Theory and Practice of Leadership Research Paper

Theory and Practice of Leadership - Research Paper Example Thus, the managers require identifying the leadership approaches which can help in the integration of marketing activities and also help the employees in achieving their personal and professional goals. Leadership has been defined â€Å"essentially contested concept† (Godwin, Neck & Houghton, 2000, p.161). The concept has been regarded very different from management and not for the reasons employee think but because of its exotic and charismatic traits. Traditional theorist regarded leadership as integrated approach which laid emphasis on team work and had the ability to influence its followers. Traditionally, the relationship between employer and employee resembled almost to man servant relationship which has been replaced by superior subordinate relationship. The leadership theories occurred in various groups which helped in the emergence of various innovative ideas and also in the improvement of the existing features. A high quality relationship between the employer and emp loyee is actually a result of the dyadic approach between the leaders and subordinates. The dynamic relationship between the management and subordinates would lead to positive interactions between the employers and employees. Innovativeness is closely related to leadership as it is regarded as the key goal of the organization. It helps in the accomplishment of goals and objectives through proper and innovative methods and has a positive impact on the organizational performance. As per traditional theorists leadership helps in creation of a congenial organizational climate. There are various facets of leadership theories and one of them is the leader member followership relationship which helps in constructing problem solving solutions. These also help in enhancement of follower efficacy and in inculcating innovativeness among the organizational members. Situational Leadership Although, several theorists introduced the concept of leadership and various other leadership styles, situat ional leadership was the first theory which focused on the effectiveness of leadership style. Presently, no theorist believes that there is a singular leadership theory which can contribute effectively in managing various situational crises. Several situational theories were developed to highlight the leadership style which is apt for every manager under various managerial circumstances. These situational theories are highly dependent upon factors like the particular situation, task, people, environmental variables and organization. Fiedler had proposed a situational theory which proposed that there is no singular way of handling particular situation (Bolen, 2004). He proposed that a particular leadership style should be selected as per the managerial situation (Bolen, 2004).A distinction should be made between the task and relationship oriented managers. Task oriented manager’s lays emphasis on the present tasks in hand than on the enhancement of the leader member relationsh ip. These kind of managers focus on the organizational structure, task delegated to the members and the position and power of the employees. Relationship oriented managers excel in most of the situations and their managerial style resembles participative style of leadership. According to theorists Hersey

Coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Coffee - Essay Example One study that significantly highlights the growth of the US coffee industry was cited in the article written by H. Holmes. (2004) According to Holmes, "specialty coffee consumption has risen from 9 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2004. Every day, more than half of the adult population drinks coffee, 108.9 million people. The United States accounts for 52 million of those coffee drinkers." (2004) More importantly, Holmes cited various data that helps define the current state of the US coffee market. For one, Holmes pointed out that Even though 75 percent of the cups of coffee brewed daily are consumed at home, 66 percent of Americans buy their coffee outside of their homes. The Specialty Coffee Association of America reported at the end of 2003 that the total number of retail coffee shops in the country had reached 17,400 or 4% more than in 2002. The market size of coffee grew from $7.53 billion in 1999 to $8.96 billion in 2003 (Holmes, 2004). Such findings translates to wonderful prospects for current and future coffee establishments such as the Coffee Connection. What such data means is that Americans are very likely to purchase their coffee drinks from coffee shops rather than make them at home. Also, it was pointed out in the same article that coffee bar patrons are younger, more affluent, and educated and are 22 percent more likely to be aged 18-24. This means well for the Coffee Connection primarily because majority of the people in the inner city campus targeted by the said establishment fall between the said age range. In another study conducted by the research group Data Monitor of the US Coffee Industry, several significant findings were made. According to the said study, "Prepared coffee sales continue to outpace packaged coffee sales, becoming more widely available than ever before. Prepared coffee is not only driving growth in foodservice channels, but in retail channels such as convenience stores as well." What this translates to is that consumers are more inclined to purchase coffee prepared in various establishments such as coffee shops and convenience stores rather than buy packaged coffee drinks. Such findings goes well for prospective coffee shop owners. Also, the said research found that despite the rising prices of coffee brought about by the dry weather in coffee growing regions and damage from natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the retail coffee market remained elastic all through out the said increase. This, again, translate to good prospects for future coffee shop owners as it means that the consumer market continues to drink coffee despite of the increase in price. Another article that has significant bearing on the establishment of Coffee Connection was written by Alex Fisenko (2006). In his article, Fisenko pointed out that there is a bright future that lies ahead for coffee shops, even the small and independent establishments. Basically, Fisenko asserts that "The single most important factor for the success of a retail coffee business is the location" (2006). The amount of sales and profit generated by a coffee shop depends greatly on the location chosen for it. Furthermore, Fisenko pointed out that independent coffee shops should not be deterred by the large-scale coffee chains as these establishments concentrate on the larger