Leadership The Role of Strategic Leadership

Question: Describe about the Leadership for The Role of Strategic Leadership. Answer: Introduction This report introduces the evaluation of leadership of a leader belonging to the 21st century. The example used for the evaluation is of a family member of the author who runs a small business on import and export of electronic apparatus with ten employees. The report gives a clear and concise description of the business owner as a leader along with his organisation. It also gives the description of the industry where the business owners organisation actually belongs and the situation or context on which the business is based. The report also makes the evaluation of the leadership on the basis of leadership theories and concepts. A further discussion has been made in the subsequent sections stating that if the author was in the position of the business owner, how differently he would have acted to make a stronger impact on his followers and the situation. Some recommendations have been added to make the overall situation better. Discussion Description of the leader and his organisation along with the industry In the given report, Mr. Thomas Lee, is the business owner of the Singapore based small import and export company, Lee Co. He is a family member of the author. His company deals with import and export of various electronic apparatus such as musical instruments, editing set up and studio appliances (Aziz et al. 2013). Mr. Lee is running the business for last ten years. Currently he is having ten staffs including the accountant, the business development officer, the purchase officer, HR executive, system administrator, store manager, three shop sales person and one delivery boy. Mr. Lee has started this sole proprietorship in the year 2006 with two staffs and after 10 years he has expanded the business with ten employees (Agyapong and Boamah 2013). Unless, an effective and efficient level of leadership was there by Mr. Lee, it was impossible for him to carry on a business in a progressive way for a decade. Initially, there was no such shop of Mr Lee in Singapore and he collected orders for studio appliances directly from his clients in the city (Hwang 2013). He used to visit in the countries of Japan, China and South Korea with his two staffs to purchase the products ordered and sold them to his clients in a good profit margin. Later, he communicated to his clients and vendors through internet and phone and led his staffs to buy and sell the electronic equipments in behalf of him. More profit margins led to motivation of expanding the business through increasing the number of clients, vendors and staffs (Rothaermel 2015). Therefore, through an efficient leadership on the staffs and business, Mr. Lee was able to come to a position where he could establish a shop in Singapore where inventory of the imported electronic instruments can be maintained. He was there in the position to deliver the products to the clients within the required time frame as he had ample products in hand in his shop. Being a leader, Mr. Lee guided his team to administrate the business integrally starting from the import and export operations to the order and delivery management in the shop (Landis, Hill and Harvey 2014). Such a good leadership created a good brand image of the company resulting to generation of new clients in other nations. The organisation that Mr. Lee owns was established in the year 2006, in the name of Lee and Co. with two staffs. Those two staffs worked with Mr. Lee to collect the orders of the electronic equipments from the clients in Singapore and purchased those equipments from the wholesalers at South Korea, Japan and China (Lee 2013). As the business grew further through increase in profit margin and number of clients in the city as well as abroad, Mr. Lee felt the need to hire more staffs and establish a shop to maintain inventory of the items. He opened the shop in the year 2009 and hired more staffs to make good administration of the business. Since 2011, there were all over ten staffs working in the organisation, who have the aim to make an effective coordination with the clients and vendors to enhance the business performance. The industry in which the organisation works are the studios and music workstations located in Singapore and other nations (Howell 2013). Those studios actually make programs for the entertainment for their audience. Due to such reason, demand of editing set ups, musical instruments always exist for those clients. As there are been diversified programs made keeping in mind of the taste and preferences of the audiences in various countries, a constant requirement of the innovative electronic equipments always prevailed in the industry (Das 2015). Such demand eventually helped to prosper a business like Lee and Co. which deals with import and export of such products. The overall situation has actually become favourable for expansion of the business. At the current stage, there is a constant requirement from the clients, both in the city and other nations for the purpose of developmental work in their studios (Miner 2015). Due to such reasons, the company has to make a better management of its order collection, purchase, inventory and delivery. Mr. Lee has provided effective guidance to his team members so that the whole process can be streamlined resulting to optimum level of output. Evaluation of the leader on the basis of leadership theories and concepts There are several theories and concepts which provides the explanation of leadership. It includes the naturalistic theories, functional leadership theories, situational leadership theories, autocratic and participative leadership theories, transactional and transformational leadership and the theories of moral leadership (McCleskey 