Case study(Leadership) Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

(Leadership) - Case Study Example The leader who seeks to bring about organizational changes should understand the need for change, the change processes, implementing change, and possible reactions. Bass (1985 cited in Shackleton 1995, p. 113) and Burns (1978 cited in Shackleton 1995, p. 113) put forth the concept of transformational leadership. In spite of some variations, there is broad agreement in the concept suggested by Bass and Avolio through their "Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)" and the "Managerial Practices Survey (MPS)" of Yukl, which includes managerial practices such as clarifying, supporting, inspiring and team building. (Tracey and Timothy, 1998). Ultimate Office Products realized that changes in the atmosphere such as intensified competition and heightened consumer expectations called for improvements in customer service such as electronic order processing, tracking and servicing. The company instituted the new department of information systems with Richard Kelly its director. Richard observed many unnecessary activities and bottlenecks were slowing down work processes. He installed new computer workstations and software to speed up and control the processes. However as most departmental heads - Richard's peers resisted change it could not be implemented. The CEO authorized constituting a number of cross-functional teams under Richard to report to a steering committee composed of departmental heads. The task forces were constituted to identify changes required in work processes. An outside consultant was called in to advise the task forces. The 'task forces' met with key customers to understand customer preferences and improve the efficiency of order filling system. They made recommendations to the steering committee often attended by the CEO to emphasize its seriousness. With the cooperation of all departmental heads, the company eliminated many unnecessary processes and within a year, was able to double order processing speed. The 'change for the better' brought about a change in peoples' attitudes too and many of them now volunteer to work on teams that design ways to improve service quality. B. The leaders' behaviour The CEO was able to see the environment driving change: discount merchandisers and office product super-stores altering traditional distribution channels. Manufacturers were challenged with demands for rate cuts and speedier processes for billing and filling orders. This necessitated process automation, which is primarily a change in technology and entailed in the creation of the new department of information. Richard Kelly the director of the new department installed the components for automating processes, the computer workstations and software. However installation of new technology by itself cannot bring about desired changes without making efforts to bring about simultaneous changes in the attitudes, skills and roles of various stakeholders. Richard, was not able to put the equipment to use as some of the key stakeholders, managers from sales, production, accounting, shipping and customer service, who were his peers did

Music in Shakespeare's plays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Music in Shakespeare's plays - Essay Example The songs of the period reflect the manners and tastes of all stations of its society and the range of emotions of its people. (Randy L. Neighbarger 1992). The London theatre throughout the preceding years of the preeminence of Elizabeth was an exhilarating place. In a city of some hundred thousand people, where approximately fifteen to twenty thousand people attend the theatre every week, even if plays were performed throughout noontime, everybody had to work. In that Era, music was new and Shakespeare was quick to make out the capability of music to acclimatize to the stage. Though Shakespeare did use several new masterpieces, numerous of the songs used in his dramatic works were formerly written songs, sometimes even popular music, adapted to fit the work. Shakespeare's frequent tributes to the power of music, his apt use of musical terms and his many allusions to musical instruments, are, of course, well known. There were many good composers and theoretical writers hard at work during Shakespeare's time, and it is certain he had knowledge of these men and their works and made good use of it. Of course, in those days music was an important branch of education, as important as Latin or Fencing. (Randy L. Neighbarger 1992) Diamond defines, there were two major kinds of music, art and vocal that used in the drama of Shakespeare. The art song was a convoyed solo song, typically only one stanza in length, through lyrics of greater complication than that of the admired ballad. These songs could be recently composed, or tailored for the framework of the play. (Diamond, Harold, 1991, pg 65). Further Shakespeare exploited in his plays was vocal music usually ballads. This music was usually more than three stanzas of three to four stresses on every line. These songs would have been employed simply in part and then cut off by the end of the piece. There was a dual motive for this: partly as the extent of the majority of the popular ballads of the day was merely too great to be used with easiness, and also as the lyric of the portion all together might not be corresponding to the stratagem of the play, as a stanza or two might fit it adequately. One new type of the popular music was the instrumental music. Though there is little left of the precise instrumental melodies used on Shakespeare's stage, what still exists is in the similar style as the well-liked instrumental music of the time. The miscellany of the range suggests that instruments were kept back to short as well as simple pieces, such as dances or marches. According to Neighbarger, Music played two basic functions on the Elizabethan stage. It provided a realistic touch of pageantry and excitement in those scenes where music would normally be found in real-life situations, such as secular and religious ceremonies, battles, and banquets. Music also played a commentarial role, communicating to the audience some aspect of the