Self-Sacrifice and the Leadership Effectiveness Essay

Self-Sacrifice and the Leadership Effectiveness - Essay Example Further, self-sacrifice can help groups particularly faced with crisis and the reciprocity norm asserts that individuals are under pressure to assist those who have assisted them. Clearly, this norm may function as a behavioral rule that is present in the continuing relationships, and that makes them be stable. Additionally, self-sacrifice may function as an intrinsic motive that leads to satisfaction and that makes individuals reciprocate. A self-sacrificing behavior by the leader creates pressure on the followers to act as is required of them. Particularly, to forgo self-interest and committing oneself to the good of the collective is what is required of self-sacrifice (Knippenberg & Knippenberg, 2005, p. 25).Nelson Mandela is an ideal example of a leader who intensively and extensively struggled for the sake of South Africa freedom. Mandela sacrificed a lot to the South African movement for freedom, including his private life and liberty. His ultimate goal was to ensure his fellow Africans have gained the much-needed freedom in their country. Commenting on his desire to sacrifice to attain freedom, Mandela maintained that freedom cannot be easily acquired anywhere in the world. In addition, most individuals would have to go through a valley of the shadow of death always until we get to the top of our aspirations (Limb, 2008). He stated during his Heritage Day address on 24 September 1997 that, â€Å"Let us recommit ourselves to the ideals in our Constitution, ideals which were shaped in the struggles†.

Microsoft Windows operating system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Microsoft Windows operating system - Essay Example But in case of Microsoft operating the market is totally dominated by Microsoft. Based solely on market share, Microsoft appears to have a near-monopoly in operating systems for personal computers yet Microsoft priced the Windows OS very smartly and kept it at bare minimum and thus succeeded in capturing in the market. The law of demand tells us that as the price of a commodity falls, the quantity demanded increases and vice-versa. But the law is silent on the extent of increase in demand as a result of decrease in certain percentage of prices. That means the law of demand tells us only the direction of change, but not the rate which the change takes place. To know about the rate of change we should know the 'price elasticity of demand'. Elasticity of demand can be defined as the "degree of responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price." It thus represents the rate of change in the quantity demanded due to a change in price. Now in case of Microsoft it can be said that, if we treat PCs as a single homogeneous commodity, then Microsoft's pricing of Windows was 'not' consistent with its status of a monopoly over personal computer (PC) operating systems. Therefore Microsoft started with such penetrative pricing that consumers had no option but to go for it. The company priced Windows as low as it can because of several types of substitution; For the fi