Understanding Organisational Behaviour And Leadership Management Essay

Understanding Organisational Behaviour And Leadership Management Essay Leadership is a vital and pivotal role in any organisation, regardless of size. It can be in the form of a single person in a small sole-trader like business, or in the complex structure of a multinational corporation. Leadership is essential for organisations to achieve their goals, and to manage their employees in the process. I will be looking into the theories of leadership and assessing how they affect the work performance of employees, in terms of motivation and efficiency. In particular, I will discuss the path-goal theory, and how it links into the different styles of management affecting employee work performance, as well as the benefits and criticisms of the model, and finishing with a conclusion as to what my stance is on the subject of leadership affecting work performance and to what extent performance is affected by leadership and theories such as this. From preliminary reading and understanding of this area in the subject of organisational behaviour, my viewpoint can come to assume that leadership does have an effect on an employees performance, and that the style and method of leadership does have a positive correlation on the mentioned relationship. The Path-Goal Theory The performance of employees in an organisation is much dependant on the leadership they have. Leadership has to be effective and tailored to the particular situation to ensure that the optimum efficiency is achieved. The path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, developed by Robert House in 1976, is a transactional leadership theory that explains how leadership should be carried out in a manner that brings out the best in the employees abilities and is dependent on the efficiency, motivation and satisfaction of the employees in an organisation. The theory outlines how leadership behaviour and the employees abilities will lead to a particular path that will achieve the outcome, the goal (House, 1996). This goal would be a mutual goal of the worker and the organisation. Different leadership styles are needed, in terms of leadership behaviour, depending on the demands and circumstance of the particular state of affairs (House, 1971). Looking at the theory in more detail, this situational leadership theory explains how an individuals attitudes and their behaviour are in ­fluenced by the link between their effort and performance, the goal paths, and the attractiveness of the rewards, which is the goal attractiveness, being it the leaders job for this direction (Strebel, 1994). Therefore, these individuals would be productive, and their desires fulfilled when they see a strong connection between their effort and performance and when this results in highly appreciated rewards. House argues that the most successful leaders are those who assist their subordinates go down the path to receiving valued rewards (Indvik, 1986). The theory states that leader behaviour must be motivating and gratifying to the level that it clarifies the aims and the paths to the goals and as a result increases goal attainment, hence success, thus increasing the work performance of the employees (Evans, 1970). From this, we can gain the basic idea behind the path-goal theory as being the following shown in Figure 1.1 (Northouse, 2007): The path-goal theory is a very complex concept, as you look further into it. An array of factors and characteristics, such as leadership behaviour, subordinate characteristics and task characteristics are evident when looking at this concept of path-goal theory (Northouse, 2007). Even though there are potentially many different leadership styles, this theory approach has broken down these styles into four distinct leadership styles (House Mitchell, 1974). Directive Leadership: this style is where the leader would tell the workers what to do and what is expected and provide detailed guidance, standards of work, and schedules of work to assist performance Supportive Leadership: in this style, the leader treats its subordinates as an equal member of the organisation, and would go out of their way to ensure the well being, personal needs and status of the employees are maintained pleasantly. In addition to this, there would be interpersonal relationships developed as a result of this leadership style. Participative Leadership: this is a more democratic leadership style, whereby the subordinates are involved in the decision-making process of the organisation. The leader would consult the employees and take into account their opinions when making decision on how the group will tackle the task. Achievement-orientated Leadership: leaders set high targets and challenging goals for the subordinate to achieve, and therefore expects them to perform at their highest standard. However, achievement-orientated leaders show large amounts of confidence in their workers to achieve the goals set out. In comparison to Fiedlers Contingency Theory (Fiedler, 1967), which advocates that leadership style is resistant to change, the path-goal theory is one where the same manager can execute the four different styles of leadership behaviour during different situations at different times. However, it must be taken into consideration that although path-goal model fails to explain how to identify the most appropriate leadership style, the theory does give a series of situational factors that need to be taken into account when making the decision on the style of leadership. From this, we can see, in Figure 1.2, the major components of the path-goal theory, putting everything discussed so far into a visual model (Northouse, 2007). Strengths and Weaknesses of the Path-Goal Theory The path goal theory has both strengths and weaknesses. One key positive of this model is the fact that it is the first attempt to provide an expanded framework which brings together the previous works of contingent and situational leadership as well as the expectancy theory (Jermier, 1996). Furthermore, the path-goal theory is one where attempts have been made to incorporate motivation principles from the expectancy theory into the theory of leadership, and from my further reading, this seems to be a unique characteristic, as no other leadership theory has this relationship with the principles of motivation. In addition to all of this, the path-goal theory has a