Mothers Against Drunk Driving Essay Example for Free

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Essay Moral entrepreneurs refer to people who create or define what is wrong. They claim that a certain social phenomenon is a problem that deserves or calls for an immediate response or action. They persuade the society to make or set strategies or policies based on a specific viewpoint. After identifying a social problem, they work on policies that are consistent with the problem definition. A good example of moral entrepreneurs is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the anti-tobacco lobby. MADD has gained public support in fighting against drink driving which was responsible for many crimes. They have increased the public awareness of drinking to make people more aware about the adverse effects of driving under the influence of alcohol. They changed their initial name of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers to Mothers Against Drunk Driving so that it would gain more meaning as it was against the law. MADD is not opposed to the individuals but to the act of drinking. It has provided grass root leadership so as to create major social change in the people attitudes and behaviour towards drunk driving. It carries out effective research in an effort of providing relevant and accurate information to the public in matters related to drunk driving. Governments, corporations, educators, the media and the public at large encourage MADD’S efforts. It is comprises of men and young women of all walks of life who are willing to join hands in fighting drunk driving as well as underage drinking. It is committed to offering assistance to victims and survivors of drunk driving through emotional, legal, medical and financial ramifications. MADD has large number of trained victims advocates across the country that provide the appropriate information needed. They inform of the criminal justice procedures and assist victims through out the period. Communication is a very important aspect in ensuring that MADD’S activities are successful. It uses the media, the Internet, public or outreach and collaborations with the entertainment industry to ensure that its issues are well addressed. It’s committed to eliminating the problem from grass root level as well as advocating for high-visibility law enforcement strategies. They advocate for severe penalties to those found guilty for instance through license revocation. To influence the public opinion to accept the definition of a problem as important and that which requires to be addressed amicably will require moral entrepreneurs to engage vigorously in public activities. After identifying the ‘evil’ in society they must influence the public with the intension of pulling them to their school of thought. They influence the larger population, legislation, organise public demonstration as well as create issues for the mass media. Tobacco smoking is a serious drug issue that needs to be addressed. Smoking is linked to dangerous health effects not only to the user but also to those surrounding them through the second hand smoke. Tobacco ingredients comprised of over 4000 chemicals all of which can cause harmful effects to the body. They include tar, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide, metals and other radioactive compounds. It can cause cancer and other lung diseases. It causes irritation to the trachea and the voice box and can increase symptoms like coughing and wheezing as well as permanent damage to the air sacs of the lungs. Smoking in public should be prohibited second hand smoke can also cause cancer in human beings leading to deaths of many people. In establishing an effective strategy to gain public support it would be important to first carry out appropriate research on the effects of smoking to human beings. Disseminating this information to the public would enable them have a better understanding of the actual effects of smoking. Incorporating scholars, scientists and relevant professionals not only in the research but also in the information dissemination works to increase the credibility of the efforts against smoking. Lobbying the government to enhance laws against smoking in public places like restaurants, and bars would also be an appropriate step in the fight against adverse effects of smoking. Smoking should also be prohibited in the work place so as to protect innocent workers from the effects of second hand smoke. Installing ‘no-smoking zone’ posters in offices and in other public places would be a way of communicating to people that smoking is not tolerated. Anti-smoking campaigns can be vigorously established where mass education on the dangers of smoking would be applied. Liasing with entertainment programs would also be appropriate in disseminating information regarding smoking. Effective communication must be incorporated in all the campaign strategies. Teamwork is very crucial if any strategy is to be successful. It is therefore very important to ensure that there is collaboration with governmental as well as non-governmental programs. Incorporating people of all races, age, gender and ethnicity would bear positive responses in the fight against smoking. Essay 2 ‘Frequent fliers’ are addicts who are constantly checking in hospitals for detoxification. Their rate or frequency for such visitation could be as high as 100 nights in a year. The detoxification process is at a cost to the government especially when catered for in Medicaid and frequent visitation by same patients aggravates the problem further. (www. jointogether. org). Some patients blame their drug addiction to their social situations. A person would be a heavy user of alcohol, cocaine and heroin but after a detoxification program he or she would go back to drugs when he squandered his money on women and drugs and be rendered homeless. This would trigger their motive of going for a detoxification. They would seek the detoxification due to their homelessness and financial constraints instead of their own personal will to quit drugs. Their main aim would be to acquire a shelter rather than a solution to their drug problem. The fact that the detoxification is free and it offers quality care could be a reason facilitating the ‘frequent fliers’ in hospitals for detoxification. Medicaid programs to fund the drug and alcohol treatment cost much for the government. The cost is aggravated, as there are categories of patient and varying cost for the treatment. Patients going for detoxification may do it at different hospitals across a state and if the patient is being among the most expensive patients the cost will be very high According to hospital executives, the