BUSINESS

Theories of leadership: Situational theory Trait theories focus on traits and the skills theories on skills. Situational leadership theories highlighted the importance of situation in the making of the leaders. According to the situational theories there are situations that give birth to leaders. These theories suggest that if leaders choose to act in a certain […]

Theories of leadership: Skills Theory Skills theory is somewhat similar to the behavioral theories of leadership. However, it focuses on skills rather than behavior. Again this theory sees leadership in terms of skills. Leadership is a skill that can be learnt. Leaders have specific skills that they use to lead their followers. It implies that

Behavioral theories of leadership:   The behavioral theories of leadership take a slightly different approach than the trait theories. The most important assumption underlying the behavioral theory is that  the leaders can be made. It tries to show that not all are not born leaders but there are particular behaviors that can be learnt to become

Theories of leadership: The trait theory Leadership has remained a topic of research since long. Several theories of leadership have shed light on how someone becomes a leader. Several of them show what differentiates the leaders from the non-leaders. Leaders are always different from ordinary people. These theories try to show what differentiates the leaders

The Meaning and Relevance of Magna Carta   Magna Carta, whose name literally means “The Great Charter”, is considered to be one of the most important historical documents. This document was a result of the political crisis of 1215. King John was faced with the likelihood of a rebellion by the barons when he issued this

Growing Importance of Customer Relationship Management in the 21st century The 21st century has seen the focus of the businesses shifting towards the customers. The new customer is playing an empowered role. He is in control, holding the reins and the balance is now tilted on his side. As a result, businesses are trying to

Theories in Criminology: From Demonology to Biological Theories of Crime Demonology  Crime does not evolve from any single source.There can be several reasons behind a person’s criminal behavior or multiple origins of crime. The theorists in criminology have tried to explain these reasons through several theories. From Demonology to the Born Criminal theory, several theories

Some of the major advantages of cloud computing: Take your business to the heights Cloud computing simply means computing over the internet. In the times of cloud computing, companies and individuals store their valuable data over the internet rather than in hard drives as they did previously. Cloud is used as a metaphor for the

Local buying advantages and disadvantages for the local economy Local buying, many argue is beneficial for the local economy. According to several, it can have significant advantages for the local economy. However, there are also certain flaws of the concept that have been noted. Still, there are certain benefits of the local buying concept that cannot

   Why teenage marriages mostly fail? The teenage marriages that used to be quite common during the 1950s are not so common anymore. The failure rate of such marriages is very high and such relationships have become less common now-a-days. The divorce rates of such marriages grew so high that their attraction has kept declining

Personal development in the modern world: relevance of Theories of Freud and Erikson  Personal development is an important issue addressed by psychology and there are several psychological theories that address it. From personal motivation to childhood development and even the issue of self-identity and stress in personal life are all related to the issue of

Leon Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory The main idea underlying Cognitive Dissonance is that if a person knows of things  inconsistent psychologically, he would try in ways to make them consistent. This lack of consistency between various cognitions is known as dissonance.  The general tendency in people is to seek consistency among their beliefs and opinions.

What factors have led to the decline in LFPR? Labor Force participation rate implies that proportion of the population which is above 15 years of age and economically active. It means the people above 15 who are a part of the labor force and are involved in the production of goods or services over a

Present the “Fine-Tuning Argument” in defense of God’s existence, making the premises and conclusion clear The Fine tuning argument is among the most common creationist arguments.  Creationists have made three notable points in this regard. They note that there is a vanishingly small probability of : The human race will evolve precisely along the same

Ethical business and legal compliance: Starbucks Apart from its great coffee and wonderful customer experience, there are several other things about Starbucks that have helped it outshine the other coffee brands. Employee empowerment and the power of ethics are also behind its reputation. Particularly when it comes to ethics, its focus has always been on

Delinquency and Childhood Abuse Research has highlighted a very important link between delinquency and childhood abuse. However, apart from delinquency, childhood abuse has also been linked with several other negative outcomes. People who have experienced childhood abuse are 5 times more likely than those who have not to be ill with PTSD.  The likelihood of being

Two Most Remarkable leaders of the Civil Rights movement : King Jr and X The Civil Rights movement is remarkable for the emergence of several remarkable leaders including Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. These are two leaders that remained at the helm of the movement and despite deep differences in their leadership styles

