Developing Leadership: Innate or learned?

Developing Leadership: Innate or learned? Leadership has been an issue of much debate and research over the past century. It has evolved from which was essentially an individual and trait based phenomena to what we currently know as distributed leadership (Edwards 2011). The individual however remains in the heart of the matter. Current studies have emphasised the importance of learning and cognitive approach for effective leadership (Northhouse 2010). Evolved research studies have laid down the importance of acquired skills as much as personality traits that exist within individuals to lead. One of the early criticisms of the trait theory was that leaders may find it difficult to adapt to changing roles and circumstances leading to the development of the situational theory (Edwards 2011). Emerging concepts of leadership emphasise on learning and propagate that leadership abilities can be developed and cultivated with training. However in order to develop oneself as a successful leader one needs to develop himself or herself as an individual first. This essay will discuss and analyse the possibilities of leadership development and the theories that propagate it and would explain how leadership development is linked to personal development. Developing leadership: Leadership development is focused on developing the leadership abilities and attitudes of individuals. People might be born with certain physical attributes to perform at the highest level like sport stars or artists, yet they also need to practice and training to make it to the top and maintain consistency. No one can dismiss the importance of coaches in soccer in spite of the raw talent that exists in a team. It requires a great deal of planning, training and mentoring to bring about the best in individual genius. Williams, 2005 has put forth that leadership is a matter of mindset which can essentially be worked on and put into practice he has also highlighted high leaning and use of expertise as the need of managerial leadership competency. Similarly, not every individual is born with the ability to lead. Personal attributes can facilitate or deter a persons leadership abilities and require formalised programs for developing leadership competencies (Bennis 1989). Yet, everyone can develop their leadership effectiveness. However it requires a lot of conscious individual effort in or der to achieve such development. As in the case of a football player with born physical attributes, leadership has also been ascribed to an individuals early life influence. Some are more gifted than others and are born with some special talents. Traits like; personality, intelligence, energy and intuition which are indispensible for a leader are characteristics people are born with (Levicki 2002). Looking for traits associated with effective leadership, researchers have cited attributes like resolute energy, foresight and great persuasive skills (Yukl and Lepsinger 2004). We have come across so many political leaders fighting against the odds and making people believe in their vision with impeccable conviction and resolute. Mahatma Gandhi is a perfect example of drive, foresight and persuasive skills. It has however not been ascertained the specific traits which could guarantee leadership success. According to Edwards, 2011, it is possible for managers to develop their leadership a bility regardless of their gender and early life influences. Environmental factors play a key role amongst individuals as to how they develop themselves into leaders. A leaders problem solving abilities has a bearing on the effectiveness in solving organizational problems. Bennis, 1989 has also clearly stated that irrespective of the traits one might posses; it requires a great degree of personal effort and skill accumulation to propel an individual to a position of effective leadership. Various training programmes and related learning effectively help leaders to understand the requisites of successful leadership. However, knowing what to do and doing what one knows are two entirely diverse outcomes. An estimated 15% of classroom training results in sustained behavioural change with in the work place (Metcalfe 2011). Skill sets that can be developed to be an effective leader are discussed below; Technical Skill- Technical skills help organizations in realizing the actual product or service a company is designed to produce (Northhouse 2010). It is the knowledge or core competency in someones specialised area and activity. Possession of such skills could be referred to as leadership of knowledge (Edwards 2011). Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding et al., 2000 has suggested a skill based model based on five components such as; Competencies, individual attributes, leadership outcomes, career experiences and environmental influences. Human Skill- Human or people skill is the ability to work effectively with colleagues in order to achieve organisational goals. It could be walking along with subordinates, mentoring them or working in tandem with other team members. It is about getting a right mix of ones own perspectives and also being aware of others view of things (Katz 1955). Leaders with human skills adapt their own ideas to those of others. By doing that they manage to build a culture of trust and mutual respect, which in turn results in a conducive work environment where employees feel comfortable working with the leader and get the encouragement to get involved. A leader with human skills is one who is sensitive to the motivational factors affecting the sub ordinates and is considerate of others needs in his or her own decision making (Northhouse 2010). Conceptual Skill- It is the skill or ability to work on ideas and concepts. Leaders with conceptual skills bring about ideas that shape the future of the organisation as also the intricacies involved in bringing about the change (Northhouse 2010). This is critical to any organisation in creating a long term vision and strategic plan for future course of action. However conceptual skill is more relevant at the higher management levels (Edwards 2011). The skills approach provides a structure for understanding the nature of effective leadership (Katz 1955). Mumford, Zaccaro,Harding et al.