in buffing. Leading a leather from a crust stage to finishing still undergoes several procedures and also depends on the tanners recipe before receiving the end use . Operations in common Staking: Staking is a mechanical operation for softening the leather, it is done through a staking machine machines which helps in expanding and opening up the fibers and thus leading to a softer skin. Some tanners do it manually by pulling the skins over a shaped knife but this usually takes more time compared to the staking machine. Conditioning: when the leather dries out after the retanning, dyeing and fatliquoring the fibers on the skin tends to stick together and thus making the leather more firm and harder. The fibers are then separated and the leather goes the staking operation enabling it to become softer. Adjusting the moisture content is very important so water is applied to the leather through water guns and that evens out the moisture content before entering the staking stage. Milling: During the milling stage, the crust leather is layed in the drum responsible for milling and is then rotated ate certain temperature degrees and humid conditions. The mechanical process helps the leather in opening up its fiber this results is the leather becoming more softer Buffing: The objective of buffing is removing all the marks on the grain surface of the leather by that it provides a more equal surface . it is done through sandpapering the leather with sand paper for many reasons for example to create a suede or a nubuck finish on the grain or to prepare its for a Chemicals used and finishing operation: Impregnation: it is a coat the purpose of it acts like a sealing coat and this helps in sealing the buffed fibers completely in order for the chemicals to not penetrate through the leather and this will form a more uniform surface. When the corrected grain leather gets buffed the absorbance raises in high rate and any of the chemicals put onto the leather will penetrate in a high rate without building up a film. Applying an impregnation coatis a must for a corrected grain or it will ruin the objective of finishing. Adhesion Coat : buffing does not apply to a full grain leather therefore this coat is used in allowing the resins to bind bind together in a an equal strong form and this leads to a more stable film and this is highly used in the casual shoe finish because it requires higher adhesion finish qualities. After the adhesion coat is applied the leather is not set to dry out during the drying is becomes more drier and stickier this means it is now ready for the base coat the usage of spraying guns is high recommended in the adhesion coating. Base Coat: the base coating is applied to help in covering up the leather. By using a mixture of acrylic resins and polyurethane. Acrylic resin gives the leather a more natural look and increases flexibility. As for the polyurethane resin it improves the physical qualities of the finishing film. A certain ratio that a film goes by to a non-film its either 1:2 or 1:3 as for the non-filming chemicals it includes a wide variety of waxes, auxillaries, oils and waxes. Base coating is usually done by spraying a couple of times and it can also be done by hand padding. Embossing: it is known as the printed pattern that is added to the leather. Embossing become popular to meet with the fashion industry, through embossing it creates a high yield in cutting because of its straightness and strength to hide the defects. During embossing high pressure is applied to ensure the print embossing acts better in higher temperatures . Top Coat: The objective of adding the top coat in order to enhance the touch quality and performance and helps in the protection when finishing. Top coat can be addressed as two coats nitrocellulose and polyurethane. A polyurethane based is selected as the preferred method because it gives the required results Plating: it is a mechanical procedure that helps in obtaining more smoothness and a glossy look. Plating can be applied several times it highly depends on the tanner Finishing Recipes: Casual Full grain upper footwear Safety shoe Corrected grain upper footwear Casual Full grain upper footwear Adhesion Coat : Polyurethane with fine particles that is applied to pre base coating the main purpose of it is for achieving higher adhesion it also help in the flexibility. Base Coat : RU 1 3- 5 4 1: classified as soft polyurethane that is added during the base coat to help in the embossing characteristics. It gives out softer leather outcome. P-P black : it is a pigment applied to the leather in order to give its color RA 1-2-4-6: Classified as hard acrylic resin which enables a better gloos and ensures better results in the rub fastness FI 5-0: Considered to be soft filler which gives a better plating and gives out a wax that helps giving the leather a more waxy feeling. BI 5-9-6: Soft binder which gives a nore flazing look on the leather. Also helps in giving a good plated which is considered to be helpful during the embossing stage Top Coat HM 51-7 6 0 A TYPE OF SILICONE HANDLING MODIFIER WHICH ENABLES GOOD SMOOTHNESS AND a silky like feel it also enhances resistance onto the leather LW 5 4 9 0 : they are water based lacquer which gives a kind of gloss onto the leather . Safety shoe Corrected grain upper footwear Impregnation Coat RI – 1 9 3 : Its is considered to be small particles of impregnation resin which helps in filling up the leather and it has high penetration ability it also helps in the grain break in tge leather and works on smoothening the surface BI 1 3 5 2 : Binder its type is medium hard which helps in the adhesion and improvement on the handling of the skin PT 6 5 91 : Active agents which work on helping the penetration of the finishing chemicals on the the grain layer of the skin this is usually used along a penetrartor to help the chemical penetrate faster RB 2 3 3 0: Its gives the leather a more rubbery feeling and helps in the pating process and filling up the skin RM 4 4 1 0 : a non ionic agent Base Coat RU 3 9 6 9 : A polyurethane that helps in the adhesion and the flexibility of the skin FI 5 0 : It helps in embarking a good plating gives a waxy feeling Top Coat FI 1 2 0 8 : SOFT FILLERS WHICH HELPS IN GIVING A SOFTER TOUCH AND HELPS IN PLATING WT 2 5 2 4 : PolYurethanes which helps in giving more elastic and flexibility HM 2 2 6 7 7: gives the leather a silky feeling XR 5 9 2 3: CROSS LINKER WHICH HELPS IN ENHANCING THE LEATHER DURABILITY AND PROVIDES A BETTER FINISHING ADHESION Comparison in order to achieve a full grain leather the sorting of the leather many scares and defects on the skin will lower the end product of the finishing for the corrected grain leather its easier because the buffing will hide many of the scars and defects n the skin .when it comes to embossing full grain leather it depends it may be required and it may not be depending on the grain of the leather as for the corrected grain in order to give a better grain surface. When it comes to performance full grain leather will achieve higher performances than the corrected grain Conclusion All in all both are different than each other when its comes to physicality properties to achieve good results selection of crust must be made for full grain as for the corrected grain it does not require