2014). The naturalistic theory consists of the trait theories which states that leaders are born and not made. The trait theory explains that certain extraordinary personality traits make the identification of those people who have the potential to be great leaders. The functional theories are been prepared on the basis of various assumptions (Frost 2016). Those theories are based on the leaders actions, which is termed as action based leadership. The functional theories does not support for dealing with changes. Adaptation and changes are best handled by the situational leadership. Such a good model to handle the varied situations is the Hersey Blanchard model of leadership (Chhokar, Brodbeck and House 2013). The model actually is concerned with the identification of the willingness and ability to deal with the varying situations and determination of the best leadership style. The autocratic leadership has the tendency for making decisions and imposing it to others. Such leaders has the belief that they are been placed for making the decisions and their followers are there for accepting their leadership (Singh 2015). In participative leadership, leaders make consultation with their followers or involve them to make decisions. Such decisions are been made through demonstration of consideration and showing respect to other people. The participative leadership actually makes the development of the other people and prepares the support in all the directions. The transactional theory of leadership is been developed on the exchanges between the leader and his follower (Sadeghi et al. 2013). It provides the assumption that the relationship regarding work is the one factor where the leader makes the issuance of the work, makes criticism, gives punishment and give rewards to his followers. In such model, the followers have a very low responsibility other than performing about what they are needed. The theory is applied for the case of jobs which require a very low skill (Youssef and Luthans 2012). The procedures in such segments have a clear definition and a nominal change is required. In transformational leadership, change is the ultimate bottom line. The leaders in such model provide inspiration to their subordinates for following a vision. They generally make the opportunities for the people for showing the flair and taking responsibilities for latest ideas (Clarke 2013). In such cases, the leaders become very much charismatic and extrovert. The transformational leaders always have the vision of the bigger picture. The transformational leadership is in generally much more applicable in case of situations which are frequently changing. In moral leadership, people tend to make approaches to create the world a better place to stay through a proper care for the environment and being true in their vision. In the case of Lee and Co., Mr. Lee has always made a practice of participative leadership. From the initial stage to the present, he always made verbal consultations with his staffs regarding decision making (Du et al. 2013). He took opinions from his staffs regarding choosing the wholesaler shops in the East Asian countries from where they purchased the order items. The staffs provided suggestions to him for purchasing the electronic equipments from those shops where maximum amount of discounts were provided. Mr. Lee also made decisions regarding payment mode from the clients on the basis of consultation with his staffs (Aydin, Sarier and Uysal 2013). Moreover, further hiring of staffs, establishment of shop, segmentation of departments, generation of more clients in the other nations, implementation of online porta l for making transactions, every incidents took place on the basis of good amount of involvement by the staffs. The main theme that lies behind all such incidents are that the main thought process always take place in the mind of Mr. Lee (Wang et al. 2013). But at certain cases, he did not become very much sure about the outcomes of a decision. Due to such reasons, he always given authority to his employees to participate in active manner for verbal consultations and provide suggestions for solving an issue. Therefore, the style of leadership of Mr. Lee was very mild to his followers. His behaviour was always very friendly to them so that they can have the zeal and motivation to suggest the best solution for him (Hamidifar 2015). The personality trait of Mr. Lee permitted to provide space for his employees regarding elaborating their opinions. The attitude of participative leadership style always gave the authority to the followers, therefore the employees to make the actions done on the basis of their justifications. In such leadership style, power has been given to the followers to some extent for supporting their leader through active participation and involvement for making decisions starting from the initial stage to the present. Discussion on leading the situation differently as a leader If the opportunity was given to the author to lead the situation as a leader, he would have acted as the transformational leader (Wang et al. 2013). As the business of Lee Co. is of electronic equipments, therefore the demand of the equipments are constantly changing. Therefore to stay competitive in the market, the company has to be innovative in their business strategies. Such strategies may not be possible to implement by the leader through his own thought process. Therefore, the leader will give responsibilities to his employees to make strategic moves based on their own thought process (Aydin, Sarier and Uysal 2013). Therefore, development of strategies can be built for the improvement of the performance of each department of the company by their respective personnel who have the ample expertise in their domain. Such leadership will definitely motivate the