Leadership and Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Leadership and Responsibility - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the article strives to demonstrate the relationship between historical leadership style and the leadership proposal of Smith, Montagno, and Kuzmenko and highlighting the support offered by the historical record for the proposal of Smith et al. also forms a part of this article. In an order to represent the important concepts like transformational leadership and servant leadership, the author has chosen to use two historical leaders in his article- Xenophon, who was a transformational leader and Chief Joseph, who was a servant leader. The research contained in this article may be considered valuable considering the efficacy offered by adding a historical approach for understanding such intricate leadership constructs as transformational leadership, which is considered to be more appropriate by the author when a definite organizational change is desired. The author stresses on the fact that the importance of contextual factors has increased in the recent yea rs and that they really play an important role in determining the effectiveness of certain leadership constructs. As Smith et al.’s proposal also stressed on using contextual factors for validating transformational and servant leadership, the research work in this article aims at presenting a historical approach for investigating the contextual complications, which is a strategy that never did appear in any management and leadership article before. According to the author, transformational leadership comes into practice when the interests of each individual become united for the overall interest of an organization. A transformational leader should be able to maintain his/her charisma and should provide a unique vision to his/her followers. The author tries to identify in the article that servant leadership style has some definite deficiencies compared to transformational leadership style because its topmost priority is based on serving others and then considering the step to lead others constructively.

Public Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Public Administration - Essay Example Other contract based facilities housed a total of 12,558 inmates according to the latest statistics (BOP, 2012). A majority of the offenders are confined in correctional facilities and detention centers run by the Bureau while the rest are confined in local and private correctional facilities in accordance with the agreements entered into by these institutions with the BOP. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) aims to safeguard the interests of the society by confining offenders in controlled environments of prisons and other correctional facilities which are safe, cost-effective and secure and which offer the inmates an opportunity to strive for self-improvement and become law-abiding citizens post their term. However, the prison system in the U.S. despite its noble mission is plagued with several setbacks such as overcrowding, racial and ethnic disparities, persistence of unhealthy living environment of the inmates, issues related to health and inmate care, insufficient staffing, et c among others (Department of Justice, 2012). Key Policy Issues: The American Prison system has persistently faced the problem of overcrowding resulting in a rapid deterioration of conditions of confinement for the prisoners, rise in staffing issues, and a significant negative impact on the state budget. According to Sidlow and Henschen (2008) one of the key causes responsible for overcrowding in American prisons is the war on drugs and the legislations following the same. In a desperate move by the government to curb illegal substance abuse laws regarding incarceration of the offenders were strengthened, which ultimately resulted in a rapid rise in number of inmates arrested for the said offence. The rise in number of inmates in turn lead to a subsequent rise in budget spending required for construction and maintenance of correctional facilities as well as staffing. According to latest statistics America holds the record for housing the world’s largest number of inmates and the highest per capita rate of incarceration (The Economist, 2012). The excessive incarceration rates in the country triggered a humanitarian crisis due to ever increasing prisoners and shortage of space. Another persistent problem faced by the prison system is the racial and ethnic disparity in incarceration. The wide racial divide is far more apparent in the American justice system with African Americans having the largest incarceration rates and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as the lowest (Hartney & Vuong, 2009; Mauer, 2009). Comprehensive Review: For the purpose of this study three articles are reviewed which are discussed below: 1. Dead or Alive? The Federalism Revolution and Its Meaning for Public Administration by Robert K. Christensen, Charles R. Wise Prisons in the United States operate under laws framed by the respective states and the offenders are punished and incarcerated in accordance with the laws applicable under their jurisprudence. However, a clash between state and federal laws, may significantly influence the decision making by the public managers and affect the system of public administration in general. The authors have cited the historical 2005 Raich decision whereby the court held that "federal controlled Substances Act did not exceed the Congress's power to prohibit the use of medicinal marijuana, which was otherwise legal under the California law" (Christensen & Wise,