One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.

One Number to Ring All Your Phones: Google Resurrects GrandCentral Service

With no news for so many months after Google bought GrandCentral Communications in July 2007, a lot of people thought it might be one more Google acquisition that ended up getting shut down. But the service, which essentially gives you one number for all your phones, has risen anew as Google Voice, launching in limited release to current GrandCentral users starting March 12 and more widely in a few weeks.

The free service, whose former incarnation was reviewed positively by my colleague Arik Hesseldahl and by the New York Times, gives you a single phone number that, when called, can ring one or several of your other phone numbers as you choose, so you’re no longer tethered to a single work, home, or mobile number. The phone numbers are available in most U.S. area codes, though not internationally.

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A Baron's Four I's Analysis based in the International Herald Tribune article entitled "Little done to stop racism in European football". Analysis by TAR.

Issues

Safety/Abuse of Minority Players on and off the field: From the minor football leagues of Serbia to the major European competitions, such as the Champion’s League, prejudice has plagued European football from the Mediterranean to the Ural Mountains. Whether this includes racial chants on the field, or physical harassment off the field, this has been an increasingly problematic issue for the sport. This issue stems primarily from interest group activity. It is a small minority of devoted fans that are causing the vast majority of racial abuse issues. This issue has grown out of proportion fairly recently with the spread of a number of football leagues all throughout Europe, and therefore is still in the early stages of its life cycle.

Fighting Racism in European Football: While many have acknowledged that racism is a significant problem in European football, this issue of how to best address it remains up for debate. Football officials have condemned fan racism and issued fines, but have not been willing to penalize teams through disqualifications, reductions in points, and stopping matches. The measures currently being implemented have been of limited effectiveness. The issue once again stems from interest group activity, and while a number of measures have been proposed to combat this, a unanimous agreement on how to best address the issue in unlikely. Like the previous issue, combating racism on the football field is still something in the early stage of its life cycle.

Euro 2012 Football Tournament in Poland/Ukraine: Among the most problematic areas with regard to racism remains Eastern Europe/Russia. With Ukraine and Poland co-hosting the Euro 2012 football tournament some observers are worried at the increasing racist activity in the region. Many want action to be taken, but are unsure what exactly can be done. As the previous issue, this one also stems from interest group activity, and since it is directly related to one event, is still very early in its life cycle.

Continue reading "Chant we all just get along?" »

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Analysis by N. al Madeed.

Theoretical Overview:There are countless reasons why conflicts occur in organizations. Conflicts can have negative outcomes that organizations try to eliminate. There are several techniques of managing intergroup conflict it can be done through resolution, negotiation, simulation or team building. I will focus on the subcategories of solving conflict through resolution. They are:

1. Problem solving: This is a confrontational approach, which reduces tension, identifies problems, and resolves them, face-to-face.

2. Superordinate goals, these are goals that cannot be achieved without cooperation of the conflicting groups.

3. Expansion of resources, this technique follows the idea that limited resources are a cause of conflict, and expanding resources may be a way to resolve conflict.

4. Avoidance of the conflict is a short-run solution. It does not resolve or eliminate the conflict, and the conflict has to be faced eventually.

5. Smoothing, a technique that stresses the common interest of the conflicting parties. The point is to emphasize a shared viewpoint on a certain issue and deemphasize the conflicting parties' differences.

6. Compromise, a traditional method for resolving intergroup conflictsin which a compromised is achieved and there is no distinct winner or loser, nor a party to blame completely.

7. Authoritative command, this means that the managers will use their power to end the conflict as they see fit.

8. Altering the human variable, this involves trying to change the person's behavior. It focuses on the cause of the conflict and the attitudes of the parties involved. It is more difficult.

9. Altering the structural variables: involves changing the formal structure of the organization to end the conflict.

10. Identifying a common enemy: this technique temporary resolves the issue and the parties unite to fight a common enemy.