followers as they will have a sense of feeling that they have the sole authority to utilise their thought process to improve their work resulting to enhanced performance (Du et al. 2013). The accounts professional will innovate new procedure to prepare balance sheets and profit and loss statement, the business development officer will make new online marketing strategies to attract new clients, the store manager will make newer strategies through promoting new offers for effectively satisfying the customers coming to the shop, the counter sales people will make strategies to greet their customers in a better speech so that it can create a good impact in their mind resulting to repeated footfalls. The delivery people will make strategies for shortest path calculation so that a timely delivery of the ordered items and collection of cash can be done in a far better way (Clarke 2013). Therefore, starting from the ground level execution to the upper level management, each and every professional will be given the authority to create the strategy in their own. It will definitely have a stronger impact on the followers as it will create the flexibility in them to create plans and execute them to make the situation better. Such a huge authority will make the followers to stay committed to their organisation in a long run. The transformational leadership will make the overall situation to be very much improved as each and every person associated with the organisation make the strategies to enhance the overall quality level of the business performance (Youssef and Luthans 2012). Integration of all those strategies actually formulates the ultimate set up which leads to prosperity. Therefore, it actually builds an enormous potential for the company to flourish to the fullest extent in the competitive market. An effective integration will take place between the departments resulting to a huge satisfaction among the employees. Conclusion In the above discussion, it has been stated that, Thomas Lee, being the owner of Lee Co. has adopted participative style of leadership from the starting of his business of importing and exporting electronic apparatus. He had started the business ten years back with two employees and currently running it through a shop with an online portal for purchase. He has achieved a good progress in his business in terms of revenue earned. The company has expanded its business to other countries where it is exporting its products. Mr. Lee has given space to his employees for providing suggestions to make decisions regarding business progress. But in certain scenario, the employees can have lack of knowledge in the domain they work. Therefore, there may be gaps in making the plans for refinement of the business process which can create obstructions in the progress. From the above discussions, it can be concluded that if the leader follows the recommended steps given below then the company can re ach the optimum point of success with an enhanced brand image in the near future. Recommendations The recommended options for the business owner Mr. Lee is as follows, Hiring external experts for verbal consultations The business owner should hire external professional who have ample experience and expertise in the domain of the business of electronic apparatus. Such professionals can help Mr. Lee to fix the loopholes in the business strategies so that the overall performance can be improved to the optimum level. Reduction of cultural barriers among the employees The business owner should make frequent parties with their employees to encourage respect among them so that the cultural barriers become reduced among them resulting to development of a friendly relationship resulting to better work. Increasing business network through social networking site The business owner should concentrate to develop a profile of their organisation in the social networking site such as Facebook to increase the business network with their vendors and clients. He should participate in making online promotions to create awareness among the target audience so that they become more eager to buy the products available. Effective utilisation of the revenue generated The business owner should perform a detailed market research to know the recent trends through effective investment of the revenue earned so that they can deal with the products which are in demand and can reject those products which have become obsolete. References Agyapong, A. and Boamah, R.B., 2013. Business strategies and competitive advantage of family hotel businesses in Ghana: The role of strategic leadership.Journal of Applied Business Research,29(2), p.531. Aydin, A., Sarier, Y. and Uysal, S., 2013. The Effect of School Principals' Leadership Styles on Teachers' Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction.Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice,13(2), pp.806-811. Aziz, R.A., Abdullah, M.H., Tajudin, A. and Mahmood, R., 2013. The effect of leadership styles on the business performance of SMEs in Malaysia.International Journal of Economics Business and Management Studies,2(2), pp.45-52. Chhokar, J.S., Brodbeck, F.C. and House, R.J. eds., 2013.Culture and leadership across the world: The GLOBE book of in-depth studies of 25 societies. Routledge. Clarke, S., 2013. Safety leadership: A metaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ analytic review of transformational and transactional leadership styles as antecedents of safety behaviours.Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,86(1), pp.22-49. Das, S.C., 2015. Emerging socio-cultural perspectives of implicit leadership theories related to Indo-Pak enterprises.The Business Management Review,6(5), p.51. Du, S., Swaen, V., Lindgreen, A. and Sen, S., 2013. The roles of leadership styles in corporate social responsibility.Journal of business ethics,114(1), pp.155-169. Frost, D.E., 2016. Development Of Implicit Leadership Theories Prior To Training Or Employment.Journal of Applied Business Research,32(2), p.555. Hamidifar, F., 2015. A study of the relationship between leadership styles and employee job satisfaction at Islamic Azad University branches in Tehran, Iran. Howell, J.P., 2013.Snapshots of great leadership(Vol. 2). Routledge. Hwang, K.K., 2013. Confucian and Legalist Basis of Leadership and Business Ethics. InHandbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics(pp. 1005-1026). Springer Netherlands. Landis, E.A., Hill, D. and Harvey, M.R., 2014. A synthesis of leadership theories and styles.Journal of Management Policy and Practice,15(2), p.97. Lee, M.R., 2013.Leading virtual project teams: Adapting leadership theories and communications techniques to 21st century organizations. CRC Press. McCleskey, J.A., 2014. Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development.Journal of Business Studies Quarterly,5(4), p.117. Miner, J.B., 2015.Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. McGraw-Hill. Sadeghi, J., Yadollahi, M., Baygi, M.D. and Ghayoomi, A., 2013. Approaches on leadership theories.Journal of American Science,9(1), pp.172-177. Singh, M.K., 2015. A Conceptual Study on Leadership Theories and Styles of Managers with the special emphasis on Transformational Leadership Style.International Journal,3(10), pp.748-756. Wang, A.C., Chiang, J.T.J., Tsai, C.Y., Lin, T.T. and Cheng, B.S., 2013. Gender makes the difference: The moderating role of leader gender on the relationship between leadership styles and subordinate performance.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,122(2), pp.101-113. Youssef, C.M. and Luthans, F., 2012. Positive global leadership.Journal of World Business,47(4), pp.539-547.

Channels of Distribution Essay Example

Channels of Distribution Essay In the unsure fluctuating market of today. it is indispensable for a company to keep on and face those uncertainnesss in order to last. Consumers can be an assistance for a company’s endurance. thereby it is indispensable for consumers to acquire the goods of a company whenever and nevertheless they need them. Here is where distribution channels come in and give manus. Channels of distribution are the different waies that goods passed through in traveling from the manufacturer to the consumer . ( Meyer et al. 1988 ) . With the aid of distribution channels. companies are able to get the better of the clip. topographic point and ownership spreads that separate goods and services from the consumers. As said by Aaker ( 1984 ) . entree to an effectual and efficient selling channel is frequently a cardinal success factor. However. in this competitory epoch. an apprehension of the alternate distribution channels and the tendencies in their comparative importance can be of strategic importance for any company. For illustration. the growing and importance can be of a ego service retail gasolene Stationss and the comparing growing in the importance of convenience shops such as the 7/11 concatenation in gasolene retailing has strategic significance to petroleum companies and distributers every bit good as to houses in nutrient retailing ( illustration adapted from Aaker. 1984 ) . Additionally. because of competition. deriving distribution in some industries can be highly hard and dearly-won. Nowadays. even big. established houses have problem obtaining infinite on the supermarkets shelves for merchandises with significant marketing budgets. We will write a custom essay sample on Channels of Distribution specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Channels of Distribution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Channels of Distribution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer As said by Kotler and Armstrong ( 2001 ) . members of the selling or distribution perform several maps such as supplying information for the company. promotes their goods and services. have contacts with purchasers. fiting purchasers inevitably. every bit good as negotiate monetary values so that goods can be transferred. Some other maps include physical distribution. funding and hazard pickings. There are two types of marketing systems. They are conventional distribution channels and perpendicular selling system. Conventional Distribution Channel Harmonizing to Kotler and Armstrong ( 2001 ) . a conventional distribution channel is a channel consisting of one or more independent manufacturers. jobbers. and retail merchants. each a separate concern seeking to maximise its ain net incomes even at the disbursal of net incomes for the system as a whole. In this instance. mediators operate independently or enter into some signifier of agreements with providers and other mediators. Furthermore. a conventional channel web tends to be fragmented because makers. jobbers and retail merchants bargain sharply with each other over the monetary values and others. Since channel members are detached and acts independently. none of them has much control over the other members. For illustration. in a conventional distribution channel. makers. distributers and retail merchants act independently so the makers as the manufacturer of the goods. cant decide anything for the other members. Lashkar-e-Taibas say. on what monetary value should the distributers and retail merchants sell. where should they sell. etc. the makers or the other members has no formal authorization over each other. Furthermore. in a conventional distribution channel. many struggles may happen since there is the absence of a formal contract and besides in most instances. their ends and purposes differ. Another failing of a conventional distribution system is that each and every member tries to harvest a batch of