expensive form of detoxification is a significant moneymaker as it brings about more than 40% profits to the hospitals in question. The hospitals may be too unwilling to drop the prices, as their profits would be jeopardized. In fact many hospitals offer the care but opt for the expensive ones rather than the cheaper one. Approximately 80% of the detox patients get treated at the most expensive level as it is the only one available. New York State tends to spend more than other states on alcohol and drug related issues. There is evident wastage of government resources because over 80% of the patients in medically managed detoxification are not serious cases and could have been attended to using cheaper detoxification means. The argument presented is that if the a state paid less for the top level care it would be able to pay for others and the development of such services would be enhanced. An effort to change the detox payment system would spell doom for the hospital industry, as it is one of the hospital’s sources of profit. (www. jointogether. org). Drug treatment would be a very effective way of solving the ‘frequent fliers’ problem. It would also be less expensive and yield better results for the user as well as the government which would now reduce its expenditure costs would be minimal if patients consistently visited the same hospitals and same doctors than if they visited varying doctors. The theory that best explains the phenomenon of ‘frequent fliers’ is the first one, which explains how desperation among the drug addicts sees them back to hospitals for detox. To them, the hospitals act as a home or place that provides shelter for them and this is their main reason for visiting the hospitals. (www. jointogether. org). To my opinion better strategies should be put in place to ensure that addicts visiting hospitals for detox do so out of their own will and not due to compulsion. They ought to have realized that they have problems that need to be addressed and not as a means of seeking greener pastures when life becomes hard. Counselling is also an appropriate measure in ensuring that after the detox addicts reduced their addiction or became better people in society rather than continuing with their drugs abuse problems. Programs established to assist the drug addicts in solving the ‘frequent fliers’ problem would include those geared to increase their skills. Such programs should be geared to restoring their effectiveness or their normal lives through training. This way they would be fit better in the society and lead better lives free from drug addiction. With the training they can regain their self-respect, ethics, and morals and better handle their addiction problem. Effective training can enable them get stable employment which can provide them with the finances to cater for their basic needs for instance shelter, food and clothing and they would not require to go back to the hospitals for the provision of basic needs. With self-respect, they would not indulge in activities that do not add value to their life. Employment is about engagement of mind and time and the chances for idleness are minimized. This works to ensure that they are not attracted back to their drug addiction. More counselling professionals should be incorporated in the hospitals so that those going for detoxification for the first time do not find a reason to go back. More funding should therefore be drawn to this respect. Funding for their accommodation or shelters before they stabilize and suit well in the society is also an appropriate measure. Family members of the addicts should also be trained on how to best handle these people so that they do not go back to their drug addiction. Since drugs would best work for them, they should consequently be funded so that more money is not wasted in trying to fund the detoxification programs that are not efficient or effective to the addicts. They are patient who need help and ought not to be exploited to gain hospital profits.

The Body Essay -- Sexuality

The social and cultural conditions in which we live in today continue to perpetuate and maintain the rape culture that pervades our lives, especially for the lives of individual women. As a feminist thinker, Ann Cahill works to change this by challenging current definitions of rape as assault, and addressing questions of why rape exists in the first place, and how we can begin the prevention process. In Cahill’s book, â€Å"Rethinking Rape†, she approaches the subject of rape by analyzing the works of contemporary feminist theorists like Judith Butler, who perceive the female body as a potential site of resistance against gender-based oppression and a â€Å"larger system of sexual domination† (Cahill 32). Although each is addressing very different issues in feminist theory, Cahill does draw upon some of Butler’s ideas about the imitation and performance of gender in Butler’s essay â€Å"Imitation and Gender Insubordination.† Cahill does t his in order to further articulate her critique of â€Å"the body† and the role it plays in the phenomenon of rape â€Å"as an embodied experience of women† at the level of the individual (Cahill 109). There are certain concepts besides the performance of gender that both Authors touch on including â€Å"the body†, heterosexual norms as inhibitions to attaining liberation, the relationship between sexuality and gender, and the problematic nature of social constructs. By comparing and contrasting the works of Cahill and Butler, this paper will explore the importance and complexities of â€Å"the body†, the pivotal role it plays in Cahill’s critique of the phenomenon of rape, and how Butler’s critique of â€Å"coming out of the closet† values the notion of gender â€Å"performativity† more than the notion ofâ€Å"the body† itself. Before de... ... feminine body so we internalize that ideal and subject ourselves to the â€Å"intrusive, expensive, and high maintenance practices in order to be rendered beautiful† (Cahill 155). There are a number of factors that play into the perpetuation of rape culture, the hierarchy of gender, and gender performativity. The one thing they all have in common that is essential to understanding how men have been able to oppress us for so long and continue to oppress us. â€Å"The body† is the one thing that can maintain our inferiority and powerlessness, but it can also be the one thing that can free us from the same system of oppression. Works Cited Butler, Judith. "Imitation and Gender Insubordination." The Second Wave: A Reader in Feminist Theory. Ed. Linda Nicholson. New York: Routledge, 1997. 300-15. Print. Cahill, Ann J. Rethinking Rape. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2001. Print.

Ingvar Kamprad Leadership Essay

Business Leader Profile Ingvar Kamprad Founder of Ikea Retail Stores Why Ingvar Kamprad? Does the name Ingvar Kamprad mean anything to you? To most people it doesn’t and it's a testament to the fact that he built up a brand that is so powerful people recognize it immediately, while not tying it into, or even knowing, the genius behind it. The brand? IKEA! The reason why we chose this business leader is simple, Ingvar Kamprad is a businessman and the founder of IKEA with an estimated worth of $22. 5 billion dollars.Kamprad was born in the south of Sweden in 1926 and raised on a farm called Elmtaryd, near the small village of Agunnaryd. He is a great leader and one amazing thing about him is that he went into business early in life, selling matches as a schoolboy and also, very wisely for his age (or any age for that matter) Kamprad took his profits and used them to expand his operations, adding to his small line of goods with decorations of Christmas trees, fish, and seeds. He was learning the operational side of retailing, and he was learning it quickly and profitably.When Kamprad did well in school, his dad rewarded his with some money, and that was the seed to launch a company he named IKEA. He got the name from his initials I. K. , and then added the EA from the name of the farm and the town he was raised in – Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd. Don't think the idea of a furniture company was brewing in the mind of Kamprad with his new company, he still focused on smaller items, and for the most part look to the business of securing contracts of supplying pencils. Like in his younger years, Kamprad soon began to expand into all sorts of other areas, including everything from jewelry to male and female ccessories. He soon outgrew individual visits to customers and went into the mail order business on the local level, having the milk trucks deliver his products to his customers. When Kamprad first included furniture as part of the product line of IKEA, his i dea was to use local manufacturers to keep costs low and under control. That was in 1947. By 1951, furniture sales were so successful, he decided to drop all other products and focus on the furniture line alone. The first furniture showroom opened in 1953, and the rest is history.Almost immediately a price war started between IKEA and its chief competitor, and the inclusion of the showroom helped sway potential customers who were able to see and touch the quality before making their purchases. Like many great retailers, Kamprad was obsessed with controlling costs, and dedicated to finding new ways to do things at a less expensive level. That has been one of the major reasons behind the ongoing success of IKEA furniture sales and profits. Some people attempt to point out the fact that Kamprad has several properties he owns and so the frugal image is contrived.I have to disagree with that, because the reason he can afford some of these things is because he remained frugal within the c onstruct of his company, and so because he was able to put of instantaneous gratification, could then do whatever he wanted once he became wealthy. While there is some truth to the image part, it was also very much practiced by Kamprad. Many people think being frugal is being cheap in a negative way, and yet those best at it are the ones that serve their customers and employees at the highest level by giving customers the best deals possible, while at the same time offering longevity to employees.The best definition that reflects the idea of leadership for Kamprad is â€Å"Leadership is a kind of activity meant to influence behavior, beliefs and feelings of the group members in a certain direction. † (Wright, Peter L. and Taylor, David S. Improving Leadership Performance. Great Britain: Prentice-Hall International Ltd; 1984. p. 2). As Peter F. Drucker said â€Å"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say â€Å"I. † And that’s not because t hey have trained themselves not to say â€Å"I. † They don’t think â€Å"I. They think â€Å"we†; they think â€Å"team. † This idea is mostly based on a simple word, and that word is â€Å"team†. Every leader who has this trait is surely to have great success simply because they don’t work and take decisions just on their own, they seek and welcome the help of employees, one of those leaders being Kampard of course. If we go back to Niccolo Machiavelli, we can see that he once said that â€Å"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. and it a really smart and correct thesis, because in order for a leader to successfully empower his organization he needs employees, but not just any employee, they have to be creative, loyal and intelligent in order to really be useful to their organisation. So while cost control is a major part of the IKEA success story, the empowerment of its custo mers is as well, which is brought about from a highly committed and talented design team. Leader’s position in organizational structure „In an hierarchical system, participants take for granted what the participants with the higher position defines† (Becker, 1998).In other words, social actors in the labor market believe what the professionals (leaders, professors, mass-media) define as leadership, considering that the privilege formal position brings privilege information and ethics. This is not a valid statement if we look into the organizational structure at IKEA. Anecdotes about Kamprad abound. When his father complained that Ingvar slept late in the morning, Ingvar got himself an alarm clock, set it for six o’clock, and yanked away the off button. According to Kamprad, we should all divide our lives â€Å"into 10-minute units, and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity. Though past 80, Kamprad still travels the world to visit new IKEA stores. He flies economy class, calls his employees â€Å"co-workers,† encourages everyone to dress informally, stays in cheap hotels and even replaces bottles from the hotel room mini-bar with cheap bottles bought in local supermarkets. He gives no interviews. As far as setting an example through his actions, Kamprad flies only economy class, drives a 15-year-old vehicle, and focuses on little things for his workers like writing on both sides of the paper, and other frugal practices. That has helped IKEA remain on the top of a highly competitive market.Critics of these stories say they seem intended to reinforce the company’s no-nonsense brand and encourage cost-awareness among company staff. They point out that Kamprad may be the world’s richest man, that owns several lavish houses around the world, and that it would be ludicrous to assume a man of such wealth would not use any of it for private purposes. If you've ever read IKEA literature, catalogs or advertising, they reinforce