Leadership Challenges in Today’s Environment There are some who argue that leaders face unprecedented demands as we enter the 21st century. The pace of organizations is faster than ever due to technology advances and impatience in stakeholder groups. There is increased diversity due to globalization. The workforce is more nomadic; few people today spend their entire careers in a single company. This puts a lot of pressure on leaders and may demand new or evolved competencies. Using the Internet, including general organizational sources like the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, or Harvard Business Review, research the demands facing 21st century leaders. Then, respond to the following: · What are the challenges facing leaders in today’s environment? Consider both internal and external challenges within an organization. · Describe the impact of those challenges on today’s leaders. Explain how leaders need to respond to them. · Discuss at least three–four core competencies that you think leaders need to be effective in today’s environment. Explain how these competencies will address the challenges you identified. Write in 300–500 words. APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. By Saturday January 14, 2017 Units 3 & 4 COMPLETE: Historical/Cultural Analysis of a Short-Story or Poem For this two-part assignment, you will write a critical annotation of a scholarly source and thesis proposal that will help you develop a researched argument about the ways in which historical or cultural contexts shape one of the texts below:   Stories to choose from Thomas Hardy, “The Convergence of the Twain” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/47266 Susan Glaspell, “A Jury of Her Peers” http://www.learner.org/interactives/literature/story/fulltext.html Nadine Gordimer, “The Train from Rhodesia” http://www.textword.com/pdf/TR_91_Grodimer_Train%20from.pdf Jomo Kenyatta, “The Gentlemen of the Jungle” http://bhscurtright.weebly.com/uploads/4/9/0/9/4909154/the_gentlemen_of_the_jungle__by_jomo_kenyatta.pdf UNIT 3: Critical Annotation and Thesis Proposal for the Researched Argument Complete and turn in ALL parts of this assignment in the same order below as one document. This assignment helps you with critical summary and analysis skills while leading to the focus in your Researched Essay, so you may want to read those criteria before deciding on a scholarly text (secondary source) for this assignment.  · Read the Researched Essay criteria (see Unit 4 “Complete”) so you know where this work is heading. · Go to the Edens Library databases (Literature Resource Center, Academic Search Premier, Project Muse, JSTOR, etc.) Find a scholarly/peer reviewed article or chapter from a scholarly text that is relevant to the selected literary work and helps you contextualize it historically/culturally. Thus, even if the scholarly source does not address this particular literary work, it should provide enough i ...

1. Leadership Challenges in Today’s Environment
There are some who argue that leaders face unprecedented
demands as we enter the 21st century. The pace of organizations
is faster than ever due to technology advances and impatience in
stakeholder groups. There is increased diversity due to
globalization. The workforce is more nomadic; few people
today spend their entire careers in a single company. This puts a
lot of pressure on leaders and may demand new or evolved
competencies.
Using the Internet, including general organizational sources like
the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, or Harvard Business
Review, research the demands facing 21st century leaders.
Then, respond to the following:
· What are the challenges facing leaders in today’s
environment? Consider both internal and external challenges
within an organization.
· Describe the impact of those challenges on today’s leaders.
Explain how leaders need to respond to them.
· Discuss at least three–four core competencies that you think
leaders need to be effective in today’s environment. Explain
how these competencies will address the challenges you
identified.
Write in 300–500 words. APA Style, and demonstrate accurate
spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
By Saturday January 14, 2017
Units 3 & 4 COMPLETE: Historical/Cultural Analysis of a
Short-Story or Poem

2. For this two-part assignment, you will write a
critical annotation of a scholarly source and thesis proposal that
will help you develop a researched argument about the ways in
which historical or cultural contexts shape one of the texts
below: Stories to choose from
Thomas Hardy, “The Convergence of the Twain”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-
poets/poems/detail/47266
Susan Glaspell, “A Jury of Her Peers”
http://www.learner.org/interactives/literature/story/fulltext.html
Nadine Gordimer, “The Train from Rhodesia”
http://www.textword.com/pdf/TR_91_Grodimer_Train%20from.
pdf
Jomo Kenyatta, “The Gentlemen of the Jungle”
http://bhscurtright.weebly.com/uploads/4/9/0/9/4909154/the_ge
ntlemen_of_the_jungle__by_jomo_kenyatta.pdf
UNIT 3: Critical Annotation and Thesis Proposal for the
Researched Argument
Complete and turn in ALL parts of this assignment in the same
order below as one document.
This assignment helps you with critical summary and analysis
skills while leading to the focus in your Researched Essay, so
you may want to read those criteria before deciding on a
scholarly text (secondary source) for this assignment.
· Read the Researched Essay criteria (see Unit 4 “Complete”) so
you know where this work is heading.
· Go to the Edens Library databases (Literature Resource
Center, Academic Search Premier, Project Muse, JSTOR,
etc.) Find a scholarly/peer reviewed article or chapter from a

