Do Woman Make Better Leaders free essay sample

However, when women leaders are putting glorious greatly, they need to sacrifice their parts of life to earn such a success. Mostly, they need to work overnight and hard like their male fellows, they are single or divorced, and they may need to take care of both of their career and children. Actually, female leaders are facing some practical problems in their emotion, career and family. Many females are suffering in balancing these factors. Do women make better leader than men? Or specifically, are women playing a better role in managers? What are issues women leaders facing? In order to solve these problems and leave no doubt, I write this essay to analyze this topic. 2. 1 Leadership According to the professional definition, â€Å"leadership is the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals. †(Roach Behling, 1984) There are certain basic qualities or characteristics that most people associate with leadership, such as self-confidence, persistent, integrity, ambitious and determination. People would agree that who own these qualities can be labeled as â€Å"leaders†. However, it is usually hard to recognize a proper leader with a standard measurement. Human traits are quantized immeasurable. In daily works, a good leader is normally judged by people he or she leads. Unfortunately, these opinions are always subjective and biased. Work performances may consider being comparable. However, in reality, only similar works can provide comparable performance results which limit the number of comparable cases. Insufficient parameters cannot provide a reliable analysis. Due to these difficulties, this essay will compare female and male leaders in other factors which are not specialized and quantized for leaders but also providing references for good leaders. These factors include effectiveness, intelligence and attitude which compare leaders in the aspects of performances; psychical and psychological; values and reliability, respectively. Before comparison and analyzing, it is more reasonable to realize the current situation about gender and leadership which will also give readers a general idea. 2. 2 Men are still the major force in leaders Actually, majority of world still consider that domination of power is in man’s hand, though women leaders are increasing rapidly recent years. As statistics show, woman account for 51 percent of population and 46. 5 percent of labor force while their numbers in manage level are negligible. In fact, in more powerful positions, women only account for 7. 3 percent of Fortune 500 corporate line officers; only 4. 1 percent of top earners are women. (Catalyst, 2001) The true situation is like what Oakley ,J. G. said,† The overall percentage of women on corporate boards surpassed the 10% milestone for the first time in 1996, however, 105 out of the 500 companies surveyed still had no women on their boards. †(Oakley, 2000; Dobrsynski, 1996) In making such a males’ world, social and environment factors play critical roles. Traditionally, women are told to be less competitive and ambitious when they are still girls, when they start their careers, mostly, environment and themselves keep suggesting them to be more unleader-like and docile. This attitude is formed in a long period and by surrounding environment, and it actually becomes part of female’s character. Attitude toward leadership is stronger predictor of leader emergence than masculinity. (Kolb, 1999) This theory is even more reasonable when biology theory is abandoned. Generally, majority of leaders is still male , the roles that women are told to play and attitudes they are suggested to own is signaling to be â€Å"second class†. 2. 3 Woman leaders show great potential It is undoubtedly men are traditionally leaders in the society; nevertheless, women are catching up in an amazing speed. Especially in recent years, woman leaders are showing their great power. In a long period before, people believe that women lack of managerial skills and they define it as â€Å"female deficiencies† as a reason why few women have made it to the top. Steven, Lynda and Joanne, 2003) However, many professors have proved the irrationality of this stereotypical concept, Davidson and Burke (DavidsonBurke,1994) have contended that almost all the evidence shows little or few difference in the traits and abilities of managerial skills among women and men. Furthermore, Ferrario(Ferrario,1994), Carless(Carless,1998) and Komives (Komives,1991) have studied and p roved that gender does not determine who should get the leadership. According to above statements, it is easy to realize that gender is not physical or psychical obstacle for female leaders. Moreover, Kent and Moss suggested the possession of feminine characteristics does not decrease an individual’s chances of emerging as a leader as long as the individual also possesses masculine characteristics. If women are more likely to be androgynous, they may have better chance of rising to leadership status. (Kent and Moss, 1994) Kent and Moss’ words can be explained related to women’s own characteristic. Normally, women are more approachable and modest. The advantage is obvious above; male leaders cannot combine female’s good personalities which will be considered to be sissy while females will treat androgynous as a merit which show their potential. So, in some kinds of careers which require managers to be more mild and communicative, such as teachers and nurses, woman leaders are more preferred. To sum up, women’s characteristic advantage is seen as particularly important in light of the trends toward flatter organizations, team-based management and increased globalization. Oakley,2000; Adler,1993;Rosener,1995) Undoubtedly, woman leaders have predominance in some specific works than man leaders 2. 4 Gender and the leadership 2. 4. 1 Intelligence comparison Intelligence is defined by Cronbach as a person’s all-around effectiveness in activities directed by thinking. (Cronbach, 1984) Intelligence can divide in two parts, academic intelligence and emotional intell igence. In the aspect of academic intelligence, it is well accepted that there is no difference in academic intelligence between men and women. Furthermore, people with high academic intelligence don’t mean they are good leaders. Obviously, traditional view about intelligence is quite narrow. Current research has denied the theory of IQ as the only measure of intelligence. In 1920 Thorndike hypothesized that true intelligence was composed of not only an academic component, but also emotional and social components. (Barbara Shilpa, 2003) Bar-on argued that emotional and social intelligences were better predictors of success in life. (Bar-on, 1997) According to Barbara Shilpa’s statistic analysis, the mean transformational leadership score of females and males are roughly the same (65. 