net incomes in order to prosecute their ain corporate aims. This may do drawbacks for the system as each independent house shows small concern for overall channel public presentation. Vertical Marketing System Harmonizing to Evangelista. et Al ( 1984 ) . an betterment over the conventional selling system. is the incorporate selling system which may be perpendicular or horizontal. A perpendicular selling system is a web of two or more degrees of channel members as in the instance of agreement between makers and jobbers. jobbers and retail merchants or between a maker and a figure of jobbers and retailers ( Evangelista et al. 1984 ) . So here. all the members act as a individual incorporate system. To exemplify the statement above. let’s take an illustration of a author. This author writes his ain books. owns the publication company that publishes the book. creates a web site that promotes his books. has a selling company that advertise and markets his books and he besides handles the distribution and transportation of the concluding merchandise. Here it is clear that the writer is cognizant of all the procedures of bring forthing the book and is able to command all the elements. This can be good for the company because if in instance a job occurs in any country. he can rapidly undertake it. He knows when the books are traveling to be printed. when and where it is to be shipped. etc and will e cognizant of any exigency originating. In this instance. we can see that the author is more informed and more efficient instead than holding to cover with publishing houses. agents. shippers. etc. ( illustration adapted from World Wide Web. smalltownmarketing. com ) There are three types of Vertical selling system. They are corporate. contractual and administered perpendicular selling systems. Kotler and Armstrong. ( 2001 ) defines corporate perpendicular selling system as a perpendicular selling system that combines consecutive provinces of production and distribution under individual ownership – channel leading is established through common ownership. In other words. it is a group of companies executing different undertakings under one ownership. Contractual perpendicular selling system. harmonizing to Kotler. et Al ( 1999 ) . consists of independent houses at different degrees of production and distribution incorporating their plan on a contractual footing to obtain more economic systems or gross revenues impact than they could accomplish entirely. They usually join together to harvest net incomes every bit good as to increase efficiency in the company. Administered perpendicular selling system coordinates phases of production and distribution through the size and power of one of the parties ( Kotler. et al 1999 ) . In other words. whoever wields the most economic power within the group can coerce greater cooperation and support from other members of the group. Comparison between Conventional Distribution Channel And Vertical Marketing System Conventional and perpendicular selling systems are two wholly different type of distribution system. Many companies presents prefer to follow perpendicular selling system instead than the conventional 1. This is because perpendicular selling system is much more good for companies and the conventional system is outdated additions redundancies for companies. Now let us see the difference of the two channels and comparison for which one is better and good for organisations today. Comparison Conventional distribution Channel -Channel members are independently owned -Unstructured distribution channel -No contract or understandings available -Lacks in leading -Many struggles might easy originate -Weak or hapless public presentation -Any errors or defects effects merely the company Vertical Marketing System -Channel members act as a incorporate system -Structured distribution channel -May have contracts or understandings for this agreement -One member exercising strong ( frequently formal ) leading -Helps manage struggle -Improves public presentation -May be forced into agreements by power derived function between members As we can see from the tabular array above. in the conventional channel members are independently owned whereas in the perpendicular selling system. all the members act as an incorporate system. This is good for a company because the can minimise costs and at the same clip earn grosss. The conventional distribution channel are unstructured whereas in perpendicular selling system it is decently structured. therefore makes it easier for a company to administer their merchandise and services. There is no contract whatsoever between the members of the channel because they are all self-acting and non bonded by any contract. On the other manus. in the perpendicular selling system. contract and understandings are needed for the agreement of this type of marketing channel peculiarly in a contractual perpendicular selling system. Additionally. there is a strong presence of leading in perpendicular selling system as one member exercising formal leading. Hence there is proper control of the activities. Whereas in the conventional channel of distribution. there is deficiency of leading in the channel. Furthermore. due to confusion. struggles and jobs may originate in a conventional distribution channel because of deficiency of control and leading. On the other manus. in a perpendicular selling system. the coordination among the members of the channel helps to pull off struggles that may originate. Furthermore. this can besides better public presentation of the whole selling system. Whereas conventional distribution channel has a weak public presentation due to struggles and deficiency of leading. In my sentiment. from the above comparing of both the channels. it is clear that perpendicular selling system. if practiced decently. will be really advantageous and can supply economic systems of graduated table to any company which adopts it. Mentions Aaker. D. A. ( 1998 ) . Strategic Market Management. John Wiley A ; Sons. Inc. . USA. Kotler. P. et Al ( 1999 ) . Marketing Management – An Asiatic Position. Prentice Hall. Inc. USA. Kotler. P. and Armstrong. G. ( 2001 ) . Principles of Marketing. Prentice Hall. USA. Evangelista. F. U. et Al ( 1984 ) . Principles of Marketing Management. National Book Store. Inc. . Philippines. Meyer. W. G. et Al ( 1988 ) . Retail Selling. McGraw Hill. USA. World Wide Web. smalltownmarketing. com. entree day of the month: 4th December. 2003