Episode description. In this episode House's team faces an ethical dilemma. And Dr. Foremen (one of three doctors on House's team) takes the liberty to write an article using Cameron's idea; conflict ensues.

Continue reading "Managing Group and Intergroup Conflict in House, M.D, S01E18" »

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Analysis by N. al Madeed.

Theoretical Overview. Stress is defined as "feeling tense, anxious or worried"; stress can be a response or stimulus. In class, we identified causes of stress as stressors that are "actions, situations, or events that place special demands on a person". Furthermore, we categorized stressors into (1) individual stressors (2) group and organizational stressors. Stressors that are applicable to this video include:

• Role conflict: Occurs when an individual’s compliance with a new set of rules and being tore by conflicting demands from a supervisor about the job or being pressured to get along with people. Also, role conflict occurs when work and non-work roles interfere for one another. Role conflict can result from organizational policies or even other persons, whatever the cause; it can be a major stressor to some people.

• Intra- and Intergroup relationships: stress occurs when there are poor relations within and between groups. This may be a result of low trust and supportiveness as well as lack of cohesiveness.

• Organizational politics: a high level of political actions within the organization may result in stress. It is among the top stressors in organizations, as political activity can create power struggles, game playing and friction. This heightens the amount of dysfunctional conflicts and increases stress.

• Downsizing: this includes layoffs, early retirement or attrition. It puts a great amount of stress on all employees as their job is in danger.

However, moderators play a big factor in how a person perceives and reacts to stressors and stress. Things such as personality, sex and social support, these factors are all such moderators. Also, stress results in an array of outcomes that can be behavioral, cognitive or even physiological.

Synopsis. A morbidly obese ten-year-old girl has a heart attack, and her mother insists that House and his team look past her weight to find the diagnosis. Meanwhile, Vogler pressures House to fire a member of his staff. Clinic Patients: Unidentified man with an infected pierced scrotum; overweight woman with a 30-pound tumor on her ovaries who refuses to have it removed, because she worries she will be unattractive.

Continue reading "Stress and Stressors in House, M.D. S01E16" »

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Theoretical Overview.Power has several underlying effects on social interaction within an organization, and how the organization operates. The book defines power as the ability to get others to do what one wants them to do. And we learnt in class that power divides into several subcategories, I will be focusing on one of them; interpersonal power. Interpersonal power divides into: (1) Legitimate power (2) Reward power (3) Coercive Power (4) Expert power (5) Referent power. I have perceived a power clash within the video, and have chosen to focus on the different kinds of power present, and how they are played out.

Synopsis.Series description. House M.D. is staged in a hospital where Dr. Gregory House is a brilliant, sarcastic doctor whom is devoid of any bedside manner and borders on antisocial. However, Dr. House, the head of diagnostic department, thrives under pressure and races the clock to solve cases that other doctors give up on. Episode description. I will be using the pilot episode from season one. In this episode House is introduced as a man with a lot of experience. There is a clear clash of power in this pilot episode, which will be my focus within the episode.

Continue reading "Bases of Interpersonal Power in House, S01E01" »

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Analysis by H. Abbas

Theory. Leadership is defined as an attempt to use influence to motivate individuals to accomplish one or more goal(s). The effectiveness of this leader is dependent on numerous abilities, personality traits and motivational factors.

Abilities are certain learned skills and/or experiences that enable a person to lead. An example of this is intelligence, a high achievement on the IQ test, where certain studies showed that leaders are more intelligent than followers.

A second trait that appears to identify leaders is Motivation where Leaders seem to exhibit a relatively high need for power, but they act on that need in socially acceptable ways. Some leaders know how to choose their words wisely as to motivate their people or their followers into achieving the goals they want.

The last and more important trait that identifies leaders in this video is Personality Traits. Some people have certain innate traits that enable them to be socially-favored or preferred to other people. Some people have a charisma (Greek for gift) that appears to influence others. Some traits also include alertness, energy level, tolerance for stress, emotional maturity, self-confidence and originality.