clear direction, and a path, so to speak. It definitive as to what the managers need to do with their subordinates and it defines very practical and clear roles for a leader. It ensures that questions are constantly being asked of improvements in work performance to reach the mutual objectives of all. On the other hand, there are also many criticisms that are to be addressed. This model is regarded to be a very complex theory since it considers many parameters and therefore requires extensive analysis of those parameters to effectively choose the correct leadership style for the situation at hand. Additionally, another limitation has come about from the relationships detailed by the path-goal model. These have been the subjects of a number of empirical studies to test the validity of the theory (Schriesheim Kerr, 1997; Schriesheim Schriesheim, 1980; Schriesheim Von Glinow, 1977; Stinson Johnson, 1975; Wofford Liska, 1993). In some of this research, it is apparent that leader direction is strongly related to the workers satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous, however other pieces of research fail to agree on this. Another factor to be noted as a criticism of this theory is element that not all aspects of the theory have been given the same amount of attention and detail in the creation of the model, as well as much of the research to date only involving partial aspects of the model (Faulk Wendler, 1982), it is evident that a good level of detail has gone into the aspects of directive and supportive leadership, unlike the other two styles, participated and achievement-orientated, have fewer studies addressing them. It is therefore that the claims of this model will remain tentative due to the lack of a full picture in the research findings and not being able to have consistent corollaries of path-goal theory (Evans, 1996; Jermier, 1996; Schriesheim Neider, 1996). This extent research has tested the theorys predictions regarding the moderators of lead ­ership effectiveness, and how to assess as to whether the situational variables interrelate with the leadership styles in the predicted approach. It can be verified that the model is successful in predicting how the situational variables and leadership styles come together to influence individual satisfaction. However, the model seems not be a good predictor of a group or even and individual performance. The final criticism that can be made of the path-goal theory concerns an indirect outcome as a result of implementing such a theory. The model greatly relies on leaders to give full direction, coaching and guidance to their subordinates and it is the leaders who define the goals and assist them in their path to success and achieving these objectives. This therefore means that there is an enormous reliance on the leaders from the workforce, disregarding independence. As a result subordinates are dependent and reliant on the leaders and managers to get through the obstacles during the path to the goal, and hence, this theory fails to recognise and utilise the full abilities and skills of the subordinates, asking questions of the subordinates in the firm rather than the leaders, and originally mentioned in the original theory (Green, 1979). In some ways we can see that the major disadvantage in trying to authenticate the model empirically, is the fact that the model contains too many variables and simply tries to explain too much, making it very complex. Therefore, conducting an experiment examining the full path-goal theory of leadership will be difficult because of the numerous variables. Nonetheless, the studies that are available tend to support the model, even though they suggest that it understates the intricacy of the situation. Adding to this, the research mentioned recommend that other variables, such as structure and conflict, also need to be integrated into it. Conclusion The path-goal theory was developed for leaders to help and assist them in motivating subordinates to be productive, efficient and increase job satisfaction. Due to it being a theory that is based upon the task, the behaviour of the leader as well as the contributions of the subordinates, it can be classed as a contingency theory, one of which has been derived and created from the expectancy theory. An expectancy theory is one about the mental processes regarding choosing or making a choice. It explains the processes that an individual undergoes to make choices. On the other hand a contingency theory can be defined as the theory that explains how different management styles will be more effective in different situations. Looking at the four different leadership styles, it gives the leader room for change and provides a more dynamic approach to this aspect of business. It is certain to say that leadership does affect and employees work performance. As to what extent by which it is affected, that is something that is subject to a matter of individual opinion. Referring back to my stance, it can be believed that there is a strong positive relation between a good leader and subsequently increased work performance by the subordinates. Theories and models such as this, the path-goal model, provide a great guidance to leaders and manager as to how they can be effective themselves, in order for this to be passed down the hierarchy in the firm. This model gives some structure an despite the fact that it does have many criticisms and drawbacks it is one that offers a large et of predictions and assumptions as to how leaders interact with their subordinates, and the idea of steering them down the right path in order to achieve this common goal and objective with a reward that motivates them, achieving goal attractiveness is a great one, and perfectly sums up this theory and its objectives. Being one of the first models to provide an expanded framework, which brings together the previous works of contingent and situational leadership, it is far more complex than what one would initially think. It proves that leadership is effective and useful, especially when tasks are unclear and/or the subordinates are autonomous, and choosing the right leadership style is essential in motivating employees and increasing their work performance. It is therefore that I believe that leadership does greatly affect and influence employee work per formance, looking at it through the analysis of the path-goal theory of leader effectiveness.

