Into the Lions Mouth :: China Chinese Culture Papers

Into the Lion's Mouth It is the last Saturday in September and the Brown University lion dance team is about to perform. Eleven students sit on the floor of Leung Gallery. The nine team members walk to the front of the room, seven Chinese, two Caucasian. Each wears a shirt bearing a black and white lion design on the front and the words "Brown Lion Dance" emblazed across the back. The boys who will make up the two lions - Grant, John, Chris and Michael - wear bright yellow pants with orange and gold tassels encircling each leg, meant to mimic fur. The instrumentalists, Cisco and Larissa, wear black pants and black shoes, and Peter Quon, the teaser, sports a navy blue silk ensemble reminiscent of a rich man's pajamas. He dons a mask made of brightly lacquered peach paper mache, with pink dots for cheeks, ruby red lips and thick, black eyebrows. He will signal the lions into place for each stunt. The four boys disappear underneath the heads and tails. The team's captain Brian Fong welcomes the freshmen, but keeps his remarks brief. He can't convey this magic - this magic that keeps him and his team here, week after week, year after year - with words. Brian and the team members move into place. Cisco raises his drumsticks and brings them down hard on the drums. The cymbals crash. The performance begins. Historians trace Chinese lion dancing back to a band of roving Persians who traveled to China via the Silk Road during the T'ang Dynasty (618- 906 A.D.). They performed their Nevruz ("New Day") festival for the emperor who, like his people, had never seen a lion before. The Persians' dance pleased the emperor so much that he ordered the lion to be incorporated into the most important of Chinese festivals, the Harvest Moon and New Year's celebrations. The Chinese, however love to tell another story of how this art form came to be: the Legend of the Nien. In ancient times, a creature called the Nien roamed throughout China, devouring man and beast. News of these atrocities reached a remote mountain village and prompted its inhabitants to seek protection from the mighty lion. When the Nien finally stormed into the village, the lion intercepted him and the two beasts fought a terrible battle. The lion emerged victorious and the wounded Nien slunk away into the shadows of the forest, vowing to return in exactly one year to exact vengeance.

Leadership Taxonomy

Introduction There a numerous leadership theories that help manage a successful business. These theories include techniques that have been developed and constantly improving since 1888. Theorists such as Thomas Carlyle, Kurt Lewin, and James Kouze, have developed characteristics they believe will shape the leaders of tomorrow. These characteristics are structured together to create theories based on personality, relationships, and developmental styles. The following will provided an organized overview of ten theorists and the characteristics they believe to develop successful leaders. Theorist |Theory Title |Theory Characteristics |Year | |Thomas Carlyle |Great Man |â€Å"According to this theory, you're either a natural born leader or |c. 1888 | | | |you're not. The term â€Å"Great Man† was used because, at the time, | | | | |leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in | | | | |terms of military leadership. (About, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |The Great Man leadership theory became more prevalent during the 19th| | | | |century and was developed from the success of several famous leaders. | | | |A famous quote that sums up this theory is â€Å"great leaders are born, | | | | |not Made. † (Changing Minds, 2011) | | Cherry, K. (2011). The Great Man Theory of Leadership. In About. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://psychology. about. com/od/leadership/a/great-man-theory-of-leadership. htm Straker, D. (2011). Great Man Theory. In Changing Minds. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://changingminds. org/disciplines/leadership/theories/great_man_theory. htm |Gordon Allport |Personality Trait Theory |â€Å"The trait approach to personality is one of the major theoretical |c. 1936 | | | |areas in the study of personality. The trait theory suggests that | | | | |individual personalities are composed broad dispositions. (About, | | | | |2011) | | | | | | | | | |Allport discovered that there are more then 4,000 words to describe | | | | |personality traits. Allport categorized those traits into three | | | | |different levels, Cardinal, Central and Secondary traits. | | | | | | | | | |Cardinal traits were characterized as traits that dominate an | | | | |individual’s whole life. Central traits are general characteristics | | | | |of an individual personality that would affect their leadership | | | | |quality. â€Å"Terms such as intelligent, honest, shy and anxious are | | | | |considered central traits. (About, 2011) Secondary traits reefers | | | | |to attitudes or preferences that appear in certain situations or from| | | | |the result of a specific circumstance. | | Cherry, K. (2011). Trait Theory of Personality. In About. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://psychology. about. om/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/trait-theory. htm Cherry, K. (2011). Leadership Theories – 8 Major Leadership Theories. In About. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://psychology. about. com/od/leadership/p/leadtheories. htm |Kurt Lewin |Lewin's leadership styles |Lewin’s developed three leadership styles, autocratic, democratic |c. 1939 | | | |style and Laissez-Faire style. | | | | | | | | |â€Å"In the autocratic style, the leader takes decisions without | | | | |consulting with others. The decision is made without any form of | | | | |consultation. In Lewin's experiments, he found that this caused the | | | | |most level of discontent. † (Changing Minds, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |The autocratic style is used when the result from a decision would | | | | |not change if it had the input from others. | | | | | | | | |â€Å"In the democratic style, the leader involves the people in the | | | | |decision-making, although the process for the final decision may vary| | | | |from the leader having the final say to them facilitating consensus | | | | |in the group. (Changing Minds, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |The democratic style is a group decision making process. This style | | | | |usually opens it up for individuals to voice their opinions and can | | | | |create adversity and problems. | | | | | | | | |â€Å"The laissez-faire style is to minimize the leader's involvement in | | | | |decision-making, and hence allowing people to make their own | | | | |decisions, although they may still be responsible for the outcome. | | | | |( Changing Minds, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |When individuals are motivated to make their own decisions and there | | | | |is no need for a central coordination, the laissez-faire style would | | | | |be best suited for that situation. | | | | | | | | | | | | Straker, D. (2011). Lewin's leadership styles. In Changing Minds. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://changingminds. org/disciplines/leadership/styles/lewin_style. htm |F. E. Fiedler |Least Preferred Co-worker |â€Å"Leaders prioritize between task-focus and people-focus. |c. 1964 | | |(LPC) Theory |Relationships, power and task structure are the three key factors | | | | |that drive effective styles. † ( Changing Minds, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |Fiedler used a scoring system to be able to determine if that leader | | | | |would work with that person again. | | | | | | | | |â€Å"High LPC leaders tend to have close and positive relationships and | | | | |act in a supportive way, even prioritizing the relationship before | | | | |the task. Low LPC leaders put the task first and will turn to | | | | |relationships only when they are satisfied with how the work is | | | | |going. (Changing Minds, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |Three identifying factors | | | | | | | | | |Leader-Member Relations | | | | |Task structure | | | | |Leader’s Position-power | | Straker, D. (2011). . In Changing Minds. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://changingminds. org/disciplines/leadership/theories/fiedler_lpc. htm Rensis Likert |Likerts leadership styles |Likerts four style of leadership were developed around decision |c. 1967 | | | |making and how much people are involved in the decision making | | | | |process. | | | | | | | | | |Likerts four styles are exploitive authoritative, benevolent | | | | |authoritative, consultative, and participative. | | | | | | | | |The Exploitive authoritative style is a style where the leader has | | | | |low- no concern on how their actions will psychologically affect | | | | |people. This style is based off of fear and threats in order to | | | | |accomplish the task at hand. | | | | | | | | | |The Benevolent authoritative style is a complete opposite of the | | | | |Exploitive authoritative style. This style involves higher ranked | | | | |leaders in an organization listening to the concerns of individuals | | | | |lower in the organization. | | | | | | | | | |The consultative theory is focused on still listening to the upward | | | | |flow of information, but generally decisions are still centrally | | | | |made. | | | | | | | | |The participative theory’s where leaders maximize methods to engage | | | | |with people lower down in the organization in the decision-making | | | | |process. | | | | | | | | | | | | Straker, D. (2011). Likert's leadership styles. In Changing Minds. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://changingminds. org/disciplines/leadership/styles/likert_style. htm |D. J. Hickson |Strategic Contingencies |The strategic contingencies theory states that if a person does|c. 1971 | | |Theory |no they charisma but that person possesses the ability to solve| | | | |problems they still can be a effective leader. | | | | | | | | | |â€Å"The theory helps to objectify leadership techniques, as | | | | |opposed to relying on personalities. (Leadership-Central, | | | | |2011) | | | | | | | | | | | | Strategic Contingencies Theory (2011). In Leadership-central. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www. leadership-central. com/strategic-contingencies-theory. html#axzz1ZeSf2sGc |Dr. Paul Hersey, |Situational Leadership |Hersey and Blanchard leadership model was developed into four styles|c. 972 | |Ken Blanchard |Model |(S1 to S4) to match the employee development level (D1 to D4). | | | | | | | | | |â€Å"Leaders should adapt their style to follower development style (or | | | | |'maturity'), based on how ready and willing the follower is to | | | | |perfo rm required tasks (that is, their competence and motivation). | | | | |(Straker, 2011) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Style one is Telling/Directing which is designed for an employee at | | | | |a D1 level. This employee is a t a low competence, low commitment | | | | |level to the company. | | | | | | | | |Style two is Selling/ Coaching which is designed for a employee at a| | | | |D 2 level. This employee has some competence and a variable | | | | |commitment to his/her position. | | | | | | | | | |Style three is Participating/ Supporting which is designed for an | | | | |employee at a D3 level. This employee has high competence but still | | | | |a variable commitment to his/her position and the company. | | | | | | | | | |Style four is Delegating/ Observing which is designed for a employee| | | | |at D 4. This employee with have a high competence and a high | | | | |commitment to the company. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |At level S1 the leader is high task focus and not real focus on the | | | | |relationship. As you reach a S4 the leader has a low task focus and | | | | |a low relationship focus. At S3 that is where the leader builds a | | | | |strong relationship to develop that employee into a D4. | | | | | | Straker, D. (2011). Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership. In Changing Minds. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://changingminds. org/disciplines/leadership/styles/situational_leadership_hersey_blanchard. htm Situational Leadership- About us (2011). In Situational Leadership. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www. situational. com/about-us/ |Danser eau, Graen, |Leader-member Exchange (LMX)|â€Å"How a leader maintains leadership through working with her or |c. 1975 | |and Haga |his supporters, those entrusted with responsibility and advisers | | | | |defines the Leader-member Exchange theory as a method for | | | | |exerting and maintaining leadership. † (Leadership-Central, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |LMX is a intuitive theory and would be more expected from a | | | | |leader-group structure. LMX uses three stages of development. | | | | | | | | |Organizational Stage | | | | |Role Development | | | | |Leader-led relationship | | | | | | | | | |Leaders in this theory can range from a person leading a small | | | | |discussion group or a supervisor of a work crew to heads of | | | | |countries or empires. â€Å"The more complex the task and | | | | |organization, the more factors enter into the organizational | | | | |dynamics. † (Leadership-Central, 2011) | | | | | | | Leader-Member Exchange Theory – LMX (2011). In Leadership-central. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www. leadership-central. om/leader-member-exchange. html#axzz1ZeSf2sGc |James MacGregor |Burns Transformational |â€Å"Burns Transformational leadership Theory, in other words, |c. 1978 | |Burns |Leadership Theory |Burns focuses upon motivations and values in assessing how a | | | | |leader approaches power. This aspect of having that basic | | | | |ethical system sets leaders apart from those merely aspiring to| | | | |power. (Leadership-Central, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |Burns theory appeals to those interested in developing social | | | | |values and individual purpose. Burns theory asks a fundamental | | | | |question of what the ultimate goal of leadership is and why one| | | | |should be a leader. | | | | | | Burns Transformational Leadership Theory (2011). In Leadership-central. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www. leadership-central. com/burns-transformational-leadership-theory. html#axzz1ZeSf2sGc |Bass, B. M. |Transformational Leadership |‘Bass defined transformational leadership in terms of how the |c. 1985 | | |Theory |leader affects followers, who are intended to trust, admire and | | | | |respect the transformational leader. (Straker, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |Bass described three ways which leaders can transform their | | | | |followers. | | | | |Easing their awareness of task importance and value. | | | | |Getting them to focus first on team or organizational goals, rather| | | | |than their own interests. | | | | |Activating their higher-order needs. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bass Transformational Leadership Theory (2011). In Leadership-Centeral. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www. leadership-central. com/bass-transformational-leadership-theory. html#axzz1ZeSf2sGc Straker, D. (2011). Bass' Transformational Leadership Theory. In Changing Minds. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://changingminds. org/disciplines/leadership/theories/bass_transformational. htm |James Kouze and |Leadership Participation |â€Å"Specific factors are listed in a checklist form that |c. 1987 | |Barry Posner |Inventory |organizers can use to assess a group's affinity to a leader. | | | | |While they are subjective, they are better than nothing and can| | | | |help in a focus on organizational problems. † | | | |(Leadership-Central, 2011) | | | | | | | | | |Five characterizes for successful leadership | | | | | | | | | |1. Role Model | | | | |2. Inspiration: | | | | |3. Facing Adversity | | | | |4. Empowerment | | | | |5. Generates Enthusiasm | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Leadership Participation Inventory (2011). In Leadership-central. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www. leadership-central. com/leadership-participation-inventory. html#axzz1ZeSf2sGc

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