Synopsis.Ugly Betty is a television series, taken from a Latin-American series called (Betty, La Fea). Betty Suarez, originally a Latin-American, is a Queens University graduate and she has absolutely no fashionable taste or beauty. However, she is very smart and this is why she was hired by Bradford Meade, in charge of Mode Magazine which is a fashion magazine, as Daniel Meade(his son)’s personal assistant. She proves herself and her intelligence until she becomes really in charge and Daniel is very dependent on her.

She lives with her father (Ignacio), her sister (Hilda) and her sister’s son (Justin). Her sister is the typical Latina girl who is young and hot but isn’t as smart as Betty. She worked in selling hair products but then she lost her job because of customers’ complaints about the product and she looks for work but can’t find any. So she asks Betty if she can work with her in her office and Betty refuses but then is forced to let her work with her in Fashion Week.

Continue reading "Leadership Traits in Ugly Betty, S01E14" »

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Analysis by A. Obeidah.

Theory. A group is a collection of individuals in which behavior and/or performance of one member influenced by behavior and/or performance of other members. A group can be formal or informal. Formal groups are those created by managerial decisions to accomplish certain stated goals. On the other hand, informal groups arise from individual efforts and develop around common interests and friendships rather than deliberate design. One type of formal groups is the task group which includes individuals who come together to complete a particular task or project. Interest groups are one form of informal groups. Usually, the interest group members tend to achieve a mutual objective. They want to present a unified front to some other parties such as management in an organization. However, some task groups can be considered as a team where two or more individuals come together to achieve a certain task. One type of teams is referred to as a Cross-Functional Team in which individuals from different work areas i.e. different skills, come together to achieve a certain goal.

Groups and teams are formed for different reasons. For example, they are formed because the members of these groups have a common goal, and they realize that forming a group will have greater benefits such as economic benefits. Moreover, individuals create teams to enhance productivity if these individuals of different technical or functional skills.

Additionally, the formation and development of a group can be described in stages as the Five Stage Model suggests. These stages include:

1. Forming: Breaking the ice and getting acquainted stage.
2. Storming: Conflict phase because members are arguing and debating.
3. Norming: The group starts to work more effectively.
4. Performing: Group structure and hierarchy are in place.
5. Adjourning: Group starts to disband since goals have been achieved.

At this point, it is important to mention that within any group, the structure of that group starts to evolve over time. This happens because the group members are differentiated according to some criteria but most importantly because of their expertise. Having the structure setup, each group member starts to take a certain role in order to achieve the desired goal(s).

Continue reading "Stages of Group Development in Ocean's 11" »

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Theory: Diversity is the vast array of physical and cultural differences that constitute the spectrum of human differences. Diversity has two forms: primary and secondary. Primary diversity has six dimensions. They are: age, ethnicity, gender, physical attributes, race, and sexual/ affectional orientation. Secondary diversity concerns the differences that people acquire, discard, modify through their lives. Dimensions of secondary diversity include educational background, martial status, religious beliefs, health disabilities, and work experience . In general, I would say that diversity is an important part to have in a group or organization because it affects performance. In other words, diversity, especially the secondary form of it, can be a major player in deciding the success of certain objects. For example, having a crew in which members are specialized in their jobs would help the crew to achieve their goals.

Synopsis. In the Ocean’s Eleven movie, Ocean decides to steal three casinos, but to do that he realizes his need for other people to help him. So, he finds Rusty, apparently an old friend of his, and then they starts to seek people who own different and diverse sets of skills. This is shown from minutes 18 to 28.

Continue reading "Diversity in Ocean's Eleven (11)" »

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Analysis by A. Obeidah.

Theory. Leadership is an attempt to use influence to motivate individuals to accomplish some goal. More specific terms and theories come under the broad concept of leadership. One major theory is the trait theory of leadership. This theory is an attempt to identify specific characteristics such as physical, mental, and personality traits, associated with leadership success. It relies on research that relates various traits to certain success criteria. Some of the most important characteristics that the trait theory talks about are Abilities, Personality traits, and Motivation .

