Working Capital Management And Profitability

Working Capital Management And Profitability Working capital administration (WCM) alludes to the executives of an organizations current resources and current liabilities, which is additionally an essential capacity that help firm day by day activity, for example, used to reserves its stock, credit deals, and credit buys. The administration of working capital is significant so as to keep up its liquidity in everyday activity; to guarantee it activity is running easily and meets its commitment (Eljelly, 2004). A firm without adequate income will experience issues to get by later on as it will be not able to pay its commitments. In this way, if a firm doesn't deal with their liquidity position well, it will influence firms development, endurance and productivity (Shafii, 2010). The exchange off among gainfulness and liquidity are fundamental, anyway a large portion of the organizations extreme target is to expand benefit, while ignoring the issue of liquidity. One goal ought not be cost of the other in light of the fact that them two have their significant (Raheman Nasr, 2007). Jose et al. (1996) likewise call attention to this reality saying firms with gleaming long haul possibilities and sound primary concerns don't stay dissolvable without great liquidity the executives. For these explanation WCM ought to be given legitimate thought. Be that as it may, the administration of working capital is perplexing as it needs to deal with various parts which are between connected to every others. The administration needs to worry on account receivables, account payables, inventories and money, as modifying one part will influence the others. Consequently, firms need to distinguish the ideal degree of working capital that can expand firms esteem (Afza and Nazir, 200 7). As per Ganesan (2007), improvement of working capital methods minimisation of related expenses and amplification of related salary. Productive WCM will build firms free income, which thusly expands the organizations development openings and come back to investors. Thus, effective WCM is essential so as to keeping up firms endurance, liquidity, dissolvability and benefit. In this way, WCM has huge impact to firms execution. Research Question Does the past proof indicating a connection among WCM and productivity remain constant in Malaysian Listed Companies - assembling and administrations enterprises. 1.2 AIM The point of this examination is to give exact proof of the connection among WCM and gainfulness in an example of Malaysian recorded organizations by taking a gander at the assembling and administrations ventures. The money transformation cycle (CCC) will be the pointer of firms liquidity which is an exhaustive measure, with the goal that ready to distinguish the most significant variable that will influence CCC for two distinct businesses. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY Look at the connection between the CCC and firm gainfulness. Look at the connection between CCC segments which are account receivables, creditor liability and stock turnover period with firms productivity. Research whether the two enterprises have a similar impact on the relations. 1.4 RATIONAL OF THIS STUDY Broad observational research on WCM has been done far and wide generally and those looks into had given changed outcomes on the connection among WCM and gainfulness. As the examinations on the information embrace from Ernst Young, 2010 uncovers that WCM shift across various enterprises. The examination likewise gives noteworthy proof that various firms or segments embrace various ways to deal with WCM. Along these lines, various firms will utilize various methodologies and methodology to deal with their working capital, for example, those organizations that is less serious will decide to limit their receivable so as to expand their income. While for those organizations that relies upon provider will boost their payable record. Hence, the effect of different working capital components on firms execution from Malaysia viewpoint may be distinctive because of dissimilarity business condition and culture between different nations. Other than that, there are barely any variables that may impact firm working capital, for example, nature of business, creation arrangement, creation cycle, credit approach, and accessibility of gracefully (Rama, 2009). Nature of Business The idea of business between various ventures or firms is unique. In this manner, working capital prerequisite required, likewise unique among various enterprises or firm. For instance, fabricating is the creations of the item where the stock can be keep in the stockroom. While administrations are the administrations given to client which can't be put away. It likewise doesn't have interest in either crude materials, work in progress (WIP) or completed products. Other than that, it additionally includes in prompt acknowledgment of money after the administrations are given, which implies there will be less records receivables is exists. In here, it very well may be accepted that administrations will have lower working capital prerequisite. [low wc, more hazard n return] This is additionally demonstrated by John Louie Ramos Creation Policy The administration of cordiality limit (stock) is troublesome when contrasted with assembling firm because of fluctuating interest design. For instance, for administration industry their stock is room accessibility. The quantity of rooms in an inn is fixed, when the room is empty, they will lose the odds of acquiring cash and the stock during the period is squandered. In the mean time, the administrations gave to client can't be store. Other than that, if the interest for the room is more than gracefully, they needed to lose the salary as they can't deliver the stock dependent on request. While for the assembling firm, they can create their stock dependent on the regular interest. They can create more inventories during the pinnacle request and less during slow times of year. At that point, the firm will have low working capital during slow time of year. While for those firm that have fixed stock creation approach which means produce a similar amount of stock to fulfill the pinnacle need, at that point the firm will have enormous amassing of stock during the slow times of year. The enormous gathering of stock will build the measure of working capital. Along these lines, the creation arrangement will influence the firm and industry working capital prerequisite. Creation Cycle The time and procedure engaged with production of merchandise will likewise influence firm working capital prerequisite as more reserve is expected to contribute, all together for the merchandise to be finished in time and in great quality. Credit Policy Credit arrangement additionally one of the variables that will influence firm or industry working capital necessities which it decide the organizations receivables. For administrations industry, it will have low working capital as it included money deals while for assembling the working capital prerequisite will rely upon the organizations credit strategy. On the off chance that the firm offer short credit period, at that point it will just need low working capital and the other way around. Accessibility of flexibly The accessibility of stock, for example, crude materials will influence firm working capital necessities. In the event that the accessibility of crude materials is effectively to acquire, at that point firm can keep up low stock which mean just need low working capital. In any case, in the event that the degree of flexibly is difficult to anticipate or get, at that point the firm needed to keep a lot of stock in their distribution center so as to stay away from the lack of creation. Hence, the firm need huge measure of working capital. Along these lines, this investigation is to look at the distinctions of the WCM between to the two enterprises and connection among liquidity and benefit in Malaysia recorded organization. 