Changing Pattern of Consumer Behaviour

Changing Pattern of Consumer Behaviour Today organizations need a deep insight into consumer behaviour and its changing patterns in order to survive in the market place. Large organizations have highly trained individuals recruited to collect information about the consumers constantly changing needs and trends so that they can get focused on what is required by consumer; so that they can cater those needs as accurately and efficiently as possible . Harrods is one of the worlds most well-known department stores situated on Brampton Road in Knightsbridge, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England; It was established in 1849 as a small grocery store with only two helpers. Today, it offers its customers with everything from food to fashion, furniture to sportswear plus 20 in-store restaurants serving every kind of cuisine imaginable from pizza to sushi. Services range from piano tuning to fitting saddles. Must-see sights include the Food Halls, the Egyptian Hall and the Pet Department. (Visit London) Harrods after tenure of great success has lately seen a falling trend in its sales. Harrods, therefore, has further studied the behaviour of its consumers more closely in order to know the reasons of this unfortunate decline in sales. This report contains an analysis of this study, external influences and how they can be used positively to augment the sales; It mentions the strategies Harrods can use in order to get the same honourable and prestigious position back in the marketplace. Task 1: Impact of External Influences An insight into the behaviour of consumers at Harrods Harrods is a high end departmental store which offers a great range of products and services. Once opened as a small grocery shop has now matured to become a good example for posh and glamorous shopping, complementing itself on its motto Omnia Omnibus Ubique which means that All things, for all people, everywhere. It is famous about Harrods that you can buy anything you can name at Harrods, from a hair pin to furniture. (go there guide) Consumer behaviour is a study of when, how and where people buy or do not buy certain products or services. When buying a product, consumers usually go through several stages which can be named as need recognition, information search, evaluation of different purchase options, purchase decision and post purchase behaviour e.g. a need arise when you see your current television set is out dated and pretty old fashion or may be its broken. You decide that you want a new television and then start looking for different options transferring yourself to the next stage and you start looking for which television to buy and from which place; this is the stage when Harrods should come in the mind of a consumer. Then a consumer evaluates between different available options which Harrods has advantage of providing consumer all under one roof and then finally he buys a product. (East, 2008) Harrods is considered a glamorous shopping place. Though nearly everything is available at Harrods but the target market segment that Harrods focuses on is the upper class. This is the market segment the management at Harrods keeps in mind while carrying out its marketing activities. People visiting Harrods may belong to any age group but majority of them belong to the social class A and expect a service that is up to the mark. They expect that the product available at Harrods would belong to the highest of the qualities available. Marketers define four types of buying behaviours and it is based on the type of products that the consumer intends to buy. All four types of buying behaviors can be witnessed in the consumers at Harrods as a vast range of products are available at Harrods. Complex buying behaviour This where the person purchases a high value brand and inquires about a lot of information before the purchase is made. This may be when a consumer is buying a very expensive outfit of Paul Smith Black at Harrods Habitual buying behaviour This is when somebody purchases a product out of routine e.g. a daily newspaper, sugar or salt. This is applicable for a consumer buying grocery from the grocery section Variety seeking buying behaviour It is when the person likes to shop around and try out with different products. Some consumers at Harrods do not have the particular brand in mind beforehand when they shop for any product so they experiment different brands. Dissonance reducing buying behaviour This is the type of behaviour when buyer is extremely concerned with the purchase of the product, because the purchase is expensive or occasional. An example could be buying expensive furniture at Harrods. (Micheal.R.Solomon, 2005) The management at Harrods needs to keep all these consumer behaviour theories like what makes consumer buy a product, what kind of behaviours can they adopt while shopping at Harrods in mind and factors can cause a change in consumer buying patterns in mind while they take their management decisions. They specially need to be aware of the expectations of their consumers and what exactly they want from Harrods in order to improve and find the loop holes which might be leading to a fall in sales. External Factors may influence Buying Behaviour Consumer behaviour can be affected by various factors that may be highly uncontrollable by marketers. These external factors may include the opinion of your friends, the values and the way you are brought up, the media, the culture, certain groups you interact with etc. All of these external factors are mentioned in details with respect to the consumers of Harrods as follows: Culture Culture does influence consumer behaviour; culture is defined as our attitudes and beliefs. The point that we need to know here is the way these attitudes and beliefs are developed. As a person matures, a child is influenced by his parents, siblings and other family members who may educate them about rights and wrongs. They learn about their religion and culture, which helps them develop these opinions, attitudes and beliefs.. (Micheal.R.Solomon, 2005) Geographical Culture Harrods needs to understand the culture of people living in London. The way they are brought up and what their values are. Do people living in London like to go to glamorous shopping places like Harrods? Are they comfortable shopping at such high end places? What are their buying trends and do they prefer large shopping places over small ones? Can people living there afford to buy expensive or do they usually spend this much on average? All these questions need to be answered in order understand the psyche of consumers living in London and cater them according to their needs. If we go back into history, UK is a class based society and some remains of such behaviour are still existent. People who belong to a high class do like to show off and go to high end places but as time is passing this frame of mind is changing. This change of mind may be one of the