Maria, Daughter of Immigrants

Maria, Daughter of Immigrants
Name
Course
College
Tutor
March 26, 2015
Maria, Daughter of Immigrants
Question One
How did this autobiography help you to better understand the attributes of a leader?
Maria, Daughter of Immigrants is a thought provoking memoir in which Berriozábal gives an account of her family’s immigration details with lucid detail; she further explores her days as a teenager with the fond memories of the many things that served to mentor her as a community worker. Later, she illustrates her ensuing rise in political arena to become the first Latina to serve on the city council of a main U.S. city (María, 2012). Berriozábal name is identical with community organization and political achievements. Through this autobiography I have been able to understand the core attributes that make an individual to become a successful leader. Berriozábal was a pro active person, always thinking several steps ahead; as a responsible citizen she realized that the only way should could help to organize her community was by getting involved in political system. As she worked with the political class, she was able to contribute massively towards the development of youth and elderly development, sustainable development and affordable housing (María, 2012). Thus, she was proactive because she worked to master the environment with the intent of avoiding problems before they arise.
A leader must be adaptable so as to handle unexpected situations prudently. Berriozábal was able to adapt to her role as the first Latina serving in the city council effectively; she handled her role with flexibility and insight (María, 2012). In order to be a good leader an individual must be an effective communicator. Maria was able to mobilize the Latina community because she was a good communicator and she used to listen a lot she was willing to work with the community and sought to understand their needs. She was able to ask questions, consider the available options in order to lead her followers in the right direction. Another outstanding attribute that made Berriozábal stand out as a leader is that she was Open-Minded before making a key decision she always analyzed suggestions from all the interested parties and sought to work for the good of them all.
Question Two
Utilizing the concepts and theories introduced in this course regarding leadership styles, describe the type of leader that best fits Maria Antoinette Berriozabal’s leadership style. Utilizing the theoretical model proposed by Schmid, is she a people-oriented leader or task-oriented leader? Or both? Explain and give examples of how she performed certain tasks as a leader that corresponds to these concepts.
People-oriented leadership.
Besides being a hands on person María Antonietta Berriozábal exercised people-oriented leadership. She concentrated on delegation and the freedom of the subordinates. This paved way for both the council and the subordinate staff to develop. There are three main issues that Berriozábal stood for: justice, inclusiveness and democracy (María, 2012). Maria focused on supporting her subordinates, inspiring them and building on team relationships. This fostered collaboration and good communication inevitably bringing in change and posterity (María, 2012). Maria’s previous job experience prior to joining the city council helped her to be a prudent decision maker. While she served at City Council she never forgot that she was voted to represent her people. As such she was very decisive and willing to swim against the time.
There were times when Maria stood out as a lone voter, often she resisted the development of some parts of the city with the knowledge that these developments were done at the expense of other significant ventures which could benefit a lot of the low-income earners. Berriozábal was convinced that if urban sprawl was not properly planned so that public policy exerts efforts to invest in older neighborhoods in the end the communities in such areas would be degraded, lack infrastructure and have low-education outcome.
Question Three
How does the author weave her family, her community, and her culture/ethnic group (Mexican-American) into telling her story of how she served as the first Mexican-American woman to sit on the City Council in San Antonio?
Foremost, María brings into limelight the great sacrifices that parents made in effort to raise their family comprising of six children in the West side of San Antonio. María was also educated in a catholic parochial school which instilled her with great love of education a desire to stand out and commitment to community welfare. Even in her young years at a tender age she took family leadership as did menial jobs to help her parents support the rest of the family Berriozábal's social principles were highly developed during the years of civil rights movement, long time even before colleges started recruiting Latinos(María, 2012). During those days, the Sisters of Divine Providence encouraged her spiritual growth which Berriozábal wedded to her obligation to working for social justice (María, 2012).
In a broader scope, Berriozábal’s book could be seen as a testament to all immigrants who have played a critical role in building America and continue to do so in numerous ways. Her memoir is a tale of hardship and elation; acceptance and bigotry; deficiency and politics. A story portraying a strong Latina woman, equipped with the love and support of her family, she enters the world of politics with a dream to better herself and her community (María, 2012).
Question Four
Discuss the issue of “power” and how it played out for Maria in local San Antonio politics. Did Maria share in equal power as compared to her Latino male counterparts? Or as her White female counterparts? Review Chapter 3’s Theoretical Approaches to Human Service Organizations and focus on the discussion of “power,” specifically the niche theory, critical theory, and the feminist approach. Do any of these apply to Maria’s work?
As Maria chronicles her journey through the ladder to the time she commenced her work with the city council it’s apparent that power struggle is inevitable. Being from a minority ethnic group she did not yield much power as her counterpart Latino men and the white females. For the young generation which ahs not experienced the stint of bigotry she explains what it was like to be a Chikana woman working with white men and women during the 1960’s (María, 2012). In those years the minority ethnic groups like Latinos were not given as much attention and consideration like the whites. Being a woman was also a challenge as it meant she was rated lower than the white women working in the same position.
Prior to 1970’s it was nearly impossible for an ethnic person to work in the same office with the whites and once they did racism was rampant. For a young woman she had to exert all her will and overcome the vice of racism. As a woman she had to exert herself at work place in order to prove her worth. Slowly, women were getting into the labor market and feminist movements pilfered to make sure that women were g...