Consumer Behaviour- Soft Drink Industry Essay Example for Free

Consumer Behaviour- Soft Drink Industry Essay Introduction The soft drink industry in India is one of the most competitive with many international and domestic players operating in the market. Initially domestic players like Parle group dominated the Indian soft drink market with brands like Thums up, Limca, Goldspot etc. However with the re-entry of MNC players like Pepsi in 1991 and Coca-Cola in 1993, the market took a decisive shift in favour of these MNCs and over the years Coca-Cola and Pepsi have become the prominent players in the market. Soft drinks can be principally classified into carbonated and non-carbonated. Carbonated drinks include cola, lemon and orange flavors while non carbonated drinks principally comprise of mango flavor. The carbonated cola products constitute 60% of the soft drink market and three prominent brands in this category are Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Thums up. Thums up was a brand from Parle until Coca-Cola bought it in 1993 and tried to kill it to push its own brand. But the loyal customers of Thums up never let it die and the brand still is the leading brand in the Indian soft drink market. Company profile: The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company. The company’s best known product Coca-Cola was invented by John Stith Pemberton in 1886. The Coca-Cola formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated the Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Coca-Cola currently offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries or territories and serves 1. 5 billion servings each day. The Coca-Cola Company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its current chairman and CEO is Muhtar Kent. Coca-Cola was the leading soft drink brand in India until 1977 when it left rather than reveal its formula to the government and reduce its equity stake as required under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) which governed the operations of foreign companies in India. After a 16-year absence, Coca-Cola returned to India in 1993, cementing its presence with a deal that gave Coca-Cola ownership of the nations top soft-drink brands and bottling network. Coke’s acquisition of local popular Indian brands including Thums. Up (the most trusted brand in India), Limca, Maaza, Citra and Gold Spot provided not only physical manufacturing, bottling, and distribution assets but also strong consumer preference. This combination of local and global brands enabled Coca-Cola to exploit the benefits of global branding and global trends in tastes while also tapping into traditional domestic markets. From 1993 to 2003, Coca-Cola invested more than US$1 billion in India, making it one of the country’s top international investors. By 2003, Coca-Cola India had won the prestigious Woodruf Cup from among 22 divisions of the Company based on three broad parameters of volume, profitability, and quality. Coca-Cola India achieved 39% volume growth in 2002 while the industry grew 23% nationally and the Company reached breakeven profitability in the region for the first time. Encouraged by its 2002 performance, Coca-Cola India announced plans to double its capacity at an investment of $125 million (Rs.750 crore) between September 2002 and March 2003. Coca-Cola India produced its beverages with 7,000 local employees at its twenty-seven wholly-owned bottling operations supplemented by seventeen franchisee-owned bottling operations and a network of twenty-nine contract-packers to manufacture a range of products for the company. The complete manufacturing process had a documented quality control and assurance program including over 400 tests performed throughout the process. The complexity of the consumer soft drink market demanded a distribution process to support 700,000 retail outlets serviced by a fleet that includes 10-ton trucks, open-bay three wheelers, and trademarked tricycles and pushcarts that were used to navigate the narrow alleyways of the cities. In addition to its own employees, Coke indirectly created employment for another 125,000 Indians through its procurement, supply, and distribution networks. Sanjiv Gupta, President and CEO of Coca-Cola India, joined Coke in 1997 as Vice President, Marketing and was instrumental to the company’s success in developing a brand relevant to the Indian consumer and in tapping India’s vast rural market potential. Following his marketing responsibilities, Gupta served as Head of Operations for Company-owned bottling operations and then as Deputy President. Product Range The product range of Coca-Cola includes beverages like: * Coca-Cola The parent brand of Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola has a truly remarkable heritage. The world’s favourite drink. * Thums