factors leading to fall in demand for Harrods. Subculture Subcultures can be defined as members that possess beliefs, values and customs that set them apart from other members of the same society. There can be nationality, ethnic, racial, geographical or religious sub cultures. People belonging to various parts of the world and belonging to various sets of beliefs and norms live in London, which leads a complex set of people who may have different beliefs and norms mixed up. Understanding and catering to all of them is not very realistic but Harrods needs have knowledge regarding major subcultures so that its products are designed according to it and their do not hurt anyones beliefs and norms. (Leon G Schiffman, 1997) Global Culture In order to make sure that the products it is offering is in line with the Global culture, Harrods needs to study the global trends of buying behaviour as well. Generally people around the globe have started preferring large shopping malls over small specific buying areas. This facilitates a consumer in a way that all the products are available under one roof. As people are getting more and busier with their work lives, this saves time. Moreover the world is also moving towards better quality products and services. Designer clothes and fashion apparel are getting popular. Brands are getting global. This trend of customers goes in favour of Harrods. Multinationals have the brought the consumer base to one platform which in a way has helped marketers to understand complex behaviours. (my library) Reference Groups Reference group is an actual or imaginary individual or group concealed of having significant relevance upon an individuals evaluations, aspirations and behaviour. Marketers have seen that reference groups can strongly influence buying behaviours. Reference groups are particular set of people some people may look up towards to that have an impact on consumer behaviour. So they can be only a band like the Savage Garden or your direct family members. Marketers have grouped reference groups into classes to comprehend the way the influence more clearly. (Micheal.R.Solomon, 2005) Types of Reference Groups Normative: Some group and individuals are more powerful than others and affect a broader range of consumption decisions. A very good example would be family. Your upbringing really has a strong influence on your likes and dislikes, definitions of right and wrong. Family values and practices usually do not change and develop basic standards of behavior. If a family is used shop from department stores rather than individuals outlets or it may be particularly Harrods then this practice may be passed on to further generations as well and this how the cycle goes on. (M.Khan, 2007) Comparative: These are the people you compare yourself to and can relate to e.g. friends, neighbors or a club you are a member of. Some of these may be ones you aspire and want to imitate. A person may start shopping from Harrods because a friend of his shops from Harrods and he likes it very much and recommended him as well. (M.Khan, 2007) Reference groups can further be divided into direct and indirect reference groups: direct are the ones you have contact in person with and indirect may be the ones you may not have direct contact with such as celebrities. (Balythe, 2008) Marketers cannot directly manipulate your direct reference groups or use them for their benefits but indirect reference groups can easily be used by marketers. Harrods needs to study about its consumers reference groups and use them in its favour. If Harrods serves its existing consumers really well they will automatically prove to be a resourceful reference group for some potential consumers. They can also use celebrity endorsements referent powers. (Wagner, 2003) Opinion leader Opinion leaders are the people who have greater knowledge about a certain thing than a lay man so you respect their views and that may influence consumer behaviour. Most of the times it would really affect the behaviour if the thing to buy is a highly technological product, may be a hi-tech computer and the opinion leader in that case may be a computer expert. (CL Tyagi, 2004) Economic Environment Economic environment has a great influence on buying behaviour. People usually spend more during good economic times and during an economic boom and likewise less during recessions. Lately aggregate demand around the globe felt due to global recession. People were out of jobs and businesses were heading towards a downfall which left people with less disposable incomes on hand to spend. This may also be one of the factors leading to Harrods reduced sales. (Angus Deaton, 1980) Competition Competition is another factor which influences the consumer behavior. This provides consumers with more options available so they start comparing between the available options and selects the one which benefits them the most. Harrods has a few potential competitors mentioned below: Selfridges There is store called Selfridges Co. It is also one of the largest areas in the world with 540,000 sq.ft of selling area. It is located on the Oxford Street which is a prime posh location. Like Harrods, it is also famous among consumers for providing a large range of products and services. The difference between Harrods and Selfridges could be that Selfridges is more focused towards entertainment as it has 15 bars, cafes and restaurants inside the area. It has two more smaller department stores, one in Manchester and the other in (business week) Marks and Spencer Another strong competition would be Marks and Spencer (MS). It is a British retail chain and it has 330 department stores and over 340 food location all over UK. It does not operate in UK only but has over 300 locations in countries including Indonesia, South Korea, India and China. The factor that differentiates M S from Harrods is that it core range consists of mid-priced household items, fashion apparel and other products whereas Harrods is designed for the best or may be for everything rather a narrowed specific price range. M S has been in this market for more than 100 years and has been ranked as the no. 1 supplier of women wear. Moreover, the company makes 90% of its sales in its home country which certainly is UK. It can give Harrods a tough competition if Harrods get even a little bit lenient in its services (business week) Fortnum Mason This is 300 year old department store. It is very famous for its food which includes jams, teas, and sauces. It also supplies Queen with annual Christmas puddings. It has five restaurants and though it generates most of its sales from food but it also sells gifts, luggage, household products, cosmetics etc. Though its product range and the area of focus are not exactly same as Harrods but it can be counted as a competition and was mentioned by a number of consumers at Harrods. (business week) Task 2: Recommended Positioning Strategy Perception A study of human perception can also help marketers to understand the consumer behaviour. Perception is the process by which people select, organize and interpret their sensations; where sensation is how are sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers) to basic stimuli such as light, colour, sound, odor and texture. Like a computer system human mind also processes the information in order to perceive things. (Martin E Evans, 2009) This is the age of sensory marketing. Marketers make use of impact of sensations on consumers product experiences. They use vision, hearing, touch and taste in order to create an image of the brand in the minds of the consumer to create a competitive advantage. Marketers try and create brands unique association with the sensation. (Hawyer, 2008) Harrods may use a certain trade dress which is colour combination an organization uses so frequently that consumers start associating that brand with that colour combination. Whenever they see that colour combination around their mind recalls the brand in sub-consciousness. This is how marketers create an image that can last very long in the minds of the consumers through our sensations; as consumers start associating those brands to different things. Consumers perception about the brand consists of both its functional attributes as well as the symbolic attitudes. Functional attitudes may include its price; its features etc. and symbolic may include its image. Marketers have discovered that consumers evaluation of a certain product is more dependent on what it means rather than what it does. This meaning has more to do with products market position and it may be more to do with our expectations of the product as communicated by its colour, packaging and styling rather than the product itself. (Kathy Niel, 2007) Therefore, Harrods should use these tools of sensation in order to create an image of Harrods that consumers cannot forget; an image that stays in the minds. It should create a certain sensation so that consumers can associate the brand with that sensation. This automatically attracts a consumer towards a brand as it creates a certain impact in the minds of the consumers that lasts for very longer periods of time. Attitude Attitude is actually a learned behaviour. They may be favourable and unfavourable attitude for a product or a service. Marketers say that attitudes have the quality of motivation, they can lead consumer towards certain behaviour or can even stop him from doing so. Harrods should try and develop a positive attitude about itself in the minds of the consumers. (Micheal.R.Solomon, 2005) Harrods have had certain issues which may lead to a negative attitude. Harrods in order to maintain its glamorous image threw a lady out from the store. Eilene Kadden, from California, was ejected from the store because she did not have the right image; she was too fat. Such kinds of incidents adversely affect the image of the brand and such incidents can lead to negative attitudes for the brand in the minds of the consumers. Harrods should respect its customers irrespective of race, colour, ethnicity and physical attributes of a person. Tri-Component Attitude Model According to this model attitude consists of three components which are cognitive, affective and conative components. (Micheal.R.Solomon, 2005) The cognitive component consists of persons cognitions i.e. his knowledge and perception about the brand. This may be formed by a combination direct exposure and from other sources. Harrods should create a positive impression in the minds of the consumers through its image, service and behaviour. The affective component is more about the feeling of the consumer. How related and emotionally attached he is to the brand. A family might be shopping from Harrods from last three generations and may develop an emotional attachment to the store. These emotions can further affect the actions of the consumers. They van be negative as well. The Conative component deals with the actual behaviour of the consumer, it is also called the consumers intention to buy. This model can help Harrods to develop a positive attitude among its current and targeted consumers. Harrods should try to factually as well emotionally create a positive feeling about the brand. Self Self-concept is the beliefs that customer holds about himself. It can be positive as well as negative. At times you feel that a part of you is more positive. People buy products which they can relate to themselves. What is the reason that social class A is the major consumer at Harrods? It is that all the products are designed keeping the social class as a target market segment and so they can relate to it. Positioning Strategy This is the way a brand portrays itself and places itself in the minds of the consumers. Positioning a brand is a very crucial task. This is what can either make a brand or break a brand. When a marketer targets a certain market segments, it intends to different itself from the other brands through its competitive advantage. How to Position When a brand is to position itself, the very first step when a business decides to enter the market to describe the market in which the brand is to enter and to struggle. The market where Harrods is to compete is London. It is posh area where people spend money to avail highest quality products and services. The next step would be to collect information from the relevant consumers about what perception do they have regarding the competing brands in the market. Harrods needs to understand what attributes regarding the shopping stores are most favourable in the minds of the consumers. It needs a complete knowledge about the likes, dislikes, preferences and frame of mind of the relevant consumers it intends to target. It needs to determine the share of mind of all the competing brands which are mentioned above including Selfridges, Marks and Spencer, Fortnum and Masom. It needs to rank the competitors and the attributes which would be hard to compete. At the end it needs to position its elf using the combination of the preferable attributes and attributes of the brand itself to capture a territory in the minds of the consumer. Era of Marketing This is the age of Marketing. Marketing a brand is becoming more important than the product itself. The Marketers study the market in detail, segment the market into different segments based on demographics and psychographics and then select the most profitable segment as the targeted segment. All the products and services are then designed keeping that particular segment in mind. All the decisions are also taken in accordance to that particular targeted segment. (Gerit Antonides, 1998) Harrods instead of taking decsions keeping the products and services in mind, needs to take decisions keeping the preferences of targeted consumers in mind. If a certain brand in preffered and renowned in US but people in UK prefer other brands over it which may even be of slightly lower quality, opting for that brand of better quality would not be sensible decision. Harrods has taken some bad decesions in the past to save its glamorous image; it has kept a range of brands which are not even liked by most of the people in London which is a failure for Harrods to understand the psyche of its consumers. Suitable Positiong Strategy for Harrods The three