ASSESSMENT OF PARENTAL SATISFACTION WITH DENTAL TREATMENT UNDER Essay

ASSESSMENT OF PARENTAL SATISFACTION WITH DENTAL TREATMENT UNDER GENERAL ANAESTHESIA IN PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY - Essay Example These programs have been implemented for all age groups, but children remain one of the most focused targets of these interventions. Among these programs are included the Children in Need of Treatment Program or CINOT, Ontario Works, which provides basic dental coverage upto 18 years of age, the Ontario Disability Support Program and the Dental Indices Survey or DIS and preventive services. There is also the emergence of clinics for low income residents, since many of the people who cannot afford dental treatment belong to low socioeconomic status. The University of Toronto and University of Western Ontario are two of the main providers of such dental services. Even these programs however, have not been able to cater to the needs of the Canadian public in general. Statistics show that one thirds of the residents of Ontario do not see a dentist on regular basis. The most common reason is the lack of insurance and inability of these people to afford dental care (The Whole Tooth and Nothing But the Truth, nd). Other issues include fear and anxiety towards dental treatment. This does not mean that the issue settles here. Even if patients do manage to get dental insurance, it is no guarantee that it will be sufficient for the particular treatment needs (The Whole Tooth and Nothing But the Truth, nd). Studies show that although 52% of the Candians and 60% of the Ontarians have some form of dental insurance, but these insurance programs have not been created equally, which again leads to cost becoming a barrier to dental care (The Whole Tooth and Nothing But the Truth, nd). There are many challenges that need to be overcome for children living in Ontario or for that part many areas of Canada. Accessing dental care in Ontario may not be possible unless a person has insurance. Dental care can be very expensive and therefore, prohibitive

The effects of Strategic marketing on Business performance Literature review

The effects of Strategic marketing on Business performance - Literature review Example In the present era, market has become highly competitive. In this competitive market, a strategy is needed to offer product or service which will do better than the competition. The marketing strategy must be executed by a proper methodology. To create a marketing strategy for business a company should think about the following factors. When the market is attractive and the company is holding a strong position in that particular industry, then it must invest the best resources for supporting the offering. But if the company is not in a good position then it must focus on strengthening the company first. When the market is not that attractive and the company is holding a strong position in any industry, then the company should offer effective sales and marketing effort for creating good profit. Furthermore, in either case where company is not too strong then it should promote those offerings which will prove most profitable for business. Literature Review According to the study conduc ted by Jaakkola (2006), there is a strong connection between market and financial performance. Sales volume has direct effect on profit. Individual coefficient differs from country to country. Four measuring sets, i.e., market and innovation orientation, inside out, and outside in marketing were used for assessing marketing performance in few companies. The ‘inside out capabilities’ have high influence on performance in most of the sample country he used except Hong Kong because the market structure and strength of competition are favourable with high market orientation. The connection among market orientation and market performance is extremely low in Finland. This indicates that market orientation in Finland is bad and high market orientation of the business context does not pay off. Where Finnish companies are good in making profit from ‘inside out capabilities’, Austrian companies are good in converting ‘outside in capabilities’ into good b usiness performance. German companies are good into innovation orientation and generate profit with it. Finnish companies have a more positive outlook than others and they act in market oriented way. They continuously take customers and competition into account and hence the financial performance suffers from it. The effectiveness of strategic marketing process in Finnish companies is extremely low. This refers to strong focus on technological product improvement as emphasis should be put more on irrelevant development of processes and capabilities of company. It shows that how ‘inside out capabilities’ is the individual construct and have large influence on competitive advantage development and sustaining business performance. The innovation process positively relates to market performance and competitive advantages, but its total effect on financial performance is negative. The ‘outside in capabilities’ and marketing orientation include slight harmful out come on business performance of a company (Jaakkola, 2006). According to the researches done by Garland and Brooksbank (2008), the marketing strategy is quite prevalent in company in case of more comprehensive situation. The higher performing firms place more importance to an inclusive situation analysis than the lower performing companies. There are five kinds of situation study namely buyer, internal, marketplace, business environment and competitor.