Up Strong Cola taste. Thums Up is a leading sparkling soft drink and most trusted brand in Indian soft drink market. * Sprite A global leader in the lemon lime category, it is second largest sparkling beverage Brand in India. Sprite with it’s cut-thru perspective has managed to be a true teen icon. Sprite’s all about being true to yourself and living by the simple and honest code of your own instincts. No more†¦. no less. * Fanta Over the years Fanta has occupied a strong market place and is identified as â€Å"The Fun Catalyst†. Perceived as a fun youth brand, Fanta stands for its vibrant color, tempting taste and tingling bubbles. * Limca Lime ‘n’ lemoni Limca can cast a tangy refreshing spell on anyone, anywhere. Born in 1971, Limca has remained unchallenged as the No. 1 Sparkling drink in the Cloudy lemon segment. * Minute Maid Pulpy Orange One of world’s largest juice drink brands. Eliminated 80% of the water in orange juice, forming a frozen concentrate that when reconstituted created orange juice. * Maaza Imagine the delicious fruit, Mango bottled. This is what Maaza is all about. Universally loved for its taste, color, thickness, Maaza is the mango lover’s first choice. * Kinley Mineral water, a thirst quencher that refreshes, a life giving force that washes all the toxins away. * Georgia Introduced in 2004, the GEORGIA Gold range of Tea and Coffee beverages is the perfect solution for your office and restaurant needs. Product Information: Thums Up Background Thums Up is a carbonated soft drink (cola) popular and largest selling brand in India where its bold, red thumbs up logo is common. During the late 1970s, the American cola giant Coca-Cola abandoned operations in India rather than make a forced sale of 60% of their equity to an Indian company. Following this, the Parle brothers, Ramesh Chauhan and Prakash Chauhan, along with then CEO Bhanu Vakil, launched Thums Up as their flagship drink, adding to their portfolio of older brands Limca (lime flavor) and Gold Spot (orange flavor). Thums Up was basically a cola drink, but the company never claimed it as such. The formula was just as closely guarded as the famous Coke formula. Thums Up enjoyed a near monopoly with a much stronger market share often overshadowing its other rivals like Coca-Cola’s Campa cola, Double seven and Dukes, but there were many small regional players who had their own market. It even withstood liquor giant United Breweries Group (makers of Kingfisher Beer) Mcdowells Crush, which was another Cola drink, and Double Cola. In 1990, when the Indian government opened the market to multinationals, Pepsi was the first to come in. Thums Up went up against the international giant for an intense onslaught with neither side giving any quarter. With Pepsi roping in major Indian movie stars like Juhi Chawla, to thwart the Indian brand, Thums Up increased its spending on Cricket sponsorship. Then the capacity went from 250ml to 300ml, aptly named MahaCola. This nickname gained popularity in smaller towns where people would ask for Maha Cola instead of Thums Up. The consumers were divided where some felt Pepsi’s mild taste was rather bland. In 1993 Coca-Cola re-entered India after a prolonged absence from 1977 to 1993. But Coca-Cola’s entry made things even more complicated and the fight became a three-way battle. That same year, in a move that baffled many, Parle sold out to Coke for a meager US$ 60 million (considering the market share it had). Now Coca-Cola’s, and Coke has a habit of killing brands in its portfolio that might overshadow it. Coca-Cola soon introduced its cola in cans which was all the rage in India, with Thums Up introduced alongside, albeit in minuscule numbers. Later Coca-Cola started pulling out the Thums Up brand which at that time still had more than 30% market share. Despite its strong overall equity, the brand Thums Up was losing its popularity among the core cola drinking age group of 12 to 25 year olds, partly due to nil advertising. Coca-Cola apparently did try to kill Thums Up, but soon realized that Pepsi would benefit more than Coke if Thums Up was withdrawn from the market. Instead, Coke decided to use Thums Up to attack Pepsi. The Coca-Cola Company by this time had about 60. 5% share of the Indian soft-drink market but much to its dismay found out that if it took out Thums Up, it would remain with only 28. 