2. Writing REVIEW 2.1 WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Working capital speaks to wellbeing pad for suppliers of momentary assets of the firm. Without a legitimate administration of working capital, it will have money deficiencies and will bring about trouble in paying its commitments, particularly in the serious business universes these days (FPR, 2010). Other than that these days, most organizations regularly don't consider improving liquidity the executives until them faces monetary emergency or turning out to be on the edge of liquidation. So as to settle on quality choice and make due in the long haul, firm should consolidate vital arranging with far reaching information by utilizing both budgetary and non-money related information. Working capital and liquidity the executives is significant for all organizations either are little, medium or enormous firm. As money is the most fluid resource in a firm, along these lines effective liquidity the executives includes arranging and controlling firms current resources meets its present liabilities is fundamental with the goal that firm won't unnecessary put resources into transient back and maintain a strategic distance from danger of powerlessness to meet its momentary commitment. Besides an effective WCM empower firm to limit the requirement for outside financing as the outer financing contains money related hazard. By alluding to the hazard and return hypothesis (Pettengill et al, 1995), higher hazard ventures will bring about more significant yields and the other way around. Henceforth, firms with low liquidity of working capital may have higher hazard then high benefit. Alternately, high liquidity of working capital may confront generally safe at that point low g ainfulness. Consequently, firm should mull over all the present resources and current liabilities when settling on money related dynamic and attempt to adjust the hazard and return. Accordingly, notwithstanding benefit, liquidity the board is indispensable for progressing concern. Working capital administration includes stock administration, money the executives and credit the executives. A nitty gritty of those segments will be talked about underneath: 2.1.1 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Stock administration is fundamental for organizations, without appropriate control and the executives of the stock will prompt difficult issues looking by the firm. For instance, if the stock doesn't oversaw appropriately or in an effective way, it might postpone firms creation process, lost of significant client, client disappointment, or potentially bring about working capital abridgement (Richard A, 1978). Stock comprises of crude material, WIP an

Hitler and the Failed Beer putches Essay Example

Hitler and the Failed Beer putches Essay With the disappointment of the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler immediately understood, that so as to acquire total political force, he expected to work calmly inside the Weimar Republic. The Sturmabteilung was a basic piece of his way towards power, yet once Hitler became despot with German help, the S.A. was not, at this point filled any need in the new extremist government.The accomplishment of the transformation, local control, and the one ideological group arrangement in Hitlers Fascist tyranny, were all factors that lead to the disposal of the Sturmabteilung. The officers of the S.A. were a central point in the accomplishment of the National Socialist Revolution. In spite of Hitlers confirmation that the S.A. would not contend with the Reichswehr Army of the Weimar Republic in Document A1, the fast ascent in Brownshirts and the tremendous size of the S.A. Armed force contrasted with the Reichswehr Army, showed in Document A2, connoted the quality of the National Socialist Revolution. I n Document A4 Hitler guaranteed that the single assignment of the S.A. was to guarantee the triumph of the National Socialist Revolution inside Germany. Be that as it may, Hitlers appreciation towards Roehm is an aftereffect of Roehms capacity to expand Hitlers power. When Hitler became Chancellor, the significance of the S.A. reduced. In Document B4, General von Blomberg guaranteed that the Reichswehr Army would back the new national communists state. With the help of the Reichswehr Army, it was not, at this point important to have an isolated S.A. Armed force. As Chancellor, Hitler gradually incorporated the two armed forces by focusing on the significance of dedication by putting the insignia on the regalia of the Reichwehr Army, and permitting the clergyman of war to call upon the S.A., as appeared in Documents B1 and B2. Hitler, acknowledging he was near acquiring outright force, started to solidify different restricting gatherings, for example, Bolshevik Communists and Liberal Capitalists. In spite of the fact that the S.A. was not the slightest bit a resistance to Hitler, it was

The Unexposed Secret of Questbridge Essay Samples

The Unexposed Secret of Questbridge Essay Samples The Importance of Questbridge Essay Samples Nobody is supposed to take a person's life since they didn't give life. If you don't feel as if you have enough time to write essays by yourself, we will assist you, any instance of the day, seven days per week. To steer clear of these, take time to consider about what makes you unique. Unfortunately, there'll never be enough space to inform your complete story. It is possible to come across narrative essay examples wherever you locate a great story. The way the topic affected you'll play a huge part in the way you will write your essay. Make certain to read your essay and make certain it is logical. Writing a high school essay if you've got the tips about how to do essay effectively. Our aim is to supply you with a professionally written essay on this issue you require. It is far better read through several narrative essay examples in order to get the one which best matches the format which you're writing your essay in. Questbridge Essay Samples Secrets Remember that a misspelled word may itself be the right spelling of a different word your spell check may not catch these kinds of errors. For instance, some of them just have zero time to deal with dozens of assignments that keep bombarding from every side. You have to find the most suitable resources for your essay along with patience when finding the proper inspiration to write. An essay with major errors or even consistent minor mistakes will make it hard for readers to concentrate on the story you're trying to let them know about yourself. If your aim is to pass the GED, then you have to learn about test-taking strategies. Admitted students who choose to enroll will be asked to submit official score r eports. Have a look at our very first instance of how to answer Why Northwestern here. Scholarship college freshman most essential part of narrative writing. It doesn't need to be explicit you don't need to explain how every paragraph is related to the typical thread. There's no fixed number of body paragraphs for an essay and a great paragraph has one central point. This is done most effectively when there's a frequent thread that's concluded at the conclusion of your essay. You need to read the example answers to acquire ideas about what are good forms of answers and what are bad varieties of answers. First and foremost it's vital to ensure that you comprehend the essay question fully and your essay answers each part of the question adequately. First of all, we suggest narrowing your focus to a couple important ideas or topics. Sometimes you might not know that you've strayed off topic. Also, try to remember that a topic does not need to be especially thrilling to be unique. This experience can help you make strategic decisions about which subject lessons you must learn. Let's say your topic is to explore an extracurricular activity that has played a massive effect on your life. The progression of the disease differs for each patient and at times contributes to an early death, but almost always results in big disabilities. The reasons might be absolutely different. When you finish the Common Application, you are going to select people to offer your recommendations. Untimely delivery It's mostly marked that these services are difficult to rely upon because of their untimel y shipping. Adoption is an alternate solution. It is a better alternative in this case.

How to Write Essays about Ancient Civilization

How to Write Essays about Ancient Civilization To make your essay about ancient civilization effective you need to construct it in appropriate way according to the academic rules and bring arguments supported by evidence. Below we present the most important steps for writing a successful essay on ancient civilization. First of all, you need to choose a topic that correlates with the general theme of the essay. While choosing a topic you need to take into your account abundance of the current research, availability of the sources and your interest in the subject. It is very important to choose the subject that is interesting for you and that you understand well. The complex subject that you are not interested in will not bring you high grades, because the essay won’t be deep and effective enough. It is of high importance to organize the structure of your essay properly. Compose the outline and follow it during writing. Be sure to devote a large part of your work to describing and interpreting your methods and findings. This way your readers will understand not only the subject of your work, but also your specific approach to answering the goals set for it. If you will concentrate your primary research on the chosen ancient civilization, it will increase the value of your work. Analyze the sources and compare the attitudes of the previous researchers. This will help you understand the topic better and to write the essay in more effective way. During the process of writing strictly follow the outline of the work. If you will focus on the subject and stick to the topic, it will be easier to write the essay in argumentative or analytical style. In this case, you will get better marks demonstrating both knowledge of ancient history and abilities to concentrate on the subject and to make your contribution into the given scientific discipline.

