Cubas Transformational Leader Fidel Castro Cultural Studies Essay

Cubas Transformational Leader Fidel Castro Cultural Studies Essay Inspirational Leader During my involvement with issues like leadership and management, I must admit that real leaders are the ones that implement their vision with efficiency and make people feel trusted and inspired. People can be inspired and find their meaning of life by align their needs and desires with the vision of their chosen leader. The history has shown that few individuals can be thought as real leaders. As Ronald Heifetz and Donald Laurie state , the leaders main responsibilities are to direct people by defining the problems of a situation and identify the adaptive challenge. In this way the leader can be considered as protector since he or she can shield people and organizations from external threads. Apart from this an inspirational leader must have self knowledge, must be authentic and devoted to his passion and vision. Great leaders as Goffee and Jones discovered, share unexpected qualities such as they empathize passionately and realistic with people. In addition th ey manage employees with something they call tough empathy. Early Life An important personality and an inspirational leader can be considered Fidel Castro. Fidel was born in Biran and he is connected with the revolution of Cuba for its independence. His father was an immigrant from Spain that succeeded in sugar industry. His mother was a household servant. It is said that Fidel was an intellectual student that was more interested in sports and spent many years of his life in private Catholic schools. He entered the University of Havana and he began his political careers by being a recognized figure in Cuban politics. It is important to mention that Castro was considered to be one of the primary leaders of Cuban Revolution. At that time Castro enrolled with the politics of the country by being the Prime Minister of Cuba in 1959-1976 and then he took over as the President of the Council of State of Cuba until 2008. By being a transformational leader Castro tried and manage to overthrow the dictator Batista, and led the transformation of Cuba into a one party socialist republic. Values Castro tried to pass the message to Cubans of social justice, honest government and political freedom. He believed that freedom and economic independence are two of the most important elements and principles that a person should fight for. His beliefs and his vision were highlighted by the Cuban Revolution, where he managed to make his followers believe in his thoughts and sustain their freedom and equality. He and his followers tried to attack Batistas government. Although this attack proved to be a disaster and caused the death to many people, Castro managed to escape. His people were totally devoted to him and he assured that freedom will arise. It is of great importance to mention that Castro believed that his failure came from the fact that his car encountered serious problems and that the operation was lost. This, tell us that he never gave up the fight and that nothing else could be a fine reason for his failure! Castro went to prison for fifteen years. During his trial he delivered his famous defense speech History will absolve me a speech that can be considered as the expression of the personality of the leader. Leaders Traits and Style According to this speech we can highlight some core concepts from the Rhetorical Tradition. Fidel had the ability to Adjust ideas to people and people to ideas. His speeches had ethos and character along with pathos. His listeners and audience were engaged in his ability for talking for hours, always remaining devoted to his words. He repeatedly made rhetorical questions to its audience making his speeches lively and enthusiastic. Fidel held totally and absolutely incommunicado, in violation of every human and legal right. He states, emotionally, that only one who has been so deeply wounded, who has seen his country so forsaken and its justice trampled so, can speak at a moment like this with words that spring from the blood of his heart and the truth of his very gut. He was very self confident of his competencies where he stated that: taking advantage of my professional rights as a lawyer, I would assume my own defense. In an interview in 1995 he express that Today, I feel I am more a revolutionary than ever because everyday I am more convinced that what we did was right. In an attempt to support his subordinates he said: The rest of the accused, the minority, were brave and determined, ready to proudly confirm their part in the battle for freedom, ready to offer an example of unprecedented self-sacrifice and to wrench from the jails claws those who in deliberate bad faith had been included in the trial. Fidel was proud of himself as we can see from his own word: to inform you that if to save my life I must take part in such deception (of being ill), I would a thousand times prefer to lose it. He seems to be ironic and sarcastic in some part of his speech: What unbelievable crimes this regime must have committed to so fear the voice of one accused man! This in fact tells us that he never lies and he expresses his feelings (negative or positive). A leader is important to have specific traits that will help him in his mission. According to Kirkpatrick and Locke traits alone are not sufficientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Leaders who possess the requisite traits must take certain actions to be successful. Among these traits are certainly drive, leadership motivation, integrity, self confidence, and cognitive ability, traits that can be identified to Fidel Castro personality and leadership characteristics. Fidel Castro can be considered as an effective leader that combines a task-oriented behavior along with relations-oriented behavior. He is task oriented since he has the ability to plan and schedule his people, coordinate his subordinates activities. He tried to overthrow his enemies by setting high but realistic performance goals. In addition he can be though for his