72% of the market (according to a report by NGO FinanceTrade in India), hence it once again dusted out the Thums Up brand and re-launched it targeting the 30 to 45 year olds. The brand was re-positioned as a â€Å"manly† drink, drawing on its strong taste qualities. Known to be a strong drink with more power packed into it than other colas, Thums Up kick-started an aggressive campaign directly attacking Pepsi’s TV ads, focusing on the strength of the drink hoping that the depiction of an â€Å"adult† drink would appeal to young consumers. â€Å"Grow up to Thums Up† was a successful campaign. The brand’s market share and equity soared. The brand was unshakeable and Coca-Cola’s declaration that Thums Up was India’s premier cola brand in terms of market share did not surprise many. Other campaigns from Thums Up build on its â€Å"strength† and its perception as a macho drink. Ads showing the Thums Up man, riding through the desert in search of a cantina that sells Thums Up rather than drink another cola, stuck in the minds of many Indians and caught the imagination of youngsters who want to be seen as men. 4 P’s of Marketing Mix for Thums Up. Product: Thums Up is known for its strong, fizzy taste and its confident, mature and uniquely masculine attitude. This brand clearly seeks to separate the men from the boys. Beverage offered by the company in the size of: * SSRB (Standard size returnable bottle) * PET (600 ml, 1. 5 liter plastic bottle) * CANS (tin pack 330 ml) Price: Thums Up has adopted competition based pricing and so the prices are similar to that of other cola drinks. 1. Glass Bottles – 200ml, 300ml – Rs 12. 00 onwards 2. PET Bottles – 600ml, 1500ml, 2 ltrs, 2. 25 ltrs. – Rs 25. 00 onwards 3. Can – 330ml – Rs 35. 00 45. 00 4. Fountain – Customized – Rs 15. 00-35. 00 can go upto Rs 60. 00 in movie halls Company offers discount on prices or extra quantity of cold drink during festive seasons and winter seasons. Place: Thums Up has a strong distribution channel to make the product available in the market any time, and maintain optimum level of stock in the market. It covers the rural part also to increase the customer reach. The soft drink is made available at all the possible convenient locations to the customers – local area grocery shops, hotels, restaurants, movie halls, multiplexes, shopping malls, supermarkets vending machines, fountain outlets. Promotion: Thums Up has consistently built its sales promotion through various techniques like, blind taste tests, sponsoring exciting events and sports, conducting various contests (win a motor bike contest), etc. Also its ads are designed to create excitement and to communicate the macho personality of the brand. An ad campaign of Thums Up where Akshay Kumar (its brand ambassador since 2003) performs the extreme sport of ‘parkour’ to grab his bottle of Thums Up from a suggestively attractive lady. â€Å"Taste the Thunder† has been the most breakthrough communication campaign for the brand. It stands for masculinity that has constantly been redefined over the years. Competition Thums Up went from being the only cola in the cantina to facing competition from both Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Twenty-six years later it’s still a top cola in India and is one of the strongest brands in the country across categories. The brand name’s positive associations of victory, achievement and celebration are apparently merited as it continues to do well despite a challenging landscape. | | | | | Thums Up’s first competition came in the form of Campa Cola. There were allegations of aggressive exchanges between the two brands at street level but Thums Up (owned by Parle at the time) apparently won the battle both on the ground and in the consumer’s mind. Campa Cola discontinued in 2000 (only to re-emerge as less of a challenger in 2002 from Pure Drinks New Delhi). For a short while Thums Up’s strong taste enjoyed success across the country with scarcely any competition; the brand reigned supreme in the cola market. Currently Thums Up is facing competition from lots of brands coming in the soft drink industry and still it has maintained its top position in the minds of Indian consumers. Today, an Indian consumer sees Thums Up as a unique brand personality which no other brand has acquired in the soft drink industry. | | Conclusion| Thums Up is amongst the oldest domestic brands in soft drinks industry in India and it is the most popular and trusted brands in India. Thums Up enjoyed a near monopoly in India with a much stronger market share till 1990s. But with the advent of Pepsi (1992) and Coca Cola (1993), Thums Up started facing stiff competition. In 1993, Parle sold out to Coke and Thums Up became the brand of Coca-Cola Company. Though Coca-Cola tried to kill Thums-Up to build its own brand, it sooner realized the importance of Thums Up to survive in the Indian market to beat its core competitor Pepsi. Today Thums Up has grown its image from just a soft drink to a lot more for Indian consumers. It has established itself as a distinguished brand with strong taste and which communicates maturity, daring and excitement to its consumers. Thums Up has consistently maintained honesty and trust with its consumers and that’s why it is still the number one cola brand in the country.

