TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ANALYSIS

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ANALYSIS Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right thing Peter F. Drucker A leader is a person who guides others toward a common goal, showing the way by example, and creating an environment in which other team members feel actively involved in the entire process. Leadership remains a very important factor to successful organizations. Ensuring that effective leaders are selected, trained and developed is of significance importance to todays organizations. Three major types of organizational leaderships have been presented throughout the years; transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and charismatic leadership. Each type of leadership contains a certain number of attributes which distinguishes it from the others, however many theories converge into the position that each type can be used separately or in conjunction with the others. In transformational leadership the leaders motivate their followers to perform beyond expectations by fostering a climate of trust and by creating and representing an inspiring vision of the future. In charismatic leadership, leaders differ from others by their ability to foster an impression that they and their mission are extraordinary. As such, individuals choose to follow such leaders in management settings not only because of formal authority but out of perceptions of extraordinariness. However in some extent transformational and charismatic leadership are similar and compatible. On the other hand transactional leadership is complementary to the other two types of leadership and is based on an exchange process in which the leader provides rewards in return for the followers effort and performance. In this paper we are going to define what transactional leadership is and then we are going to present the attributed behaviours that transactional leaders have and how these behaviours affect the organizational identification, the organizational commitment, trust and organizational citizenship behaviours of the followers. TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP: All research and studies that have been conducted throughout the years about transactional leadership have accepted the definition given by Bass (1985) that transactional leaders clarify for their followers the followers responsibilities, the expectations the leaders have, the tasks that must be accomplished and the benefits to the self-interests of the followers for compliance. Transactional leaders usually operate within the boundaries of the existing system, emphasize process rather than substance as means of control and are effective in stable and predictable environments. The primary factors of transactional leadership model include contingent reward, management-by-exception and laissez-faire. The leaders, who engage in transactional behaviours, focus mainly on low order construct such as broad performance goals due to the absence of experience which is required in order to focus on higher level organizational visions. In cases when the leaders confront these kinds of situations, they engage in strategic processes so as to find a novel way to encourage their subordinates to work towards that vision. However, in most cases they emphasize on specific goals and performance outcomes such as increase in team productivity and establishment of effective working relationships within the groups. Additionally, transactional leaders expect their followers to have attributes such as commitment to goals, expectancy of goal attainment, expectancy of rewards and need for role clarity. In order to achieve the highest subordinate performance, these leaders use rewards and punishments as tools. For a given performance failure, transactional leaders are likely to make an attribution to lack of goals or lack of expectations of a reward from the side of the follower and therefore they respond with goal setting, instruction and training, work assignment and reward or punishment. Finally, transactional leaders focus on environmental conditions in which they are able to interact with the followers to increase motivation through goal setting, increase action-to-action and outcome-to-outcome expectancies, and influence follower skills and abilities through training. Such conditions may include increasing resources, technology, social support and equipment. However, it is very important to determine whether all the above attributes that transactional leaders possess are adequate enough to affect the followers and increase their performance. EVALUATION OF TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP: There are two ways for an employee to determine if he/she has been treated fairly in his/her job; distributive justice which is related to the fairness of the outcome an employee receives and procedural justice which is related to the fairness of the procedures used to determine those outcomes. Transactional leaders are more likely to motivate and persuade the employees who are concerned about the fairness of the outcome because their relationship with their leaders is based on the rewards they receive in exchange for their efforts. Since one of the main attributes of the transactional leader is to make rewards contingent on performance and specify the outcomes that the individual can expect in exchange for good performance, job satisfaction will be increased when these conditions will be satisfied. On the other hand in environments where procedural justice is the main way to determine the fairness of treatment to subordinates, the leader-employee relationship is outside the economic contract. In that case interpersonally fair treatment is very crucial. However, as we mentioned earlier transactional leaders are based on the exchange procedures to motivate their employees and less on interpersonal relationships. Therefore, in these cases transactional leadership might have no positive effect on job satisfaction. Additionally, transactional leadership directly affects the organizational commitment of the employees. Despite the fact that emotional attachment is the major characteristic of organizational commitment many subordinates consider organizational commitment an important instrument to obtain rewards and