krcoburn

The Importance of CI and KM to Leaders

2008-04-18T16:55:11Z

ABSTRACT
In this text, I will discuss the topics of knowledge management and competitive intelligence. This discourse will explain the definition of knowledge management and how it is essential in CI programs. Also, I will cover the importance of these tools to stay informed in the information and communication field.

]]> In the information and communication industry, things are changing every second of every day. Technology is rapidly changing and advancing. Within seconds organizations can be developed with developments in e-commerce and just as fast they can go out of business due to lack of research and preparation. As a leader, I think it is important to pay attention to your surroundings to stay ahead in this century. I believe that with the use of competitive intelligence programs and knowledge management, a leader can surpass their competitors.
Knowledge management can be defined as the transferring of ideas, information and concepts. Knowledge management can also be explained as the transferring of information. Deering states, “effective KM requires seeking diverse data about customers and competitor activities and capitalizing on these data” (Deering, 182). Deering’s perspective of knowledge management appears to come from a competitive intelligence angle. In other words using effective knowledge management skills to gain a competitive advantage.
Within her piece entitled, KM for competitive advantage: mining diverse sources for marketing intelligence, she speaks about the importance of competitive intelligence to an organization. She uniquely refers to her information as “data modeling and mining”(Deering, 182). With the use of human intelligence gathering, it has become easier to make an educated and well-planned decision.
It is becoming increasingly important to exploit the vast amount of knowledge that surrounds us everyday through mediums such as Internet and television. Within the information and communication field, competitive intelligence appears to be a necessity amongst organizations. “In uncertain economic times, a cogent understanding of all the environmental factors impinging on a business is essential to effective strategic positioning”, explains Wayne Rosenkrans, Director of intelligence affairs at AstraZeneca. Rosenkrans goes on to explain the importance of CI within organizations to stay ahead of their competitors and create effective strategies that will benefit the company in the log run. Within the piece, Sounding off CI, three CI professionals are interviewed and asked their opinions on the challenges, opportunities and the future of CI. All three professionals spoke about how CI is more important now than ever (Johnson, 2004, 24).
A consistent theme that I have seen throughout my research is the importance that is placed on establishing the goals and needs of the organization. Deering states, “company goals provide focus both for specific competitor and customer attributes, as well as for the level of the data integrity needed to support the planning time frame”(Deering, 183). The goals of the organization become critical when organizing information for competitive intelligence. The data requirements may shift depending on the time frame.
In Deering’s, KM for Competitive advantage: mining diverse sources for marketing intelligence, she discusses the different methods an organization might use to have the competitive advantage it needs to stay ahead in the telecommunications area. Since you may not know what competitors might do in advance a smart approach to CI, that Deering mentions, is to focus on customers’ reactions to potential offers. This type of data gathering can be overwhelming, but as Deering states, “effective KM requires seeking diverse data about customers and competitor activities and capitalizing on these data” (Deering, 182).
I observed this same method of data gathering while working at the company Best Buy, a worldwide electronics retail store. After researching their customers as well as competitors, they broke down their customers’ into four distinct groups by demographics. These groups are organized by age, sex and hypothesized income. After observing the buying habits of their customers they began to notice a distinct trend. Men over the age of 35 were primarily interested in making large purchases and applying for credit, such as televisions; whereas, young men in their twenties were primarily interested in smaller purchases, for example dvd’s and cd’s. This research and data gathering became critical when preparing specific company offers. As Harry Kolar, Director, Business Intelligence Strategies, of IBM states, “Companies need data to become and remain competitive” (Deering, 198).
Also, Best Buy as a company had learned, through observation of their competitors, that a company has to grow with their customers in order to be successful. For example, Best Buy’s competitor Circuit City has run their business as a commission centered sales. After observing the reactions of customers to this method, they noticed that customers began to have a lack of trust to the sales people in fear of being taken advantage of, and were in general not happy with their shopping experience. Due to this CI research, Best Buy does not pay employees based on commission and makes it their priority to make recommendations based on the customers need not on the amount of commission that will be received from the sale.

Personal Views
I believe that effective KM and CI are essential when competing in the information and communication field. Through my life experiences and research I have grown to understand that the need to know your customer is just as important as knowing your competition. To stay ahead in a field that is in a constant state of change is difficult. Yet, with an efficient CI program it becomes easier to make educated and well planned out decisions that may affect the life and longevity of your business.

Bibliography
Deering, B.J., KM for competitive advantage: mining diverse sources for
marketing intelligence.
Johnson, Arik. Sounding off on CI. KM World, Feb2004, Vol. 13 Issue 2,
p24-25, 2p.
Miller, H. Stephen & Prescott, E. John. (2001). Proven Strategies in Competitive
Intelligence: Lessons from the trenches. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

How to be a leader in Today's Fast Paced World

2008-04-17T21:12:37Z

Abstract
In this text I will discuss the definition of leadership, as other scholars as well as my own personal definition of the term. This discourse will cover the different theories on how leaders come to rise for example situational or environmental factors. This paper also discusses the importance of knowledge management and competitive intelligence in today’s fast paced world.

