Leadership Essays

Leadership Essays Leadership Essay Leadership Essay Diversity has been recognized as one of the strengths BASS has in terms of the different cultures and competencies employees has to offer. A platform for each individual within the company has been created to make the most of their abilities and talents which in turn contributes to Basss successes. Employee engagement are widely described in the case study (Maniocs 2014:38) by starting with a motto Leadership starts with ME this is a key factor to motivate all employees to become great leaders within the company. Contact between managers and the workforce are maintained by means of a quarterly indaba, this platform in turn is used for employees to voice all major and minor concerns. Yearly conferences are also held to address all important issues of leadership excellence. Team meetings are held on a monthly basis for all members of the team to realism what problems they currently have, what targets they are aiming for and what steps they will take to rectify any problems. It keeps all team members informed of progress and it also encourages them to help each other if any problems need resolving. Team meetings also give employees the chance to air their views and bring out any problems that they are facing and are a major motivational factor in any business. Succession planning c By keeping the customers and their employees satisfied, BASS are sure to grow in this ever competitive market. Question 2 Comment on the significance and effectiveness of the Follow-up and Evaluation of Basss induction programmer in contributing to the organizations strategy.

Mass Murder at Babi Yar Ravine

Mass Murder at Babi Yar Ravine Before there were gas chambers, the Nazis used guns to kill Jews and others in large numbers during the Holocaust. Babi Yar, a ravine located just outside of  Kiev, was the site where  the Nazis  murdered approximately 100,000 people. The killing began with a large group on September 29-30, 1941, but continued for months. The German Takeover After the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, they pushed east. By September 19, they had reached Kiev. It was a confusing time for the inhabitants of Kiev. Though a large portion of the population had family either in the Red Army or had evacuated into the interior of the Soviet Union, many inhabitants welcomed the German Armys takeover of Kiev. Many believed the Germans would free them from Stalins oppressive regime. Within days they would see the true face of the invaders. Explosions Looting began immediately. Then the Germans moved into Kievs downtown on Kreshchatik Street. On September 24 - five days after the Germans entered Kiev - a bomb exploded around four oclock in the afternoon at the German headquarters. For days, bombs exploded in buildings in the Kreshchatik that had been occupied by Germans. Many Germans and civilians were killed and injured. After the war, it was determined that a group of NKVD members was left behind by the Soviets to offer some resistance against the conquering Germans. But during the war, the Germans decided it was the work of Jews, and retaliated for the bombings against the Jewish population of Kiev. The Notice By the time the bombings finally stopped on September 28, the Germans already had a plan for retaliation. On this day, the Germans posted a notice all over town that read: All [Jews] living in the city of Kiev and its vicinity are to report by 8 oclock on the morning of Monday, September 29th, 1941, at the corner of Melnikovsky and Dokhturov Streets (near the cemetery). They are to take with them documents, money, valuables, as well as warm clothes, underwear, etc. Any [Jew] not carrying out this instruction and who is found elsewhere will be shot. Any civilian entering flats evacuated by [Jews] and stealing property will be shot. Most people in town, including the Jews, thought this notice meant deportation. They were wrong. Reporting for Deportation On the morning of September 29, tens of thousands of Jews arrived at the appointed location. Some arrived extra early in order to ensure themselves a seat on the train. Most waited hours in this crowd - only slowly moving toward what they thought was a train. The Front of the Line Soon after people passed through the gate into the Jewish cemetery, they reached the front of the mass of people. Here, they were to leave their baggage. Some in the crowd wondered how they would be reunited with their possessions; some believed it would be sent in a luggage van. The Germans were counting out only a few people at a time and then letting them move farther on. Machine-gun fire could be heard nearby. For those that realized what was happening and wanted to leave, it was too late. There was a barricade staffed by Germans who were checking identification papers of those wanting out. If the person was Jewish, they were forced to remain. In Small Groups Taken from the front of the line in groups of ten, they were led to a corridor, about four or five feet wide, formed by rows of soldiers on each side.  The soldiers were holding sticks and would hit the Jews as they went by. There was no question of being able to dodge or get away. Brutal blows, immediately drawing blood, descended on their heads, backs and shoulders from left and right. The soldiers kept shouting: Schnell, schnell! laughing happily, as if they were watching a circus act; they even found ways of delivering harder blows in the more vulnerable places, the ribs, the stomach and the groin. Screaming and crying, the Jews exited the corridor of soldiers onto an area overgrown with grass.  Here they were ordered to undress. Those who hesitated had their clothes ripped off them by force, and were kicked and struck with knuckledusters or clubs by the Germans, who seemed to be drunk with fury in a sort of sadistic rage. 7 Babi Yar Babi Yar is the name of a ravine in the northwestern section of Kiev. A. Anatoli described the ravine as enormous, you might even say majestic: deep and wide, like a mountain gorge. If you stood on one side of it and shouted you would scarcely be heard on the other.8 It was here that the Nazis shot the Jews. In small groups of ten, the Jews were taken along the edge of the ravine. One of the very few survivors remembers she looked down and her head swam, she seemed to be so high up. Beneath her was a sea of bodies covered in blood. Once the Jews were lined up, the Nazis used a machine-gun to shoot them. When shot, they fell into the ravine. Then the next were brought along the edge and shot. According to the Einsatzgruppe Operational Situation Report No. 101, 33,771 Jews were killed at  Babi Yar  on September 29 and 30.10  But this was not the end of the killing at Babi Yar. More Victims The Nazis next rounded up Gypsies and killed them at Babi Yar. Patients of the Pavlov Psychiatric Hospital were gassed and then dumped into the ravine. Soviet prisoners of war were brought to the ravine and shot. Thousands of other civilians were killed at Babi Yar for trivial reasons, such as a mass shooting in retaliation for just one or two people breaking a Nazi order. The killing continued for months at Babi Yar. It is estimated that 100,000 people were murdered there. Babi Yar: Destroying the Evidence By mid-1943, the Germans were on the retreat; the Red Army was advancing west. Soon, the Red Army would liberate Kiev and its surroundings. The Nazis, in an effort to hide their guilt, tried to destroy evidence of their killings - the mass graves at Babi Yar. This was to be a gruesome job, so they had prisoners do it. The Prisoners Not knowing why they had been chosen, 100 prisoners from the Syretsk concentration camp (near Babi Yar) walked toward Babi Yar thinking they were to be shot. They were surprised when Nazis attached shackles onto them. Then surprised again when the Nazis gave them dinner. At night, the prisoners were housed in a cave-like hole cut into the side of the ravine. Blocking the entrance/exit was an enormous gate, locked with a large padlock. A wooden tower faced the entrance, with a machine-gun aimed at the entrance to keep watch over the prisoners. 