their and Ingvar Kamprad's motto of not only existing to make improvements in the lives of people, but to improve people themselves.With that in mind, the way the stores themselves are set up and the design of the furniture built with the idea of being very simple to assemble, it generates the healthy idea of self-sufficiency, which helps empower people and make them feel good about themselves. Leader or non-leader; manager or leader If we would be to make a list with leader and non-leader and manager traits we would easily see that Ingvar Kampard is a leader, not only that, he is a good example for hundreds of people out there who thrive to become leaders themselves. If we look closely at Kampard we can see that he is a proactive an, he believes in people following examples, he motivates and inspires top results and has great strategic orientation. If a leader is not like this, then as Abraham Maslow said †If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. †. Based on interviews with employees at IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad is a good example of leadership because he strongly expresses the organisational value of IKEA through his behaviours. Thereby, all the IKEA employees (from top management to co-workers) follow this organisational value as a framework.In addition, the leadership style of management position also was influenced through strong organisational value. Employees have used descriptives such as „role model† and „father† when speaking about Ingvar Kamprad thereby denoting the familial nature of IKEA corporate culture. If we apply the model of leader vs. Manager described by Abraham Zaleznik – Ingvar Kamprad is the epitome of business leader. All of this is based on his empathic relationship with his co-workers and employees. By setting examples and inspiring, he also sets the company’s overall direction by altering the direction of its employees.One of his subordinates characterises his leadership style as a „teacher†. Senge (1990) and Max de Pree(1990)’s theory states that a leader should be a teacher in the organization „ †¦ much of the leverage leaders can actually exert lies in helping people achieve more accurate , more insightful and more empowering views of reality, when the leaders carrying out stewardship (Senge, 1990: 353)†, according to Senge (1990). The roles that leaders should play is exactly how Kamprad has been doing for so long. Creativity As Teresa M. Amabile once said „Keep doing what you are doing†.Or if you want to spark innovation, rethink how you motivate, reward, and assign work to people. † What is business creativity? We tend to associate creativity with the arts and to think of it as the expression of higly original ideas. Think of Pablo Picasso reinvented the conventions of painting or how William Faulkner redefined fiction. In business, originali ty isn’t enough. To be creative, an idea must also be appropriate, useful and actionable. Within every individual, creativity is a function of three components : expertise, creative-thinking skills and motivation.Expertise is, in a word knowledge – technical, procedual and intellectual. Creative-thinking skills determine how flexibly and imaginatively people approach problems. Do their solutions apend the status quo? Do they persevere through dry spells? Not all motivation is created equal. An inner passion to solve the problem at hand leads to solutions far more creative than do external rewards, such as money. This compenent – called intrinsic motivation is the one that can be most immediately influenced by the work environment.Senior manager at IKEA strongly believes that IKEA is a creative organisation based upon home-furnishing company; IKEA has to be creative within value â€Å"efficiency and cost conscious†. This reason makes IKEA differ from other companies because it is not easy to produce a good product at low price. Furthermore, IKEA has a strong organisational value that every employee should concern as follows: †¢ Togetherness †¢ Cost consciousness †¢ Respect †¢ Simplicity IKEA follows a model of „family business† because at its inception, Ingvar Kamprad was developing it as a family business which eventually grew to outstanding proportions.Due to this, most of his own ideeas like the simplicity and togetherness have actually become some of the company’s most important organizational aspects. IKEA is an extremely creative organisation because IKEA allows employees to work in freedom and are open for trying new ideas. To demonstrate clearly, when employees have concepts, it is important to express their concepts to the manager in order to consider whether it is possible to develop and make this concept concrete. The respondent emphasises that â€Å"It does not take a long time, if you have a really good idea.This creative idea will be developed and spread out to use at every store of IKEA in the world Moreover, the organisation also encourages employees to continually learn from their own experience and also other’s experiences such as co-workers. As a result, employees are able to complete their own tasks as well as generate new ideas that make IKEA different from other companies. Leadership styles Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership.After a complete analisys of all three styles(autocratic, democratic and delegative) we have reached the conclusion that Ingvar Kampard is most of the times a Participative(democratic) leader. This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. But of course, he is not always using this style, since every problem requires a different style.Besides the fact that Kamprad is one of the wealthiest living people, he is also an impressive leader. The leadership style he embodies is one of personal example. Though he has billions of dollars, Ingvar is reluctant to a life in luxury. People confess seeing him haggling in the market and dining together with his wife in cheap, dirty places. His image makes up for billion words. Black worn out shoes, cheap glasses and a grey faded coat dress up the billionaire in most of his rendezvous. Taxis are substituted with public transportation like busses and subways and, luxurious jets with low-cost airlines.By his daily routine and his habits of living in an artificial poverty, Ingvar Kamprad embodies the average IKEA customer. â€Å"I look at the mo ney I'm about to spend on myself and ask if IKEA customers could afford it. † â€Å"If I start to acquire luxurious things then this will only incite others to follow suit†¦ †. Ingvar considers himself to be an example for all others and tries to appear as a normal individual. In â€Å"A Furniture Dealer’s Testament,† Kamprad suggests that â€Å"IKEA people do not drive flashy cars or stay at luxury hotels. †, â€Å"How the hell can I ask people who work for me to travel cheaply if I am