(2000) opine that an effective leaderships skill model contends that leadership outcomes are the direct result of a leaders competencies in problem solving skills, social judgement skills and knowledge. Each of the competencies include large repertoire of abilities and they can be learned and developed. If we analyse the leadership style of business leader and investor Warren Buffet, he has shown tremendous expertise in all the leadership aspects discussed above. He has become an iconic figure by repeatedly proving his core expertise as an investor. Warren Buffett took the falls that any other leader has to take. He learned from his mistakes and turned his mistakes into a positive thing. Talking of human skills, Warren Buffett shares his leadership at all organizational levels and Buffett is empowered to share leadership responsibilities. Mr. Buffets continual approach of analyzing both possible investment choices, market trends, and the ability to place management resources of the right caliber in the right position has consistently brought this investor to the forefront amongst peers and the marketplace.Warren Buffett has leadership in all three departments and one must have these traits to be a good business leader. For a normal individual, it might require some events or a conscious effort so as to ignite the spark which can lead to development as a leader. The writer of the essay has benefitted from a close relationship with the managing director of a company who in turn was mentored by Dr. B. V. Rao (known as the father of Indian poultry industry). Getting into business, I had a chance meeting with the said person and was reluctant talking to him about my poultry start up. Considering the fact that I was a first generation businessman and that too in my early twenties, I thought I stood no where in the world of business. As it turned out, he seemed to be quite impressed with my enthusiasm and the fact that I had left my job in a FMCG MNC to start my own business. The talk was inspiring and supplemented me with the requisite courage to take the plunge. I have since remained in constant touch with him and benefitted immensely from his insight and mentoring. In spite of the presence of large pro ducers who were established players in the business we made our way through to become the states largest egg producer. Apart from the efforts put in by our team members and other factors, I have always realised my education, past experience and a global exposure has had a major role to play in providing our organisation the edge in the face of competition. We have been the early adaptors, technology leaders and have always taken the risk in pursuit of exponential growth. Turnbull and Bentley (2005) have identified certain occurrences which might play as triggers of leadership development: Experimental leadership development courses. Observing positive role models. Mentoring, coaching and consultant relationships. MBAs and leadership development courses. International and multicultural experiences. Voluntary and community work. Team sports. The suggested activities can be taken up at an individual level, which in turn can lead to development of leadership abilities by any individual if he or she pursues such interest. Modern day research on the learning process has been advocated as transformational learning theory. It accentuates on the self directed learning methodology and about change an individual brings in to oneself in order to live up to the responsibilities and achievement of organisational goals. Meizrow (1994, p.222) has put forth transformational learning as the process of constructing and appropriating a new or revised interpretation of meaning of ones experience as a guide to action. The cognitive process of learning is a key element of self development. (Merriam and Cafarella, 1999) have identified psychological edifice of experience, inner meaning and reflection being the components of the transformational learning process. Taylor (2000) has highlighted the importance of individual development as a vital aspect of transformational learning. Mr. Warren Buffets investment strategies and course of leadership are shining examples of characteristics shared by cognitive theorists. Going by the principles of Cognitive theory, he has demonstrated all the requisite skills of perception, anticipation, and thinking. At the core of every sound investor is a creative innovator. Leadership as self development: A personal development regime can enable one to develop a plan that facilitates acquiring essential leadership skills required for delivering to the organisational demands and across a wide spectrum of environment (Buswell, 2010) .The stepping stone on a journey of personal development is knowing and taking control of oneself. Training modules like PDP run by Bradford school of management requires the students to identify, skills that they believe they are inadequate at and to work on developing the same. The whole process starts from identifying strengths and weaknesses, developing an action plan and addressing the issues. The writer of this essay being an entrepreneur himself has been greatly influenced by Sir Richard Branson. Sir Branson, in his book Losing my virginity has mentioned about his scribe pad where he would note down all the ideas that come to his