recognition. Therefore, leaders who use economic exchanges to appraise good performance are more likely to increase the commitment of their employees. On the other hand transactional leadership does not affect the relationship of trust between the leader and the subordinates. As we mentioned transactional leaders emphasize on specific goals and performance outcomes by requesting from their employees commitment to goals and expectancy of goal attainment. The feedback that they provide to their subordinates for their performance is either a reward or a punishment. This kind of interaction does not affect the feeling of trust from the side of the employees. This can be enhanced by the fact that transactional leaders focus on low order constructs such as broad performance goals and not on organizational visions which require the trust of the subordinates to successfully achieve these visions. Finally, under certain conditions transactional leadership can play an important role in the organizational identification which affects the effectiveness of the company, increases the organizational citizenship behaviours and reduces turnover. As organizational identification we define the perception of belongingness to an organization, of which the person is a member. Since transactional leaders provide the employees with useful information about their roles in the organization and about what is expected of them in their work, they help them to understand what the organization stands for and what it is like to be a typical member of it. However, the effectiveness of this type of leadership will also depend on the subordinates identity level. In cases where the employees are characterized by individual identities, transactional exchanges such as performance evaluations through rewards and punishments will overemphasize the individual contributions against the organizational goals an d therefore will not increase the organizational identification. Therefore, transactional leadership will only have an effect on employees who think and behave in ways that emphasize collaboration with the others. Additionally, despite the fact that transactional leaders provide clarity, direction and sense of security to their employees they are not able to convince employees who experience feelings of stress and anxiety to establish a strong connection with the organizational collective. This can be explained by the fact that transactional leaders do not use inspiration and mentoring to heighten the followers sense of belongingness. IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE ORGANIZATIONS: According to the previous paragraphs, transactional leadership is the type of leadership in which the leaders emphasize in the clarification of roles and task requirements and provide followers with material or psychological rewards contingent on the fulfilment of contractual obligations. In order for the managers to apply this type of leadership in their organizations first they must discuss with their followers what is required and clarify how these outcomes are to be achieved and the reward they will receive in exchange for their satisfactory effort and performance. This can be done by clearly defining the job descriptions of each employee, and the rules regarding work duties and then by using performance appraisals. Therefore, when the leader assigns work to its employee, it is the responsibility of the employee to see that the assigned task is finished on time. If the assigned task is not completed on time or does not have the optimum result then the manager will have the right to punish his/her employee for the failure. But if they accomplish the task in time then the followers will receive the rewards for successfully completing the task. Furthermore, the managers must provide rewards in cases where the followers exceed the requested expectations. Through this policy the transactional leader can increase the job satisfaction and the expected performance of his/her employees. PERSONAL OPINION: As concerns my view I believe that transactional leadership can be potentially applicable and effective only in certain organizational situations. The conditions which favour the emergence of transactional leadership are characterized by stability. In stable predictable environments, organizations tend to be strictly controlled and formalized. Such organizations favour the elaboration of certain rules and regulations and determine specified performance measurement systems and hierarchical distribution. In these environments transactional leaders can emerge and become effective by emphasizing on specific goals, processes and performance outcomes. However, there are conditions that require a leader with characteristics more than those of the transactional leader. In cases when tasks are not analyzable, standard operating procedures are not helpful, and progress cannot be easily measured, employees are likely to be frustrated and discouraged, and transactional leadership might not be applicable. The only way for a leader to motivate its members under such conditions is to infuse their tasks with an ideological meaning and purpose. Additionally, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs transactional leaders do not focus on organizational visions but they stick on the accomplishment of specific goals. Therefore, in situations where the conditions dynamically change it is likely to be difficult for them to provide a feasible solution. For example in cases of crisis where performance goals cannot be easily specified and where leaders cannot link rewards to individual performance, employees tend to follow the person who has a vision, and novel ideas. In that case the leader must be able to establish relationships of trust and respect with its employees in order to inspire them and convince them that he/she is capable of providing inspiring strategic and organizational goals for the future. As a conclusion I believe that a leader must combine the characteristics of transactional leadership with the characteristics which are applied in the other two types of leadership; charismatic and transformational. Therefore, he/she must be able to recognize the conditions that emerge in each situation and try to implement the right type of leadership in this situation so as to proceed with the optimal solution.