Implication Of Hand Hygeine Compliance Program. How Can We Make It

Essays on Implication Of Hand Hygeine Compliance Program. How Can We Make It Better Term Paper Hand Hygiene Compliance Program: Implications and Ways of Improvement Hand Hygiene Compliance Program: Implications and Ways of Improvement For a long time, hand hygiene among health care workers is pivotal in preventing transmission of infectious agents but despite a Center for Disease Control joint commission requirement on hand hygiene guidelines implemented in hospitals, compliance among health care workers remains low. According to studies, that hospitals may best improve compliance by assessing the barriers to, measuring the rates of compliance, educating staff on the importance of hand hygiene, making sanitizing products more available for staff use, and holding staff accountable. The CDC’s latest guideline includes two major new recommendations: 1. Health care workers should use alcohol-based hand sanitizers for routine hand disinfection when hands are visibly soiled, and 2. Health care facilities should establish ongoing monitoring programs for hand hygiene compliance (Haas and Larson, 2008). Medline’s Hand Hygiene Compliance Program which addresses the primary defense against healthcare-acquired conditions, includes an intensive education module developed by an expert panel of professionals which provides health care workers with tools, education and awareness of proper hand hygiene to increase compliance rates and decrease spread of infection. Among the free benefits of this program is an online educational program with modules and interactive competencies, an access to 200+ free CE Credits Experience additional online education from their university ( including access to over two hundred courses that include CE credits), and a Facility Awareness and Tools Placards to promote proper hand hygiene to staff members, patients and visitors. Direct observation cannot be considered a gold standard for assessing hand hygiene, because there was no relationship between observed adherence and number of dispensing episodes or the used product volum e (Medline, 2012).Use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers has increased the convenience of hand hygiene and made it less time-consuming since sinks become less needed and dispensers are small and accessible at every stage of patient care (some dispensers can be worn or carried in a pocket). An observational study in two ICUs by Earl, etc. established that availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizers "resulted in a sustained increase in hand antisepsis rates among health care workers." Boyce and colleagues compared the effects of either using an alcohol-based sanitizer or washing hands with the hospitals unmedicated soap and found out that the former was less damaging to nurses skin (Earl et al., 2001).In an observational study in Geneva, Switzerland, Pittet and colleagues measured the rates of hand hygiene compliance before and during a hand hygiene improvement program implementation. The program has increased compliance rates from 48% to 66% in three years and significantly decreased the number of hospital-acquired infections. 11,17. The multidisciplinary and multifaceted promotion involved the display of color posters in 250 hospital locations being collaborated by Health care workers whose ideas (i.e. hand hygiene, hospital-acquired infections, and protecting hands with creams, etc.) were translated by an artist into cartoon-like messages. The program also prioritized the increase of availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer bottles at each bedside and also provided pocket-sized bottles to staff. Hand hygiene convenience also increased upon enhancement of the accessibility of hand sanitizers (Pittet et al., 1999; Pittet et al., 2000).The most important factor in the program’s success may be due to the administrative hospital-wide prioritization, some funding, encouraging the participation of senior staff, and voicing support for the program. Improving compliance for hand hygiene requires leadership, collaboration, accessibility of hand hygiene produ cts, feedback on compliance and infection rates, and individual accountability.ReferencesEarl, M.L., et al. (2001). Improved rates of compliance with hand antisepsis guidelines: a three-phase observational study. Am J Nurs, 101(3), 26-33.Haas, J.P. and Larson, E.L. (2008). Compliance with hand hygiene guidelines: where are we in 2008? American Journal of Nursing, 108(8), 40 – 44.Medline (2012). Hand hygiene compliance program. Retrieved September 25, 2012, from http://www.medline.com/programs/hand-hygiene-compliance-program/Pittet, D., et al. (1999). Compliance with hand washing in a teaching hospital: infection control program. Ann Intern Med, 130(2), 126-30. Pittet D, et al. (2000). Effectiveness of a hospital-wide program to improve compliance with hand hygiene: infection control program. Lancet, 356 (9238), 1307-12.

Effects of Leadership Styles on Organisational Productivity

Question: Discuss about the Effects of Leadership Styles on Organisational Productivity. Answer: Introduction Leadership plays the most significant role in achieving the fruitful productivity of an organisation. The efficient leadership style establishes the transparent communication process, which is an essential part of the organisational functionalities (Clarke, 2013). An efficient leader visualises the potentiality within the individuals and brings the best performance outcomes. This study determines the establishment of the future profession in engineering field. I have set my ambition of being a manager in the engineering field. After pursuing my career as a mechanical engineer for several years, I have gathered enough experiences for becoming a manager in this specific domain. This study would present the ideas of the suitable leadership style that will guide a mechanical engineer to be an efficient manager in the engineering domain. As opined by Davenport (2013), engineering is one of the most effective work domains that help in generating more revenues for the organisations. Moreove r, the critical activities associated with the engineering management are required to be performed in an effective way. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the concentration on the management functionalities and the effective leadership styles to determine the expected outcomes. Therefore, the study will shed lights in the proper methodology and the literature based information to understand the underlying concept. The findings derived from such secondary data collection process will be analysed to conclude with proper recommendation. The aim and objectives of the study will be focused to make the critical analysis of the documented information. Background of the Issue and Justification People need to derive the clear and conscience idea while selecting the future professions. The ambitious minds always tends to identify the most innovative and efficient way of achieving the goals. Therefore, it is necessary to select the future profession wisely. I have selected my future profession as the manager in the engineering organisation. I believe that I need to gather more information and guidance to become an efficient leader on this domain. It is noticed that the current volatile market has been transforming the demands of the stakeholders. In the engineering management procedure, the associated engineers face the diversified challenges much frequently (Lopp, 2016). Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the proper guidance and leading capabilities that will help them to move ahead with justified skills and efficiency. Moreover, it will be helpful enough for the organisations that are looking forward to expand the business globally. The individuals need to be highly skilled and ethically competent to take u the engineering management as the future profession. Anitha (2014) opined that the individuals need to be much responsible towards the organisational functionalities and managing other associates. It is essential for the individual to derive the sufficient knowledge about the practical application and experiences during the crucial scenario. The manager in an organisation plays the integral role in managing the functionalities. An efficient manager concentrates on the employee development process by providing proper guidance. Neubert et al. (2015) implied that the mechanical engineers have to perform more complex activities in their regular professional lives. The supportive attitude towards the employees can bring the most efficient performance outcomes that are beneficial for achieving organisational aspects. Hence, the major concern is to identify the most fruitful leadership style adopted by the managers that will be beneficial for each of the employees associated with the organisational functionalities. Leadership is the integral part of the organisational functionalities that develop the organisational culture and ensure high productivity. The application of the justified leadership styles is necessary for undertaking an operational process in an effective way. An efficient manager requires maintaining the necessary responsibilities for achieving success in a complex business scenario (Strom, Sears Kelly, 2014). Therefore, the study will help in recognising the justified leadership style that will be beneficial in achieving high productivity parameter. Employee welfare and supports are necessary for achieving the determined organisational goals. The major aim of the study is to identify how the efficient leadership styles can ensure organisational productivity in the field of mechanical engineering. Research Objectives To describe the types of the leadership styles in the organisations To recognise the suitable leadership style for the mechanical engineering department To determine the impact of efficient leadership style on organisational productivity Concept of leadership Leadership management is an influential process in an organisation that guides the individuals towards achieving the personal and professional goals. According to Lo et al. (2015), leadership is an organisational process, which influence other associates to perform much efficiently and accomplish the determined objectives. It is to be indicated that the most effective leadership style helps in organising the business functionalities in a cohesive and coherent manner. The well formed and skilled leader has the capability of inspiring other individuals in the organisation and providing enormous support for developing the organisational culture in a significant way. The business complexities are increasing much significantly in current times. Therefore, the innovations and unique strategy implementation have become necessary. Organisations need to keep the focus on recruiting the skilled people who have the superior knowledge about the business activities in the respective domains (Lasc hinger and Fida 2014). The leaders have to take the responsibility of guiding these people with proper efficiency and motivate them to bring the most effective performance outcomes. Typologies of Leadership styles The leadership styles are classified into different divisions based on the characteristics and attribute of the leaders. These diverse leadership styles have both the advantages and disadvantages in many ways. The determined goals and organisational culture determine the preferable leadership styles that are needed to be undertaken (Hogg, Van Knippenberg Rast, 2012). There are five types of the leadership styles that are followed by the managers to manage the organisational activities. These different types of leadership styles are described further: A laissez Faire leader usually does not take the regular feedback from the employees performance and lacks the direct supervision. The highly experienced employees are directed under the supervision of the laissez faire leaders (Furtner, Baldegger, Rauthmann, 2013). The leaders are completely reliable and depended on the employees performance skills. However, it is to be noted that not every employee possess such high skilled characteristics and professionalisms. Hence, the leadership style hinders the employees production more significantly. It may even affect the organisational productivity. The leadership style lacks the control over the employees. Moreover, the leadership style requires more investments on training sessions for making the employees more efficient. The participative leadership style often interpreted as the democratic leadership that values the input of the associated employees. Assembling the responses of the associated personnel and the staffs together, the leaders make the decision for organisational welfare. Skogstad et al. (2014) implied that the democratic leadership style boosts up the employees spirit and make them feel more reliable towards the performance. The contribution of the employees to make the organisational decision is highly appreciated by the democratic leader. Especially, the participative leadership style is much effective during the change management procedure. The employees accept the change easily since they contribute much effectively to facilitate the changing management scenario. In fact, this leadership style is much helpful for the organisation whenever any quick decisions are needed to be undertaken within a short time span. Autocratic The autocratic leadership style signifies the participation of the manager in making the organisational decision. The managers take the full authority to organise the functionalities and lead the associated members. There is no scope of challenging the decisions of the leaders in this leadership style (De Hoogh, Greer Den Hartog, 2015). For example, the organisations in the countries like North Korea, China, and Cuba follow such leadership style (Boykins et al., 2013). The leaders determine that the autocratic style helps in retaining control over the employees and establishing the closer supervision. In some of the cases, this leadership style demoralises the employees contribution towards organisational productivity. Transformational The transformation leadership style signifies the establishment of the effective communication from the management level to accomplish the determined goals. The transformational leaders encourage the associated members to enhance the productivity parameter and maintain the efficiency level through high visibility and proper communication. The involvement of the high management is also an essential part in order to accomplish the personal and professional goals (Dumdum, Lowe, Avolio, 2013). In this leadership style, the leaders usually concentrate on the bigger picture within an organisation. Moreover, the leaders identify the fruitful strategies of delegating the smaller tasks that will be beneficial for meeting the organisational objectives. The transactional leaders pay attention towards several specific tasks and accordingly provide rewards and punishments based on the performance parameter. The managers have to take the responsibility to make the associated members aware of the organisational goals. The members need motivations for achieving the pre-determined goals. The positive performance outcomes will be appreciated with rewards (Choudhary, Akhtar, Zaheer, 2013). On the other hand, if any employee fails to meet the goals, the leader has the authority to put a penalty. The managers review the results and determine whether the employees need to be more trained or monitored. The employees receive the rewards that motivate them towards accomplishing the organisational objectives. Effectiveness of the leadership style on organisational productivity Application of the effective leadership styles is necessary for each of the organisation. Pierro, Raven, Amato Blanger (2013) explained that the leaders need to acquire the most effective communication skills that are necessary for making the employees aware of the organisational goals. On the other hand, (Furtner, Baldegger, and Rauthmann (2013) argued that the besides the effective communication skills, the efficient leaders need to be a motivational factor that will lead the employees towards the success. However, it is still argued that establishing the communication transparency is much beneficial in making the clear approaches regarding the organisational functionalities. When the employees are motivated towards the work, it will generate high organisational productivity. Therefore, it can be inferred that application of the suitable leadership style can enhance organisational productivity. Gap in the Literature The extracted ideas from the journal articles provide the insightful knowledge about the efficient leadership styles that have the significant impact on organisational productivity. However, the literature study is still limited since it does not provide the information about the maintenance of the organisational productivity at the optimum level. The study is somewhat presenting the impacts of the different leadership styles on enhancing productivity. Research Methodology Research methodology is the structured and sequential process of assembling the relevant information for the study. The methodology provides the contextual ideas about the proper method that is applicable for gathering and analysing the necessary information (Bryman Bell, 