All About Pirates and Their Treasure

We’ve all seen the movies where one-eyed, peg-leg pirates make off with great wooden chests full of gold, silver, and jewels. But this image isnt really accurate. Pirates only rarely got their hands on treasure like this, but they did still take plunder from their victims. Pirates and their Victims During the so-called Golden Age of piracy, which lasted roughly from 1700 to 1725, hundreds of pirate ships plagued the waters of the world. These pirates, while generally associated with the Caribbean, did not limit their activities to that region. They also struck off the coast of Africa and even made forays into the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They would attack and rob any non-Navy ship that crossed their paths: mostly merchant and slave vessels plying the Atlantic. The plunder the pirates took from these ships mainly were trade goods profitable at the time. Food and Drink Pirates often plundered food and drink from their victims: Alcoholic drinks, in particular, were rarely if ever allowed to continue on their way. Casks of rice and other foodstuffs were taken on board as needed, although the less cruel pirates would leave enough food for their victims to survive. Fishing ships were often robbed when merchants were scarce, and in addition to the fish, pirates would sometimes take tackle and nets. Ship Materials Pirates rarely had access to ports or shipyards where they could repair their vessels. Their ships were often put to hard use, meaning that they were in constant need of new sails, ropes, rigging tackle, anchors, and other things necessary for the day-to-day maintenance of a wooden sailing vessel. They stole candles, thimbles, frying pans, thread, soap, kettles, and other mundane items and would often also plunder wood, masts, or parts of the ship if they needed them. Of course, if their own ship were in really bad shape, the pirates would sometimes simply swap ships with their victims! Trade Goods Most of the loot gained by pirates was trade goods being shipped by merchants. Pirates never knew what they would find on the ships they robbed. Popular trade goods at the time included bolts of cloth, tanned animal skins, spices, sugar, dyes, cocoa, tobacco, cotton, wood, and more. Pirates had to be choosy about what to take, as some items were easier to sell than others. Many pirates had clandestine contacts with merchants willing to purchase such stolen goods for a fraction of their true worth and then resell them for a profit. Pirate-friendly towns such as Port Royal, Jamaica, or Nassau, Bahamas, had many unscrupulous merchants willing to make such deals. Slaves Buying and selling slaves was a very profitable business during the Golden Age of piracy, and slave ships often were raided by pirates. Pirates might keep the slaves to work on the ship or sell them themselves. Often, the pirates would loot the slave ships of food, weapons, rigging, or other valuables and let the merchants keep the slaves, who were not always easy to sell and had to be fed and cared for. Weapons, Tools, and Medicine Weapons were very valuable. They were the tools of the trade for pirates. A pirate ship without cannons and a crew without pistols and swords were ineffective, so it was the rare pirate victim that got away with his weapon stores unplundered. Cannons were moved to the pirate ship and the holds cleared of gunpowder, small arms, and bullets. Tools were as good as gold, whether they be carpenters tools, surgeons knives, or navigational gear (such as maps and astrolabes). Likewise, medicines were often looted: Pirates were often injured or ill, and medicines were hard to come by. When Blackbeard held Charleston, North Carolina, hostage in 1718, he demanded—and received—a chest of medicines in exchange for lifting his blockade. Gold, Silver, and Jewels Of course, just because most of their victims didnt have any gold doesnt mean that the pirates never got any at all. Most ships had a little gold, silver, jewels, or some coins aboard, and the crew and captains were often tortured to get them to reveal the location of any such stash. Sometimes, pirates got lucky: In 1694, Henry Avery and his crew sacked the Ganj-i-Sawai, the treasure ship of the Grand Moghul of India. They captured chests of gold, silver, jewels, and other precious cargo worth a fortune. Pirates with gold or silver tended to spend it quickly when in port. Buried Treasure? Thanks to the popularity of Treasure Island, the most famous novel about pirates, most people think that the bandits went around burying treasure on remote islands. In fact, pirates rarely buried treasure. Captain William Kidd buried his loot, but hes one of the few known to have done so. Considering that most of the pirate treasure to be had was delicate, such as food, sugar, wood, ropes, or cloth, its not surprising that idea is mostly a myth. Sources Cordingly, David. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1996 Defoe, Daniel. A General History of the Pyrates. Dover Maritime, 60742nd edition, Dover Publications, January 26, 1999. Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: The Lyons Press, 2009 Konstam, Angus. The Pirate Ship 1660-1730. New York: Osprey, 2003

On A Prospers Day Of Christmas Eve By John C Lester

