Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Leadership Essay Example for Free

Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Leadership Essay Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is one of the world’s wealthiest investor and businessman. He has been able to gain connection in politics through entrepreneurship and international investments as an entrepreneur. He is a citizen of Lebanon and a member of the royal family, House of Saudi, in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Though not a member of the executive charged with ruling, he usually gets involved in politics of Lebanon for instance in the case of President Emile Lahoud against claims assassinating Lebanese billionaire Rafik Hariri and usually criticizes both local and international political issues in the media. He has so far been unsuccessful in his efforts to lead the Lebanese Sunni community. During Alwaleed’s early ages, his Father Prince Talal Abd al-Aziz, a known activist and modernizer, actively engaged in matters concerning the political issues that existed in the traditional governing system in Saudi Arabia in the early 1960s. He opposed Modern pan-Arabism that was led by the then leader of the United Arab Repulic, Jamal Gamal Abdel Nasser, which resulted to the suspension of his passport. He was forced to seek exile in Egypt. During this period, Alwaleed lived with his mother, Princess Muna al-Sulh who was the daughter of Riyadh al- Sulh, the first Prime Minister of the Independent Lebanon. In his early education, he attended elementary and middle schools in Beirut and returned to Lebanon in 1973 to attend King Abdul Aziz Military Academy to gain more discipline skills. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business administration from Menlo College California in 1979 and later enrolled for a masters Degree in Political Science from Syracuse University (Khan 2005). He rose to international fame in the early 1990s by purchasing a substantial amount of Citicorp shares when then firm was undergoing financial difficulties. He is an established investor and owns a chain of investments worldwide in the major industries such as banking, building and construction companies, telecommunications, broadcasting and media, entertainment, hospitality and involvement in charitable activities across many regions of the world. He also owns a lot of luxurious assets (Khan 2005). According to Machiavelli (2005) leadership qualities must be practical and not ideological in their application. In chapter 15 of The Prince, that leadership quality should be determined through consideration of personality traits, character and how a person conducts himself. A successful ruler must know when, where and in what way an upright person will act when confronted with different situations. Alwaleed has been able to demonstrate all these leadership qualities which are evident in the different criteria’s he employed in his investment activities throughout his life. He invested in shares of America’s Citicorp at the time when every investor was pulling out their capital from the firm and at a time when it neared its collapse due to bankruptcy, a decision that elicited mixed reactions across the world. Machiavelli talks of qualities that a leader must posses on those things which politicians or Princes must do that might either be praised or blamed in the end. He clearly differentiates the two categories in which a leader must apply specific ideologies. Machiavelli identifies the world that we live in as a kind of world of forms and which contains imperfect alternatives that are required in the world of ideas. Alwaleed seemed to recognize the world of ideas and did things that other people in the world of forms thought that they were impossible to happen. Upon his return after completion of his Master’s degree, he invested in the banking sector by purchasing shares in the United Saudi Commercial Bank. This move enabled the bank to gain enormous returns in terms of market value and also enabled the Bank to merge with Saudi Cairo Bank. His fortunes increased immensely through these risky but strategic business ventures. These elicited admirations from financial strategists across Asia and other parts of the world. Economic observers in the Saudi Kingdom and from other parts of the globe recognized his efforts and Alwaleed was thus chosen by the King as an advisor on economic matters. This enabled him improve on his unique strategic approaches to expansion of his business empire (Khan 2005). Â  Alwaleed’s character has been influenced through his grand father King Abd al-Aziz and the first prime minister of independent Lebanon who were all honest, upright and generous in their actions. They got a lot of respect and loyalty from the entire kingdom. All these characters can be displayed through his successful ventures and the ways in which he related to the people. His sudden amassment of wealth in a short period of time has led certain institutions to question the source of his wealth. According to the Economist online, Alwaleed is suspected to be a front man of other investors in the Saudi Arabian kingdom. All his sources of income are questioned and an account of his possible worth is calculated and the conclusion is that the source of his wealth is unquestionable because his business could not be in a position to accumulate such volume of wealth in a short period of time. Machiavelli’s leadership principle requires that a leader must engage in activities that may seem inappropriate, eliciting malicious interests and those that will require him to commit unethical ethics so long as it leads him to obtain success and power. What matters is the end result, the means doesn’t apply. Alwaleed was able to achieve success and power irrespective of the means he employed to achieve his success. His experience from the risky venture has enabled him to acquire riches and build business empires in addition to gaining international respect and recognition through investing in long-term projects (Machiavelli 17). Machiavelli on chapter 13 and 14 in the Online Literature Library the character of a Prince on matters concerning mercenaries and armies is discussed. They should be loyal to the ruler in fighting for the battle. In chapter 14, Machiavelli advises the prince to focus on the war and avoid other issues that pertains military matters. He should gain knowledge to enable him to maintain power stronghold throughout the battle. Prince Alwaleed was prepared in military matters after having attended King Abdul Aziz Military Academy and was prepared to lead incase he found his chance to the throne. He was therefore armed to be safe lest he is threatened by opposing forces to his power. This enabled him to gain trust from the King and thus he found a position in the cabinet and became the Kings Economic advisor. Bridging the East and Western Worlds Alwaleed fame is recognized internationally through his involvement in bridging the Arab world and the Western worlds. He has been involved in Islamic studies programs across Universities in the United States and other parts of the Globe. According to Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University, prince Alwaleed is committed to the fostering the importance of peace and tolerance. They assert that the best way to achieve this is through the bridging of the understanding between the East and the West. He is also committed in making the world a better place. He is the champion representative of UNESCO and also supports charities for children. Â  He engages in cultural activities aimed at promoting mutual understanding. The prince also has funded an educational centre at Georgetown University that aims at improving understanding between Islamic and Christian religions. Other initiatives include cross cultural educational institutions in Europe, Africa and the Middle-East. This shows a connection with the qualities of a leader cited by Machiavelli. On generosity and miserliness, a leader is supposed to spend excess amounts of his fortune on things that will improve or heighten his publicity but by doing so keep in mind the consequences that might befall him in the event that his fortune dwindles (Machiavelli 14). Chapter 18 tells the things that a politician must do which concerns his faith. Alwaleed has been able to extend his religion to the western world through funding foundations that touch on his Islamic religion. In this chapter Machiavelli asserts that private morality should prevail over public life and in order to be successful, praise must come from other human beings even if it means doing things are wrong in different perspectives. Rulers must therefore be generous in utilizing their wealth and appear tough on running their businesses even if it means using cruelty. He has stood strong on his word of Bridging the east and west and has stood strong in his faith.