Bank Julius Baer Case Essay Example for Free

Bank Julius Baer Case Essay Before the arrival and leadership of Stuart Adam (â€Å"Adam†), Bank Julius Baer, North America (â€Å"BJB-NA† or the â€Å"Company†), the largest independently-owned European private bank in the United States, faced financial difficulties. By mid-2001, a worldwide market downturn caused a significant decline in Julius Baer Group’s (â€Å"JB† or the â€Å"Parent†) performance. In 2001, JB’s stock price was down by over 40% while the Parent experienced a 39% decline in net profits, 9% increase in operating expenses and an increase of 14% in employee headcount. BJB-NA, the â€Å"crown jewel† of JB, was barely profitable but no one inside the Company knew its true financial condition. JB had always been led by a member of the Baer family until January 2001. Despite significant family ties at JB, BJB-NA did not have a strong leader to drive the company. There was a lack of clear vision or direction for the Company. BJB-NA did not focus on profitability as a measurement of success. The attitude around BJB-NA was more about â€Å"keeping the peace† than creating any conflict or hostility. Even with a passive work environment, employee morale was low. Employees tended to blame other parts of the Company for their problems. The competitive environment in the High Net Individual (â€Å"HNI†) private banking sector increased dramatically during the 1990’s. BJB-NA was a boutique private bank in a business where bulge bracket firms dominated the competitive landscape. As such, the key factors for success in the HNI market were now recognized as differentiation (not cost leadership), improved client relationship management, broad product range and strong client-responsiveness. BJB-NA strived to be a partner organization that differentiated itself from the competition by satisfying the needs of its clients. The existing organization structure consisted of BJB-NA organized into four regionally-based â€Å"teams. † Poor communication existed throughout the Company as the staff didn’t know what was going on and there was little cohesion among units. BJB-NA operated on a â€Å"need to know† basis. Team leaders were not responsible for their own budgets, as it was not known if their teams were profitable or not. To further support the lack of accountability at BJB-NA, the Company did not have a systematic performance valuation system and lacked a compensation system tied to customer growth and returns. Bonuses were virtually guaranteed and all bonus decisions were made by Bank’s top leadership. Most likely, there were employees who â€Å"flew under the radar† if they underperformed since the Company never laid anyone off. Adamà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Changes and Evaluation Adam arrived at BJB-NA and immediately laid out an action plan to turn around the Company. One of Adam’s best early moves was his selection of Denise Downey to head the Segmentation Study Team. Downey was well respected by the employees that she led and was able to thoroughly evaluate the organization and deliver results to the Company and Adam. Based on the Segmentation Study, Adam wanted BJB-NA to really stand-behind its promises to be a partner organization. He encouraged full transparency and a strong focus on measurable results and accountability. Specifically, he focused on the following three initiatives: Refocus the Company strategy: Adam emphasized that BJB-NA shift its focus to Europeans, Asians, Canadians and Latin Americas who live outside the U. S. who had U. S. based asset management needs. By targeting specific geographic and customer segments, it allowed the Company to specifically focus its strategy and resources rather than spread itself too thin to satisfy a larger, diverse customer base. In addition, he asked some longstanding personal clients who were not profitable to close their accounts. Not only did this change the Company’s customer focus, but also, it signaled to employees that Adam had confidence and high expectations for BJB-NA. Establish new performance expectations: Adam developed productivity assumptions that would hold employees more accountable. He established measurable criteria related to book value, relationships and accounts. Previously, Company employees truly did not know their clients. As a result, it was difficult for management to identify top and low performers. Adam’s established criteria that pushed Relationship Managers past their comfort zone. Before Adam took the helm at BJB-NA, almost everyone received bonuses regardless of their performance. Tying a bonus program with a structure performance evaluation system incentivizes those who bring success and growth potential to the Company. Modify the organization structure: Adam slightly altered the structure of BJB-NA by having a client-segment focus within existing geographic areas. As such, the decision making processes were now decentralized to each of the regional teams. Previously, the advisory and product services departments worked with all regions. After Adam took charge, he assigned advisory teams to each of the different regions to further strengthen customer relationships. Recommendations BJB-NA recognizes that its future success hinges on one important factor: its clients. Our consulting firm wants the Company to further expand and impact its clients beyond what Adam has already planned. Our approach is a client-centric strategy that focuses on two key initiatives: (1) Aggressively recruiting top talent to enhance client acquisition and performance (2) Overhauling the compensation scheme and performance measures. Each initiative, accompanied by supporting tactics, will align to elevate the client experience, resulting in deepening wallet share, increasing warm referrals, and building the BJB-NA brand in supreme customer service. I. Recruiting the Right Talent. Recruiting the right people to manage and advise BJB-NA’s clients will be critical to sustaining long-term growth and increasing assets-under-management. Recruiting will align with the Company’s geographic approach to segmentation by adopting three tactics:  · Local talent recruitment – a successful private banker needs an outgoing, service-orientated personality, and the ability to connect with potential and existing clients. In connecting with clients, it becomes mandatory that future private bankers will be recruited from local regions. This strategy will generate bankers who know the local customs and cultures, speak the language, and are involved in the community. As a result, it creates comfort and familiarity for potential clients.  · Recruit from bulge bracket private banks –Company acquisition is not a feasible option at this time. However, employee/talent acquisition is an even better method to help improve the Company. Bulge bracket private banks are typically a part of much larger conglomerates, often weighed down high-level corporate strategies and â€Å"red tape. To attract bulge bracket private bankers, BJB-NA should promote an entrepreneurial environment that offers autonomy and flexibility while still offering resources found at larger firms. Recruit from ultra-boutique private banks – BJB-NA should actively target private bankers from smaller, boutique firms that have larger books, but have a need for a more global reach. Private bank clients are becoming more global, and with that, have a specific need for banks that have an international presence. BJB-NA provides a solution with offices in Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the United States. At the same time, by aggressively recruiting boutique bankers, BJB-NA will be able to expand its presence by acquiring the books of these bankers who may have a strong presence in untapped markets within the targeted regions. II. Restructuring Compensation and Performance Measures BJB-NA should introduce a compensation scheme that will not only be more beneficial for keeping clients’ interests first, but also offer higher potential incentives for the Company’s bankers. First and foremost, bankers will be paid based on client portfolio performance. No one will be paid on the basis of commission. While this tactic may seem counter-intuitive in the short-term, especially in the midst of a struggling economy, it acknowledges BJB-NA’s long-term commitment to its clients. Other positive externalities resulting from a new compenstation structure include: differentiation from competition, potential referrals from clients, and attention to BCB-NA’s innovative thinking. In short, BJB-NA’s message is: â€Å"We make money only when our clients make money†. Second, standard annual bonuses will be foregone. Employees would be accountable for their performance and compensated accordingly. BJB-NA will incentivize bankers by the value they add to their clients and related portfolio performances. This compensation structure ultimately rewards bankers who take of their clients and strive to grow their assets under management. Finally, BJB-NA should revise the position title of its company leaders. To accurately reflect the duties of the position, the title †Team Leader† should be changed to â€Å"Managing Director (MD)†. MD’s would have full PL and people-management responsibilities of his/her respective branch. In addition, MD’s could receive an additional bonus based on the branch’s bottom-line performance. This change will push decision-making down to MD level, promoting entrepreneurship and autonomy. III. Management and Leadership Since Adam decided to resign from his position as the leader of BJB-NA, it is vital for the Board of Directors to select a successor that will be able to implement the changes initiated under Adam’s tenure. As discussed, BJB-NA needs to aggressively put its clients before anything else in its business. The new successor should be an experienced professional who deeply understands the Company’s clients and industry. Taking these requirements into consideration, we recommend that the Board of Directors pick Adam’s successor from a list of internal candidates only. Currently, the firm is in a state of fragility. Employees are stressed and morale is low. With the initial round of layoffs that included six people, any move will be highly scrutinized and may have a long-term impact on the organization. Employees were already caught off guard with Adam’s resignation, especially after he led the restructuring efforts at an off-site meeting that seemed to build positive momentum. To replace Adam’s with an external candidate may put the Company in a state of flux. An external candidate would not have attended the restructuring meetings and participated in the Segmentation Study. He/she may have different views of how the organization should be changed. In addition, the HNI private banking industry is built around relationships. To bring on a new leader who hasn’t built a strong rapport with a majority of the Company’s clients would make the leadership transition a difficult process. One potential internal candidate BJB-NA should consider is Denise Downey. Downey is currently the Head of U. S. Domestic Clients, but more importantly she led the Segmentation Study that evaluated areas of improvement needed at BJB-NA. Employees viewed Downey as a strong, effective leader who always delivers results. As a sign of trust, Adam gave Downey significant autonomy during her time leading the study. Elevating Downey to the C-suite level would be a fairly seamless transition. Downey has significant experience understanding the clientele of BJB-NA since she already leads U. S. client group. With all of the â€Å"client-focused† changes that need to be implemented by Adam, Downey will be best candidate to effectively communicate the steps needed during the transition period. For example, during her time as the Segmentation Study leader, Downey took the initiative to send updates to the entire bank. Alternate Approaches Deviating from a client-centric strategic plan could negatively impact BCB-NA’s future success. Nonetheless, two other alternate approaches were considered. The first approach considered a compensation system where bankers would be paid variable commissions based on fee-based transactions. The variable in commissions would depend on the type of investment vehicles clients would invest in. This viable approach guarantees cash flows from transactions with no dramatic culture change. However, after careful consideration, this alternative was rejected since bankers would be incentivized more by selling a diversity of investment vehicles to clients rather than working for clients’ best interests. The second approach considered but rejected involved an overhaul of the organization structure. After the Segmentation findings, Adam seemed adamant about moving away from the geographic-focused organizational structure of the Company. As such, an alternative approach considered was to eliminate geographic departments and implement an organizational structure focused on client-type. One of the key success factors for companies in the private banking industry is to customize services based on the needs of customers. A BJB-NA client-focused structure based on client characteristics (such as wealth, age, income level) may be more advantageous, especially with raised expectations now required by Adam on bankers’ book of clients. Additionally, within a geographic organization, conflict may occur between local regional management and the executives at corporate. As such, this may hurt the opportunity for knowledge sharing and collaboration, values emphasized by the Baer family. However, as much as a client-focused structure might have its advantages, a geographic organizational structure still is the most effective for BJB-NA. Communication is much more personal in geographic organizational structures. Instead of calling or videoconferencing with olleagues across the globe, it forces employees to sit next to each other to form collaborative teams, values preached by the Baer family. In addition, it allows employees to understand each other’s personalities and work styles. Besides the human capital element, geographic work teams allow BJB-NA to hire leaders familiar with the local business environment, something vital for the relationship-focused private banking industry. Not only will employees understand the client better but the clients will be more comfortable around employees who share similar interests and culture.

LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 .1 Definition of Consumer Behaviour

LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 .1 Definition of Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour can be defined as the study of individuals, groups or organisations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. (Hawkins, Best, and Coney, 2001, p7.) This definition contain a sequential process involving different activities that can be influence to the consumer in a number of ways. The study of Consumer Behaviour is the study of how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, and effort) on consumption-related items. It includes the study of what they buy, why they but it, when they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, and how often they use it. It concludes elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. Consumer behaviour goal is to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand peoples wants. Although this subject study on how and why consumers make decisions to buy goods and services, consumer behaviour research goes far beyond these facets of consumer behaviour and encompasses all of the behaviours that consumers display in searching for, purchasing using,evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they key expect will sa tisfy their needs. And other definitions is emphasise the mental, emotional, and physical processes and needs and wants, as well as the influence of perceived risk. (Arens, 1999, p129) The literature generally distinguishes between individual consumer buying and organisational purchasing processes. Wilson (2000) argues that the distinction is artificial and a generic behavioural model must be developed for both individual and organisational consumers with appropriate contextual adjustment. The field of consumer behaviour is enormous, and highlights the importance of the customer at the centre of the marketers universe. Every each consumers is unique with different needs and wants and buying choices and habits and choice that are in turn tempered by psychological and social drivers that affect purchase decision processes. (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). The literature review concludes a high level overview about consumer behaviour. It contains consumer behaviour from an individual perspective and considers consumer behaviour in the context of a rational purchasing decision process. It is including a perspective on the ethical responsibility of marketers. Foxall (1993) notes that a purely behavioural approach, which relies on observed results as a means to infer the end result of human information processing should be supplemented by an evolutionary explanation. He suggests that evolution is a causal mechanism which accounts for selection or a decision by consequence. The experience of results of prior and similar behaviour (operant conditioning), environmental influences, and cultural changes should be considered in order to explain and predict changes in consumer behaviour. The argument is therefore, that the principle of selection by environmental consequence will enhance behaviourist thinking in a marketing context. When we analyzing about the consumer behaviour is perceived as cornerstone of a successful marketing strategy (Papers4you.com, 2006). Consumer behaviour is mental and emotional processes and the observable behaviour of consumers during searching purchasing and post consumption of a product and service (Batra Kazmi, 2004). Similarly Engel (et al, 1990) refers consumer behaviour is the action and decision process of people who wants to purchase goods and services for personal consumption. If these defining criteria are already observed, it is evident that we analyzing consumers decision making process is the foundation of entire notion of consumer behaviour. There are four different views related to consumer decision making process and behaviour (Schiffman Kanuk, 2004). The first views is economic view that consumers are primarily face competition and they are always expected to make rational decision on the basis of assumptions that they are aware of all product alternatives, they can rank benefits and limitation of each alternative and able to identify one of the best alternative. Second views is Passive View is absolutely opposite to economic view and this view suggest that consumers are irrational and impulsive as they are submissive to self-center interests of marketers and that consumers got influenced by the marketing tools. And the third views is Emotional View. This view related to perceive consumers decision making based on their emotional association or feeling about some products and services. Example, if a person loosing red colour pen neither go for rational decision by evaluating alternatives (economic view) or the perso n get influenced by marketers (passive view). Thus the person will try to purchase any ring closely resembled with his favourite. And the last views is Cognitive View where consumers are considered as thinking problem solver. which are receptive as well as actively searching for the products and services that can fill their need. Consumers behaviour under this view is based on information seeking and processing attributes usually directed by a goal. For example, buying a tooth paste from shop can have a certain goal of choosing product that can taste good (Papers4you.com, 2006). Â  Despite of critiques for each viewpoint, it can be considered a valid argument, that all four types of decision making behaviour exist and provide marketer guidelines to analyze consumer accordingly. After we anaylyze the data from each viewpoint, it can be considered a valid argument, that all four types of decision making behaviour are exist and provide marketer guidelines to analyze about consumer habits. Based on the general perception about most acknowledged and common cognitive view, Batra Kazmi (2004) asserts broader stages of a consumers decision making process that includes identification of problem (feeling need of a new car), information search (on internet and showrooms), alternatives evaluation (comparing brands, for example like on basis of repute and features), outlet selection and purchase (purchasing selected item) and post-purchase action (satisfaction or dissonance).

Napoleon :: essays research papers

The Napoleonic wars did have a large impact on industrialization in Europe as a result of realizations and actions taken to better their countries after the Napoleonic wars. Although the Industrial Revolution began in Britain during the 1700’s it was boosted in the early 1800’s after the Napoleonic wars because of reform that was needed. Industrialization then started spreading throughout Europe and into North America in the early 1800’s. By the mid-1800’s industrialization was widespread. This was all a result, somewhat indirectly of the Napoleonic wars. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for several reasons. By the mid-1700's, the country had become the world's leading colonial power. Great Britain's colonies not only provided raw materials, but also provided markets for manufactured products. These colonial markets helped stimulate the textile and iron industries, which were probably the two most important industries during the Industrial Revolution. The demand for British goods grew rapidly during the late 1700's both in Britain and in other countries. This demand forced businesses to compete with each other for the limited supply of labor and raw materials, which raised production costs. The rising costs began to cut into profits. Further demand could not be satisfied until Britain enlarged its capacity to produce goods inexpensively. British merchants did not want to raise the prices of their goods and discourage demand. So, they sought more economical and efficient ways of using money and labor so the amount each worker produced would increase faster than the cost of production. The merchants achieved their goal through the development of factories, machines, and technical skills, thus, industrialization. The French Revolution began in 1789, after the start of industrialization. At first, many British approved the revolution as a triumph of liberty for the French people. But they changed their mind after the revolution grew more violent. Britain’s foreign policy was based on keeping the balance of power in Europe so that no country could gain control of another. This led them to form alliances with weak countries when they were in need. Therefore, when the new French government seized Belgium and threatened the Netherlands Britain protested and in 1793 they went to war. Napoleon Bonaparte led the French beginning in 1799. In 1803 he began to plan to invade Britain, but his naval power was crushed in the Battle of Trafalgar. He then tried to defeat them by ordering all of the countries under his command to close their markets off to Britain.

Biography of Pope John Paul the Second Essay -- Popes Religion Religio

Biography of Pope John Paul the Second The most recognised man in the world, His Holiness Pope John Paul II was born in Wadowice, Poland on the 18th May, 1920. When he was born he was given the name Karol Jozef Wojtyla, Karol after his father and Jozef after the father of Jesus Christ. He was referred to affectionately as Lolek. By the age of 21 the Pope had experienced great loss with the deaths of all the immediate members of his family. His mother died when he was only 8 years old, his elder brother, a doctor, when he was 12 and his father when he was just 21. His father had dreamed of seeing his son enter the priesthood, but unfortunately he did not live to see him become a priest. As a schoolboy the Pope was an excellent student and an enthusiastic athlete – he skied, hiked, kayaked and swam. The Pope’s family were strict Catholics, but he had Christian friends and Jewish friends – in a time when many behaved in a racist manner towards Jewish people. After graduating from high school the Pope attended the university in Krakow. While at university studying Literature and Philosophy, he also joined a theatre company. In 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The Nazis closed libraries, and universities – including the one where the Pope studied. They shot people for going to the theatre and even for speaking the Polish language. They even shot priests who opposed them. The Pope also saw his Jewish friends and neighbours being herded into the ghetto. During this time the Pope worked in a quarry and a chemical factory while he studied Theology in secret. â€Å"Any day I could have been picked up on the street, at the factory or at the stone quarry and sent to a concentration camp. Sometimes I asked myself: ‘So many people at my age were losing their lives, why not me?’†. When the Seminary in Krakow re-opened after the war the Pope continued his studies and he was ordained on the 1st November, 1946. Learning was important to the Pope and over the next few years he obtained a number of degrees. As a young priest in Poland the Pope defied the Communist authorities. Privately he advised and encouraged political activists. He developed a Catholic newspaper that conveyed views that opposed those of the communist government. He founded secret clubs for Catholic intellectuals and ran an underground seminary for future priests from ne... ...cognised their importance to the Holy Catholic Church by instituting World Youth day. The first gathering was in 1984 when he invited the youth to gather in Rome for a special celebration - an international jubilee of youth. The following year he invited the youth to come again to celebrate the United Nations International Year of Youth. He was so overwhelmed by the numbers that came that he decided to make it a regular celebration. World Youth Day is held every two years. This year the celebration is being held in Cologne, Germany. The Pope had a large capacity to forgive. In 1981 he was shot in an assassination attempt. The Pope visited his would-be assassinator in gaol offering him his forgiveness. Throughout his 26 papacy he worked tirelessly for mankind to bring peace and justice to the world. He reminded us of the value of individuals in the modern world. In recent years we have seen the Pope struggle as his health has failed him, but he continued to meet the daily challenges of life. It was this humanity, his warmth as a human being and his ability to talk plainly that made people feel close to him, and this is why so many mourn throughout the world at this time.

