Gemeinschaft vs. a Gesellschaft community free essay sample

Increasingly impersonal forms of interaction have accompanied industrialization and urban growth. Gemeinschaft relationships are communal and informal. People relate to each other because they are kin, because they live in a particular locality or because they are likeminded and wish to pursue a common goal. Gemeinschaft relationships are close, interpersonal and intimate. There is mutual trust and concern, as well as willing cooperation. People help each other because they care (Bartle). Gesellschaft relationships, on the other hand, are associative and formal. People relate to each other because it is a practical way of achieving an objective, like paying for services rendered. Gesellschaft relationships are characterized by individualism and mutual distrust. Typically, interactions are for a particular purpose. Children who primarily experience gemeinschaft relationships have very different socialization experiences than children who primarily experience gesellschaft relationships (Bartle).   Parents from a collectivistic culture expect their children to respect their parents’ opinions and authority, which is expressed through everyday behavior. We will write a custom essay sample on Gemeinschaft vs. a Gesellschaft community or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Here, the shift from Gemeinschaft to Gesellshaft is seen as one of the defining trend of the modern era. There are negative effects of the noisy, crowded, hectic backdrop to urbanites’ everyday dealings with one another. This constant stimulation encourages people to develop a blasà © attitude toward what is going on around them. This attitude enables them to screen out much of what they see and hear, thus shielding them from emotional exhaustion. The result is that city dwellers seem to be cold and heartless, indifferent to the feelings and actions of others. This protective shell contrasts sharply with the mutual concern and caring typical of people in very small towns. (Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft at Wikipedia). In another light, children raised in traditional rural subcultures and small, semi agricultural communal settlements have been socialized to have gemeinschaft relationships (close personal ties, concern with community members: welfare, reciprocity, readiness to lend a helping hand); children raised in urban subcultures have been socialized to have gesellschaft relationships (impersonal ties, competitiveness, obligations based on contracts, behavior for personal advantage). (Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft at Wikipedia). Meanwhile, in order to illustrate more these concepts, the settling of unrest of the teens in the Gemeinschaft community who wish to be able to do some of the things that the teens in the Gesellschaft community are doing like winning letters for participation on sports teams or in school activities, driving cars, dating, going to movies and having more freedom, there is a need to look into the  Ã‚   various types of leadership theory and styles of leadership. Leadership involves influencing others to act toward the attainment of a goal. It harnesses the collective energy of a group of people and directs that energy towards the completion of a common goal. Common experience teaches that there is no formula to ensure success in leadership. Many leadership theories have been developed over the years to prove common experience wrong. One of the theories to gain wide acceptance is the Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. This theory developed by Robert House proposes that effective leaders clearly specify the task, reduce roadblocks to task achievement, and increase opportunities for task-related satisfaction, thereby clarifying the paths, or means, by which employees can attain job satisfaction and improve performance. The leader’s function is to motivate subordinates and help them reach their highly valued, job-related objectives. The specific style of leader behavior exhibited should be determined by two contingency variables: student characteristics and task characteristics (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. ChangingMinds.org). The Path-Goal Theory does not provide a formula for the best way to lead. Instead it stresses that to be effective, a leader should select the style most appropriate to a particular situation and the follower needs. This theory identifies four styles of leadership:    Achievement-oriented leadership involves setting challenging goals expecting followers to perform at their highest level and showing confidence that they will meet this expectation.    Directive leadership is letting followers know what’s expected of them and telling them how to perform their tasks. This style is similar to the initiating-structure and production-centered styles.   Ã‚   Participative leadership is consulting with followers and asking for their suggestions before making a decision.    Supportive leadership is being friendly and approachable and showing concern for followers’ psychological well-being. This style is much like the considerate employee-centered styles.   The Path-Goal Theory that adopts the supportive leadership style is the one that I will use with the teenagers at issue here. This is so because the participative style is the one that works well in a situation like sports activities. Sports are â€Å"organized interactions of children in competitive and/or cooperative team or individual enjoyable physical activities.† (Humphrey, 1993, p.3). Employing a leadership style other than this one will make the atmosphere even more competitive and tense. For example, if I adopt the Achievement-oriented style of leadership, then, I am making the teenagers strive for the task rather than the process, which in the first place, is what I am striving to resolve. My goal is to make these teens benefit from the experience. They need to learn a lot about themselves and their capabilities, about their potential for improvement, about the value of teamwork, about the fun of sports and about the lifelong importance of physical fitness. Thus, in terms of the dating part and the other serious issues of driving cars and doing the activities of older teenagers, then, basically, I may just have to exercise this supportive kind of leadership and emphasize to these younger teens that their time will come and they will soon be part of the â€Å"gesellschaft† relationships that they so yearn to belong. In the meantime, I will support the activities of the members of the gemeinschaft communities and be there when they need me most. I think I will also elucidate on the   advantages of belonging to their gemeinschaft community and enjoy the experience while they are there. Knowing how to negotiate and persuade people would be very essential in settling this dispute. future career. Through interactions with various kinds of people, I got to know particular complexities of different individuals and use this to a good advantage.   I believe that an effective leader is a pathfinder, a team builder, and a gardener. As pathfinders, they have to recognize needs and accommodate the legitimate needs and wants of all stakeholders by clarifying: Vision, Context, Direction, Location, Goals, Strategy, Purpose and Pace. As team builders, they help others achieve together as they: Create healthy, safe conditions for risk taking; help others become leaders; provide resources and be a resource themselves; help some move from dependence to independence; help others get things done; get out of the way. Then, as gardeners, they work hard, often behind the scenes, to create a culture and mores that embody core principles and values; help determine how people work together; help them agree on worthwhile purposes; create enthusiasm and understanding in a critical mass of followers; identify and remove obstacles; provide support systems; provide recognitions and rewards; organize and supply raw materials; prune, when necessary; and plan for the harvest (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership).