WEEK 3

In week 3 we discussed Management's Social and Ethical Responsibilities.
We talked about some social responsible companies.
Starbucks for example is one of the most talked about companies when social responsibility is the subject. It has great benefits for its employee partners, including health-care coverage. It's also been very aware of the needs of small coffee farmers though its CAFE initiative, and it tries to do business in an environmentally aware manner, through actions such as reducing waste with recycled paper sleves instead of double-cupping.
We also went into talking about the ethical dimensions of management, the general ethical principles, and how firms are encouraging ethical conduct in society today. The ten general ethical principles that consciously and unconsciously guide behavior when ethical questions arise are self interests, personal virtues, religious injunctions, government requirements, utilitarian beliefs, universal rules, individual rights, economic efficiency, distribute justice, and contributive liberty.
We also did some research on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that was enacted in 2002 due to several corporate scandals. This act was enacted to keep away large businesses from financial deceptions and misleading their investors and shareholders.

Week 2

During week 2 we discussed some factors of the global economy such as the "The Changing Environment of Management(Diversity, Global Economy, and Technology)" in addition "International Management and Cross-Cultural Competence". In the mist of globalization managers are having to adapt to lot of new issues such as diversity in the workplace and the wide competition from foreign companies and technology. Going on foreign assigments is another issue that some managers face today as they have to move to different countries to expand business for it's current employer. The book explains a little of how that works and how these managers and their families go through cross-cultural training to learn about the culture and people of the specific location they are moving to.

Here is a video of Communication Between Cultures showing some differences and behaviour between eastern and western cultures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EwsNKkVPog&NR=1

Leaders vs. Managers….. Are they really different?

"The debate between leadership and management has been raging for a number of years. I feel that the distinction between management a leadership is useful one, in that it help us gain a better understanding of leadership and causes us to reflect on our own behaviour, asking ourselves, "Are we really leading?" So what are the differences between managers and leaders?
"There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. To manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct. Leading is influencing, guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion. The distinction is crucial" – Warren Bennis
Warren Bennis, in his book "On Becoming a Leader" he describes his view of the differences between managers and leaders as follows:

_The manager administers; the leader innovates.
_The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
_The manager maintains; the leader develops.
_The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
_The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
_The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.
_The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
_The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
_The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon.
_The manager imitates; the leader originates.
_The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
_The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
_The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing."

by George Ambler