The Team That Wasnt Essay Example for Free

The Team That Wasnt Essay Fire Art is a family owned business in the glass making industry based out of Indiana. The company has an 80 year history of producing high quality and high priced glass merchandise. About 18 month ago, sales and earnings bottomed out which drove the need to implement a strategic realignment plan to have the business running and winning within six months. The problem in this case is building a collaborative team with various backgrounds and skills to create a strategic realignment plan in the glass industry to take on the competition, build brand loyalty, increase sales and maximize earnings. Assumptions The assumptions in the case are the employees lack of knowledge of the family business being in trouble due to flat earnings and sales, participation in a team environment now needed versus contributing individually, the Directors of each division needs help with learning how to collaboratively operate and co-exist together to achieve company objectives, the company is not technologically savvy with the necessary tools to compete, and the company is not known nationally or global in their industry. Some of the key issues in the case are Team Dynamics, Team Development, Leadership Styles, Managerial Decisions, and Industry Competition which are discussed in further detailed as follows. Team Dynamics Team Dynamics plays a key role when forming a team because it is important to ensure the team is cohesive with positive energy. The team would need to reflect not only individual ideas but be mutual and complementary as they reach the goals set for the team. Team base activities are becoming standard in todays business environments. Having a team establishes a way for businesses to collaboratively reach their objectives and hold each other accountable for the tasks at hand. Teamwork is everywhere. More than ever before organizations are recognizing the types of situations for which group work can provide a key competitive advantage (Miller, 2003 p 121). Eric, the Director of Strategy had experience working in a team environment in his previous job function, however he lacked the experience needed for team development not utilized in a family business. Team Development Various reasons, such as different objectives, priorities, personalities, perceptions, methods and styles get in the way of having effective members on a team (Adkins, 2004). Teams are very conventional in new management thinking and have become a main stay in many businesses for collaboration of ideas, goals, and strategies. However, when having a team, there may be members who are not accustomed to a team environment and cause division within the team as they try to reach their objectives. To maintain team performance, it is increasingly important to ensure each individual on the team have high emotional intelligence. The premise for linking emotional intelligence to team performance is that high emotional intelligence enables team members to manage and be aware of their own emotions and the emotions of other team members (Jordan Troth, 2004). Emotional awareness and emotional management are essential attributes for team performance because they cultivate effective relationships with fellow workers to enhance team dynamics. Leadership Style Leadership skills are integral to team dynamics and development in order for the team to perform proficiently. Leadership encompass many styles and variations based upon several factors that make up the individual leader. Forbes magazine highlights four key styles of leadership, which are Visionary, Empathetic, Humble Servitude, and Moral or Ethical (Karlgaard, 2009). These key leadership traits work together when running a major business like Fire Art. Jack, the CEO, ran the company based on his family values and lacked the vision needed to forecast changes in the glass industry. To know and understand yourself is fundamental to knowing and understanding others and motivating them to follow your vision as a leader (Youngblood, 2010). There are several leadership resources available to develop oneself not only at the CEO level but at all levels in order for the company to achieve its objective in the marketplace and within their own businesses with employees. What family businesses value and believe about people, work, and money shapes their behavior toward their business and their employees. Without shared values, it is difficult to create a sense of direction for the business. Managerial Decisions The decisions that managers make when running a business, forming teams, or creating strategies are very important for the overall health of the business. Fire Art limited itself strictly in the Mid-Western region and did not embrace expansion outside of it current market area. This decision may have worked for many years in the company but it restricted its growth which allowed competition to gain market share in their industry. It is also imperative that management from a Senior level ensure their employees are aware of the direction the company wants to take in regards to increasing market share, sales and earnings particularly if they see a downward trend in those areas. Hence, the CEO vision for their business or company becomes increasingly important along with the belief the company has a viable product or service the consumer wants. A manager with strong beliefs about the right course of action will attract subordinates with similar beliefs. This alignment of beliefs between managers and workers in the same company gives direction to the firm and affects incentives and coordination (Wen Zhou, 2009). The CEO of Fire Art believes he can turn his family business around with a comprehensive plan for strategic realignment in the glass industry. He has made a key decision by tapping into his subordinates resources and skills along with bringing in a consultant to facilitate the process. Every business has to examine its own situation and decide what constitutes the critical aspects of its own environment (Heller, 1972). The Fire Art is a family own business without any mass production or national distribution. The business did not embrace current technologies or market strategies for their current industry and therefore needs to reexamine its needs in the marketplace. The use of information technology and the Internet between small family businesses and their economic environment enables resource exchange and electronic interaction inside the company, with their client base and vendors (Niehm, Tyner, Shelly, Fitzgerald, 2010). Fire Art has to fine tune their business in the technology area to keep ahead of their competition and remain competitive in the glass industry. Industry Competition Constant changes can be expected in products, in product lines, and models of existing products in a competitive society (Cassady, 1964). With the evolution of various products, todays technology plays an intricate part in how a business competes with their competition. Design, Manufacturing, and Distribution are all key roles that are intertwined together to put out the best product to the marketplace. Its imperative that businesses stay abreast of the new technologies as it relates to their industry in order to stay ahead or compete against their competitors. Fire Art is a family owned business that has stood the test of time for about 80 years as a high end glass manufacturer. Because of this, their Brand has longevity against the competitors in regards to standing out in the industry. In modern times, brands and brand management have become a central feature of the modern economy and a staple of business theory and business practice (Desai Waller, 2010). Fire Art can utilize their brand to propel them forward as realign and restructure their business to take on the competition in glass industry. Recommendations The plan of action is for the CEO to hold a companywide meeting to address the trouble the company is facing and why strategic repositioning needs to take place now. In order for the strategic repositioning to be effective and provide impact to the earnings and revenue, the CEO needs to incorporate senior level management in the newly formed team. Because the CEO has already brought in a Strategic Director for the job, he should allow Eric to interview the potential team members before forming the team to ensure the goals and objectives can be met. Once the team is formed a monthly report should be provided to the CEO to assess the progress of the strategic realignment. The CEO has requested the strategic repositioning to be done in six months. The recommendation here is to have a comprehensive plan in place in six months and then implement the plan in next six months to give the team time to work out any issues or factors that may prevent the team from reaching the ultimate objective of repositioning the company. In order to mitigate any problems that may arise during team development, it is recommended the selected team participants undergo the Stages of Group Development Model by Bruce Tuckman. Training and development is recommended for all employees to increase and maintain their current skills so they continue to be a valuable mployee to the company efforts to reposition. The company as a whole needs to invest and implement new technologies to have their product put to market faster to keep abreast of the competition. Currently Fire Art is limited to the Mid-Western region for their glass products. It would be advisable to look at expanding nationwide in the United States and then Globally. A market analysis should be conducted in regards to new design trends, pricing, manufacturing, distribution and other factors in regards to re-branding the family business beyond the Mid-Western footprint.