relations-oriented features due to the strong supportive and helpful role he maintained through his political career. At a point of his speech he addresses his people: my brave comrades, with unprecedented patriotism, did their duty to the utmost. Yes, we set out to fight for Cubas freedom and we are not ashamed of having done so,. Being a charismatic leader, Fidel was being change-oriented, possessing a compelling vision. According to Bycio behaviors associated with transformational leadership include giving a high degree of attention and support to individual followers and offering followers intellectual stimulation and engendering a high degree of respect from them. Fidel as we can see, was able enough to gain the respect of thousands of Cubans and thousands of people around the word. On the other side he respected them also. As he states: I am grateful for the polite and serious attention they give me. His vision was correlated with his followers needs, beliefs and values, and this was of extreme importance for the achievement of Fidels goals. His vision of freedom was aligned with his followers dreams! This can be seen from his own speech The fact is, when men carry the same ideals in their hearts, nothing can isolate them neither prison walls nor the sod of cemeteries. For a single memory, a single spiri t, a single idea, a single conscience, a single dignity will sustain them all. Fidel employed a range of change management styles. He can be considered an Effective Leader since he was totally committed to his believes and to the goods such as freedom, faith. As he states in an interview identity with the fatherland, with sovereignty, with independence, and with the Revolution save it, help to save it, among all of us. Many, many things can be done. I hope that you are convinced. Moreover he possessed a vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision. In that sense it is important that he managed to stimulate his people with high standards as he tried to pass the message of freedom to its community and its country in general. Moreover we can distinguish in its face a competent manager and leader where he managed to organize people and resources toward its effective objectives. Fidel engaged in intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration and inspirational motivation, making himself being recognized as a transformational leader. He possessed the charisma in order to transform the whole society. It is clear that this variety of leadership styles had been used concurrently. According to trait approach, Fidel was intelligent and confident. Moreover he was sociable and this can be seen from the way that he handled his people in his speeches, his jokes etc. According to R.Duane Ireland and Michael A.Itt, Fidel managed to develop a great group that has accepted their responsibilities, which are fulfilled with involvement and commitment, understand the significance of their duties. As Fidel says: You must know your duty; I certainly know mine. Fidel can be seen as a visionary Leader with many characteristics of a strategic leader as these are described by Glenn Rowe. As a visionary leader Fidel Castro was proactive with shaped ideas. He had the ability to influence attitudes and opinions due to his strong character and personality. Moreover he was concerned about the future of his society and his people and he kept finding ways of ensuring the freedom and justice. He was making decisions based on values, such as freedom, justice, virtue, trust. Moreover we can find characteristics that justify the fact that Fidel is considered to be a strategic leader. He had strong positive expectations of the performance he expected from his subordinates and itself. His choices made a difference in the whole society. Can Fidel be considered as an authentic leader? I believe that Fidel managed to convince his people and his subordinates that he is capable of achieving great things for his country. His words where consistent with his deeds, as his vision of liberation of his society from the injustice and poverty became a reality. He never said that he was an authentic leader! As Goffee and Gareth assumes, authenticity is largely defined by what other people see in you and, as such, can to a great extent be controlled by you. For these reasons he can be considered authentic. Fidel maintained a helicopter view of his society with strategic thinking, strategic management and leadership. He was able of doing the right things for his people. The Alchemist The leaders voyage of development is not an easy one. Some people change little in their lifetimes; some change substantiallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Few may become Alchemistsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ David Rooke and William R. Torbert In their survey on the Seven Transformations of Leadership, David Rooke and William R. Torbert, demonstrate seven ways of Leading. Fidel can be considered as a strategist since he generates societal and personal transformations. Apart from this we can justify that Fidel combines also characteristic of an Alchemist, where he generates social transformations, integrates material, spiritual and societal transformation, making himself one of his kind. As they state, alchemists are typically charismatic and extremely aware individuals who live by high moral standards, while they focus intensively on the truth. As Fidel says: I had nothing to hide, for the truth was: all this was accomplished through sacrifices without precedent in the history of our Republic. Moreover he as a leader had the ability to speak to peoples hearts and minds. Fidel ´s personality and paradigm could be extremely important in the todays globalizing world. Companies should be recruited with this kind of minds in order to sustain the competitive advantage and be more wealthy and profitable. Strategic alignment, agility and sustainability are the most important values in a business context. A transformational leader like Fidel can maintain the effectiveness of the performance of every business or society.

