Personal Identity And The Soul

Personal Identity And The Soul The idea of personal identity is a concept we are consciously living but one we are never quite aware of. Our actions are determined by the anticipation of our future pleasures and future pains. This anticipation is shaped by instances in our past where a particular behavior or action on our part creates a result that we find desirable or undesirable. Our soul is that underlying thread that makes a connection between a situation we are faced with in our present lives to what we have lived through from the vast reservoir of our personal experience. Of the different types of personal identity; the Soul Theory, Memory Theory and Brain Theory, I think the soul theory offers the most complete explanation. We are at any given time, the sum total of our collective life experience that includes the people we have met, the situations we have lived through and the stories we have heard of through the people we encounter about others and their life experiences. For there to exist a connection between an individual at one point in their lives and their selves in another point in their lives, these two versions would have to exhibit traits that cannot be acquired through any other means but personal life experience; i.e. actually living through it. Evidence for such traits is evident in the existence of idiosyncratic individual memories and the logic behind setting goals. If an individual were to lock themselves in a room with no windows, furniture or technology, and they were to write on the palm of their left hand the word red, a day later there is no way for anyone else to know what happened inside the room unless that individual were to divulge those details themselves. A day later then, this individual would be the only one to retain the memory of themselves inscribing red onto their left palm, and this individual memory and the inscribed characters prove beyond reasonable doubt that the individual inside that room a day earlier, and the individual who retains the memory the next day are one and the same person. The evidence for this connection is not physical, but a referenced memory. While the letters can be erased, the memory is not as easy to remove. Hence the continuity between these two versions is not physical, but mental. It cannot be quantified or measured physically, and neither can the soul, but its presence in our lives is overwhelming. Our logic when we make decisions in every aspect of life is based on memories of sitiuations that we reference where we were able to obtain a result we find desirable or to avoid a situation at we find undesirable. Our soul, or our conscious self within our body, examines the experiences readily available in our mind at any given point of our lives and chooses a path that would help us attain what we want. Therefore the soul is the chief navigator for our actions and behaviors for the past, present and future. This notion gains even more prominence because the concept of the soul exists independently of religion. It is not dependent of the existence of God. Those who argue against the soul theory may say that the individual traits that are displayed by an individual before and after in the room experiment, exist independently in the body and not the soul. This objection lacks credibility because is fails to account for those that are identical in their physical makeup but have diametrically opposite personality traits. If personality traits were dependent on our physical selves, that would allude to a scenario where people with identical bodies, if put through the exact same situations for long periods of time would develop similar personality traits. Another version of this statement would argue that people with similar physical makeups would react to stress and other highly emotionally demanding situations in similar ways. But there is no evidence for either of these last two statements to gain any credence. The existence of different and even diametrically opposite personality traits amongst survivors in holocaust camps in Nazi Germa ny disproves this objection to the soul theory. Many of these survivors suffered the same horrors and were worn down to similar body types, but the way their conscious selves dealt with those inhumane conditions differed tremendously. The existence of a wide variety of behaviors to combat those inhumane times proves that there was something within each of these bodies that differentiated them from one another. And this difference was the entity of the soul. When thinking of personal identity, we must look at the body and soul as two pieces of the same whole. The sum total of our sensory organs helps us to see, touch, feel and smell every single life experience that we