Synopsis. Ocean’s Eleven is a perfect example to portray the above mentioned theories. The story is as follows: a man called Daniel Ocean (Ocean) had been released on parole after a four year jail sentence for theft. Ocean immediately starts planning a robbery that targets a high security vault shared by three Las Vegas casinos. He tracks down his right hand man and together they assemble a team of eleven men, including an explosives expert, a pickpocket par excellence, two getaway drivers, a card sharp, a geeky electronics genius and a Chinese acrobat. However, as the story unfolds, Danny decides to get his ex-wife back and bankrupt the man she is dating who turns out to be the owner of the casinos.

Continue reading "Leadership in Ocean's Eleven" »

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Analysis by H. Nedjari and S. Kamel.

Whistle Blowing
Political behavior refers to the behavior “outside the normal power system, designed to benefit an individual or a subunit” (page 300). Mintzberg and others describe the individuals who exhibit these kinds of behaviors as “playing political games”. In fact, Mintzberg has developed a theory that consists of 13 different political games. One of these games is Whistle-Blowing. This occurs when an individual identifies a behavior that violates his psychological contract and then goes on to blow the whistle. In other words, the person “informs someone about an organization practice or behavior that violates the law or conflicts with a personal value or belief.”(Page 305)

Synopsis.The segments in the movie where our terms will be found are:
Whistle-Blowing – 18:42. Looking at the definition from the book, there was one main scene where whistle-blowing occurred. At this scene, the whistle -blower, V, reveals to the public what he believes in.

Continue reading "Whistle-Blowing in "V for Vendetta"" »

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Analysis by H. Nedjari and S. Kamel

Theory. A psychological contract is usually established whenever a person is considered to be part of a particular organization. In fact, it is an “implied understanding of mutual contributions between a person and his/her organization” (page 122).
Whenever a person feels that his/her organization has failed to keep up with the promises made, the trust level held by the employee towards the organization as well as the feelings of goodwill, are critically affected in a negative way. In fact, Psychological Contract Violation is defined as “the perception of the person that his/her firm has failed to fulfill or has reneged on one or more obligations”(page 122) which can cause the person to loose trust in his organization and hence, take actions against it.

Synopsis. There is one main scene where it is emphasized more than any other. In fact, this scene, although it comes late in the movie, it explains the existence of V and the reasons behind his actions -57:50. Another long scene is from: 1:11:10 to 1:20:00 where V tells a true story about one of the effected victims.

Continue reading "Psychological Contract Violation in "V for Vendetta"" »

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Theory. Type C managers. The every-day activities of managers are closely tied to their ability to communicate effectively. Their jobs involve giving commands, instructions, influencing others’ behaviors, and persuading people to do things crucial to efficient performance. Therefore, how a person communicates, and what their personality pushes them to do, affects their success as leaders.

One type of personality is described as being “type C” behavior. It’s identified as the behavior of people “who value their own ideas and opinions but not the ideas and opinions of others; usually not effective communicators (p.442).” These people are often arrogant and mainly interested in maintaining their own sense of importance and prestige and therefore, they are ineffective communicators and usually have subordinates that are “hostile, insecure, and resentful (p.442).”

Synopsis. Segments in the movie showing lots of type C managerial behaviors are: 11:00, 57:07, 1:04 up to 1:08 shows an extreme example of type C behavior, 1:46. You can see that as the level of stress increases for this manager throughout the movie, the exhibition of type C behavior increases and becomes more extreme.

Continue reading "Type "C" Managers in "V for Vendetta"" »

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Analysis by H. Nedjari and S. Kamel.

