Advantages and Disadvantages of Servant Leadership Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Servant Leadership - Essay Example   Another important advantage is the possibility of achieving high productivity and capacity among employees. Servant leadership tends to command respect, trust, and loyalty from employees. Therefore, organizations using servant leadership model are able to record more work output because employees feel as an important part of the organization. Indeed, employees who are nurtured to be leaders in different capacities develop a sense of ownership to the organization as opposed to an autocratic, dictatorial, or centralized form of leadership. Servant leadership cultivates high levels of involvement not only in daily operations of the organization but also in decision making. Whereas servant leadership seeks to attend to the needs of employees, the employees, in turn, feel empowered to attend to the needs of the customers and the organization in general. Furthermore, employees working under servant leadership are given the opportunity to make decisions, provide views and opinions, as w ell as air their concerns. This is a great advantage to the organizations as it can be able to tap into the wide variety of ideas from different employees. This is more important as opposed to the one sided ideas found on other centralized forms of leadership.On a different note, servant leadership can be likened to delegation of duties. Therefore, even in situations when a servant leader may be temporarily not in touch with the employees, the employees can actually act as leaders in their own individual capacities.   

Humanities Paper Essay Example for Free

Humanities Paper Essay Humanities is a topic that has so many wide-ranged meaning in regards to historical literature and arts. After conducting much needed research on the topic at hand, the author will discuss their informational findings in a research paper. In this paper, the author will define the meaning of humanities, discuss a cultural event that has been experienced such as music, dance, theater, art, literature, etc. The author will then elaborate on how a particular event was an expression of what he/she knew about the humanities, art, style, genius, and culture of the time  period it represents. Finally the author will explain how the selected form of cultural expression compares with other forms he/she know about from the same time period. Hopefully after reading this paper, the audience will have a better knowledge about Humanities in the Past, Present, and Future. Humanities Humanities can be very abroad, but one of the meanings of humanities, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is â€Å"Those branches of knowledge, such as philosophy, literature, and art, that are concerned with human thought and culture; the liberal arts† (American  Dictionary, 2000). Culture is a big part of humanities. These patterns, traits, and products are considered as the expressions of a particular period, class, community, or population (American heritage dictionary, 2000). Humanities has really helped paved the way for future endeavors such as the way we think, conduct ourselves, and the way we observe things. Select a cultural event you have experienced, such as music, dance, theater, art, literature, or others. 3 Defining the Humanities Paper Growing up in Louisiana, I have had the honor and pleasure of experiencing many  cultural events, but I must say my favorite cultural experience would have to be music. Music is one of the many ways I could escape from the turmoil in the world. In high school I was in the choir and my favorite instrument at the time was the piano. I use to lead the choir and sometimes, I was able to perform a solo piece while playing my piano. This was a great experience for me because I had an outlet to express myself without even speaking. My high school choir had the honor of performing at a nursing home in St. Francisville where there were a lot of singers,  ex-musicians, and dancers who were in the choir and performed around Louisiana just like my school. They really enjoyed our performance and they shared great stories about the times when they were in high school in the choir, and how music has changed since their days of playing music. Explain how your selected event was an expression of what you know about the humanities, art, style, genius, and culture of the time period it represents. I learned so much about the expression of humanities just by listening to the older  individuals talk about their experiences and the different ways they made music. They did not have the use of different instruments like we have now back in their day. These individuals made music with whatever they had and enjoyed every minute of it. They also expressed their concerns about the schools eliminating the music programs, they feel that they are taking â€Å"art† and â€Å"freedom of expression† away from our youth in the schools. Discuss how your selected form of cultural expression compares with other forms  you know about from the same time period. 4 Defining the Humanities Paper By listening to the elderly individuals at the nursing home it really gave me some insight on the cultural expression I chose which was â€Å"Music†. It showed me just by listening to each of them that music was relevant just as much then as it is now. They just had a different way of making music and expressing themselves while doing so. They made music with cups, buckets, washboards, keys, and anything that made some kind of noise. In today’s society, we now have  advanced technology which allows each one of us to have access to different instruments, such as the piano, guitar, drums, etc. Although the elderly individuals did not have access to the instruments we have today, they still appreciated what they had. Conclusion In conclusion, after conducting research on the topic at hand, the author discussed their informational findings. The author defined the meaning of humanities, discussed a cultural event that was experienced such as music, dance, theater, art, literature, etc. The author then elaborated on how a particular event was an expression of what he/she knew about the humanities, art, style, genius, and culture of the time period it represents. Finally the author explained how the selected form of cultural expression compares with other forms that he/she knew about from the same time period. Hopefully after reading this paper, the audience now have a better knowledge about Humanities in the Past, Present, and Future. 5 Defining the Humanities Paper Reference www. ahdictionary. com/.

