Examples Of Some Best Leaders And Managers Commerce Essay

Examples Of Some Best Leaders And Managers Commerce Essay Leadership and management are one of the most discussed topics in business corporates and organizations. It is highly unlikely to switch on any media (radio, internet, etc.) and not run into a number of topics that do not link back to leaders and managers. By definition, the two systems are not the same; however, they need to be utilized complementarily to achieve one common goal and any effort to separate the two will cause more problematic issues than it will solve. In attempt to point out the difference, this report will address different areas of both leadership and management, such as; different characteristics of a leader, theories of leadership, management and its skills, and some examples of effective managers. There may be some intersections, but the essential difference between the two systems is that leaders are born and managers are made. Though leadership comes as a natural talent this is not enough to make a fully qualified leader as there must be a constant improvement at every step of their career by investing tons of efforts and energy into their work to truly accomplish the definitions of leadership qualities. On the other hand, in a nutshell managers are problem solvers depending on the reasonableness and control and they administer what has been innovated by leaders. Leadership and Management It has become quite a common practice to differentiate between leadership and management. The most significant part off all these differentiations is that they are all orientated towards change. This idea is well outlined by John Kotter in his book who came to a conclusion that management is about coping with complexity whilst leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change (John Kotter, 1990, p104). He stated that good management brings about a degree of order and consistency to organizational processes and goals, whilst leadership is required for rapid change. The differentiation of leadership from management as outlined by Kotter evidently inspires a change in emphasis from the moderately inflexible, administrative processes characterized as management to the more rapid and strategic processes categorized as leadership, yet even he concludes that both are of equal importance for the effective running of an organization:, Leadership is different from management, but not for the reason most people think. Leadership isnt mystical and mysterious. It has nothing to do with having charisma or other exotic personality traits. Its not the province of a chosen few. Nor is leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement for it: rather, leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment. (Kotter, 1990, p103). Even though there are a quite number of business writers such as John Kotter and his contemporaries who argue that there is a difference between leadership and management, however, these arguments cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt, especially when we put practice into consideration, therefore some people doubt as to whether they are really quite as separate as this in practice. Firstly, there has been an increment in the rejection to the way in which studies tend to disparage management as a system that is tedious and uninspiring. Gosling and Murphy (2004) propose that upholding a sense of steadiness during times of rapid change is a key to successful leadership. Thus the leader must safeguard that systems and structures remain in place whose purpose is to give workers a sense of security and a sense of balance, without which it would be hard to maintain levels of motivation, commitment, trust and psychological wellbeing. Secondly, research has shown that the two systems are far from being separate thus the practices labeled as management and leadership are an essential fragment of the same task. From the exhaustive interpretations of what managers really do, Mintzberg (1973, 1975) identified 10 key roles, and among the roles leadership is one of them. He further came to a conclusion that far from being separate and different from management, leadership is just one dimension of a multidimensional management role. The most difficult thing and which causes confusion that are derived from comparing leadership and management is the method in which they are often charted to different individuals. Therefore, we often refer to managers and leaders as if they were different and incompatible people we look at leaders as individuals who respond to rapid changes quite easily thus dynamic, charismatic individuals with the capacity to inspire others, whilst managers are seen as administrators who just focus on th e current task. Such an interpretation, however, does not concur well with an individual who is experienced as a manager. People are generally employed into management, instead of leadership positions, and are expected to complete a pile of tasks extending from everyday planning and implementation, to longer-term strategic planning. None of these are done in isolation, and throughout, it is essential to work alongside other people to motivate and inspire them, but also to know when to relinquish the lead and take a back seat. Most of us have become so enamored of leadership that management has been pushed into the background. Nobody aspires to being a good manager anymore; everybody wants to be a great leader. But the separation of management from leadership is dangerous. Just as management without leadership encourages an uninspired style, which deadens activities, leadership without management encourages a disconnected style, which promotes hubris. And we all know the destructive power of hubris in organizations. (Gosling and Mintzberg, 2003). Leadership Theories Even though individuals who are practically involved hands-on within the leadership field, they see practice being different from theories, but they are inseparably related. Traditional leadership theories were more fixated on what qualities differentiate between leaders and followers, while contemporary theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and skill levels.  