On a prospers day of Christmas eve, John C Lester, James R, Crowe, John B, Kennedy, Frank O. McCord, Richard R. Reed and Calvin E. Jones, all gather around trying to find some amusement to try to get their minds off their problems. As they filled up the room with laughter and unimportant conversations amongst themselves Lester spoke up about having an idea. He said to the guys that they should start something new to try and cheer up their families and the people around them. He then said â€Å"let’s start a club of some kind† (Page eleven). To the others Lester’s idea was brilliant and they talked more and decided that it should be a secret society, they all thought of it like a college fraternity. All the guys who spoke about making the society weren’t thinking about being serious in any kind. The sic of them just spoke casually about starting their new society. Before they left back home they all decided to meet up again to discuss further details. As th ey came back to the next meeting they discusses on to what the name of the club should be. Kennedy and Richard Reed proposed that the name should include the word Kukloi, which is derived from the Greek word Kuklos. The root English word is circle. They are cheered of approval because it all pointed out to having some sort of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Lester then proposed to add the word â€Å"Klan†. After more discussion they all decided that two to proposed words should be added to get a new name. Later on they came about the name KuShow MoreRelatedDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesManagement—-Study and teaching. 2. Management—Problems, exercises, etc. Kim S. II. Title. HD30.4.W46 2011 658.40071 173—dc22 I. Cameron, 2009040522 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ISBN 10: 0-13-612100-4 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-612100-8 B R I E F TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Preface xvii Introduction 1 PART I 1 2 3 PERSONAL SKILLS 44 Developing Self-Awareness 45 Managing Personal Stress 105 Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively 167 PART II 4 5 6 7 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS 232 233

Authentic Leadership on Employee Trust †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Authentic Leadership on Employee Trust. Answer: Introduction: Trait theories defer from behavioral theories mainly in terms of the qualities of a leader (Derue et al. 2011: 12). Trait theories of leadership list some specific personality traits that a leader possesses. These traits distinguish leaders and non-leaders. The theories stress that leaders are not made but are born. In other words, the theories maintain that leadership in innate (the personality traits are inborn) and cannot be achieved through learning (Landis, Hill Harvey, 2014: 97). Behavioral theories of leadership, on the other hand, focus on the leader's specific and observable behaviors. Therefore, behavioral theorists pay their attention to the conduct or behaviors of leaders. The primary assumption of these theories is that leaders are made but not born and that the success of leadership is deeply rooted in the learnable and definable behaviors (Penney, Kelloway O'Keefe, 2015: 19) Different organizations have their strategies of selecting and developing effective leaders. However, some of the factors that determine the selection and development include assessment of core competencies and skills and clarification of roles and objectives (Zaccaro Klimoski, 2002: 17). The two primary leadership competencies are skills and behaviors. Skills, in this case, include interpersonal skills, technical and conceptual skills. An effective leader has the responsibly of assigning roles and defining objectives to the workers (Zaccaro Klimoski, 2002: 17). For instance, the role of a human resource manager in an organization would include assigning tasks, formulating action plans for completing tasks or projects and setting goals of performance. Employees' motivation is key to the growth and sustainability of any business. The UK and Europe to ranking companies which have also been cited as the best working places share some common factors that they employ to motivate staff. One of the factors includes employee engagement in the business's operations. Maximum engagement of employees gives them opportunities to not only grow but also shine (Malik, Butt Choi, 2015: 56). They are given opportunities to explore their strengths, grow in their roles as well as learn more. The respective companies and workplaces empower their employees thereby encouraging understanding and encouragement. As a result, the companies record high productivity and profits. Another form of motivation is awarded in terms of awards and other benefits. Other than the basic salary, employees working in these top and/or best companies receive other benefits such as allowances, sick leave, educational leaves, retirement benefits and promotions (Wang Hsieh, 2013: 616). Additionally, employees enjoy a high sense of empowerment. Employees are therefore given opportunities to make decisions that influence the respective companies. It is thus evident that these companies and workplaces encourage decision-making strategy that involves all the stakeholders. Such an approach according to Wang and Hsieh (2013: 616) ensures that the employees are satisfied hence work towards improving the companies' productivity while maximizing profits and meeting competitive advantage. One of the recent films I have watched is Jamie Uys' The Gods Must be Crazy. It is an