Theory: A mentor is “a friend, coach, advisor or sponsor who supports, encourages, and helps a less experience protégée (p.46).” A mentor usually has an influence on their protégée’s life or career, and the mentoring relationship may be important in socializing a person. Phases of the mentoring relationship include:

• Initiation – a period where the relationship gets started and begins to have importance for mentor and protégée.
• Cultivation – a period during which the career and psychological functions expand to a maximum.
• Separation – time after a significant change in the structural role and/or in the emotional experience of the relationship.
• Redefinition – an indefinite period after the separate phase during which the relationship is ended or takes on significantly different characteristics, making it a more peer like friendship.

Synopsis. Mentoring – this is a theme that’s built on throughout the entire movie, but it starts off in segment 4:30 when they first meet and the relationship quickly begins to have meaning. They meet again in segment 24:27, and then the relationship really starts to develop at 27:40. Segment 40:30 onwards shows Portman trying to take an initiative, learning from Weaving’s own actions. Segment 1:09 shows the cultivation period, right after which occurs separation. Redefinition of roles is shown most clearly in 1:58:18.

Continue reading "Mentoring in "V for Vendetta"" »

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Analysis by H. Nedjari and S. Kamel

Theory. One theory of people’s needs was created by David C. McClelland, who proposed a learned needs theory of motivation associated with learning concepts. These needs are acquired from the culture of a society. “Three of these learned needs are the need for achievement, the need for affiliation, and the need for power (p.141).” I will be focusing mostly on the need for affiliation, which is simply the desire to have strong relationships with the people around you, as well as their approval and respect.

Good leaders usually have a weak need for affiliation seeing as oftentimes, they’ll have to make decisions that will make them unpopular with some of the colleagues/employees. Therefore, having a weak need for affiliation makes them capable of undertaking these decisions without much worry about how they might negatively impact some.

Synposis. The movie we’ll be analyzing is called “V for Vendetta,” starring Natalie Portman and Hugh Weaving. The tale unfolds in a futuristic totalitarian Great Britain that's a fascist state. A freedom fighter known as V (Weaving) uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressive society. He rescues Evey (Portman) from the secret police, and she becomes his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plot to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption. The segments in the movie where we most explicitly see need for affiliation are: 1:12:40, 2:03.

Continue reading "The Need for Affiliation in "V for Vendetta"" »

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Articles selected by students for Issue 1, Immigration.

Globalization and Immigration: Driving Down Wages by Flooding the Labor Market

Last-minute changes to farm worker program raise groups' ire

Michigan worries automaker meltdown could doom state

When is enough immigration?

Immigration and the Recession

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Articles selected by students for Issue 2: Food and Product Safety

US Health Official Plans for Drug Inspectors in China

China: Melamine victim's parents receive $29,000

The 'recipe for disaster' that killed 80 and left a £5bn bill

One possibility: Pet food adulterated on purpose

French ban on Red Bull (drink) upheld by European Court

FDA Program Aimed at Improving Foreign Drug Safety

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A Four I's Analysis of “Immigration and the Recession”

Issues

* Growth of Illegal Immigration in the United States prior to the recession
*Immigration reform
* The Growing Role of Latino/Hispanic Voters
*Decline in travel and both legal/illegal immigration during the recession

Interests, Organized and Unorganized

• Agricultural, Construction, Landscaping, and other firms highly dependent upon low-skilled legal/illegal immigrants
• Technology, Biotech, Engineering and other companies highly dependent on skilled foreign workers
• American Taxpayers
• American Citizens
• Current immigrants working in the United States
• American Small Business
• Hispanic/Latino Population

Interests, Activist, Advocacy, and Watchdog Groups

• We are America Alliance (WAAA)
• Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform(CCIR)
• National Immigration Forum (NIF)
• Center for Community Change (CCC)
• National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
• Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
• MinuteMan Project (MMP)
• Save Our States (SOS)
• Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)
• NumbersUSA (NUSA)
• Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Continue reading "Immigration and the Recession" »

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From WFME in Orlando, Florida:

As a U.S. Senator, President-Elect Barack Obama backed an initiative called AgJobs, which would give undocumented farm workers a path toward citizenship. The bill's failed in Congress several times, but with Obama entering the White House there's talk of AgJobs finally making it's way into law. ... Steve Brown reports on how the measure could affect Florida's citrus industry.