The Leader of the Future

Running Head: Morgan – The Leader of the Future Becoming the Leader of the Future Andreica L. Morgan Post University Bus508. 91: The Future of Leadership and Management Carolyn Shiffman PhD Saturday, August 21, 2010 ABSTRACT3 Assignment Synopsis & Thesis Specification5 Discussion5 Lessons Learned from Past and Current Leadership5 The Essential Leadership Qualities Going Forward6 New and Distinctive Challenges for Leaders of the 21st Century and Beyond7 The Focus Will Be On Skills – Both Hard and Soft9 Hard knowledge will still be essential9The increasing importance of soft skills10 Interaction and communication skills10 Coaching11 Giving and Receiving Feedback11 The Strategic Process for Obtaining These Skills12 Summary & thesis opinion12 References:13 ABSTRACT I will be defining leadership as it was in the past, creating a personal definition of leadership for the future, and forging a strategy for obtaining the skills and experiences that will improve my ability to re ach that definition of leadership.There are many different levels of leadership within a company, but I will use the term â€Å"SEE-Level leadership† as the level I will be focusing on based on this definition: â€Å"†¦SEE-Level leaders hold a variety of titles: supervisor, team leader, project manager, foreman, unit manager, and the like. Working daily on the front lines, these people see problems, opportunities, and challenges. † (Wellins & Weaver, 2003, pg 60). Traditionally, these leaders dealt in a top-down management style, with leanings towards team building in order to complete a limited number of specific company objectives. Herman, 2000, pg 76). A frequent initial choice of SEE-Level leadership style will be participative leadership but a transition to facilitative leadership should be expected by any current leader as something they should learn. Their new roles will include assuring an understanding of objectives, providing resources, coaching, teachin g, encouraging, measuring, and giving objective feedback. Independent telecommuters, 9-to-5’rs, and multinational teams working on solutions for global companies will have diverse leadership needs.Leaders, therefore, have to expand their leadership styles, coaching methods, and types of interactions to accommodate those needs. Future SEE-Level leaders need proficiencies of which their predecessors had no knowledge. The leaders of the future are going to be a main resource for information, strategies, and support for their direct- and indirect-reports, coworkers, and leaders. Being a good leader means developing soft skills as well as business skills.SEE-Level leaders must have extensive training in interpersonal as well as handling the managerial issues in order to succeed. â€Å"Like most things worth doing well, leadership isn't born of knowledge alone. It takes practice, feedback, and careful application of the right skills over a period of years to develop into an except ional leader. † (Wellins & Weaver, 2003, pg 62). Following that note, involvement in an internship as well as soft skills classes will be essential to my success as a SEE-Level leader. Assignment Synopsis & Thesis SpecificationThis assignment is a summation of the history, the theories, and the potential applications of the leadership concepts I have learned in this class. I have to not only understand what has happened, but also how it happened so that I can be an effective leader in any company I may chose to work for, or when I get brave enough to go forging out on my own. This is important so that I can either tweak the successes to make them meaningful for myself, or learn from the mistakes that have been made so as not to repeat them.Here, I will be defining leadership as it was in the past, creating a personal definition of leadership for the future, and forging a strategy for obtaining the skills and experiences that will improve my ability to reach that definition of leadership. Discussion Lessons Learned from Past and Current Leadership There are many different levels of leadership within a company, but those that †¦really make or break a company, and who offer the greatest return on a development investment, operate at what we call the SEE-level. SEE-level leaders hold a variety of titles: supervisor, team leader, project manager, foreman, unit manager, and the like. Working daily on the front lines, these people see problems, opportunities, and challenges. They are the most visible level of leadership to employees and customers. They bear the brunt of the responsibility for engaging workers, building morale, and retaining key players. (Wellins & Weaver, 2003, pg 60). These SEE-level employees are usually the connector between the policies created at the head office and the adherence to those policies in the field.Traditionally, these leaders dealt in a top-down management style, with leanings towards team building in order to complete a limited number of specific company objectives. However, â€Å"By 2010 directive leadership will be practically obsolete†. (Herman, 2000, pg 76). While Herman is off his mark by a few years, his words are on the right track. With a transition from industrial jobs filled with those who needed direction to complete their life-threatening tasks, to a more independent and information driven world, the ability to give edicts with a â€Å"there is only one way to lead – my way† indset is going the way of the dinosaur. Being a paternalistic leader, giving directions and requiring frequent status checks is now considered micromanagement and employees soon leave companies that continue to use this style of leadership. I will continue using SEE-Level leadership, as this is the level of leadership to which I currently aim. The Essential Leadership Qualities Going Forward The labor force will be more self-directed than they were previously and many will desire leaders of dif ferent styles than present leaders are used to.Employees of the future want leaders that will assist them with reaching their goals of self-fulfillment as well as providing a living. Based on that assumption, leaders will have to learn new styles of leading that focus on inspiring and coaching their followers to increase their productivity and expanding their familiarity with new technologies and advances to facilitate that increase. During this time, management will be redefined to nonhuman resources – such as product lines, procedures, equipment, etc.Anything people-related would be called either â€Å"leadership, support, or facilitation, more accurately reflecting the actual work associated with the role†. (Herman, 2000, pg 76). A frequent initial choice of SEE-level leadership style will be participative