21 and 63. 31 respectively). The mean emotional intelligence score for females was higher than the mean emotional intelligence score for females (109. 58 and 98. 31 respectively). (Barbara Shilpa, 2003) Although the results of the current study suggest that females have scored higher than males in emotional intelligence, it is possible that women as compared to men scored higher on empathy or social skills and low on motivation or self-regulation. However , male and female’s leadership score is very close which can prove that different genders have differences in EQ, but no capability difference in leadership. To sum up, there is no specific gender difference in academic intelligence. Females have a higher score in emotional intelligence and males have an equally emotional leadership score with females. 2. 4. 2 Attitude comparison Attitude means a general and enduring positive or negative feeling about some person, object or issue. (Kalliath, 2010) Normally, we divide attitude in two parts, one is the affective component, and the other one is the behavioral component. Actually, leadership is affected by attitudes in the sense that a leader’s attitude about their subordinates is dictated by theories X and Y. Theory X in the simplicity means leaders view their subordinates as pessimistic. They believe that the best way to treat subordinates is by manipulating for they think subordinates are lazy and unmotivated. Theory Y thinks oppositely, leaders of theory Y feel that most people are motivated and afraid of punishment. (Kalliath, 2010) Normally, leaders with a positive self-concept and a Theory X philosophy tend to be bossy, pushy and impatient; they also generally take on a dictatorial leadership. Leaders with a negative self-concept and a Theory Y philosophy may seem afraid to make decisions and self-blaming. Hughes, Ginnett Curphy, 1993) Related to above apart, women’s attitude is an obstacle for their leadership. This disadvantage is caused by environmental and cultural factors. All stereotyping views towards woman will affect them when they are becoming leaders. However, according to theory X and Y, they generally talk about two types of leaders. It can be seen that gender is not the major factor in attitude. To sum up, woman leaders are normally have more problems in their attitude and valuation than their man opponents. 2. 4. 4 Effectiveness comparison Effectiveness is understood in terms of leaders’ facilitation of a group or rganization’s ability to meet its goals. (Hunt, 1991; Mumford, 1986) It is stated that there is no difference in effectiveness, although some situations favor women and others favor men. (Powell, 1993)However, some people point out that female leaders may be less effective when they are doing stereotypically masculine jobs. It is easy to understand that women may violate conventions concerning appropriate female behavior. Female leaders will be subjected prejudiced reactions, which included biased performance evaluations and negative preconceptions about future performance. Consistent with research on self-fulfilling prophecies (Geis, 1993), negative opinion towards women’s leadership can diminish their performance. Even though, some professors argue that role conflict for female leaders might also be minimized by adopting a relatively feminine leadership style that would meet people’s traditional expectations about female behavior. (Eaglly, Makhijiani, Klonsky, 1992) They assert that it is unfair to value the effectiveness in leadership roles that are rarely occupied by women and in which most of their evaluators are male. (Eaglly, Makhijiani, Klonsky, 1995) In order to analyze this issue, two perspectives are introduced: alternative perspective and contingency theory based perspective. As a matter of fact, alternative perspective also have two parts, the first one is a structure view suggests that men and women are equally effective in leadership. (House, 1991Hunt, 1991) Another alternative view takes into account the different selection of men and woman for leadership. Besides gender equality opinion, it also points out that women may be superior performers, especially in the longer run as they may erode negative thinking about their work. Craig Jacobs, 1985) The second perspective is of contingency theories of leadership, suggests that leaders’ effectiveness depends on their style of leading. (Bass, 1990) It focuses more in the aspect of leadership style. It insists that effectiveness of different gender is related to corresponding factors in leadership methods, not gender. In a word, although male leaders are considered more e ffective in traditional masculine jobs, female leaders are more effective than males in less masculine terms. Effectiveness is a reliable proof of the woman leadership is not worse than man leadership. Although some people still believe woman leaders are using some inefficient management methods when they are most in masculine works. It can be expected that females will fare at least as well as men in an increasing range of leadership and managerial roles. 3. Conclusion From the days of old to the modern world, people who have the opinion that men are born to lead and women should serve as followers are out of date. No one can deny the gender equality in the current society. Leaders are no longer the exclusive privilege for men, but also for excellent females. We start to realize the importance of analyzing this topic and have taken a close look at some of the most basic qualities needed in a successful leader, such as attitude, intelligence and effectiveness. While some qualities seem to be more present in males than females, such as attitude, there are still many females owning the necessary characteristics to be better leaders, such as effectiveness in feminization jobs. This essay collects studies that analyzed leadership under rigorous researches and we have also taken a close look at some of the more recent studies on this topic.