encounter. But without the soul, which is our conscious self, we have no way of classifying this incoming information and relate them to our lives. Such catharsis happens as a result of the soul, which defines our personal identity. Our soul shapes our perspective, and helps us identify what behaviors and actions we should implement when faced with any situation in our lives. We compare what we are experiencing or what we want with other similar situations from our past and look for some residual pattern that can justify an action or behavior that we deem suitable as a response to that individual situation or experience. The body serves as the vessel that aides the soul by providing it a wealth of information, and the soul in turn helps the body navigate through the waters of life. By providing a link between individual versions of each one of us at different times of our lives, the soul theory most completely offers an explanation for personal identity. Personal identity is the notion that each one of us displays certain idiosyncratic traits or identifiers that exist only within ourselves. These identifiers differentiate us from those around us. Since the creation of these identifiers, which are in effect actions/behaviors and personality traits that we pick up through our life experience, is dependent on our conscious thinking during which we weigh the pros and cons of each action/behavior and trait in terms of their effectiveness to get us a desirable result in similar situations in the past, they cannot exist in the absence of a soul. Therefore, the soul theory is indispensible when thinking of personal identity.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 27

Stefan whirled around and saw Bonnie, with only a towel wrapped around her, trying to physical y restrain Elena, who was similarly clad. Elena's hair was wet and uncombed. Something had caused her to leap out of the bathing pool and run directly into the corridor. Stefan was surprised by Damon's reaction. Was that a spark of alarm in the endlessly dark eyes that had remained impassive watching a thousand disasters, calamities, cruelties? No, it couldn't be. But it certainly looked like one. Elena was getting closer. Her voice rang out clearly through the hal way, which was spacious enough to give it a slight echo. â€Å"Damon! I see you! You wait right there – I'm coming to kill you! â€Å" This time the flicker was unmistakable. Damon glanced at the window, which was partly open. Meanwhile Bonnie had lost the fight and Elena was running like a gazel e toward the office. Her eyes, however, were definitely not doe-like. Stefan saw them glitter dangerously as Elena herself eluded him – mainly because he didn't dare grab her by the towel, and every other part of her was slippery. Elena was now facing Damon, who had risen from his chair. â€Å"How could you?†she cried. â€Å"Using Bonnie like that – Influencing her, drugging her – al to get at what didn't belong to you! Using almost al the Power that was left in Misao's star bal – what did you think Shinichi would do when you did that? He came after us, that's what he did – and who knows if the boardinghouse is Stillstanding?† Damon opened his mouth, but Elena wasn't finished. â€Å"And then to bring Bonnie to the Dark Dimension with you – I don't care if you didn't want to waste opening the Gate or not. You knew you shouldn't be taking her here.† Damon was angry now. â€Å"I – â€Å" But Elena cut him off without even hesitating. â€Å"Then once you drag her here you abandon her. You leave her terrified, alone, in a room where she's not even al owed to look out of the window, with a col ection of star bal s that you don't even bother to examine – but which are completely unsuitable and give her nightmares! You – â€Å" â€Å"If the little dolt had just had the sense to wait quietly – â€Å" â€Å"What? What did you say? â€Å" â€Å"I said, if the little dolt had just had the sense – â€Å" Stefan, who was already on the move, shut his eyes briefly. He opened them again in time to see the slap and to feel Elena putting al her Power into it. It snapped Damon's head around. What astonished him – even though he positioned himself precisely in case of it – was to see Damon's hand flash up as quick as a cobra's strike. There was no fol ow-through, but Stefan had already picked Elena up bodily and pul ed her back out of range. â€Å"Let go!†Elena cried, struggling to get out of Stefan's arms, or at least get her feet on the ground. â€Å"I'm going to kill him!