Earth Studies Essay

Sheenagh Pugh gives us a very depressing view of the future in her trilogy of poems known as ‘the Earth Studies’. She gives us these views by writing very descriptive and atmospheric poems subtly conveying her opinion on world pollution. All her poems tell stories at different times of earth’s extinction for example: ‘The Craft I left in was called Esau’ was set just when the survivors left the now extinct earth, And ‘Geography 1’ and ‘Do you think we’ll ever get to see Earth, Sir’ were set when the survivors are in a different place, probably a planet.  In Sheenagh Pugh’s poems, the mood and atmosphere are very important as it helps her convey her opinion to her readers. And also it makes her poems interesting to read. The first poem that I am going to analyse is ‘The Craft I left in was called Esau’ which is the first in ‘the Earth Studies’ trilogy. This poem tells the story of human survivors leaving Earth because they destroyed it. The poems title refers to the parable of Esau, who swapped his inheritance for a bowel of potage. This is suggesting that humans made a bad barging as Esau did.  My first example of Sheenagh Pugh creating good atmosphere from ‘The Craft I left in was called Esau’ is lines 10-11 when she says ‘No bother, No big deal. I can’ t recall feeling sad’ I think this creates good atmosphere because it seems to be said very hollowly, conveying a large sense of falseness among the readers, it is as if the writer is saying something to try and hide emotion, which tells me that the writer really means the opposite. My second example from ‘The Craft I left in was called Esau’ is in line 6-7 when she says ‘People joked nervously; just like a plane flight’. I think this creates a good atmosphere with good use of the simile just like a plane flight because it is something that the readers can relate to. Also the phrase ‘nervously joked’ conveys the general mood of the survivors, who are on the flight, which is uncertainty and fear. My third example is from line 8 which says ‘ they found seats and wondered if their bags would fit’ I think this phrase discreetly shows atmosphere as the survivors are worrying over the most trivial things such as whether their bags fit after they just left their home planet because they misused its resources which caused it to be destroyed. I think that they are doing this to try and blank the past from their minds. The second poem is called ‘Do you think we’ll ever get to see Earth, Sir’. It is about two people talking about visiting Earth on excursion trips. I think this is set in around 20 years after ‘The craft I left in was called Esau’ as it states that the writer used to live on Earth. The poem starts with in a very sad atmosphere, the poem is very sad and pessimistic, an example of this is ‘you won’t see what it once was’. This shows that the writer is still very sad because of earth being destroyed; it conveys the writer’s opinion and sensitivity very well. From line 11 the poem does not create much atmosphere but it does use very beautiful descriptive language to create an overall happy mood. The start of this is ‘But if you see some beautiful thing’ But signals that there is going to be a change to the mood of the poem. It also starts using very uncommon words such as damascened (which means: something is decorated by inlaying or encrusting a pattern) and iridescence (which means: spectrum of luminous or shimmering colours). One of the best examples of description I have ever read in a poem is ‘look at it as if you were made of eyes, as if you were nothing but an eye, lidless and tender. To be probed and scorched by extreme light’. I think that the aforementioned description is an amazing way of personification because it is totally original, A completely different way of describing something. Also the ending is very nicely phrased to make it sound soppy and could bring tears to some peoples eyes. The third poem is called ‘Geography one’ and is about a futuristic geography class where none of the children had ever seen Earth before. This is the last in ‘the Earth Studies trilogy’ and is a very similar the first 2 poems because some of it is very descriptive and is very emotional. In this story the teacher is showing her class slides of a volcanic region called Surtsey, which she briefly saw while she was on Earth. This helps her remember her experiences. Also this poem carries the moral of cherish the moment.  My first example of discretion and mood is from line 6 ‘Now here you see the terrific spray, the water heaved aside as the rock was thrown up’. The first part of this describes the water as a terrific spray, which is usually seen when waves crash against something, i.e. when it hits a boat. Also the waves must have been quite big as it managed to throw up a rock. My second example is from line 22-25 ‘The man here is a warden, guarding his little world from any interference, letting it grow as it was meant to’ I think this phrase shows that the writer appreciates this mans view otherwise she would not have brought him up. I also think that she envies him for having his own little world, which is his and his alone. My last example is from line 28 until the end. ‘I saw it one day in passing; it was a few years old. Just an offshore island, a stony outline softened with lichen. Someone said that’s Surtsey, and I said fancy that, but I hadn’t time to look properly’ Conclusion I think that Sheenagh Pugh is a very effective writer, but I do not think that she is that good a poet because I usually associate poetry with Rhyming words. I personally think that she should think of becoming a proper author and that she should convert her poems into short stories. I think that she is very effective at describing things and adding her own feelings. I think that in her fist poem ‘The craft I left in was called Esau’ that she was very good at creating atmosphere and tension. In the other two poems, she was great at describing images.  I agree with her that we are careless with resources and that someone will have to come up with an answer soon. I think that the second poem ‘Do you think we will ever get to see earth, sir’ was my favourite poem as it had lots of description.