Oral Erythroplakia Case Study

Oral Erythroplakia Case Study ABSTRACT- Oral Erythroplakia is considered a rare potentially malignant lesion of the oral mucosa. Oral Erythroplakia is a clinical term to describe any erythematous area on a mucous membrane that cannot be attributed to any other pathology. Oral Erythroplakia are very few, only the true, velvety, red homogeneous oral Erythroplakia has been clearly defined while the terminology for mixed red and white lesions is complex, ill-defined and confusing. Oral Erythroplakia is predominantly seen in the middle aged and elderly. The most common affected areas are the soft palate, the floor of the mouth and the buccal mucosa. A specific type of Oral Erythroplakia occurs in Chutta smokers in India. Lesions of Oral Erythroplakia are typically less than 1.5 cm in diameter. Keywords Biopsy, Erythroplakia, Laser, INTRODUCTION- The word erythroplakia means red patch, and is derived from the Greek words ÃŽ µÃ Ãâ€¦ÃŽ ¸Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š red and πΠ»ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¬ÃŽ ¾ plate The World Health Organization defines oral erythroplakia as follows: â€Å"Any lesion of the oral mucosa that presents as bright red velvety plaques which cannot be characterized clinically or pathologically as any other recognizable condition† It has been reported that prevalence of Oral Erythroplakia varies between 0.02%1 and 0.2%2 (adapted from Reichart et al.)3 Clinically, it can be flat or depressed and sometimes it can be found together with leukoplakia (erythroleukoplakia); it pre-dominantly occurs in the floor of the mouth, the soft palate, the ventral tongue and the tonsillar fauces. There are usually no symptoms. However, some patients may complain of a burning sensation and or sore. Heavy alcohol consumption and tobacco use are known to be important aetiological factors. The main purpose of identifying oral premalignant lesions is to prevent malignant transformation by initiating adequate intervention. It is widely approved that the oral premalignant lesions erythroplakia, show a significant tendency to malignant transformation. The differential diagnosis includes: erythematous candidiasis, early squamous cell carcinoma, local irritation, mucositis, lichen planus, lupus erythematosous, drug reaction and median rh omboid glossitis.4 Surgical excision is the treatment of choice though more studies are needed.The treatment5 modalities include change of lifestyle factors such as tobacco and alcohol intake,medication with retinoids or antimycotics,surgical excision,cryosurgery,laser evaporation or laser excision.Laser surgery has become a reliable treatment6 option for oral cancer as well as for precancerous lesions. Widely used lasers in oral and maxillofacial tumor surgery are the CO2 laser, the Er:YAG laser, the Nd:YAG laser and the KTM laser. The use of lasers in tumor surgery has several advantages: remote application, precise cutting, hemostasis, low cicatrization, reduced postoperative pain and swelling, can be combined with endoscopic, microscopic and robotic surgery. Here we report a case of erythroplakia in soft palate region treated with diode laser. CASE REPORT- A, 63 years old, male patient (Fig 1), came to the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, with the chief complain of red patches at the hard and soft palate region. Patient gave the history of pan, tobacco chewing and smoking since 20 yrs. Medical history was negative for any findings and all the vitals were under the normal limit. No significant findings were noticed on extra oral examination. (Fig-1). On intraoral examination, multiple red patches were seen at the mucosal surface of the palate. All those patches were less than 1.5 cm in diameter. (Fig- 2). On palpation it was soft and velvety on touch. A provisional diagnosis of Erythroplakia, with differential diagnosis Lichen planus , Erythematous candidiasis ,Early squamous cell carcinoma were made. All necessary blood investigation done, and were found under normal limit. To establish a definitive diagnosis, a biopsy was performed using a local anaesthesia. The biopsy specimen was taken from hard and soft palate, and sen t for histopathological examination (Fig 3) which confirmed the final diagnosis of Erythroplakia. The red appearance is due to the thin atrophic epithelium with prominent subepithelial vascularity and inflammation. Almost all erythroplakic lesions contain dysplastic cells. The histopathology may be mild or moderate epithelial dysplasia, severe dysplasia or carcinoma in-situ. Carcinoma in-situ is characterized by a complete disorganization of cells throughout all layers of the epithelium, with no keratin pearls. Laser ablation was planned as the treatment modality under local anaesthesia. (Fig-4) Diode laser was used at 2.5watts (Fig 5). Post operative instructions given and patient was recalled after 24 hours. Patient came for follow-up, reported with slight pain. Healing was uneventful. After that patient was asked to report at weekly interval. Healing was satisfactory after 3 weeks.