African based film depicting the ancient life before the emergence of technology in the region. In my perspective, the film is a depiction of what Auguste Comte contended. That is, societies evolve from one stage to the other. The three stages are the theological stage, metaphysical stage, and the scientific stage. The film shows a sophisticated culture which is later disintegrated by conflict and the emergence of technology. The society in question has strict beliefs and values and knows nothing about education. They believe in supernatural powers. Generally, I found the movie interesting and all-involving. Conversely, a friend who watched the same film said that the movie was unattractive. According to her, the actions, events, culture, and characters show how human beings can be barbaric at times. She also contended that the film could be fictional because she could not understand how rational hu man beings could lead a normal life in a desert. Essentially, our perceptions about the film were very different. While I perceived that the unfolding events in the film were salient in any society with no experience of technology and exposure, my friend maintained that such kind of life is abnormal and the film events are just mere makings and imaginations. If I were Samantha, I would ensure the following factors before delegating any project or part of the project to any member of the staff. I would first consider whether I have suitable personnel who can handle the task effectively. The right person to handle the project must possess all the necessary abilities to handle the requirements of the project. In order to ensure that the workers do not feel that Samantha's oversight and authority are too much or she is over controlling, it is necessary to delegate projects while incorporating discussion and participation. She should invite questions and also allow suggestions. The approach is effective in understanding how the workers perceive the task, how they accept it and even become committed. Executives do not require controlling all the projects as a way of maintaining authority. Other than controlling all the projects, executives can alternatively express authority through ensuring that there is trust between them and the employees (Binns, Smith, Tushman, 2011: 72). Again, they can also do so through employees' motivation. Additionally, executives have all rights to have control over projects because it is one of their core responsibilities. However, their manner of control is influenced by the decisions made. They have to be made aware of the decisions made. Some of the tasks that a top executive cannot delegate include; core responsibilities, talent nurturing and team building, crisis management, and achievement of the mission, vision and the company culture. According to Hackman, a successful teamwork should be small in size with consistent membership (Hackman, 2009: 98). It should have skilled, highly motivated and committed members. Also, a successful teamwork should have defined roles and responsibilities. The team leaders should be courageous, assertive and capable of imposing authority. These qualities are important in ensuring effective group performance. Other essential conditions improve the efficiency of teams. Firstly, effective teams focus on cooperation among the team members (Hackman, 2009: 100). In this case, there is the need for the team members to work together to achieve certain goals. Effective teams should also exhibit flexibility. That is, teams should be able to deal with any changes. Dealing with changes calls for the team members to consider different views from every member and can even choose to compromise. One of the things I would do to ensure that the new team is effective is to lay down the ground work. Secondly, I would assess the skills and expertise of every team member. This would help in classifying the members with complementary skills. It would be necessary to divide the overall goal into smaller tasks. The breakdown promotes individual performance and responsibility thereby enhancing accountability towards achieving the overall goal. References Binns, A., Smith, W. K., Tushman, M. L. (2011). The ambidextrous CEO. Harvard Business Review, 89(6), 74-80. Derue, D. S., Nahrgang, J. D., Wellman, N. E. D., Humphrey, S. E. (2011). Trait and behavioral theories of leadership: An integration and meta?analytic test of their relative validity. Personnel psychology, 64(1), 7-52. Hackman, J. R. (2009). Why teams don't work. Interview by Diane Coutu. Harvard Business Review, 87(5), 98-105. Landis, E. A., Hill, D., Harvey, M. R. (2014). A synthesis of leadership theories and styles. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15(2), 97. Malik, M. A. R., Butt, A. N., Choi, J. N. (2015). Rewards and employee creative performance: Moderating effects of creative self?efficacy, reward importance, and locus of control. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(1), 59-74. Penney, S. A., Kelloway, E. K., OKeefe, D. (2015). Trait theories of leadership. Leadership in Sport, 19. Wang, D. S., Hsieh, C. C. (2013). The effect of authentic leadership on employee trust and employee engagement. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 41(4), 613-624. Zaccaro, S. J., Klimoski, R. J. (Eds.). (2002). The nature of organizational leadership: Understanding the performance imperatives confronting today's leaders (Vol. 12). John Wiley Sons.