Another Man’s Poison and New Broom Sweeps

Better late than never. No discord, no concord. Love me, love my dog. A hedge between keeps friendship green. Good wine needs no bush. A wise goose never lays a tame egg. Money makes the mare go. Man proposes, God disposes. More haste, less speed. Spare the rod and spoil the child. Easier said than done. Grasp all, lose all. Action speaks louder than words. Waste not, want not. Talk of the devil and he comes. Let sleeping dogs lie. Nothing venture, nothing have. First come, first served. East and west, home is best. Home is home, be it ever so homely.Home is where the heart is. Strike when the iron is hot . The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Where there's a will, there's a way. Where there is smoke, there is fire. Where there is life, there is hope. ‘ He who has health has hope. A burnt child dreads fire. A friend in need is a friend indeed. As you sow, so you shall reap. Barking dogs seldom bite. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Birds of a feather flo ck together. Call a spade a spade . Every cloud has a silver lining. All that glitters is not gold. Every dog has its day. God helps those who help themselves. Great minds think alike.He laughs best who laughs last. Never do things by halves . Still waters run deep. Jack of all trades and master of none. Look before you leap. Honesty is the best policy. One man's meat is another man's poison. Once bitten twice shy. Like father, like son, like mother, like daughter . Practice makes perfect . Rome was not built in a day. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. It takes two to make a quarrel. Time and tide wait for no one. To err is human, to forgive divine. What's done can't be undone. Two heads are better than one. When in Rome do as the Romans do. A new broom sweeps clean. To put the cart before the horseThe sky is the limit. A watched pot never boils. Two's company, three's a crowd. One swallow doesn't make a summer. You cant have your cake and eat it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Teac h an old dog new tricks. That's where the shoe pinches. The truth will out. Soon learnt, soon forgotten. Live and let live. All work no play makes Jack a dull boy. Beauty is but skin-deep. Seeing is believing, All is well that ends well. Beggars can't be choosers. Let bygones be bygones. Better safe than sorry. No news is good news. Well begun, half done. A clear conscience is a soft pillow. A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.A little spark kindles a great fire. It never rains but pours. Do as you would be done by. All men cannot be first. A man can die but once. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. A man is known by the company he keeps. A man may lead a horse to the water, but he cannot make him drink. An idle youth, a needy age. Apparel makes the man. Clothes make the man. A smart coat is a good letter of introduction. Business is business. Can the leopard change his spots? Count not your chickens before they are hatched. Dont trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. Every man has a fool in his sleeve. Might is right. epare for a rainy day. scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Early bird catches the worm. Walls have ears. Great talkers are little doers. A penny saved is a penny gained. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Charity begins at home. Give the devil his due, When the cat is away the mice will play. Life is Just a bowl of cherries. A thing of beauty is a Joy forever. Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them. ‘In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends. Catch not at the shadow and lose the substance. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. A man is as old as he feels. Custom makes all things

Vampire Academy Chapter 5

FIVE OR RATHER, THEY HAD BEEN Strigoi. A regiment of guardians had hunted them down and killed them. If rumors were true, Christian had witnessed it all when he was very young. And although he wasn't Strigoi himself, some people thought he wasn't far off, with the way he always wore black and kept to himself. Strigoi or not, I didn't trust him. He was a jerk, and I silently screamed at Lissa to get out of there – not that my screaming did much good. Stupid one-way bond. â€Å"What are you doing here?† she asked. â€Å"Taking in the sights, of course. That chair with the tarp on it is particularly lovely this time of year. Over there, we have an old box full of the writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir. And let's not forget that beautiful table with no legs in the corner.† â€Å"Whatever.† She rolled her eyes and moved toward the door, wanting to leave, but he blocked her way. â€Å"Well, what about you?† he taunted. â€Å"Why are you up here? Don't you have parties to go to or lives to destroy?† Some of Lissa's old spark returned. â€Å"Wow, that's hilarious. Am I like a rite of passage now? Go and see if you can piss off Lissa to prove how cool you are? Some girl I don't even know yelled at me today, and now I've got to deal with you? What does it take to be left alone?† â€Å"Oh. So that's why you're up here. For a pity party.† â€Å"This isn't a joke. I'm serious.† I could tell Lissa was getting angry. It was trumping her earlier distress. He shrugged and leaned casually against the sloping wall. â€Å"So am I. I love pity parties. I wish I'd brought the hats. What do you want to mope about first? How it's going to take you a whole day to be popular and loved again? How you'll have to wait a couple weeks before Hollister can ship out some new clothes? If you spring for rush shipping, it might not be so long.† â€Å"Let me leave,† she said angrily, this time pushing him aside. â€Å"Wait,† he said, as she reached the door. The sarcasm disappeared from his voice. â€Å"What? ­um, what was it like?† â€Å"What was what like?† she snapped. â€Å"Being out there. Away from the Academy.† She hesitated for a moment before answering, caught off guard by what seemed like a genuine attempt at conversation. â€Å"It was great. No one knew who I was. I was just another face. Not Moroi. Not royal. Not anything.† She looked down at the floor. â€Å"Everyone here thinks they know who I am.