traveling in luxury? he asks. â€Å"It’s a question of good leadership. † From a young age, Ingvar learned what working hard meant and what a strong bound truly is. He is a preacher of the religion of simplicity and during over half a century, along the constant growth of his company, numerous others joined in. According to Plato, the mob is a â€Å"big and dangerous animal† which must not be underestimated. What kind of strategy could work with masses rather than a leader of their status? Governments have fallen and people died along time only to protect the need of having a representative leader which could alike them.Ingvar Kamprad succeeded in building up a truly simple and productive leadership style only by regarding himself as equal as and never more important than the commoner. Nicolo Machiavelli stated: â€Å"Religion is not important because of the truth it holds but because of its efficiency in maintaining control over masses†. In our case we have little to do with angry mobs but with the angry way in which money are wasted by a company or individual in matter of costs. Kamprad understood this fact and built a distinctive corporate culture which comprehended his true nature.In contrast, the famous RJR enjoyed the expense of private planes and luxury and unlike our billionaire, success was only passing by. Warren Buffet’s mentality resembles the one IKEA’s Founder and together with the m indset, the income is comparable. Coming again to Plato, the philosopher once said „Those who rule must provetheir leadership abilities. A person can be trained to be a good ruler, but we have to distinguish between superficial competencies (oratory) and profound competencies (developed with the help of philosophy). The ruler has to guard not only the peaceon the ship but also to know which wayto sail and ow. † Ingvar’s thinking is flexible and innovative. Mistakes are praised and considered as the most important link to success. He is without regard a transformational leader. His style motivates people and defines a new way of thinking. Ingvar also connects with his followers and is a source of inspiration for younger generations. Bernard M. Bass, after decades of research and experimentation, regards transformational leaders as the leaders who recognize the needs of the followers and in addition tends to go further and satisfy higher needs of the follower.All of these actions are aimed to propel the follower on a higher tier in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Whereas common leadership or transactional leadership seeks only to maintain the satisfaction of the individual, transformational leadership looks into enchanting the well-being of the followers in order to achieve a higher outcome alongside with their happiness and devotion. This gap between the leadership styles is what I believe to be the main reason for the existence of excellent, world-changing people, in contrast with the unsuccessful ones.Their view of the world is their most precious asset and how they regard to others is the main secret of conquering unreached heights. Due to the fact that Ingvar Kamprad has a unique way to behave with the employees of IKEA and tries to enrich them with traits so important for the success of both the corporation and the employee’s leadership skills, I believe that Kamprad is a brilliant representative of Bass’s beliefs. Kamp rad could also be considered to be a Level 5 leader according to Jim Collins’s â€Å"Good to Great†. Ingvar greets the uncommon and is on a constant quest for taking apart obstacles which lie between failure and success.His constant struggle for reaching excellence in everything he does could be clearly seen in the process which I would like to call â€Å"building the empire of self†. His focus on the main purpose, the one of bringing innovative furniture in each and every household and changing the lives of many by simplifying their existence, assured his success and the status of one of the greatest business managers and leaders to have ever existed. A Napoleon of the furniture industry, Kamprad was. Close to followers, talented and emotionally involved were some principles he used during his reign.Thus many would say he received divine help, he started as a common man. Only his devotion and hard work made the difference. Garry Gemmill and Judith Oakley refer to a leader as a Messiah or a savior and hardly agree with the concept of a leader as a creator. Moreover, they state that â€Å"Leadership is nothing else but a myth propagated in order to keep everybody else quiet and nice. † . They might be right but in my consideration, this words do not apply to the hero we analyze in this project. Ingvar strongly encourages creative discussions within the company and his actual position is one of a leant and a symbol of excellence.David Goleman on the other hand expresses, in his work â€Å"What makes a Leader? † some traits which could help us identify other traits of the IKEA Giant. Goleman places a great emphasis on emotional intelligence and connects the status of a leader according to it. The main skills David puts behind a glorious leader are Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation and the abilities to relate to others – Empathy, and Social Skill. Ingvar seems gifted with emotional intelligence when managing peop le and events. Happiness is in his opinion the greatest asset an IKEA worker should possess.An excellent business man and an excellent time manager he proved to be during many occasions and time only knows when the world could inherit another great leader such as Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish Scotsman. Conflict management style â€Å"The Ikean culture, which was directly linked to Scandinavian culture, valued simplicity and informality, frugality, humbleness, responsibility, and the constant will to renew. † The company initially sold furniture provided by numerous suppliers. As time passed, competition started to corrupt the suppliers and as a result, Ingvar decided never to trust others than himself.It was a turning point in the history of IKEA which now started to produce its own furniture. A moment of conflict and lack of trust turned into a brilliant idea and started to place the organization on the path to success. Another turning point in Ikean history was by the time an employee decided to disassemble the furniture in order to transport it by car. Kamprad saw this particularly insignificant moment of conflict as a possibly gorgeous opportunity for the future. From that point onward, the furniture company started to differentiate and build up not just furniture but a light, innovative, easy to use and cheap type of furniture.The most significant property Ingvar’s furniture has is its ability to be assembled by the customer and offer him the joy of putting the puzzle