Psychology Revision Notes Essay

Participants were divided into four groups which were acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar and semantically dissimilar. Participants were presented with the list a total of 4 times and each time was interrupted to try to prevent rehearsing. They were then presented with a 20-minute interval task and afterwards were asked to recall their list. Semantically dissimilar words were recalled the most telling us that encoding in LTM is semantic. Summary of study on capacity of STM and LTM  Summary of study on duration of STM  Peterson & Peterson-  Showed PPs a list of nonsense trigrams and asked them to count back from 400 in 3 second intervals for a duration ranging from 3 to 18 seconds. Found that duration of STM was 18-30 seconds maximum.  Summary of study on duration of LTM  Bahrick-  400 participants aged between 17 and 74 were tested using different methods including free-recall tests, photo-recognition test, name recognition tests and photo-name matching test. PPs performed less well on free recall tests (30% after 48 years) but were much better in the photo-name test (90% after 60 years). Models of memory  Description of the multi-store model of memory, plus evaluation inc. research  Atkinson & Shiffrin-  Multi-Store Model which consists of three parts – sensory, short term and long term stores. Rehearsal is required in order for information to move across stores and retrieval is needed to access the information. If information is not rehearsed it will decay.  Description of the working memory model, plus evaluation inc. research Baddeley & Hitch-  Working Memory Model which consists of three parts – central executive, phonological loop (store and articulatory control system) and the central executive. Memory in the real world  Knowledge of what Eye Witness Testimony (EWT) is-  The evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime, with a view to identifying the perpetrator of the crime. The accuracy of eyewitness recall may be affected during initial encoding, subsequent storage and eventual retrieval.  Loftus & Palmer’s (1974) study on EWT-  Reconstruction of an Automobile Disaster. 9 student PPs per 5 conditions (bumped, contacted, hit, smashed and collided). All watched a video then asked to estimate speed. Smashed the highest (40.8mph) and contacted the lowest (31.8mph). PPs in second part of experiment then asked a leading question about broken glass. 16/50 of the smashed condition PPs said yes in comparison to 7/50 in the hit condition. Knowledge of the factors which affect the accuracy of EWT  anxiety-  Christianson and Hubinette (1993)  Anxiety and EWT – real incidents involving high levels of stress lead to more accurate, detailed and long lasting memories.  Deffenbucher (2004)  Carried out a meta-analysis of 18 studies, looking at the effects if heightened anxiety on accuracy of EWR. It was clear that there was considerable support for the hypothesis that high levels of stress negatively impacted on the accuracy of EWM. Age-  Parker and Carranza (1989)  Compared the ability of primary school children and college students to correctly identify a target individual following a slide sequence of a mock crime. In the photo identification task, child witnesses has higher rate of choosing ‘somebody’ than adults witnesses, although they were also more likely to make errors of identification than college students.  Weapon focus effect-  Loftus(1987)  In violent crimes, arousal may focus attention on central details e.g. a weapon. Loftus et al identified weapons focus effect. 2 conditions, one involving weapon the other not. Condition 1 (less violent) people was 49% accurate in identifying man. Condition 2 (more violent) people were 33% accurate. Suggests weapon may have distracted them.

DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS Essay

Introduction Leadership and management, these are two words we use on daily basis. But the questions like how do we realise good leaders, what qualities, attitude, style and behaviour do they exhibit, are frequent. The ability to lead is not connected to education, although most leaders are intelligent people. Many qualities required for a leader are also possessed by managers. There are interconnection between leaders and managers. Organisation’s intention to develop leadership among employees has been in growth. It is because they realised the potentials of good leaders. Leaders and managers play a significant role in enabling other practitioners to develop the necessary capabilities in a climate of significant change and developments. I think, by developing our leadership skills, we are assured a more rewarding and successful career. There is no doubt that, leadership potential can be developed. With commitment, effort and practice, anybody can move beyond the skills you are born with t o be an excellent leader. â€Å"The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. Myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Warren G. Bennis. Globalisation has resulted in diversity. To maximise contribution, each organisation and its managers are now challenged with creating inclusive working environment. They need to understand effective leadership style and culture to build trust and effective relationship. Rapid economic changes pose new opportunities and threats. Leaders are supposed to face those situations. â€Å"For managers the world keeps changing. It changes from hour to hour, day to day and week to week. The strategies that were effective yesterday are not necessarily effective in the same situation today†-Quinn Look more:  strategic management process essay In order to face the growing competition in the market, it is very urgent for organisations to build potential leader. Developing strategic management and leadership skills should be a part of organisations’ actions. 1.1 Explain the link between strategic management and leadership Strategic Management consists of the analysis of any organisation, decision making and necessary actions in order to create and sustain competitive advantages. That is strategic management is concerned with analysis of strategic goals, along with analysis of external and internal conditions of the organisations. Then taking necessary decisions and implementing those decisions systematically to get the competitive advantages. Strategic management, popularized during 1980s. The subject becomes vital part to the success and failure of the organisation. Usually it is considered as the responsibility for the overall direction of the organization sums up what strategic management is all about. It can also define as the process of identifying and executing the organisation’s strategic goals (mission, vision and objectives) by matching its capabilities with the demand of its environment. Strategic management contains a set of managerial decisions. Leadership is the ability of a person to get other willingly to follow. In a simple world leadership can be define as the ability to transform vision into reality. Strategic leadership provides the vision and direction for the growth and success of an organization. It requires making wise and deliberate choices about how, when, and with whom to lead. A good manager is now by definition a leader. Equally, a good leader will also be a manager. Majority of practical people are interested primarily in what they have to do, and not whether it should be labelled ‘leadership’ or ‘management’ or both. â€Å"It is very true that I have said that I considered Napoleon’s presence in the field equal to forty thousand men in the balance† —Duke of Wellington. Difference between strategic management and leadership Management| Leadership| Intended to plan, organize, co-ordinate and evaluate| Job is to inspire and motivate| management administrate the organisation| Leaders innovate | Management tries to maintain the organisation| Leaders tries to develop| Focused on system and structure| Focuses on people| They focus on the present situation | They look towards future| React to problems and issues| Proactive to issues and problem| Prefer to control| Knows how to delegate| Minimising risk| Taking risk|  There are thousands of examples for leaders in the world. Jack Welch, he worked magic at GE in the 1990s. Lou Gerstner, the brain behind the successful turnaround of IBM. Their books about their exploit, success and philosophies of leaderships became best sellers. 1.2 Analysis of impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decision There are different leadership and management styles. Different styles work well in different situations. They are based on different assumptions and theories. Strategic decisions taken by leaders depend upon their style. The style used by each individual will be based on their beliefs, values, ethical views and preferences as well as the organizational culture and norms which will encourage some styles and discourage others. 1. Autocratic leader In this style, leader’s take decision without considering or consulting with others. This style work well when there is no need of discussion or the discussion would not bring any changes or the motivation of people will not affected with or without discussion. 2. Democratic style The leader involves employees in the decision making. This kind of style is usually appreciated by the employees or subordinate. This style would bring problems in a situation where there are wide ranges of opinion and there is no well-defined way of taking the final decision. 3. Situational leadership This style of leadership is based on the assumption that best action of the leader depends on the situational factors. When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not fall into a single style. 