327 prisoners, 100 of whom were Jews, were chosen for this horrific work. The Ghastly Work On August 18, 1943, the work began. The prisoners were divided into brigades, each with its own part of the cremation process. Digging:  Some prisoners had to dig into the mass graves. Since there were numerous mass graves at Babi Yar, most had been covered with dirt. These prisoners removed the top layer of dirt in order to expose the corpses.Hooking:  Having fallen into the pit after having been shot and having been underground for up to two years, many of the bodies had twisted together and were difficult to remove from the mass. The Nazis had constructed a special tool to disentangle and pull/drag the corpses. This tool was metal with one end shaped into a handle and the other shaped into a hook.The prisoners who had to pull the corpses out of the grave would place the hook under the corpses chin and pull - the body would follow the head. Sometimes the bodies were so firmly stuck together that two or three of them came out with one hook. It was often necessary to hack them apart with axes, and the lower layers had to be dynamited several times. The Nazis drank vodka to drown out the smell and the scenes; the prisoners werent even allowed to wash their hands.Removing Valuables:  After the bodies were pulled out of the mass grave, a few prisoners with pliers would search the victims mouths for gold. Other prisoners would remove clothing, boots, etc. from the bodies. (Though the Jews had been forced to undress before they were killed, later groups were often shot fully clothed.)Cremating the Bodies:  After the bodies had been checked for valuables, they were to be cremated. The pyres were carefully constructed for efficiency. Granite tombstones were brought from the nearby Jewish cemetery and laid flat on the ground. Wood was then stacked on top of it. Then the first layer of bodies was carefully laid on top of the wood so that their heads were on the outside. The second layer of bodies was then carefully placed on the first, but with the heads on the other side. Then, the prisoners placed more wood. And again, another lay er of bodies was placed on top - adding layer after layer. Approximately 2,000 bodies would be burned at the same time. To start the fire, gasoline was doused over the pile of bodies. The [stokers] got the fire going underneath and also carried burning torches along the rows of projecting heads. The hair, soaked in oil [gasoline], immediately burst into bright flame - that was why they had arranged the heads that way. Crushing the Bones:  The ashes from the pyre were scooped up and brought to another group of prisoners. Large pieces of bone that had not burned in the fire needed to be crushed to fully destroy the evidence of Nazi atrocities. Jewish tombstones were taken from the nearby cemetery to crush the bones. Prisoners then passed the ashes through a sieve, looking for large bone pieces that needed to be further crushed as well as searching for gold and other valuables. Planning an Escape The prisoners worked for six weeks at their gruesome task. Though they were exhausted, starving, and filthy, these prisoners still held on to life. There had been a couple of earlier escape attempts by individuals, after which, a dozen or more other prisoners were killed in retaliation. Thus, it was decided amongst the prisoners that the prisoners would have to escape as a group. But how were they to do this? They were hindered by shackles, locked in with a large padlock, and aimed at with a machine gun. Plus, there was at least one informer among them. Fyodor Yershov finally came up with a plan that would hopefully  would allow at least a few of the prisoners to reach safety. While working, the prisoners often found small items that the victims had brought with them to Babi Yar - not knowing they were to be murdered. Among these items were scissors, tools, and keys. The escape plan was to gather items that would help remove the shackles, find a key that would unlock the padlock, and find items that could be used to help them attack the guards. Then they would break their shackles, unlock the gate, and run past the guards, hoping to avoid being hit by machine-gun fire. This escape plan, especially in hindsight, seemed nearly impossible. Yet, the prisoners broke into groups of ten to search for the needed items. The group that was to search for the key to the padlock had to sneak and try hundreds of different keys in order to find the one that worked. One day, one of the few Jewish prisoners, Yasha Kaper, found a key that worked. The plan was almost ruined by an accident. One day, while working, an SS  man hit a prisoner. When the prisoner landed on the ground, there was a rattling sound. The SS man soon discovered that the prisoner was carrying scissors. The SS man wanted to know what the prisoner was planning on using the scissors for. The prisoner replied, I wanted to cut my hair. The SS man began to beat him while repeating the question. The prisoner could have easily revealed the escape plan, but did not. After the prisoner had lost  consciousness  he was thrown  onto  the fire. Having the key and other needed materials, the prisoners realized they needed to set a date for the escape. On September 29 one of the SS officers warned the prisoners that they were going to be killed the following day. The date for the escape was set for that night. The Escape Around two oclock that night, the prisoners tried to unlock the padlock. Though it took two turns of the key to  unlock  the lock, after the first turn, the lock made a noise which alerted the guards. The prisoners managed to make it back to their bunks before they were seen.   After the change in guard, the prisoners tried turning the lock  a second  turn. This time the lock did not make a noise and opened. The known informer was killed in his sleep. The rest of the prisoners were woken up and all worked on removing their shackles. The guards noticed the noise from the removal of the shackles and came to investigate. One prisoner thought quickly and told the guards that the prisoners were fighting over the potatoes that the guards had left in the bunker earlier. The guards thought this was funny and left. Twenty minutes later, the prisoners rushed out of the bunker en masse in an effort to escape. Some of the prisoners came upon guards and attacked them; others kept on running. The machine gun operator didnt want to shoot because, in the dark, he was afraid he would hit some of his own men. Out of all the prisoners, only 15 succeeded in escaping.

