Leadership Management and Motivation in Organisation

Leadership Management and Motivation in Organisation As the century unfolds, new realities are becoming clearer. New models of Leadership and Management are blossoming, some with unfounded success. For instance, focusing on working better as teams and empowering those closest to the customers to make important decisions have led to great accomplishments (Kurtzman, 2010). Management is often referred to words like efficiency, planning, paperwork, procedures, regulations, control, and consistency whereas Leadership is often associated with words like vision, creativity and risk-taking (Yukl, 2005). It has also been said that management is basically a control-laden activity; whereas leadership is basically a value-choosing, and thus a value-laden activity (Bass et al., 1990). Overall Management is defined as The organizational process that includes strategic planning, setting objectives, managing resources, deploying the human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives, and measuring results (Burgoyne, 1989). Leadership is defined as A process in which leader and followers interact in a way that enables the leader to influence the actions of the followers in a non-coercive way, towards the achievement of certain aims or objectives (Rollinson and Broadfield, 2002) In Kotters (1996) view Management relates to planning, controlling and organising whereas leadership relates to visioning, networking, creating, coping with change and building relationship. Leadership is often considered grander, more lucrative and admirable, in a word: better, than the less visible, fundamentally based, management (Hughes et al., 2009). The relationship between management and leadership is summarised in Appendix 1. From this we can argue are managers leaders or vice versa. As Zaleznik (1977) claims that in a bureaucratic society which breeds managers may restrain young leaders who need mentor and emotional interchange to develop. But Raelin (2004) argued that managers are not excluded from leadership. He says there is a potential for leadership to emerge from any individual under the right sets of circumstances. I would argue from my personal experience that managers can be leaders and vice versa depending on individual capabilities, skills and adapting change, as in Lloyds banking Group (LBG) we have managers as our team leaders and are quite successful in switching their roles and understanding the responsibilities of both managers and leaders. The concept was that as managers have some formal authority to influence subordinates behaviour they can easily occupy the role of leadership. However, just because the authority was there, it did not mean that subordinates will willingly assent to its use. There had been issues initially when they find it hard to switch over and look from leaders point of view, which caused problems in bonding with employees and lack of motivation. This resulted in getting all the managers trained on leadership programmes and understanding the needs or requirements of employees from their leaders. This was again based on how individual managers reacted to situations where they were able to keep their managerial ego aside and think as a team. Some of the managers were very good at switching over and thinking from a team perspective whereas some struggled. Overall we can argue that Zaleznik argument regarding management and leadership requires different types of people can be true, if an individual cannot cope with the changing organisation requirements. But in LBG we have seen that managers successfully play leaders role and vice versa to save cost or to adapt change and thus falsify Zalezniks argument. But as Rollinson and Broadfield (2002) often focus on managers can be leaders, this is not an inevitable state of affairs. Even though it is widely assumed that leadership can be taught to anybody, it is probably far more realistic to regard management and leadership as two complementary activities (Kotter, 1988), each one having its own unique functions. Motivation Quality work being top priority in organisations all over world as the use of contingent workers is on the rise. Managing knowledge workers continues to perplex experienced managers across divergent industries. And globalization and the challenges of managing across borders are now the norm instead of the exception. These changes can have a profound influence on how companies attempt to attract, retain, and motivate their employees (Steers et al., 2004) Motivation, in contrast, results when the person believes that engaging in the behaviour will result in some desired experience or outcome. Motivation is then differentiated into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Herzberg et al., 1957) Intrinsic Motivation is where people may be motivated by the relationship between the worker and the task. It takes place when people feel that the work they do is interesting, challenging and have opportunities for advancement and growth. Extrinsic Motivation takes place when people may be motivated by factors in the external environment such as pay, supervision, benefits, and job perks The process of motivation is broadly based on a number of motivational theories. In this paper we will asses few motivational theories (Appendix 2) and asses these theories to identify what motivates people. Instrumental Theory: Initially in the second half of 19th century a concept of Instrumental Theory stated that people work only for money. Motivation using this approach is exclusively based on system of external control and fails to recognise a number of other human needs (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005). Maslow