Juvenile Crime :: essays research papers

Remember doing something mischievous or wrong when you were a kid and getting the label "delinquent" slapped on you ? Did you ever wonder what it meant ? That is what my topic for today is . . . juvenile delinquency. In this report I will: define juvenile delinquency, give the extent of juvenile delinquency, give some suggestions on what causes juvenile delinquency, and what is being done in various communities to deal with this growing problem. The legal term juvenile delinquent was established so that young lawbreakers could avoid the disgrace of being classified in legal records as criminals. Juvenile delinquency laws were designed to provide treatment, rather than punishment, for juvenile offenders. Young delinquents usually are sent to juvenile courts, where the main aim is to rehabilitate offenders, rather than to punish them. But the term juvenile delinquency itself has come to imply disgrace in today's society. A youngster can be labeled a delinquent for breaking an y one of a number of laws, ranging from robbery to running away from home. But an action for which a youth may be declared a delinquent in one community may not be against the law in another community. In some communities, the police ignore many children who are accused of minor delinquencies or refer them directly to their parents. But in other communities, the police may refer such children to a juvenile court, where they may officially be declared delinquents. Crime statistics, though they are often incomplete and may be misleading, do give an indication of the extent of the delinquency problem. The FBI reports that during the early 1980's, about two-fifths of all arrests in the United States for burglary and arson were of persons under the age of 18. Juveniles also accounted for about one-third of all arrests for larceny. During any year, about 4 % of all children between the ages of 10 and 18 appear in a juvenile court. The percentage of youngsters in this group who are sent to court at least once is much higher. A third or more of those boys living in the slum areas of large cities may appear in a juvenile court at least once. Girls are becoming increasingly involved in juvenile delinquency. Today, about one of every five youngsters appearing in juvenile court is a girl. In the early 1900's, this ratio was about 1 girl to every 50 or 60 boys.

A study of the catfishing scheme of hile according to special agent steve kim Essay

