Exam III Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exam III - Essay Example Concentration of several institutions serving the early settlers made the San Antonio quite important to the early settlers and the town evolved to become the capital of Texas in the early 1770s (Arreola, 1987). However, the San Antonio had grown into a city by early 1811 following the influx of Mexican and Spanish settlers and served as a special border town during the colonial period. Due to this fact of being a border town, its sovereignty changed several times in the early eighteenth century. According to Arrelola (1987) San Antonio was first Spanish; it then became a part of Mexican republic in early 1920s and finally a city in the Republic of Texas in 1930s what would later make it statehood in the United States in 1840s. As the time passed by, the population of this city doubled and the Mexicans continued to represent quite a significant proportion of the population of San Antonio (Meier & Ribera, 1994). In 1930s, San Antonio’s population was reported to be plainly dominated by Mexican. The Mexicans were later joined by the Americans, Germans, Irish and French immigrants who also became inhabitants of this city (Arreola, 1997). Following the intermarriages between the different individuals, the separateness of the ethnic groups became the order of the day with Mexicans reducing to approximately forty six percent of the entire population of the city. Even though the Mexican population of the town continued to decline through the 19th and 20th centuries, the nearness of the city to Mexico and the fact that among the early inhabitants were Mexicans helped the city grow as an important Mexican cultural city in United States by being the best location of settlement of the Mexican immigrants into the US (Arreola, 1997). In 1980s, the development of the railway network system across America and it connection to Mexico further shortened the distance between Mexico and the Central and Southern

Profile in Leadership Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Profile in Leadership - Term Paper Example For me leadership is a way of living and it’s hidden in small acts with big results. In order to act like a leader, one does not need a designation or role assigned to him as someone may act as a leader in petite situations. Currently, he is working as a restaurant manager in one of Starbucks branches. I have seen him dealing with his staff and observing him makes me realize that he is a highly effective leader. I have also taken feedback about him from his staff and they all declare him as an effective leader and a great motivator using various means to satisfy and keep the team on track. In domestic life, he is always supportive and helping. One of his strengths is his negotiation and conflict management skills; he is well-respected in his friend’s circle, therefore he is often asked for help in managing difficult situations. The purpose of selecting him for this interview is to identify what kind of leader he is, how he perceives himself in a leading role, how others perceive him, what are his strengths and weaknesses in this role and what makes him an effective leader. Also, analyzing his leadership skills with the help of leadership theories was another main objective of this interview. Prior to this meeting, the objective of this interview was shared with him and his consent was taken. ... According to this theory, followers have four development styles according to which leadership styles are required to be amended. Competence and motivation of the follower act as the main criteria for selection of respective leadership styles. Hersey and Blanchard (1996) presented situational leadership theory that provided a correlation between respective leadership style and skill level of the follower. According to this theory, there are four leadership styles. First one is telling or directing. Such leadership style is used when the follower lacks competence and is not willing or motivated. In such case where relationship between leader and follower is quite weak, appropriate leadership would require the leader or manager to provide directions with strict task focus. This leadership style requires that the leader maintain necessary distance with the follower as effort to strengthen relationship would lead to further confusion. Another leadership style is selling or coaching, such leadership style is appropriate in a situation where follower has a reasonable degree of commitment and competence. In such situation, the leaders are expected to focus on relationship building as well as high task focus. Since the follower has a reasonable knowledge of the job required to be done, therefore strict directions would result in further demotivation. Therefore, leader needs to develop relationship through effective listening and providing appropriate guidance when required. These two leadership styles are mainly dependent on the leader, his competence and relationship building skills. Third leadership style is participating and supporting. In this case, follower is exceptionally competent and skilled but lacks motivation to perform tasks. In such cases, leader is