]]> In the information and communication industry, things are changing every second of every day. Technology is rapidly changing and advancing. Within seconds organizations can be developed with developments in e-commerce and just as fast they can go out of business due to lack of research and preparation. As a leader, I think it is important to pay attention to your surroundings and understand your own leadership style to stay ahead in this century. I believe that with the use of competitive intelligence programs and knowledge management, a leader can surpass their competitors.
The topic of leadership is an extremely complex subject. Scholars for centuries have tried to define the term leadership but there is no correct answer. Ronald Reagan said, “Leadership is to grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership”(Oxford University Press). Typically leadership has been defined by attributes or characteristics that or normally seen in specific examples of leaders. For example, charismatic, outgoing, and confident. As time has passed, the study of leadership has evolved to include the study of the followers and their relationship with the leaders. An example of this is Hollander’s notion of “idiosyncrasy credits” (Wren & Swatez, 1995, 246). Hollander viewed leadership as the followers viewing the leader’s actions in a way that fit their personal needs and expectations (New York Academy of Sciences, 2008).
Through my research I have come to believe that environment, the individuals surroundings, has an outstanding affect on leadership. I believe culture is an important factor in what makes an individual who they are. Culture influences communication, perspective, beliefs, work ethic and priorities. Miscommunication can cause confusion and mayhem in an intense environment (Coburn, 2008). Amanda Haskett, a graduate candidate for the Center for Information and Communication Sciences, states, "When working with a group, an effective leader takes into account the various cultures within the group, and inspires followers to look beyond cultural separations." (Haskett, 2008). It is the duty of the leader to create a solution that works best for his team with diverse backgrounds. Schein states, “If the group’s survival is threatened because elements of its culture have been maladapted, it is ultimately the function of leadership to recognize and do something about the situation” (Schein, 1995, 273).
A tool that I believe is essential for a good leader to understand is knowledge management. Knowledge management can be defined as the transferring of ideas, information and concepts. “Knowledge management and information networking can serve as effective tools to help us find valuable knowledge in a sea of information”, states Amanda Haskett (Haskett, 2008). So in short, knowledge management is directly related to the transferring of information. According to Jay Edwin Gillette, the word information can be defined as “a component of knowledge. It occupies a central position in a scale of knowledge phenomena to wisdom” (Gillette, 2000, Table 2). To delve into the subject a little further I believe since knowledge management relies on information, we must first learn to think clear thoughts. By thinking clear thoughts, to clarify we must be able to think clearly on our own. I believe that critical thinking is essential to knowledge management. It plays an important role in how we obtain our information, create opinions, establish perspectives, and create a base on how we know what we know as leaders and individuals (Coburn, 2008). In The Leader’s Companion, Wren states, “being critical thinkers entails a continual questioning of assumptions. People can never be in a state of complete critical development”(Wren, 1995, 381). As leaders we need to be able to distinguish our own individual beliefs from others, or knowing what we know and how we know it. “Leadership is heading into the wind with such knowledge of oneself and collaborative energy as to move others to follow”(Peters, 1987, 141). Without critical thinking we never learn to challenge others way of thinking, therefore never establishing our own unique personality. This type of individuality sets the leader apart from the crowd (Coburn, 2008). This similar concept can be found in Dr. Gillette’s dissertation on knowledge management, although he calls this concept “wisdom” rather than critical thinking. According to Dr. Gillette, “Wisdom is the ability to discern, to make judgments” (Gillette, 2000, 8).
Competitive Intelligence is an extremely broad field and the wisest of leaders understand that information is power. With globalization and the swift advancing of technology it is becoming more important than ever to take advantage of competitive intelligence methods. A competitive intelligence program can be explained as,
“A CI program can make a valuable contribution to decisions regarding strategic planning, mergers, and acquisitions, regulatory requirement for exporting to new markets, international market penetration, product launching, pricing, recruiting, in new countries, cultural settings, strategic alliances for distribution channels, research and development (R&D) activities, and much more” (Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2005,18).
With the duties of the competitive intelligence program being so broad it is important to narrow a focus based on the individual organizations’ needs. In order to accomplish this, there needs to be involvement from upper-level management, or leaders, with the CI producers. It has been found that the involvement of leadership is important to the success of the CI program and the organization (Prescott & Miller, 2001, 3). Deepak Sivakumar, a Graduate candidate for the Center of Information and Communication Sciences, states, “A leader should not only be reactive but must be proactive” (Sivakumar, 2008). In other words a leader must not only be fast to make decisions but work steadily in the best interest of the company.
Through my research I have grown to understand that a good leader understands the value and utilizes knowledge management and competitive intelligence. I believe that leaders do not rise alone. Followers, culture and environment have a hand in creating that leader. I would have to agree with Hollander, I believe the leader gives its followers a voice and in turn the follower is searching for that individual that fulfills their expectations.