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In Note on the Structural Analysis of Industries Michael Porter wrote the following in a subsection entitled Government as a Force in Industry Competition:

Continue reading "Automakers Bailout" »

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In Note on the Structural Analysis of Industries Michael Porter wrote the following in a subsection entitled Government as a Force in Industry Competition:

Continue reading "Automakers Bailout, II" »

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Continue reading "Politico and Reuters" »

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Analysis by L. Agha and A. Bawazir.

THEORY. Stress is defined as the “feeling of anxiety, worry and tension” . It is caused by stressors; “a potentially harmful or threatening external situation” . Stressors include individual, group and organizational level or non-work. At individual level, qualitative overload occurs when people feel the lack of ability to complete a specific task that has a high standard, responsibility for people and role ambiguity. In addition, the lack of cohesiveness is such an example for a group level. There are three factors that determine if an experience will result in a stress such as importance, uncertainty and duration. Stress results in outcomes which are the consequence of stress such as behavioral, cognitive or physiological. Behavioral outcomes include changes in satisfaction, performance, and healthcare issues. Cognitive outcomes include poor decision making, lack of concentration and apathy. Finally, physiological outcomes include increased blood pressure or coronary heart disease and hyperventilation. Each person’s stress is dependent on his/her individual differences in sex, age, heredity and personal traits.

SYNOPSIS: Prison Break is one of the most popular American drama television series that started showing 2005. The story is about two brothers, one of them, Lincoln Burrows, is accused of the murder of the vice president's brother, Terrence Steadman. He doesn't commit it and his brother, Michael Scofield, elaborates a plan to help his brother. Michael Scofield is an engineer who helps in designing the Fox River Prison where his brother, Lincoln, is being held. Michael attempts to rob a bank in order to get himself arrested to be sent to Fox River Prison for the purpose of getting his brother out of the prison. In the opening scene, Michael is seen having the last of a series of tattoos applied to his body. Those tattoos are the blueprint of Fox River Prison.

Inside the prison, Michael discovers that breaking out is going to be more difficult day after day. In season 1, episode 5, the execution of his brother is getting closer and at the same time a command of Michael's transferring to another prison is ordered. Michael tries to block his transferring order by writing a claim that violates the constitutional rights so that his transferring is delayed. Later Michael finds out that he must get his brother out earlier than expected. With the help of some men in the prison such as Fernando Sucre, his cellmate in the prison, and John Abruzzi, one of the mafia men, Michael tries to determine which road is going to be safer for them to escape through.

Fernando Sucre, Michael's cellmate, is going to be released from prison after 18 months. However, his girlfriend, Maricruz Delgado, is pregnant and Sucre's cousin, Hector Avila, is running after her. So Sucre is afraid to lose his girl friend so he decides to support Michael Scofield to break out. John Abruzzi, one of the important characters in this season, is actually one of the Mafia. He believes that Scofield knows the place of Fibonacci who is a wanted man by the Mafia. Later in this episode, two agents came to the prison's director to threat him to transfer Michael or they will tell his wife that he had an illegal killed son.

Continue reading "Stress and Stressors in Prison Break" »

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Analysis by L. Agha and A. Bawazir.

THEORY. A group is defined as “collection of individuals in which behavior and/or performance of one member is influenced by behavior and/or performance of other members” . There are two forms of group, formal group and informal group. A formal group "is created by a managerial decision to accomplish stated goal" in which it can be either a command or task group. The other form of group is informal group which "is raised from individual efforts and developed around common interest and friendship rather than deliberate design" . It can be either an interest or a friendship group. The group can be developed through a series of stages, which represents the Five-Stages Model. The following points will describe the five stages:

1. Forming: it is the “breaking the ice”. This is the time when “group members are trying out behaviors, testing their positions, and asking other questions” .