4. Transactional leadership The assumption behind this kind of leadership is that people are motivated by rewards and an organisation work well with a clear chain of command. This kind of leader works thorough creating clear structures. Subordinates duty  will be well defined and also the reward they get for following the orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. The first stage of Transactional Leadership is in negotiating the contract whereby fixing the salary and other benefits of subordinates, and the company (and by implication the subordinate’s manager) gets authority over the subordinate. After allocating works to subordinates, they are responsible to do it, whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is punished for their failure (just as they are rewarded for succeeding). 5. Transformational leader This style is based on the assumption that employees will follow a leader who motivates them and a person with vision and passion can achieve anything. Transformation leadership start with the development of a vision, a view and path to future. That will excite and converter the employees. Transformational leaders are so committed always. They continuously work to motivate the followers. Decision making can be affected by leadership style. The key elements of leadership are 1. Understanding their own personality and understanding others 2. Understanding the situation 3. Applying appropriate skills and techniques. Leaders having different styles can have different levels of key elements. So the way and level in which they identify their personality can differ. They responds to a same situation by different leaders can vary. Leadership and management style getting important in the sense that you can’t lead people in the same way as you did in the past if you want to get their talents and obtain efficient performance. Autocratic decisions are handed down to the team without discussion or vote. But that decision is necessary sometimes. Especially when a strategic decision needs to made quickly. The impact of this style is for many people, this style feels harsh, a great possibility of demotivation. Rest of people  assured leader can demonstrate consideration and compassion for team while using the Autocratic style, even though the team is not directly involved in the decision. There are situations in which leader wants input from employees or teams. Leaders, uses democratic style workout that situation well. This kind of decision-making allows for active participation from the team. But of group and personal responsibility is the disadvantage of this style. IBM prefers transformational leadership style, so that leaders are culturally adaptable and can unleash IBM’s energy and can execute strategies well. There is a common thought that leaders who listen considerately to their follower’s opinion before making final decision get good result as compared to non-listeners. In the case of democratic style, the leader gives up ownership and control of a decision and allows the group to vote. Advantage of this style is fairly fast decision, and an amount of group participation. No organisation or leader can implement a single style to deal with the multitude of decision that needs to be made during change process (Nancy, 2007). British petroleum, a major energy company globally in terms of oil and gas deserves, company’s growth has been accompanied by a number of accidents and safety-related violations which have had tragic environmental and personal consequences. Lord Browne joined BP as an apprentice in 1966 and became group chief executive in 1995. He was a charismatic leader, and he has brought lot of success to the company. But he was forced to resign in 2007 due to a personal scandal. Charismatic leadership style got few drawbacks. The complaint against Lord Browne was administration by media and business associates fuelled his charismatic style and he ignored day to day core business activities. 1.3 How leadership styles can be adopted to different situations? Success of an organisation or a group dependent on the effectiveness of the leader. Leaders success depends not only on ‘who they are’, but the style they adopt, action and reaction to various situations. None of the leadership style is appropriated in all situations. Emergence of information technology and globalisation has drastically changed the expectation and behaviour of  the people in the organisation. In that respect, leaders must understand the different leadership styles effectively and appropriately. Leaders must be up to date of the situations. Leaders must be prepared to step in and show the way in all kind of situations. Different style can be adapted to different situations in relation to 1. Business- situations 2. Types of team players involved 3. Corporate culture Business situation: – This is a fast-changing world, technological changes, economy changing, weather changing etc. In such a situation a leader cannot lose the sense of changes. Business situation means competition, market changes, market share, financing, world economy, sense of urgency in fiancà © and talents. We know that high risk situation needs very strong and active involvement by the leader to keep it control. The people or team members: – In every organisation, there will have different kind of employees or members. Differ by characters, talents, skills, attitude etc. identifying the team members is a tough task. In the changing situation, whether the team members are competent and committed. The corporate culture: – There is no doubt that the culture in the organisation will influence the leadership style. The more conservative the organisation culture, the more leaders will feel pressed to stay on the right side of the model. Jack Welch’s Leadership Style Jack Welch, he was the youngest CEO of General Electric’s history. He made a resolution to transform GE into one of the world biggest firm. With his unique leadership style and character, Welch made history during his 2-decade journey at GE. His way of leading was based on some concepts. Lead, not manage:- according to him leadership can be found in as long as they come up with good ideas and can energize rather than depress and control. Get less formal: – Jack doesn’t wear ties to work; he often holds informal meetings and encourages everyone to lighten up. Informality inspires people to have more ideas and it is one of the keys to GE’s success. No bureaucracy: – Welch wished that each employee should work on getting