(Fig 6) DISCUSSION- Erythroplakia and speckled leukoplakia are uncommon lesions of the mouth. Erythroplakia of the oral cavity is a specific disease entity which must be differentiated from other specific or nonspecific inflammatory oral lesions, although this can only be done in most cases by biopsy. The term erythroplakia of the oral cavity as used in this report and as accepted by most authors describes the clinical appearance of a red patch of the mucous membrane which does not represent some specific or nonspecific inflammatory lesion. However, in most cases the clinician cannot distinguish with certainty the true erythroplakia as discussed here and the more innocuous inflammatory lesions, thus mandating biopsy. Most, and probably all, cases of true clinical erythroplakia represent some epithelial atypia, ranging from mild epithelial dysplasia to invasive carcinoma.7 Furthermore; there is no correlation between the clinical appearance of erythroplakia and the histologic findings. Erythroplakia is t he leukoplakia like term used to describe clinically red and well demarcated macules of the oral mucosa which cannot be attributed to inflammatory or traumatic factors, and which have a much higher propensity for progression to carcinoma than leukoplakia8. The histopathological9 feature of erythroplakia includes a marked epithelial atrophy associated with epithelial dysplasia. A relative reduction in keratin production and increase in vascularity accounts for the clinical color of the lesion. Cellular infiltration and capillary distention were remarkable. Nowadays laser surgery has become a reliable treatment6 option for precancerous lesions. Widely used lasers in oral and maxillofacial tumor surgery are the CO2 laser, diode laser, the Er:YAG laser, the Nd:YAG laser and the KTM laser. In our case we use diode laser in erythroplakia. Laser has many distinctive advantages, such as the ability to cut, coagulate, ablate or vaporize target tissue elements, enabling dry-field surgery thro ugh the sealing of small blood vessels (haemostasis) disinfection of the tissue, reduced post-operative edema (through the sealing of small lymphatic vessels) decreased amount of scarring. It contributes to faster and more effective treatment resulting in improved treatment outcome and increased patient comfort and satisfaction. CONCLUSION- Oral cancer is one of the 4 major non communicable diseases leading to Death10. Soft tissue health in the oral cavity is essential for overall dental and medical health and a successful maintenance of any restoration. The clinical and pathological features of the lesions analyzed in our study support the data in other published studies. Although their prevalence is low, histopathological features ranging from epithelial dysplasia to invasive carcinoma. This justifies placing these lesions among the oral lesions with the highest malignant potential. Additionally, regardless of histopathology and therapy, periodic monitoring of these patients and cessation of risk factors are essential measures.

Gender-Based Problems of Women in Management Essay -- Psychology, Fem

Gender-Based Problems of Women in Management Early Research The focus of a good deal of the early research on gender-based problems at work has attempted to determine factors responsible for the problems. As noted by Talley (1988), women in management, especially the upper levels of management, were shown by this early research to have consistently been underrepresented and underutilized. An example of the kind of research that was being conducted at this time can be seen in research conducted by Gerike (1983) who compared a group of 34 women in upper- and middle-level management positions, most of them the sole woman at their level, with a group of 34 men matched to them only by job position or job title. Data were collected by mailing a lengthy researcher-designed questionnaire to the sample of female managers. According to Gerike (1983), the findings of the study showed a repeated pattern of gender-based discrimination. Specifically, it was found that female managers were lower in power and status than the males, on the basis of lower salaries; they were also less involvement than males with budgetary matters. In addition, managers more often trained and supervised employees of their own sex. Female managers had longer average tenure with their organizations but less managerial experience. They were paid significantly less than equally experienced males when job tenure for both was less than five years. Income for females but not for males was positively correlated with previous policy-making experience. Female managers were less involved in informal interactions with colleagues, such as lunching and socializing, and more of them were single (11 women, 1 man). Somewhat lower levels of risk-taking behaviors... ... used in the study was from the Current Population Survey, March 1982. Analyses revealed that education was significant in explaining the salary differential for the sample of salespeople only. Marital status was significant for the sample of male salespeople only. Age and hours worked were also found to be significant in explaining the wage differentials for female salespeople, male sales managers or department heads, and male salespeople. Hours worked was the only variable significant in explaining salary differences between married and single female buyers. Birth-order and its effects on the gender-related factor of attitudes toward female mangers was examined in a study conducted by Brenner and Beutell (1989). Since birth-order is one of the variables that will be examined in this study, Brenner and Beutell's study is pertinent to the proposed research.