pieces together. Price was amazing. IKEA furniture was 50% cheaper than the competition and besides this important factor; it was more than friendly and practical. Ingvar once was accused of being a Nazi supporter due to the fact that he attended to their meetings on numerous occasions. The conflict took a serious impact on Ingvar’s personality and started to shift its public perception in a truly negative way.However, the conflict was in some manner consumed when Kamprad composed letters of apology to all his employees and people whom he disappointed. He recognized that he made a mistake and that it was a dark chapter in his existence which shouldn’t have happened. Questioning the status quo is Ingvar’s best way in dealing with everyday problems and through his successful career they were many. To begin with, the more IKEA grew, the more Ingvar’s problems developed. Alcohol, Nazi support and deaths at the opening of a store were only the biggest of them.Despite the severity of the problem, the modesty, humanity and determination always brought Ingvar on the right track. For the IKEA founder, conflict never ceased to be functional. It helped both him and the employees remain focused and constructive. It generated growth, activated learning, maintained excellent interpersonal skills and gave a different perspective over issues. The main conflict management style of his was collaborating. In almost every occasion he and the employe es formed a team and everyone is expected to contribute with anything they can.Departments are structured on the philosophy of sharing ideas and support. Also, there is a win-win situation between IKEA and its customers. On the one side, IKEA has tremendous profit margins (about 16% – almost two times higher than other furniture retailers) and sells for tens of billions annually and on the other side, the customer benefits from exceptional quality and practicability for the given money. Ingvar’s mentality (comprehended by the Business Harvard Review: How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight) is one of creating common goals. The company and he was an impeccably motivated and determined group of people.Creative and interpersonal relations are also highly praised within a company and IKEA makes no exception. In his work, Kenneth W. Thomas, refers more and more to the importance of conflict in an organization. Throughout a sustained study of the great players in the corp orate world, the mesmerizing power of a poorly managed conflict is revealed. Too many companies suffer great reductions in income and performance due to this mostly overlooked default. Using a bi-dimensional representation, Thomas expressed the whole conflict issue using 5 elements – Avoiding, Accommodating, Compromising, Competitive and Collaborative.The IKEA model works entirely based on the Collaborative model due to the fact that it is mostly a win-win situation in which both the company and the employee reach a high level of fulfillment. Conflict can also be managed using a system of rewards resembling the one parents use for their children. It might be unexpected but I believe this is an awesome way to educate outsiders and to make them behave according to a reward. Despite the fact that it might be a bit manipulative, the rewards system is a good way to achieve a prosperous work environment.However, if good is not enough for a company, this system could be substituted by one composed of amazing people, highly talented and qualified personnel which requires little training and can propel the company to new heights. The ideal way in which I believe conflict could be turned into a powerful creative force is through the use of Virtuoso Teams. Despite the fact these kinds of teams require a constant action and an important continuous goal. Jeff Weiss and Jonathan Hughes express in their â€Å"Accept-And Actively Manage Conflict† the necessity of conflict in a prosperous working environment.After and during the Industrial Revolution, people and mostly employees were kept under and oppressive working regime which limited their creativity and power to change their condition. Riots were common and worker unions started to prosper. However, the work was dull and no sane man could cope with it more than a few years. Now, a century later, conflict is comprehended as a powerful tool. Just thinking about the Olympiads or a race between two close friends is more than enough in order to have an insight into the invisible motivation a challenge releases.The same principle applies in the development of Ikean furniture. People have a â€Å"Vojna Idej† (War of the Ideas) and as a result breakthroughs occur. However, due to the fact this war of ideas is hardly sustainable in time, there must be a boundary composed of the corporate vision and goal. I believe that none of the amazing commercials and ways of presenting the company could have emerged without a nearly balanced conflict management system. Weather we think of the cleverly designed buss stations or the exquisite TV commercials, IKEA is a sign of greatness. EthicsBusiness ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Busin ess ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a company's purpose is to maximize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns is a violation of its fiduciary responsibility.Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy, selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheaply from Stockholm, sell them individually at a low price, and still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded to selling fish, Christmas tree decorations, seeds, and later ballpoint pens and pencils. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him a cash reward for succeeding in his studies. IKEA was founded in 1943 at his uncle Ernst's kitchen table. In 1948, Kamprad diversified his portfolio, adding furniture.His business was mostly-mail order. The acronym IKEA is made up of the initials of his name (Ingvar Kamprad) plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was b orn, and the nearby village Agunnaryd. Kamprad has lived in Epalinges, Switzerland since 1976. According to an interview with TSR, the French language Swiss TV broadcaster, Kamprad drives a 15-year-old Volvo 240, flies only economy class, and encourages IKEA employees always to write on both sides of a paper. He reportedly recycles tea bags and is known to pocket the salt and pepper packets at restaurants. In addition, Kamprad has been known to visit IKEA for a â€Å"cheap meal. † He is also known to buy Christmas paper and presents in post-Christmas sales. The firm he created is still known for the attention it gives to cost control, operational details and continuous product development, allowing it to lower its prices by an of average 2-3% over the decade to 2010, while