† â€Å"Yeah. It's kind of hard to outlive your past,† he said bitterly. It occurred to Lissa at that moment – and me to by default – just how hard it might be to be Christian. Most of the time, people treated him like he didn't exist. Like he was a ghost. They didn't talk to or about him. They just didn't notice him. The stigma of his parents' crime was too strong, casting its shadow onto the entire Ozera family. Still, he'd pissed her off, and she wasn't about to feel sorry for him. â€Å"Wait – is this your pity party now?† He laughed, almost approvingly. â€Å"This room has been my pity party for a year now.† â€Å"Sorry,† said Lissa snarkily. â€Å"I was coming here before I left. I've got a longer claim.† â€Å"Squatters' rights. Besides, I have to make sure I stay near the chapel as much as possible so people know I haven't gone Strigoi? ­yet.† Again, the bitter tone rang out. â€Å"I used to always see you at mass. Is that the only reason you go? To look good?† Strigoi couldn't enter holy ground. More of that sinning-against-the-world thing. â€Å"Sure,† he said. â€Å"Why else go? For the good of your soul?† â€Å"Whatever,† said Lissa, who clearly had a different opinion. â€Å"I'll leave you alone then.† â€Å"Wait,† he said again. He didn't seem to want her to go. â€Å"I'll make you a deal. You can hang out here too if you tell me one thing.† â€Å"What?† She glanced back at him. He leaned forward. â€Å"Of all the rumors I heard about you today – and believe me, I heard plenty, even if no one actually told them to me – there was one that didn't come up very much. They dissected everything else: why you left, what you did out there, why you came back, the specialization, what Rose said to Mia, blah, blah, blah. And in all of that, no one, no one ever questioned that stupid story that Rose told about there being all sorts of fringe humans who let you take blood.† She looked away, and I could feel her cheeks starting to burn. â€Å"It's not stupid. Or a story.† He laughed softly. â€Å"I've lived with humans. My aunt and I stayed away after my parents? ­died. It's not that easy to find blood.† When she didn't answer, he laughed again. â€Å"It was Rose, wasn't it? She fed you.† A renewed fear shot through both her and me. No one at school could know about that. Kirova and the guardians on the scene knew, but they'd kept that knowledge to themselves. â€Å"Well. If that's not friendship, I don't know what it is,† he said. â€Å"You can't tell anyone,† she blurted out. This was all we needed. As I'd just been reminded, feeders were vampire-bite addicts. We accepted that as part of life but still looked down on them for it. For anyone else – especially a dhampir – letting a Moroi take blood from you was almost, well, dirty. In fact, one of the kinkiest, practically pornographic things a dhampir could do was let a Moroi drink blood during sex. Lissa and I hadn't had sex, of course, but we'd both known what others would think of me feeding her. â€Å"Don't tell anyone,† Lissa repeated. He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and sat down on one of the crates. â€Å"Who am I going to tell? Look, go grab the window seat. You can have it today and hang out for a while. If you're not still afraid of me.† She hesitated, studying him. He looked dark and surly, lips curled in a sort of I'm-such-a-rebel smirk. But he didn't look too dangerous. He didn't look Strigoi. Gingerly, she sat back down in the window seat, unconsciously rubbing her arms against the cold. Christian watched her, and a moment later, the air warmed up considerably. Lissa met Christian's eyes and smiled, surprised she'd never noticed how icy blue they were before. â€Å"You specialized in fire?† He nodded and pulled up a broken chair. â€Å"Now we have luxury accommodations.† I snapped out of the vision. â€Å"Rose? Rose?† Blinking, I focused on Dimitri's face. He was leaning toward me, his hands gripping my shoulders. I'd stopped walking; we stood in the middle of the quad separating the upper school buildings. â€Å"Are you all right?† â€Å"I? ­yeah. I was? ­I was with Lissa? ­Ã¢â‚¬  I put a hand to my forehead. I'd never had such a long or clear experience like that. â€Å"I was in her head.† â€Å"Her? ­head?† â€Å"Yeah. It's part of the bond.† I didn't really feel like elaborating. â€Å"Is she all right?† â€Å"Yeah, she's? ­Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated. Was she all right? Christian Ozera had just invited her to hang out with him. Not good. There was â€Å"coasting through the middle,† and then there was turning to the dark side. But the feelings humming through our bond were no longer scared or upset. She was almost content, though still a little nervous. â€Å"She's not in danger,† I finally said. I hoped. â€Å"Can you keep going?† The hard, stoic warrior I'd met earlier was gone – just for a moment – and he actually looked concerned. Truly concerned. Feeling his eyes on me like that made something flutter inside of me – which was stupid, of course. I had no reason to get all goofy, just because the man was too good-looking for his own good. After all, he was an antisocial god, according to Mason. One who was supposedly going to leave me in all sorts of pain. â€Å"Yeah. I'm fine.† I went into the gym's dressing room and changed into the workout clothes someone had finally thought to give me after a day of practicing in jeans and a T-shirt. Gross. Lissa hanging out with Christian troubled me, but I shoved that thought away for later as my muscles informed me they did not want to go through any more exercise today. So I suggested to Dimitri that maybe he should let me off this time. He laughed, and I was pretty sure it was at me and not with me. â€Å"Why is that funny?† â€Å"Oh,† he said, his smile dropping. â€Å"You were serious.† â€Å"Of course I was! Look, I've technically been awake for two days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed,† I whined. â€Å"It's just one hour.† He crossed his arms and looked down at me. His earlier concern was gone. He was all business now. Tough love. â€Å"How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?† â€Å"I hurt like hell.† â€Å"You'll feel worse tomorrow.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, better to jump in now while you still feel? ­not as bad.† â€Å"What kind of logic is that?† I retorted. But I didn't argue anymore as he led me into the weight room. He showed me the weights and reps he wanted me to do, then sprawled in a corner with a battered Western novel. Some god. When I finished, he stood beside me and demonstrated a few cool-down stretches. â€Å"How'd you end up as Lissa's guardian?† I asked. â€Å"You weren't here a few years ago. Were you even trained at this school?