major positioning concepts known among the marketers and they are functional, symbolic and experiential position. Functional position is when the firm shows itself as the solution to problems. It promotes the benefits that can provide and gain a favourable position. Symbolic postioning is when a organization uses its image, belongingness and egoistic image which provides the comsumers with social meaningfulness. This is the kind of positioning suitable for an organization like Harrods and this is what it has been doing in the past as well but a certain change is needed to make this symbolic position better. These changings would be mentioned further in the report. Experiential position is when an oraganization makes use of the consumers sensory and cognitive stimulation and the concepts of perception to create an image in the minds of the consumers that consumers can relate to. Harrods Current Positioning Harrods has positioned itself as a high-end, glamorous, luxurious and high end department store. It has not positioned itself as a department store but as an unforgettable experience. Harrods has a reputation for excellence and a motto Everything for Everybody Everywhere. Consumers know it as a place where you can buy everything. From sugar and potatoes to luxurious cars, everything is available at the Harrods. The major component or competitive advantage that Harrods has used is its grand image and variety. Repositioning Harrods Some of the Harrods policies to maintain its high end image has in turn adversely affecting its reputation. The incidents of forcing people out due to their physical appearance and strict dress code rules make customers inconvenient and lead to a negative impression. Harrods need to add a component of humbleness in its positioning statement. The feeling that one gets when he hears about Harrods is of arrogance and attitude. A tinge of humbleness needs to be added to the image in order to create a positive impression. Harrods should try and create an image of an environment friendly organization. People once protested against Harrods selling animal fur. Such kind of incidents would not happen if you have you have a complete knowledge about youre the culture and values of targeted consumers and people around. Harrods should encourage the brands operating inside the store to promote green environment and produce as many environment friendly products as they can and take steps for protecting the environment from every kind of pollution. This will lead to a responsible image about in Harrods in the minds of the consumers which will definitely in turn improve the sales. Online and Offline Positioning Messages As mentioned under the heading of repositioning Harrods, Harrods needs to promote a tinge of humbleness with its glamorous image. The current motto used by Harrods is Everything for Everybody Everywhere and All things, for all people, everywhere which portrays that literally everything is available at Harrods. Messages like Everything that you need because we care! would promote an image of care and responsibility on part of the organization. This would portray that the organization is not selfish about its own benefits only. The attitude of the employees in the store will automatically depict the position and set a mark in the minds of the consumers. Moreover for offline positioning, Harrods can launch campaigns for environment protection. It can sponsor such activities in order to create an impact and show that it actually cares and contributing towards the society. Conclusion Harrods is a very famous and well known brand. It has successfully achieved its targets and continuously improved and expanded over the years. Its management worked efficiently to satisfy the needs of its consumers. It was clear and focused on the segment it was targeting and therefore tailored its products accordingly. Due to some external factors and some of the bad decisions that Harrods took declined its sales. The image that Harrods was enjoying is slightly damaged but its not late to make for the mistakes in the past. Moreover, every firm needs to innovate and re-position itself according to changing environment. Harrods in order to earn its position back needs to make slight changes in its positioning. It should get more humble towards its customers and promote environmentally friendly products. Task 3: Individual Critical Reflection on Learning Outcomes Critical Reflection on Learning Outcomes Before the start of the module, I was not sure of whether it will further enhance my learning or not. The theories I was to expected to apply in the module were the ones I had already studied several times so I was not looking forward to any further new learning and experience. As I started working on the module and started gathering information about Harrods, I realized that my perception about the module was entirely wrong. Though I didn.t learn anything new in the module but it gave me an opportunity to apply what I have learned in a real life situation. All the concepts and course material that I studied in the course was practically applied to solve the given problem of reduced sales. Moreover, while I was studying for the course I had an impression that most of the concepts mentioned in the course books are only for theoretical purposes and are not used or helpful to the firms in real life situations. My opinion was proven wrong while I working on the module as I saw that firms do use these concepts and they do help them in understanding the behaviour of consumers which is critical for their success. This module was a great experience. Though collecting information and analysis was a little tough and tiresome but it was worth it. The data collection on the external factors influencing the consumer behavior was really difficult; classifying it and coming up with useful results and conclusions was even more troublesome. This module specifically enhanced my analytical skills and improved my confidence of practically applying theoretical knowledge. References Angus Deaton, J. M. (1980). Economics and consumer behaviour. Balythe, J. (2008). Consumer Behaviour. business week. (n.d.). Retrieved august 27, 2010, from business week: http://investing.businessweek.com/research CL Tyagi, A. K. (2004). Consumer Behaviour. East, R. (2008). Consumer Behaviour. Gerit Antonides, W. F. (1998). Consumer Behaviour. go there guide. (n.d.). Retrieved august 2010, 28, from go there guide: http://www.gothereguide.com Hawyer, W. D. (2008). Consumer Behaviour. Kathy Niel, S. P. (2007). Consumer Behaviour Implications for marketing strategy. Leon G Schiffman, H. H. (1997). consumer behaviour. M.Khan. (2007). Consumer Behaviour. Martin E Evans, G. F. (2009). Consumer Behaviour . Micheal.R.Solomon. (2005). Consumer Behaviour: buying, having, being (8th ed.). my library. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2010, from my library: http://www.accessmylibrary.com Visit London. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2010, from Visit London: http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/ Wagner, S. (2003). Understanding Green Consumer Behaviour.