The Chrysalids essays

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Common Law 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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Ophthalmic Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

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Network Infrastructure Planning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Network Infrastructure Planning - Research Paper Example With these services, only the user interface of some application is presented on the client machine. All input from client machine is purposely redirected to the application server where all the processing happens. Terminal services is a very well in place technology to provide services to remote offices since organizations are finding ways to reduce the cost of ownership by centrally deploying and managing windows based applications and remotely administering window server 2003- based computers. The services allow centrally deployment and management of windows based applications. This has the advantage that a company can ensure that all the computers are running the current version of application software since the software is installed once on the server instead of installing on each and every machine. This has the advantage of reducing the cost of installation and maintenance of such applications since it’s done once on a machine. Also such services reduce application suppo rt since its being done from one central server. This ensures a cost effective way of installation and maintenance of services within the different four remote offices. The issue of mirroring all application to the headquarters is reduced since the headquarters have all the information about the application used remotely by the offices. Since installation services are done mainly from the headquarters, then the cost incurred due to licensing and other costs of installation are just incurred once from the headquarters. This saves a lot of operation costs due to the reduced licensing costs. Costs like disk space usage are greatly reduced since this is mainly incurred from the server which runs all the applications. The issue of security when accessing sensitive files is up to standard since all security matters about who accesses what is controlled from the headquarters. The following are ideal situations where terminal services are mainly applied:- Hosting Line-of-Business Applicatio ns If an organization or some groups within the organization normally uses some specialized software to do their specialized work, it is always a good idea to host their applications using a terminal server. This is an ideal area to apply Terminal server. Terminal server can be used in the following situations: Custom applications.  If business application is developed internally, what is commonly referred to as in-house or specifically for your organization, and specifically tends to require updating frequently, deployment of the application once on a terminal server can greatly reduce the costs. This is especially important if your environment is actually dispersed or when you are deploying terminal server to centrally serve different offices. Large central data pool.  Applications that tend to rely on access to a central data source often run well on a terminal server because huge amounts of data do not necessarily travel across users for access. Instead the whole data proces sing is done on the server. Only the keystrokes and some display information have to travel across the specified network, which allows one to use lower bandwidth connections. This is especially important if users of that data pool are remotely located, for example in an office branch with a sluggish connection to database server. Task workers.  In setups where security is an issue and you want workers to mainly access only applications they have rights to access in order to perform their jobs, centralization of the

Group Culture Analysis: Narcotics Anonymous (NA) Meeting

Group Culture Analysis: Narcotics Anonymous (NA) Meeting Certificate in Drugs Counselling, Theory and Intervention Skills. Eamonn Keogh In this case study we will look at the inner workings of a group that I was involved in. This paper will be broken into four different sections. In the first section I will give a description of the group covering: the context; the setting; frequency and length of the group; finishing with a description of my role within the group. The second sections will identity the group culture. In this I will explain what the group norms and belief systems are. My feeling around being a member of this group will also be discussed in this section. The third section will be a reflection on the efficacy of the group. The main points in this section are what does/does not work well in the group and why; is the group addressing its task; what do I think could improve the group. In the final section I will be pointing out the key learnings I got for this module and how would I put this learning into practice. Description of the Group: The group being used in this case study is a step meeting of Narcotics Anonymous (NA). NA is an international community based organisation for recovering drug addicts. Na members learn from each other how to live a drug-free life and recover from the effects of addiction in their lives. NA’s primary approach to recovery is its belief in the therapeutic value of one addict helping another. Members take part in NA meetings by talking about their experiences and recovery from drug addiction. The NA programme is one of complete abstinence from all drugs, including alcohol. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop using. The core of the NA programme is the twelve steps. These steps are a set of guidelines outlining a practical approach to recovery. Apart from the regular meetings there are also step meeting in the NA programme. I’m going to use the step meetings for this case study. The task of step meetings is to broaden its member’s knowledge of eac h of the twelve steps. The format of these groups is one step is covered each week starting with 1 finishing with 12. The meeting lasts one hour. The room is set out with all the chairs in a circle so each member is able to see each other. One benefit of this is that there is a sense of belonging and togetherness. A NA moto about why they are in a circle is â€Å"that no addict will stand alone.† At the start of the meeting one person will open up the meeting and give their experience, strength and hope around the particular step being covered that night. This opening is called a ‘chair’. The person that gives the chair is someone that has completed this step previously and has in excess of six months clean time. The chair will last up to 15min long. When the chair is finished the other members of the group will share their experiences and knowledge of the step or identify with what the person giving the chair said. This ties in nicely with the ethos of NA that o ne member helping another. I have a couple of roles to play in this group. Firstly I’m a member going to the group to learn about of each of the steps individual and to broaden my knowledge around my own recovery. The second role I will fill in this group is that of the person giving the chair at the start of the meeting. Identification of Group Culture: As pointed out by Chase (2013) the group’s culture underlies all of its behaviours and actions. The culture of groups is constantly developing as it adapts to each new situation or event it confronts and to the needs of the group and its members. The group’s culture is an abstinence based group. In my group each member has a common intellectual purpose for being together and that is to gain greater knowledge of the step involved on the night and the NA programme as a whole. The artefacts used in these meeting would be the ‘Big Book’ and a step working guide. Both of these were developed over time by members for members using collective knowledge they acquired over the years. Some of the group norms are as follow: Each member in the group is given a chance to talk: The last 10 minutes of the meeting is given up to new members or people that have less than 90 days clean time: Speak honestly and with consideration and respect of others and their efforts: Maint ain confidentiality: Members will place phones on silent: Members will listen to each other and not interrupt. With the NA programme being a spiritual programme, the main belief involved with NA is the belief in a higher power. NA is not a religious organisation. Each member can choose their own higher power. Some examples are the god we grew up with, the group itself, past family member. The belief in a higher power is that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. As a whole the behaviour in the groups is good. Members respect each other and where they are in their own recovery. There is a great sense of comradery and concern for each other. The ethos of the step meeting leads itself towards this in the way the person that does the chair is trying to help the newer members, that haven’t taking that step yet, gain a greater knowledge of the step or to get someone who has to maybe look at that step in a different light. If there are conflicts or members become unhappy with the way the group is developing they have a medium in group contions. This is held once a month and members get to address any concerns they have around the meeting as a whole. This is a very important tool in making sure the group guidelines are being followed and the group is achieving its goal. Some of the benefits of being an active member of this group are I feel very comfortable in the group. I get great support from the group and its members. I feel like I belong to the group and my voice is heard. Having completed the 12 steps I felt a sense of achievement and spurred me on to do the chair which was extremely humbling. Reflection on the efficacy of the group: When thinking what works well in my group Weegman (2004) make a valid point that â€Å"Group members learn they can help each other identify and modify in self and others their tendency to be unaware, deny, or remain oblivious to their pain, suffering, defences and the costly nature of their addictive solutions.