Bibliography
Blenkhorn, David L. & Fleisher, S. Craig. (2005). Competitive Intelligence and
Global Business.
Coburn, Kristina. (2008). Knowledge Management and Critical Thinking.
Retrieved from
http://www.cicsworld.org/blogs/krcoburn/2008/03/knowledge_mgt.html#mo
re on April 1, 2008.
Coburn, Kristina. (2008). Looking Further into Leadership. Retrieved from
http://www.cicsworld.org/blogs/krcoburn/2008/03/knowledge_mgt.html#more on April 1, 2008.
Gillette, Jay. (2000). “Information Knowledge in Motion”: A Practical Framework
for Understanding Knowledge Management.
Haskett, Amanda. (2008). Knowledge Management. Retrieved on April 1, 2008
from http://www.cicsworld.org.
Leadership Perspectives: Influence, Inclusion, and Idiosyncrasy Credit. (2008).
The New York Academy of Sciences. Retrieved on February 4, 2008 from
http://www.nyas.org/events.
Miller, H. Stephen & Prescott, E. John. (2001). Proven Strategies in Competitive
Intelligence: Lessons from the trenches. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Oxford University Press. Leadership Quotes. Retrieved on January 19, 2008
from http://www.oup.com.
Peters, Tom. (1987). Thriving on Chaos. New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Savikumar, Deepak. (2008), CICS seminar.
Schein, Edgar. (1995). Defining Organizational Culture. In The Leaders
Companion (pp.271-281). New York, N.Y. The Free Press.
Swatez, J. Marc & Wren, Thomas J. (1995). The Historical and Contemporary
Contexts of Leadership: A Conceptual Model. In The Leaders Companion
(pp.245-252). New York, N.Y. The Free Press.
Wren, J. Thomas. (1995). The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership
Through the Ages. New York, N.Y. The Free Press.

Competitive Intelligence

2008-04-17T00:31:45Z

ABSTRACT
This discussion covers the definition of competitive intelligence and other scholars’ opinions on the topic. This piece touches briefly on the numerous roles and responsibilities of a competitive intelligence producer. Also, we will discuss the role that knowledge management takes within developing intelligence and some common problems for the CI users and CI producers. It will also cover the importance in narrowing the scope and responsibilities of the competitive intelligence producer in order to address the organizations intelligence needs.

]]> What is Competitive Intelligence?
Due to globalization and the rapid advancing of technology, it is becoming more important than ever to research methods of competitive intelligence. A Competitive Intelligence program can be described as,
“A CI program can make a valuable contribution to decisions regarding strategic planning, mergers, and acquisitions, regulatory requirement for exporting to new markets, international market penetration, product launching, pricing, recruiting, in new countries, cultural settings, strategic alliances for distribution channels, research and development (R&D) activities, and much more” (Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2005,18).
The responsibilities and duties of a competitive intelligence program are extremely broad and almost overwhelming. In order to concentrate and manage resources wisely, the competitive intelligence producer must address the organizations intelligence needs.

Leadership Involvement
From my research on Competitive Intelligence I have learned that involvement from leadership is a significant factor in the success of the CI program and the organization. Prescott and Miller discuss this in a recent study conducted with the American Productivity and Quality Center. This study revealed that upper level management support is significant when establishing a Competitive Intelligence program (Prescott & Miller, 2001, 3).
The involvement of top management or organization leaders is also seen within the KIT (Key Intelligence Topics) process, also known as competitive intelligence needs. KITs are used to better understand the needs of the clients and to organize the role and goals of the CI program. With such a large definition of competitive intelligence and what the job entails, it is highly recommended that the CI professional receive direction of the CI needs of the organization from senior management. “Identifying and prioritizing an organization’s critical CI needs and then focusing on delivering actionable intelligence to meet those needs is critical for both the success of the CI program and for the success of the organization” (Prescott & Miller, 2001, 18).
This identifying and prioritizing the focus of the CI needs involves “interactive dialogue between the CI professionals and key decision-makers of the organization” (Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2005, 18). During this interactive dialogue, also known as KITs interviews, the goal is to identify key strategic issues where intelligence can add value to decision making (Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2005, 18). Once again, this is another situation where communication is critical. By better communicating and establishing a focus the better the CI results. Interviews are maintained throughout the process to “refine the user’s needs and keep communication channels open” (Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2005, 19).

Intelligence Issues
I think Sue Myburgh describes Competitive Intelligence best in her statement, “CI is about mining information sources and using appropriate analytical techniques to put this information together-information becomes intelligence only after it has been analyzed”(Myburgh, 2004, 48). This has been an important issue for users of competitive intelligence involving the credibility or lack of research in intelligence. Prescott and Miller touch on this when discussing the issues between CI users and CI producers. Within this text it explains that the information received is too shallow, meaning that the depth of the research possibly did not go beyond information presented by the media or by competitors. Also, the credibility of the information is questioned due to the possible inexperience of the researcher (Prescott & Miller, 2001, 47).
I consider this a knowledge management issue. Knowledge management is the transferring of ideas, information and concepts. The credibility of the intelligence is jeopardized because the researcher has not achieved a level of wisdom. According to Jay Edwin Gillette, wisdom can be achieved through personal experience. This level of knowledge is considered the highest level of understanding (Gillette, 2000, Table 2). In other words, if the information has not been thoroughly analyzed, how can it be considered intelligence?

