Abstract

Conventional leaders and leadership of the past are insufficient to meet the demands of the 21^st Century. As we enter the new millennium, our world is characterised by unprecedented complexity, paradox, and unpredictability. Change is rapid and relentless. Today’s leaders face demands unlike any ever before faced. Standard leadership approaches that have served us well throughout much of history are quickly becoming liabilities. Conventional wisdom regarding leadership and many of its habits must be unlearned. The strong, decisive, charismatic, and independent leader and leadership we have idealised, strived to be, depended upon, and longed for may prove counter-productive in the new millennium and undermine a sustainable future. The challenges and opportunities of the 21^st Century call for a new type of leader and leadership, indeed an entirely new and different way of thinking about leadership and of developing future leaders. This paper explores the nature of the nascent millennium and the leader and leadership qualities and capabilities expected to be crucial in the uncertain decades ahead. Eight general categories of leadership attributes have been identified as essential for the future. Those who possess or are developing these competence sets are Renaissance Leaders—individuals who are different and make a difference. A significant gap remains between current leadership competencies and those needed in the future. Implications of this gap are discussed. One important finding is that leadership development programs in industry and higher education have yet to refocus to produce the kind of leaders needed. Suggestions for reform are offered.

Abstract

Leaders may lack an understanding of what leader behaviors enhance job satisfaction and organizational culture. The purpose of the quantitative correlational survey study examined the relationships between leadership styles, job satisfaction, and organizational culture in small animal veterinary hospitals. Data from The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the Organizational Description Questionnaire, the Job in General and Job Descriptive Index, revealed that leader transformational behaviors are positively correlated with the work, promotion, and supervisor facets of job satisfaction. Transactional culture is positively correlated with all facets. Training leaders to improve aspects of transactional culture and to enhance transformational behaviors may improve overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with pay, and satisfaction with opportunities for promotion.

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed major changes in the availability and use of information technology by large businesses to gain efficiencies and competitive advantage over rivals.  Some of the earlier research shows that is not necessarily the case in small businesses. This study tries to identify the degree and the type of information technologies currently accepted and used by the small retail and service businesses.

Abstract

In ancient India, women held a high place of respect in the society as  mentioned in Rigveda and other scriptures.  Volumes can be written about the status of our women and their heroic deeds from the Vedic period to the modern times. But later on, because of social, political and economic charges, women lost their status and were relegated to the background. Many evil customs and traditions stepped in which enslaved the women and tied them to boundaries of the house.

Entrepreneurial activity attracts certain kinds of individuals, whether it is to promote a public good or private profit. Such self-selection is not a random event, but is influenced by personal characteristics as well as by socio-demographic and cultural factors. This article looks at entrepreneurial behavior in both the non-profit organizations and  for-profit organizations to test for differences and similarities that may occur due the sector in which the entrepreneurial activity is located. We study women entrepreneurs who have founded and run small non-profits and businesses in one city in India. Our findings show that while non-profit entrepreneurs receive a high payoff from promoting social causes, we do not find a single unifying payoff  for-profit entrepreneurs. Family background, however, plays an important role in both sets of entrepreneurs in an interesting way. Furthermore, we find experience in the sector, social class and caste, and education also plays important roles. Policy implications are explored.

Abstract

The 21^st century has brought many opportunities as well as challenges for women and minorities. Research has revealed that women's participation in the entrepreneurial economy rose dramatically over the past three decades. One question to ask is why are women and minorities starting ventures and contributing substantially to the world economy, yet receiving small amounts of venture capital? Yet another question is why do women and minorities seem to face greater hurdles in growing their ventures, with or without equity investment. The purpose of this paper is to expound on five challenges women and minorities face as entrepreneurs in the twenty-first century. Although only five challenges are discussed in this article, they are certainly not limited to that number. The hurdles addressed are balancing life and work; access to capital; credit history and collateral issues; cultural differences; and drive, ambition, and motivation.