† The next astonishing thing – discontinuing the raw fury that Stefan could feel coursing through Elena's aura – was that Elena was actual y winning the struggle, despite the fact that he was orders of magnitude stronger than she was. Part of it had to do with the towel, which was threatening to drop at any moment. The other part was that Elena had acquired a unique style of fighting stronger opponents – at least those with any conscience. She deliberately threw herself against any point at which it would hurt her to restrain her, and she didn't give up. Eventual y he was going to have to choose between injuring her and letting her go. At that moment, however, Elena stopped moving. She froze, head turned as she looked behind him. Stefan glanced backward too, and felt an electrical shock shoot through him. Bonnie was standing directly behind them, looking at Damon, her lips parted in anguish, tears in her wide brown eyes and streaming down her cheeks. Instantly, even before he could register Elena's pleading glance, Stefan released her. He understood: Her mood and the dynamics of this situation had just been turned upside down. Elena adjusted her towel and turned to Bonnie, but by then Bonnie was running away down the corridor. Elena's longer strides al owed her to reach Bonnie in a moment and she caught the smal er girl and held her, not so much by force as by sisterly magnetism. â€Å"Don't worry about that snake, â€Å"Elena's voice came back to them clearly, as it was obviously meant to. â€Å"He's a – â€Å"And here Elena indulged in some very creative cursing. Stefan could hear al of it distinctly and noticed that it broke off into tiny hushing sounds just as Elena turned into the door of the bathing salon. Stefan glanced sideways at Damon. He didn't mind fighting his brother in the least right now; he was ful of rage himself on behalf of Bonnie. But Damon ignored him as if he were part of the wal paper, staring at nothing with an expression of icy fury. At that moment Stefan heard a faint sound from the farthest end of the corridor, which was quite a distance away. But his vampire senses informed him that surely the person in front was a woman of consequence, probably their hostess. He stepped forward so that at least she could be greeted by someone who was wearing clothing. However, at the last moment, Elena and Bonnie appeared in front of him, clad in dresses – gowns, rather – that were both casual and works of genius. Elena's was an informal robe of deep lapis blue, with her hair drying into a soft golden mass around her shoulders. Bonnie was wearing something shorter and lighter: pale violet, shot with threads of silver in no particular pattern. Both outfits, Stefan grasped suddenly, would look as good in the interminable sunlight as in a closed room with no windows and gas lamps. He remembered the stories Elena had told about Lady Ulma designing gowns for her, and he realized that whatever else his hostess might be, she was truly a genius couturier. And then Elena was running, dainty gold sandals flying, and Bonnie's silver slippers were fol owing and Stefan began to run too, fearing some unknown danger. They al arrived at the far end of the hal way at the same time, and Stefan saw that the woman standing there was dressed even more splendidly than the girls. She was wearing a deep red raw silk gown with a heavy diamond-and-ruby necklace and ring – but no bracelets. The next minute the girls were both curtseying, deep, graceful curtseys. Stefan made his best bow. Lady Ulma held out both hands to Elena, who seemed to be almost frantic over something that Stefan didn't understand. Elena took the extended hands, breathing quickly and shal owly. â€Å"Lady Ulma – you're so thin – â€Å" Just then the babbling of a baby could be heard. Elena's face lit up and she smiled at Lady Ulma, letting out a quick breath. A young servant – even younger-looking than Bonnie – gently put a tiny bundle made of lace and sheerest lawn into Lady Ulma's arms. Both Elena and Bonnie blinked away tears, al the while beaming at the child and making little nonsense noises. Stefan could understand that – they'd known the Lady since she was a whip-torn slave, trying not to miscarry. â€Å"But how – ?†Elena began spluttering. â€Å"We saw you only a few days ago, but this baby is months old – â€Å" â€Å"A few days? Is that how long it seems to you?†asked Lady Ulma. â€Å"To us, it has been many months. But the magic Stillworks, Elena! Your magic remained! It was an easy delivery – easy! And then Dr. Meggar says that you saved me before she suffered injury from the abuse I went through. She is trying to speak already! It is you, Elena, it is your magic!† At this the Lady made a movement as if to kneel at Elena's feet. She got no farther than a few inches, though, because Elena caught her hands, crying, â€Å"Lady Ulma, no!†while Stefan, at his best speed, slipped beside the girl servant and caught the Lady by her elbows, supporting her weight. â€Å"And I'm not magic,†Elena added. â€Å"Stefan, tel her that I'm not magic.