rid of bureaucracy every day. Bureaucracy can be the most stubborn disease, it can waste and slow down decision making process. Face reality: – company was losing its market values and there was too much bureaucracy when Jack Welch joined the company. He realised the realities and brought out strategies and  initiatives that made things better. Simplify the business: – his goal at GE was simplify the business. He didn’t think that business had to be complicated. He tried to eliminate complicated memos and letters. Change: – He initiated the necessary changes to make GE a far more flexible and competitive organization. He made ‘change’ a part of GE’s shared value. Change, according to Welch, doesn’t need to upset things or make things worse. It can mean opportunities, good ideas, new business or new products (kevin, 2007). Lead by energizing others, not managing by authority: – Welch called his leadership ideal ‘boundary less’, which means an open organization, free of bureaucracy and anything that prevents the free flow of ideas, people and decisions (kevin, 2007). His choice was inspiring others to perform well. Lead by doing- one of the leadership style adapted by GE Information technology is critical to the future of GE. As a key pipeline for future leaders of GE’s world-class global IT organization, the Information Technology Leadership Program delivers continued education with over 12 weeks of technical, project management and leadership training over the two years (GE, 2013). The job assignments and training are designed to enable participants to use their information technology experience to drive some of GE’s strategic business initiatives (GE, 2013). Each assignment and training experience is global allowing participants to travel to other countries, work with colleagues from around the world, and make an impact on products and services that make the world better (GE, 2013) 2.1 Review the impact that selected theories of management and leadership have on organisational strategy Situational theories or contingency theories  Those theories began in 1960s. The basic assumption behind the theory is that individual characteristics’ make them suitable leaders only in certain situations. Each situation requires a leader to vary behaviour to fit the conditions. In other words, there is no right or wrong way in leading all the time. Fred Fiedler’s contingency theory In 1967, Fred Fiedler proposed his contingency theory. His objective was to find out when a task oriented approach would be more effective and when a  relationship oriented approach would be more effective. He explained that task oriented leader very effective when conditions are either very favourable or which are very unfavourable to the leader. When conditions are favourable, member relations are strong; there is a positive relationship between the group and the leader; and the task is clear and structured; the group members are ready and willing to work, and their energies can be focused on the goal. Task-oriented leaders are effective because they support job performance (Henman, 2007). According to Fielder, the relationship oriented style is more effective in situations which are intermediate in favourableness. When an intermediate situation is present, the leader can help to build confidence and cohesion by focusing on the personal needs of the individuals (Henman, 2007). Hersey and Blanchard theory It is another situational theory. This theory was introduced 10 year after Fiedler’s theory. First of all Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard assume that leaders are more flexible than Fiedler does. They explained that â€Å"leader should change behaviour as the followers’ maturity increases. This is the first of the situational theories to address the element of follower maturity†. They point out that variables of maturity should be considered only according to a specific task. That is, followers are not mature or immature in any total or chronological sense; rather, they have varying degrees of maturity depending on knowledge of or experience with a specific goal (Henman, 2007). Leader-style theory This theory was introduced by Vroom and Yetton. They explain the different ways leader can make decisions and necessary guidelines for leader in order to determine the extent to which subordinate should participated in decision making. Charismatic leadership Charisma, as explained by Max Weber, is a certain quality of individual personality, by virtue of which he or she is apart from ordinary people and treated as a personality with exceptional power or qualities. On the basis of this, they are considered as leaders. Each theory differs slightly. That indicates that there is no one best among all types of style. Successful leader is the one who can adapt to the changes. An effective leader needs to diagnose the needs and wants of followers and then react accordingly. The impact of different theories of management on organisational strategy will be different. IBM needs extraordinary leaders who can create high-performance work climates and foster employee engagement; people who not only succeed but enable others to as well. A disciplined process of identifying and developing high achievers and leaders has been a main stone of IBM’s strategy to regain market leadership in the IT industry. In order to build a pool of leader for the future strategies, IBM has been establishing periodically refreshed core competencies for all IBM employees. They have a pervasive use of competencies for development, succession planning and selection. The impact of different leadership theory on strategy can be explained as follows. For example let’s consider contingency theory. As Fiedler explained, task oriented leaders are very effective when conditions are favourable or unfavourable. When conditions are favourable, members relations are strong, there is a positive relation between team and leader. Hence new strategies can bring and work it out well so easily. In unfavourable circumstances or in stressful situations, a leader’s structure and control can remove undesirable ambiguity and the anxiety that goes with it. Hence effectiveness of strategy can be maintained. In an intermediate situation, relationship