Cross-cultural management in organisations - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Cross-cultural management in organisations. Answer: A manager can be referred as an individual who is provided the responsibility of handling a project as well as a team or certain operations of the organization. They are mainly assigned with the duty of getting the jobs done and at the same time motivate employees to accomplish the goals set by the employers (Goetsch Davis, 2014). This assignment will mainly provide an overview about the work done by the managers the procedures and the theories they follow fro effective management and how they help employees and organization to reach the peak of success. Managers are usually provided with a set of objectives which they need to meet for organizational success. This responsibility now starts with forming suitable teams and managing them properly so that the objective can be met. One of the skills that every managers need to possess is decision making skills (Cameron Green, 2015). The managers need to correctly develop critical thinking ability and thereby assign works to team members according to their capabilities so that there is no rise of conflicts and all the tasks are completed smoothly. The decisions which are made often become stressful for the managers as they have to fire someone or to lay-off a whole team. Therefore the managers need to be always ready to make choices which are good for the ultimate goals. While developing teams, manager can follow Tuckmans theory so that he can correctly form effective teams. The first stage he can follow is the forming stage where the team members gradually gets acquainted with the team working styles and accept the power or authority offered by their leaders. In the second stage called the storming, individual team members reveal their personalities which sometimes result in emerging of conflict and disagreement affecting unity in the meeting of goals (AlAriss et al. 2014). The third stage is called the norming stage where conflicts are mainly resolved by the managers and team harmony and unity is gained back. The fourth stage is called the performing stage where the managers mainly guide the team members on problem solving and thereby accomplishing the tasks. The last stage is called the adjourning stage where the team has a limited task to perform which is then disbanded upon task completion (Pemsel Wiewwiora 2013). Therefore, managers through th is process can successfully develop and manage teams and thereby help in meeting the goals. Another important aspect which should be followed by different managers to maintain an effective workplace is proper communication skills. Effective communication is the only process by which managers can not only overcome various types of conflicts among the employees but can also help in solving different problems and make the working environment smoother and informal. Researchers are of the opinion that proper communication skills include the managers to be an active listener (Ou et al., 2014). He should give the scope to the employees to speak out their concern or problems making them feel that they have a guide who cares for them. Effectively developing the trust of the employees by properly socializing with them, make the managers help in developing an informal environment in the workplace. This reduces stress of the employees and can thereby produce higher productivity. Moreover, another effective aspect of communication is feedback giving and receiving skills. Managers do not only have the duties to make sure that the objectives are met but would also make sure that employees are happy within the working environment. For this, managers should take effective feedbacks from the employees making them feel integrated in the system (French, 2015). On the other hand, the managers should also provide feedback to the employees with a positive and encouraging tone, so that the employees can rectify their mistake and also at the same time do not develop negative feelings for them. This would help the managers to ensure that the team is well aligned with the team. Managing the team is not only the main function of the managers. They also have to be following the five competencies which are valuable for maintaining the flow of work in the organization. The first competency mainly helps in dealing with the proper organization of the information flows. It is one of the most important tasks for the manager to manage, utilize and distribute information effectively so that the miscommunication and losses do not occur. The second competency that the managers need to develop is to multitask and manage different types of works and functions at the same time so that he can take care of all the responsibilities imposed on him. He has to overcome different challenges like intercultural issues and thereby help in building unity and setting higher standards of team performance (Jin et al., 2014). The third competency is mainly including several initiatives for properly planning and coordinating projects so that all the stakeholders are aware of the status o f the ongoing work. The fourth competency would mainly be his evaluation skills where he should be properly measuring and monitoring the performance of the team members and denoting them about their qualities. He would be mainly helping in evaluating the outcomes that the organization wants to make. The fifth and last competency would be to encourage team members and also maintain his activities by properly aligning with the rules and regulations of the organizations and also help them maintain the legal and regulatory requirements for the organizations. Other than this, the managers should make sure that they possess skills such as proper time management, proper interpersonal and relationship building skills, delegation, forward planning and strategy as well as problem solving (Quinn et al., 2014). They should also have proper emotional intelligence, administrative and financial skills and proper leadership skills which would ensure successful outcomes for the organization. From the entire discussion, it is seen that managers play an important role in the organizations. In order to complete their assigned tasks responsibly, it is seen that they have to possess proper team development skills, team management skills and evaluation skills. Not only that their communication skills are also important to maintain an informal trustworthy relationships among the employees which ensure higher productivity. Moreover they have to multitask properly, maintain unity, and possess problem solving skills, decision making ability and others. All these would ensure that organizational goals are successfully met and employees can exhibit their skills with full potential. References: Al Ariss, A., Cascio, W. F., Paauwe, J. (2014). Talent management: Current theories and future research directions.Journal of World Business,49(2), 173-179. Cameron, E., Green, M. (2015).Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. French, R. (2015).Cross-cultural management in work organisations. Kogan Page Publishers. Goetsch, D. L., Davis, S. B. (2014).Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Jin, Y., Liu, B. F., Austin, L. L. (2014). Examining the role of social media in effective crisis management: The effects of crisis origin, information form, and source on publics crisis responses.Communication research,41(1), 74-94. Ou, A. Y., Tsui, A. S., Kinicki, A. J., Waldman, D. A., Xiao, Z., Song, L. J. (2014). Humble chief executive officers connections to top management team integration and middle managers responses.Administrative Science Quarterly,59(1), 34-72. Pemsel, S., Wiewiora, A. (2013). Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations.International Journal of Project Management,31(1), 31-42. Quinn, R. E., Bright, D., Faerman, S. R., Thompson, M. P., McGrath, M. R. (2014).Becoming a master manager: A competing values approach. John Wiley Sons.