Taran Swan

Using the terms you have learned (particularly in Module 2) in this course, describe Taran Swan’s personality. Explain your response by referring to the personality trait and attribute frameworks you’ve learned in this course and evidence in the case. Which of her personality traits and attributes might play a role in how she manages Nickelodeon Latin America

Leadership is one of the most common practices that is found and applied on the different organizations around the world. The need for governance has mainly increased the pressure on institutions specializing in educating aspiring leaders with the needed skills that they are expected to have when they are already working on their own fields of interest. Through the utilization of the SWOT analysis, Taran Swan’s capability as a leader shall be analyzed and examined well. The application of the SWOT analysis based evaluation shall present the actual progress of the said individual thus denoting the position that she has already garnered in the Latin American Nickelodeon Corporation.

     THE SWOT Analysis

     The SWOT Analysis is designed to evaluate the capability of an individual or of an organization to provide its clients or the people that a particular individual aims to serve. The SWOT analysis includes Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

1. Strengths:
   • As a leader, the author is able to encourage her team in performing well with her own tasks in the workplace.
   • The integrity that she has towards his own performance has led her to creating possibilities for his team members to reach the standards that he herself has personally set as basis of an excellent performance.
   • Her ability to understand the situation of each individual having their own limitations and strengths as people have led her to becoming the ideal leader that she opts to become.
   • Taran Swan’s idealism to move ahead of what is actually expected of her for the first time of her work application has made her a remarkable worker who is living a fine reputation not only for herself as a worker but as well as for her team and their whole organization.

Summary:

     The strengths of the author mainly focus on the interpersonal relationships that she establishes with her   people and her authorities. Her personal charisma on dealing with other’s individualism and personal characteristics has mainly affected her ability to lead others towards success.

2. Weaknesses:
   • One of the weaknesses of Taran Swan is actually realizing that at times too much leniency on the personality display of the teammates brings disillusion on the part of the goals of the whole organization. This weakness mainly pertains to the lesser ability of the author to say “no”. Although she is able to demand on the performance level of the team members, when they demand of certain things, she has a weak perspective on actually saying “no” to what they want because she believes that they too are giving her a favor when they are completing an excellent performance.

Summary:

     Obviously, when it comes to control and leniency, the irony rises in the character of the individual observed herein. Although she makes it a point that the performance of his teammates are of an excellent regard, her lack of ability to say “no” to the requests of her team mates, although at times those requests are already unreasonable, makes her leadership skill a weakness for some of the goals of the organization.

     However, this does not mean that these weaknesses make her a liability on the organization. This only opens up doors for her to improve her skills in leadership and apply the lessons she learns from experiential accounts, thus making her a more effective leader for performing the tasks needed for her organization.

3. Opportunity
   • The working environment of Taran Swan gives her the opportunity to create possibilities by which she would be able to increase her ability to lead her teammates. The said environment consists of a culturally diverse team that helps her learn that the differences of people opens doors to a more interacting group that would help in the continuance of the goal-achievement of the whole organization that they are working for.
   • It is also the environment of the work that allows the author experience the reality and the essence of being a leader. The responsibilities that are placed upon the author’s shoulder have made her a completely mature person who stands for the whole group.

Summary:

     As it could be noted from the written claims above, the author simply needs to improve his abilities through learning from the major experiences that she receives from actual practice of leadership. Using the said advantage on environmental situation of the work, she is able to see the opportunity for development on the part of her leadership skills.

4. Threats:
   • The cultural diversity within the organization of the author could both be an opportunity and a threat on the part of Taran Swan’s leading skills. Through the differences of the people, it could be noted that the situation is crucial, especially when it comes to distractions on individualism.

Summary:

     Threats could actually turn into opportunities. In this regard, since the main threat is the cultural diversity, the author simply needs to balance the views on the differences and the commendable strengths of her teammates to be able to stand for the whole group and the organization as well.

     In this section, it could be noted that it is through the ability of making fine use of the environment that a leader sets a fine reputation for himself as a leader. Through the application of integrity and perfection on outcome of efforts, the author helps his team mates motivated to focus on their duties as part of the team and the whole organization as well.

      On the other hand, Tran Swan has her own weaknesses. These weaknesses though are convertible to becoming great opportunities of improvement for his better performance as a leader. Through the usage of the key experiences that the said individual faced at work, it could be noted that the weaknesses that keeps her from further developing her skills as a leader could still be further eliminated. Being an achievement oriented person and a neutral leader, the author then aims to continuously enrich his ability to lead others through improvement.

As Taran Swan started building the channel, all the while knowing that at any point Viacom could `pull the plug`, she struggled with how to motivate her people. Using what you have learned about motivation and its various theories, explain what Taran did, and could have done, to accomplish this goal. Do you think she was successful? Be sure to draw upon all the motivation concepts you have learned in this course so far. Your response should demonstrate your breadth of knowledge and your ability to apply what you have learned.