oriented style is best. The leader can help to build confidence and cohesion by focusing on the personal needs of the individuals. That was the approach adopted by Jack Welch, GE. 2.2 Create a leadership strategy that support organisational direction Leadership strategy for General Electrics The General Electric Company, or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in New York. Company operates in five sectors via energy, technology infrastructure, capital finance, consumer and industrial. It has been almost a decade since Jack Welch retired as GE’s chairman and CEO, the brain behind the success of GE. The company continued success is an immortal line from Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and founder of GE. The current CEO of GE is Jeffrey Immelt. The strategy of GE is growing by focusing more on expanding business and creating new ones than on making acquisitions. Jack Welch and Jeffrey immelt are considered to be the most influenced business leaders. If we consider their way in which they lead, and their decisions, it is clear that they preferred transformational leadership style. Even though both used the same style, Jack Welch had been more extreme than his successor. Leadership strategy: – choosing a best leadership style is the major step in leadership strategy. Leadership at company like GE is very crucial. Transformational leadership style is better for GE. They have the story of success using the same style. Transformational leader is able to influence his followers and make them do more than what is expected from them, what they were willing to do and often more than what they thought they were capable of. Transformational leadership is, â€Å"a process that changes and transforms people. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals and includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings†- (Northouse). The reason behind the selection of this leadership style is this style motivates the followers. The leader and followers are well aligned in this system. A transformational leader can motivate the followers by setting challenging goals. Transformational leadership is composed of four key elements, influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. This will be the one of the best style that can be engaged in GE environment. The transformational leader has also the capacity to involve his followers to envision the future of the company by communicating them attractive goals and expectations and by showing them a strong commitment to reach these expectations and to be in line with the  vision he shares (Riggio). Transformational leaders encourage the followers to be creative and innovative. We have seen the different leadership style and their impact on organisation. Even though, no particular leadership style is better always. It depends on the situations. The best style GE can use is transformational leadership because of its unique advantages. Transformation leader can take risk, as Jack Welch did in GE. Leadership strategy makes explicit the number of leaders required, and what kind of, where, with what skills and styles. GE’s corporate strategy is to expand instead of alliances. So they need thousands of leaders all around the world. The leaders should have collective capabilities like providing direction, motivate the followers, engaging employees in decision making and to gain their active support in implementing planned cross-functional actions, implementing successful innovations, adapting to change, ensuring transparency just like former leaders, developing talents and being responsive to customers like Jeffrey Immlet. Since the corporate strategy is becoming more global, it require greater cultural sensitivity among leaders, enhanced representation of different geographies at top level, enhanced language skills to enable cross cultural relationships and greater understanding of local laws and business arrangement in strategy making. 3.1 Use appropriate methods to review current leadership requirement We know the important of leaders. It is very necessary to identify the leadership gap in any organisation so that top management can take necessary actions. Some of the best and most venerable organizations are failing to adapt to change, implement their strategic plans successfully or prepare for a more uncertain future because of the reason that they failed to forecast the leadership requirement. Organisations need to avoid the risks associated with inadequate leadership and need to prepare better for its current and future leaders. Leadership requirement for General Electrics Leadership programs are amazing within GE that are designed to build the next generation leaders. These programs build perfect foundation for accelerating  learning and development in a particular domain, from commercial to operations, from human resources to information management, from finance and communications to technology (GE, Leadership Programs, 2013). There are more than 300,000 employees in GE. The company operates through different sector. GE consistently ranks as the most admired and respected company in the world. Profit of GE grows consistently. Company serves customers in more than 100 countries. Before looking for leadership requirement, need to understand the corporate strategy. Leadership requirement can be planned based on that. CEO of GE believes that ideal situation for a global firm was to have its factory on a barge that you could move around the world to wherever it was the best competitive environment at the time. Their strategy is to expand business globally, instead of just looking for alliances. Fast moving Globalisation opens new opportunities for a global firm like GE. Hence leadership requirement at GE is tremendous. They need leaders at various levels. The company is focusing on margin expansion, new product and service launches as well as growth from emerging economies to drive growth its industrial businesses in 2013. Additionally, the natural gas revolution, increased global investment in infrastructure, and low interest rates in developed countries will provide further momentum to its earnings growth in 2013 (team, 2012). These new strategies hopefully drive them to big success. But they need leaders not only in quantity but also in quality. 