leadership but a transition to facilitative leadership should be expected by any current leader as something they should learn. â€Å"Participative leadership, w ith leaders making decisions after increasingly strong involvement from workers, will continue until about 2020, responding to the needs of older workers who still want, and hence need, some direction.Note that the design will be participative leadership, rather than the earlier style of participative management. † (Herman, 2000, pg 74). Facilitative leaders will be those that clear obstacles then let the followers shine – Facilitative leaders will concentrate on making possible the high performance of each of their direct reports. Roles will include assuring an understanding of objectives, providing resources, coaching, teaching, encouraging, measuring, and giving objective feedback. †¦ While receiving this coaching, the individuals will choose to form their own internally otivated teams to collaborate for results. The job of the leader will be to prepare people to perform independently, then help them to grow and achieve, capitalizing on their individual strength s. (Herman, 2000, p75-76). Because their roles will be changed to that of more of a support system than a management system, SEE-level leaders will have to view their upcoming challenges in a different light than their predecessors did. New and Distinctive Challenges for Leaders of the 21st Century and BeyondOver the next few years, there will be several urgent challenges that SEE-level managers will have to face. The most pressing will be the impending retirement of a significant portion of the experienced work force which will affect not only productivity but stem the flow if experiential information as well as extensive knowledge to the next generation. With less than 10% of companies having a formal process to pass along information, â€Å"U. S. employers have only begun to take steps to ensure that their retiring employees are sharing their knowledge with the organization†. Wellins & Weaver, 2003, pg 61; Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009, pg 105). In an effort to prevent this dea rth of knowledge, leaders will have to put into place mentorship programs that link experienced workers to younger, less experienced, or more technologically savvy workers to create a knowledge sharing base. This allows the older workers to share their experience, techniques, and insights with the younger workers, and the younger workers to educate the older workers in the new advances in technology and innovative procedures to expand their horizons as well.Another challenge because of the decrease in number of mid-level managers is that each manager has increased responsibilities, many times spanning many groups. Independent telecommuters, 9-to-5’rs, and multinational teams working on solutions for global companies will have diverse leadership needs. Leaders, therefore, have to expand their leadership styles, coaching methods, and types of interactions to accommodate those needs. This requires time for further training and development than normally available due to extended work responsibilities.Managing a virtual workplace is going to be more common – potential for less face to face daily interaction with followers or coworkers so the shift in focus will be to results versus following a proscribed process. â€Å"By the year 2005, we expect at least 20 percent of the working population to be home-based†¦ and perhaps even 40 percent by the year 2020. † (Herman, 2000, pg 77). With changes in the way people interact to get work done, SEE-level leaders will have to find ways to build connections between the different stakeholders that they are responsible for in order to have a cohesive unit.Finally, today’s organizations need committed workforces, yet not many have them. Fostering high personnel dedication has become a formidable task, so much that it will become the primary job of SEE-level leaders in their efforts to engage the hearts, minds, and loyalties of those that work for them. Pressure for performance — with fewe r resources — has escalated. Values and attitudes about work have become shifted across generations. In addition, employees, seeing how little loyalty organizations have shown their people over the past few decades, have begun to return the favor. Herman, 2000, pg 75; Wellins & Weaver, 2003, pg 62) The Focus Will Be On Skills – Both Hard and Soft Future SEE-level leaders need proficiencies of which their predecessors had no knowledge. Besides being adept business people, the leaders also need to be able to deal with changing demographic issues, come up with or facilitate implementation of creative ideas, and have excellent people skills. To be able to meet all these new requirements, the new business leaders need continuous training and support. Hard knowledge will still be essentialThe leaders of the future are going to be a main resource for information, strategies, and support for their direct- and indirect-reports, coworkers, and leaders. As such, expert power will be essential in substantiating their leadership status. According to Nahavandi (2009, pg 164), â€Å"people may influence others because of special expertise, knowledge, information, or skills that others need. People listen to the experts, follow their advice, and accept their recommendations. † As a new SEE-level leader, having the formal training for a position is a good start, however actual experience makes for a better teacher. Like most things worth doing well, leadership isn't born of knowledge alone. It takes practice, feedback, and careful application of the right skills over a period of years to develop into an exceptional leader. † (Wellins & Weaver, 2003, pg 62). With this in mind, many companies need to either implement or strengthen mentoring, internship, and apprenticeship programs within their companies in order to foster an environment of inclusion versus exclusion as well as provide necessary job experience, which is key to attracting and retaining t op talent, building employee commitment, and encouraging creativity and innovation.Nahavandi indicates that the ability to either volunteer for or be assigned to â€Å"challenging and high-visibility projects† (2009, pg 165), as well as building a wide-ranging network of relationships and using information and building expertise will help build credibility during the early stages of a â€Å"young† leader’s career. However, knowing the business backwards and forwards will do no good if I am not able to translate that knowledge into useful communication to those following me in a way they can understand. Knowing soft-skills comes into play at this point.The increasing importance of soft skills Being a good leader means developing soft skills as well as business skills. SEE-level leaders must have extensive training in interpersonal as well as handling the managerial issues in order to succeed. During the 2009 study â€Å"Leadership Developmental Needs–A Sy stem for Identifying Them†, Takala, Winegar, and Kuusela determined that developmental areas that current and future leaders needed to enhance and expand their proficiencies in were related to Interaction, Coaching, and Giving and Receiving FeedbackInteraction and communication skills When communicating w/your coworkers or subordinates, the ability to share information and interact are key factors in being successful. Learning to share information effectively is a two part mission, first to understand and then to be understood. The goal is to improve mutual understanding (Runion, 2009b), so a good communicator will become a reflective listener by listening for meaning and checking with the speaker to see that a statement has been correctly heard and understood before communicating further.There are classes and books available that teach communication skills, but no matter how it is done, â€Å"communication skill training is never complete without analyzing communication styl es and learning how to communicate effectively with different personality tendencies† (Runion, 2009a). Coaching The area of coaching involves enhancing skills that inspire, energize, and develop subordinates, coworkers, and the leader themselves. Callan (2007) suggests that two key traits are common in good coaches that can be learned and developed.One element is the willingness to create an environment where staff feels inspired and empowered to try new things, even to the point of failure, and using these opportunities to give advice, coaching or mentoring to help expand expertise. The other is that good coaches actively seek out, encourage, reward, and develop talent by identifying and implementing programs and activities that either build on current skills or give development where skills are lacking.Giving and Receiving Feedback The area of coaching leads to the area of giving feedback, either in regards to the coaching provided or in general, sometimes to non-performers or in response to conflict management. Per Callan (2007), one of the traits needed to provide good feed back is the ability to deal effectively with under performers by delivering appropriate forms of feedback based on the individual’s communication and learning styles and needs.Providing numbers in regards to dollars lost by doing something incorrectly to a person who cares about the human factor would be inappropriate and ineffective, but providing information on how action or inaction will affect others in regards to frustration and time spent correcting the mistakes will usually spur the desired response. By doing this, it promotes a trusting relationship that makes staff feel valued and more receptive to coaching and feedback because their needs are taken into account.In addition, when providing feedback, the ability to make a point of acknowledging good performance as well as pointing out poor performance promotes the understanding that management is not always looking for the problems, but the solutions and good things as well. With a trusting atmosphere, staff is encouraged to learn more or produce more innovative products, technologies, and systems. The Strategic Process for Obtaining These Skills By knowing the different areas that I must focus on, I can utilize all of the resources available to obtain the skills I see as being necessary to become a SEE-level leader.My current company has several leadership training courses in order to do things â€Å"The APAC Way†, and they have created new positions called â€Å"Advisors† as a mentorship/job shadowing option in preparation for internal career advancement for many different positions. Outside of the those options sponsored by my company, I will have to continue seeking opportunities to read books, journals, and pamphlets as well as attend seminars and classes on communication skills, providing feedback, and other aspects of leadership in order to stay abreast of changing trends. Summary & thesis opinionBy giving a brief summation of the history, the theories, and the potential applications of the leadership concepts I have learned in this class, I have recognized and understand what changes have happened in leadership. I have also examined what competencies I have to achieve so that I can be an effective leader in any company I may chose to work for, or when I get brave enough to go forging out on my own. My definition of leadership has been one of facilitating the growth of followers versus one of patriarchal order giving has led me to determine what training I will need to provide that leadership to my followers.Using this definition, I have forged a strategy for obtaining the skills and experiences that will improve my ability to reach that definition of leadership using resources available through my current company and sought out by my own initiative. I hope it all works. References: Callan, V; Mitchell, J; Clayton, B; Smith, L & National Centre for V ocational Education Research. (2007). A Set of Resources and Tools for Identifying, Building, and Sustaining the Learning and Development Needs of Managers and Leaders. Support Document. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).Retrieved from ERIC database. Herman, R. E. (2000). A leadership evolution. Employment Relations Today, 73-82. Retrieved August 15, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. Nahavandi, A. (2009). The Art and Science of Leadership (Fifth Ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Runion, M. (2009a). A Question of Communication Style: Seven Strategies to Bridge the Communication Style Gap. Speak Strong Inc. http://www. speakstrong. com/articles/communication-styles/stylebridge. html Runion, M. (2009b). How to Use Reflective Listening Scripts: The Top Ten Dos, Don'ts, and PowerPhrases to Promote Understanding.Speak Strong Inc. http://www. speakstrong. com/inventory Takala, M; Winegar, D; Kuusela, J (2009). Leadership Developmental Needs–A System for Identifying Them. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 49(1), 126-147. Retrieved from ERIC database. Takeuchi Cullen, L. (2007, April 26). Employee Diversity Training Doesn't Work. Time. Retrieved August 8, 2010, from http://www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1615183,00. html Wellins, R. S. , & Weaver, Jr. , P. S. (2003, September). From C-Level to See-Level Leadership. T+D, 57-65. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from Education Research Complete.