Affect of Computers on Society Essay -- essays research papers

Computers and Society The first modern digital computers were developed in the 1940s for military purposes that arose during World War II. These computers filled entire rooms. They took hours to perform complex mathematical operations. In the 1970s, the first personal computers were sold. Fitting on a desktop, they were much faster and more powerful than the computers that had once filled large rooms. Computers were also affordable to individual consumers, making it possible for many people to use them for personal, business, and academic needs. By the mid-1990s, laptop computers capable of millions of calculations per second had been developed. Currently, nearly half of American homes have a personal computer, and businesses have come to rely on computers for nearly every function. Computers are becoming smaller and more powerful than they were. In future, it looks like computers will be used in almost every aspect of people’s lives and we might not even realize how significant this effect might b e. Lots of business owners and just common people are excited and optimistic a... Affect of Computers on Society Essay -- essays research papers Computers and Society The first modern digital computers were developed in the 1940s for military purposes that arose during World War II. These computers filled entire rooms. They took hours to perform complex mathematical operations. In the 1970s, the first personal computers were sold. Fitting on a desktop, they were much faster and more powerful than the computers that had once filled large rooms. Computers were also affordable to individual consumers, making it possible for many people to use them for personal, business, and academic needs. By the mid-1990s, laptop computers capable of millions of calculations per second had been developed. Currently, nearly half of American homes have a personal computer, and businesses have come to rely on computers for nearly every function. Computers are becoming smaller and more powerful than they were. In future, it looks like computers will be used in almost every aspect of people’s lives and we might not even realize how significant this effect might b e. Lots of business owners and just common people are excited and optimistic a...

Life The Courage To Change :: essays research papers

Cruel Intentions, is a film about a young man, Sebastian, and his stepsister, Kathryn, who together do everything in their power, sexual or not, to better their own reputation. They try everything, even if it means ruining someone else’s life, reputation or well being, just to better themselves. They manipulate, use, and belittle every human being possible that comes in the way of their perfect life. Cruel Intentions, a film that uses the setting to produce the irony portrayed at the hand of the characters, also uses this irony and characters actions to contribute to the theme.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting of the film in a high-class society, a society in which only the high-ranking members live. A society in which as you drive down the road each house is bigger than the first. These people live in a society where each child has their own car and not to mention bank account. The people in this society crave competition and seek to be better. This particular setting shows forth the attitudes the characters uphold, that make them believe they upscore others around them. This too in fact portrays the irony of the film. For example, Kathryn believes that if a certain man cannot hold a relationship with her he cannot involve himself with anyone at all. Kathryn sets out to ruin his life and ruin the life of his significant other, getting her to fall in love with her music instructor rather than following her heart. This type of behavior leads the audience to believe that Kathryn uses her ranking and her setting in life to achieve personal happiness. In this fi lm come two morals, first you may not always be set in your ways something good can happen in life something that can change everything. Sebastian, the type of person who sleeps with anyone, does not have the best reputation among the ladies. Although in the plot to ruin the young man’s life Sebastian meets a young girl named Annette and slowly falls in love with her. Not for her body or for his sexual pleasure but for how she made him feel loved and wanted he enjoyed this feeling. Albeit a feeling that makes him confused it turns into a feeling he decides will make his life better. Proving that your are not always set in your ways, good or bad ways. Change occurs with life. The second moral state that what goes around comes around.