Both of these types of theories of leadership have an impact the current practice, education and policy and offer a useful guideline for the selection and development of leaders in other words: theories are too good to be practical. I will discuss some of the most prominent leadership theories, which offer a valuable context for the consideration of wider issues about defining leadership capabilities and development approaches. Leadership Traits For a long time it was presumed that it would be feasible to recognize and separate a limited set of traits, which can then be used to employ individuals in the positions of leadership. These qualities include but not limited to; -strong drive for responsibility, -focus on completing the task, -vigor and persistence in pursuit of goals, -originality in problem-solving, -drive to exercise initiative in social settings, -self-confidence, -sense of personal identity, -willingness to accept consequences of decisions and actions, -readiness to adsorb interpersonal stress, -willingness to tolerate frustration and delay, -ability to influence the behavior of others, and -capacity to structure social systems to the purpose in hand. This method was strongly based on the great man theory that concentrated on how many records occupy and maintained positions where they have the capacity to influence. The hypothesis was that these individuals were born to be leaders and would grow by quality of t heir personality alone. Ralph Stogdill (1974) carried out a study to extensively revise the traits, and concluded that some qualities appeared more often than others. Other studies were carried out as well (e.g. Bird, 1940; Stewart, 1963) but did not identify the same set of traits. Since then the list has been growing, therefore it is now widely accepted that no such decisive set of traits will ever be identified. Leadership styles and behavior An approach which is an alternative to the traits approach was to look at what leaders actually do instead of just looking at their fundamental characteristics. Attention in this approach came about by the work of Douglas McGregor (1960), who suggested that leadership and management style is affected by the each individuals views about human nature. He briefly contrasted two theories of managers which he called Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X managers fairly look at human nature negatively, thus trusting that the average employee has an in-born dislike of and will not do the job at hand if it is possible. Managers who perceive in this view believe that employees need to be closely supervised and controlled to make sure that tasks are successfully completed. Theory Y managers assumes employees may be striving and self-motivated and exercise self-control. Expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest, and that the average human being, under proper cond itions, learns not only to accept but to seek responsibility. Such leaders will endeavor to enhance their employees capacity to exercise a high level of imagination, cleverness, and creativity in the answer to organizational problems. It can be understood that leaders holding diverse assumptions will show different methods to leadership: Theory X leaders preferring an autocratic style and Theory Y leaders preferring a participative style. Contingency Theories These theories concentrates on particular factors associated to a specific environment that might govern which particular leadership style will most suitably be fit for a particular situation. The theory states that there is no one leadership style that is suitable in all situations, thus making success to be dependent on a number of factors including the style of leadership chosen, qualities of the followers and features that defines that particular situation. Situational Theories At the same time as behavioral theories presented the idea of different leadership styles, they provided little direction as to what is needed for effective leadership behaviors in diverse situations. Researchers have proven that there is no one leadership style is best suited for every manager under all situations. Therefore, the concept of situational theories was developed to give direction that the style to be used is dependent upon such environmental variables factor. Fiedler (1964, 1967) suggested that there is no single best way to lead; instead the leaders style should be selected according to the situation. He differentiated between managers who are task or relationship oriented. Task oriented managers concentrate on the task at hand have a tendency to do better in situations that have good leader-member relationships, organized tasks, and either weak or strong position power. Such leaders have a tendency to show a more indicative leadership style. Managers who are relations hip oriented do better in all other situations and show a more participative style of leadership. Transformational Leadership This concept of transforming leadership was first developed by James MacGregor Burns. According to him, transforming leadership is a process by which leaders and followers help each other elevate to higher morality and motivation (Burns, 1978). At the center point of this concept is the importance of the leaders ability to motivate and empower his/her followers and also the moral dimension of leadership. Burns notions were then developed into the idea of transformational leadership where the leader transforms followers: The goal of transformational leadership is to transform people and organizations in a literal sense to change them in mind and heart; enlarge vision, insight, and understanding; clarify purposes; make behavior congruent with beliefs, principles, or values; and bring about changes that are permanent, self-perpetuating, and momentum building. (Bass and Avolio, 1994). In closing, leadership styles depend on the situation of the business or organization, there is no single style that is suitable. Also, blending leadership with team building, a leader can create an ideal team thus team members