† Obediently, Stefan leaned toward the ear of the tal woman. â€Å"Elena is the most magic I've ever encountered,†he stage-whispered. â€Å"She has Powers that I can't even understand.† â€Å"Ahh!† Elena made a wordless exclamation of frustration. â€Å"Do you know what I'm naming her?†the Lady continued. Her face, if not conventional y beautiful, was striking, with an aristocratic combination of Roman nose and high cheekbones. â€Å"No.†Elena smiled – and then â€Å"No!†Elena cried. â€Å"Please! Don't condemn her to a life of expectations and terror. Don't tempt anyone to hurt her while she's Stilla child. Oh, Lady Ulma!† â€Å"But my dear savior†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then Elena began to manage things. Once she took a situation in hand there was no way not to go with the flow of it. â€Å"Lady Ulma,†she said clearly, â€Å"forgive me for interfering in your affairs. But Bonnie has told me – â€Å"She stopped, hesitated. â€Å"Of the troubles of strong and hopeful young girls, for the most part poor or enslaved, who have taken on the names of the three bravest young women who ever graced our world,†Lady Ulma finished for her. â€Å"Something like that,†Elena said, flushing. â€Å"Nobody's cal ing themselves Damon,†put in the young nurse cheerful y and with the utmost goodwil . â€Å"Neither boys nor girls.† Stefan could have kissed her. â€Å"Oh, Lakshmi!†Elena hugged the coltish-looking teenager. â€Å"I didn't even see you properly. Let me look at you.†She held the girl at arm's length. â€Å"Do you know, you've grown at least an inch since I last saw you?† Lakshmi beamed. Elena turned back to Lady Ulma. â€Å"Yes, I am afraid for the child. Why not cal her Ulma?† The patrician lady half shut her eyes. â€Å"Because, my dear Elena, Helena, Aliena, Al iana, Laynie, El a – I would not wish ‘Ulma'on anyone, much less my lovely daughter.† â€Å"Why not cal her Adara?†Lakshmi put in suddenly. â€Å"I always thought that was pretty, since I was a kid.† There was a silence – almost a stunned silence. Then Elena said, â€Å"Adara – it's a lovely name.† â€Å"And not at alldangerous,†Bonnie said. Stefan said, â€Å"It wouldn't stop her from starting a revolution if she wanted to.† There was a pause. Everyone looked at Damon, who was looking out the window expressionlessly. Everyone waited. He final y turned. â€Å"Oh, excel ent,†he said blankly, clearly having no idea – and less interest – in what they were talking about. â€Å"Oh come on, Damon.†Bonnie's eyes were Stillswol en, but she spoke brightly. â€Å"Make it unanimous! That way Lady Ulma wil be sure.†Good God, Stefan thought, she must be the most forgiving girl in the universe. â€Å"Certainly, then,†Damon said indifferently. â€Å"Forgive us,†Elena said tightly to the room in general. â€Å"We've all been going through a bit of a hard time.† That gave Lady Ulma her cue. â€Å"Of course you have,†she said, smiling the smile of one who has known bitter suffering. â€Å"Bonnie has told us of the destruction of your town. I am deeply sorry. What you need now is food and rest. I'l have someone conduct you to your rooms.† â€Å"I should have introduced Stefan at the start, but I was so worried I forgot to,†Elena said. â€Å"Stefan, this is Lady Ulma, who was so good to us before. Lady Ulma – Well, you know who this is.†She went on tiptoe to kiss Stefan lingeringly. Lingeringly enough that Stefan had to gently detach her and put her down. He was almost frightened at this display of bad manners. Elena was really angry at Damon. And if she didn't forgive him, the scenes would only continue to escalate – and if he was right, Elena was truly getting closer to being able to cast Wings of Destruction. He didn't even consider asking Damon to forgive anyone. After the girls had whispered raptures over the baby again, they were conducted to opulent bed chambers, each furnished in excel ent taste, down to the smal est decoration. As usual, though, they al congregated in one room, which happened to be Stefan's. There was more than enough space on the bed for the three of them to sit or flop. Damon wasn't present but Stefan would bet his undead life that he was listening in. â€Å"All right,†Elena said briskly, and went into storytel ing mode. She explained to Bonnie everything that had happened through their taking the Master Keys from Shinichi and Misao, to their flight to Lady Ulma's bathing chamber. â€Å"To have so much Power suddenly torn away from you in an instant†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Bonnie had her head down, and it wasn't hard to guess who she was thinking about. She looked up. â€Å"Please, Elena. Don't be so angry at Damon. I know he's done some bad things – but he's been so unhappy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"That's no excuse,†Elena began. â€Å"And, frankly, I'm – â€Å" Don't, Elena! Don't tell her that you're ashamed of her for putting up with it! She's already ashamed of herself! â€Å"I'm surprised at him,†Elena said with only the smal est hesitation. â€Å"I know for a fact that he cares for you. He even has a pet name for you: his little redbird.