Citigroup Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction The Name of the company which I choose, is Citigroup. I’ve been interested in the company for a very long time. Since the day I first met my brother in-law eight years ago, I’ve been at awe in regards to the sophisticated manor in which employees carry themselves and the company name as a badge of pride and accomplishment. When I first entered High School, I instantly became an honors student and attained the honor of being directly involved with the community based activities of Soloman Smith Barney, because of my direct involvement with many employees of the company, I learned that Citigroup would be the best place for me to build a career upon matriculation from college. Last Summer when I graduated from High School, I was given an internship in the company, continuing my networking exposure. All summer interns were given a complementary breakfast with Sanford I. Weill, but myself and a few other Seniors from my former High School were treated to a private lunch with Mr. Weill, I would say it was as a direct result of that lunch my appetite for knowledge of the company grew. Framework Of the Business Citigroup did not begin as one single entity, but rather as many smaller companies, which would later become part of larger, more efficient corporation, through mergers and acquisitions. The main symbol of the company, the red umbrella, represents a company by the name of travelers, which was founded in 1864, â€Å"when a group of Hartford businessmen each contributed $200,000 as capital stock in order to establish this new insurance enterprise.† As a symbol of insurance protection, the umbrella became associated with The Travelers in 1960, as protection against â€Å"a rainy day.† Once Travelers Group merged with Citicorp in 1998 to form Citigroup Inc., the new company retained the red umbrella as its logo. In the investments and securities market, Citigroup holds the names of two legendary brokerage firms, Soloman Brothers and Smith Barney. Smith Barney dates back to nineteenth century Philadelphia, where a young broker, Charles Barney, founded his firm in 1873 and a young investment banker, Edward B. Smith, started his in 1892. These pioneers of the American securities industry helped make Wall Street the world's financial capital. In 1938 Charles D. Barney & Co. and Edward B. Smith & Co. merge, forming Smith Barney & Co. In 1910 Arthur, ... ...s the company’s CEO of Asset Management. Human Resources Key skills needed to accomplish the firms many missions, include, the ability to reason and think progressively. After a few encounters with various staff members within the same department but all who graduated college with contrasting majors, I began to wonder how it was that such different individuals could possibly work in the same department, then I realized that they all shared the same common ability of thinking progressively and reasoning but, the manor in which they reasoned would differ from individual to individual. From the managers which I spoke to at the company, their subordinates appear to be more than just instruments by which to accomplish a desired task, but rather possessing a symbiotic relationship between manager and subordinate. Each manager came to realization that the company’s goals could not be met without the workers, and the workers realized that both their financial and professional needs could not be met without devotion to the company. When speaking to a manager or low leveled worker, one would believe that you were speaking to the Chairman based on the level of conviction within their words.

Tienanmen Square: Where was the Violence? :: essays research papers

Were civilian casualties more extensive inside or outside of Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989? A) Plan of Investigation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bloodshed at Tiananmen Square in Beijing shocked the world. As a result of large-scale Chinese cover-up the public knew little about the deaths that occurred on the morning of June 4th 1989. The aim of this investigation is to find out where the casualties were most extensive. The information needed to answer this question would not be provided for 11 years after which documents began to surface helping explain the unknown tragedy. U.S. government documents surrounding the event were finally declassified. But even more importantly a collection of Chinese documents known as The Tiananmen Papers were leaked out of China. The research for this investigation comes from these two sets of documents. By analyzing both the US and China accounts, similarities and inconstancies will be identified and examined in an effort to find the most plausible answer. B) Summary of Evidence 1. On the Brink On the night of June 3rd, 1989 the communist nation China was on the brink of collapse. For months the capital city was saturated with millions of pro-democracy demonstrators. Students, intellectuals, and civilians had set up their democratic stronghold in the symbolic center of the country, Tiananmen Square. The overwhelming animosity against the communist party had shut down the nation, and embarrassed its leaders. The senior members of the Chinese politburo demanded that this uprising be subdued and disbanded. After months of fruitless efforts to resolve the matter peacefully the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was dispatched to clear Tiananmen Square and to put an end to the ever expanding trouble. The soldiers were instructed to be extremely disciplined, opening fire as the last resort (Liang, 370.) Additionally no bloodshed would be allowed in the Square itself because of its important symbolism. 2. To the Square The United States first received news about the violence in Beijing in a message from the US embassy in Beijing on the night of June 3rd 1989. The document reported that the PLA was using violent force to remove protestors as they moved on Tiananmen Square. Chinese tanks, APCs, trucks, and soldiers had met sizable civilian resistance. Thousands of protestors blockaded the PLA pelting the army with rocks, bottles, and molotov cocktails (Evans, Document 12.) Some proceeded to overturn and destroy military vehicles. Soldiers using automatic weapons fired into the mass of protestors. Demonstrators fell back slowly, continuing to fight for seven hours.