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Although there are many great presidents of these United States, Harry Truman has his own life story. Harry S Truman was born May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. His parents were John and Martha Young Truman. His father, John, was a farmer and live stalk trader. Martha, his mother was a homemaker. Harry was the oldest in his family of three children. He had a sister named Mary Jane, and a brother named John Vivian. Harry was taught honesty, hard work, and family love at a young age. (3) Truman grew up on a farm in Harrisonville, Missouri and later moved to Independence, Missouri. (3) From a young age, Truman enjoyed reading about history and biography and was very good at it. Truman went to the public school in Independence. He didn’t do any sports in high school because from a young age he was always afraid that he would break his glasses. Sense he didn’t do sports he was picked on by some of the kids, they also made fun of him because he had glasses. Although he did well in high school he did not attend college after graduation. The reason for this was because college was expensive and his parents could not afford that. Truman started working on a railroad and as a bank clerk. When he turned 22 he moved back to the country and started working for the family farm for the next 11 years. 2 Truman joined the army in 1918 and went to France to fight in World War I. While there, Truman became an officer and led his men with good inspiration. After fighting in the war and returning home, Truman married a woman he knew from a young age named Elisabeth Wallace, nicknamed Bess. They were married on June 28 1919. After marriage, they wanted to start a family so they had one daughter named Mary Margaret. After he married the women he loved,... ...ested him greatly. Truman was a loyal man to his wife and his country. This makes him a good man in my book. He had to deal with a lot of war and depression in the years that he was president and that wouldn’t be easy for anyone. He also had to deal with the country advancing and a lot of more children being born. Some presidents didn’t have to deal with hard things like coming into office after someone else died, but that was his duty and he knew he could do it. His wife was very supportive of all of his decisions. When becoming a president you have a lot of shoes to fill, a lot of people to worry about, and a lot of things to look over. It takes a strong man or woman to do so. Even through the 11 hard times Truman didn’t give up, he won the re-election even when no one thought he was going to. It takes dedication do so these things and Truman had a lot of that.