3.2 Plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership Requirement of leaders in the GE increases. Leaders are not only required in the top level but also in the various bottom levels also. A good leader is always prepared for the any kind of challenge. He acts quickly and accurately according to the given situation. We can say that a good leader takes the right decision at the right time. Leadership plan and programs are necessary for the development of future situations requiring leadership. Leadership Programs: – GE has various leadership programs. As part of their strategy to achieve commercial excellence and drive organic growth, they are developing a pipeline of strong sales and marketing leaders at GE through  the Commercial Leadership Program (CLP). CLP offers a curriculum that boosts the development of commercial skills and techniques that are critical to success in all GE businesses. CLP prepares candidates for a successful career in sales or commercial operations by providing the opportunity to learn about GE’s products, industry, and customers while making valuable contributions to the on-going success of GE. Those programs are very effective. They need to add more values to those programs. Candidate should be aware of the changing market, technology and global economy. Leadership opportunities: – even though, GE spent more than $1 billion annually in training and development of programs, a global company having more than 300,000 employees and serving in more than 100 countries, that one billion is not an adequate amount. As compared to their profit growth, they need more to build leadership qualities in their employees. Human resource leadership program: – In GE’s Human Resources Leadership Progr am people are gaining real-world business experience, contributing to GE businesses and getting in line for HR leadership roles across the company. HRLPs can build countless HR leaders within GE. Experienced commercial leadership programs: – The Experienced Commercial Leadership Program (ECLP) prepares MBA graduates and experienced professionals for GE leadership roles in marketing and sales. The two-year rotational program offers opportunities for individuals to drive growth within a business, receive world-class commercial and leadership training, and be part of a global network of marketing and sales leaders 4.1 Plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement Leadership skills are the key ingredient required for a good leader. Some would say key ingredient in management. The basic leadership skills required in most situations are same. But under certain specific condition, they need specific skills. The basic skill required for leaders are explained below. Integrity: – this is the basic quality of a leader. This quality makes people trust the leader. Trust is essential in all human relations. Confidence: – it is essential quality for all leaders. Developing self-confidence is the preliminary to becoming a leader. Self-awareness: – People who have a high degree of self-awareness recognize how their feelings affect them, other people, and their job performance. They can speak openly and accurately about their limitations. Self-regulation: – People who are in control of their feelings and sudden  temptation are able to create an environment of trust and fairness. Appropriate self-regulators are usually thoughtful and resist making impulsive decisions. These are definite qualities of a good leader. Motivation: – it is an important skill required for skills. Only effective leaders can motivate followers. Social skills: – social skill is necessary to build relations. Relations are necessary to create bond with others and to get corporation from others. Communication skills: – to deliver leader’s idea properly, communication skill is very necessary. A good communicator can pay attention and listen carefully. Lead by example: – One of the best ways to lead is by example – use where needed, lending a helping hand, and making sure that the work you do is clearly understood by your team. Leadership skills strataplex: – Leadership skill requirements are often described as being stratified by organizational level. The term strataplex captures the stratified and complex nature of the leadership skill requirements and their relationship with level in the organization. Leadership skill requirement is classified into four groups. 1. Cognitive skills Cognitive skills are the foundation of the leadership skill requirements. They are comprised of those skills related to basic cognitive capacities, such as collecting, processing, and disseminating information and learning and are the fundamental skills required for a large portion of the activities in which leaders are engaged (Mumford, 2007) .These skills include skills like oral communication, written communication, ability to learn and adapt etc. 2. Interpersonal Skills These are skill relating to interacting with and influencing others. Examples are skills required for coordination of actions, negotiation skills etc. 3. Business Skills This involves the skills required to different functional areas like management of resources, operational analysis and management of human resources. 4. Strategic Skills Strategic skill requirements are highly conceptual skills needed to take a systems perspective to understand complexity, deal with ambiguity, and to  effect influence in the organization (Mumford, 2007). This includes skills for planning, visioning etc. â€Å"Leaders are not born, they are grown†- this is the word by the father of management, Peter Drucker. Leadership ability is not an inborn skill most times. This can develop through practices. Doesn’t require talents, but commitment is necessary. The great leaders have chosen to be just that, and then developed the skills that are required. Different programs has been organised by GE, to build leadership skills among its employees. 1. Entry level program or Commercial leadership program (CLP) is an example for it. The CLP is a 12 to 24 month program that develops marketing and sales skills through a strong core curriculum and challenging assignments. 