3. scholarly text that is relevant to the selected literary work and
helps you contextualize it historically/culturally. Thus, even if
the scholarly source does not address this particular literary
work, it should provide enough information to help you place
the text in its original social, historical, and/or biographical
context.
· Skim over the article/chapter.
· Reread the article/chapter and take notes, underline key
points, annotate important ideas in the margins, summarize
aloud, put points in your own words, etc.
· Walk away. Go have a cup of coffee. Come back and—
WITHOUT looking back to the actual text—write a one-
sentence summary of the writer’s thesis (main purpose)
Part I (Summary Sentence)
Using this sentence structure and format, type a summary
sentence completely in your own words:
In “Full Title of Article,” Author’s Full Name argues X in order
to show Y.
Example: “In “Gender and the Heroics of Endurance
in Oroonoko,” Mary Beth Rose argues that the ideal of male
strength jeopardizes Oroonoko’s ability to act and, therefore,
serves as an oppressive model for heroic action.
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
Part II (Main Ideas)
Using complete sentences, list 3-5 main ideas from the
article/chapter (in your own words). If you use the writer’s
words, put them in quotes, but mostly summarize in your OWN
words. The gist of the list should be in your words, your terms,
your syntax (word order).
1.

4. _____________________________________________________
______________________
2.
_____________________________________________________
______________________
3.
_____________________________________________________
______________________
Part III (Textual Evidence)
Choose and retype three key quotes from the article/chapter.
DO NOT COPY AND PASTE. TYPE WORD-FOR-WORD.
Remember to put “opening and closing quotation marks” and
the page number for proper attribution (#). If you cut out part
of the quote, use the ellipses brackets: [ …]. Then go back
and highlight key words/terms from those quotes
(be selective and intentional).
1.
_____________________________________________________
_______________________
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
2.___________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
3.___________________________________________________
_________________________
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
Part IV (Response)
Write a solid paragraph (200 words +) in which you respond to
so-and-so’s (critical) argument in terms of its relevance and
usefulness for understanding the historical/cultural context of
the primary source (literary work). Specifically, your response

5. should answer the following sets of questions:
1 What information, if any, does the source provide about the
author’s background: their nation of origin, the political events
and struggles of their time, their family structure, their
education and social class, etc. How do these (biographical)
facts influence or enhance your understanding of the text in
question?
2 What insights does the secondary source offer into the time
and place in which the text was produced and/or set? What
social issues, cultural trends, historical movements, etc. does it
highlight? How does the critic’s argument confirm, challenge,
or complicate your interpretation of the primary source?
You must integrate at least three small but significant textual
references that illustrate the points you are highlighting.
Remember to integrate your evidence using signal phrases (So-
and-so argues that “key words or phrases,” and as a result …
(#). Always introduce and explain quotes. Never drop a quote
(a.k.a hit-n-run), and never let the quote do the work for you.
Keep in mind that small snippets (close reading) of parts of
lines are better than long block quotes. Paraphrase when
necessary, but be sure that the bulk of the writing is entirely
yours.When commenting on the source, be sure you won’t later
confuse your comments with what the source itself asserts.
Provide an APA reference for the source, but use the MLA
format for in-text citations.
Sample Response
In the following passage, the writer sets up a main idea that
connects both sources, gives background about the primary
source, introduces the secondary source, quotes from it, and
returns to her main idea:
Idealization of women is nothing new. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
1846 short-story “The Birthmark: illustrated the tragedy of
seeking ideal beauty. In the story, a scientist attempts to remove
a birthmark from his wife’s face in order to perfect her
appearance. Although he is successful at ridding her of the
mark, the process kills her. In a recent essay, Chester McCovey

6. discusses “The Birthmark” and its relevance to our own culture:
“As for physical imperfection in the twenty-first century, it
seems odd that on one level we promote respect for all sorts of
human “imperfections,” yet on the other level, we strive as we
do to eliminate them whenever we can. It seems odd because so
many times they are not imperfections at all.” In other words,
what we consider imperfections are also what make us unique,
which we are told is important. Still, we make great effort to get
rid of imperfections so we can get closer to the ideal.
Part V (Thesis Proposal)
Based on your preliminary research, explore in no less than
200+ words what you think you’re going to write your
Researched Essay on and why. In this proposal, position
yourself as a researcher and hone in on the research question
that you’re formulating. Again, explore what you know and
don’t know. What do you need, want, hope to find out? What’s
your tentative theory, at this time, and why? For this part, the
more you collect and shape your preliminary ideas, the easier it
will be to write the Researched Essay.
A strong thesis is focused and makes a specific claim about the
text in relation to its context. One way to narrow the focus of
your argument is to examine the nature, causes, and
consequences of the conflict explored in your selected text. As
you know, in both life and literature, conflict refers to a clash
between opposing forces. An internal conflict involves the
struggle of opposing needs, desires, and emotions within a
single individual/character. An external conflict can occur
between individuals who disagree or between groups with
interests that cannot be reconciled. Cultural conflicts involve a
clash of ideas, values, and traditions. They often include a fight
for freedom and equality, for justice and political recognition
without which a group cannot maintain its cultural identity.
With this in mind, consider how the conflict plays out in the
text and to what effect.