Ethnicity and Ethnocentrism: Implications for the Modern World   Ethnicity implies a group of people whose members are bound by a common heritage. People are categorized into various ethnic groups based upon their language, cultural origins, and geographic location. So, it is mainly the racial or the cultural relationship or the bond between people that

Correctional eras in US Criminal Justice System: From the Penitentiary to the Just Deserts era   The penitentiary era marks the beginning of the US correctional system.  Since then several eras have passed and the philosophy of the correctional system has kept changing as these eras changed. It is important to have a knowledge of these eras

Were Enron’s financial problems created by its Chief Financial Officer? What was his role in the scandal? Andrew Fastow was the CFO of Enron at the time of the scandal. He had played an active role in the scandal and the department of Justice indicted him on 98 counts. He was charged with fraud, money

What is UCR? Does it draw a complete picture of crime in US? What purpose does the NCVS serve?   The UCR or the Uniform Crime Reporting program that was conceived in year 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police has played a critical role in supporting law enforcement agencies with establishing control over

Five Sources of power for the leaders: Creating the right influence on followers   The intricate link between power and leadership can be understood from the fact that people tend to follow those who hold the reins. People appreciate power and everyone wants to have it. Everyone wants to exercise control over the others and

In what ways did Enron’s bankers, auditors, and attorneys contribute to Enron’s demise? Enron is dead. The good news is that it has left behind lessons that will be remembered for long. Several factors contributed to the death of Enron. We have discussed its corporate culture and how the weak cultural fabric could not save it from untimely

What was the role of the corporate culture of Enron in giving rise to the century’s worst financial scandal? How it shaped the disaster that gave birth to the SOX? At the turn of the 21st century, the biggest scandal rocked the financial world. The Enron scandal turned out to be one of the worst cases

Strict Liability Cases in tort and criminal law   Strict liability or liability without fault does not require someone to prove that there was an intent behind the act. It can be proved only by showing that the act has been committed and there is no need to prove mens rea or intent. As per

Progressive era: Evolution of the American Government and Economy   The progressive era holds its own important place in the history of United States. The era saw some major changes happening that led US on a new course. Some of these changes were related to governance. However, the changes that  happened in the era led US into

Role of Sender, Message, Channel and Receiver in Persuasive Communication Communication begins from the source. It is the person who sends the message. However, just sending the message does not mean audience will feel persuaded to act. It depends on how the source is going to be perceived by the receiver or the target audience.

CONTENTS: Components of Culture: Discussion based on Schein’s Model The importance of culture has been highlighted repeatedly by researchers and scholars. In terms of organization and organizational behavior, culture has acquired a special value. In the 21st century, the focus has shifted towards things like organizational culture and human resources. The relevance of organizational culture

How does Supreme Court select its cases for hearing? The US Supreme Court chooses its cases selectively. While more than 7000 cases are brought before it for review each year, the court only chooses and decides less than 100 that it considers important. The court is under no obligation to hear each of the cases

Roe V Wade 1973 (Landmark Supreme Court Case) Roe V Wade marked a turning point not just in the US legal history but also in the history of women’s rights. The court’s ruling in the case shaped the discussion on abortion, giving it a new direction. However, it did not mark the end of the discussion but

Miranda V Arizona (1966) Miranda V Arizona is one of the landmark cases in the history of Supreme Court. Landmark cases are those that have had a major impact on the interpretation of important laws in US. They have proved turning points in the history of law in US.  These cases have mainly dealt with

Landmark Supreme Court Cases : McCulloch V Maryland (1819)   McCulloch V Maryland was a landmark case decided by the Supreme Court in 1819 that affirmed the superior status of the Federal government relative to the states. Supreme Court also affirmed Congress’ role and its powers through the case. It reasserted the implied powers of

Void for Vagueness Vagueness or ambiguity is an important issue concerning criminal laws. Any such law that is vague or ambiguous leaves a scope for misuse. This topic has been addressed through the use of Void for Vagueness Doctrine. It is a constitutional rule regarding clarity in the criminal laws.  The law asserts that  the

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is mainly aimed at prohibiting age based discrimination in employment. A large part of the American population is aging. This aging population is a significant part of the American workforce. However, a key problem is that increasingly the aging workforce