mind and events that he thought might have a relevance to self development. Bennis, 1989 has also talked about an erstwhile Disney executive who used a yellow pad to jot down unfamiliar terms and references to seek answers to at the next opportune moment. The same approach helped getting to know where I as an individual stood and to work on the weaknesses. Early life influences have been suggested as one of the factors for any individual to develop leadership abilities. Edwards 2011 however suggests that all managers can develop their leadership ability irrespective of gender and early life influences. It is only a matter of ability as to how much someone can develop more than other. The way forward to developing as a leader for an individual is to know and take control of oneself. Overcoming emotional barriers, building self confidence and emotional intelligence play a pivotal role for an individual to develop as a leader (Edwards 2011). Bennis(1989) talks about the importance of knowing the world as much as knowing oneself. A person can develop himself or herself beyond limits given the right attitude and a hunger for knowledge. Broad and systematic education, extensive travel and associations with mentors and groups make a big difference in personal development. It gives the individual the leverage over others in terms of authority and confidence. French and Raven (1959) in their classical behavioural model, mention of expert power which is power through knowledge. Travelling broadens up ones mind and makes people adapt to alien things. It helps seeing things in a different perspective which consequentially makes an individual flexible enough to adapt to the external environment and the challenging task of dealing with changing human behaviour. A well organised leadership development programme can provide the right platform for an individual to cultivate requisite leadership skills needed to perform across a wide spectrum of roles. As is said, knowing the problem is half the problem solved. Understanding oneself can take an individual to a situation where he or she starts working on the weaknesses and develops skills as necessary for the demands of the situation. As is cited above for the triggers of leadership, certain attributes from leaders or role models can be observed and emulated in the individuals context. Edwards, 2011 has mentioned being thrown in the deep end as a potential initiation of leadership development. Whereas it could be a practice followed by leaders to develop or nurture their sub ordinates, an individual can also get involved into circumstances with a conscious effort, where he or she is not familiar with and learn in the process. Bennis, 1989 has quoted Atkin as saying that, one sees a problem as an opportunity and learns through the experience of dealing with it. By doing so the individual not only develops own skills but could also earn the admiration of others. If we consider situati onal approach of leadership, it stresses of a dimension which consists of both directive and supportive elements which is applied appropriately in a given situation (Northhouse 2011). An individual who has gone through the process of dealing in unchartered territory will be better poised to understand the changing needs of subordinates and might be able to fine tune the degree to which he or she is directive or supportive. Bennis 1989, has emphasised the importance of knowing oneself, self knowledge, self invention for self development and consequently as leaders. Individuals need to inculcate a process of self knowledge so as to develop as a leader. Characteristics like being ones own teacher, learning to take responsibility add value to personal development and that one can learn as much as one wants to learn and true understanding comes from reflecting the individuals own experience are being noted as tools to leadership development. It could be worked out as a journey one embarks upon to achieve personal identity with a focussed approach of self development. Communication plays a pivotal role in getting people around to buy ones ideas. Effective leaders use it as a tool to get people involved in their ideas (Avery 2004). Apple founder Steve Jobs is famed for his ability to give speeches and captivate the audience attention. He has been highly effective in inspiring his employees and audience with the ability of an evangelist. Levici (2002) has stated that communication ability constitutes an important ingredient of the individual charisma. In this respect it can be observed that Steve Jobs posses the charismatic abilities by communicating his ideas using metaphors and analogies and storytelling. However Jobs charisma could also be related to the deep understanding he has about the business, which could be co related to the expert power. According to Levici (2002) charisma can be developed by adopting a systematic acquisition of certain superficial attributes coupled with certain self development of tone of voice, style of speech and phra seology. It has however been highlighted that one needs to posses a character in order to have a sustainable impact on people. Electromagnetic induction: An introduction Electromagnetic induction: An introduction Introduction Electromagnetic induction is the production of voltage across a conductor situated in a changing magnetic field or a conductor moving through a stationary magnetic field. Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of the induction phenomenon in 1831 though it may have been anticipated by the work of Francesco Zantedeschi in 1829. Around 1830 to 1832 Joseph Henry made a similar discovery, but did not publish his findings until later History Faradays law was originally an experimental law based upon observations. Later it was formalized, and along with the other laws of electromagnetism a partial time derivative restricted version of it was incorporated into the modern Heaviside versions of Maxwells equations. Faradays law of induction is based on Michael Faradays experiments in 1831. The effect was also discovered by Joseph Henry at about the same time, but Faraday published first. Lenzs law, formulated by Baltic German physicist Heinrich Lenz in 1834, gives the direction of the induced electromotive force and current resulting from electromagnetic induction[2] Technical details Faraday found that the electromotive force (EMF) produced around a closed path is proportional to the rate of change of the magnetic flux through any surface bounded by that path. In practice, this means that an electrical current will be induced in any closed circuit when the magnetic flux through a surface bounded by the conductor changes. This applies whether the field itself changes in strength or the conductor is moved through it. Electromagnetic induction underlies the operation of generators, all electric motors, transformers, induction motors, synchronous motors, solenoids, and most other electrical machines. Faradays law of electromagnetic induction states that: Thus: is the electromotive force (emf) in volts ÃŽ ¦B is the magnetic flux in webers For the common but special case of a coil of wire, composed of N loops with the same area, Faradays law of electromagnetic induction states that where is the electromotive force (emf) in volts N is the number of turns of wire ÃŽ ¦B is the magnetic flux in webers through a single loop. A corollary of Faradays Law, together with Amperes and Ohms laws is Lenzs law: The emf induced in an electric circuit always acts in such a direction that the current it drives around. Consider the case in Figure 3 of a closed rectangular loop of wire in the xy-plane translated in the x-direction at velocity v. Thus, the center of the loop at xC satisfies v = dxC / dt. The loop has length â„“ in the y-direction and width w in the x-direction. A time-independent but spatially varying magnetic field B(x) points in the z-direction. The magnetic field on the left side is B( xC − w / 2), and on the right side is B( xC + w / 2). The electromotive force is to be found directly and by using Faradays law above. Lorentz force law method A charge q in the wire on the left side of the loop experiences a Lorentz force q v Ãâ€" B k = −q v B(xC − w / 2) j   ( j, k unit vectors in the y- and z-directions; see vector cross product), leading to an EMF (work per unit charge) of v â„“ B(xC − w / 2) along the length of the left side of the loop. On the right side of the loop the same argument shows the EMF to be v â„“ B(xC + w / 2). The two EMFs oppose each other, both pushing positive charge toward the bottom of the loop. In the case where the B-field increases with increase in x, the force on the right side is largest, and the current will be clockwise: using the right-hand rule, the B-field generated by the current opposes the impressed fieldThe EMF driving the current must increase as we move counterclockwise (opposite to the current). Adding the EMFs in a counterclockwise tour of the loop we find Faradays law method At any position of the loop the magnetic flux through the loop is The sign choice is decided by whether the normal to the surface points in the same direction as B, or in the opposite direction. If we take the normal to the surface as pointing in the same direction as the B-field of the induced current, this sign is negative. The time derivative of the flux is then (using the chain rule of differentiation or the general form of Leibniz rule for differentiation of an integral): (where v = dxC / dt is the rate of motion of the loop in the x-direction ) leading to: as before. The equivalence of these two approaches is general and, depending on the example, one or the other method may prove more practical. Moving loop in uniform B-field Figure 4: Rectangular wire loop rotating at angular velocity ω in radially outward pointing magnetic field B of fixed magnitude. Current is collected by brushes attached to top and bottom discs, which have conducting rims. Figure 4 shows a spindle formed of two discs with conducting rims and a conducting loop attached vertically between these rims. The entire assembly spins in a magnetic field that points radially outward, but is the same magnitude regardless of its direction. A radially oriented collecting return loop picks up current from the conducting rims. At the location of the collecting return loop, the radial B-field lies in the plane of the collecting loop, so the collecting loop contributes no flux to the circuit. The electromotive force is to be found Lorentz force law method In this case the Lorentz force drives the current in the two vertical arms of the moving loop downward, so current flows from the top disc to the bottom disc. In the conducting rims of the discs, the Lorentz force is perpendicular to the rim, so no EMF is generated in the rims, nor in the horizontal portions of the moving loop. Current is transmitted from the bottom rim to the top rim through the external return loop, which is oriented so the B-field is in its plane. Thus, the Lorentz force in the return loop is perpendicular to the loop, and no EMF is generated in this return loop. Traversing the current path in the direction opposite to the current flow, work is done against the Lorentz force only in the vertical arms of the moving loop, where Consequently the EMF is where â„“ is the vertical length of the loop, and the velocity is related to the angular rate of rotation by v = r ω, with r = radius of cylinder. Notice that the same work is done on any path that rotates with the loop and connects the upper and lower rim. Faradays law method An intuitively appealing but mistaken approach