People are motivated in different ways. For some point, they are all considered to be moved by the different frustrated needs that each individual have basing from the past background that they have. Recognizing the fact that both positively and negatively disposed persons have their own frustrated needs that are actually motivating them to take different paths in life that they believe would lead hem to attaining the dreams that they have for themselves as well as for those who belong to them. As for this paper, the examination of the different paths that humans take depending on the life background that they have as the enhancers of the values that they utilize as basis of their actions.

     In this paper, the focus would be on differentiating the situation that humans with the same situation as to economic status and yet a difference in terms of family links. The first case would be considering a person who is predisposed to a family with abusive parents while the second case would be involving an individual who is predisposed to have a family background with parents who are caring and supporting. Both persons are assumed to have frustrated needs because of the fact that both are scorched with the situations of poverty, however, because of the difference of their family background, the said individuals are expected to follow two different paths to be able to give fulfillment to their needs.

Cases Comparison and Contrast

     Taking into consideration the first case, it could be expected that a person who is both scorched with the situations involving poverty and still have parents who are abusive may indeed be disposed of to an environment that is hostile and violent making it possible for him to feel helpless and aggressive when faced with different stresses in life. It could be noted that as a result, the person being involved within the particular situations mentioned herein becomes antisocial making them isolated from their peers. The fear that they felt and received from their families especially from that of their parents actually affects the way that they deal with their own society. Constant recognition of this fact would actually give fine reasons for the others to understand as to why and how they are acting the way that they do.

     On the other hand, a person who is receiving ample care and support from his or her parents actually progresses faster amidst the fact that they are scorched by the situations brought about by poverty. Their parents become their role models making them even stronger in facing the different challenges that they are expected to face when they are attempting to reach the frustrated needs that they are supposed to attain. Their behavior towards the different situations that they need to deal with becomes highly instrumental as they too become strongly involved with the different movements in the society aimed to create a much better society. As a result, they become more involved in the advancements of the communities that they are joined with. From this particular fact, it could be noted that their satisfaction becomes vivid and much effective for the while human society. Hence, they are not only able to fulfill their own needs but also the needs of others who are mostly afflicted with the pressures of poverty as well.

People usually react to life basing from the personal historical background that they have. Most of the time, the reasons as to how and why people act the way they do could be traced from their past experiences. As for the cases discussed herein, it could be observed that the cases examined give a perfect description on how people tend to develop towards maturity while they try to run after the satisfaction in life that they are continuously aiming for. Most likely, it is indeed vivid enough for the readers of this observation to realize the fact that whatever the backgrounds of individuals have a strong effect with the views that they have with their future dealings with the challenges of life. Regardless of their economic situation, the disposition of people becomes much affected by the family background that they have. This is particularly the reason why motivating certain types of people should be based from the consideration given to the experiences that they once had. It could be noted that personally being involved in the background on the lives of the people that needs to be motivated gives better results for the ones that are motivating the said individuals. In this case, Taran Swan’s approach to motivation has both been beneficial and effective for the individuals receiving the attention that she gives carrying the fact that they too have personal problems of their own that needs to be addressed for the sake of personal progress.

What are some specific actions that Taran and other members of her team have taken to improve the flow of communication in her organization? Explain your response.

The ISSUES	Specific Actions	THE OUTCOMES
Dealing with the grievances of the employees (teammates)	Grievances are important factors that should be regulated for the sake of the organization’s safety. Creating programs that would support situations that involve the employees that have grievances towards the organization’s regulations. This action shall be taken to help the other teammates reach their self-satisfaction through the job that they are doing.	Through this major program, the grievances of the employees or teammates shall be regulated thus giving the them a chance to feel satisfaction from the efforts that they are putting forward for the organization. On the part of Taran Swan this opportunity gives him a chance to share his abilities in giving high concern for the welfare of his teammates.
Dealing with motivation practices to help the others achieve the best	Motivation is a vital part of assisting the employees bring out their best for the sake of the organization’s success. As a leader, the creation of programs, training schedules aimed to give the employees the skills they need to become better performers must be applied.	It is through the application of these programs that the author will realize the importance of working together as a team. The programs shall not only help the team realize their need of being motivated fro better performance, but it would also make the leader a more reliable person for implementing such performance-based programs.
Creating a fine working environment for everyone in the team	A fine working environment includes not only the surroundings of the work area but it also identifies the people working within the area. It is through the ability of the leader to create a more workable environment shall the employees or the team members perform well with regards their given tasks.	This would allow the employees to perform at their best in the middle of a considerable environment. The leader on the other hand is then given an opportunity to consider what other might think that they need from their environment to be further motivated to achieve further in their jobs.
Balancing leniency from performance perfectionism	Allowing the employees have their own choice on how to complete their responsibilities make them feel that they are at least free to apply what they know within the system. To be able to do this, the leader is expected to do the best way he could to let the employees have their own share of leniency and yet be motivated to apply perfectionism at their job.	Leniency at times is not bad, this shall help the employees realize that their concerns are given high regard by the organization. The leader would also find a way by which he could increase his concern for other’s welfare and still be balanced in terms of the perfection of the outcomes of the performances of the people of the team.
Considering reasonable requests from teammates and denying those that are not.	Like leniency, giving in to the requests of the employees should be limited. The setting of grounds for provided favors and others that are not supposed to be given to the employees should then be established.	The ground for consideration shall set an outline of which favor should be reasonably given consideration and which are those that should not be given consideration.