Personal Views
Through my research I have found that a profound importance is placed on knowledge management and communication in the field of competitive intelligence. These tools are the building blocks in establishing the intelligence needs of an organization. To successfully assess a business’ needs there must be accurate communication between the leaders within that organization and the CI producers. Also, information or knowledge must be accurately analyzed before it is considered intelligence.

Bibliography
Blenkhorn, David L. & Fleisher, S. Craig. (2005). Competitive Intelligence and
Global Business.
Gillette, Jay. (2000). “Information Knowledge in Motion”: A Practical Framework
for Understanding Knowledge Management.
Miller, H. Stephen & Prescott, E. John. (2001). Proven Strategies in Competitive
Intelligence: Lessons from the trenches. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Myburgh, Sue. (2004). Competitive Intelligence. The Information Management
Journal; Mar/Apr2004, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p46-55.

Knowledge Mgt

2008-03-03T02:25:05Z

Knowledge Management and Critical Thinking
Kristina Coburn

ABSTRACT
This discussion covers the numerous definitions of knowledge management and other professionals’ opinions on this topic. Also, this piece briefly touches on current mediums that are used as communication devices for knowledge. To delve deeper into this discussion, this piece discusses the information beyond definitions on theories and goes to the root of communication. To first communicate information the individual must first think clear thoughts. This is where critical thinking occurs within this subject. By thinking critically as individuals and making good use of our other knowledge management tools were are improving as leaders.
Today the transferring of information and use of knowledge management has become easier with the advancement of information technologies such as the Internet, signal transmission, mobile phones etc. Websites such as youtube.com are frequently visited millions of times a day. No longer do we hear of international news weeks after the event has occurred, with the use of our advanced technologies we are able to see history as it is being made. For example, recently with the Serbian riots, viewers were able to see this controversial burning of the U.S. Embassy through Internet, iPhones and minute-by-minute updates on CNN.

Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is the transferring of ideas, information and concepts. According to Jay Edwin Gillette, the word information can be defined as “a component of knowledge. It occupies a central position in a scale of knowledge from phenomena to wisdom” (Gillette, 2000, Table 2). Wisdom can be achieved through personal experience. This level of knowledge is considered the highest level of understanding. Bill Gates defines knowledge management, as “nothing more than managing information flow, getting the right information to the people who need it so that they can act on it quickly” (Gillette, 2000, 3). Gates’ definition of knowledge management is influenced by a business persuasion.
Since knowledge management relies on information, to cut to the root of the problem I believe we must first think clear thoughts. By being a critical thinker, we have another tool in obtaining knowledge management. As Dr. Gillette suggests knowledge management is the question “How we know what we know”. He explains that epistemology, the theory of knowledge, is based upon the Greek word for knowledge, episteme. I found it interesting that the root of this philosophical word could be defined as “understanding,” what we stand upon (Gillette, 2000, 2).

Critical Thinking
As I have stated before critical thinking is essential in knowledge management. It plays a important role in how we obtain our information, create opinions, establish perspectives, and create a base on how we know what we know as leaders and individuals. Brookfield states,” Being critical thinkers entails a continual questioning of assumptions. People can never be in a state of complete critical development” (Wren, 1995, 381). Without critical thinking things would stay in a stagnant state, where thoughts are not questioned just acknowledged. As leaders we need to be able to distinguish our own individual beliefs from others, or knowing what we know and how we know it.
“Leadership is heading into the wind with such knowledge of oneself and collaborative energy as to move others to follow”, states Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus (Peters, 1987, 141). Without critical thinking we never learn to challenge others way of thinking, therefore never establishing our own unique personality. This type of individuality sets the leader apart from the crowd. This similar concept can be found in Dr. Gillette’s dissertation on knowledge management, although he calls this concept “wisdom” rather than critical thinking. According to Dr. Gillette, “Wisdom is the ability to discern, to make judgments” (Gillette, 2000, 8).
“Knowledge is the foundation for our view of things, and knowledge is the basis of our actions”, quotes Dr. Gillette (Gillette, 2000, 3). I think this quote speaks volumes and is illustrated accurately in his Information in Scale of Knowledge table. Understanding the basis of what we know and how we know it is based primarily on perspective. This is illustrated under the Phenomena category of Dr. Gillette’s table. Phenomena under this context are described in regards to knowledge as “those, which appear to be”. I understand this as how we perceive the information we are mentally digesting. For example, two individuals can see the same speaker and walk away with different information or value that they believed to be important. Perspectives, or as Dr. Gillette calls it, Phenomena, can be described as how we formulate the information that is given to us.

Personal Views
From my research I have come to understand that knowledge management primarily involves the flow of information. Each person has a different take or perspective on that information because it is greatly affected by perspectives and experience. I agree with Dr. Gillette that first we must understand what we know and how we know it. I think this is related to critical thinking, or as Tom Peters describes it, establishing our own unique personality. As leaders we must be able to understand our own thoughts and what we stand for in order to influence followers.