continuing its global expansion. Kamprad explains his social philosophy thusly in his â€Å"A Furniture Dealer's Testament,† â€Å"It is not only for cost reasons that we avoid the luxury hotels.We don't need flashy cars, impressive titles, uniforms or other status symbols. We rely on our strength and our will! † Despite this, Kamprad allows himself some luxuries; he owns a villa in an upmarket part of Switzerland, a large country estate in Sweden, and a vineyard in Provence, France; he also drove a Porsche for several years. Ingvar Kamprad had made two „big mistakes†. From 16 to 25, Kamprad was a friend and follower of Per Engdahl, the leader of the quasi-fascist, pro-Nazi Neo-Swedish movement. Engdahl attended Kamprad's first wedding in 1950.Kamprad only terminated his involvement in 1951. When the scandal broke in the early 1990s, Kamprad wrote to his employees: â€Å"You have been young yourself. And perhaps you find something in your youth you now, so long afterwards, think was ridiculous and stupid. In that case, you will understand me better. † He also apologized in a television interview and said he had not fully understood what the Neo-Swedish movement was about. And the second happened while working with furniture manufacturers in Poland earlier in his career, Kamprad became an alcoholic.He has, however, stated that his drinking is now under control. In 1947, Kamprad introduced furniture into the IKEA product line. The use of local manufacturers allowed him to keep his costs down. The furniture was a hit, and in 1951, Kamprad decided to discontinue all other product lines and focus on furniture. In 1953, the first IKEA showroom opened. It came about because of competitive pressures. IKEA was in a price war with its main competitor. The showroom allowed people to see it, touch it, feel it, and be sure of the quality before buying.Kamprad's vision has been the driving force behind IKEA's succcess. IKEA hires its own designers, who have received numerous awards over the years. Kamprad believes that the company exists not just to improve people's lives, but to improve the people themselves. The self-service store design and ease of assembly of their furniture are not merely cost controls, but an opportunity for self-sufficiency. This vision is reinforced in their advertising and catalog, as well. Kamprad has been extremely shrewd in creating IKEA's organizational structure.It is owned ultimately by a Dutch trust controlled by the Kamprad family, with various holding companies handling different aspects of IKEA's operations, such as franchising, manufacturing, and distribution. IKEA even has an investment banking arm. Kamprad has repeatedly resisted pressure to take the company public, feeling that it would slow their decision-making processes that have allowed their phenomenal growth. On a final note This leader and founder of IKEA is an Old – School Business man that made mistakes in his teens. His mistakes were that of an average teen that dreamed at glory and power or of that of an overworked man.He weakes up at 5am in the morning, every day and sometimes arrives at the IKEA store before the first truck. Ingvar Kamprad treats all his employees with respect and calls them co-workers, he recycles and he tries to persuade his employees not to buy expensive cars and big villas in countries that are reprezented as dots on the World map. Ingvar Kamprad built IKEA from scratch and he worked very hard so that the comapany became what it is today. Finally, he is a man that was interested in being a business man since he was a child.He is a much respected man and a wonderful example for future leaders and it was a pleasure for our team to work out together in order to realize this portfolio about Ingvar Kampard. I hope you enjoyed reading our essay as much as we enjoyed writing it. ( Questions Are there strong parallels between theory and organizational environment, reflecting your understanding of reality? -Based on our understandings the reason for that is most experiences in organizations have autonomous processes which are self-replicating and form themselves randomly by gro up decision.Theory is embedded only when it is actually considered firsthand Did you use various perspectives to analyze the leader? -We have extended our search into various perspectives about Ingvar Kampard, such as private life, workplace and even his â€Å"fun† time. How many problems or â€Å"bugs† did you identify in the theory or practice of leadership? -As far as we’ve gone into research, we were not able to find many bugs in the practice or the theory of our leader, only minor mistakes that are now â€Å"buried† underneath the ground. Do you have a critical approach to leadership? Our approach towards leadership is pretty much critical but not to a higher extent Did you use tables, logical schemes or graphics to illustrate your ideas? -At our meetings we needed to put up our ideas somewhere so we used logical schemes that we followed and established by ourselves and after that we transferred the info onto paper. Are your ideas backed-up by eviden ce? – The evidence is provided in the form of surveys and results conducted by people with authority to perform such research. Some evidence may be anecdotal, lacking any form of statistical analysis.However most of the data is falsifiable (both in theory and practice) hence observable in different ways, so that reality can speak for itself instead of giving evidence or proving points. Did you use relevant and important papers/authors? -We have used relevant and also important papers/authors/articles. Did you use both academic and professional sources? -Yes we did. One of our most important sources were the Harvard Business Reviews Reference: fondatorul-ikea/ ———————– [pic]

The Implications of Water Pollution - 1513 Words