Billy the Kid essays

Billy the Kid essays Billy the Kid was born in the East, came to New Mexico in the 1870 ¡s, and started out on his own from Silver City. Some of the people said Billy the Kid was a hero, some said he was a murder. After reading Etulain ¡s essay,  ¡Billy the Kid: Thunder in the West ¡ (36-51), I don ¡t think Bill the Kid was a hero just because he killed four people. What is a hero? Some one can be a hero if he kills another, and heroes can kill people, but they kill those people is for everyone, not just for themselves, which means they were heroes because they killed evil people who destroyed society. And a hero should deserved punishment bravery. Otherwise they are murderers. Unfortunately, Billy the Kid was a murder, not a hero. The first example of Billy the Kid as a murderer concerns the first person he killed in Arizona (37). In mid-August 1877, Billy the Kid came to the cantina near the boundary of the Camp Grant military reservation (37). When he arrived, a burly Blacksmith named Cahill called Billy a  ¡pimp, ¡ (37) and then Billy retaliated by calling the blacksmith a  ¡son of a bitch, ¡(37). A moment later a wrestling match ensued, and Cahill began to pummel Billy. But Billy pulled out the .45 stuck in his belt, shoved it into the belly of Cahill, and then pulled the trigger. Cahill rolled aside in agony and then died the next day. Thus, because senseless act of violent, Billy the Kind murdered Cahill. I know it was Cahill that said the bad things to him first, but Billy the Kid didn ¡t have to kill Cahill. When Cahill started to say something bad to Billy the Kid, he could have ignored him and left Cahill alone. If Billy the Kid at that time had just ignored what Cahill said, no thing would have happened. Cahill ¡s dead did not benefits anyone in the world except Billy, who may have felt happy. Therefore, Billy the Kid was a murderer, because he killed Cahill. The second example of Billy the Kid being a ...

The Disappearance of Afro-Argentines and Colonialism essays

The Disappearance of Afro-Argentines and Colonialism essays At first glance of the current Buenos Aires, one would pre-conclude that the population is purely white or of European ancestry. However, after reading the book authored by George Reid Andrews, one would think otherwise. As the author noted in his book, the population of the Afro-Argentines who obviously were in existence during the 1800s did not dwindle to nothing as many people described it. The mass of historical commentary on the Afro-Argentines disappearance have explained the phenomena as the result of four main reasons. The first being that the Afro-Argentines had been drafted and then perished during the wars of the nineteenth century in large numbers. The second reason was because Afro-Argentine women were faced with the shortage of men of their own race, they turned to the European male immigrants as partners, also in hopes of producing lighter-skinned children who would have a chance of upward social mobility. The third explanation was that low birth rates and high mortality rates were especially pronounced in the Afro-Argentine communities because of their unsanitary living conditions and their inability provide for their young due to the lack of men and their low social status. Th e fourth reason was that slavery was abolished and the import of slaves had declined dramatically. While all the reasons listed above were valid and has unquestionably contributed to the wane of the Afro-Argentine population, they were superficial, a facade for the underlying factor of their seeming demise. The beginning of the decline of the Afro-Argentine population was marked by the censuses taken starting from the early 1800s. The author proposes that blacks were underrepresented in the censuses taken during that period because of a variety of causes. In his opinion, since they lived in the least desirable houses and neighborhoods, many census takers were most likely unwilling to venture into those places to complete their...