Bibliography
Gillette, Jay. (2000). “Information Knowledge in Motion”: A Practical Framework
for Understanding Knowledge Management.
Wren, J. Thomas. (1995). The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership
Through the Ages. New York, N.Y. The Free Press.
Peters, Tom. (1987). Thriving on Chaos. New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Looking Further into Leadership

2008-02-06T22:46:13Z

ABSTRACT
To further explore the complex topic of Leadership, I will review other broad concepts on this subject. These concepts include studying the environmental influences on leadership, how leadership has been observed throughout history, and compare leaders from the European Renaissance with the leaders of today. By exploring the contexts of leadership and studying how leadership has been defined throughout history, I begin to comprehend more accurately my own personal leadership styles.

]]> Contexts of Leadership
In “The Historical and Contemporary Contexts of Leadership: A Conceptual Model” of The Leader’s Companion, Wren and Swatez try to analyze, through past theories, the true definition of Leadership. To better understand the meaning of Leadership and what it entails, contextual aspects have been assessed. This essay explains the research of not only observing the leader but also the situation (Wren & Swatez, 246).
The study of leadership has advanced and become extremely complex. It has developed from the basic concepts of leadership traits and grown to the study of leader behaviors. Next as the topic became more dynamic this concept has grown to include the study of the followers and their relationship with the leader. An example of this approach is Hollander’s notion of “idiosyncrasy credits” (Wren & Swatez, 249). Hollander viewed leadership as the followers viewing the leader’s actions in a way that would fit their personal needs and expectations (New York Academy of Sciences, 2008).
To take the study of leadership a step further, Wren discusses “situational-contingency”. This concept merges the study of the leader, situation and follower. “Fiedler’s contingency theory includes consideration of such factors as leader-member relations, task structure, and leader position power in determining the appropriate style of leader behavior,” Wren and Swatez explain (Wren & Swatez, 249).
From this research Wren and Swatez went above and beyond to develop a conceptual model for other leadership scholars. This model is consisted of three layers including: the historical context of leadership, the contemporary context of leadership, and the immediate context of leadership. Within the historical context of leadership lies a long-term influence that may affect a situation including political, social or economic environment. An example of these types of influences, I believe, would be war, famine or the political state at the time. For example, if an unfavorable situation arises, such as war, the party in office may receive a negative stigma. Because of this shift in political and social events the people tend to look for a different type of leader to stand up and create a change. Within the contemporary context of leadership represents the “norms, values and customs of the surrounding society”. The last context of leadership includes the immediate context of leadership (Wren & Swatez, 248).
It is evident that environment has been understood to be a factor in leadership. I believe an important factor in what makes an individual who they are is their culture. Culture influences communication, perspective, beliefs, work ethic and priorities. In The Leader’s Companion, the argument is presented that “the unique talent of leaders is the ability to understand and work with culture”(Schein, 273). Differences in perspective can lead to miscommunication and frustration. But as Schein, one of the founders of the field of organizational psychology, suggests having a better understanding of cultural issues in groups can help decipher priorities and perspectives of the individuals. I think Schein explains it best in his statement,
“Culture is the result of a complex group learning process that is only partially influenced by leader behavior. But if the group’s survival is threatened because elements of its culture have been maladapted, it is ultimately the function of leadership to recognize and do something about the situation” (Schein. 273).

European Renaissance Leaders v. Information Renaissance Leaders
Leaders from the European Renaissance are fantastic models to the aspiring leader of the Information Renaissance. Dr. Jay Edwin Gillette, a Professor of Information and Communication Sciences, discusses this in length in his piece entitled Leadership for the Information Renaissance: Clarity, Challenges, Opportunity. Dr. Gillette describes the leaders of yesterday such as Leonardo da Vinci and Vittoria Colonna to be relevant to the Information leader. Although times have changed the basics that are found in leadership appear to remain. For example, Vittoria Colonna, used her relationships and friendships that would be viewed similar to that of “networking” in the business world today. Also, she was involved in political and cultural issues during that time (Gillette, 9).
Although political, cultural and environmental standards were different from that of today’s society, Dr. Gillette explains that the foundation is still present. “These foundation personal and educational attributes lead to professional behaviors we value in the professional world-adaptability and utility”, states Dr. Gillette (Gillette, 9).

Personal Views
As I have stated before, I believe that the meaning of leadership is an extremely sophisticated and complex topic. Knowing the historical background and studying others views on the subject help to create a more solid and educated understanding. I believe that leaders do not rise alone. Followers, culture and environment have a hand in creating that leader. The leader gives its followers a voice and in turn the follower is searching for that individual that fulfills their expectations.

Bibliography
Gillette, Jay. (2006). Leadership for the Information Renaissance: Clarity,
Challenges, Opportunities.
Leadership Perspectives: Influence, Inclusion, and Idiosyncrasy Credit. (2008).
The New York Academy of Sciences. Retrieved on February 4, 2008
from http://www.nyas.org/events.
Schein, Edgar. (1995). Defining Organizational Culture. In The Leaders
Companion (pp.271-281). New York, N.Y. The Free Press.
Swatez, J. Marc & Wren, Thomas J. (1995). The Historical and Contemporary
Contexts of Leadership: A Conceptual Model. In The Leaders Companion
(pp.245-252). New York, N.Y. The Free Press.
Wren, J. Thomas. (1995). The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership
Through the Ages. New York, N.Y. The Free Press.