Reengineering business process Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Reengineering business process - Case Study Example This ever increasing competition necessitated the company to contemplate about the provision of information on various matters including marketing at appropriate time points. However, contrary to the expectations of its well wishers, the superannuated legacy systems used by the company had serious flaws in their architecture which impaired the achievement of organizational effectiveness and strategic objectives. The critical problem associated with structure of legacy systems was its inability to integrate and become compatible with other systems. To overcome these shortcomings and survive in the industry, the company decided to re-engineer the global supply chain namely PRIDE project (Process re-engineering through Information Delivery Excellence). As a part of the re-engineering programme, implementation SAP/R3 is a critical endeavour to become a truly global company (Scott and Vessey, 2002). The company believes that implementing SAP, which is an enterprise-wide solution, will int egrate all the core functions of the organization comprising of Sales, Finance, Accounting, Logistics, Manufacturing, and HR. The centralized database and integrated architecture of SAP facilitates smooth flow of information across departments, eliminates data redundancy and provides a broader picture of the organization to management. The present essay is an attempt to evaluate and critically analyze the re-engineering programme of Dow Corning Corporation in term of organisational learning, project management and risk management. The essay takes a descriptive approach wherein all the requirements of an effective and workable re-engineering project are discussed in detail. The essay also suggests certain measures by which the project can be made operational and successful. Project Management Project management is commonly understood as the process of planning, monitoring and controlling a project so as to achieve its objectives on time and as per specific budget, quality and performance (Atkinson, 1999). The successful ERP implementation needs many resources and factors and Al-Mashari at al. (2003) have developed the critical actors of ERP success and these factors can be shown as in Figure 2. After the analysis of Dow Corning ERP case, it has been observed that the company brought in many resources for the successful implementation of ERP. At the same time, it has also been noticed that the company neglected some areas completely and it is recommended that these areas are to be improved in future. The pre-implementation factors which have been observed as critical success factors are bifurcated into three stages, namely pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation. All these different stages involve many activities/efforts, all of which are briefed as below: Pre-implementation Stage 1. Vision and Planning Planning is indispensable for all activities in business, particularly for strategic operations. As the first move towards re-engineering, Dow Corning aligned IT strategy with its business strategy. This is followed by major changes in the existing in IT function. First, the company formed a new committee, the Process and IT Board. Second, a new business unit called BPIT (business processes and IT)