† Bonnie sniffed. â€Å"You always say that pet names are stupid.† â€Å"Well, but I meant names like – oh – if he cal ed you ‘Bonbon'or something.† Bonnie's head came up. â€Å"Even that would be okay for the baby,†she said, with a sudden smile, like a rainbow after a storm. â€Å"Oh, yes, isn't she adorable? I never saw such a happy baby. Margaret used to just look at you with big eyes. Adara – if she is Adara – should have such a happy life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Stefan settled back against the headboard. Elena had the situation in hand. Now he could worry about where Damon was going. After a moment he tuned back in, to find Bonnie talking about treasure. â€Å"And they kept asking me and asking me and I couldn't figure out why since the star bal with the story on it was right there. Only the story is gone now – Damon checked. Shinichi was going to throw me out the window, and that was when Damon rescued me, and the Guardians asked me about the story too.† â€Å"Strange,†Stefan said, sitting up alertly. â€Å"Bonnie, tel me how you first felt this story; where you were and al .† Bonnie said, â€Å"Well, first I saw a story about a little girl named Marit going to buy a sugarplum – that was why I tried to do the same thing the next day. And then I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep. So then I picked up the star bal again and it showed me the story about the kitsune treasures. The stories are shown in order, so it had to be the one right after the sweetshop story. And then suddenly I was out of my body, and I was flying with Elena right over Alaric's car.† â€Å"Did you do anything in between experiencing the story and going to bed?†Stefan asked. Bonnie thought; her rosebud mouth pursed. â€Å"I suppose I turned down the gas lamp. Every night I would turn the lamp way down so that it was only a flicker.† â€Å"And did you turn it back up again when you couldn't sleep and reached for the star bal again?† â€Å"Um†¦no. But they're not books! You don't have to see to experience a story.† â€Å"That wasn't what I meant. How did you find the star bal in that dim room? Was it the only star bal on the floor near you?† Bonnie's brows came together. â€Å"Well †¦no. There were twenty-six. Two others were hideous; I'd kicked those into a corner. Twenty-five were soap operas – so boring. It's not as if I had shelves or anywhere else to put them – â€Å" â€Å"Bonnie, do you want to know what I think happened?† Bonnie blinked and nodded. â€Å"I think that you read a children's story and then you went to bed. And you actual y fel asleep very quickly, even though you dreamed you were awake. Then you dreamed a premonition – â€Å" Bonnie groaned. â€Å"Another one of those? But there wasn't even anyone to tel it to then!† â€Å"Exactly. But you wanted to tel it to someone, and that longing brought you – your spirit – to where Elena was. But Elena was so worried about getting word across to Alaric that she was having an out-of-body experience. She'd been asleep too, I'm sure of it.†Stefan looked at Elena. â€Å"What do you think of that?†

Learning Team Analysis

Learning Team C, in the Leadership Theories and Practice course, consists of five members. Each member possesses their own learning style. These learning styles translate into specific leadership behaviors and practices. The differing leadership styles of the team members reflect established leadership theories studied in the course. Team members participated in the Pearson/Prentice-Hall Self-Assessment Library Website (University of Phoenix, 2011) leadership assessments that rate the members’ use of power, team skills, and conflict handling styles. The information gleaned will assist team members in understanding the potential impact of the differing leadership styles on team effectiveness. Beth’s Analysis Team member, Beth Calvano, scored a 107 on the How Good am I at Building and Leading Teams. This is a high score and shows that Beth will be a strong team member. For the What’s my Leadership Style assessment Beth scored an 8 on the concern for people section and a 17 on the task section. The scores are high and reflect a positive concern for teammates and a task oriented teammate. On the What’s my preferred Conflict-Handling Style quiz, Beth’s highest scores were in collaborating (19), accommodating (19), and compromise (19). The What’s my Preferred Form of Power assessment shows that Beth prefers the expert and referent forms of power. Beth’s