2. Experienced program: Human Resource Leadership program (HRLP). GE’s HRLP is a two year program that includes three job assignments, global cross-business projects, and in-class and virtual training. 3. Experienced Commercial Leadership program (ELCP). The ECLP program consists of three, eight-month rotational assignments within the marketing and sales functions of one of GE’s businesses (GE, Experienced Program, 2013).4. Operation management Leadership program (OMLP): OMLP accelerates development of entry-level talent and produces leaders capable of meeting the challenges facing the Operations, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Quality functions at GE (GE, Entry level program, 2013). 4.2 Report on the usefulness of methods used to plan the development of leadership skills There are lot of methods to plan the development of leadership skills. Different methods are useful in different situations. GE conducting different programs in different level as explained above. Leadership programs are amazing platforms within GE that are designed to build the next generation of leaders. Commercial leadership program (CLP) provides candidates with valuable training, experience and exposure to a team of motivated colleagues and helpful mentors that can accelerate their careers. HRLP (Human Resource Leadership program) has created countless generations of HR leaders at GE. The program continues today and still focuses on taking talented people, providing them with globally diverse challenging experiences, and developing them into world-class HR leaders. Candidates will have formal training, rotation, seminars, business simulations and community service activities. Experienced Commercial  Leadership Programs (ECLP) offers opportunities for individuals to drive growth within a business, receive world-class commercial and leadership training, and be part of a global network of marketing and sales leaders (GE, Experienced Program, 2013). OMLP (Entry level Program) is a two-year program consisting of four six-month rotations that allow members to build leadership and functional skills through challenging rotational assignments and world-class training (GE, Entry level program, 2013) . Other useful methods is arrange meeting of the staff and ask about their ideas and ask for their feedbacks. The best method, however, is getting feedback from the staffs. Another way of developing leadership skills is to get familiar with your followers. It will help you in understanding their feelings and their needs, which in turn will help you in managing their needs. Different plan for the development leadership skills includes conducting seminar, training programs, meetings, job rotations etc. Conclusion This assignment is used to explain the link between strategic management and leadership. Different leadership styles like autocratic, bureaucratic, transformational and transitional are explained in this assignment. The effects of various styles on strategic decision making are explained. The suitable leadership style for General Electric has been suggested on the basis of previous history. Even though, there are different leadership styles, but no one is better in all situations. Style should be adapted according to the business situation, team members and culture of the organisation. Different leadership theories are discussed in the assignment. Situational theories and contingency theories have been applied. The situations in which different theories can be applied are explained. Different leadership styles and their role are explained. Anyone can become a good leader by adopting certain skills and techniques and applying them in their daily life. Because leaders are not born, but they are grown, great word by Peter Drucker. Good leaders know how to use different styles in a balanced way. In this competitive world, organisation can only sustain if and only if they can bring strong leaders. There are different ways of enhancing the leadership skills for future requirements. And there should be a plan of developing these skills. The plan should cover all the current and  future needs for leadership and is helpful in the overall progress of the organization. A leader is a person who provides the vision for the future. Developing leadership skills in our personality will help us to explore more opportunities in our future. Bibliography Claudel, P. (2011). Leadership style : A powerful model. TJ. Derue, S. (2011). Trait and behavioural theories of leadership. Michigan. GE. (2013). Entry level program. Retrieved 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.ge.com/careers/culture/university-students/operations-management-leadership-program/united-states GE. (2013). Entry level program. Retrieved may 5, 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.ge.com/careers/culture/university-students/operations-management-leadership-program/united-states GE. (2013). Experienced Program. Retrieved 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.ge.com/careers/culture/university-students/experienced-commercial-leadership-program/india GE. (2013). Experienced Program. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.ge.com/careers/culture/university-students/experienced-commercial-leadership-program/india GE. (2013). Leadership program. Retrieved May 4, 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.ge.com/careers/culture/university-students/information-technology-leadership-pro gram/india GE. (2013, January 1). Leadership Programs. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.ge.com/in/careers/leadership_program/index.html Goleman, D. (2004). Leadership That Gets Result. Harvard Business review. Henman. (2007). Leadership theories. London. J.Goertzen, B. (2010). Contemporary theories of leadership. kevin. (2007, March 6). 12 lesson from Jack Welch’s leadership style . Retrieved March 28, 2013, from www.vietnamworks.com: advice.vietnamworks.com/en/hiring/effective-management/twelve-lessons-jack-welch-s-leadership-style.html-0 Mumford, T. V. (2007). The leadership skills strataplex. United states. Nancy. (2007, April 7). Leadership style: Decision making. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from www.springboard.com:

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