Leadership Theories/ Approaches Essay

As individuals, all seek to improve their personal, social and professional roles. As organizations, they seek people able to guide others and maximize performance. One of the thoughts that come to people on this is to achieve Leadership but to be able to do it, it is imperative to understand its meaning, its strengths, its weaknesses and all concepts that may help individuals and organizations to approach it in their modern world. Thanks to these needs, many researchers have been looking for answers and ways to represent what is leadership significance. The purpose of this essay is to analyze and discuss two theories/approaches of leadership, in order to gain a better understanding. Every individual experiments the meaning of leadership (in family, school, playground, politics, professional work, among others). Some studies present leadership as a trait or behavior and some others from an information perspective or relational position and to be studied qualitative and quantitative m ethods have been applied in varied contexts (Northouse, 2009). Behave as a leader determinates success in individual ´s careers and outcome in organizations, in other words leadership behavior leads in effectiveness (Lussier and Achua, 2009). Theorist agreed that the perspective or how leadership is interpreted can be divided in two groups: Classical and contemporary theoretical approaches. To focus in modern views could mean to pass over the classical views such as the traits approach, behavior or style approach and the situational approach which are often condemned because according to some authors, it does not cover the whole reality (Winkler, 2009).To discuss this point one of the classics views of leadership as the situational approach is and one modern approach as transformational approach will be developed. Classical approaches undertake just one directional relation between leaders and followers where leaders have particular trait that differentiate them from those who follow them while most of the contemporaries approach consider it a s an interaction process (Winkler, 2009). Classical theories describe characteristics and behavior of leaders (Rost, 1991), opposite of modern approaches which seem it as a complex interaction (Yuki, 2006). Situational approach is one of the most known and diverse approaches of leadership, developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1969) based on Reddin ´s (1967). This approach says that different kinds of leadership are required for each different situation which can be inferred as the ability of adaptability to different environments to be an effective leader. Situational approach demands that there are a directive and supportive dimensions which compose it and they are highly important to be applied fittingly to the situation involved. In order to determinate what is required a leader, must understand the scenario and evaluate the employees to identify their skills to perform a task given and after the analysis to choose the level of being directive and supportive (Northouse, 2009). There are cases when one is more suitable than the other. Everything depends on the situation. In other words it means that a leader is called to match their style to the skills of their employees. The most effective leader is who match her or his own style to employees ‘needs. Blanchard (1985) and Blanchard et al (1985) provided a model of situational approaches which was based on the previous model described by Hersey and Blanchard (1969. Situational Leadership. Taken from Blanchard et all (1985). To better understanding the dynamics of situational approach can be divided into two: Leadership styles and Development level of subordinates (Northouse, 2009). The former makes reference to the behavior pattern of a person who seeks influencing others, including the directive or task oriented behavior and the supportive or relationship oriented behavior. According to the graphic below the leadership styles can be discriminated in 4 categories: supportive, coaching, directive and delegating style which is described under each one depending on the levels of directive or supportive behavior assumed. Development levels calls the level of commitment from the employees. It goes from low to high level depending on the interest and confidence on the employees in their work. To mention some of the strengths of the situational approach it is convenient to mention that it give emphasis to the leader flexibility (Graeff, 1983). Leaders need to know their subordinate ´s aims and accommodate to them. Employees do not act or react in the same way for all tasks provided, they distinguish between each one and their behavior is different in each situation, so leaders (Northouse, 2009). Least but not less, situational leadership reminds leaders to treat each subordinate different, according to the task (Fernandez and Vecchio, 1997). On the other hand, there is not enough evidence of research in this field to maintain the theoretical basis (Fernandez and Vecchio, 1997). When looking at Blanchard’s model there is kind of ambiguity because there is not clear relation or combination between commitment and competence in subordinates (Graeff, 1997). To determinate the validity of the relationship established by Hersey and Blanchard ´s model, Vecchio (1987) carried out a test with more of 300 hundred schools and found that teacher new hired whit high structured styles leadership were performing better while experienced teachers were indifferent to the leadership style of the principal (Northouse, 2009). Even when criticized this approach has still some application areas such as consulting because of its easy conceptualization and application. Situational leadership for instance can be applied in the first stage of a project when the conception of the idea is important (Northouse, 2009). To help the reader to understand more about situational approach there are two situations described Situation 1 Budget restrictions were set in the department and a project must be consolidated. The manager thinks to pass this responsibility to an employee who is highly capable and with so much experience. This employee is well known and respected by most if the rest of the staff (Adapted from Northouse (2009)). In this particular situation which actually is faced frequently by organizations, the style of the manager or leader which was assumed is the â€Å"delegating style† when through delegating the accomplishment of the task to the employee is performing a low directive level and low supportive level when is asking the employee to be in charge and because of the capabilities of the employee is allowing them to decide how to do it. Situation 2 Someone was recently named head of a department in a new regional office. When knowing the staff, noticed that one of the experienced employees do not follow the tasks assigned who is new and very enthusiastic and wants to get ahead in the organization (Adapted from Northouse (2009)). . This case describes a very often situation where organizations find some enthusiastic employees who fail following tasks. Because of the lack of experience of the employee but the high motivations to succeed, the most suitable leadership style would be â€Å"Directing†. The employee requires to be told about the specifications of each task of the job and also the performance needs to be monitored. A more contemporary approach is the transformational leadership which stands for creation of a valuable change positive to followers. A transformational leader focuses on transforming others, helping each other to motivate people and maximize the performance of individuals. In particular this leadership approach was created to provide a framework that