leadership style reflects the Theory Y portion of the Theory X and Y theory of leadership. Her high scores on the learning team building assessment, in the concern for people and task sections, shows her ability to care for others and still accomplish the task. Beth’s conflict-handling style shows high scores for collaborating, accommodating, and compromise, three very significant factors for effective teamwork. The fact that her preferred forms of power are expert and referent lends itself to that theory of leadership. She tends to be an expert in her field, but will ask questions and educate herself on subjects with which she is not familiar. Her preference for referent power ensures her strong interpersonal connections with teammates (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 1995). Because of the contemporary use of knowledge-based learning in organizations, Theory Y is an effective leadership style (Kopelman, Prottas, & Falk, 2010). Beth’s leadership style should impact the team positively. Mark’s Analysis Mark’s score of 79 on the assessment of â€Å"How Good Am I at Building and leading Teams† places him in the second quartile for potential leaders. Although a higher score was anticipated, responses to key questions pertaining to his leadership style indicated he would rank somewhere in the mid to upper segment of candidates that would build and lead the team. Mark’s leadership style was assessed to be in the upper ranges with respect to concern for people and task achievement. This indicated an ability to balance his orientation for task/people. This leadership style is said to be engendering to others and is reflective of an individual who accepts challenges and focuses on achieving tasks. Overall Mark should have a positive effect on the team. He may not be the designated leader initially, however he has skills sets which are supportive and if needed could evolve into a leadership role which would assure the team of continuous quality in structure, production and an atmosphere of motivation, collaboration and mutual respect and accountability. Sharra’s Analysis Team member, Sharra Jones, scored an 85 on the How Good am I at Building and Leading Teams. This score places Sharra in the second quartile which means she can be a strong team member. For the What’s my Leadership Style assessment Sharra scored an 8 on the concern for people section and a 9 on the task section. The scores are in the middle range, which means that the concern for people score is on the higher end and the score for task oriented is on the low- high end. Sharra has great concern for people, but she can also be focus on the task that is set before the team. On the What’s my preferred Conflict-Handling Style quiz, Sharra’s highest scores were in collaborating (16) and compromise (16). The What’s my Preferred Form of Power assessment shows that Sharra prefers the expert, legitimate, and referent forms of power. Based on the results from each assessment, Sharra’s leadership style falls under contingency theories. Contingency pproach is that the leadership style is based on the situation the leader is in (Fiedler & Garcia, 1987). Sharra’s scores high score in the concern for people helps her to adapt to people needs which is similar to adapting leadership styles to fit the situations. The ability to collaborate and compromise makes Sharra an effec tive team player. She is willing to do what it takes to make sure the team task is completed. Her preferred forms of power also show that she will have a strong and effective impact on the team, because she would be consider an expert in her field and is willing to share and help other to achieve what she has achieved. Ryan’s Analysis Leadership is a facet of my professional life that has always been a challenge to me. Until I entered into my present position, I rarely thought about leadership in anything greater that a Transactional level (Burns, 1990). Being in education, when I was working with student in the classroom, or athletes on the field, I see that while I was being more Transformational, there was still a Transactional underpinning to the entire relationship. Stepping in the a leadership position within the Curriculum and Instruction Department in the school district I work in brought an entirely new perspective on leadership. Honestly, I wish that I had taken this class and these assessments before undertaking this role. According to the questionnaires, I scored a 102 in the â€Å"How Good Am I at Building and Leading a Team? † This places me within the top quartile. What strikes me as interesting is that once I received the results of this survey, it made the results from the next screening more understandable. The â€Å"What’s My Leadership Style? † assessment showed an almost even distribution between my concern for people and my concern for the task. My scores were 11 and 12 respectively. According to the analysis, this places me in the category of leadership that is most versatile in any profession. From there, the â€Å"What’s My Preferred Type of Power? † survey came back with some interesting measures. Within five-tenths of a score, I had three power types tied for the highest. The first was â€Å"Legitimate† with a score of a 5. Next were â€Å"Expert† and â€Å"Referent† respectively with scores of 4. 