† This is one of key strengths of the group. The nature of the group is that one member does the chair and explains their experience, strength and hope surrounding the step being covered that night. One member passing knowledge gained to another. This can get members to thinking about their issues in a different light or take action similar to that taken by the person that done the chair. A bond of togetherness comes from this and this is one of the main reasons that N.A. meeting stay together. Yalom (1985) points out the therapeutic factors in group work. I can see my group putting some of these factors into practice and benefiting from them. Instillation of hope is the first one and plays a big role in my group. This is evident even in the literature we read as it was written by member years ago who to this day are still clean and sober. This is helpful with new members as they can see that recovery is possible. Universality is major a factor in helping the members feel part of the g roup. After hearing other members share concerns similar to their own, members report feeling more in touch with the group and they don’t feel alone. Development of socialising techniques is another therapeutic factor pointed out by Yalom that the group often represents members the first opportunity for accurate interpersonal feedback. It can also point out a variety of social habits which, unbeknown to the member, have been undermining their social relationships. More senior members develop their social skills and have learned how to be helpfully responsive to other and acquire methods of conflict resolution. The reasonability of the group addressing its task lies with the group itself because any decisions or issues about the group are discussed and teased out in group concions. The secretory of the meeting is also decided here. I feel the group is addressing its task as the secretory chooses someone who has completed the step already to give the chair. The chair sets the tone of the meeting surrounding the step being covered in that meeting. Having pointed out some of the factors that help the group I will now point out some of the factors that hinder the function of the group. As the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop using from time to time members can come in under the influence of drugs. Due to the chaotic nature of drugs someone under the influence can cause a big hindrance to the group on a number of levels. Firstly the disturbance caused but also it can trigger something off in someone that makes them believe drugs are attractive again. Another hindrance to the group as pointed out by Hough (1998), the conflict stage, members jostle with positions and roles and sub-groups may form. When this happens members tend to be judgmental, critical and advice is freely offered without any real understanding of the problems which people have. The step meeting are a crucial part of the N.A. programme and if these two areas could be addressed and resolved I think the group could improve to reach higher goals than it is already achieving. Identification of key learning from the module: I’ve grained a lot from this module. One of the key areas of learning came in the first couple of sessions regarding the necessary decisions when planning a group. Up to now any involvement I’ve had with a group was in a group that was already set up when I joined. I’ve learned that the setting up of an effective group can cause as much stress as the running of a group. I can put this learning into practice as the youth projects I work in are setting up a stabilisation programme. Group therapy is an important factor of the programme with 3 sessions a week. As a result of my learning I feel comfortable I my ability to assist the project in taking the necessary steps when setting up the group. Moving on from the process of setting up the group the next area of key learning was the development of the group. Having watched the group develop and go through the five stages pointed out by Hough (1998) as we learnt them was very interesting. Again going forward the knowl edge of these five stages ranging from anxiety to closure will put me at ease when I observe the group going through them. I fell without both facilitator prior knowledge of the development stages of a group it would be very hard for the group to address its task even from the start. The final key learning for me was how the group dealt with absenteeism and the working out of this issue. The group was angry at first with the members that had missed a group but by working through it and voicing the anger the group was able to move on. It was decided that an empty chair be left in for the member that was missing. It was profound the effect the empty chair had on the group. The group member was nearly noticed more in the empty chair than if they were sitting in the group. I feel this is valuable and effective tool to have when working in a group setting. This learning is something that I will use in the stabilisation programme being set up in my work place. With this knowledge I will b e able to implement the empty chair from the beginning of the group so the clients won’t have to experience the anger which was felt in the experiential group . I’ve also had a huge insight as to what way I am in a silence. What way do I internalise this silence and what have I learnt from it. In the first couple of groups there were a few silences and unknown to me my taught would drift away. It was only when asked about the silence and what I was thinking that I realised that my taught were always on other people and things never about myself. For me this was very interesting and showed me that I had some personal stuff still to work through. Having worked through it and realised that it was an old trait of mine to protect myself when I was in active addiction. Another benefit from this insight going forward in my practise is that counter transference won’t be as big an issue for me having done this module and acted on the learning. Bibliography Chase, R.S (2013) Elements of Effective Communication, 4th Edition, Plain and Precious Publishing, Washington. Hough, M. (1998) Counselling Skills and Theory. Hodder and Staunton London. Chapter Nine: The Group Context. Part two pages 213-226 Yalom, I (1985) the Theory and Practise of Group Psychotherapy 3rd Edition Basic Books: USA. Chapter One: Therapeutic Factors in Group Therapy. Yalom, I (1985) The Theory and Practise of Group Psychotherapy 3rd Edition Basic Books: USA. Chapter Eleven: In the Beginning