may become more involved and ask questions like; who does this? Who did that? How am I helping to achieve a common goal? Characteristics of a Leader Every individual is inspired or motivated in a different way; it is for this reason that being a leader will require a cautious combination of different leadership characteristics and skills. Personality traits and characteristics will determine the kind of leader one is. These characteristics that make up a leader are vast and they are all influenced by the followers, meaning depending on who he/she is leading, a leader will have different characteristics; ranging from being self-confident to being initiative. The United States Marine Corps teaches more than ten leadership traits, such as being dependable and enthusiastic. Below is a full list that is taught by the US Marine Corps: Justice Judgment Dependability Initiative Decisiveness Tact Integrity Enthusiasm Bearing Unselfishness Courage Knowledge Loyalty Endurance Retired General Colin Powell believes a good leader has the quality to make decisions that everyone can understand. In his own words, lesson number 14 teaches that Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand. Effective leaders understand the KISS principle, Keep It Simple, Stupid. They articulate vivid, over-arching goals and values, which they use to drive daily behaviors and choices among competing alternatives. Their visions and priorities are lean and compelling, not cluttered and buzzword-laden. Their decisions are crisp and clear, not tentative and ambiguous. They convey an unwavering firmness and consistency in their actions, aligned with the picture of the future they paint. The result: clarity of purpose, credibility of leadership, and integrity in organization. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, marks another great leadership quote and amongst those quotes is Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, its amazing what they can accomplish. In the following paragraphs I am going to bold some of the key skills a leader is required to have. Emotional Intelligence is another concept that serves as a quality a leader should possess and was introduced by Daniel Goleman. Its the ability to perceive, control and then evaluate emotions (Daniel Gloeman, 1998). The people who have researched about emotional intelligence say that it can be learnt and some say that it can be produced also. In 1990, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer defined emotional intelligence as the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor ones own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide ones thinking and actions. There are four branches of emotional intelligence: Perceiving Emotions, Reasoning with emotions, Understanding Emotions, and Managing Emotions. According to Nitin Nohria, a professor at Harvard Business School, communication is really what a leader does most of the time. He proposes that great leaders follow or should follow oratory communication fundamentals. He believes that a leader can communicate any type of message no matter how complex it is. Aristotle said that people can be reached in by means of different methods; people can be treated in a way that it will charm their emotions and we can make arguments on their sense of value but the great leaders spend a lot of their time communicating. According to Joe Badaracco, another professor at HBS, Simplicity is very essential at every step of communication, that no matter how complex the message, a great leader can convey a message as simple as possible and in fewer words. Communication can however be more efficiently and effectively be conveyed if the correspondent knows the audience. Great leaders always understand the worth and position of their audience. They know th eir audience well and in this way they can communicate with their audience in a far better way. He further states that being a good communicator is not enough to be a good leader; since it will be a two way communication the leader must also be a good listener to avoid misinterpretation from the audience. Jeff Bezos, the CEO and founder of Amazon.com says that one of the key elements of being a good leader is the ability to tell the hard truths and realities. All these examples come under better communication. As I have mentioned before, organizations are rapidly changing, thus making them dynamic. Great leaders are those who can manage and cope with these organizational rapid changes and all its employees or members. They know and comprehend the value of change and accept the common vision of desired results. Empowerment is also important in managing the change process. Managing the change successfully makes ordinary humans the great and effective leaders. People often resist change for reasons that make good sense to them, even if those reasons dont correspond to organizational goals. So it is crucial to recognize, reward, and celebrate accomplishments. (Kanter). In this current age, technology is one of the things travelling on the fast lane. It is reported that a technological of most things such as information systems evolve every six months. It is for this reason that a great leader must keep him informed and aware of such evolutions. Knowledge is the key to success and they key element of effective leadership. Great and effective leader must have knowledge about everything that he is interacting with. Joe Badaracco says that in the previous days, the leaders had to rely on their subordinates for collecting and implementing the knowledge but now a days, the leaders must be good enough in knowledge so that they can cope with different situations well. Another consequence of fast changing technology is that managers are required to be creative. Creativity is becoming one of the key elements and quality of a great and effective leader. This is one quality that can distinct a leader from a great and effective leader. Examples of some best leaders and managers It is not easy to find a great leader, especially when the organization plays great game of blaming each other on anything that goes wrong