My Angels :: Personal Narrative

My Angels It wasn't until I started to write this testimony that I realized that there are two special angels in my life. One in heaven and one on Earth. I had the general reasoning of any teenager: run to your closest friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, family, teachers for solutions to your problems, or for guidance, but that's not always so. Sure, some good friends and family are close enough to relate to, but it's the people that can read your face like a book that I am speaking of. The people that always bring a smile to your face even when you're in your deepest turmoil. These are your angels. Adam has been and always will be my angel. He was my salvation when I was weak, my shoulder to weep on, a joker, and an all around nice guy. If if it weren't for him I probably wouldn't have auditioned for Juilliard a few weeks back. I owe so much to him, but the biggest thanks I could ever give would be his persistent manner in getting me to audition for the drama plays. I have always had a passion for drama but didn't want to pursue it in St. Paul. I was so depressed about leaving all my friends behind at Whittier, that when I came here I didn't even give up---- I just didn't start at all. It wasn't until my first week of school that I met Adam, the boy who smiled from ear to ear... Little did I know that he would be the best friend I would make at St. Paul, and the first to leave me behind. Over the next two years we had gotten incredibly close. We went out for weekends, celebrated his 15th birthday with Andrea and Crystal, and Miguel---his closest friends. We helped ea ch other with our relationship problems, family problems, school mishaps... We were each other's alter egos when we went out. We had a conversation over the Internet a week before he died. He was so mad that I hadn't auditioned for the musical that he forced me to join crew (which a few weeks previous I had). That night we were talking about all these pranks we would play on the cast and crew, and the cast party to be had, and all the fun.

Creating a Strong and Unified America :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Creating a Strong and Unified America Motoring down the roadway, I take in blurs of red, white, and blue, whizzing past my scope of vision. I am referring to, of course, the vast number of American flags attached to the cars of local residents and residents throughout the nation. This sudden splurge of patriotism can be attributed to the war, but that is not to say that patriotism has not existed before this war—it has also existed during the course of every American war, along with the cries of anti-war protestors. But does patriotism stand as strong during times of peace? One of the many duties of citizens is to love the nation they are born into because a nation depends on individuals who understand what it means to be a citizen. To begin understanding citizenship, we must first have an idea of America’s past. In David McCullough’s essay â€Å"Why History?† he writes, â€Å"The Department of Education reported that more than half of all high school seniors hadn’t even the slightest basic understanding of American History†(88). We must know our history to know where we came from, and according to a speech by Alan Kors, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, it is important for us to understand mistakes made by our nation in the past so as to not â€Å"†¦lose sight of human moral weakness†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (9). The moral weaknesses Kors references are anti-Semitism, racial discrimination, corruption of power, and, of course, slavery. Kors explains that we should not look down at our nation for the existence of these flaws, but rather look at how they have been for the most part abolished. America welcomes Jews; racial injustices were addre ssed in the 14th and 15th Amendments. Slavery, which is â€Å"the most universal of all human institutions,†(Kors 9) was dubbed as an immoral practice by American â€Å"†¦values and agency†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Kors 9) and was abolished. A nation cannot exist without citizens who understand the morals and values by which it was established and also what responsibilities they must live up to. In an essay by Peter Gomes, he quotes the American judge at the Nuremberg Trials as saying, â€Å"†¦it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error†(Jackson qtd.