The Consequences of Water Pollution Annually, 90 million people add to the current population of 6.5 billion. At this rate the global population will reach approximately 8.5 billion by 2025 (http://dieoff.org/page120.htm). As the global population grows exponentially, so does the demand for natural resources. Of all these natural resources, water, is the most vital for survival and expansion. Humans dependency on water will never go away, making it a key part to any civilizations future. It is used daily for purposes such as: drinking, washing, bathing, sustaining agriculture, acquiring energy, and transporting goods. All of which help sustain a societys stability. In Jared Diamonds book, Collapse, he reveals similarities and†¦show more content†¦Main sources of water pollution include: industrial discharge of chemical wastes and byproducts, surface runoff containing pesticides or fertilizers, acid rain caused by industrial discharge of sulfur dioxide, discharge of contaminated or heated water used for i ndustrial processes, surface runoff containing spilled petroleum products, silt runoff from construction sites and farms, discharge of poorly treated or untreated sewage, excess nutrients added by runoff containing fertilizers, and underground storage tank leakage leading to soil contamination. Each source of pollution correlates to one or more of the twelve processes through which past societies have undermined themselves by damaging their environment. Thus, water pollution is considered to be a contributor to a possible collapse. Industry is responsible for the majority of water pollution because its practices produce several contaminants. The combined industrial discharge of chemical wastes and byproducts pollute rivers, lakes, and oceans by producing organic and inorganic contaminants that enter groundwater and soil, which can compile at the bottom of oceans. Subsequently, industrial discharge significantly increases the acidity of water. Heavy metals toxicity combined with increases in acidity yields water that cannot sustain life that it once could. TheShow MoreRelatedAlex Wiley. Geo1110 Geology. Mrs. Ma. 2 February 2017 .1186 Words   |  5 PagesFuture Water Supply The water supply on earth plays a huge role in daily lives. You need to have clean water to drink, do laundry and water your garden. Since water is necessary, the future water supply is very important for future generations. They will need clean water to use daily. Society can not let the water become so polluted and unsanitary that future generations can not use it for their daily needs. Water supply is affected by humans and the area surrounding the water. The water supplyRead MoreGlobal Climate Change On Natural Disasters And Agricultural Production1308 Words   |  6 Pagescultural and regulating services that they provide (World Bank, 2007). Clean water is one of the critical resources provided to man by ecosystems. As such, the ecosystem concept has been elevated as a fundamental attribute for human development. Maintenance and access to ecosystem services has consistently been associated with better health and economic outcomes. Human health risks originate from traditional forms of pollution and broader pressures on ecosystems, ranging from reduction and degradationRead MoreSustainability and Urban Development1428 Words   |  6 Pagesperspective assumes that the market will allocate resources in the most efficient way possible. Yet there are many externalities that often left out of this model such as clean air, clean water, and the carrying capacity of the Earths natural systems. For example, when someone used oil as a source of fuel, the pollution from its use is not counted in the standard economic perspective. Furthermore, the fact that oil is a nonrenewable resource is also not effectively included in these models. SustainableRead MoreEssay On Environmental Pollution1605 Words   |  7 Pagesissue of environmental pollution, especially soil, water, air and thermal pollution. This has caused some people to leave their homes, animals to die and even children to become sick which is quite disheartening. This paper addresses the environmental pollution problem by looking at the causes, the effects, and some possible remedies or solutions that we can employ. It engages in online research as well as field research. Introduction Environmental pollution is a severe problem thatRead MoreWater Pollution in Bangladesh1429 Words   |  6 PagesWater Pollution in Bangladesh INTRODUCTION Water is the most vital element among the natural resources, and is crucial for the survival of all living organisms. The environment, economic growth and development of Bangladesh are all highly influenced by water - its regional and seasonal availability, and the quality of surface and groundwater. Spatial and seasonal availability of surface and groundwater is highly responsive to the monsoon climate and physiography of the country. Availability alsoRead MoreEthical Dilemmas : Ethical Dilemma Essay1355 Words   |  6 Pagesethical dilemma as an Environmental Engineer for MeatNZ, as his dilemma has no obvious answer. In his situation at his work, Marvin poses a dilemma about whether or not to report the company’s excess water discharge into the local lake to the Ministry. Although there is a legal limit to how much water this company is allowed to dump into this lake, there are supposedly not many negative consequences to either side of this dilemma. Because the decision of this dilemma is not so clear, it can be seenRead MoreContamination Of Air And Water Resources898 Words   |  4 PagesContamination of air and water resources by exposure to landfills, and its consequences in the form of various implications on human health and environment, has made people alert and aware of the issue. This attitude has led to formulation of certain laws and policies by Federal Government while choosing a site for the construction of landfill, ensuring that all the requirements are met, and directions are followed as laid by the regulatory authorities. Location, functioning, design, nearby water reserves, closureRead MoreExtracting Natural Gas From Shale And Other Rock Formation1465 Words   |  6 Pagesmajority of this gas was not economically reachable. However over the past decade, two new technological advancements recently combined allowing extracting of the gas. This process is known as hydraulic fracturing, in which extremely high pressured water with addi tional chemicals forced two to three kilometers in the ground is extracting the gas. The manufacturing sources claim that fracking has produced over one million natural gas wells since the 1940 s. Only 2% of these wells created since theRead MoreEssay on Low Health Expectancy1034 Words   |  5 Pagesperson is expected to live in full health. This essay will argue that the main factors which contributes to low health expectancy in developing countries are malnutrition and environmental pollution and the possible solutions to this problem is eradicating poverty, improving health services and education on pollution and other substitutions to cooking with traditional stoves. The first main factor that contributes to low health expectancy in developing countries is malnutrition. According to NHSRead MoreEssay On Environmental Pollution706 Words   |  3 PagesThe environmental pollution history is as old as life itself. At life’s beginning on Earth, man discovered the use of fire and burnt food for cooking food with the emitted smoke from it being the earliest environmental pollutants of this world. First forward to the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century and that was when the Earth experienced the highest rates of environmental pollution. After the machine invention from printing press and later motor vehicles, the pollution menace started enveloping