The Harmful Effects of Video Games

The Harmful Effects of Video Games By: Alan Bruestle I. Introduction: A. Video games, the ability to leave reality via controller, and glowing screen of color and bliss. A escape from life through the form of technological entertainment that has been developed and passed down to generations for decades. So why does society have such a big dispute over the use of video games? B. Many people believe that video games are only a source of fun and entertainment. Although there is truth in that video games give pleasure to the user, not many notice and realize the harmful effects that they have on society.C. Should video games be changed in a manner that the harmful content is removed completely from the entertainment? Should society limit or keep the certain content of video games to a minimum, or should everything be left the same? I believe that video games should be limited and a law should be passed that restricts the use of video games to people who acquire a problem in their life. D . The laws I believe that should be placed would be the results from effects on society, due to video games.The three main points that have really been noticed in society is the increase in physical effects, mental effects, and graphic influence. II. Explanation of Problems/Need A. Definitions 1. Physical – Overall Health, Disorders 2. Mental – Addiction, Social Isolation, Learning 3. Graphic Influence – Drugs, Nudity, Graphic violence B. Background/Causes/Effect 1. Background a. Many years old b. Multi billion dollar industry c. Demand won't collapse d. Technology grows. Demand increase. e. Society always impacted. 2. Causes a. Features become better b. Consumer desire alternate life . Difference 3. Effects a. Alternate life fills boredom. b. Violence increases aggression. c. Might mimic characters. d. Users perspective addiction, forget life. e. Designers satisfy older age group. f. Can influence all age groups. III. Physical A. Overall Health. 1. Obesity 2. S eizures B. Disorders 1. Postural, Muscular, Skeletal 2. Tendonitis, Nerve compression, Carpal tunnel syndrome IV. Mental A. Addiction 1. Lost sense of reality 2. Social Isolation B. Behavior 1. Mimic video games 2. Aggressive behaviors maybe become worse. C. Style of learning 1.Mastery leading to constant play 2. Rewarded for game play. Violence = Reward V. Graphic Influence A. Violence 1. Resolving to aggression. 2. Using violence in real life. B. Influence. 1. In game content. Drugs, violence, nudity, profanity 2. Higher drug and crime rates. Lower school rate. VI. Counter Arguement. A. Health related 1. Some games involve physical movement. 2. Used to practice work. Ex. Doctors 3. Increased brain activity from puzzles 4. Increased Hand eye coordination B. Miscellaneous 1. Multi billion industry 2. Simply entertaining VII. Conclusion A.With the problems that come with most video games, should they be changed to better our society and fix some of the problems? B. The possibility of physical effects, mental effects, and graphic influence caused by video games, make it seem like the risk of playing most of them are not worth the risk to society.Associated Content from Yahoo! – Associatedcontent. om. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"The Good and Bad Effects of Video Games. † Raise Smart Kid. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"The Impact of Video Games on Society – by Tegan Mcrae – Helium. † Helium – Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"Teen-Rated Video Games Loaded With Violence – News Room. † Children's Hospital Boston. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"Video Game Addiction. † WebMD – Better Information. Better Health. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"Violent Video Games – Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects. † American Psychological Association (APA). Web. 24 Nov. 2010. .