to using the flux rule would say the flux through the circuit was just ÃŽ ¦B = B w â„“, where w = width of the moving loop. This number is time-independent, so the approach predicts incorrectly that no EMF is generated. The flaw in this argument is that it fails to consider the entire current path, which is a closed loop. To use the flux rule, we have to look at the entire current path, which includes the path through the rims in the top and bottom discs. We can choose an arbitrary closed path through the rims and the rotating loop, and the flux law will find the EMF around the chosen path. Any path that has a segment attached to the rotating loop captures the relative motion of the parts of the circuit. As an example path, lets traverse the circuit in the direction of rotation in the top disc, and in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation in the bottom disc (shown by arrows in Figure 4). In this case, for the moving loop at an angle ÃŽ ¸ from the collecting loop, a portion of the cylinder of area A = r â„“ ÃŽ ¸ is part of the circuit. This area is perpendicular to the B-field, and so contributes to the flux an amount: where the sign is negative because the right-hand rule suggests the B-field generated by the current loop is opposite in direction to the applied B field. As this is the only time-dependent portion of the flux, the flux law predicts an EMF of in agreement with the Lorentz force law calculation. Now lets try a different path. Follow a path traversing the rims via the opposite choice of segments. Then the coupled flux would decrease as ÃŽ ¸ increased, but the right-hand rule would suggest the current loop added to the applied B-field, so the EMF around this path is the same as for the first path. Any mixture of return paths leads to the same result for EMF, so it is actually immaterial which path is followed. The use of a closed path to find EMF as done above appears to depend upon details of the path geometry. In contrast, the Lorentz-law approach is independent of such restrictions. A discussion follows intended to understand better the equivalence of paths and escape the particulars of path selection when using the flux law. Figure 5 is an idealization of with the cylinder unwrapped onto a plane. The same path-related analysis works, but a simplification is suggested. The time-independent aspects of the circuit cannot affect the time-rate-of-change of flux. For example, at a constant velocity of sliding the loop, the details of current flow through the loop are not time dependent. Instead of concern over details of the closed loop selected to find the EMF, one can focus on the area of B-field swept out by the moving loop. This suggestion amounts to finding the rate at which flux is cut by the circuit. That notion provides direct evaluation of the rate of change of flux, without concern over the time-independent details of various path choices around the circuit. Just as with the Lorentz law approach, it is clear that any two paths attached to the sliding loop, but differing in how they cross the loop, produce the same rate-of-change of flux. In Figure 5 the area swept out in unit time is simply dA / dt = v â„“, regardless of the details of the selected closed path, so Faradays law of induction provides the EMF as: This path independence of EMF shows that if the sliding loop is replaced by a solid conducting plate, or even some complex warped surface, the analysis is the same: find the flux in the area swept out by the moving portion of the circuit. In a similar way, if the sliding loop in the drum generator of Figure 4 is replaced by a 360 ° solid conducting cylinder, the swept area calculation is exactly the same as for the case with only a loop. That is, the EMF predicted by Faradays law is exactly the same for the case with a cylinder with solid conducting walls or, for that matter, a cylinder with a cheese grater for walls. Notice, though, that the current that flows as a result of this EMF will not be the same because the resistance of the circuit determines the current[3] Applications The principles of electromagnetic induction are applied in many devices and systems, including: Induction Sealing Induction motors Electrical generators Transformers Contactless charging of rechargeable batteries The 6.6kW Magne Charge system for Battery electric vehicles Induction cookers Induction welding Inductors Electromagnetic forming Magnetic flow meters Transcranial magnetic stimulation Faraday Flashlight Graphics tablet Wireless energy transfer Electric Guitar Pickups Hall effect meters Current transformer meters Clamp meter Audio and video tapes the circuit opposes the change in magnetic flux which produces the emf. The direction mentioned in Lenzs law can be thought of as the result of the minus sign in the above equation Eddy currents An eddy current is a swirling current set up in a conductor in response to a changing magnetic field. By Lenz ¹s law, the current swirls in such a way as to create a magnetic field opposing the change; to do this in a conductor, electrons swirl in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. Because of the tendency of eddy currents to oppose, eddy currents cause energy to be lost. More accurately, eddy currents transform more useful forms of energy, such as kinetic energy, into heat, which is generally much less useful. In many applications the loss of useful energy is not particularly desirable, but there are some practical applications. One is in the brakes of some trains. During braking, the metal wheels are exposed to a magnetic field from an electromagnet, generating eddy currents in the wheels. The magnetic interaction between the applied field and the eddy currents acts to slow the wheels down. The faster the wheels are spinning, the stronger the effect, meaning