The Relationship Between Emergency Management and Higher Education Essa

Emergency management has been in the process of transforming itself into a recognized profession over the past several decades. During the last quarter of the 20th century, training and experience in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters and hazardous incidents were considered the path to becoming an emergency manager; the title was not always there but the responsibilities were shouldered by someone who took responsibility for those functions. Since the late 1990’s, the field of emergency management has expanded to include programs of higher education which have added a much needed third dimension to that progression. What was once considered the domain of civil protection specialists, such as retired military personnel and fire fighters, is now just as likely to be filled by a graduate of a university emergency management (EM) program or one of the intensive credentialing programs offered in the United States. The shift towards the professionalization of emergency management can be credited to that added educational dimension as well as to the concurrent shift from primarily a reactive role, response and recovery, to a proactive role of managing the processes of the whole disaster cycle, i.e. mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. In other words, the emphasis is now on â€Å"management† and not just on the â€Å"emergency† (Britton, 2001, p.46). By addressing the management of the disaster cycle and not focusing on just the emergency, the realm of the emergency manager has expanded to include a diverse yet connected set of skills and knowledge. Implementation of successful mitigations projects for example, require a scientifically sound hazard and vulnerability analysis which should be based on applica... ...0B96C927794AF1031D9395C5C20)~A_new_emergency_management_for_the_new_millennium.pdf/$file/A_new_emergency_management_for_the_new_millennium.pdf Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2007). Principles of Emergency Management Supplement. Accessed at http://training.fema.gov/.../edu/docs/emprinciples/Principles%20of%20Emergency%20Management%20Brochure.doc FEMA Emergency Management Institute. (2012). The College List. Accessed at http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/collegelist/ Goss, K. (2011). Foundation for Higher Education Accreditation in Emergency Management. History and Benefits. Accessed at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/docs/Foundation%20of%20EM%20-%20FFHEA%20-%20History%20and%20Benefits.pdf Schneider, R.O. (2003). A Strategic overview of the â€Å"New† Emergency Manager. Accessed on 4/26/2012 at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/pracpaper.asp

Khaled Hosseini Essay

The story is about Amir and Hassan, a Hazara. They spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories. Assef, a mean and violent older boy, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara. According to Assef, the Hazaras were an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his steel knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, and threatens to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his friends back off, but Assef says he will take revenge. Hassan is a successful â€Å"kite runner† for Amir. He knows where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba’s praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut, it was a great trophy. Hassan then said â€Å"For you, a thousand times over. † Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir’s kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef’s voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. Amir reacts differently because he feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan’s saint-like behavior. Already jealous of Baba’s love for Hassan, Amir worries if Baba knew how bravely Hassan defended Amir’s kite, and how cowardly Amir acted, that Baba’s love for Hassan would grow even more. To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that â€Å"there is no act more wretched than stealing. † Hassan and his father Ali, leave anyway. Hassan’s departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his betrayal, but he still lives with his guilt. Five years later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba, settle in an apartment and Baba works at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets fellow refugee Soraya and Soraya’s father, who was a high-ranked officer in Afghanistan. Baba is diagnosed with cancer but is still capable of granting Amir one last favor: he asks Soraya’s father’s permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and they marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya get to know that they cannot have children. Fifteen years after his wedding, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying from an illness. Rahim Khan asks Amir to come to Pakistan. He tells Amir â€Å"there is a way to be good again. † Amir goes. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba’s house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan’s request. One day the Taliban murdered Hassan, along with his wife. Rahim Khan reveals that Ali was not really Hassan’s father. Hassan was actually the son of Baba, therefore Amir’s half-brother. Rahim Khan tells Amir that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from an orphanage. Amir returns to a Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. He does not find Sohrab where he was supposed to be. The director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official comes often, brings cash and usually takes a girl back with him. Once in a while however, he takes a boy, recently Sohrab. The director tells Amir to go to a soccer match and the man â€Å"who does the speeches† is the man who took Sohrab. Farid manages to secure an appointment with the speaker at his home, by saying that he and Amir have â€Å"personal business† with him. At the house, Amir has his meeting with the man in sunglasses. The man is revealed to be his childhood enemy, Assef. Assef is aware of Amir’s identity from the very beginning, but Amir doesn’t realize who he’s sitting across until Assef starts asking about Ali, Baba and Hassan. Sohrab is being kept at the home where he is made to dance dressed in women’s clothes, and it seems like Assef might have been sexually assaulting him. Assef agrees to release him, but only for a price – a fight with Amir. Amir is the protagonist of the story. He lives with his father, while his mother died when he was born. He has trouble getting attention and love from his father. He is best friends with Hassan, and the story follows him from the time he is a child to adult. He is good at school, but he is a boy who is struggling to get his father to be happy, he feels that he is the disappointment of his father. He characterizes himself as a coward, with little purpose. He changes his personal beliefs twice throughout the history. First time when Hassan is raped, after the event he is not talking with Hassan because of his guilt and gets Hassan kicked out of the house. The second is when he goes back to Afghanistan to retrieve the son of Hassan. As an adult, he proved what he can do, and is presented as a man with so much courage that no one else ever had. Hassan is the son of Ali, who is the servant of Baba. Hassan is a Hazara and he is often discriminated against and oppressed by others. Hassan is brave, loyal and always protects Amir. Since Hassan has not gone to school, he learns to read and write from Ali. He’s doing what he’s told. He is incredibly loyal to Amir. When Amir accuses him of stealing his watch, he said to Baba that he was the one who took it, without Amir asking him about it. Hassan is the character that changes at least throughout the history. Assef is the evil character in this book. He hates Hazaras, which is shown clearly in the book. Therefore, he is looking for Amir. He believes that it is his fault that Hassan lives with him. He is the one that causes problems between the childhood friends Amir and Hassan. We have two turning points in this book. The first comes when Hassan is sexually abused by Assef and his gang. It changes the friendship of Amir and Hassan. Amir stops talking with Hassan because he feels ashamed and feels that he has betrayed Hassan. The second turning point comes when Rahim Khan calls Amir. Amir changes and realizes that he can make things better. He decides to find Sohrab and get him to safety. This is the structure of the story. The story starts with a short introduction where the narrator tells us a little about himself and Kabul. Then we get more excitement and we get the climax. The climax is when Hassan got raped by Assef. Anything could happen at that point because Amir was looking at everything that happened. The excitement fell down after that incident because Hassan and Ali left the house, but it became more and more interesting after that because the Russians invaded Afghanistan and Amir had to leave Afghanistan. That was a big change in the story. Once again we got a climax when Amir stood face to face against Assef. He had a chance to take revenge now. This was our presentation of ‘’The Kite Runner’’. We have told you a little about the plot, the characters, the turning-points, climax, the setting, the themes and the message in the book. I will end the presentation by talking about my opinion about the book. I loved this book. It has a good structure, the content is really good and you don’t want to stop reading. I don’t like to read books, but this book was special. Sources:The Kite Runnerhttps://thekyterunner. wikispaces. com/Dragel%C3%B8peren| http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/t-shirt-logo/marinebla_polo-ralph-lauren-t-shirt_179718_21 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/hvit_lacoste-poloskjorte_175476_3 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/mellembla_tommy-hilfiger-poloshirt_187632_74 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/svart_hugo-boss-orange-poloskjorte_182674_4 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/jeans-bukser/bukser/sand_vito-chino_192150_27 http://karrierestart. no/jobb? jobtype=2&municipality=89&page=5 http://www. free-tv-video-online. me/internet/the_ellen_degeneres_show/season_10. html http://www. handelsportal. no/butikk/iphone-4-4s/iphone-4-deksel-og-etui http://max100. no/index. php? route=product/product&path=20_64_67&product_id=292.