2015). The methodology also suggests the scheduled time frame, which will be followed to complete the entire study. The research philosophy is classified into three different typologies, such as realism, positivism, and interpretivism. This research is conducted by applying the positivism philosophy, which reveals the hidden truth (Edson, Henning Sankaran, 2016). On the other hand, research approach is divided into two forms, such as deductive and inductive approach. The study is based on the secondary research process and it is necessary to concentrate on the theoretical perspectives. Deductive Approach provides the information based on the theoretical concepts. The study is associated with the various types of t he theory based analysis. Hence, application of the deductive approach for this study will be much relevant and appropriate. The next segment of research methodology is the research design, which is classified into three divisions, such as exploratory, explanatory, and descriptive (Creswell, 2013). The major focus of the research techniques is to fulfil the research objectives and determine the conclusion. The study is based on the in-depth analysis of the leadership styles that have the significant impacts on the organisational productivity. The use of the descriptive design focuses on the underlying concept and the hypothetical value of understanding the subject matter. Therefore, the application of the descriptive design will be justified for completing this study. The study explores the effectiveness of the leadership styles that have the significant impacts on the organisational productivity. In order to conduct this research study, it is necessary to collect the secondary data and understand the underlying concepts. The study is thus based on the secondary research method. The research study will be conducted by gathering the relevant information from journal articles, books, newspaper articles, and website sources (Creswell, 2013). The online and offline sources contain the leadership case scenario of different organisations. Moreover, the secondary research study represents the thematic analysis, which points out the underlying issues faced by the skilled managers in the organisations. It depicts whether the leadership attribute can bring more efficiency in an organisational context. The use of the secondary analysis is thus appropriate for this research study. The further section of the study will present the findings derived from the the matic analysis. Time Frame Activities Week 1-2 Week 3-5 Week 6 Week 7-9 Week 10 Week 11-12 Week 13-14 Selecting the Topic Layout Development Review of Literature Research Plan Development Research Process Selection Data Collection Technique Selection Data Analysis Technique Selection Data Findings Conclusion Final Submission Table 1: Time Frame (Source: Created by Author) Findings from Secondary Analysis The study is mainly focusing on the effectiveness of the leadership styles on the organisational productivity. The research study discusses about the significant attribute of the manager from mechanical engineering domain. The engineering domain includes more complex working scenario and needs more innovations in the business process. Therefore, it is essential to identify the most suitable leadership style that can enhance the organisational productivity. Accordingly, the study recognises two specific themes that can justify the business procedure in a mechanical engineering domain. It is already mentioned that the mechanical engineering business deals with many of the innovations and complexities. Therefore, it is essential to recognise the most preferable leadership style that is needed to be undertaken by the manager. According to Hoch and Kozlowski (2014), in the engineering domain, the leaders need to be high skilled, innovators, and efficient enough to handle the complex business functions. Herrmann and Felfe (2014) believe that the engineers can be the most suitable people for being managers in future. The capability of handling the business complexities, frequent innovations, and a detailed attention shapes up a leader for accomplishing the organisational goals. However, the major discussion in this theme is to identify the most suitable leadership style in mechanical engineering process. Reid (2016) described that the mechanical engineering process is much complex and the managers require bringing frequent innovations to survive in current business scenario. It is necessary for the business companies to identify the suitable leadership style. Concentrating on the different leadership styles along with the business needs of the mechanical engineering domain, the transformational leadership style can be used in a justified manner. De Poel, Stoker and Van der Zee (2014) argued that the transformational leadership style provides the significant opportunity to the individuals and encourage them to bring more business innovations. It is even helpful for developing the professional and personal attributes of the employees that will pay off in future. The article also highlights that the transformational leaders are involved with frequent and closer supervision process. Therefore, the employees receive the proper guidance for evaluating the innovative business ideas. The tra nsformational leaders maintain the high level of communicational transparency that encourages the employees to preset their concerns (Simonet Tett, 2013). The major limitation in this article is it does not include the method of maintaining the feedback process for the performed activities. It is necessary to understand the basic method of keeping the information of the employees that are needed to be addressed. The leaders need to find out the most efficient way of communicating with the employees and make them updated with the business innovation procedure. Leaders play the most significant role in shaping the organisational functionalities. The efficient contribution of the leaders can bring changes in the organisational scenario (Tung, 2014). While discussing the effectiveness of leadership styles in the organisational context, it si necessary to shed lights on the organisational functionalities. The engineers need to analyse each of the business activities with detailed information. The complexities in the business procedures are sometimes affect the business environment. The repeated changing demands of the business world become much hectic. Reid (2016) opined that the efficient leader can manage such challenging scenario by engaging the information and ideas of the associated employees. However, in order to achieve such purposes, it is necessary to provide the employees proper encouragement that will reflect in their performance outcomes (MacIntyre, 2016). When the employees receive the proper guidance and the motivations from the upper management level or the leaders, they tend to focus on their performance parameter. Moreover, an efficient leader provides the significant opportunity to the employees to prove the potentiality and develop the career with proper appreciation. The journal, the effects of leadership styles and budget participation on job satisfaction and job performance, indicates that this procedure is much beneficial in improving the organisational culture and ensuring more profitability (Reid, 2016). The argument present in this article signifies that the employees can bring the innovations in the business procedure if they receive the proper training and closer supervision of the leaders. Maintaining such consequences will be effective enough in motivating the employees and encouraging them to fulfil their personal and professional goals. Simultaneously, it will create impacts on the overall productivity of the organisation. The above theme analysis specifies the impacts of the leadership styles on organisational productivity with the special reference of mechanical engineering domain. The information and the limitation associated in the secondary sources are pointed out in this section of the study. Concentrating on the findings derived from the secondary analysis, the study will discuss the findings derived from the literature based information. The collaboration of these findings will ensure the fruitful recommendation for being a capable and efficient leader. Discussion of the Findings derived from Literature Review The literature review mainly concentrates in the theoretical background of the subject matter. The study focuses on the impacts of leadership styles on organisational productivity. The discussion determines that the leaders adopt the different types of leadership attributes that have the significant impacts on the employees and the organisational