Needs Theory: The basic of this theory is the belief that an unsatisfied need creates tension and disequilibrium. Maslow (1954) formulated the concept of hierarchy of needs and believed that reasons people go to work changes. It starts from the fundamental physiological needs and leads through safety, social and esteems needs to the need for self-fulfilment. He believed that only an unsatisfied need can motivate behaviour and the dominant need is the prime motivator of behaviour. Herzbergs Two-Factor Model (Motivation-Hygiene): Herzbergs (1957) theory sates that the factors giving rise to job satisfaction are distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. His research led him to conclude that hygiene factors such as pay, status, security, company policies and administration were rarely high motivators. People tend to take fringe benefits and good working conditions for granted, but when they are removed they had a highly demotivating effect. A salary increase had a short-term motivating effect when it was felt to be deserved, while what was felt to be an unfair salary was a long-lasting demotivator. Overall all these theories adopt a psychologically universal view, which assumes that everyone has a common set of needs and conveys the impression that people are predictable in terms of what motivates them. Moreover all these theories mostly ignore the crucial issue of individual differences and also to the potentially powerful effects of different national and organisational cultures as factors that can shape human needs (Bagher, 2010). In a work environment, it is sometimes viewed as the difference between what people can do and what they will do. In the practical workplace LBG uses various motivation models one of the highly used motivational models is Support and Challenge Principles Model. Support and Challenge Principles Model (Sheppard Moscow, 1980): This model suggests that to achieve working relationship requires a balance of appropriate and agreed supportive and challenging behaviours. The two axes of support and challenge when put together create four potential workplace environments as shown in fig below: High Support Comfortable high S performance performance U environment environment P P O R T apathetic stressful performance performance environment environment CHALLENGE High Challenge To get the most from your working relationships, it is important to agree how best to work together to maximise performance and minimise tension. One way of thinking about this is to think of in the terms of developing a way of working that is both challenging and supportive. The list of behaviours in each of the categories is detailed in Appendix 3. Different roles and situations will use different mixes of these two categories and depending upon the situation, the same individual can find any of these conditions or characteristics supporting or challenging. If the workplace situation remains very comfortable or alphabetic for a long time, then additional challenges will stimulate the move towards high performance. On the other hand if the workplace situation remains very stressful for too long, then support to help manage the implications is highly effective. Though, there will be times when short periods of high challenges or high support are appropriate e.g. at the end of a particular busy period, comfort is a reward and high challenges can be very stimulating and energising in short bursts (LBG, 2011). Managements main interest in motivation is in the prospects it offers for bringing employee behaviour under tight control. Thus what interest managers most is not the process of motivation but employee behaviour. However we can hardly blame managers for believing that motivation theory offers this opportunity, because content and process theories both imply that if we know o persons needs, the person can be motivated (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005). Thus from the above we have seen different aspects of motivation and it might appear that there is an element of contradiction in what they say. Content theories deal with the needs that give rise to motivated behaviour, but perhaps oversimplify matters because they tend to portray human beings as having a homogenous set of needs. Nevertheless, as long as due allowance is made for individual differences, this does not detract from their potential usefulness. Process theories have a different emphasis: they seek to explain the dynamics of the motivation process and so much greater account is taken of individual differences (Bagher, 2010). Leadership Historically, leadership has been conceived around a single individual in a specialised role, the relationship of that individual to subordinates or followers, and the individuals actions. There are several major paradigms of leadership (Appendix 4), such as the traits (great man), skills and styles approaches, situational and contingency approaches, charismatic and transformational approaches (Northouse, 2007, p2; Bass, 1990). Action-Centred Leadership The action-centred theory of leadership is based on extensive research by John Adairs (1984), which focuses on the group and the needs that leader must meet. Adair argues that there are eight functions you must carry out, to meet these needs. These functions can be learned, practised, observed and refined. Source: (Bagher, 2010: 186) Task need: A team leader needs to bring together the group to achieve a task by providing clear instructions and reasons so each member must know and understand what is expected of them. Team need: Good leaders create groups which function best when they share the sense of purpose along with collaborating work efficiently, effectively, with a sense of pride