American History Since 1865: Ashford University Course Overview Essay

HIS 204 Week 1 DQ 1 The History of Reconstruction: Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated. HIS 204 Week 1 DQ 2 The Industrial Revolution: Too much corporate influence in politics; the specter of socialist policies undermining capitalism and individual freedoms; a middle class in apparent decline; waves of immigration which threatened to alter the character of American society; new technologies which introduced new social problems as well as offering new opportunities; and a general sense that the common people had lost control of their government: To a sometimes surprising degree, the issues which troubled Americans in the last quarter of the nineteenth century resembled our own. The past often loses much of its vigor and tumult as it becomes codified as history, and it can be difficult at times to understand how truly revolutionary—tranformative, disruptive, unprecedented, and divisive—an event such as the Industrial Revolution was for the people who lived through it. WEEK 2 COMPLETE WORK HIS 204 Week 2 Quiz HIS 204 Week 2 Paper The Progressive Presidents: Progressive Party The Progressive Party was created as a result of President Theodore Roosevelt. They were mostly focused on getting America’s financial system back to usual and making essential modifications. Progressive Party of 1912 had been called a political party in the United Stateand it was created by a split in the Republican Party. This was created by Theodore Roosevelt when he lost the Republican nomination to the in office President William Howard Taft and drew his delegates out of the conference (Mowry, 1946-1960). After that party is become popular as the Bull Moose Party, later than the party’s symbol and later than Roosevelt’s show off that he was just â€Å"as strong as a bull moose†. HIS 204 Week 2 DQ 1 The Progressive Movement 1.What, in your estimation, were the key principles of the Progressive Movement? 2.What were Progressivism’s most significant successes and failings? 3.Can the First World War be regarded as a particularly Progressive conflict, or did it derail the Progressive Movement—or are both of these statements true? 4. HIS 204 Week 2 DQ 2 America’s Age of Imperialism America’s Age of Imperialism was relatively short-lived, and somewhat anomalous in terms of overall US history. For a few brief years in the 1890s, the US aggressively pursued overseas colonies, holding on to those colonies even in the face of indigenous resistance and, unlike its handling of continental territories, offering the new colonies no pathway toward equal statehood and citizenship. The Filipino Insurrection of 1899 to 1902 provides a particularly unsettling episode in terms of how Americans generally like to remember their past. Having driven the Spanish out of the Philippines, the US ignored the Filipinos’ demand for independence, for which they had been fighting against the Spanish for several years, and  instead took possession of the islands, treating the Filipinos as colonial subjects. For several years, Americans and Filipinos fought over the destiny of the Philippines in a brutal conflict which cost the lives of hundreds of thousands—perhaps e ven more than a million—Filipino civilians. WEEK 3 COMPLETE WORK HIS 204 Week 3 Quiz HIS 204 Week 3 Final Paper Preparation (Native American history) Introduction It has been seen that Native American history extents thousands of thousands of years and two continents. This is a versatilenarrative of full of life cultures that in turn generatedcomplicatedfinancialassociations and multifaceted political unions. In the course of it all, an association of First Peoples to the earth has stay behind a fundamentalsubject. HIS 204 Week 3 DQ 1 Normalcy and the New Deal Normalcy and the New Deal When the First World War ended, Americans welcomed what they hoped would be a â€Å"return to normalcy.