Lizards :: essays research papers

Lizards Lizards belong to the class Reptilian, Scientists have said that Reptiles have been on earth for about 200 million years. Lizards make up the largest group of reptiles with more than 4,300 species around the world varying in different shapes and sizes. Lizards look very similar to salamanders but they differ from each other in many ways such as their dry scaly skin and have clawed feet and external ear opening. The majority of lizard are quite small have 4 legs and have a fragile tail that can regenerate when part of it is taken off. Lizards are cold-blooded or ectoderms, which means that they depend on sources outside their bodies like the sun, to raise and maintain there body temperatures. Eating habits vary for lizards and depend upon the species. Some lizards feed only on insects such as the Iguana. On the other hand some eat rodents that roam deserts and eat eggs and small rodents and some feed on both rodents and insects. For protection many lizards use their teeth to scare pre dators off. Lizards are found in tropical and subtropical regions within the world. Few species of lizards are found in temperate regions and none are located in arctic areas. Some lizards are terrestrial, arboreal, or semi-aquatic. Very few lizards are poisonous and use their venom as a defense. Several other species of lizards don’t have a good defensive strategy and rely on camouflage such as the chameleon that is able to change its color according to its surroundings. Females of most lizard species lay eggs then are usually left to hatch on their own. How ever an insignificant amount give birth to living young such as the slowworm. Some female reptiles, mostly green iguanas, do not need a male of their species to begin their reproductive cycle while others do need the presence of one or more males, and need to stimulate the hormone and other changes that lead to egg maturation and laying. To confuse matters more, some female reptiles, especially chelonians, can retain sperm for many years before finally laying a fertilized egg. Most lizards are harmless and benefit humans by keeping the insect populations stable and halt over population. Some species are a source of food; some are killed for their ski ns, but is not illegal in many countries. A vast number of lizards are threatened by violations on their habitat.

Radical Energy Technologies

A radical energy technology is one that is not classed as â€Å"business as usual† and takes a different approach, such as renewable resources, for instance using solar cell technology instead of traditional fossil fuels. It could be a wide range of different technologies, including nuclear, wind, and other fuels. A policy regarding energy or energy consumption reduction could be a target to reduce consumption over the next decades, such as seen in the Kyoto protocol. It could also be more local or domestic such as recycling targets.With the world’s primary energy needs set to grow by 55% by 2030, and electricity consumption to double over the next few decades, managing future need is a global challenge, and one of the most significant of our time. The International Energy Authority (IEA) estimates that $22 trillion of new investment will be needed by 2030. At the same time, there is the global challenge of climate change and the need to develop cleaner sources of energ y in order to improve the health of our environment.There are two main ways of achieving this; measures such as emissions controls, carbon trading and green taxation to encourage a reduction in energy consumption and an increase in energy efficiency, this known as a ‘carrot and stick’ approach. The alternative to this is to develop new and radical technologies that are sustainable and bring energy security. An example of a stick and carrot approach would be through ‘green axes’. In some countries taxation measures, known as green taxes, have been introduced with the aim of cutting the use of natural resources and encouraging waste recycling.In the UK these include new vehicle excise duties (VED) that tax vehicles according to their level of carbon dioxide emissions. Owners of so called ‘gas-guzzlers’ pay more, as do those with older, less fuel-efficient vehicles. Other ideas for taxes aimed at reducing energy consumption include removing stamp duty on the sale of carbon neutral homes, raising the duty on petrol and diesel, and raising air passenger duty on flights out of the UK.Greater use of renewable energy and advances in energy technology may be one answer to a more secure energy future. However, all the new technologies that have emerged so far have their own advantages and disadvantages. Offshore wind turbines for instance costs at least 50% more than on land, but wind speeds at sea are generally double those on land, so offshore turbines can generate more electricity. The fact that offshore wind turbines cannot be seen nor heard from landcommunities, this being a massive advantage, as proposal to build inland wind farms have been strongly opposed by those who claim they are visually unappealing and far too noisy. Horns Rev, in the North Sea off Denmark is one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms. It opened in October 2002, covering an area of 20 km2, and costing in excess of ?220 million to build. It g enerates 160MW through its 80 turbines. A prime factor in the selection of the site was the strength of the winds from all points of the compass.This will make the future of Denmark’s energy much more secure because they know they are guaranteed this supply of energy. Geothermal energy is a new radical technology becoming popular in areas of the world geographically suitable to do so. In the Philippines, 25% of the electricity supply is generated from an underground supply of heat. This renewable geothermal heat is free, inexhaustible and available day and night, due to local geology. The heat is used to turn water into steam, which generates electricity in turbines.Geothermal energy has significant advantages over other renewable resources. There is no need to cover several square kilometres of land with wind turbines or solar panels, when certain parts of the world (main areas include Iceland, the USA and south Australia) have the ‘hot rocks’ that make recovera ble heat possible. However, extracting this heat is not easy. In many locations the heat is too deep to be extracted economically, and the local geology can create problems.