2. Storming: “it is the conflict phase because members are arguing, debating, and experimenting with roles and advices offered by other members”.

3. Norming: The group starts to work more effectively together. There is a sense of togetherness or attraction of being part of the same group. This is the beginning of cohesiveness. A set of group-driven expectations is communicated within the group.

4. Performance: “A group structure, hierarchy, and norms are in place. The group is focused on accomplishing goals and being an efficient unit. This is an important stage in that the group is mature” .

5. Adjourning: “The group prepares to disband. The goals have been accomplished and tasks finished. Some members will be depressed over the loss of cohesiveness in the future."

SYNOPSIS: Prison Break is one of the most popular American drama television series that started showing 2005. The story is about two brothers, one of them, Lincoln Burrows, is accused of the murder of the vice president's brother, Terrence Steadman. He doesn't commit it and his brother, Michael Scofield, elaborates a plan to help his brother. Michael Scofield is an engineer who helps in designing the Fox River Prison where his brother, Lincoln, is being held. Michael attempts to rob a bank in order to get himself arrested to be sent to Fox River Prison for the purpose of getting his brother out of the prison. In the opening scene, Michael is seen having the last of a series of tattoos applied to his body. Those tattoos are the blueprint of Fox River Prison.

Inside the prison, Michael discovers that breaking out is going to be more difficult day after day. In season 1, episode 5, the execution of his brother is getting closer and at the same time a command of Michael's transferring to another prison is ordered. Michael tries to block his transferring order by writing a claim that violates the constitutional rights so that his transferring is delayed. Later Michael finds out that he must get his brother out earlier than expected. With the help of some men in the prison such as Fernando Sucre, his cellmate in the prison, and John Abruzzi, one of the mafia men, Michael tries to determine which road is going to be safer for them to escape through.

Fernando Sucre, Michael's cellmate, is going to be released from prison after 18 months. However, his girlfriend, Maricruz Delgado, is pregnant and Sucre's cousin, Hector Avila, is running after her. So Sucre is afraid to lose his girl friend so he decides to support Michael Scofield to break out. John Abruzzi, one of the important characters in this season, is actually one of the Mafia. He believes that Scofield knows the place of Fibonacci who is a wanted man by the Mafia. Later in this episode, two agents came to the prison's director to threat him to transfer Michael or they will tell his wife that he had an illegal killed son.

Continue reading "Stages of Group Development in Prison Break" »

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Analysis by L. Agha and A. Bawazir

THEORY: Leadership can be defined as the “attempt to use influence to motivate individuals to accomplish some goals” . One of the main points that can be discussed in the leadership topic is the traits that appear to identify leaders. The trait theory of leadership can be defined as the “theory that attempt to identify specific characteristics (physical, mental, personality) associated with leadership success” . The model of the framework that can study leadership and a table of traits associated with leadership effectiveness employed in Organizations behavior structure processes, shows the leader traits, the leader behaviors, situational variables and effective results. In the leadership traits it explains abilities (skills that enable leaders to do their tasks, such as interpersonal skills, cognitive skills and technical skills), personality (such as: emotional maturity, energy level, self-confidence and tolerance for stress) and finally motivation (such as: socialized power orientation, strong need for achievement, weak need for affiliation and persuasiveness).

SYNOPSIS. Prison Break is one of the most popular American drama television series that started showing 2005. The story is about two brothers, one of them, Lincoln Burrows, is accused of the murder of the vice president's brother, Terrence Steadman. He doesn't commit it and his brother, Michael Scofield, elaborates a plan to help his brother. Michael Scofield is an engineer who helps in designing the Fox River Prison where his brother, Lincoln, is being held. Michael attempts to rob a bank in order to get himself arrested to be sent to Fox River Prison for the purpose of getting his brother out of the prison. In the opening scene, Michael is seen having the last of a series of tattoos applied to his body. Those tattoos are the blueprint of Fox River Prison.