† The decades that followed, however, are ones which would rarely be described as normal, in comparison to what came before or after. During these decades, a struggle ensued within the American nation regarding how best to define the nation’s essential character, as groups like the revived Ku Klux Klan fought a rearguard action to define nationhood solely in terms of white skin and Protestant religion against secularists, Catholics, flappers, â€Å"New Negroes,† and others who challenged the traditional order. Immediately thereafter, the New Deal implemented in response to the Great Depression threatened to revolutionize the role of the federal government in lives of the American people, in ways which many Americans believed violated the basic tenets of the Constitution—and others believed were not radical enough. Taken together, the decades from 1920 to 1940 may have transformed the American nation more than any other comparable time period. HIS 204 Week 3 DQ 2 The End of Isolation Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated. WEEK 4 COMPLETE WORK HIS 204 Week 4 Quiz HIS 204 Week 4 DQ 1 A Single American Nation When the First World War began, African-American leaders pressed the government to provide black men the right to go to combat to prove their devotion to their country. Hoping that their service would lay a stake on citizenship which the nation would have no choice but to honor, the â€Å"New Negro† of the 1920s adopted a more militant stance toward civil rights. The civil rights struggle envisioned at the time, however, made few concrete gains. Discrimination and disenfranchisement persisted. HIS 204 Week 4 DQ 2 Cold War After the Second World War, the US embarked on what came to be known as the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Although the two sides never fought against each other directly, the Cold War nonetheless erupted into violence at times in places like Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan. As the US grew more activist and interventionist in its foreign policy, the domestic government also grew in power and in its role in the people’s lives. WEEK 5 COMPLETE WORK HIS 204 Week 5 DQ 1 The Age of Reagan; Most of us have lived much of our lives in the â€Å"Age of Reagan,† a period which dates from 1980 and which may still be ongoing today. Historians  increasingly agree that the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 represented a â€Å"revolution† in American society and, particularly, its politics. Review Reagan’s presidential career to explain what about it precisely was so â€Å"revolutionary.† Compare his approach to politics and foreign affairs with those of his predecessors, and assess the ways that his successors either built upon or attempted to reverse his legacy. Explain why so many Americans opposed Reagan’s policies and those of his successors. Consider also the social and cultural changes which took place during the Age of Reagan. Finally, assess the success of the â€Å"Reagan Revolution† by identifying which problems it ameliorated and which it exacerbated. In your response, consider THREE of the following topics, with regard to how both Reagan and his successors handled or contributed to them: HIS 204 Week 5 DQ 2 The Lived Experience of Ordinary People Especially since the 1960s, historians have sought to understand history not just as a series of major events presided over by generals and statesmen, but also as the lived experience of ordinary people. For this last discussion, begin by reflecting on your own past with an eye toward how American society has changed over the course of your life. In your response, focus less on major political or international events than on the ways day-to-day life in America is different today from what it was when you were younger. You might consider such factors as the cost of goods and services, the forms of entertainment, means of communication, and so forth. HIS 204 Week 5 Final Paper Native American history Thesis statement: Native American history Introduction It has been seen that Native American history extents thousands of thousands of years and two continents. This is a versatilenarrative of full of life cultures that in turn generatedcomplicatedfinancialassociations and multifaceted political unions. In the course of it all, an association of First Peoples to the earth has stay behind a fundamentalsubject. Despite the fact that Native Americans of the areanowadaysrecognizedlike New England  share identical languages and civilizations, recognizedlike Eastern Algonquian, we can say that they are not one political or societalcluster. To a certain extent, history comprises and still comprisesnumerous sub-groups. For instance, the Wampanoag reside in southeastern Massachusetts,the Pequots and Mohegan’s live in Connecticutat the same time as the Pocumtucks dwelt in the middle Connecticut River Valley close to today’s Deerfield, Massachusetts (Bourne, 1990).