activities. However, the leaders share the similar vision of accomplishing the business objectives. Employees are the major resources of an organisation. The leaders need to maintain the responsibility of managing these employees and motivate them enough to enhance the organisational productive. The autocratic leadership style ensures the full authority of the leaders and no one can challenge the decision (Nanjundeswaraswamy Swamy, 2014). The employees are sometimes unable to cope with such decisions sometimes. It discourages the presence and participation of the employees. On the other hand, the transformational leadership style is much pr eferable for the employees since it is associated with the personal and professional development of the workforce in an organisation (Vermeeren, Kuipers Steijn, 2014). It is noted that the transformational leaders lead the employees towards achieving the business goals which automatically serves as the significant method of developing the personal attributes. Therefore, it is essential for the managers to select the leadership style wisely. The leaders need to keep the focus on the detailed information that will help in enhancing the organisational productivity. The application of the findings from the literature study with the thematic analysis specifies that the leaders need to bring more innovations in the business process to enhance the productivity parameter. More specifically, in case of engineering domain, the skilled performance outcomes of the employees are necessary for handling the complex business environment. The efficient leaders have the capability of encouraging the workforce to manage such complexities and enhance the organisational productivity (Nanjundeswaraswamy, Swamy 2014). The concentration on the proper leadership attribute is necessary to lead or guide the workforce. Conclusion The contribution of the leaders in an organisational context is much important for each of the organisations. The efficient leadership style can enhance the organisational productivity much significantly. Mechanical engineering domain often deals with the complex business procedures. It is necessary to bring more innovations in business functionalities to ensure the organisational productivity. Accordingly, the selected leader needs to be capable of bringing more innovations in the business and guide the workforce to cooperate with such scenario. The information received from secondary analysis and literature based study, it is noted that the transformational leaders are bringing the workforce together to gather more innovative business ideas. The assimilations of these unique business ideas are much helpful for dealing with a complex business scenario. Moreover, the transformational leadership style helps in developing the personal and professional attributes of the employees by undertaking the closer supervision of their activities. Consequently, the organisation ensures more productivity, which leads towards achieving the pre-determined objectives. The major focus of a transformational leader is to motivate the employees and bring the best performance outcome. Simultaneously, the transformational leaders concentrate on the innovative procedures and change management scenario, which are essential for sustaining the competitive position of an organisation. The mechanical engineering is a different domain, which deals with the repeatedly changing business functionalities and high skilled technicalities. Hence, as a manager, it is important to focus on such demands to fulfil the goals and enhance the organisational producti vity. References Anitha, J. (2014). Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance.International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. Boykins, C., Campbell, S., Moore, M., Nayyar, S. (2013). An empirical study of leadership styles.Journal of Economic Development, Management, IT, Finance, and Marketing,5(2), 1. Bryman, A., Bell, E. (2015).Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA. Choudhary, A. I., Akhtar, S. A., Zaheer, A. (2013). Impact of transformational and servant leadership on organizational performance: A comparative analysis.Journal of Business Ethics,116(2), 433-440. Clarke, S. (2013). Safety leadership: A meta?analytic review of transformational and transactional leadership styles as antecedents of safety behaviours.Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,86(1), 22-49. Creswell, J. W. (2013).Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications. Davenport, T. H. (2013).Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press. De Hoogh, A. H., Greer, L. L., Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Diabolical dictators or capable commanders? An investigation of the differential effects of autocratic leadership on team performance.The Leadership Quarterly,26(5), 687-701. De Poel, F. M., Stoker, J. I., Van der Zee, K. I. (2014). Leadership and organizational tenure diversity as determinants of project team effectiveness.Group Organization Management,39(5), 532-560. Dumdum, U. R., Lowe, K. B., Avolio, B. J. (2013). A meta-analysis of transformational and transactional leadership correlates of effectiveness and satisfaction: An update and extension. InTransformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition. pp. 39-70. Edson, M. C., Henning, P. B., Sankaran, S. (Eds.). (2016).A guide to systems research: Philosophy, processes and practice(Vol. 10). Springer. Furtner, M. R., Baldegger, U., Rauthmann, J. F. (2013). Leading yourself and leading others: Linking self-leadership to transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership.European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology,22(4), 436-449. Herrmann, D., Felfe, J. (2014). Effects of leadership style, creativity technique and personal initiative on employee creativity.British Journal of Management,25(2), 209-227. Hoch, J. E., Kozlowski, S. W. (2014). Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership.Journal of applied psychology,99(3), 390. Hogg, M. A., Van Knippenberg, D., Rast, D. E. (2012). Intergroup leadership in organizations: Leading across group and organizational boundaries.Academy of Management Review,37(2), 232-255. Laschinger, H.K.S. and Fida, R., 2014. A time-lagged analysis of the effect of authentic leadership on workplace bullying, burnout, and occupational turnover intentions.European Journal of work and organizational psychology,23(5), pp.739-753. Lo, M. C., Abang Azlan, M., Ramayah, T., Wang, Y. C. (2015). Examining the Effects of Leadership, Market Orientation and Leader Member Exchange (LMX) on Organisational Performance.Engineering Economics,26(4), 409-421. Lopp, M. (2016).Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager. Apress. MacIntyre, P. (2016). Advancing Leaders in Engineering: Ways of Learning Leadership. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching Learning Journal, 8(3). Nanjundeswaraswamy, T. S., Swamy, D. R. (2014). Leadership styles.Advances In Management,7(2), 57. Neubert, J. C., Mainert, J., Kretzschmar, A., Greiff, S. (2015). The assessment of 21st century skills in industrial and organizational psychology: Complex and collaborative problem solving.Industrial and Organizational Psychology,8(02), 238-268. Pierro, A., Raven, B. H., Amato, C., Blanger, J. J. (2013). Bases of social power, leadership styles, and organizational commitment.International Journal of Psychology,48(6), 1122-1134. Reid, J. (2016). The effects of leadership styles and budget participation on job satisfaction and job performance.Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Journal,3(1). Simonet, D. V., Tett, R. P. (2013). Five Perspectives on the LeadershipManagement Relationship A Competency-Based Evaluation and Integration. Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 20(2), 199-213. Skogstad, A., Hetland, J., Glas, L., Einarsen, S. (2014). Is avoidant leadership a root cause of subordinate stress? Longitudinal relationships between laissez-faire leadership and role ambiguity.Work Stress,28(4), 323-341. Strom, D. L., Sears, K. L., Kelly, K. M. (2014). Work engagement: The roles of organizational justice and leadership style in predicting engagement among employees.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies,21(1), 71-82. Tung, R. (2014). Requisites to and ways of developing a global mind-set: implications for research on leadership and organizations.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies,21(4), 229-337. Vermeeren, B., Kuipers, B., Steijn, B. (2014). Does leadership style make a difference? Linking HRM, job satisfaction, and organizational performance.Review of Public Personnel Administration,34(2), 174-195.