Best Practices in Hr- the Journey of Tata Group

Businesses thriving in harsh environment have an ideal higher than personal profit. There is a common thread that drives them forward for years. This common thread is represented in the core values established by the founding fathers. Businesses that integrate people with the broader goal of sustainability by this common cord are those that live. There is a pioneer of these value driven business practices in the history of corporate India, the TATA group. Understanding the journey of Tata group in the perspective of HR practices can help us examine the role of people or employees in the success of an organization.For this let us understand the core values of the founding father of this business community. [pic] [pic] Jamsetji started the business when India was entering the final phase of colonization. Having met with obstruction and harassment in pre-independence India he adopted a new ideal for his business ‘Community capitalism’. According to eminent Japanese scholar Haruo Funabashi ‘Jamsetji had a more holistic perspective, however. His focus was not the trees but the forest—that is, not the individual stakeholders but the community in the largest sense’.All his efforts whether building a world class hotel or sprawling townships, had been aimed at the greater good of community and nation. Community capitalism is a ‘people first’ approach to business. Jamsetji was the stalwart of HR innovations. In a time when workers were treated as ‘Cogs in wheel’, he voluntarily considered their functional limitations. He provided them with benefits like eight hour working day, free medical aid and maternity benefits long before the government mandated these provisions.By aligning his business aspirations with nation building he engaged in greater community development. All this contributed towards creating a motivated workforce. [pic] The ideals of Jamsetji were carried forward by subsequent Tata leaders. Each le ader synergized these core values with new ones that were the call of his times. JRD Tata sometimes referred to as ‘Chairmen’s chairmen’ brought about a ‘value shift’ in the HR practices. He was a strong believer in a merit and believed in professional management of the group companies.It was this conviction that led him to steer the policies from Human Resource management to Human Resource development by nurturing leaders. His commitment to merit and professionalism ultimately led him to form Tata Administrative services and Tata Management training centre that became breeding grounds for future business leaders. His vision served the group well. Russi Mody, Sumant Moolgaokar and Darbari Seth became beacons of Tata leadership and were instrumental in generating wealth for the group and the country.JRD also understood the crux of successful labour relations. Tata steel became one of the first companies to have a dedicated Human resource department to make workers feel valued after there were frequent tense labour situation despite being treated exceptionally well; indicating worker discontent. JRD was quick to sense that workers had started to feel like parts of a machine. So he made them feel wanted by forming a department just for them. This is why Tata group is considered champions in personnel relations. [pic]The next generation witnessed Ratan Tata’s phenomenal leadership that coincided with unprecedented economic liberalization in India. He envisioned a strategic plan of institutionalizing a stronger collective identity of the Tata group in changing times. The new value he created can be held as ‘Osmosis’, a process of conveying cultures, beliefs and values across group. Efforts like displaying a common logo helped to ingrain common ethos in all Tata companies. But a bigger change had to be dealt with too, The Changing employee aspirations.Ratan Tata soon realized that the generation of employees he is dealing with wanted personal growth and career advancement. Ratan Tata aligned these personal pursuits with business goals by HR practices that can fall under ‘Disruptive innovation’. Integrated HR system, BSC, Brockbank model, HR gurukul, TBEM etc are all part of this alignment. Some may argue that such performance oriented system is against the core values of Jamsetji, who never believed in punishing the weak and rewarding the strong.But it cannot be ignored that with their present policies Tatas do reward the best but do not punish the weak. Performance based layoffs in Tata group are highly uncommon. To sum up Ratan Tata’s vision of Osmosis has only strengthened the foundations of Tata values across group. This belief is mirrored in the chivalry displayed by the Taj hotel staffs during the terrorist attack that was preceded by similar acts of the staff of another Taj group hotel in Maldives during the Tsunami in 2004. The future for both these companies thro ws the challenge of working in a Flat world.With the Tatas going global with M;As and software industry expansion communicating common values across cultures has become a problem. HR initiatives to meet this challenge are yet to be seen. The future roadmap for HR practices in the Tata group should account for the cultural dimension. The HR heads should also be prepared for a new generation of potential employees that is being prepared by a changed society and educational environment. Gauging needs and ambitions of this generation is especially important.Moreover with a change in top leadership this year speculations are high on the changes in HR management of Tata group References Toward a Sustainable Business Model for the 21st Century Haruo Funabashi www. tata. com – visited on 10 September 2012 ———————– BEST PRACTICES IN HR- THE JOURNEY OF TATA GROUP ‘THE OSMOSIS’ – PERPETUATING CORE VALUES ACROSS COMPANIES AND CULTURES IN TATA GROUP ‘THE VALUE SHIFT’-FROM HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMNET TO HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ‘COMMUNITY CAPITALISM’- BUSINESS AIMED AT COMMUNITY BASED DEVELOPMENTFORNATION BUILDING ‘In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in business, but is in fact the very purpose’ –Jamsetji Tata â€Å"To be a leader, you have got to lead human beings with affection† – JRD TATA ‘’One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger than it is now. More importantly, I hope the Group comes to be regarded as being the best in India, best in the manner in which we operate, best in the products we deliver and best in our value systems and ethics’’ – Ratan Tata