† He didn't answer right away. I got the feeling he didn't talk about himself very often. â€Å"No. I attended the one in Siberia.† â€Å"Whoa. That's got to be the only place worse than Montana.† A glint of something – maybe amusement – sparked in his eyes, but he didn't acknowledge the joke. â€Å"After I graduated, I was a guardian for a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently.† His smile dropped, his face grew dark. â€Å"They sent me here because they needed extras on campus. When the princess turned up, they assigned me to her, since I'd already be around. Not that it matters until she leaves campus.† I thought about what he'd said before. Some Strigoi killed the guy he was supposed to have been guarding? â€Å"Did this lord die on your watch?† â€Å"No. He was with his other guardian. I was away.† He fell silent, his mind obviously somewhere else. The Moroi expected a lot from us, but they did recognize that the guardians were – more or less – only human. So, guardians got pay and time off like you'd get in any other job. Some hard-core guardians – like my mom – refused vacations, vowing never to leave their Moroi's sides. Looking at Dimitri now, I had a feeling he might very well turn into one of those. If he'd been away on legitimate leave, he could hardly blame himself for what happened to that guy. Still, he probably did anyway. I'd blame myself too if something happened to Lissa. â€Å"Hey,† I said, suddenly wanting to cheer him up, â€Å"did you help come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that.† He arched an eyebrow curiously. Cool. I'd always wished I could do that. â€Å"You're complimenting me on that?† â€Å"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried.† â€Å"Last one?† â€Å"Yeah. In Chicago. With the pack of psi-hounds.† â€Å"This was the first time we found you. In Portland.† I sat up from my stretches and crossed my legs. â€Å"Um, I don't think I imagined psi-hounds. Who else could have sent them? They only answer to Moroi. Maybe no one told you about it.† â€Å"Maybe,† he said dismissively. I could tell by his face he didn't believe that. I returned to the novices' dorm after that. The Moroi students lived on the other side of the quad, closer to the commons. The living arrangements were partly based on convenience. Being here kept us novices closer to the gym and training grounds. But we also lived separately to accommodate the differences in Moroi and dhampir lifestyles. Their dorm had almost no windows, aside from tinted ones that dimmed sunlight. They also had a special section where feeders always stayed on hand. The novices' dorm was built in a more open way, allowing for more light. I had my own room because there were so few novices, let alone girls. The room they'd given me was small and plain, with a twin bed and a desk with a computer. My few belongings had been spirited out of Portland and now sat in boxes around the room. I rummaged through them, pulling out a T-shirt to sleep in. I found a couple of pictures as I did, one of Lissa and me at a football game in Portland and another taken when I'd gone on vacation with her family, a year before the accident. I set them on my desk and booted up the computer. Someone from tech support had helpfully given me a sheet with instructions for renewing my e-mail account and setting up a password. I did both, happy to discover no one had realized that this would serve as a way for me to communicate with Lissa. Too tired to write to her now, I was about to turn everything off when I noticed I already had a message. From Janine Hathaway. It was short: I'm glad you're back. What you did was inexcusable. â€Å"Love you too, Mom,† I muttered, shutting it all down. When I went to bed afterward, I passed out before even hitting the pillow, and just as Dimitri had predicted, I felt ten times worse when I woke up the next morning. Lying there in bed, I reconsidered the perks of running away. Then I remembered getting my ass kicked and figured the only way to prevent that from happening again was to go endure some more of it this morning. My soreness made it all that much worse, but I survived the before-school practice with Dimitri and my subsequent classes without passing out or fainting. At lunch, I dragged Lissa away from Natalie's table early and gave her a Kirova-worthy lecture about Christian – particularly chastising her for letting him know about our blood arrangement. If that got out, it'd kill both of us socially and I didn't trust him not to tell. Lissa had other concerns. â€Å"You were in my head again?† she exclaimed. â€Å"For that long?† â€Å"I didn't do it on purpose,† I argued. â€Å"It just happened. And that's not the point. How long did you hang out with him afterward?† â€Å"Not that long. It was kind of? ­fun.† â€Å"Well, you can't do it again. If people find out you're hanging out with him, they'll crucify you.† I eyed her warily. â€Å"You aren't, like, into him, are you?† She scoffed. â€Å"No. Of course not. â€Å"Good. Because if you're going to go after a guy, steal Aaron back.† He was boring, yes, but safe. Just like Natalie. How come all the harmless people were so lame? Maybe that was the definition of safe. She laughed. â€Å"Mia would claw my eyes out.† â€Å"We can take her. Besides, he deserves someone who doesn't shop at Gap Kids.† â€Å"Rose, you've got to stop saying things like that.† â€Å"I'm just saying what you won't.† â€Å"She's only a year younger,† said Lissa. She laughed. â€Å"I can't believe you think I'm the one who's going to get us in trouble.† Smiling as we strolled toward class, I gave her a sidelong glance. â€Å"Aaron does look pretty good though, huh?† She smiled back and avoided my eyes. â€Å"Yeah. Pretty good.† â€Å"Ooh. You see? You should go after him.† â€Å"Whatever. I'm fine being friends now.† â€Å"Friends who used to stick their tongues down each other's throats.† She rolled her eyes. â€Å"Fine.† I let my teasing go. â€Å"Let Aaron stay in the nursery school. Just so long as you stay away from Christian. He's dangerous.† â€Å"You're overreacting. He's not going Strigoi.† â€Å"He's a bad influence.† She laughed. â€Å"You think I'm in danger of going Strigoi?