and responsibility by maintaining or setting new standards. Individual need: People or individuals are heart of any team but they have physical and psychological needs like better working conditions, status, opportunities to develop, build confidence and motivation. From this it follows that being effective as a leader is not just a matter of choosing a specific style of behaviour, but arriving at an appropriate balance between the three functions. Encouraging communication between team members is key to creating a team that will continue to work well when the leader is absent. This resilience is valuable and might be referred to as team sustainability. Leadership Power The link between leadership and power is a strong one and many of the theories of leadership can equally be framed as theories of power. Effective leading depends on relying on different power bases at different times as per need. At its simplest, the way you wield power to get compliance can be appropriate or inappropriate. Appropriate use of power can be described as influence, while inappropriate use can be described as bullying. Source: French and Raven (1960) References Armstrong, M. and Stephens, T. (2005) Employee Reward Management and Practice, London: Kogan Page Limited. Bagher, M. (2010) Organisational Behaviour: a contemporary approach, 2nd Edition, Harlow: Pearson. Bass, B., Bass, B. and Stogdill, R. (1990) Bass Stogdills Handbook of Leadership, New York: Simon Schuster. Burgoyne, J. (1989) Management Development: Context and Strategies, Aldershot: Gower. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B. (1957) The Motivation to Work, New York: Wiley Hughes, R., Ginnett, R. and Curphy, G. (2009) Leadership, 6th ed., Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Kotter, J. (1988) The Leadership Factor, New York: Free Press. Kotter, J. P. (1996) Leading Change, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kurtzman, J. (2010) Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Maslow, A. (1954) Motivation and Personality, New York: Harper Row. Raelin, J. A. (2004) Dont bother putting leadership into people, Academy of Management Executive, 18(3): 12-28. Rollinson, D. and Broadfield, A. (2002) Organisational Behaviour and Analysis: An Integrated Approach, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Steers, R., Mowday, R. and Shapiro, D. (2004) The Future of Work Motivation Theory, Academy of Management Review, 29(3): 379-387. Yukl, G. (2005) Leadership in Organizations, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Zaleznik, A. (1977) Managers and Leaders: are they different?, Harvard Business Review, (May/June) 55(3): 67-77. French, J. P. R., and Raven, B. (1960) The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright and A. Zander (eds.), Group dynamics (pp. 607-623), New York: Harper and Row. Appendix 1 A Comparison of Management and Leadership Competencies. Source: Northouse, 2007, p. 10. Appendix 2 Summary of Motivation Theories and their practical implications Theory Theorist Summary of theory Practical implications Instrumentality Taylor People will be motivated to work if rewards and penalties are tied directly to their performance. Conceptual basis of incentives and pay for performance schemes. Needs Maslow Unsatisfied needs create tension and disequilibrium. To restore the balance a goal is identified which will satisfy the need, and a behaviour pathway is selected which will lead to the achievement of the goal. Only unsatisfied needs motivate. Identifies a number of key needs for consideration in developing total reward policies. Two-Factor Herzberg The factors giving rise to job satisfaction (and motivation) are distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. Any feeling of satisfaction resulting from pay increase is likely to be short-lived compared with the long-lasting satisfaction from the work itself. Makes a distinction between intrinsic motivation arising from the work itself and extrinsic motivation provided by employer, e.g. pay. A useful distinction is made between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation which influences total reward decisions. The limited motivational effects of pay increases are worth remembering when considering the part contingent pay can play in motivating people. Expectancy Vroom Motivation is likely only when a clear perceived and usable relationship exists between performance and outcome and the outcome is seen as a means of satisfying needs. Provides the foundation for good practice in the design and management of contingent pay. The basis for the concept of the line of sight which emphasises the importance of establishing a clear link between the reward and what has to be done to achieve it. Goal Latham and Locke Motivation and performance are higher when individuals are set specific goals, when the goals are difficult but accepted and when there is feedback on performance. Provides a theoretical underpinning for performance management processes to ensure that they contribute to motivation through goal setting and feedback. Equity Adams People will be better motivated if they are treated equitably and de-motivated if they are treated inequitably. Emphasis the need to develop an equitable reward system involving the use of job evaluation. Source: (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005) Definitions of key Job Dimensions Job Dimensions Definition Work Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee is satisfied with work, including opportunities for creativity and task variety, allowing an individual to increase his or her knowledge, changes in responsibility, amount of work, security, and job enrichment (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990; Smith