Iran Awakening free essay sample

History of the Middle East â€Å"Iran Awakening† â€Å"One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country† This book, â€Å"Iran Awakening†, is a novel written by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. Ebadi weaves the story of her life in a very personal and unique way, telling the account of the overthrow of the shah and the establishment of a new, religious fundamentalist regime in which opposition to the government are imprisoned, tortured, and murdered. By simply reading the Prologue, one can see the love Ebadi has for Iran and her people. This love that Ebadi has for the oppressed of Iran is a theme that appears throughout the book and seems to be a large factor behind her drive to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. In the first chapter, Ebadi recounts her childhood from her birth on June 21st, 1947 in Hamedan, to her childhood in Tehran. Something that may come as a surprise to a reader was the equality between male and female in Ebadi’s home. We will write a custom essay sample on Iran Awakening or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This equality, however, was not common in most Iranian households, â€Å"Male children enjoyed an exalted status, spoiled and cosseted†¦ They often felt themselves the center of the family’s orbit†¦ Affection for a son was an investment†, says Ebadi. In Iranian culture, it was considered natural for a father to love his son more than his daughter. In Ebadi’s home, though, she describes her parent’s affections, attentions, and discipline as equally distributed. This equality in the home seems to play a large role in creating the strong, determined woman Ebadi would come to be, â€Å"My father’s championing of my independence, from the play yard to my later decision to become a judge, instilled a confidence in me that I never felt consciously, but came to regard as my most valued inheritance. † (Ebadi, 12). One may also find it interesting that as a child, Ebadi did not know anything of politics; until the coup detat of 1953. On August 19th, 1953, the beloved Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh was toppled in a coup d’etat. Ebadi says that, as children, this news meant nothing. But the adults could see what Ebadi, at the time, could not. The book makes it clear that, to those of Iran who were not paid to think otherwise, Mossadegh was revered as a nationalist hero and the father of Iranian independence for his bold move of nationalizing Iran’s oil industry which had been, until then, controlled by the West. Therefore, it was obvious that this was the beginning of a vast change for Iran. Before the coup, Ebadi’s father, a longtime supporter of the prime minister, had advanced to become minister of agriculture. In this new regime, Ebadi’s father was forced out of his job, fated to languish in lower posts for the rest of his career. This was what caused a silence of all things political in the Ebadi home. Entering law school in 1965 was a â€Å"turning point for me†, says Ebadi. The vast interest in Iran’s politics was shocking to her after coming from a home in which politics were never spoken of. After toying with the idea of studying political science, Ebadi decided on pursuing a judgeship; which is exactly what she did. In March of 1970, at the age of twenty-three, Ebadi became a judge. In 1975, after 6 months of getting to know each other Ebadi married Javad Tavassoni. Her husband, unlike many Iranian men, coped well with her professional ambitions. In the autumn of 1977, there was, what Ebadi describes as, a â€Å"shift in the streets of Tehran†. The shah’s regime was trying to reduce the power of the judiciary by setting up the ‘Mediating Council’, an extrajudicial outfit that would have allowed cases to be judged outside of the formal justice system. Some of the justices wrote a protest letter arguing against the council, demanding that all cases had to be tried before a court of law. This was the first collective action taken by the judges against the shah. Ebadi signed the letter. In January of 1978, President Jimmy Carter arrived in Tehran, Iran and described it as an â€Å"island of stability†, something he later came to regret. Not long after President Carter’s statement, a newspaper article aggressively attacking Khomeini inspired a revolt among the people of Iran, calling for his [Khomeini’s] return; the police shot into the crowd and killed many men. By the summer of 1978, protests had grown larger, making it impossible to avoid them. In early August, a crowded cinema in Abadan was burned to the round. This horrific event burned 400 people alive. The shah blamed this event on religious conservatives; Khomeini accused the SAVAK, the regime’s secret police, which was a force of legendary brutality against the government’s opponents. This tragedy pushed many Iranians against the shah. They now realized that the shah was not merely an American puppet. Ebadi herself says that she was ‘drawn’ to the opposition. She says that it did not seem a contradiction for her, an educated professional woman, to back it (Ebadi, 33). She had no idea that she was backing her own eventual defeat. Ebadi uses something close to irony as she describes a morning when she and several judges and officials stormed into the minister of justice’s office. The minister was not there, instead a startled elder judge sat behind the desk. â€Å"He looked up at us in amazement and his gaze halted when he saw my face. â€Å"You! You of all people, why are you here? † he asked, bewildered and stern. â€Å"Don’t you know that you’re supporting people who will take away your job if they come to power? † â€Å"I’d rather be a free Iranian than an enslaved attorney,† I retorted boldly, self-righteous to the core. (Ebadi, 34) On January 16th, 1979, the shah fled Iran, ending two millennia of rule by Persian kings. The streets were over-crowded with euphoric citizens, Ebadi herself being one of them. On February 1st, 1979, Khomeini returned to Iran. For about a month, the country of Iran hung in the balance. In most of the cities an emergency militar y had gone into immediate effect and Khomeini had ordered people to go back into their homes by nightfall with the instruction to go onto their roof at 9pm and scream, Allaho akbar, â€Å"God is greatest†. On February 11th, Khomeini exhorted people to defy the 4pm curfew the military had imposed by coming out into the streets. Ebadi remembers going into the streets, hearing sounds of the gunshots echoing, and taking in the frenzied scene of emotion. The next day, the 22nd of Bahman on the Iranian calendar, the military surrendered and the prime minister fled the country. The country rejoiced, including Ebadi herself. She says, looking back, she has to laugh at the feeling of pride that washed over her for it took scarcely a month for her to realize that she had willingly participated in her own defeat. Ebadi, 38) Merely days after the revolution’s victory, a man named Fathollah Bani-Sadr was appointed provisional overseer of the Ministry of Justice. Expecting praise from this man, Ebadi was shocked when he said, â€Å"Don’t you think that out of respect for our beloved Imam Khomeini, who has graced Iran with his return, it would be better if you covered your hair? † This headscarf â€Å"invitation† was the first in a long string of restraints on the women of Iran. After being away for less than a month, Ebadi could already see the changes that had taken place in Tehran. The streets were renamed after Shia imams, martyred clerics, and Third World heroics of an anti-imperial struggle. † (Ebadi, 41) Her fellow co-workers, male and female, were dirty and smelled. The bow tie had been banned, being â€Å"deemed a symbol of the West’s evils, smelling of cologne signaled counterrevolutionary tendencies, and riding to the ministry car to work was evidence of class privilege† (Ebadi 42). Rumors spread that Islam barred women from being judges. Ebadi was the most distinguished female judge in all of Tehran. So, upon hearing these rumors, she tried to counter her worries with her connections; but even this small comfort proved to be in vain. In the final days of 1979, Ebadi was effectively stripped of her judgeship. She stubbornly stood, though six months pregnant, as the committee flippantly tossed a sheet of paper at her and said, â€Å"Show up to the research office when you’re done with your vacation†, her ‘vacation’ being her maternity leave. The men then began to talk about her as though she was not there, saying things like, â€Å"Without even starting at the research office, she wants a vacation! † another said, â€Å"They’re disorganized! and another, â€Å"They’re so unmotivated; it’s clear they don’t want to be working! † †¦ The point Ebadi was trying to make is clear by the telling of these statements. Most men, especially those in the government, had lost what little