People want leaders to assist them in accomplishing their goals. Organizations want leaders to not only motivate, but to provide organizational direction for employees to follow. According to Kouzes and Posner (1994), five key behaviors for what is wanted of leaders from both people and organizations are: "(a) challenge the process, (b) inspire a shared vision, (c) enable others to act, (d) model the way, and (e) encourage the heart" (Kouzes and Posner, 1994, 960). This is the basic rubric we will use to evaluate the efficacy of Obama and Hayward in their overall approach to the oil spill issue. Tony Haywood Background and Response -- Tony Hayward is a British businessman and joined British petroleum as a rig geologist in 1982, quickly rising through the ranks in a number of increasingly complex roles, finally becoming the CEO of the company in May 2007. His tenure ended with BP in October 2010, largely due, most believe, because of the circumstances and his management of the BP oil crisis in the Gulf (Milmo, 2010). Perhaps Hayward was hoping for a quick fix, or did not quite understand the enormity of this crisis, because he initially downplayed the incident by referring to a "very big ocean" and a "relatively tiny" amount of oil leaked with a potential impact as "very modest" (Webb, 2010). Needless to say, over the course of the next several weeks, that "very modest" impact seemed like an inappropriate response. It was not that Hayward lacked empathy for the situation, but it seemed the crisis so integrated his personal life that he found that an appropriate example for the world. On May 27th he changed his view from modest to an "environmental catastrophe," and on May 30th told a reporter, "we're...
Widely criticized as a selfish comment, it was likely not made in that vein, but certainly phrased in a way that may have seen more victim than leader. Subsequently, on June 2nd, Hayward apologized for the "hurtful and thoughtless comment when I said that I wanted my life back" (BP Chief Apologizes, 2010).
More precisely, "color blind racism created a paradox for presidential candidate Barack Obama. While he could not escape "race" his candidacy strategically figured "race" through color blind rhetoric that contained the threat of a black presidency. In spite of his campaign's efforts to avoid his racialization, "Obama" was alternately racialised and deracialized through his affective ties The tactics used by Obama through the application of the deracialization theory may have
Steele's warning however appears to be negated by the fact of Obama's success. While there are indeed lapses in his discipline, these can be said to serve only as an indicator of Mr. Obama's humanity, connecting him more closely rather than alienating him from his followers. Other authors also point out some potentially problematic factors in Obama's campaign and policy issues. According to Gerring and Yesnowitz, for example, Obama has
The second would be his candid portrayal of his own faults, including the use of cocaine -- not something a politician would want to admit. The last would be the title of this book. The fact that Obama found inspiration from a father who was a drunk, a Ph.D., and who abandoned him and bothered to see him only once as a child, is a statement, I believe, of a
..we've got to make sure the economic stimulus plan is large enough to get the economy moving.... we need to be rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels" along with building "fuel-efficient cars and alternative energy technologies that can free America from dependence on foreign oil..." (District Chronicles, 2008). Autos) the multi-billion dollar line of credit that Congress
Instead, the Web site is user-centered. Just as the catchy campaign slogan at the top reads, "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours." The interactive content of the Barack Obama Web site and the links to activist sites reflect the central theme of the Obama campaign. Visitors to the site are placed in
Unemployment stands at a respectable 4.6%. Well, fine. But the other side of the ledger groans with distress: a tax code that has become hideously biased in favor of the rich; a national debt that will probably have grown 70% by the time this president leaves Washington; a swelling cascade of mortgage defaults; a record near-$850 billion trade deficit; oil prices that are higher than they have ever been;
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