The Way of the Shepard Essay Example for Free

The Way of the Shepard Essay The Way of the Shepherd, written by Dr. Kevin Leman and William Pentak, presents the reader with seven basic and ancient foundations to successful leadership. Throughout the story these essential management principles are imparted upon a young novice reporter through an interview of one of the most successful CEOs in the United States. During this interview the CEO communicates these seven ancient leadership elements that can be applied in today’s hectic business environments. The first principle, Know the Condition of Your Flock, stresses the importance of people to the successful manager. The CEO points out it is important to understand the condition of your people in addition to the status of their work. The people can become a manager’s greatest competitive advantage if they are understood and treated properly. If a manger takes a personal interest in each of the employees and treats them as individuals, then management becomes more effective. Discover the Shape of Your Sheep is all about identifying strengths and weaknesses of these individuals to ensure they are in the correct position. A person’s skill set should apply to the task they are assigned and they should be motivated to apply these skill sets. It is also important to have people with positive attitudes and have personalities that complement their assignments. These along with people’s experience can determine how effective they will be in certain positions. Discovering and understanding all this information makes the task of lesson three that much easier; Help Your Sheep Identify With You. Build trust with your followers through genuineness, integrity and compassion. Getting people to want to follow you by giving them a sense of meaning and belonging is a true sign of leadership. Clear communication of values and mission, defined roles and high standards of performance are instrumental in getting people to follow your lead. Make Your Pasture a Safe Place, is all about protecting what you have established in the previous lessons. Identifying and addressing problems in the organization quickly is essential. Keeping your people well informed of these problems and subsequent actions help quell anxiety and the spread of rumors. It is also important to make every person feel essential in the organization to avoid internal rivalries and provide job security. Possibly the most important is to rid your organization of detractors. If they refuse to be a positive influence in the group and hurt the organization then cut them loose. The Staff of Direction, is all about guiding your people along the right path without coercion. Know where you want your organization to go, plan the path and keep you people moving towards those goals. Avoid dictating and demanding and try suggestions. Set an example for them to follow, not just making pronouncements. It is important to allow your people freedom to find their way, but also to set firm boundaries for them to avoid. Most importantly help your people when they get in trouble and use these mistakes as learning opportunities. Discipline in the workplace an always be a tricky task for any manager. The Rod of Correction, sets out to establish a foundation to approach this aspect of management. First of all it is important for you to protect your people from external threats and let them know you will protect them when needed. This can go a long way to help avoid some conflicts in the workplace. Also, monitoring your people’s progress along with the work’s progress can help you identify potential problems before they grow. The final aspect of discipline in the workplace is correcting these problems arise. Remember it is better to approach these situations as learning opportunities instead strictly punishment. Hopefully the first two steps mitigate most of the issue before they require any severe corrections. The last secret, The Heart of the Shepherd, ties everything together and reveals the most essential part of management. This is the most demanding aspect for the manager and often one that is neglected. The leader has to truly care for his people and be willing to make the commitment to them. Making the necessary sacrifices and showing your people that you have a heart for your people is the mark of a great leader. Never ask more of them then you are willing to give. Don’t just be a hireling, give yourself to your people and they will reward you in return. The Way of the Shepherd is a simple no nonsense book on the basics of being an effective manager. I doubt many readers will find a grand revelations in the concisely written book. The authors help put these basic and timeless lessons into perspective for any level manager. Likely many have never seen the information presented in this manner and this is where I think the book really shines. I can easily see myself going back to this book regularly in the future. This book helps remind the reader that the basics matter and can make or break a leader. Periodic self-evaluation by a manager with the help of this book could help some mediocre managers make the transition to greatness.

Attica State Prison Uprising September 13, 1971 Essay -- Research Hist

Attica State Prison Uprising September 13, 1971 George Jackson the most famous political prisoner in the 70's and leader of the Black Panther Party was incarcerated at San Quentin Prison in California. He was killed by the State on August 21, 1971. Because of this Attica inmates organized a hunger strike and wore black arm bands. George Jackson's revolutionary writings in his book he had written "Soledad Brother'; was passed from inmate to inmate inside Attica State Prison, which had an enormous impact on the prisoners awareness of their feelings. Mr. Jackson's death lead to the direct uprising of New York's Attica State Correctional facility which was approximately two weeks after George Jackson's death. The uprising of New York's Attica State Correctional Facility is known as the most notorious prison riot in American History. During this time New York's Governor Nelson Rockefeller ran the Attica State prison as forced labor camps as well as other state prisons. Attica State Prison during this time also had an all white correctional staff and eighty-five percent of Attica's prisoners were Black and Latino. Working conditions in Attica State Prison were unbearable, prisoners were political, poor and maltreated. Hygienic conditions were very bad and medical care was practically non-existent. Prisoners average pay was 40 cents a day for manufacturing mattresses, shoes and license plates, prisoners never saw a lawyer, were prevented from defending themselves, wer...