within itself. Few companies have good, solid leadership from people who are willing to stick to their word. Glen Stansberry a writer, in his online article he has identified the following 5 of 10 leaders considered to be good examples in our society. James Parker Southwest Airlines Southwest is recognized for their great customer service in an industry considered to be bad at customer service. Southwest stands out from other airlines by putting the customer first, regardless of the situation at hand. After 9/11 terrorist attack, airlines were not operational for number of days. As a result, all airline passengers, flight attendants and pilots were stuck with the planes across the country unable to travel to their destinations. Instead of merely sitting and waiting, Southwest employees were encouraged to take passengers bowling or to the movies to pass the time. Also, other airlines were retrenching their employees by 20%, but James Parker decided to keep all the employees and even announced a profit sharing payment of US$179.8 million. Jim Lentz Toyota In the year 2009, circa Toyotas 2.3 million vehicles were recalled for faulty brakes. Outrage ran rampant across the media and public. Instead of letting a Public Relations team deal with the problem with only press statements and interviews, Toyota offered a live conversation on one of the most aggressive and popular communities on the web known as Digg. They were all caught by a surprise when the Toyota CEO Jim Lentz appeared on Digg Dialog to be questioned all sorts of queries about the company and the recall. Over a thousand hard questions were submitted from consumers and even past employees, and Mr Lentz answered as many as possible in the given time. The questions were asked in order of votes, and none were filtered therefore making it a totally transparent interview. Even though the number of recalled vehicles skyrocketed, Toyotas honesty and transparency will help with lessening the damage to the companys reputation. Glenn Kelman Redfin Redfin is an online real estate brokerage firm that gives back two-thirds of the commission that traditional agents charge. Real estate agents hated it, and started blacklisting anyone who used the service. So, instead of keeping the problem quiet, Kelman started a company blog that focused on many of the awful aspects of the real estate business. He also posted about internal struggles within the company, and even criticized himself on many occasions. The blog was raw and authentic. Customers loved the transparency. They appreciated the fact that a CEO could make fun of himself and the dirty parts of his industry. Since starting the Redfin blog in 2006, business has grown dramatically. (Glen Stansberry, 2010). Costco Jim Sinegal Costco net worth value is ranked at U$2 billion, but the CEO Jim Sinegal only gets US$350,000.00 per annum. In general, most employees tend to get de-motivated by the fact that their bosses earn a lot of money and do not really care about them. It even gets worse when an employee does not see the head of the company. In Jims case, he has a simple office, on the same floor with his employees and without any walls and decorations, and answers his own telephone. His employee turnover rate is the lowest in the retail industry, over five times less than rival Wal-Mart. In an age where CEOs are paid in the millions and would never be seen in the trenches, Jim Sinegal is an anomaly. And his workers love him for it. Howard Schultz Starbucks Starbucks is known for its exceptional treatment of employees, offering things like insurance to even part-time workers. In 1997 three employees were killed in a bumbled robbery of one of their Washington D.C. stores. Instead of issuing a press release or calling legal counsel, CEO Howard Schultz flew straight to D.C. and spent the entire week with the employees and their families in the area. Schultzs compassion and incredible leadership helped heal those closest to the tragedy. Conclusion Regardless of the extensive research about the importance of management and leadership in terms of individuals, organizational performance, and national performance there is still a lack of realistic evidence. According to the economic analyses, even though management and leadership are the integral part in influencing national competitiveness, their influence is just another factor of many others. Strictly at organizational levels, it may seem like leadership and management are the only factors that have a direct influence on results, however they are just part of Human Resource Management activities. The influence of Management and Leadership development (MLD) at an individual level, it seems to be affected by the type of intervention and the wish and the chance of individuals to take on leadership responsibilities. These however may not reflect positively on the influences of management and leadership with regard to performance. This report may show how important it is to consider leadership in the broader context of any organization. Separately, there is no assurance that leadership development will improve the individuals performance, however, if we look at leadership development as the main thing within and organization and human resource management (HRM) processes its influence becomes obvious. Similarly, the availability of effective leadership and management processes inside an organization raises the probability of additional training and development becoming a success. Regardless of the lack of conclusive evidence indicating the relationship between management, leadership and performance it has been widely accepted that this are the key elements of effective performance of groups, individuals, organizations, etc. The fact that this relationship cannot be linearly measured indicates that there is a need for more research to be done. The way in which enhanced management and leadership leads to improved performance is complex and thus when looking at the benefits that are raised from the interventions a much wider idea of performance needs to included instead of just looking at improved productivity/profit.