† She didn't wait for my answer, instead pushing ahead to open the door to our science class. Standing there, I uneasily replayed her words and then followed a moment later. When I did, I got to see royal power in action. A few guys – with giggling, watching girls – were messing with a gangly-looking Moroi. I didn't know him very well, but I knew he was poor and certainly not royal. A couple of his tormentors were air-magic users, and they'd blown the papers off his desk and were pushing them around the room on currents of air while the guy tried to catch them. My instincts urged me to do something, maybe go smack one of the air users. But I couldn't pick a fight with everyone who annoyed me, and certainly not a group of royals – especially when Lissa needed to stay off their radar. So I could only give them a look of disgust as I walked to my desk. As I did, a hand caught my arm. Jesse. â€Å"Hey,† I said jokingly. Fortunately, he didn't appear to be participating in the torture session. â€Å"Hands off the merchandise.† He flashed me a smile but kept his hand on me. â€Å"Rose, tell Paul about the time you started the fight in Ms. Karp's class.† I cocked my head toward him, giving him a playful smile. â€Å"I started a lot of fights in her class.† â€Å"The one with the hermit crab. And the gerbil.† I laughed, recalling it. â€Å"Oh yeah. It was a hamster, I think. I just dropped it into the crab's tank, and they were both worked up from being so close to me, so they went at it.† Paul, a guy sitting nearby whom I didn't really know, chuckled too. He'd transferred last year, apparently, and hadn't heard of this. â€Å"Who won?† I looked at Jesse quizzically. â€Å"I don't remember. Do you?† â€Å"No. I just remember Karp freaking out.† He turned toward Paul. â€Å"Man, you should have seen this messed-up teacher we used to have. Used to think people were after her and would go off on stuff that didn't make any sense. She was nuts. Used to wander campus while everyone was asleep.† I smiled tightly, like I thought it was funny. Instead, I thought back to Ms. Karp again, surprised to be thinking about her for the second time in two days. Jesse was right – she had wandered campus a lot when she still worked here. It was pretty creepy. I'd run into her once – unexpectedly. I'd been climbing out of my dorm window to go hang out with some people. It was after hours, and we were all supposed to be in our rooms, fast asleep. Such escape tactics were a regular practice for me. I was good at them. But I fell that time. I had a second-floor room, and I lost my grip about halfway down. Sensing the ground rush up toward me, I tried desperately to grab hold of something and slow my fall. The building's rough stone tore into my skin, causing cuts I was too preoccupied to feel. I slammed into the grassy earth, back first, getting the wind knocked out of me. â€Å"Bad form, Rosemarie. You should be more careful. Your instructors would be disappointed.† Peering through the tangle of my hair, I saw Ms. Karp looking down at me, a bemused look on her face. Pain, in the meantime, shot through every part of my body. Ignoring it as best I could, I clambered to my feet. Being in class with Crazy Karp while surrounded by other students was one thing. Standing outside alone with her was an entirely different matter. She always had an eerie, distracted gleam in her eye that made my skin break out in goose bumps. There was also now a high likelihood she'd drag me off to Kirova for a detention. Scarier still. Instead, she just smiled and reached for my hands. I flinched but let her take them. She tsked when she saw the scrapes. Tightening her grip on them, she frowned slightly. A tingle burned my skin, laced with a sort of pleasant buzz, and then the wounds closed up. I had a brief sense of dizziness. My temperature spiked. The blood disappeared, as did the pain in my hip and leg. Gasping, I jerked my hands away. I'd seen a lot of Moroi magic, but never anything like that. â€Å"What? ­what did you do?† She gave me that weird smile again. â€Å"Go back to your dorm, Rose. There are bad things out here. You never know what's following you.† I was still staring at my hands. â€Å"But? ­Ã¢â‚¬  I looked back up at her and for the first time noticed scars on the sides of her forehead. Like nails had dug into them. She winked. â€Å"I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me.† I jumped back to the present, unsettled by the memory of that bizarre night. Jesse, in the meantime, was telling me about a party. â€Å"You've got to slip your leash tonight. We're going up to that spot in the woods around eight thirty. Mark got some weed.† I sighed wistfully, regret replacing the chill I'd felt over the memory of Ms. Karp. â€Å"Can't slip that leash. I'm with my Russian jailer.† He let go of my arm, looking disappointed, and ran a hand through his bronze-colored hair. Yeah. Not being able to hang out with him was a damned shame. I really would have to fix that someday. â€Å"Can't you ever get off for good behavior?† he joked. I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile as I found my seat. â€Å"Sure,† I called over my shoulder. â€Å"If I was ever good.†

OSI Group review - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2294 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Narrative essay Level High school Did you like this example? OSI is an entrepreneurial company. Its not run like typical companies our size, with dictates from the top. Yes, there are rules and strategies to follow, levels of responsibility, and budgetary limits, but we operate like a family. This culture is very different. It evolved because it was the best way for us to do business, and it was worked. Sheldon Lavin Chairman and CEO OSI Group is an American company in a world leading position who provides products and customer solutions for the food industry. The company produces many private label brand foods and co-packs major brand name items for its various Foodservice and Retail customers. In 1901, OSI opened its first family meat market in Chicago. Now OSI Group has more than 60 facilities in 17 countries around the world, located in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It is a giant global food processor with 19,500 employees, getting $6.125 Billion in revenue in 2013. Its products inclu de co-manufacturing meat, bacon, beef, pork, chicken, fish, poultry and vegetable products. In addition, OSIs vertically integrated supply chain is breeding farms, grow-out facilities, feed mills, and hatcheries Shanghai Husi is an outpost of OSI Group, a privately held Illinois-based company that has operated in China for more than two decades. The group in China is a meat supplier to most western fast food chains, such as MacDonald, Pizza Hut and Subway. 