7 and 4. 5. The screening was completed with the â€Å"What is my Preferred Conflict-Handling Style? † This measure returned with similar outcomes to the previous measure. According to the results, three styles came in close to each other. These were â€Å"Collaborating† with an 18, â€Å"Compromising† with a 17, and â€Å"Accommodating† with a 15. Oddly enough, this left me with more questions than answers from when I started. As much as I strive to be a Transformational Leader in practice, I would look at these quantitative results as moving somewhere in between Transactional and Transformational (Burns, 1978). However, these two categories are fairly generous in their latitude and approach to delineating leadership styles. Manz and Sims (1991) offer a little more depth in description of leadership styles with their four categories, or styles, of leaders. As with the Transactive/Transformative dyad, I found myself striving to be the SuperLeader these two researchers describe. However, and honest assessment of qualitative, anecdotal experiences combined with the quantitative data listed in the previous paragraph would more than likely place my style on the border between Transactor and Visionary Hero. Perhaps the borders between these six different leadership types discussed bear more scrutiny once the types, themselves, have been clearly established. Like practitioners of the hard sciences, it is the borders between things where activity is at its greatest. This is where geologists and ecologists thrive. Physicists yearn for the borderlands of the known and the theoretical to see what is truly there. For leadership, both general and individual understanding, the borders between styles is where more concentration, at least for me, is needed. This is where I see my leadership style flourishing and thriving. Here is where I can authentically cultivate and unique style to leadership with different individuals, and with various groups. However, the one issue I must maintain a situational awareness of is Situational Leadership (Hersey & Blanchard, 1995). In order to maintain a transformative stance, authenticity is a premium that cannot be sacrificed. As such, I must negotiate the situation within the acceptable limits I have put in place within myself. This awareness can only come through experience and engaged reflection after the fact. Phyllis’ Analysis This is a group that consists of five (5) team members, which will reflect five (5) different personalities and five different backgrounds. Each team member posses his or her own particular leadership style, which reflects in their assessments. I began to reflect back on my shift in roles. As I think back on my transition from a follower, to a supervisor, and to my current position as a manager, I realized those were very difficult periods for me. I knew that as time progressed I would have learn how to change the way I viewed things as well as how I reacted to certain situations. According to Avolio, Yammarino (2008), â€Å"Leadership involves the ability â€Å"to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members† (pg 318). I completed the assessments and the majority of what the assessment revealed had a lot of relevancy. The first assessment I completed was, How Good am I at Building and Leading Teams. I scored 100. According to the score I received reflected I was a strong team member. The next assessment I completed was What’s my Leadership Style. I scored an eight (8) on the concern for people, which was a high score according to the assessment and I scored a thirteen (13) on the concern for task, which was also high. According to the assessment the scores in these two particular categories relayed balance, indicating that on a weighted scale I would equaled out. Next, I completed What’s my preferred Conflict-Handling Style. This assessment reflects more of the leadership traits I utilize. The two areas I scored the highest was collaborating and compromising receiving a score of sixteen (16) in both areas. I received a score of fourteen (14) on accommodating. In the areas of competing and avoiding, I received the same score of eleven. The last assessment I completed was What’s my preferred Type of Power. The scores I received are: Reward 3. 