For the purpose of this study, I examined an old film ‘Twelve O’clock High’ and observed the management performance of the two main characters, Colonel Keith Davenport and General Frank Savage.
At the beginning of the film, the squadron is suffering from bad luck, low morale and high casualties. In light of continued budget cuts and fewer forces to conduct deployment missions, Davenport believes higher headquarters are giving him impossible missions to attain. Davenport uses this excuse as a scapegoat to his own ineffective management style as he is failing badly at leading his troop’s because he is too worried about his men opposed to the mission. Although his behavior is admirable it is actually constituting to more fatalities among his pilots.
Leadership and management are needed to convert challenges into opportunities. A manager can be seen as a ‘person who has the responsibility, control and influence over a person or group of people and their activities’. Leader = ‘being a person’s reason for doing something’
A leaders overarching goal is to transform their followers into self-actualised individuals who see their actions intrinsically connected to an organisations success (FIND A REFERENCE FOR THIS!!!).
Davenport:
Colonel Davenport possessed a variety of leadership and management skills including … He was well respected from the Squadron and likewise he would do everything he could to protect them. Davenport would often take the blame for the Squadrons mistakes and
The movie “Twelve O’ Clock High” is a case study in the application of leadership theory during World War Two. Gregory Peck portrays Brigadier General Savage, a United States Army Air Force officer thrust into a situation that requires a maximum effort both on the ground and in the air as he attempts to re-invigorate an undisciplined, anxiety ridden, and ineffective combat unit. Throughout the movie we observe Peck’s character employing a variety of leadership methods, but ultimately discovering that true combat effectiveness and cohesion is accomplished through a
Not long before the scheduled deployment, her commanding officer, brash and abrupt, states that he has absolutely zero faith in her and in fact has full confidence in her failure. As a result of a relevant incident in which a company had been ambushed in Iraq, where insurgents took soldiers hostage and killed several, the commanding officer has lost all confidence in Halstead’s ability to lead in combat. Halstead, appalled and completely discouraged by her superiors’ comments, stood confused about what it now
Leaders draw people into a shared sense of purpose by creating a distinctive well crafted and compelling vision of the organisations future.
L: The leaders, by serving others and setting themselves as models for the followers could change the attitude of people, empower them to reach their maximum potential to be successful in life (Carroll & Patterson, 2014).
Understanding the difference and similarities between managers and leaders can be enlightening. Managers develop and manage plans that impact the strategic vision of an organization while leaders set strategic visions for the organization. Managers establish plans, support strategic plans, and organizational objectives. Managers also evaluate and track the achievement of tactical plans that have been assigned to specific staff. While on the other hand leaders motivate staff to achieve the object and task set forth. Managers serve as problem solvers. Managers are the people who assign resources to groups. On the hand leaders serve as persuasive change agents.
To fully explain the relationship between Leadership and Management we need to appreciate that the two go hand in hand, they are by no means the same thing but they complement each other when driving any team to perform and exceed targets within a business. The manager’s job is very task-focused. They often have to follow company
Both managers and leaders are responsible in assisting and keeping the hospital or organization running and promoting the organization to continue into the future. Managers and leaders have different distinct roles, but the ones that are the most effective, are the ones that will combine the roles and functions into their workday everyday. There roles and responsibilities can be similar, but also can be different. A manager can be a leader, but a leader isn’t necessarily a manager (GCU, 2011).
Much has been written about the difference between management and leadership. In the past, competent management staffs ran effective companies. In light of our ever-changing world, however, most companies have come to realize that it is much more important to lead than to manage. In today's world the old ways of management no longer work. One reason is that the degree of environmental and competitive change we are experiencing is extreme. Although exciting, the world is also very unstable and confused. In an article entitled What’s the Difference between Your Hospital and the Other? Gary Campbell states that the difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager “finds himself quite willing to
In addition to the other physical objects, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried compasses and maps, but also the heavy responsibility for the men he oversees. Lieutenant Cross’s main role as a leader should be that of a strong leader who gives his soldiers clear instructions for an advantage over the enemy, but Lieutenant Cross fails to demonstrate the clear ability required to fulfill that role.
The timeliness and accuracy of decision making comes over time. Seasoned leaders respond to issues with a calculated cool because of years of experience. A key to military officer development are its structured leadership opportunities. General Savage spent many hours in the copilot seat before he sat in the pilot seat. A key to his decision making process is the introspection he developed from watching and being mentored by officers senior to him.
The Oxford English Dictionary describes the word leader as a “person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country” and describes the word manager as a “person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of company or similar organization”. Each of these meanings are very close in proximity however many in the business world have different definitions for each of these roles. Although they are different they are linked and are complementary to each other (Oxford Dictionary (American English)).
In 1992 Sir Peter dela Billiere was quoted as Strenght of personality is always likely to be part of the DNA of top leaders. He based this around his research around military structure throughout history ,sir Peter was throughout his career an very well respected Military officer who has spoken at many Buiness conventions on leadership .
Management and leadership are viewed as two different perspectives in the business environment. As described by Dr. Warren Bennis ‘Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing’, this means that managers do things by the set rules and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company.
Leadership is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. Care must be taken in distinguishing between the two concepts. The main aim of a manager is to maximize the output of the organization through administrative implementation.
For a quick review, the definition of leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group or individuals, to achieve a common goal.