Morning Walk Essay

I love to listen to the soft sounds of the wind blowing through the trees. I love to hear the far off sound of a horse whinny, or the sounds of birds singing gracefully in the trees. I love to look out the window and see the landscape, with all its greenery. My home is beautiful. Here in the country, just outside Strathmore, I live on a small acreage. It is there that I have many horses and other animals. Every day I get up early in the morning and run outside to go for a ride on my horse. While I saddle up my horse, the sun rises and everything awakens. Riding first thing in the morning is the best, because you can see things that you will never see during the majority of the day. One of my favorite things is the sunrise. The colours are magical and enchanting. I ride in the field across the road from us. There they have some small ponds and some sloughs. In the morning many ducks and geese come to feed them and their young, who follow along taking part in their first swimming lessons. Sometimes you can just sit there and actually watch eggs hatching, seeing new life grasp the world for the first time. You can see gophers awaken and coming up to take in their first fresh morning breath. Although they are thought of as a pest, they are beautiful in their own way. One morning, I was out riding when I came across to see two coyotes with two of their pups. The pups were just lolling around and the parents were hunting. I saw them from atop a hill. I didn’t want to get too close and scare them off. This was a special moment. It must have been the pups’ first time out of the den. They seemed so curious. They walked all over the field and became quite aware of their surroundings. The next morning I went out, they were there again. Today they were going to hunt, too. They saw a jackrabbit and they started on their way. After a few moments they seemed to have lost their track. They plopped down in the stubble and waited until the rabbit appeared again. This time they weren’t going to let it get away. They took off and seized the jack. They were so proud. They each carried one end of the jack, and let it dangle between them. They soon headed north toward their den. I wanted to follow, but I thought about how I wouldn’t want a stranger looking through the window when I am eating. So I left them alone and went home. Strathmore is a place that is simple, but has some of the greatest beauties. Strathmore isn’t just about the wildlife. Here there live great people and great friends. Strathmore has great surprises and great opportunities waiting for everyone.

10 Veterans of the Mexican-American and Civil Wars

A Mission Statement At Sheltering Arms - 1338 Words

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Urban Zones Of The Nineteenth Century - 1239 Words

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Introduction to Internet Addiction Free Essays

Introduction to Internet Addiction Ten years ago, the only people who spent a majority of their leisure time on the computer were paid members of the technology industry. Today, however, surfing the Web has become a pastime as social and marketable as bar hopping or going to the movies. As the web has become a part of mainstream life, some mental health professionals have noted that a percentage of people using the web do so in a compulsive and out-of-control manner. We will write a custom essay sample on Introduction to Internet Addiction or any similar topic only for you Order Now In one extreme (1997)  Cincinnati case, unemployed mother Sandra Hacker allegedly spent over 12 hours a day secluded from her three young and neglected children while she surfed the Web. For better or for worse, this phenomena of compulsive Internet use has been termed ‘Internet Addiction’ based on its superficial similarity to common addictions such as smoking, drinking, and gambling. Internet Addiction has even been championed as an actual disorder, notably by psychologists Kimberly Young, Ph. D and David Greenfield, Ph. D.. However, at this time the true nature of Internet Addiction is not yet determined. In a true addiction, a person becomes compulsively dependent upon a particular kind of stimulation to the point where obtaining a steady supply of that stimulation becomes the sole and central focus of their lives. The addict increasingly neglects his work duties, relationships and ultimately even his health in his drive to remain stimulated. In some cases of addiction (such as addiction to alcohol or to heroin), a phenomenon known as tolerance occurs, wherein more and more stimulation is required to produce the same pleasurable effect. A related phenomena, withdrawal, can also occur, wherein the addicted person comes to be dependent upon their source of stimulation and experiences dramatically unpleasant (and even potentially lethal — as can be the case with alcohol) reactions when he goes without it. Sources of addictive stimulation can be chemical (as is the case with addictive drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, nicotine and heroin), sensual (as in sex) or even informational (as in gambling or workaholism). What all sources of addictive stimulation have in common is that they provoke a strong, usually positive (at first) reaction in the potential addict, who then seeks out the source of that stimulation so as to obtain that feeling on a regular basis. While many people like to engage in sexual relations, or gamble, or have the occasionally drink because of the pleasure to be had, clearly not all people who do so are addicts. 