Ambush Marketing- Is It Ethical

Ambush Marketing- Is It ethical? While a lot of discussion has been going on for quite some time on â€Å"Marketing ethics† including almost every aspect of marketing be it market research, market audience, pricing or marketing strategy. But none of these issues seem to be even close to the issues raised by the ethics of advertising and promotion and specifically â€Å"ambush marketing† in particular. Hence in this article we will take a quick look at the ever-increasing practice of ambush marketing, its origin, examples and its ethical concerns. Background: The term â€Å"ambush† in literal terms means â€Å"an attack from a hidden position†, this in fact, is the founding stone of the term â€Å"ambush marketing†. â€Å"Ambush Marketing† was coined in the 1980’s by Jerry Welsh, the renowned marketing strategist, while he was working as a manager for global marketing efforts for American Express. When he coined the term, he referred it as a creative and legitimate marketing strategy which could provide a level playing ground to the competitors of a thematic sponsor. Today, however, the term is associated with a negative connotation. According to Wikipedia â€Å"ambush marketing refers to a company's attempt to capitalize on the goodwill, reputation, and popularity of a particular event by creating an association with it, without the authorization or consent of the necessary parties. † It is an attempt of the ambusher to associate itself with an event without paying the fee and get some rub-off effects from it. When implemented effectively, it diminishes the value of the actual sponsors of the event by confusing the customers Fig:Typical example of ambush marketing Fig1. :Jet airlines putting a billboard â€Å"we’ve changed† Fig1. 2:Kingfisher took the responsibility of making them change Fig1. 3:Go Air cashed in on the success of the two billboards There is a thin line between Ambush marketing and effective marketing practice. All the marketing strategies adopted by a rival company in the midst of an event cannot be called as ambush marketing. An activity is termed as ambushing only if the m arketer is trying to endorse a specific product/event and by doing that the revenues of the main event are getting damaged. For example f spice jet shows its commercials in between a motor sports event, it will not be guilty of ambushing. But if Pepsi is launching a new ad campaign in between cricket world cup whose official sponsor is coke and it affects the sales of coke, it will be termed as an instance of ambushing. Fig:Pepsi ad during 1996 WC Strategies for ambush marketing can be broadly classified into two groups: Forging: In this form, a company misleads the people that the ambusher is one of the sponsors of the event by using a similar name or logo associated with the event while it is not. For example, in 2002 Sydney Olympics, Quantas airlines changed its slogan to â€Å"The spirit of Australia† which was very close to the games slogan â€Å"Share the Spirit†. This was a classic case of ambush marketing as the official airline partner of the event was Ansett Air but the slogan of Quantas airlines suggested otherwise. Fig:Quantas airlines Intrusion: Here the ambusher tries to give its own name or trade mark through the medium of publicity of the event without seeking the permission of the organiser. This strategy uses the attention created by the event to promote the ambusher’s product. This strategy is more popular with the ambushers now-a-days as forging can lead to legal actions and this is comparatively a risk-free strategy. A notable example of this strategy was in 2002 Boston Marathon, whose official sponsor was Adidas but Nike provided the runners with spray painted â€Å"swooshes† which suggested that the event was sponsored by Nike. Fig:2002 Boston Marathon In 2006 Bavaria Brewery gave away orange overalls called Leeuwenhosen to some of the fans to support the Netherlands football team with the brewery’s logo on them. The FIFA officials asked the fans to remove the orange overalls as Budweiser was the official sponsor. Fig: Supporters wearing Leeuwenhosen By this time you all must have guessed the issues with ambushing, but then too let us reiterate some of the important ones. The first and the biggest of them is that it reduces the effectiveness of the advertisements of the original sponsors of the event and decreases their revenues. It can also lead to withdrawal of some of the sponsors from the event such as IBM and Mars from the Olympic TOP programme. The sponsorships for these events are costly and by ambushing, these companies are deprived of their right to increase their visibility and thereby their customer base. Remedies for Ambushing: Ambushing has been gaining popularity ever since it came into existence which is causing a lot of concerns for the official sponsors of the event. Hence for better protection of the interests of the company certain strategies have evolved which could help the victim company to counter ambushing. The major ones are Learn How to Ambush: This measure is based on the premise that if the knows how to ambush then it will also know the vulnerable points on which it could be ambushed and then it can try to plug those gaps through stringent contracts. Leveraging: These are supplementary measures such as ads aimed at increasing public awareness about the official sponsors of the event. Limit a non-sponsors capacity to advertise: By limiting the non-sponsors ability to advertise in the proximity of the event reduces the probability of ambushing through physical stalls, outlets etc. This strategy is also known as â€Å"clean stadium† policy. Establish more control over advertising: This is one of the most important and one of the most difficult measures to exercise. Since reach of media to the viewers of an event is much more than the people actually coming and watching those events, it is very important for firms to try and limit the advertisements by non-sponsors. Educate Consumers: One of the most safest and effective measure is making the customers known about the official sponsors so that the ambushers cannot mislead the public. Legal Restrictions: Stringent legal measures can act as deterrents to the practice of unethical ambushing. Is it ethical? Ambush marketing has changed its shape and form from 1980’s till today. But what is constant is the debate on whether it is ethical or not. The answer is very subjective. If you are asking this question to the sponsor of the event he might say that it is synonymous with crime and to an ambusher it might seem to be an intelligent marketing strategy. The viewpoints become completely reversed if the ambusher is made the sponsor and vice-versa. My opinion about ambushing is same as the ambushers. Marketing as a field of study has always been associated with creativity and ambushing gives them a perfect platform for the same. In today’s world, where there is cut throat competition between corporates due to increasing competition and reducing margins, companies have to come up with such kind of measures to counter other. During the times of recession, when all the major economies of the world go to a standstill, it serves as a cost effective method of advertising. For me it is not breaking the law or doing illegal, it is an intelligent use of the loopholes in the marketing practices of the other firm. If my rival is not aware of its shortcomings, I should use it to my advantage. Also, competition is not a game with set rules; if I am refraining from using ambush marketing today does not mean that my rival facing the same condition would not use ambush against me. In my viewpoint, it is one of the best methods of marketing involving minimum capital and maximum gains. What you think of ambushing is up to you to decide.

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