Leaders Are Made

The question was asked in our class discussion this week, â€Å"Are leaders born or made? † This is one of the most often asked questions about leadership. People have varying opinions on this subject. My opinion is that leaders are made. To lead people effectively is a very complex undertaking. No one is born with the necessary tools to be a good leader. I choose to believe that leaders are made, not born, because I want to believe that I can develop into a good leader even though I was not Ron with certain traits.Our lecture last night focused on some traits normally associated with good leaders: energy, stress management, self-confidence, tenaciousness, social intelligence, and integrity. Some of these traits can be used to describe me but there are a few in which I need further development. Leaders are successful for many different reasons, but most importantly is an ability to connect with people. Great connections are energetic. It is important for a leader to exude posi tive energy because the leader sets the tone for the entire organization.Employees have to feel committed to the vision for future success. They have to feel motivated, energize. I know that I have the ability to be energetic in the workplace as a potential leader. Vive been energy- deficient in my current position, probably because my supervisor has not connected with me nor does he exude any positive energy. I am grateful for this experience because it has taught me first-hand how damaging a leader with no energy can be to an employee's morale. The ability to manage stress and self-confidence go hand-in-hand in my opinion.There may be days where the future of your company is worrisome and things aren't going according to plan. It is important, as a leader, not to panic. Part of your Job is to put out fires and maintain team morale. As a leader, staying calm and confident will help keep the team feeling the same. The team will take its cues from the leader. I have never lacked self -confidence. Stress management, however, is a trait in which I need further development. A leader should be tenacious.There is a tendency sometimes for an employee to ant to â€Å"give up† when the going gets tough. Not a leader! The leader should know the special abilities each team member brings to the table. He has to be able to harness those abilities and bring them to the fore-front so that each team member can reach his full potential. Tenacious leaders grab hold of an idea and refuse to let it go until they reach their goal. It is important to model this behavior to set the proper example. Social intelligence is another necessary ingredient to good leadership.It is critical o be able to understand others so that you can know how to influence them. Being empathetic, tactful, diplomatic, and persuasive are important aspects of social intelligence. I want to be able to empower others by being a strong motivator and a good listener. These are traits that I possess but ther e is definitely room for improvement and refinement. There are people who are respected and worth listening to. This respect is earned by being a person of integrity. Employees seek to follow leaders who are honest and who honor their commitments.I will strive to be fair, honest, candid, and to treat everyone how I would want to be treated. If I am able to exemplify these behaviors I will earn the respect of my employees and colleagues. The encouraging thing is that I feel like I possess or could potentially possess all of these traits. Becoming a good leader is a learning process. I'm encouraged by the notion that leaders are made. This is a great training ground to learn the behaviors off good leader. I am committed to learning how to apply these concepts to my everyday thinking.

Honor Who to Protect?

GBB/GCB 1033 Management and Organizational Behavior Case Study 1 January 2013 Semester Honor Who To Protect? Don Riles, insurance claims adjuster, has the day off. He is playing with his 4-year-old daughter Erica when the telephone rings. At the other end of the line, Don's supervisor, apologizing for interrupting his time off, pleads for his help. Will Don please visit a woman in his neighborhood who has made claims for bodily and mental injury resulting from a car crash with a person insured by Don's company? The woman has consented to a visit from their adjuster to assess the injuries to her nose and mental state. Apparently the crash has caused her to relapse into a condition of paranoia and manic depression, previously stabilized. ) The claims adjuster in charge of the case has called in sick—scheduling the appointment has been difficult. Will Don please fill in? Don agrees readily, but asks if he could bring his daughter—it is their day together while his wife wor ked. Don's supervisor gratefully assures him that bringing the little girl along is no problem. When Don arrives at the woman's house, he discovers no one at home, so he and his daughter wait in the car.Eventually, the woman arrives, parks, and emerges from her car, at which point Erica cries happily, â€Å"It's Miss Anderson! † â€Å"Who is Miss Anderson? † asks her father with surprise. Miss Anderson turns out to be Erica's daycare teacher. Don conducts a short interview with the woman on the front steps of her home, satisfying himself that she does indeed have some facial injuries and that she is taking prescription medicine for her mental problems. Following the interview, Don realizes that he has a real dilemma. Insurance ethics mandates that claims investigations are completely confidential.An insurance professional with knowledge of a claims case is expected to keep silent and to refrain from using the knowledge for personal benefit. On one hand, to uphold his i ndustry's code of ethics, he is not to discuss or act on the information he has received about Miss Anderson's situation. On the other hand, he does not want his daughter under the care of a person who is undergoing treatment for mental illness and who might be dangerous. Don's wife is also an insurance claims adjuster, working for a separate company. Still, even if Don tells her, she is bound by the same professional code of ethics. What should Don do?