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Some psychologists do not believe in addiction to the Internet itself, but rather in addiction to stimulation that the Internet provides. They suggests that new Internet users often show an initial infatuation with the novelty of the Web, but eventually lose interest and decrease their time spent online back to a normal, healthy amount. Those users who do go on to show compulsive Internet utilization, for the most part become compulsive only with regard to particular types of information to be had online, most often gambling, pornography, chat room or shopping sites. This is not an addiction to the Internet itself, but rather to risk-taking, sex, socializing or shopping. In essence then, the chief addictive characteristic of the Internet is its ability to enable instant and relatively anonymous social stimulation. Addicted† Internet users are addicted to a favored kind of social stimulation and not to the Internet itself, although it is also true that the Internet has made it vastly easier and more convenient for someone to develop such a compulsion. Because the Internet is used by many people as a normal part of their career or education, knowing how to separate excessive from normal use becomes difficult and cannot be accomplished using simple measures such as amount of time spent online in a given period. M ost fundamental in differentiating normal from problem Internet use is the experience of compulsion to use the net. Normal users, no matter how heavy their usage, do not  need  to get online and do not neglect their occupational duties or their relationships with family and friends to get online. Help for Internet related addiction is available from multiple sources. Anyone concerned about serious problem Internet usage should consider consulting with a local licensed psychologist, social worker or counselor, specifically one with experience treating addictions. Cognitive therapy based approaches are recommendable due to their systematic and direct focus on reducing problem use and preventing relapse, and the strong scientific support for the approach. Marital and or family therapy approaches may be useful as well when an individual’s Internet Addiction is affecting their larger family system (such as might be the case when a husband uses Internet-based pornography as his sole sexual outlet, leaving his wife frozen out). More than a few books and self-help resources (such as audio tape sets) are also available for those who want to educate themselves on the problem. Our Internet Addiction Treatment article provides further detail. How to cite Introduction to Internet Addiction, Essay examples

Demand and Supply of Oil in Australia Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Demand and Supply of a Product of your Choice and Factors that affect the Demand and Supply sides of the Market. Answer: Introduction Oil demand and supply is has a close relationship with its price (Carollo, 2012). This paper shall consider the various theories that determine the price of a commodity. Australia is one of the biggest importer of oil. Thus, it can be argued that holding all other impacts constant, it has benefited from the fall in oil prices. Where the importing economies have greatly benefited, losses has accumulate to the exporting firms. The paper will provide insights on whether in future the oil prices will be lower or high. It has been argued that the world supply of oil has been very high in the past 3 years. However, the growth in demand is at a lower rate. The paper shall consider the action that could possibly make the oil price rise to at least a fair level. This study will be useful to the oil producing economies as it will help them predict the future of their operations. It will create awareness on the government to understand the risks facing its oil producing and refining companies a nd initiate actions that would prevent them from closing down. Recommendations provided may be used by the government in choosing its policies. Article Analysis The article under analysis is Why do oil prices keep goingdown? by Arak and Tschinkel (2016). The article highlighted that there is a great oversupply of oil from US and the OPEC economies (McGrath, 2015). Although the price have been too low, none of the major producers is agreeing to cut its production with the intention of pushing up the prices. If the oversupply continues, many economies will not be able to stand making huge losses and will opt to terminate their production. Many exporting countries have been greatly hit by the price slump. Low oil prices have negatively affected the global stock markets; many stocks were recorded to fall as a result (Herron and Burger, 2016). The price of oil in 2016 was at the all-lowest level for 12 years. Arak and Tschinkel (2016) noted that a year earlier (reference year 2016), the price per a barrel of oil was selling at more than $ 100, but in 2016 it sold for only $ 27. This is a greatest price cut ever. Since cutting of production by US and the OPEC economies wasnt agreed upon, this situation was expected to become even worse. The behavior of the oil market is contrary to what economics suggests it should be. The prices are too low but the producers are still increasing their supply and the demand is weak (Lannin, 2015). Generally, it is expected that a lower price would discourage supply. This therefore makes the oil market to be related to the oligopoly market structure. In this market, the action of every supplier is interdependent such that one suppliers decision affect all the others. In this market, increasing the price of output in not a common strategy; the other producers always fail to raise their price and hence the supplier with the high price loses its market share. But when price