Leadership

2008-01-23T22:48:36Z

Abstract
The following paper discusses the different aspects and definitions that create the concept of leadership. To first create my own theory on the definition of leadership, I have researched other scholars’ thoughts on this topic. To truly understand the concept of leadership, I must understand where the idea originated and how it was defined through history. Also, during my research on leadership, I found there is a substantial amount of information defining management and leadership and explaining how the two concepts relate. My theory on leadership is a compilation of the theories of other scholars combined with my personal and professional experiences.

Definitions of Leadership
I think Ronald Reagan states it best in his statement, “Leadership is to grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership” (Oxford University Press). According to J. Thomas Wren, the author of The Leader’s Companion,
“Leadership has been conceived as the focus of group processes, as a matter of personality, as a matter of introducing compliance, as the exercise of influence, as particular behaviors, as a form of persuasion, as a power relation, as an instrument to achieve goals, as an effect of interaction, as a differentiated role, as initiation of structure” (Wren, 38).
Throughout history, leadership has been defined by specific attributes that a leader is thought to have. There is not a right or wrong definition of leadership, but it is important to know the roots and history behind the term.

Leaders Throughout History
According to the text, The Leader’s Companion, the word “leader” dates back as early as the year 1300 but the word “leadership” did not appear until the first half of the nineteenth century. Written principles were created as early as 5,000 years ago in Egyptian hieroglyphics for leadership (seshemet), leader (seshemu) and the follower (shemsu) (Wren, 50). Leaders during that time were seen as prophets, kings, priests, and chiefs. It seems as though blood and class played an important role in defining leadership during that period.
The Greeks described leaders as heroic and inspirational individuals. An example of this is seen in Homer’s Iliad. During this age, aspects of leadership were defined by, “justice and judgment, wisdom and counsel, shrewdness and cunning, and valor and activism” (Wren, 50).
Hegel believed that in order to be an effective leader you must first act as a follower to understand where the followers are coming from (Wren, 50). I believe Hegel understood that in order to fully serve the people, you must initially know first hand the important issues that affect the people you are serving.

Leader vs. Manager
As it has been shown throughout history, there are many dissertations on the definition of leadership. When analyzing the concept of leadership, I questioned, is leadership the same as today’s managers? What I have discovered is there is a vast difference between the two types of individuals.
Leaders are seen as innovators, individuals that have a vision and inspire their following. The attributes of leaders that come to mind are charismatic, enlightening, passionate, risk taker or proactive. Leaders tend to take risks and push against the grain in the hopes of achieving a long-term goal or vision. Manager may be described as organize, stability, practice oriented and avoids conflict. After comparing the roles and attributes of leaders compared to managers, I wondered, can leaders be managers?
I do believe that a manager can be a leader and vice versa but not all managers can act as a leader. A blog on Leadership v. Management describes this idea as, “a leader is someone who knows where to go. Management skills are how they actually get there.” (McCarthy, 2008). This may take a little give and take between the two personality qualities in order to maintain balance. Imagine the qualities of management and leadership being weighed on a scale. For example, a manager can be passionate and be leading their workers toward a specific vision. A manager can be motivated and create a sense of urgency but to keep the business afloat they must maintain order and also obtain a good social standing. Leaders have historically been known to veer away from traditional views and rise up with a new perspectives and beliefs. This can create hostility amongst others that are not willing to change. I believe the test of a great manager is one that can incorporate their leadership qualities into their work.

The above is a visual of the balancing of management qualitites and leadership tendencies (ICS 655 Seminar).

Personal View on Leadership
The term leadership throughout history has molded into many different meanings. What I have learned from my research is that one cannot pinpoint the exact definition of a leader, but can create their own ideas. I view a leader to be a person that is a visionairy, that works for a long term goal. Martin Luther King, for example, had his vision or dream. He led by example, created a following, and made an impact on history. I believe the test of a great leader is if their vision can break through the boundaries of communication and make their dream, your dream.

Bibliography
Wren, J. Thomas. (1995). The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership
Through the Ages. New York, N.Y. The Free Press.
McCarthy, Dan. (2008). Leadership vs. Management. Retrieved on January 19,
2008 from http://www.leadership501.com/node/4/leadership-vs-
management.
Oxford University Press. Leadership definition. Retrieved on January 19, 2008
from http://www.oup.com.
ICS 655 Seminar. Muncie, IN. 16, January, 2008.

NCTA v. BrandX

2007-12-04T18:07:28Z

Download file

I thought this brief overview of the NCTA case would be beneficial for everyone in ICS642 next semester.

Are we Information Renaissance Men?

2007-12-04T17:25:10Z

When researching the renaissance men of the european renaissance, I found that Leonardo de Vinci and Michelangelo were considered the renaissance men of that time period. I wonder who would be considered the renaissance men of the information renaissance. Would it be Bill Gates? Or would we be considered the Renaissance men of our time. Since calloborative community we all can now spread our information and share our array of knowledge.

It has been argued that with the fast spread of information, that the quality of information that is being spread is going down. That scholarly work has been replaced with what Dr. Steele calls "Vanity crap" such as youtube.com and myspace.com. As Tom Pike discusses in his book "Information Renaissance" the quality of this communication must aspire to excellence. With the advantages of callaborative community exposure has increased tremendously. The question is are we holding up to the definition given in Leonardo da Vinci's day? I would have to say in CICS we are.