Intrusion detection systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intrusion detection systems - Essay Example IDS is the short form for the Intrusion Detection Systems. These systems basically find out the manner in which unwanted signals towards the systems are manipulated. In fact there are a host of different kinds that come under the IDS heading. Moreover, coming to the point of these manipulations which occur in the first place, we discern that these are the usual attacks that are carried out by the hackers who are skilled and quite adept at their work and even at times, script kiddies do play these tricks whereby they make use of the automated scripts to achieve their objectives. IDS thus looks at the malicious data traffic that is taking place in computer networks as well as tries its best at finding out the spots where the firewall would not play its active part and thus seize the chance of finding the loopholes that might exist within a computer and indeed the whole of the network under question. Thus what is left unattended and undiscovered by the computer firewall is usually caugh t by the IDS which makes its functions look all the more imperative in the related scheme of computer networking and security issues that arise every now and then.Thus vulnerable services are saved from the attacks and applications are saved as a result of the precaution which has been applied.The components which make up the IDS include the sensors, a console and a central engine. They are briefly highlighted here. Sensors play their active part in the generation of events related with security issues.

Reflection Letter Essay Example for Free

Reflection Letter Essay This document contains my knowledge and lessons on ethics and integrity I have learnt from the Academic Seminar as well as the reasons why I found myself interacting with the Office of Student Conduct. My suspension was based on misconduct of academic ethics and integrity. We were caught cheating on quizzes and on online tests. Being afraid to tell the truth, the school gave us suspension which I have served outside school. My involvement in academic misconduct in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has taught me a lesson after the sanction posed on me. It was my actions that have caused me all these mess and according to the lessons I have learnt in the Academic Integrity Seminar, I believe in high degree of integrity from today. My friend and I were caught cheating on quizzes and online tests. Unfortunately, our instructor caught us red-handed and we were referred to the Office of Student Conduct. My relaxed efforts on academics led me into all these mess. Instead of going to do more studies on previously learnt topics, my peers and I would go to the clubs and any other place that we could have fun and forgot our academic roots were more important. Only to find that I had nothing to offer whenever there was an exam. That’s when my best friend would suggest that we improvise a way in which we can acquire high grades and achieve academic scholarship. The truth is that our efforts were imposing a great danger in my academic and personal life. This kind of incidences has also happened to my peers especially my best friend. To avoid such a circumstance occurring again in my life, I have decided to take my studies more seriously. Again, I have decided to make proper preparations in my studies prior to examination period or any other test and quiz. I have also decided to avoid the bad groups or peers in the campus and choose a company with good academic morals. During the Academic Integrity Seminar, I have learnt that I am only destroying my life. I am a person with great vision for my life, my country and the entire world. I don’t want to shun this away. My knowledge on ethics and integrity has gone a notch higher. Being able to know that ethics and integrity is part of my scholar achievement during my academic life, it’s an assurance that I will practice it both in college and after college. This lesson on integrity will go a long way in my life as I have to practice even at work place. Knowledge without ethics and integrity is harm to a scholar’s life. I went through all the modules in the integrity seminar and learnt that some of us fall victims of plagiarism knowingly or unknowingly. We have to include citations in our term papers whenever we use work from other authors whether it’s from the internet or from any other public sources. We should not have the assumptions that the sources belong to the community. From now onwards, I will make sure that I cite any reference that I quote in my academic term papers and any life research papers I work on.