is cut, every other supplier cuts own price so as to ensure that the initial market share is not lost to the leading supplier. The rise in oil supplier at very low prices indicates that the producers are competing in terms of quantity. Even at very low prices, the biggest producers are able to make some profits since they have economies of scale. At the beginning of 2016, the demand for oil was lower than two million barrels in a day. The article noted that demand was expected to shrink further even after the supply continued surging. The fall in prices has resulted in Australia cutting its production and depending more on importation (Vivoda, 2012 and Frydenberg, 2016). Graph: Australian crude oil production Source: Tradingeconomics.com (2017) Initially the production level was very high but has kept falling with time. This means that demand for oil in Australia is satisfied through huge importation. The trend for 10 years is falling. This has contributed to loss of self-sufficiency. Graph: Australia oil self-sufficiency Source: Queensland Energy Resources (2013) The decline is production from 2008 to 2030 was from projected to be from 183 million barrels to 83 million barrels. For the same period, it was also projected that demand will grow from 341 to 474 million barrels. Queensland Energy Resources (2013) noted that in 2013 the level of oil importation in Australia was 158 million barrels and projected that this is going to increase to 335 million barrels by 2030. High importation will be very costly. Compared to the projected production level, Australia will be producing less than a quarter of what it will be importing. The supply gap is as shown below. Fig: Production and consumption of oil in Australia Source: Vivoda (2012) Although the prices of oil has decreased, it hasnt contributed to a high influence on the quantity demanded. The reason is that oil demand is inelastic to price changes. Oil price rise would only be achieved if a production cut is agreed by the OPEC economies. Recommendations The economics situation of low oil price is very attractive to the Australian economy since its an importer, however, the situation probably wont last for long. Some years to come, the oil price might get back to normal high prices. So the idea of neglecting production and increasing overdependence on importation is a bad idea for the Australian economy. The government should focus on improving its production level since this is the only quantity it has complete control on. This could be achieved through ensuring that the production costs are maintained at lower levels especially this period of low oil prices. This is to make sure that their profit margins are not greatly impacted owing to high production costs. For price to go up, the US and OPEC should agree to cut the level of their production. Conclusion The price of oil in Australia is influenced by the global demand and oil supply. Though the prices are too low on world assessment, the Australian oil price is higher. This is because, there is no oversupply of oil in Australia. The economy is importing quantity level that the Australian production cannot meet. Importation taxes and shipping costs is what causing the prices to remain higher. The reliance on importation will be dangerous to the Australian economy in the period to come. Since its projected that quantity produced will fall in years, the costs of importation will greatly rise. Action should be taken now before the situation worsens. References Arak, M. and Tschinkel, S. (2016). Why do oil prices keep going down? [Online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/why-do-oil-prices-keep-going-down-53424 [Accessed 23 Apr. 2017]. Carollo, S. (2012). Understanding oil prices: a guide to what drives the price of oil in today's markets. 1st ed. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Frydenberg, J. (2016). Oil slump means we must boost productivity. [Online] Financial Review. Available at: https://www.afr.com/opinion/oil-industry-slump-means-australia-has-to-boost-productivity-20160228-gn5j8c [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017]. Herron, J. and Burger, D. (2016). U.S. Stocks Close Lower After Late-Day Rally. [Online] Bloomberg.com. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/asian-stock-outlook-mixed-after-u-s-equities-dip-to-august-lows [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017]. Lannin, S. (2015). Oil price falls below US$50 because of oversupply and weak demand. [Online] Abc.net.au. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2014/s4158070.htm [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017]. McGrath, P. (2015). Oil price tipped to remain depressed to but petrol prices on the rise. [Online] Abc.net.au. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2015/s4177367.htm [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017]. Queensland Energy Resources (2017). Australia's oil supply and demand | Queensland Energy Resources. [Online] Qer.com.au. Available at: https://www.qer.com.au/understanding/need-new-fuels/australias-oil-supply-and-demand [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017]. Tradingeconomics.com. (2017). Australia Crude Oil Production |1994-2017 |Data |Chart |Calendar. [Online] Available at: https://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/crude-oil-production [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017]. Vivoda, V. (2012). Australias growing oil imports are an energy security issue. [Online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/australias-growing-oil-imports-are-an-energy-security-issue-7749 [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017].