Share your critical response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Share your critical response - Assignment Example s out that it took efforts of the federal government which represents collective action of many of the American citizens to abolish slavery, to create a developed system of railroads and bring the country to prosperity. In other words, it would not be wise to reject the leading role of the government in the process of development of the social environment. In other words, why would people want to get rid of something that has proven to be effective? Another example is taken from the current political world. The author suggests that when both far left and right argue the necessity of a new revolution, they fail to see that they are faced with a dilemma that none of them is able to solve. For example, governmental surveillance is needed to protect people from terrorism, but if we accept it we should also accept that it violates some of the basic rights of the people. Gutting, Gary. "You Say You Want a Revolution." Opinionator You Say You Want a Revolution Comments. N.p., 2 July 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.

Lizzie Borden Not Guilty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lizzie Borden Not Guilty - Research Paper Example There was a difference in what someone could have had as a profile behind closed doors. Society's perception of the individual was more important for the morality of the situation. All evidence, which was collected before the trial showed that she could have killed her parents as it was circumstantial. She was judged on a legal technicality. The purpose of this paper is to prove you that only one side of this issue can be accepted. Time will be spent explaining the family dynamics, showing the initial interrogation, and the trial. The paper will conclude with the personal assumption that she did not have the psychological profile to be a serial killer. Before 1860 both daughters lived as spinsters in the Borden house. Those who were raised in the rising social and financial class moved out of the area. If a family stayed, their girls only were able to meet working class men, which was a social problem for Victorian women at the turn of the century. Mr. Borden refused to move even tho ugh he had risen to the upper classes of society. He had started as an undertaker and moved up to a business owner. His daughters could not find anyone who corresponded to their social status. At 32, it would be impossible for Lizzie ever to get married (Whiteman). There were many spinsters in their neighborhood who they socialized with. Their father contributed to the dynamics by refusing to refurbish their house with the proper amenities. He refused to connect to the sewer or to the water system. He refused to use anything other than kerosene lamps. (Masterson 38). Lizzie complained to her father constantly about the living conditions. Lizzie was quoted as embarrassed to have friends over to the house. It was an oddity that all the doors of the house were locked with keys. They had previously been burglarized on two different occasions. (Lizzie.com) His daughters had their own private entrance to their rooms and often ate by themselves. Their house appeared to be a maze. Lizzie on ly social life was with the Church's women's group. She also taught at Sunday school. This is somewhat incongruous with her home life. She appeared to be socially accepted because she was allowed to teach at school. She and her sister lived an isolated life without the amenities which they deserved to have. Some say she lived on a yearly stipend but others say she received anything she asked for. Lizzie lived a boring and depressing life with no outlook of it ever improving, a common social problem for New England Upper class women in the 19th century (Roggenkamp 67). Emma also lived under the same roof without any potential for a future. Total frustration was their sort in life. None of them got along with their step-mother or their father. There were always disputes. That particular day, they had all been suffering from food poisoning and the maid had become furious for having to clean the windows in the sweltering heat. More will be said further on about the family dynamics. It w as a common social ethic of the end of the Victorian era (19th century) that women could not possibly have the thought, or the strength to do such a heinous crime. Was she hiding for somebody else or for everybody because of the living conditions? If she knew the guilty person, she eventually could say, if she had to. (Brown Interview) Because of this preconception of the marble like statue of women, she was denied with counsel at her first questioning as she was told she did not need it.(Lizzie.com) At the first

Analysing Structure Changes due to Sony in Restructuring Mode

Analysing Structure Changes due to Sony in Restructuring Mode As directed by the Board of Directors of Sony, this report will analyse the structure of Sony Corporation from 1999-2005, the problems faced together with its responses and underlying rationales and recommendations for the benefit of the future directions of Sony. Being a multinational corporation in the electronics business, the company faces significant macroeconomic challenges. The decreasing trend in profits could be seen since 1998, possibly the main reason that prompted the need for an organisational restructuring. Whether the organisations strategy influences its structure or vice versa, the structure of Sony has to be evaluated first. In 1999, after the restructuring, the company became a tall hierachical structure with three main business areas electronic, entertainment and insurance and finance. Alongside with the unified dispersed model to face