King Leopolds Ghost Essay -- essays research papers

Book Review of King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochschild   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What some have considered to be the first international scandal of the modern era took place in the Congo from 1890 until 1910. King Leopold II of Belgium was at the head of this so-called scandal. Although Europe and the rest of the world seemed to have forgotten the victims of these crimes, there is a considerable amount of material to use when attempting to recreate the horror that took place in Leopold's Congo. This is exactly what Adam Hochschild is attempting to do by writing this book. By using the written words of mostly Europeans and Americans, which creates a distorted view of history, he wants to show that the Holocaust type event that took place in the Congo is something that should never be forgotten in our history. Hochschild also wants to show the heroism that took place afterwards in what became the first human rights movement of our time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hochschild does an excellent and detailed job of showing how clever and cunning (like a fox) Leopold was in obtaining and maintaining his hold in the Congo. Early on Leopold became obsessed with the idea of colonies and the profit that they could bring to his country. In the beginning he did not attempt to cover-up this ambition, but soon realized he needed to in order to have the approval of those countries around him. The metaphor Hochschild uses to explain Leopold's venture into the Cong...

Sony Aibo Case Study

Sony AIBO case analysis AIBO, a robotic dog doesn’t do anything useful at all, but provides â€Å"entertainment† by stimulating some of the personality characteristics of a pet without the inconvenience of a real animal. According to Toshitada Doi, Sony’s leading computer engineer, AIBO is a computer that provides love and healing for people. The first generation ERS-110 can imitate dog’s behaviors, â€Å"see†, show â€Å"emotions†, â€Å"learn† and evolve â€Å"personality†. The second generation ERS-210 has voice recognition and more dexterous.The new AIBO came with new software options as well. After adding wireless LAN technology, Sony has unveiled its new â€Å"entertainment architecture†, dubbed OPEN-R, which provided third-party developers with the ability to create any number of software applications as well as hardware modules. Though priced at whopping $2,500, $1,500 the second generation, Sony’s profit m argin on the AIBO was close to zero. It is the software applications and hardware modules developed by Sony and third-party developers that makes money for the company.AIBO has created such a stir that only two products had in the history of Sony: the original Walkman and the Playstation game console, far exceeding the developers’ expectations. It is such a success in Japan; the American market is not that hot. Par of the reasons were the culture differences between these two countries. In Japan, many people live in small apartments where real pets are not allowed. And Japan has a large elderly population, to whom a companion without any inconvenience is perfect.Besides, robots in Japanese culture are heroes and Japanese are so fascinated about high-technology while to older Americans, too lifelike technology is dangerous and threatening. Apart from the culture elements, most customers were confused of what Sony was selling. The confusion was compounded by the release of a nu mber of low-end knock-offs. The performance of five years’, six prototypes’, and millions of yen’s outcome, AIBO, is so obviously superior to those cheap imitations, it is difficult to consider these knock-offs â€Å"competition†.At the other end of the competitive spectrum are robots that can â€Å"do something†Ã¢â‚¬â€ perform â€Å"serious† household tasks. Admitting that these types of â€Å"functional† robots were much easier for Americans to understand, Sony has provided new software applications so that AIBOs can read emails and pre-selected websites and owners can remotely control their AIBOs’ movements. With more and more software applications and hardware modules being built on the base of OPEN-R technology, the possibilities are really limitless.As to broaden the American market, I think several questions should be considered before making the decision of whether Sony should begin mass advertising. What is the popula rity of AIBO in America? What are the main concerns that stop Americans to reach into their pocket to pay for an AIBO? Standing in the Americans’ shoes, what do they want from a robot dog? Will sales of AIBO be stimulated by the mass advertising? Is the return going to be enough to cover the cost of mass advertising? Which medium might be the best way to touch the audiences?Further analysis of American market and culture should be done before making the decision. Since Sony has created AIBO Town, a magazine for AIBO devotees, and Cartoon industry is very mature in Japan, AIBO cartoon, AIBO comic books, AIBO video games and a series of AIBO related products can create infatuation with the robotic dogs, and the popularization of robotic dogs, vice versa, will promote the sales of the derivatives. The possibilities of AIBO are limitless. With more and more applications developed, AIBO can be a functional companion.For instance, AIBO could be used to guide blind people, the senso r can get information of the owner’s health condition when he/she touches an AIBO’s head, AIBO can play music, the owner can monitor his/her house when traveling, AIBO can work as a projector, etc. The price of the AIBO can not be much lower than the cost of manufacturing cost, or the margin profit. As AIBOs are equipped with more and more functions, people have a clearer understanding of what Sony is selling and are more willing to pay for them.