et al, 1969) Pay Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee forms an attitude toward pay based on perceived difference between actual pay and the expected pay. Expected pay is based on the value of perceived inputs and outputs of the job and the pay of other employees holding similar jobs or possessing similar qualifications (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990) Supervision Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee is satisfied with his or supervision, as measured by consideration and employee-centred actions of the supervisor and the perceived competency of the supervisor by the subordinate (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al, 1957) Satisfaction with promotions: The degree to which an employee is satisfied with the Companys promotion policy, including frequency of promotions, and the desirability of promotions (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al 1957) Co-workers Satisfaction: The work-related interaction and the mutual liking or admiration of fellow employees (Bazler and Smith et al, 1990, Smith et al, 1969, Alderfer, 1969) Overall Job Satisfaction: The extent to which an individuals desires, expectations and needs are fulfilled by employment (Szilagi, Sims, and Terrill, 1977) Appendix 3 WHEN SUPPORTING EXPLORE Ideas Build on STRENGTHS Offer HELP and guidance Ask OPEN questions LISTEN actively Give PRAISE DISCLOSE similar experiences TRUST intentions WHEN CHALLENGING Ask PROBING questions Point out AVOIDANCE behaviour Offer ALTERNATIVE opinions Tell people what you EXPECT Share FEELINGS State COSEQUENCES Set STRETCHING targets ASSERT your views Having Things Like Resources Time Funding Direction Guidance Assistance Ideas Tools or Methods Willing collaborators A climate of openness and honesty Emotional support Having Things Like Confronting feedback from others New opportunities Unfamiliar grounds Doing things in a different way Working with fresh people Learning new behaviours New tools or processes Demanding stakeholders High work volumes Tight timescales Personal ambition

Ancient Roman Laws Essay -- Roman History

Ancient Roman Laws Although the history of Rome's regal period is based in large part on legend, and was so in antiquity, tradition was strong, and many of Rome's laws and customs, committed to writing much later, have their roots in the distant past. Ancient Rome had many different types of law in government. Out of all of the ancient Roman laws, the Julian Marriage laws, the laws of the kings, and the Justinian Codes, are some of them. The Julian Marriage laws were very specific and determined. Emperor Augustus notice social problems at Rome, and he detected that extravagance and adultery were very common in the Roman Government. In the upper classes, marriages varied; and when people did marry, they didn‘t create children. After this issue was found, Augustus brought both the morals and the numbers of the upper classes in Rome together by increasing the population of native Italians in Italy. He did this by creating laws to encourage marriage and having children, and started laws to make the act of adultery a crime. Some of the laws created by Augustus included that men must marry. This law was to help the Roman Government gain a bigger population from the children of all the married couples. To enforce this law, he gave what was called prizes for having children and marrying. Although they were based on marriage, the major role in this law was adultery. These prizes were mainly tax reductions and awards. Since more males existed than females among the nobility, he allowed anyone that had wanted to marry freedwomen, and said that births of children in these such marriages would be legal and rightful. He made new laws and changed some of the old ones, for example, the sumptuary law. Laws like the sumptuary law were on a basis of adultery. There were many consequences of adultery in the Roman Empire. These consequences were mainly involved with killings. One of the laws stated that a husband who finds his wife in adultery can only kill the adulterer when he catches him in his own house. Another law concluded that a husband cannot kill anyone in adultery except persons who are well-known and prostitutes, including slaves. His wife, however, is liable and he is forbidden to kill her. Adultery also restricted killings for adultery, for example; if a son under h is fathers power, should surprise his daughter in the act of adultery, the law says that h... ...he Digest. The Institutione was a book that was mainly copied from the institutes of Gaius. It was considered beginners text book and a book of statutes. Most of the rules in this textbook/book of statutes became laws in many countries. The Pandectae was a collection of fragments from academic papers. All of its legal opinions were given legal force, just like the Institutione had given the legal force. The Codex and the Digest wasn’t as complicated as the Institutione and the Pandectae but was the most important out of the four. The Codex was just mainly a collection of imperial statutes, and the Digest was basically a casebook covering many trials and decisions. In conclusion, many Ancient Roman laws have been the origin of the laws we find in our society. Other laws in the Ancient Rome period have been the origin of other countries too. All of these laws have helped create our laws in America by looking at mistakes and great ideas of the Ancient Roman government. The Roman Laws are thought as legend, but some still think of it as realistic. You could compare the Justinian Codes greatly to our three branches of government, when there were four books. All the powers split up.