20th July 2014, Chinas Shanghai Husi Food was reported to supply rotten-meat to its clients such as McDonald, KFC and Subway. There were tons of our-of-date chicken breast and skin mixed in the McNuggets, and the workers indicated that was every day routine to raise production and cut costs, reported by Shanghai Dragon TV. Though the commissioned inspectors of clients visit Husi factory every month, the administrative department informs their workers to conceal their rotten meat before the inspection. The inspectors never expected that the factory was full of blue bags (According to Husi, all shoddy and out-of-date products must be packed by blue bags) the day before their arrival. Workers told journalist that manager commanded them to falsify the products dates; in fact, some of the expired products were nearly 7 months out of date. Reporter also illustrated the stinking meat stacked around the workshop floor, and how workers added the expired meat into production line. Whats more, these scandal meats were indicated to supply Chinese market priorly. After the Dragon TVs report, Shanghai FDA closed down Husi Factory. 21th July 2014, each local government compels the commission of Husi, including McDonald and KFC, to remove all unqualified food from their menus. Local authority cited the person in charge of production and was told the decision to use expired meat came directly from seniors managers. 29th Aug. 2014, senior manager of Shanghai Husi, Hujun and other 6 person, were arrested by the order of Shanghai Peoples Procuratorate. 26th July 2014, Shanghai FDA confirmed Husis illegal acts and seized all the expired foods. OSI Group claimed to recall all the Husis products and the companys Chinese affairs was taken over by their new international group. In perspective of Consequentialism theory, Husi, as the second largest food industry of OSI group, has identified two basic motivations expansion and profit. Chinese people still have the tradition of eating native chickens which are farmed in nature, so China has a short history of fully processed chicken industry, the market of raw chicken supply and large-scale processing is just at their beginning. OSI Group has the its mature industry and custom solutions, and it has a long and profound history of cooperation with fast food magnates like McDonald and KFC in US, that makes Husi become the supplier of them instead of the local Chinese Food industry naturally. Also, the scale make Husi unrivaled among the competit ors, the market is unbalance. Husi can expand their production without competition, according to the trace of production; Husi is also the supplier of part of the Japan, Hong Kong and Macaos McDonald. Husis profit is secured by the unique situation in China, and Husi only have to responsible for its commissioners instead of the greatest numbers. As the worker said, what Husi have to do is deceiving the inspectors and mixing the expired meat into products to raise production and cut costs. Without competition, the invisible hand of the market is inefficiency. Husi also have a short sight of increasing market of processed meat market, or in Chines old saying lack of preparation in peace time. In perspective of Deontology theory China has a history of thousands years of dictatorship, laws laid a weak foundation in Chinese society. The backward tradition of ruling by man instead of laws is still normal, which can be told by the campaign-style law enforcement, a provisional instrum ent applied to special treatment or special operation to rule the country, and unfortunately, this became the countrys daily routine. Every enterprise would like to take chances to expand their interests even stand out of the line. Gray income, as long as not be found by inspectors, is unspoken wealth in Chinese business world, for example, gutter oil (swill-cooked oil) is well-known secret in China. It had been 3 years after 2008 Chinese milk scandal, Mengniu Dairy was reported to use sour milk to make products in 2011, and it was not the first time Mengniu had breached the food security laws, even in 2012, Mengniu Dairy was reported to falsify the products dates. Looking around the circumstance of Chinese food security, free of regulations, its not difficult to figure out why such a standard company like Husi, whose parent company is OSI, have ignore their consciences and duties to pursue the maximal interests even it is illegal. In perspective of virtue theory, actors ou ght to rely on the standards of the relevant community to decide to do and what cannot be done. In Chinese society, people attach importance to food safety. In this case, obviously, Husis managers did things against what is believed in their community as moral. From the ancient times, Chinese people believe that an entrepreneur should flow the blood of morality. Using the expired meat and escaping the inspections are viewed as illegal and unethical. Virtue theory focuses on the integrity of the actor rather than the ethicality of action. Hujun, the senior manager in Husi Shanghai, knew exactly what they did. To be frank, it was the manager who commanded the employees to do so. In this case, Hujun played an important but unethical role. Actually, in the year 2012, Hujun promised to the public in a conference held in Shanghai that all Husi products totally meet the national food safety standard. And Husi was praised by government as the company performed well in every months inspec tion. When we come back to look at the realities, it is so ironic. From the report by Dragon TV, we can figure out that the employees know what they do exactly. They said the expired meat wouldnt do harm to health and nobody died since they did it for years. Obviously, it was not the problem of supervision; it was the employer who told them to do so. Actually, earlier in 2014, a former quality control worker claimed that he was forced by the company to do the unethical work forge meat production date. But the company won this court case because of no evidence to support the allegation. Managers in Husi Shanghai can hardly absolve themselves from the blame. They should take the responsibility. And to employees, managers are the company. So the general manager of Husi Shanghai and the quality control boss were arrested. For its headquarter in US, managers took action immediately after the broadcast. They were à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“appalled