respect they had previously held f or women prior to the Revolution. That much, at least, seemed very clear. The post-Revolution’s effect on women was a grim one. As Ebadi read in a newspaper piece titled â€Å"Islamic Revolution†, â€Å"the life of a woman’s was now half that of a man (for instance, if a car hit both on the street, the cash compensation due to the woman’s family was half of that due the man’s), a oman’s testimony in court as a witness now counted only half as much as that of a man’s; a woman had to ask her husband permission to divorce. The drafters of the penal code had apparently consulted the seventh century for legal advice. † (Ebadi, 51). Ebadi’s head pounded with rage as she read this news. â€Å"The grim statues that I would spend the rest of my life fighting stared back at me from the page†, she writes. One effect of the new Islamic penal code was the imbalance it caused within Ebadi’s marriage. â€Å"The day Javad and I married each other, we joined our lives together as two equals†, she writes. But under these laws, he stayed a person and I became a chattel. They permitted him to divorce me at will, take custody of our future children, and acquire three wives and stick them in the house with me. † (Ebadi, 53). Ebadi knew her husband had no intentions of putting this new law to use, but she still could not accept the distraction the imbalance between them was causing her. At length, Ebadi came up with a solution: within the course of the next morning, her and her husband drove to the local notary where her husband readily signed a postnuptual agreement. This granted Ebadi the right to divorce her husband without permission, as well as primary custody of their children in the event of a separation. â€Å"Why are you doing this? † the astonished notary asked [Javad]. â€Å"My decision is irrevocable, â€Å" Javad replied. â€Å"I want to save my life. † This eased Ebadi’s feeling of unrest greatly, her and her husband were equals again, but a small part of her was still at unease. â€Å"After all, I couldn’t drag all the men of Iran down to the notary, could I? † (Ebadi, 54). September 22nd, 1980 marked the day that Saddam Hussein launched a full-blown invasion on Iran. Though the popular discontent with the revolution had by no means abated: as Ebadi mentions, during the war, â€Å"the newspapers still had long lists of the executed, all the former regime’s officials and counterrevolutionaries who had been shot or hung, and sometimes pages filled with macabre photos of gallows and dead bodies. † Despite all of this, the people went on, just as they had through the upheaval after the revolution. In short, the decade after the revolution was one filled with much strife, war, and repression. This strife first became personal to Ebadi in the form of the political imprisonment and murder of her brother-in-law Fuad at the young age of 24. â€Å"Fuad’s death made me even more obstinate†, she writes. â€Å"We had been told not to discuss his death with anyone, so I talked about his execution night and day. In taxis, at the corner shop, in line for bread, I would approach perfect strangers and tell them about this sweet boy who was sentenced to twenty years in prison for selling newspapers, and then executed. † (Ebadi, 89) This tragic event in Ebadi’s life, the hot outrage that it made her feel, is remembered as the spark which would lead to her return to legal practice in the 1990’s. Things had, of course, continued to happen since Fuad’s death in the fall of 1988. In 1989, Khomeini had died, the komitehs harsh, unnecessary punishments grew more serious and frequent: Ebadi writes of one instance in which her friend’s fiance is whipped 80 times with no legal grounds whatsoever. The extreme laws against women grew more and more severe. When Ebadi was arrested for the first time (for a crime of wardrobe), she mentions an elderly woman who was arrested for the â€Å"crime† of wearing slippers. Yet over time, it again â€Å"became fashionable for the daughters of Traditional families to attend college†, Ebadi writes. â€Å"Throughout the nineties, the number of women with college degrees rose steadily, and eventually the women began to outnumber the men in universities by a small margin. † This new wave of educated women emerging from Iran created a people that was no longer content to slip back into their old, traditional roles in the home. This new attitude was often met by extreme clashes within the family. Ebadi writes of one such woman who, upon requesting a divorce from her husband, was refused by her father. Facing a lifetime of unhappiness, the woman doused herself in gasoline and set herself ablaze. In 1992, Ebadi again began practicing law, this time exclusively taking on pro bono cases. She pored over religious texts, attempting to gain sufficient knowledge to argue against particular interpretations that would claim that, within Islam, discriminatory interpretations were to be made. Ebadi began to take on only the cases of women and children, for these were the ones who were constantly at the mercy of a sick, twisted government. Ebadi took on many cases; one was that of the family of Zahra Kanzemi, an Iranian journalist who had been killed in police custody in 2003. Another was that of a student who was beaten to death by paramilitaries during a 1999 protest; Ebadi herself was imprisoned during the course of this case. While digging through the paperwork for a case representing the children of a couple who had been slain in their home, Ebadi stumbled across the official authorization of her own assassination. The response Ebadi has to this shocking information was one of the major instances that. I believe, greatly endears her to the reader as an extremely brace and powerful woman. â€Å"I wasn’t scared, really, nor was I angry†, she writes. Instead, Ebadi simply wanted to know why. One thing that is truly unique about Ebadi is the way in which she writes about her life choices. She writes about them as if they were natural, obvious, and just the thing anyone would have done in her place. In reality, this is not so. Many others around Ebadi had the education and ability to make the same choices that Ebadi had made, but they did not, some even emigrating during the Iran-Iraq war. For Ebadi, patriotic to the core, the only choice was to stay. She has a love for her country that defies the instability and repression the government tries to place upon her. Ebadi knows, deep within herself, that the government is not the country. The only moral choice she could live with was to fight injustice with law; the very law the injustices claimed themselves to be. Following the ‘Reform Era’, you can see Ebadi breathe a huge sigh of relief. The years of constant anxiousness over everything, even her girl’s birthday parties, were behind her. The days when young people would be whipped for venturing into the mountains together, women would be detained or lashed for simply wearing a smudge of makeup or nail-polish, or for wearing any color clothing besides navy or black tones, were happily retired. Moderate President Khatami sought to pull back the system’s interference in the people’s private lives, but as Ebadi states, â€Å"President Khatami deserves only a measure of credit for this shift. Really it was because my daughters’ uncowed generation started fighting back, and, through the force of their sheer numbers and boldness, made it unfeasible for the state to impose itself as before. † This book was, in my opinion, a fantastic portrait of a life lived in truth. It was a delight to see how Ebadi’s simple courage and outright stubbornness made a vast difference in the lives of many, even in the face of extreme adversity, like her own possible assassination. In conclusion, I will once again quote Ebadi, as she articulates the dignity of the reform movement within Iran. It so happened that I believed in the secular separation of religion and government because, fundamentally, Islam, like any religion, is subject to interpretation. It can be interpreted to oppress women or interpreted to liberate them I am a lawyer by training, and know only too well the permanent limitations of trying to enshrine inalienable rights in sources that lack fixed terms and definitions. But I am also a citizen of the Islamic Republic, and I know the futility of approaching the question any other way. My objective is not to vent my own political sensibilities but to push for a law that would save a family like Leilas — a child who was raped and murdered — from becoming homeless in their quest to finance the executions of their daughters convicted murderers. If Im forced to ferret through musty books of Islamic jurisprudence and rely on sources that stress the egalitarian ethics of Islam, then so be it. Is it harder this way? Of course it is. But is there an alternative battlefield? Desperate wishing aside, I cannot see one. – Shirin Ebadi