Macbeth: a Timeless Tale

Shakespearean Macbeth tells a timeless tale of ambition, greed and treachery. Its themes are universal in nature, as Is the construction of a tragic hero and for these reasons It continues to be relevant to audiences today. The litany of Interpretations and adoptions such as Polonaise's 1 971 classic, give credence to the argument that Macbeth remains relevant. Macbeth, In a fashion similar to modern teens (or so the media would have us believe) has a great deal of trouble deciding the difference between moral and moral during his rise to power. Consequently, Shakespearean message is as relevant today as it was during the Elizabethan era.Macbeth is introduced as a kinsman to the Scottish King and a brave and successful military general (l,ii, 15-23), thus earning the praise and esteem of the unfortunately though, he (perhaps Like many In my audience) allows himself to be Influenced by those â€Å"whose horrid image, doth unfix† his hair and â€Å"make his seated heart knock a t his ribs†, who prophesy both further titles and kingship, immediately arousing Machete's ambition (l, Ill, 127-129). This conflict between good and evil is not only confined to Shakespearean play. It is a theme that we see repeated over and over again in contemporary literature and film.As a character, Macbeth is magnificent. He represents the Internal battle that forms the plot for the ma]orally of highly regarded modern films and texts such as Pollack's Macbeth. Initially Macbeth is ambitious, but lacks the evil qualities that often see ambition fulfilled. He also, as his wife points out, is not unscrupulous enough (l, v, 4-24) nor ready to give up the honor and ‘golden opinions' he has won. He has hysterical courage but not the moral courage needed to stand against his more determined, strong willed wife who questions his love for her and his manhood (l, vii, 39-50).In committing regicide he violates the better part of his nature; he is so bent on putting evil on ev il he becomes â€Å"steeped â€Å"so far in blood that â€Å"returning were as tedious as go lb, 136-138). The troubling question of gender representation is one that continues to be debated. 1 OFF audiences. Initially, characters in Macbeth dwell on issues of gender. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband by questioning his manhood, wishes that she herself could e â€Å"unsexes,† and does not contradict Macbeth when he says that a woman like her should give birth only to boys.Similarly, Macbeth provokes the murderers he hires to kill Banquet by questioning their manhood. Such acts show that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth equate masculinity with violence and aggression. Their understanding of manhood allows the political order depicted in the play to descend into chaos. As in the multitude of controversial texts today, female characters are the source of violence and evil. The witches' prophecies arouse Machete's ambitions and then encourage his violent behavior; Lady Macbeth provides the brains and the will behind her husband's plotting.Macbeth traces the root of chaos and evil to women. While the male characters are Just as violent and prone to evil as the women, the aggression of the female characters is more striking because it goes against prevailing expectations of how women ought to behave. Ultimately, however, the play ends with a revised and less destructive definition of manhood. Malcolm consoles Macadam on the news of his family murder by encouraging him to take the news in â€Å"manly' fashion, by seeking revenge upon Macbeth. Macadam indicates however, that Malcolm has a mistaken understanding of masculinity.To Malcolm suggestion, â€Å"Dispute it like a man,† Macadam replies, â€Å"l shall do so. But I must also feel it as a man† (IV. Iii. 221-223). Also, at the end of the play, Seward reacts to his son's death complacently. Malcolm responds: â€Å"He's worth more sorrow [than you have expressed] / And that I'll spend for h im† (V. 1 1 . 16-17). Malcolm comment shows that he has learned the lesson Macadam gave him on the sentient nature of true masculinity. It also suggests that, with Malcolm coronation, order will be stored to the Kingdom of Scotland.Macbeth with its frightening paranormal undertones will pique the interest of a generation already obsessed with the supernatural. No remake can match Shakespearean representation of the witches. Polonaise's opening scene for example, , was rather poorly done. He made the witches look so grotesquely ugly that they distracted the audience from the important plot element of the scene: what they were saying. Unfortunately, this too was clouded: their screeching voices and constant giggling made them difficult to understand.A witness to the film unfamiliar tit the play or Shakespearean dialogue would have been left without any idea as to the importance of the scene. Undoubtedly the underlining of the plot of Macbeth is highlighted with events that have paranormal roots. The witches, both the bloody dagger that entices Macbeth towards Dunce's chamber and the ghost of Banquet are mystical in origin. â€Å"Art thou not a fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight†¦? Or false creation† (II, l, 41 , 42). Shortly after Dunce's death, his horses eat each other in frenzy, symbolizing the murder of the king, which leads to this imbalance in nature.Another relevant lesson on life, we can learn from Shakespeare, is that appearances are often deceptive. In Macbeth, things are seldom what they seem; â€Å"Fair is foul and foul is fair†. From the beginning, the play is full of ambiguity and double meanings. The play opens on a day that is extremely foul in weather and extremely fair (the battle has Just been won). The subsequent prophecies â€Å"cannot be ill, cannot be good†. In order to disguise their real motives, Lady Macbeth advises her husband to ‘look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under i t†. One of Dunce's sons ladled out â€Å"Murder! In his sleep, but the other one laughed! Does Lady Macbeth really faint? Or does she simply pretend to faint to divert attention from her husband's overacting? Does Lady Macbeth commit suicide? What is Lady Macbeth writing in her sleepwalking scene? A confession? A suicide note? A last love letter to a neglectful husband? There is also much discussion about clothing clothes provide both an identity but also conceal who you are. Point being? Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing! In conclusion, Shakespearean deeper purpose is to show us our own lives and make s think.The key question that Shakespeare seems to ask is this: is human society fundamentally amoral? This is a question that continues to challenge audiences. Consequently, Shakespeare movies are so numerous; they form their own sub genre. With over 250 Shakespeare movies produced, Shakespeare film adaptations such as Bag Loran's â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†, prove that S hakespearean plays have an enduring appeal. Macbeth is the Dearth Evader of Star Wars, or if you like, Lord Voltmeter of Harry Potter; ignore his lessons at you own peril. Thank You

Use OptionParser to Parse Commands in Ruby

In the article discussing OptionParsers features we discussed some of the reasons that make using OptionParser in Ruby preferable to looking through ARGV manually to parse commands by hand. Now its time to get down to learning how to use OptionParser and its features. The following boilerplate code will be used for all the examples in this tutorial. To try any of the examples, simply put the examples opts.on block next to the TODO comment. Running the program will print the state of the options has and ARGV, allowing you to examine the effects of your switches. #!/usr/bin/env rubyrequire optparserequire pp# This hash will hold all of the options# parsed from the command-line by# OptionParser.options {}optparse OptionParser.new do|opts|# TODO: Put command-line options here# This displays the help screen, all programs are# assumed to have this option.opts.on( -h, --help, Display this screen ) doputs optsexitendend# Parse the command-line. Remember there are two forms# of the parse method. The parse method simply parses# ARGV, while the parse! method parses ARGV and removes# any options found there, as well as any parameters for# the options. Whats left is the list of files to resize.optparse.parse!pp Options:, optionspp ARGV:, ARGV Simple Switch A simple switch is an argument with no optional forms or no parameters. The effect will be to simply set a flag in the options hash. No other parameters will be passed to the on method. options[:simple] falseopts.on( -s, --simple, Simple argument ) dooptions[:simple] trueend Switch with Mandatory Parameter Switches that take a parameter only need to state the parameter name in the long form of the switch. For example, -f, --file FILE means the -f or --file switch takes a single parameter called FILE, and this parameter is mandatory. You cannot use either -f or --file without also passing it a parameter. options[:mand] opts.on( -m, --mandatory FILE, Mandatory argument ) do|f|options[:mand] fend Switch with Optional Parameter Switch parameters dont have to be mandatory, they can be optional. To declare a switch parameter optional, place its name in brackets in the switch description. For example, --logfile [FILE] means the FILE parameter is optional. If not supplied, the program will assume a sane default, such as a file called log.txt. In the example, the idiom a b || c is used. This is just shorthand for a b, but if b is false or nil, a c. options[:opt] falseopts.on( -o, --optional [OPT], Optional argument ) do|f|options[:opt] f || nothingend Automatically Convert to Float OptionParser can automatically convert argument to some types. One of these types is Float. To automatically convert your arguments to a switch to Float, pass Float to the on method after your switch description strings. Automatic conversions are handy. Not only do they save you the step of converting the string to the desired type, but also check the format for you and will throw an exception if it is formatted incorrectly. options[:float] 0.0opts.on( -f, --float NUM, Float, Convert to float ) do|f|options[:float] fend Some other types that OptionParser can convert to automatically include Time and Integer. Lists of Arguments Arguments can be interpreted as lists. This can be seen as converting to an array, as you converted to Float. While your option string can define the parameter to be called a,b,c, OptionParser will blindly allow any number of elements in the list. So, if you need a specific number of elements, be sure to check the array length yourself. options[:list] []opts.on( -l, --list a,b,c, Array, List of parameters ) do|l|options[:list] lend Set of Arguments Sometimes it makes sense to restrict arguments to a switch to a few choices. For example, the following switch will only take a single mandatory parameter, and the parameter must be one of yes, no or maybe. If the parameter is anything else at all, an exception will be thrown. To do this, pass a list of acceptable parameters as symbols after the switch description strings. options[:set] :yesopts.on( -s, --set OPT, [:yes, :no, :maybe], Parameters from a set ) do|s|options[:set] send Negated Forms Switches can have a negated form. The switch --negated can have one that does the opposite effect, called --no-negated. To describe this in the switch description string, place the alternative portion in brackets: --[no-]negated. If the first form is encountered, true will be passed to the block, and false will be blocked if the second form is encountered. options[:neg] falseopts.on( -n, --[no-]negated, Negated forms ) do|n|options[:neg] nend