A 29-year-old man from Michigan intended to kill a woman and her boyfriend from San Diego who got unwittingly involved in the man’s virtual love affair. The man, by the name of Hile, had gotten himself involved in a â€Å"catfishing scheme†. A â€Å"catfishing scheme† is â€Å"when a person uses social media to pretend to be someone their not, typically to engage in misleading online romances†. Hile was involved in an Internet-only relationship for two years. He exchanged explicit photos and romantic communications with someone who he believed was a woman. When Hile learned that the â€Å"women† he thought he was in a relationship was a man living in South Africa he â€Å"became enraged and vowed to find the man who deceived him and the women when images played a role in the deception†. According to Special Agent Steve Kim in the San Diego Division, â€Å"The woman, in this case, was a victim twice†. Kim explains â€Å"when the woman was 18 years old, she took revealing pictures of herself for personal use, never intending for them to be seen publicly. Those photos were later stolen from her online account, which she was aware of, but she had no idea what was being done with them†. Hile’s primary target for the revenge was the man from South Africa who actually dumped him. According to Special Agent Steve Kim South Africa was too far away and using a process she described as â€Å"circular logic† he went after the women instead. Even though the women had nothing to do with this internet-only relationship scam with the man from South Africa and Hile, he still believed she had some kind of responsibility just because she was used in the pictures. Hile was determined to learn the woman’s identity he cyberstalked her, conducted extensive online searches, and used hacking tools. Special Agent Steve Kim said â€Å"Eventually, he was able to hack into her e-mail account,†Ã‚  Hile got a hole of very detailed personal information on the women. He found not only information about the women but her live-in boyfriend and also their extended family and friends. After finding out her Address, telephone numbers and even information such as her favorite restaurant he purchased a bus ticket from Michigan to San Diego to kill the women. â€Å"Fortunately, Hile’s family sensed that he was planning something and alerted authorities, which eventually led to Hile’s detention in San Diego, about a mile from the woman’s residence.† When hill was arrested he not only had all of the information he collected about the women but also had duct tape, zip ties, and a to-do list which included things such as obtai ning a knife and chloroform. Special Agent Steve Kim said, â€Å"Had he gotten there, we are convinced he would have hurt or killed the victims†. â€Å"Hile was found guilty by a San Diego jury in August 2013.† This case influences my ethics because I feel that what this man did was wrong. Hile had no reason to attack the girl in the pictures, she was unknowingly involved with the internet-only romantic affair Hile was having. If Hile chooses to get involved in an internet-only romantic affair with someone he should have known the risks of doing so. I also feel that from a standpoint of him being arrested 5 years is not enough time in prison. â€Å"The maximum allowed by law for interstate stalking is five years in federal prison,† I think this man should have been charged with intent to kill. I know each state has its own cyber laws but is their not a law covering this type of situation? I could only find information on laws with intent to kill that involved a type of battery or assault paired with it. I could not find any laws specifically relating to someone who was cyber-stalking someone with an intent to kill them. I think this man should have had a different sentence due to the circumstances of this crime. My own computer security of ethics would be as follows. I would not use any knowledge I have learned to break into any computer systems. I would not use computer systems in any way that may harm people. I would not snoop around in another person’s files. I would not use someone’s computer or computer resources without authorization. I would also never release malicious software on to others computer systems. I think that having a code of ethics when using computers can be as simple as being considerate and respect for your fellow computer users.    References The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) (2013, December 23).  Cyber Stalker – Cautionary Tale of Online Romance and Revenge. Retrieved  March  2, 2014, from http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/december/cautionary-tale-of-online-romance-and-revenge/cautionary-tale-of-online-romance-and-revenge Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia (2014, February 26).  Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved  March  3, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments_of_Computer_Ethics

The Basic Teachings of Islam - 3603 Words

Topic: the basic teachings of Islam Introduction Religion is one way of helping people establish a meaningful way of life, ground on promoting humanity’s personal growth and the concerns of others. Religion is not a simple term to define because different people from different societies, cultures and contexts may give different meanings and interpretations of religion. Roger Schmidt in his book, Exploring Religion, comments that, â€Å"religion is a set of beliefs, practices, and social structures, grounded in people’s experience of the holy that accommodates their emotional, social, intellectual, and meaning-giving needs.† There are thousands of religions that have existed in the world; some of the major religions are composed of†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, there are three stages in the origins and developments of the Quran: the first stage is the revelation received by the prophet of Muhammad, the second stage is Muhammad’s oral transmission of the revelation to his follower, and the fin al stage is the recording of the revelation. Moreover, the Quran is also comprised of the stories of the previous prophets, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus; as well as many commands and prohibitions from God. â€Å"The use of the Quran in the religious life of a Muslim is ritually prescribed.† The Quran is a widespread scripture to all humanity, and does not only address a special ethnic group. The teaching of the Quran is a guide for humanity and provides answers to the blankness of our lives and the confusion that is fascinating the world today. Belief in the Angel Belief in the Angel is the significance of Islam. The believers of Islam have to believe in the invisible world as mentioned in the Quran. The Quran was revealed to the prophet of Muhammad not directly by God, but by the Angel Gabriel speaking as a representative of God. The Angel is the messenger of Allah, the Angels responsibilities consist of: communicating revelations from God, worshiping God, recording human’s actions, and taking a persons soul at the time of death. As a servant of God, the angel must obey God’s commands and cannot be regarded as the object of praise or worship. Belief inShow MoreRelatedIslam vs. Christianity Essay608 Words   |  3 PagesOn the surface, Islam and Christianity appear to have very little in common, however, as you get deeper into areas such as rituals, beliefs, ethics, founders, and sacred objects, the two show strong mutual similarities, particularly in the fundamental areas, while being totally different. In this essay I will compare and contrast many of the facets that make up the worlds largest and most recognized religions, Christianity and Islam. 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