the constant market demands, the company became a divisionalized form with decentralization of dispersion of power to ease decisi on-making. The divisional structure of the electronics business is divisionalised due to its low interdependency level, adhocracy in entertainment business and professional bureaucracy in the insurance and finance business. In 2003, Transformation 60 saw a more centralised structure of Sony management-wise and financial-wise . It was found that Transformation 60 still had the company in a divisionalised form but a stronger pull to formalize in its technostructure. One of the problems faced include rapid evolution of technology causing top management to respond by investing heavily and restructuring of the organisation using a Value Creation Model and Transformation 60. Stiff market competitions resulted to partnership and takeovers for off-shoring purposes and to benefit the AV industry. The election of Howard Stringer as CEO will cause the problem in management style due to the differences in national culture. It can be concluded that Sonys management and business strategies affec t its organisational structure as it was the drop in profits that had the shareholders to pressurised the change of top management. Recommendations include the need to combine both Western and Eastern cultures under Stringer and comprehensive considerations in investment strategies. Contents Pages 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Business Description and Corporation Strategy 2.1 Key Figures 2.2 Correlation between Organisation Strategy and Organisation Structure 4-6 3.0 Organisational Structure 3.1 Structure of Sony in 1999 3.1.1 Internal Structure of Sony as a Whole 3.1.2 Divisional Structures of Sony 3.2 Structure of Sony in 2003 3.2.1 Divisional Structure of Transformation 60 3.2.2 Financial Structure of Transformation 60 7-12 4.0 Problems and Responses 4.1 Rapid Evolution of Technology 4.2 Market Competition 4.3 Differences in National Culture 13-16 5.0 Conclusion 17 6.0 Recommendations 18 Appendices 19 Bibliographies 20-22 1.0 Introduction As directed by the Board of Directors of Sony Corporation, this report will analyse the companys situation from 1999-2005. Sony, a world class consumer electronics makers, was facing serious concerns since the late of 1990s, such as Asian financial crisis in 1997, the tech bubble and the terrorist attacks in America in 2001. Besides, the ever increasing competition from competitors and rapid market changes are eroding the market shares of Sony. The top management confront their difficulties bravely and executed a series of actions to respond to those difficulties. This report focuses on the structure of Sony in 1999 and the restructuring in 2003, as well as the analysis of difficulties faced by Sony and how the management responded to those issues. The structure of the report starts with the business description and the corporation strategy which has significant relationship with the following sections. Then, the focus will move to structure 1999 follow with the restructuring of Sony in 2003 called Transformation 60. After the discussions about the business structure, the report will concentrate on analysing the issues associated with Sony and state the responses taken by the management and its underlying principle before concluding and with appropriate recommendations. 2.0 Business Description and Corporation Strategy Sony is one of the worlds top consumer electronics makers and employs over 167900 workers (Sony, 2010). The business operates in over 200 countries and covers the games, electronics, financial services, entertainment markets and others (ibid.). After 65 years of growth, today, the group has established a world class brand and the strong brand image can benefit its bargaining power and make the business move into new markets easily. 2.1 Key Figures Some key figures of Sony from 1997 to 2010 are listed below (Graph12). The Sales figure remained in the reasonably floating level before 2007. Unfortunately, the management and shareholders are unsatisfied with the profits, since 1998 the profits reduced nearly every year, this might have been the trigger to ignite the restructuring of Sony. Graph 1 Source: Sony Annual Report 2001, 2006, 2010- Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data Graph 2 Source: Sony Annual Report 2001, 2006, 2010- Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data 2.2 Correlation between Organisation Strategy and Organisation Structure Strategy and organisation structure are correlated to each other, even the debate of whether strategy or structure comes first is still in existence (Lynch, 2006). Therefore, to understand Sonys corporation strategy (Graph34) is significantly important before discussing the structure and restructuring of Sony. Besides, an essential portion of the study of Sonys actions is an understanding of the nature of business strategy for the Sony corporation as a whole (Mullins, 2010). Graph 3 Source: Sony Annual Report 1998 pp6, 7 Sony Annual Report 1999 pp26 Graph 4 Source: Sony Annual Report 2003 pp5-management discusses key issues 3.0 Organisational Structure This section is classified into two parts, 3.1 focuses on the structure of Sony in 1999 while section 3.2 concentrates on the restructuring in 2003. 