by the report and deal with the issue directl y and quickly. And Lavin, OSIs CEO, chairman and owner said in a statement, On behalf of Husi and OSI, I sincerely apologize to all of our customers in China. We will bear the responsibility of these missteps, and will make sure that they never happen again. That is my personal commitment and that of our organization. He also noted that other company facilities in China were passing inspection. The company recalled all the products produced by its Asia subsidiary, Shanghai Husi Food. They announced in their first statement regarding Shanghai Husi scandal, We sincerely apologize to our customers for any problems this has caused and to customers who may be affected by these events. Our company management believes this to be an isolated event, but takes full responsibility for the situation and will take appropriate actions swiftly and comprehensively. The company has formed a team, cooperating with Chinese food safety authorities, to conduct an internal investigation. They promised to do a transparent and swift investigation. Until now, local authorities have inspected all other Chinese facilities of OSI Group and have found no unethical issues. From the 21th, July 2014, the first statement regarding Husi scandal, OSI Group has been updating the latest development in its official website. In my opinion, there are two main kinds of human limitations and biases that resulted in this immoral action, cognitive barriers and consideration of consequences. People who meet with cognitive barriers always have self-serving bias, which means individuals tend to serve the selfs need for esteem. In this case, employers want to make profit and employees dont want to lose job. Using the expired meat will reduce the cost of production, so the company can gain more money in this way. In the meantime, employees just do as the boss instructed, or they will lose their job. They pay attention to what they are able to gain and what serve their own needs. Another aspect of cognitive barriers in this case is that managers are overconfident. OSI Group is an international company based in US, having a good reputation in the food industry. As its Asia subsidiary, Husi Shanghai can easily formed the cooperation relationship with the fast food chains, such as McDonalds. The company management has the desire to open and take a big part in Chinese market. They may feel confident and proud of their performance in China, which will result in less cautious and the negligence of inspection. Because of OSIs good performance in US and other continents, the top management in headquarter may never imagine that its Chinese outpost is used to produce with the expired meat. On the other hand, the good reputation helps it build the trust of customers. Customers tend to choose products made by big international company with reputation and experience in this field. So they will not doubt whether the product is good or whether its quality fit with its reputation. Mos t people are likely to ignore consequences that are thought to affect only a few people and incline to give more weight to the consequences for themselves (or those close to them) than for others. People who have the consideration of consequences tend to underestimate potential risks. In this case, managers in Husi Shanghai only take their own benefit into consideration, ignoring the affect to others. It is acknowledged that eating unhealthy food, such as expired meat, will cause some bad consequences. People will get ill or even die because of the harmful thing in the food. However, Husi Shanghai didnt care about it since it does harm to others. The consequences for themselves are reduction of cost of production and more profit. They didnt see the potential risks. What if this unethical issue is exposed to public? The companys image will be damaged and they will lose trust of consumers. Whats more, its business in Chinese market may be ruined. The other aspects of people who hav e bias and limitations of consideration of consequences probably have the illusion of control. That is to say, some people (particularly managers) tend to believe that they are really in charge of all what happens. In Husi case, managers believed they can control their employees. No one would speak out the illegal way of making meat. They believed they can control the media. Because they did the unethical issue for not a short time, but no journalists realized or no media expose it. They believed they can control the consumers, because OSI has a rather good reputation and a wide network. They believed they can control the result of judiciary, like dealing with the charge from its former worker. They won the case, because the court cant find the evidence. In this case, no one died because of the expired meat, which resulted in the more and more unbridled behaviors and decisions of Husis managers. In addition, the poor supervision is a big reason. Although China is sparing no effor t to establish the rule of law, the supervision for food industry is still a weak point in the chain. Not only the Husi case, have we also heard about other unethical and illegal things happened in alimentation area. In such an environment, managers may gradually ignore the rule of law and underestimate the risks of their decisions. References [1] OSI Group official site. https://www.osigroup.com/world_of_osi.html [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_Group [3] Pence, G. (1993). Virtue theory (pp. 249-258). Basil Blackwell Ltd. [4] Ni, H. G., Zeng, H. (2009). Law enforcement is key to Chinas food safety. Environmental Pollution, 157(7), 1990-1992. [5] https://www.privco.com/private-company/osi-group [6] RJ Whitehead. General Manager and quality control boss arrested in Husi scandal. https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Business/General-manager-and-quality-control-boss-arrested-in-Husi-scandal?utm_source=copyrightutm_medium=OnSiteutm_campaign=copyright [7] Stat ement: Shanghai Husi Products Withdrawn from the Marketplace; Global Team Brought in to Manage Operations. https://www.osigroup.com/husiShanghai.html [8]Statement from OSI regarding Shanghai Husi https://www.osigroup.com/downloads/OSI statement 07-26-2014.pdf [9]Shanghai FDA statement regarding Shanghai Husi: https://www.sda.gov.cn/WS01/CL0103/103134.html Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "OSI Group review" essay for you Create order