Jamba Juice case study: The Jamba Juice company at the time it was founded was known as the Juice Club. Five years later, it was renamed Jamba Juice in 1995. The company was initially a made to order smoothie company. However, it had very different plans for the future. Its plan was aggressive expansion. Jamba had planned to

Is leadership Gender Specific? Since the ancient times, the society has viewed women as followers and not as leaders. However, women have always proved it wrong. Even in history women have set examples by proving themselves great leaders whenever the need occurred. Leadership traits are not gender specific and even women can prove themselves great leaders. In

Herzberg’s intrinsic/extrinsic factors (hygiene-motivators) Herzberg’s two factor theory is one of the most well known theories of motivation. An extensive amount of research has been conducted based on this theory. The main underlying basis of his theory is that  there are factors that cause motivation and those which cause dissatisfaction. There are several factors that  the

Alderfer’s ERG Theory In several aspects while Alderfer’s theory is similar to the one given by Maslow; it redefines Maslow’s theory to simplify it. However, there are some key differences between the two versions. Alderfer gave three key categories of needs. They were E – Existence, R- Relatedness and G for growth needs. One most

Pros and Cons of abortion being made legal Even long after the Supreme Court gave its decision in Roe V Wade, declaring the procedure a fundamental right, the debate about abortion has continued. There are both proponents and opponents of abortion. The proponents mainly argue that the choice should strictly be of the women and not

Maslow’s Five Tiered Hierarchy of Needs: The theories of motivation are primarily laid into two categories. The first is that of the content theories. Content theories are mainly concerned with what motivates the people. The process theories on the other hand are concerned with how people are motivated to do certain things. The primary focus

The five functions of management by Henry Fayol Henry Fayol, a French engineer, was a classic management theorist. He is also well known as the father of modern operational management.  Fayol is known for his fourteen principles of management as well as the five functions or elements of management. In this regard, he is sometimes compared

The Distinction between Content and Process Theories of Motivation Motivation is generally understood as the drive or the desire to do things. Sometimes financial rewards motivate people and sometimes it is just an inner drive to make a difference. People are driven by so many things – by their passion, by the need for money or financial

Six Dimensions of Culture under the Geert Hofstede model Renowned psychologist Dr Geert Hofstede, conducted one of the most extensive studies on the influence of culture on workplace values. Research has highlighted the importance of culture as a significant force in the context of business. However, Hofstede’s study brought out the features or dimensions of

In what way does OPEC resemble a cartel? How successful is it? A ‘Cartel’ is defined as an association of manufacturers and suppliers. Its purpose is to maintain high prices and to restrict competition. In that sense OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies) is not just a cartel but an influential and successful one. It resembles a

How does OPEC control oil prices? Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), remains an important force behind the oil prices globally. There are several mechanisms through which it can influence the prices of oil. However, primarily it is its control over its member countries that allows the organization to influence the prices. It sets production

Voter ID laws: Restrictive or Not   There has been a strong debate around the voter id laws. A large section of people and politicians believes that these laws are highly restrictive in nature. As per them, the most likely result of these laws will be the disenfranchisement of a large section of voting public. Indiana was

Major similarities between Islam, Christianity and Judaism   There are important similarities among the divine concepts of the ancient Hebrews, the Early Christians and Islam. While at the surface, you will find several differences that are political and cultural in nature, deep inside there exist several similarities among the three. First of all, the three are monotheistic religions;

Pharmacare Colberia case: Ethics and Corporate Responsibility The Colberia venture of Pharmacare has several stakeholders at its centre but most critical among them are the local residents of Colberia that are at the receiving end. A stakeholder is associated with a project. He can be critical to its success or is influenced by it and its outcome (success

The Starry Messenger : Galileo’s Sidereus Nunceus ( First Hand observations of the sky through a telescope) Galileo’s Sidereus Nunceus is also known as the ‘Starry Messenger’. He wrote it in New Latin in the year 1610. The book mainly contains Galileo’s observations of the stellar bodies made from his newly invented telescope. The book was

Campus Carry laws: What is going to be the outcome?   The campus carry laws effective August 2016, have generated lots of controversy. Guns are a sensitive issue and allowing them on university campuses is bound to increase the heat. What wrong can result from it is not clear yet. Not just the faculty and staff,