Cricket Spectacle to Help Spur the Bangladesh Economy

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are co-hosting one of the biggest spectacles of the world- ICC Cricket World Cup, 2011. There is indeed a thrilling atmosphere going on, in these three countries, but this thrilling moment adds an enormous sensation in Bangladesh as it is going to be the host for such a mega event for the first time ever in the history. Question is what we look from this event. Is this just like a sporting event that should be organised with perfection only, or we try to capitalise this event to add a dimension in our country that would help us place ourselves in far better position? Undeniably such a mega event like the world cup crocket can make a significant impact on local economy and could also have a positive effect in society, which beyond any doubt Bangladesh needs to pursue. We simply cannot let this moments go away; this is the moment through which we can exalt our overall image and can surely elevate country's economy. A successful organisation of the world cup would mean a lot to Bangladesh and it would give it a great exposure. The Bangladesh economy, through this mega event, would have a positive impact and the organisers need to make sure that they do not lose this opportunity. Enhancing the name value of the region should be a major incentive for localities hosting either World Cup games or training camps. Through this world cup, we would be able to reroute global tourist flows and would be able to establish new places as tourist destinations. For those people who would be in Bangladesh to watch the world cup matches, our goal would be to show the potentialities of our countries to them. There would be many investors from around the globe here during this event and if we could have a proper exposition of our country, they would be more than happy to come back here with their businesses in Bangladesh. We must see this world cup cricket as a worthwhile endeavour for corporate sponsors and media companies, or the local organisers and the economies of the venue cities. It would be the time when Bangladeshi TV channels can show their potentialities to be awarded the rights in future to telecast some cricket events exclusively. Representatives from giant companies like Adidas, Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Emirates, and so on would be here during the world cup and the successful completion of this event would help them to understand the potentialities of Bangladesh market; these companies would sponsor Bangladesh cricket officially in future that would anyway impact the Bangladesh economy in a very constructive way. Since such a mega event is going to take place in Bangladesh for the first time ever, people would be keener to watch if Bangladesh successfully synchronises every step of this world cup event. A successful completion of this event would have greater upbeat effects on revenue generation, infrastructure legacy, and, in the longer term, on tourism and economic activity through media spotlight and return visits. Through this event Bangladesh must aim at longer-term beneficial effects, additional to direct expenditure which this event would definitely involve. Hypothetically it would occur through both return visit by the spectators and more importantly, through the increased investment and tourism activity that such an exposition brings. Studies on the propensity of visitors to major events to return to the host region have shown a pragmatic, if not staggering effect. Not only in the economic area, the event would also have a positive effect on society as well. One famous sociologist defined mega-events as ‘large scale cultural events' of mass popular appeal and international importance which are typically stage-managed by a combination of national governmental and international nongovernmental actors. Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium could be the center-piece of not only cricketing events, but also of hosting of other international events, since it has been renovated with lots of facilities that could attract many people to use it for many international events. This could be the time when Bangladesh might offer Pakistan to arrange international cricket in Dhaka as their home ground, instead of going to the UAE or England. Right before starting this event, Bangladesh could establish an internet site to market the host region for this spectacle. This internet site could represent Bangladesh in various ways and can show the potentialities of this country. The inauguration of such a site, especially at this moment, would amplify the momentum of our country. The whole world would be looking at Bangladesh and we have got to make sure to utilize every bit of it. Mega-events such as the World Cup Cricket should be utilised by dominant forces in society to convey particular world views of the present and memories of the past. This world cup will bear out the close relationship between mega-events and the globalisation process: such events are concurrently driven by globalization, and promote globalisation. This spectacle has such promising aspects through which our economy can be boosted to a greater magnitude. Organising such an event means the capabilities of doing something different, which Bangladesh must realize and must utilize this momentum. There will be people watching this spectacle not in stadiums only, but people from all around the globe will be watching this event from their homes. Bangladesh has just got a huge opportunity to get closer to millions of people through which the image of our country would be elevated. It will, thus, give an opportunity to Bangladesh to change the momentum of its economy.

The Reconciliation Between Freedom And Determinism

The Reconciliation Between Freedom and Determinism Determinism is the belief that all events are caused by something that happened before, and according to some philosophers, people have no real ability to make choices or control what happens. However, A.J Ayer discusses the compatibility between freedom and determinism. One of the main concepts that is argued, is the fact that one cannot be compatible with the other simply because if you are determinate, then you cannot be considered free. Freedom is only valid when there is nothing to hold the individual back. However, Ayer argues otherwise. This concept of compatibility is considered to be fairly accurate simply due to the fact that one is free to choose their own actions, however, our actions are determined by the choices we make prior to our free will. The ability to have the person chooses between choice A or B is of their own free will, which means that you had the choice to pick one, however, you are determined to choose the outcome of the action because of causes and effect. The reconciliation of freedom and determinism is linked to the use of determinism in your freedom to perform and participate in events. The choices one makes, though of free will, are of a cause and effect nature. When someone discusses the actions one does, they are considered as free; freedom is the concept of being responsible for the choices that you make, as well as the actions that one makes to get to that point. However, the deterministShow MoreRelated Free Will and Determinism of Ayer and Holbach Essay1811 Words   |  8 PagesReconciling the Free Will and Determinism of Ayer and Holbach In respect to the arguments of Ayer and Holbach, the dilemma of determinism and its compatibility with that of free will are found to be in question. 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