7; Coercive 2- I found to be the most accurate; Legitimate 4. 2; Expert 5; Referent 3. 2. After completing the assessments, the leadership theory I display would be more of transformational. Subordinates need to feel valued and given a broader look into their job. To praise them in public motivates and builds their confidence. Wren (1995) stated, â€Å"There has to be structure in leadership. The leader needs to be to explain the task to the subordinately letting them know exactly what it is they would have them to do. Subordinates will be inclined to do as they have been instructed by the leader (â€Å"that is good follower acceptance and loyalty†) (pgs. 96-97). References Burns, J. (1978). Transactional and transformational leadership. In J. Wren (Ed.) The leader’s companion: insights on leadership through the ages (pp.100-101). New York: Free Press. Fiedler, F. E., & Garcia, J. E. (1987) New approaches to effective leadership. New York: John Wiley. Hersey ,P. & Blanchard, K. (1995). Situational leadership. . In J. Wren (Ed.) The leader’s companion: insights on leadership through the ages (pp.207-211). New York: Free Press. Hughes, R., Ginnett, R., & Curphy, G. (1995). Power, influence, and influence tactics. In J. Wren (Ed.) The leader’s companion: Insights in leadership through the ages (pp. 339- 351). New York, NY: The Free Press. Kopelman, R., Prottas, D., & Falk, D. (2010). Construct validation of theory X/Y behavior scale. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 31(2), 120-135. Retrieved from ProQuest database. Manz, C. & Sims, Jr., H. (1991). SuperLeadership: beyond the myth of heroic leadership. . In J. Wren (Ed.) The leader’s companion: insights on leadership through the ages (pp.212- 221). New York: Free Press. University of Phoenix. (2011). Pearson/Prentice-Hall self-assessment library web site. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/SAS/ROBBINS sal3v/sal3v3web.html

Case Study Ge Healthcare in India an (Ultra) Sound...

Case Study: GE Healthcare In India: An (Ultra) Sound Strategy? What are the basic facts? GE Healthcare India, a joint venture between General Electric (GE) and the Indian multinational Wipro Ltd., had ended the 2005-2006 year with a significant rise in sales of 10% since last year. They were the market leader in the $77 million ultrasound machine market, beating its competitors, which included Siemens, Toshiba and Philips. The president and CEO of GE Healthcare India, V. Raja read the newspaper headlines which described how government officials in Hyderabad had been confiscating ultrasound machines that they suspected were being used illegally to determine the sex of unborn children. The article featured a poster for GE ultrasound†¦show more content†¦With such importance placed on a boy child- male dominance rises, abortion rates increase and women have no importance or role in the society. As the male population goes up, the society is more prone to banditry, rapes, sexual harassment cases, eve teasing, rioting and militarization. Shortage of women also leads to socially disruptive behavior and mental health issues. What are the effects on each group, company, investor, employee, consumer, and/or society? GE Healthcare India, one of the main stakeholders in this issue, sold 18,255 ultrasound scanners in India from 2002 to 2006 and had whopping sales of $77 million in 2006. As a result of the rising criticism of ultrasound machines sold by their company, they have faced legal issues, intense government scrutiny and pushback from activists for having aggressive sales tactics. Completely banning ultrasounds would have an adverse effect on their company and its sales. The employees of GE Healthcare India would also be criticized for working for a company that sells ultrasound machines which are promoting abortion of the female child. If GE Healthcare India’s sales go down because of the whole controversy, the employees would lose their jobs. The consumers and society would not be able to use ultrasound machines if it was banned. Ultrasound machines have several benefits like diagnosis of gallbladder disease or obstructions, evaluation of blood flow in blood vessels, identifying abnormalShow MoreRelatedGe Healthcare ( A ) : Innovating For Emerging Markets Essay1425 Words   |  6 PagesGE Healthcare (A): Innovating for Emerging Markets Introduction Technological changes and a demanding user have made healthcare organizations to constantly innovate to keep abreast with competition as well as maximize patient value and achieve the best outcome at the lowest cost. This has thus made companies, such as General Electric, GE to look at emerging markets with a view to drive future growth. 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