3.1 Structure of Sony in 1999 Sony as a world class player in a diversified high-tech market was challenged with the fierce competition during the late 1990s (Sony, 1999). Therefore, the restructuring was necessary for Sony to survive in the competitive market. The group announced the organisations restructure plan in March 1999 to seize further growth opportunities in the new century and the Internet era (Sony, 1999). The structure of the organisation is determined by its age and size, technical system, power and environment (Mintzberg, 1979). Furthermore, in relation to the environment, the diversity of the environment will largely determine the structure of organization and directly affects the organisation functions into goal-seeking activities through the formal structure to achieve aims and objectives (Mullins, 2007; Mintzberg, 1979). In this diverse environment, different structures will be taken in specific department to meet different aspects of situation for Sony. 3.1.1 Internal Structure of Sony as a Whole The internal structure of Sony is a tall hierarchical structure as Sony consists of three main business areas which are electronic business, entertainment business and insurance and finance business (Graph 5). Besides, the setting up of the unified dispersed management model is to face the rapid change in market in the aforementioned pillars of Sony (Ravi, 2005). As a result, the overall structure of Sony in 1999 was divisionalized form. Schwartz and Thompson (1986) suggested that the divisionalization form can facilitate the various divisions to compete fiercely among them, with effective operations to face rapid changes in external environment. Graph 5 Source: www.Sony.net, Press Archive, March 29, 1999 Besides, centralization and decentralization depends on how organisational power is dispersed and is determined by the organization structure for decision-making and problem-solving (Schmidt, 2006). The structure of Sony in 1999 displayed Sonys trend to be decentralization to distribute the power yield. For example, Sony set up a unified dispersed management model which facilitates more functional and operational autonomy (Ravi, 2005). 3.1.2 Divisional Structures of Sony After the discussion above, the focus now moves to the structure of different divisions. The electronic business consists of various subsidiaries (Graph 6). Each subsidiary is responsible for its own different products and makes business decisions in different markets. There is little interdependence that exists between each other. Thus, the structure of electronic business was divisionalized form. Entertainment business displayed adhocracy due to its little formalisation of behaviour. Insurance Finance business displayed a Professional Bureaucracy structure due to its complex environment with highly trained skills and knowledge to offer standardisation of products and services (Mintzberg, 1979). Graph 6 Source: www.Sony.net, Press Archive, March 29, 1999 Each business division has the autonomous to make decisions in its daily operation. The Group headquarters concentrated on coordinating these business divisions to make a long-term business strategy. Nevertheless, under the complex, diverse and dynamic environment, perhaps the more organic and decentralized structure is more suitable for Sony. 3.2 Structure of Sony in 2003 Indeed, Sony restructured its organisation in 1999 into a more divisionalized and decentralised form using the unified dispersed model as a means of a Value Creation Model. Transformation 60 saw some changes in the architectural structure of the organisation with it becoming more centralised, management-wise and financial-wise. It was aimed to refining the organisational responsibilities in carrying out the operating strategies and restructuring the marketing strategies in profitable niches. The goals are to achieve more profit margins, reducing annual cost, and component outsourcing (Sony, 2003). 3.2.1 Divisional Structure of Transformation 60 Transformation 60 saw the convergence of the three pillars of Sony electronics, entertainment and financial as opposed to the unified dispersed model. The following are the divisional changes: In the electronics business, the management combined the Semiconductor Network Company, Home Electronics, Mobile Electronics and Information Technology (Sony, 2003). The entertainment business saw the joint of assets of pictures, music, game, electronics and services to enhance its position as a worldwide media company. The constructed financial holding company absorbed Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd, Sony Assurance Inc. and Sony Bank Inc. By these convergences, Sony clarified the operational structure and concentrated on the engineering, innovation and financial resources. According to the converging strategy, the new operation structure of Sony seems like a basic Machine Bureaucracy structure (Mintzberg, 1983). Although it is less dispersed than the structure in 1999, the pull to formalize by the technostructure of Sony could be seen in Transformation 60 (Mintzberg, 1981). The restructuring of Sony in 2003 was more centralised than before as a result of the serious convergences of several businesses. The tactical and strategic plans were permitted to each sectors, which points that the divisionalized form still existed. However, the power on personnel issues was controlled by the top management, as well as the supportive finance and the ultimate goal were allocated and formulated by the headquarters (Ravi, 2005). Moreover, the restructured Sony in 2003 did not belong to any specific structure of Mintzbergs pentagon t heory but the combined one (Graph 7). Graph 7 Sony organisational chart: electronics-related business (as of 1 April 2001) Source: www.sony.net, Press Release, 29th March 2001(a) 3.2.2 Financial Structure of Transformation 60 In the light of improving its fiscal position, the consolidation of fixed costs and the combining of assets reflected the change of a more centralized structure in Sony. The company aims to achieve an annualized cost reduction of approximately  ¥300 billion (Ravi, 2005). The cut in employees due to the off-shore strategy to China establish the Contribution equal to Compensation principal of paying for performances, as Schein (2004) stated that employees have worked well enough to be considered valid. Deactivating employees from Sony had cost the company financially and it might have explained the poor financial performance of Sony after the transformation was done. 4.0 Problems and Responses This section will discuss the problems associated with Sony alongside with the responses taken and its rationale. The difficulties faced by Sony have been separated into different categories mainly the rapid evolution of technology, competition in the market and the differences of national culture. 