More on Information Renaissance

2007-12-04T16:09:18Z

When researching Information Renaissance I came across a review on a book entitled "Information Renaissance" by Tom Pike. In his book he urges for his readers to reach "Information Excellence". He explains that with Information rapidly increasing it is become more important for this medium to work for a company instead of against it. He states that otherwise, managing the systems development project will be like "the cruise director on the Titanic. His book has step by step guidelines that help users to bring back the quality in their information.

I didn't realize how fast technology was changing until I read Nick Clark's blog. According to this research "the amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years. For students starting a four-year technical or college degree, this means that… half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study. By 2010, it is predicted to double every 72 hours". I ran into this concept quite frequently after graduating from the Telecommunications Department at Ball State. Since, Ball State prides itself on being the leading in technology, I was trained in the best and most current production software and programs at the time. The problem with this is that especially in Indiana, there is not enough of a budget out in the work place to keep up with the constantly changing technology. Therefore everything I was trained on did not exist in the workplace and I guess I would consider myself "spoiled" with great technology.

Information Renaissace

2007-12-03T19:15:18Z

This is definately the information age. As the European Renaissance was a cultural movement so is the Information Renaissance. Today, information is at our fingertips. With the click of a button I can learn about the European Renaissance from the popularly advanced Wikipedia. Information is passed from user to user within seconds. This movement has definately leveled the playing field around the world. With popular community sites such as facebook and myspace we are able to make friends in Mexico and Europe. By accessing youtube.com I can now post videos for my family across the country. Wikipeadia defines the information age as, " alludes to the global economy's shift in focus away from the production of physical goods (as exemplified by the industrial age) and toward the manipulation of information" (wikipedia, 2007).

Having this type of immediate information could be considered a blessing or a burden. The increase in mobility and technology has caused many distractions in everyday tasks. For example, the use of cell phones and ipods while crossing intersections have been banned in some areas, including New York City, because of the increase in injuries and mortalities to pedestrians. In the City there has been a drastic increase in pedestrian fatalities with 170 deaths in 2006. The fatality rate has increased to almost 9 percent compared to the previous year, Although the reasons for the pedestrian fatalities have not been recorded by the city’s Department of Transportation the recent popularity of the mobile devices have been known to distract their users.

Fanelli, James. (2007, February 8). Tuned out? No iPod Xing, pol says. Newsday, p.A06.
Wikipedia (2007). Retrieved on December 3, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Age.

European Renaissance

2007-11-20T20:11:43Z

According to Wikipedia, the word renaissance comes from the French meaning "rebirth". This cultural movement lasted from the 14th century to the 17th century. The movement first began in Italy and then moved across Europe. The European Renaissance was best known for its Intellectual pursuit in art and painting. Some considered it a break from Mideival thought and practice where some thought of the time as pessimism and nostalgia of the classical times.

Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo's contribution during this era coined the term "Renaissance Men". Since Dr. Gillette constantly refers to himslef as a "renaissance man" I began to wonder what this term actually means. This word is found in relation to "polymath" and "Homo Universalis". This term can be used to describe a person that is "well educated or who excels, in a wide variety of subjects or fields"(Wikipedia, 2007).

I would like to think that I am a "renaissance woman" or in the training to be one. I have always had a wide range of interests. This range goes from technology to musical theatre and back to sociology. I guess all of CICS masters candidates could be considered “Renaissance men and women” since our program trains and almost morphs us into well-rounded diverse individuals.

Wikipedia (2007). Retrieved on November 28, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath.

My Theory on Human Communication

2007-11-09T03:55:49Z

Methods of Communication
In order establish my own definition of Human Communications, I first had to analyze the different ways to communicate, and if that really is considered communicating effectively. One can achieve communication through non-verbal communication or body language, and verbal communication. Within this theory I have chosen to combine oral and written communication along with verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication is the most basic form of communication. This form of communicating can only be transmitted through sight. Non-verbal communication can be considered gesturing or body language. This can be as simple as crossing your arms or slamming down your fist. Without communicating verbally an emotion such as anger can be perceived to a second party through transmitters mannerisms.
Verbal communication can be defined as communicating by words and or writing. This style of communication is considered the most common and is often mistaken as the only method of communicating. An example of verbal communication can be seen with two people having a conversation. In verbal communication there must be a transmitter and a receiver. According to Introduction to Communications Technologies: A guide for non-engineers, the basis of human communication can be found in “ a type of transmit/ receive/ confirms format” . Within this definition of Human Communication the transmit is considered the individual sending the information or beginning the conversation and the receiver is the person that is being spoken to and then finally understands and acknowledges.
According to the Shannon Weaver model of communication, communication must first start by leaving the source and traveling through a channel. An example of a channel may include air, fiber optic, or cable. The message must then be sent to the second party to encode the information, this could also be thought of as understanding the message sent from the source. After encoding the message the sink, or second party in this situation, must decode the message to have an appropriate response. Then repeating the action and go through the channel once again .