Ethical Decisions Essay

Every individual is faces with ethical decisions every day in both their personal and professional lives. To avoid making unethical decisions, one must know what leads to poor decision making. Once a person knows what leads to the poor decision, they must find ways to resist making an unethical act. A person cannot make the right choice if they do not know how to avoid it. A leader must also know how to inspire ethical decisions within their staff. This paper covers ways to avoid making poor decisions and ways to making ethical ones. Poor Decision Characteristics While there are many ways one can be ethical, Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt suggest there are three essential traits one makes when a poor decision is made (1966/2010, p. 115). The fist common mistake of poor decision-making is when one forgets the goal that was previous set by him or herself or the organization. A person or the organization must keep all of their goals in mind when making decision, and many times individuals forget these goals. Overconfidence is another trait of poor decision-making. One aspect of overconfidence being that nobody will notice a little mistake made for correction later. For example, a manager may take a few dollars from the business expecting to put it back later and then a few more and later still more. However tomorrow never comes and before long, that first few dollars turns into hundreds or thousands. In the organization of my employment a small loan company as well as the owner’s stock car team on the side exists. The loan company sponsors the racing, and a year ago, the organization moved from the Midwest to the heart of NASCAR country. Once the owner arrived, he decided to buy the best equipment for the race team using funds from the loan company. While the spending spree may have been ok in the past, the owner did not take into account that need of hiring and training of new employees. When the new employees made poor lending decisions, combined with his spending, the organization almost went bankrupt. The other aspect of overconfidence is confirmation bias or â€Å"we  must be doing things the right way because all has gone well in the past† (Mallor et al., 1966/2010, p. 116). The overconfidence shows in the example of the overspending by the owner of the organization’s statement: â€Å"Oh, it will all work out, because it always has†. The last trait of poor decision-making occurs when the issues are too complex and not realized for their complexity. Individuals may not realize the complexity of the issue and underestimate the issue. In the lending business, should we as an organization not know the laws of each state when it comes to lending, we can face serious legal issues should we make a loan to a resident of a state in which short term lending, such as we do, is illegal. Resisting Unethical Acts Resisting unethical acts, many times, is easier said than done. In order to do so, a person must first recognize that what they are about to do is unethical (Mallor et al., 1966/2010, p. 116). The first way to avoid making an unethical decision is to buy some time before acting. An individual must take some time, analyze the situation, and if need be, find other ways to accomplish the task at hand without being unethical. The next tactic is to seek out help from a mentor or support group. While an individual may not have the ethical solution to a problem at hand, many times others will. There have been many times when I have sought the advice of others prior to making a decision, which I think may be unethical. Using the previous example of making a loan to someone in a state in which it is illegal, I may ask the advice of a co-worker before I make the loan. The last way to resist making an unethical act is to find a better solution in which everyone wins. This goes hand in hand with one buying some time before acting upon an unethical act. Analyzing the situation, and getting all the facts may lead to a decision in which one makes an ethical decision while meeting the requirements of the direction one has been given. Leading Ethically When leading other individuals, it is imperative that one be ethical themselves, in order to lead ethically. A person, who is unethical, is going to inspire unethical behaviors in others. When members of an organization see that nothing happens to their leaders, others will fall  into the same unethical behavior and rationalize that what they are doing is ok as well (Mallor et al., 1966/2010, p. 119). Leaders must set the example of ethical behavior for others. Leaders must also communicate ethical values of the organization to the staff. How can an individual know what they are doing is unethical in the eyes of the organization, if they do not know what is expected of them? The leader must continually communicate to the staff and remind them of what is ethical behavior. Another way to lead other ethically is to reinforce ethical behavior in the staff. When a leader sees an ethical decision made by a staff member, recognize their action. This will help that employee continue to make the right decision, and show others what is ethical behavior. Conclusion In order to be ethical, one must know what makes ethical and unethical decisions in their lives. Recognizing what makes an unethical decision, and ways to avoid making them, will help one to makes the right choice. Analyzing the situation, weighing other options and alternatives will help one to make an ethical decision. For a leader, these tools will also help their staff make ethical decisions as well. References Mallor, J., Barnes, A. J., Bowers, T., & Langvardt, A. W. (2010). Business law; The ethical, global, and e-commerce environment (14th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. (Original work published 1966)