If she was to decide not to appoint an interim leader, what changes should she make in her working relationship and style with her team?

Leaders are indeed one of the primary foundations of the entire organization’s success. In some ways, the leaders may fail in actually performing the duties that they have towards the members of an organization as an appointed authority. However, through the careful examination of the situation it could not be denied that leaders could particularly learn so much as to how the right track for reaching the organization’s goal could be set right in front of the organizational members’ future. As Heifetz comment on leadership that “it means influencing the community in following the authorities versus the influence that it has on the community in facing their problems; furthermore, it is the primary cause of leadership to assist people understand their situation and follow the instructions of the ones who are in position to help them get by” (14-15). Certainly, leaders are appointed with the responsibility of not only taking care of the members of their own organization but also giving regard to the demands of the community from the organization itself.

     Everyone who becomes a leader of a certain group is entitled to a set of responsibilities that he or she should be able to respond to. As a primary foundation for the organization’s victory over the challenges that would best the group, a leader should be well prepared in facing the odds. The realization of the fact that there is no perfect organization and there are nor perfect members only perfect set of rules determines the fact that leaders should be capable of facing certain changes within the procedural approach of the organization. While not leaving the members unknowledgeable of the situation, the leaders would be able to implement changes in a more effective way.

If she was to decide to appoint an interim leader, which one of her existing staff would you select? Why? Answer this question by evaluating both individual characteristics as well as group and communication dynamics of each of the potential candidates. (15 marks)

What recommendation would you make? Why? (4 marks)

 The present world is beset with problems that defy solution. What leader, for example, has proved himself so wise and powerful that he can eradicate crime and war? Who among today’s leaders has the resources and compassion to provide every human with food, clean water, and health care? Who has the knowledge and determination to protect and restore the environment? Who is competent and powerful enough to ensure that all humanity enjoy a long and happy life?

     The questions above determine the needs of the society for having a leader that would provide them with the necessary things that they want to have for satisfaction. This is the reason why being a leader requires so much effort. So as to be able to meet the challenges of becoming a fine leader for the majority, this paper then requires personal adjustments on a hopeful leader. As it is believed by Northouse, a leader is someone who has competencies in changing the society by starting within himself. (2006, 25) Yes, changing the society is a large responsibility. Providing the people of what they need is a vital part of the responsibilities of being a leader. A hopeful leader could not attain the said goals and complete the said responsibilities without working on his personality first.

     Aside from this, leaders at present are expected to face the regulations that are needed to be taken into consideration when dealing with the many social changes brought about by globalization. Affecting change in this particular situation may not be that easy to imply. According to Williams’ book entitled “the Ten Lenses”, the changes in the society could only be given careful addressing once the leaders themselves realize their roles in being able to affect other in the society in a positive way. Making the ends of the earth meet through the existence of economic brotherhood has been enticed by economists as one of the key factors that would make globalization a revolutionary agent in terms of global economic success.

     Hence, it is important to realize on the part of the leaders that the challenges that are to be met in this particular situation are not that easy to deal with. Since the issues involve human individuals, the management teams of different business organizations around the world certainly faces the challenge of helping the employees make amends on the differences that they have against each other. As hard as it is motivating same-race employees in a certain organization, it is even harder to make the ends of the world meet through the use of policing procedures. The massive work on researching and reintegrating cultural considerations with the procedures of company management are only among the major reasons why it is necessary to understand the key factors that contribute to the success of multinational companies.

     Not unless a leader is able to reach his best potential as a person would be able to bring out the best potential on others that could help them attain their dreams as well. Yes, personal development is essential for creating a leader within one’s self. Realizing one’s personal capabilities and limitations would help one recognize that others too have their own limitations and capabilities. People who have the capability of seeing people as persons who are capable of improving and developing are the ones who become successful leaders of the society. Integrating the personal advancement procedures with the right practice of leadership, success in making change within the organization, the society and within individual persons is a sure success that could be expected directly.

References:

Paul D. Houston , Stephen L. Sokolow. (2006). The Spiritual Dimension of Leadership: 8 Key Principles to Leading More Effectively. Corwin Press.

Peter G. Northouse. (2006). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications, Inc; 4 edition. Sage Publications, Inc; 4 edition. ISBN-10: 141294161X.

Stephen R. Covey. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Free Press; 15 Anv edition. ISBN-10: 0743269519.

Lynne Joy McFarland. (2001). 21st Century Leadership: Dialogues With 100 Top Leaders. The Leadership Press; Reissue edition. ISBN-10: 0963601806.

Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (2003) Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Mark Williams. (2001). The 10 Lenses: Your Guide to Living & Working in a Multicultural World (Capital Ideas for Business & Personal Development). Capital Books.

. Harvard Business School. March 24, 2000.