4.1 Rapid Evolution of Technology The rapid evolution of technology as pointed out by Idei (Ravi, 2005) has affected the electronics, entertainment and insurance and finance sectors of Sony. The constant improvements in technology have caused the company to respond to the demand of the market. The following are the responses made by the company alongside with its underlying rationale: Investments: Sony invested heavily in RD, capital equipment and facilities in order to meet demands and improve profitability. Technology for Inspiration and Shared Experience and Creating New Value are Sonys RD missions (Sony, 2011). The company believes that technology is capable of linking inspiration and shared experiences on top of creating new values and capturing emotions of customers (ibid.). Investment strategies link to the capability of top management of Sony. Organisation restructuring: The Company believes that the new group architecture can help gain market share besides increasing shareholders value (Sony, 1999). In this Value Creation Model, the unified dispersed management method saw changes in the electronics operations, establishment of Digital Network Solutions (DNS), changes in composition of workforce which could ultimately affect the morale of employees, implementation of new value-based performance measurement system and the separation of headquarters into two distinct functions (Ravi, 2005; Sony, 1999). Indeed, the model brings competitive advantage to Sony (Jayaranam Luo, 2007). In such a stiff market, it is understandable as to the measures taken to seize every opportunity. Unfortunately, in 2001, the September 11 attacks caused the consolidated drop in sales, affecting the fiscal position of the company (Sony, 2001b). This has proven that the Value Creation Model had loopholes, hence Transformation 60 took course. Severe cost saving measures were taken but by 2005, as a result of pressure from shareholder, a top management reshuffling with Howard Stringer as CEO (Ravi, 2005). This proves that investors of Sony began to lose confidence of the previous management team therefore it was necessary for the company to overhaul its board. 4.2 Market Competition Among Sonys competitors are LG, Samsung, Sharp, Dell and Canon. Each competitor seemed to have an advantage over Sony in different products. Below are among the steps taken by Sony to beat the competition in the market: Partnership with Solectron Corporation in year 2000 and off-shoring to China were to aid the outsourcing process of production of electronics was a step to help the company meet fluctuations in demands, cost reduction, quality improvisation and customer satisfaction (Sony, 2003; Sony, 2000). Outsourcing may be beneficial to the company as a whole but it could ultimately decrease the motivational level of employees, as there is a tendency of decrease of power of managers, and failure rate is between 40%-70% (Purse, 2009). This may explain the Sony Shock (Ravi, 2005) incident that happened in 2003 despite the laborious process of organisation restructuring. The cost-benefit consideration was not given much thought before the outsourcing was done. The takeover of Aiwa Co. Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2002 was for the benefit of the electronics business of the company, particularly the audio and visual (AV) industry (Sony, 2002). The takeover became part of Transformation 60. It helped accelerate the structural reform of the electronics business of Sony on top of the creation of synergy as a result of the merger. 4.3 Differences in National Culture As Howard Stringer took over as the CEO of Sony in 2005, a major problem he would experience would be the differences in organisational culture. Culture refers to the way we do things around here (Sanchez, 2004). Being one of the few foreigners to be part of the top management in a Japanese company, Stringer has the responsibility of considering whether to impose the Western culture in a Japanese company. Azumi Mcmillan (1975) found that both the U.S. and Japanese culture are quite highly centralized and companys rules and procedures are abided. In Sony, although divisionalization form can be seen, the Headquarter still plays its role as a coordinator, meaning that ultimately, the decision-making process will need approval from the top management. Also, in Japan, traditional values that emphasises on hard work and details are a common practice due to its religion influences but in the U.S., creativity and innovation are the common values (Webster White, 2009). Hence, in U.S., risk-taking is very much observed. The open management style of Stringer, his understanding towards Sonys tradition and his international viewpoints could be the key to influence the cultural organisation (Sony, 2005). This can explain Stringers successes in streamlining Sonys movie and music businesses. 