that as the train slows the braking force is reduced, producing a smooth stopping motion. Electrical generator Faradays disc electric generator. The disc rotates with angular rate ω, sweeping the conducting radius circularly in the static magnetic field B. The magnetic Lorentz force v Ãâ€" B drives the current along the conducting radius to the conducting rim, and from there the circuit completes through the lower brush and the axle supporting the disc. Thus, current is generated from mechanical motion. The EMF generated by Faradays law of induction due to relative movement of a circuit and a magnetic field is the phenomenon underlying electrical generators. When a permanent magnet is moved relative to a conductor, or vice versa, an electromotive force is created. If the wire is connected through an electrical load, current will flow, and thus electrical energy is generated, converting the mechanical energy of motion to electrical energy. For example, the drum generator is based upon . A different implementation of this idea is the Faradays disc, shown in simplified form in Figure 8. Note that either the analysis of Figure 5, or direct application of the Lorentz force law, shows that a solid conducting disc works the same way. In the Faradays disc example, the disc is rotated in a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the disc, causing a current to flow in the radial arm due to the Lorentz force. It is interesting to understand how it arises that mechanical work is necessary to drive this current. When the generated current flows through the conducting rim, a magnetic field is generated by this current through Amperes circuital law (labeled induced B in Figure 8). The rim thus becomes an electromagnet that resists rotation of the disc (an example of Lenzs law). On the far side of the figure, the return current flows from the rotating arm through the far side of the rim to the bottom brush. The B-field induced by this return current opposes the applied B-field, tending to decrease the flux through that side of the circuit, opposing the increase in flux due to rotation. On the near side of the figure, the return current flows from the rotating arm through the near side of the rim to the bottom brush. The i nduced B-field increases the flux on this side of the circuit, opposing the decrease in flux due to rotation. Thus, both sides of the circuit generate an emf opposing the rotation. The energy required to keep the disc moving, despite this reactive force, is exactly equal to the electrical energy generated (plus energy wasted due to friction, Joule heating, and other inefficiencies). This behavior is common to all generators converting mechanical energy to electrical energy. Although Faradays law always describes the working of electrical generators, the detailed mechanism can differ in different cases. When the magnet is rotated around a stationary conductor, the changing magnetic field creates an electric field, as described by the Maxwell-Faraday equation, and that electric field pushes the charges through the wire. This case is called an induced EMF. On the other hand, when the magnet is stationary and the conductor is rotated, the moving charges experience a magnetic force (as described by the Lorentz force law), and this magnetic force pushes the charges through the wire. This case is called motional EMF. (For more information on motional EMF, induced EMF, Faradays law, and the Lorentz force. Electrical motor An electrical generator can be run backwards to become a motor. For example, with the Faraday disc, suppose a DC current is driven through the conducting radial arm by a voltage. Then by the Lorentz force law, this traveling charge experiences a force in the magnetic field B that will turn the disc in a direction given by Flemings left hand rule. In the absence of irreversible effects, like friction or Joule heating, the disc turns at the rate necessary to make d ÃŽ ¦B / dt equal to the voltage driving the current. Electrical transformer The EMF predicted by Faradays law is also responsible for electrical transformers. When the electric current in a loop of wire changes, the changing current creates a changing magnetic field. A second wire in reach of this magnetic field will experience this change in magnetic field as a change in its coupled magnetic flux, a d ÃŽ ¦B / d t. Therefore, an electromotive force is set up in the second loop called the induced EMF or transformer EMF. If the two ends of this loop are connected through an electrical load, current will flow. Magnetic flow meter Faradays law is used for measuring the flow of electrically conductive liquids and slurries. Such instruments are called magnetic flow meters. The induced voltage ÃŽ µ generated in the magnetic field B due to a conductive liquid moving at velocity v is thus given by: where â„“ is the distance between electrodes in the magnetic flow meter. Parasitic induction and waste heating All metal objects moving in relation to a static magnetic field will experience inductive power flow, as do all stationary metal objects in relation to a moving magnetic field. These power flows are occasionally undesirable, resulting in flowing electric current at very low voltage and heating of the metal. There are a number of methods employed to control these undesirable inductive effects. Electromagnets in electric motors, generators, and transformers do not use solid metal, but instead use thin sheets of metal plate, called laminations. These thin plates reduce the parasitic eddy currents, as described below. Inductive coils in electronics typically use magnetic cores to minimize parasitic current flow. They are a mixture of metal powder plus a resin binder that can hold any shape. The binder prevents parasitic current flow through the powdered metal.