stop leaders of adopting the last leader style of the day found in any book store. In the nature of transformational leadership consciousness is inherent and also the ability to raise consciousness in others (Hacker and Roberts, 2003). The skills aimed are managerial and leadership and certainness of when call one style on a particular situation (Hacker and Roberts, 2003). Transformational leaders motivate their followers to do more than what they think is possible to do achieving better performances (Bass, 1998). Leaders applied one or more of the four components of the transformational leadership. According to Bass and Avolio (1990) leaders who achieved high performance results, employ the four components: charismatics or idealized influence, Inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and Individualized consideration. The former is when followers identify the leader as an example and make it a model. Those leaders obtain the best of the followers because they gain their trust and respect. The inspirational leader, encourage their followers in a positive way and show them security when present their future plans, stimulating people to achieve high performance levels (Bass, 1985). When they stimulate the intellect of their followers, they enhance their creativity and persuade them to re think the ideas to solve a problem. The later, individualized consideration is applied when leaders diagnostic the needs and characteristics of their followers and care about each individual. Into a changing environment, the best leaders are those who are able to create consciousness in their followers about what they do (Bass, 1987). This kind of leadership happens when leaders get their followers highly compromised with their objective into an organization, make then ware of their needs of personal growth, development and achievement of goals, and when motivate them to work well for the general benefit of the organization and not just the personal benefit. An organization having conscious relationships with purpose and direction builds a strong environment to insert radical change (Hacker and Roberts, 2003). Relational transformation and consciousness. Taken from Hacker and Roberts (2003) To illustrate transformational results into an organization the example of leadership in St. Charles medical system, Bend, Oregon (Adapted from Hacker and Roberts, 2003) will be used. Mr. Jim Lussier Leadership position: CEO Organization: St. Charles medical system, Bend, Oregon Transformational results: In 1989, Jim Lussier projected to transform St. Charles Medical Center (SCMC) Jim ´s vision charmed people over the world, resulting in varied questioning about existing hypotheses. The innovative results of reduced costs, reduced lengths of stay, greater patient satisfaction, award-winning service and a long waiting list of nurses seeking being employed, reveal the skills of leader transformation and structuring an organization of meaning. SCMC proved that real caring can coming back to the medical system which for many patients is currently a non-existing service. And for many doctors, nurses and other caregivers they system where they practice is not alive. SCMC under Jim ´s leadership has evidenced something unique that other medical services do not have. To construct his successful approach, Jim employed over 250 task forces to analyze which changes must be done. Through a process of five years Jim and his team redefined the healthcare delivered service, pointing that the spirit of love and compassion must be enhanced to technology and intellect in curing the body. Every process and procedure was reengineered and the healthcare givers were trained in patient-relationship basis, the staff was encouraged to innovate and be creative. When Jim Lussier was asked: How did you build your vision and involve others in? He commented that he created his vision in a personal level and with his mind clear and with the perception of their job as creation of continuum services in order to improve health. He was positive convinced that what they needed were people with a mission in their lives to work with them. Jim ´s statement evidences what the transformational leadership seeks in a leader, it is to get people clear in their minds about his projections and through that get followers that want to take part and improve themselves offering their best. After considering both approaches the author of this essay establishes that even when both were attempted in different times, both are the answers that at their moments were given by the researchers that were interested in improve the performance of organizations. The classical approach discussed which was the situational leadership by its moment found that the style of leaders which Blanchard et al (1985) characterized in four styles (Supporting, Directing, Coaching and delegating) according to the levels of direction and support were related to the commitment and knowledge of subordinates. How the leader behaves influences their subordinates and generates the outcomes into an organization. In a more contemporary scenario where it is recognized that changes happen all the time the requirements of any organizations are based on leaders able to respond to them maximizing the outputs and following the recognition of humans as essential element. So that, leaders were call to establish closer relationships with their teams, to study them, identify their needs and inspire them to perform a greater levels. A leader in the current scenario of business needs to be highly motivator and creative to get others involved in his/her visions. In the author ´s view the characteristics, skill, behavior, among others of a leader are closely related to the business environment where leadership has place. The must be adjusted to the needs and vision of the organization where they exercise it and always procuring to elevates the performance of individuals, gaining their respect, trust, and common commitment. What the author understands as leadership is that it is how individuals obtain enhance employees with organization ´s vision behaving as every particular situation requires, doing it efficiently (do things right) and effectively (doing the right thing). Every individual desiring to be a leader must understand their environment and establish consolidated strategies in order to performance as one. Everyone conscious of themselves, capable of identify their weaknesses and strengths can behave as a leader. REFERENCES Aaker, D.A., Joachimsthaler, E., 2005. Liderazgo de Marca. Deusto Bass, Bernard M. (1981); â€Å"Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory and Research†. New York: Free Press Bass, B.M., 1998. Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact. Routledge. Bass, B.M., Avolio, B.J., 1994. Improving Organizational Effectiveness through Transformational Leadership. SAGE Hacker, S. & Roberts, T., 2003. Transformational Leadership: Creating Organizations of Meaning. ASQ Quality Press. Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H (1988). Management of organizational behavior: Utilizing human resources (6th. Ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Lussier, R.N., Achua, C.F., 2009. Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. Cengage Learning. Northouse, P.G., 2009. Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE. Reddin, W. J. (1967, April). The 3-D management style theory. Training and development Journal, pp 8 -17 Vecchio, R.P (1987). Situational leadership theory: An examination of a prescriptive theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72(3), 444-451 Winkler, I., 2009. Contemporary Leadership Theories: Enhancing the Understanding of the Complexity, Subjectivity and Dynamic of Leadership. Springer.