Beyond the Words
The next step to obtaining effective communication is to accomplish understanding. In order to accomplish this a common language must exist. For example, if the source sends a message in French but the second party only speaks English, communication cannot take place. Technology can be seen as an example of this concept, if a message is sent from a computer but the second computer that is being sent the message is not equipped to translate the code message, the communication fails.
Efficient human communication involves more than speaking to another party, stomping your feet, or sharing a common language. In order to obtain clarity of the conversation, the significance or meaning of the message must be known . Without fully understanding the reason behind the message a person cannot respond appropriately in the conversation. To achieve effective communication the receiver must be considered “on the same page” as the transmitter. Imagine, the receiver being a blank page with no predisposed ideas or beliefs and then the transmitter communicating their thought and the receiver perceiving the idea the same as the transmitter. This level of communication is extremely difficult to master and is extremely rare. Since as individuals we all perceive things in different ways, this makes this level of communicating complex.
The art of human communication is an intricate subject. To truly communicate more than the definitions of the basic methods of communication must be acknowledged. An alteration of perspective must exist between the parties involved. By combining multiple theories and adding my own personal experiences and beliefs, I have established my own theory on the definition of human communication.

Bibliography
Jones, Stephan & Kovac, Ron. (2003). Introduction to Communications Technologies: A
Guide for Non-Engineers. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press LLC.
Gillette, Jay. ICS 602 seminar. Muncie, IN. 20, August, 2007.

Failure

2007-11-05T17:40:26Z

I have been thinking alot about the word failure and how it impacts our society. According to Wikipedia, Failure is defined as "referring to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective" (www.wikipedia.com). As we have talked about in ICS602 failure is not usually discussed because we usually do not want to be thought of as a failure. Dr.Gillette usually describes the word "failure" as the dirty "F" word. I think if individuals were more open with their so-called failures in life then others following in their footsteps can learn from their mistakes. I do agree with Dr. Gillette that we should welcome failure and taking chances because without taking chances we never know what we are made of. At this weekends placement seminar a speaker stated "Never allow the risk of failure to overpower the opportunity to succeed". I think this quote is a great statement to live by and I will state that I am also guilty of fearing failure rather than taking chances at times. This program has taught me that I need to constantly be challenging myself in order to grow as an individual and if I always stay in my comfort zone because I fear failing than I will stay stagnant.

Another quote that I think is profound is "Our only competition is ourselves". I think alot of what people view as failure in life is when they compare themselves to other individuals in life. Where it is good to strive in life and have goals it is also good to look at how far you have come in life. I believe it is better to analyze our individual growth than compare ourselves to others. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and where one person may be stronger in technical information the other may be more of a leader.

Placement Seminar

2007-11-05T17:21:25Z

I took some notes based off of the speakers and alumni this past weekend on thought that this might be beneficial information for my colleagues as well. Our alumni Scott Daniels put my group through a rigorous and challenging interview process to give us a feel of the kind of questions or interview methods that we might come across during our interviews.

Some examples of questions he asked are as follows:
How much money do you want?
What would be an ideal day at work for you?
Give some examples or situations in which you were a leader?
If you were trying to close a sale with an individual but they told you they did not want to be bothered, what would you do?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
What makes you happy?
Other than what is on your resume, what should I know about you?
Why should I hire you?
How would you define a leader?
Why should I hire you over your peers?

Also, a question that he liked to be asked was...
What would be the next step in the interviewing process?

The day was informative and good practice before heading out into the business world. I highly recommend it.

Culture and its effects on Human Communication

2007-10-29T20:02:24Z

Recently I wrote on the subject briefly on how human communication is greatly affected by culture. Littlejohn states, "what we perceive, how we understand, and how we act are very much shaped by the language of our culture" (Littlejohn, 2007). I saw great examples of this while I visited Mexico with a friend over this past summer. The differences in culture, communication and the importance of different things among cultures. For example, the United States and England are extremely time oriented. The centerpieces of our town and cities are gigantic and historical clocks whereas in Mexico time is not emphasized, extravagant beautiful churches are the centerpieces of society. While traveling in Talatenango, Mexico most individuals did not even know the time when asked. It seemed to me that importance was placed primarily on family, living and religion in Mexico.

While visiting at my friends house a neighbor in the village had passed away. I found it interesting that the bell of the church would ring to announce this event for everyone to say a prayer and morn for their lost loved one. The street outside of the family's home was blocked off and for a week friends and family prayed outside and spoke of memories. They took the time to recognize the passing of this person and were able to later move on after spending lengthy and comforting time with close friends and family.

I also learned the cultural differences in making eye contact. Within each town in Mexico exists a type of town square. In the evening this becomes the social center of the town where most teens and young adults come to socialize, eat, shop and date. The significance of eye contact and body language play a great role in the dating traditions in their culture. My friends mother explained the tradition to me as the girls will walk in one direction around the square and the boys would walk in the opposite direction along the outside of the square. After making eye contact witheachother numerous times this lets the boy know you are interested in having a date with him and then they will begin walking the square together.

The way of living in the Mexican culture is drastically different from that of the United States. I have to admit I found their unorganized but centered way of living somewhat more attractive then the hustled, deadline filled life of America.