5.0 Conclusion Due to the external environment effect such as the Asian financial crisis, the ever increasing competition, as well as the internal business issues like the low efficiency, the profits of Sony has been reduced dramatically since 1998. Therefore the management had to execute some restructuring plan to respond to those concerns. According to the restructuring plan announced in March 1999, the structure of the group was divisionalized and more decentralization, in order to seize further growth opportunities in the 21st century. Besides, the group launched a unified dispersed management model to ensure that the business operate more efficiently and to be able to survive the rapid change of environment. Sony did a mass of changes to adapt to the market changes; unfortunately, the pace of the latter was overtaking the managements expectations. Consequently, Sony had to accelerate the reform plan and announced another restructuring plan called Transformation 60 in 2003. The change in 2003 s aw a stronger pull to formalize in the technostructure although it can be seen that there is a mixture between the machine bureaucracy and divisionalized forms. Convergences in the three sectors saw power being more focused at the top management. The change of technology, market competition and the differences in organisational culture, especially after the takeover of Stringer, were the main concerns of Sony. Organisational restructuring and investment strategies were among the solutions in coping with technological changes. Market competition forced Sony to deal with vast partnerships, joint ventures and mergers with other companies for outsourcing purposes. Finally, the change to a foreigner to lead a Japanese company spark concerns on the future of Sonys organisational culture. Nevertheless, based on the analysis that has been done, it can be concluded that Sonys management and business strategies affects its organisational structure. It was the drop in profits that led investors to force the overhauling of top management, as a result, the unified dispersed model and Transformation 60. Unfortunately, both measures failed to bring positive impacts to the companys fiscal positions. In light of the situation above, the new team led by Stringer with the probable change in organisational culture could probably help turn things around. 6.0 Recommendations Two main recommendations should be taken into account: Firstly, the future of the organisational culture of Sony has to be determined from two aspects based on the organization structure and the differences in national culture since the takeover of Stringer as CEO. Perhaps, Stringer could consider integrating the Eastern and the Western cultures to obtain the best of both worlds. Next, investment strategies of Sony may have to be re-evaluated again, as after the study of the company was done, there are hints of possibilities that failures in the companys fiscal position may have been caused by past investment decisions. Outsourcing may be beneficial but a thorough cost-benefit analysis has to be done. Investment decisions will reflect the capability of top management to stakeholders. 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AIDS and Religion in Africa :: Free AIDS Essays

Introduction: Presently, somewhere between 34 and 46 million people live with AIDS worldwide. In total, Africa holds the highest number with just under 30 million people suffering from AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa, by itself, accounts for between 25 and 28.2 million people. These numbers leave Northern Africa with just over one million people living with HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Any news you hear regarding the AIDS Epidemic, a main topic involves Sub-Saharan Africa. Besides a somewhat different climate, what else is special about Northern Africa that seems to keep the population’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rates low compared to the southern portion of the continent. Look at the two figures in the Appendix. One figure represents the religious spread including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Indigenous Religions. The other figure illustrates the spread of AIDS in Africa. Notice the similarities in spread. High correlation exists between low rates and the Islam territory and with high rates and Christianity. Religion seems to have immense influence over the spread of AIDS. The history of African religion dates back centuries through original tribal religions, Islam, Christianity with some Judaism. Within this paper, I will briefly describe the spread of each of these religions including tensions between each other and the already present traditional religions. Following this description, I will describe the main ideas behind each religion in a theological viewpoint as well as any social implications. These tenets are long developed with distinct traditions and beliefs backing them through the centuries. Over the last 20 years, a new factor has developed in Africa exerting extreme pressure on many of these long-lived traditions. I want to explore the relationship between the rise of the AIDS epidemic and the subsequent public health campaigns challenges focusing on the traditions behind the main religions. I look to explore how some of the already present traditions aid and also hurt the fight against AIDS, some of the religions’ reactions to the epidemic and future predictions on how the epidemic will reshape religion in Africa and possibly globally. Islam in Africa: The actual definition of the word, â€Å"Islam†, â€Å"refers to the peace that come from surrender to God† (World Religions: Islam). The book of Islam is the Quran, an unedited version of The Holy Prophet Muhammad’s messages of Allah’s teachings. The Islamic religion’s main tenets involve the â€Å"affirmation of one God, with total repudiation of polytheism and all forms of idolatry, including the use of images† with importance stressed with overall justice, humility and submission (McCasland, Cairns and Yu, 328).