Inside the prison, Michael discovers that breaking out is going to be more difficult day after day. In season 1, episode 5, the execution of his brother is getting closer and at the same time a command of Michael's transferring to another prison is ordered. Michael tries to block his transferring order by writing a claim that violates the constitutional rights so that his transferring is delayed. Later Michael finds out that he must get his brother out earlier than expected. With the help of some men in the prison such as Fernando Sucre, his cellmate in the prison, and John Abruzzi, one of the mafia men, Michael tries to determine which road is going to be safer for them to escape through.

Fernando Sucre, Michael's cellmate, is going to be released from prison after 18 months. However, his girlfriend, Maricruz Delgado, is pregnant and Sucre's cousin, Hector Avila, is running after her. So Sucre is afraid to lose his girl friend so he decides to support Michael Scofield to break out. John Abruzzi, one of the important characters in this season, is actually one of the Mafia. He believes that Scofield knows the place of Fibonacci who is a wanted man by the Mafia. Later in this episode, two agents came to the prison's director to threat him to transfer Michael or they will tell his wife that he had an illegal killed son.

APPLICATION:In the Prison Break, Season 01 Episode 05, there are many key points and evidences that support the traits theory of leadership. Michael Scofield's leadership traits exhibit an effective leader according to the attributes that trait theory states in ability, personality and motivation.

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Analysis by S. al Matwi, S. Arora, and MK Rahman.

Synopsis.Prior to the finale of season one of the show, “The Apprentice”, the remaining four candidates of the initially selected sixteen, Bill, Kwame, Amy and Nick, take part in a series of round robin, one-on-one interviews with Trump's trusted advisory board. Based on their feedback, Trump fires Nick and Amy leaving Bill and Kwame to compete for the title of becoming Trump’s first apprentice. The following day, Kwame and Bill are given their final respective tasks. Bill is made in charge of running a golf tournament whereas Kwame is assigned to organizing the Jessica Simpson concert. Trump gives them the authority to handpick a team made up of previously fired candidates to aid them in their final tasks on the show. In the beginning of the finale, both Kwame and Bill find themselves over their head as they run into problems and face complications. Jessica Simpson is nowhere to be found and Bill is given a hard time about storage facilities by the golf course officials. Furthermore, Bill also has a hard time locating a banner of one of the major sponsors of the tournament and at Kwame’s end; the breakfast with the star turns out disastrous. Also the frost delay situation, and Omarosa’s persistent lies and denial of responsibilities do not help their cases. However, both Bill and Kwame, come out strong in the end accomplishing their designated tasks. After severe critiques and many valid arguments, Trump finally makes his decision and says "You're Hired" to Bill.

Theory. Leadership is defined as an attempt to use influence to motivate individuals to accomplish some goals . Leaders can be identified by specific traits (physical, mental, personality) associated with leadership success and leader effectiveness. These traits, primarily in terms of leadership abilities, personality traits and motivation, are primary tools of defining actions of effective leaders. Abilities: Possession of certain technical, interpersonal skills, and supervisory abilities enabling effective job performance. They can include entrepreneurial skills as an attribution of cognitive skills. Personality traits: Effective leaders portray high levels of alertness, energy level, stress tolerance, emotional maturity, personal integrity etc. to get jobs done. Motivation: Effective leaders constructively use power within the system to accomplish socially desirable outcomes. Their actions are driven by a relatively high need for achievement, which distinguishes them from their subordinates . These above mentioned traits or characteristics determine the level of a person’s leadership potential and efficacy. Leadership behavior analyses two important foci; what leaders do in relation to accomplishing the task and to maintaining the effort of people doing the task . There are two schools of thought for assessing leadership behavior; job-centered leadership and employee-centered leadership. The former defines a leadership style where people closely supervise and observe the work of their subordinates, which can be associated with a micro-managerial approach to effective leadership. The latter school of thought, however, relates to people only supervising the work of others generally, and permitting employees/ subordinates to experience autonomy and support .

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