Intro to “Animal Farm” Essay

Animal Farm is a story that cannot be understood and appreciated without a basic understanding of 20th-century European history. While author George Orwell may have featured talking, thinking animals and labeled the story a fairy tale, it very clearly references events in Europe in the time period leading up to and during World War II. Animal Farm is openly critical of all of the major players in the European theater of that time, and each is referenced by an animal at the farm. This should come as no surprise, given that Orwell lived in Europe and was politically active during that time period. Like many Europeans who were tired of the confines of rigid class-based systems, Orwell could have been considered sympathetic to Communist or Socialist ideals, but was seemingly disappointed by Stalin’s subversion of those ideals for personal gain. In fact, this disappointment is what helps characterize Animal Farm as anti-utopian literature. There are dueling traditions in literature in which authors either describe a utopia, or a seemingly perfect world, or else they take an anti-utopian standpoint in explaining how there is no way to maintain such a perfect world. Animal Farm, which describes the descent of Old Major’s proposed ideal world of animal equality into a totalitarian state run by Napoleon, is decidedly anti-utopian. One of the interesting characteristics of Animal Farm is that, while it is critical of Communism in practice, it is not critical of Communism as an ideal. Nothing in the novel suggests that Old Major’s ideas about ending the exploitation of animals were somehow wrong. In fact, Orwell describes the animals as being mistreated while under the farmer’s control. This leads one to believe that Orwell believed, theoretically, in the ideal of Communism or Socialism, and was critiquing not the ideal, but the possibility of the ideal. This is an interesting perspective, given Orwell’s own background, which would have placed him in the petty bourgeoisie social class.George Orwell was born Edward Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903, in India. His father was an English civil servant in India. At age eight, Orwell returned to England, where he was sent to boarding school. In 1917, Orwell went to Eton on scholarship, where he was first exposed to the political ideas that would eventually form the foundation of Animal Farm. Upon graduating in 1921, Orwell followed in his father’s footsteps and went to Burma, India, as a member of the Civil Service, where he served from 1922 to 1927. After that time, Orwell seemed to abandon the privilege that came with being a member of the upper class, even if he was a poorer member of that group. He spent a year living among the lower class in Paris and in England, even spending some of that time with homeless people. It was around that time that he began writing seriously and adopted the pen name George Orwell. While he was gaining respect as a writer, he also had â€Å"day jobs,† first as a teacher, and then as the proprietor of a pub and a general store.Orwell became a Socialist in the 1930s, and when asked to report upon the Spanish Civil War, actually fought in defense of his political beliefs and in favor of a Socialist Spain. However, he was adamant about the differences in the Communist and Socialist philosophies and believed that Communism was a threat to Socialism. He joined in the battle, fighting on the side of the Republicans as a member of a Marxist political party, and he was injured during this service. While the Republicans were successful in the war, the Marxists were not; pro-Stalin factions took over the Republicans. This historical part of Orwell’s life undoubtedly helped contribute to his criticism of Stalin and helped serve as a foundation for Animal Farm, though he would not write the novel for several years.

Why Should I Stop Using Plastic Bags

Americans dispose of more than 100 billion plastic bags every year, and only a fraction are ever recycled. What’s Bad About Plastic Bags Plastic bags are not biodegradable. They fly off trash piles, garbage trucks, and landfills, and then clog stormwater infrastructure, float down waterways, and spoil the landscape. If all goes well, they end up in proper landfills where they may take 1,000 years or more to break down into ever smaller particles that continue to pollute the soil and water. Animals Think Theyre Food Plastic bags also pose a danger to birds and marine mammals that often mistake them for food. Floating plastic bags regularly fool sea turtles into thinking they are one of their favorite prey: jellyfish. Thousands of animals die each year after swallowing or choking on discarded plastic bags. This mistaken identity issue is a problem even for camels in the Middle East. Breaks Down to Smaller Pieces Plastic bags exposed to sunlight for long enough do undergo physical breakdown. Ultraviolet rays turn the plastic brittle, breaking it into ever smaller pieces. The small fragments then mix with soil and lake sediments, are picked up by streams, or end up contributing to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other oceanic trash deposits. Scientists have discovered that plastics do break down and release chemicals that harm marine life when ingested. Waste of Natural Resources Producing plastic bags, transporting them to stores, and bringing the used ones to landfills and recycling facilities require millions of gallons of petroleum. This non-renewable resource can arguably be better used for more beneficial activities like transportation or heating. Bans on Plastic Bags Some businesses have stopped offering their customers plastic bags, and many communities are considering a ban on plastic bags. San Francisco was the first to do so in 2007. Some states are experimenting with solutions like mandatory deposits, purchasing fees, and outright bans. Some grocery store chains now have policies to minimize use, including charging a small fee to customers who want plastic bags provided. Switch to Reusable Bags, Recycle the Rest Switch to reusable shopping bags. Reusable shopping bags made from renewable materials conserve resources by replacing paper and plastic bags. Reusable bags are convenient and come in a variety of sizes, styles, and materials. When not in use, some reusable bags can be rolled or folded small enough to fit easily into a pocket. Make sure you wash them regularly.Recycle your plastic bags. If you do end up using plastic bags now and then, be sure to recycle them. Many grocery stores now collect plastic bags for recycling. If yours does not, check with your community recycling program to learn how to recycle plastic bags in your area. Plastic Industry Responds As with most environmental issues, the plastic bag problem is not as simple as it seems. Plastic industry groups like to remind us that compared to the paper bag alternative, plastic bags are light, have low transportation costs, and require comparatively little (non-renewable) resources to make while generating less waste. They also are completely recyclable, provided your community has access to the right facilities. Their contribution to landfills is fairly small, and by the industrys estimate, 65% of Americans re-purpose and reuse their plastic bags. Of course, these arguments are less convincing when the comparisons are made against washable, sturdy reusable shopping bags. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.