Gene Krantz Leadership Case Study

Gene Krantz Leadership Case Study According to many theories and best practices, leadership extensively affects the organisational performance. Moreover, many studies suggest that leadership is either a trait (e.g. Stogdill, 1974) or driven by behaviour ( e.g. Shamir and Howell, 1999). In our assessment of Krantzs leadership role Traits theory In Apollo 13, elements of traits related to leadership was included and strongly demonstrated by Krantz with a compelling vision and strong culture. This included seven values: drive, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, emotional maturity, and intelligence. However, integrity was found to be a superordinate value without having the other values far less significance. Given the stress and contiguity of the Apollo 13 crisis, it is noticeable that the traits of a true leader differ depending on time and context. (Ahn, Ettner, and Loupin, 2012) Drive Krantz was perceived as highly driven and capable of prioritising and communicating issues and needs during unsettled situations as he provided guidance and psychological safety for his team members. (McDermott, Kidney, and Flood, 2011). He was also directing the actions of the team towards a specific goal of getting the astronauts safely home. Desire to lead and good judgment Krantz has a distinctive desire to lead with effective decision making which was far more about accumulated wisdom he had but more of him building an open environment with openness, accountability and honesty (Sonnefield, 2002) Honesty and integrity Integrity can be explained as the unwavering devotion to a specific ethical or moral value. (Ahn, Ettner, and Loupin, 2012). The significance of integrity of Krantz towards the Apollo 13 crisis was essential even when the team was devastated he ensured that all obligations are met to work on the astronauts safe journey home. Self Confidence It is the leaders awareness of his/her inner-competencies. This includes self- assurance and self-esteem that s/he can make a difference. This allows the leader to influence others effectively in the appropriate and right ways. This characteristic affects attitudes; tendencies and emotional influence to others. (Belasen and Frank, 2008) Again, Krantz was a very self-confident leader. When he described that they will not fail in bringing the astronauts safely back home although his team thought it was impossible. But he never doubted that the mission will be accomplished successfully, and despite the resistance of many team members, he did things the way he thought best. Emotional Maturity Krantzs emotional intelligence had a great impact for his leadership role. According to ( Mayer and Salovey,1997) it is the skill to connect or disconnect from emotions relying on the efficiency of emotions in a specific situation. And Krantz demonstrated that clearly by engaging in his self- reflection which enabled him to contribute to a stronger sense of self identity and understanding his team and their actions. (McDermott, Kidney, and Flood, 2011) Intelligence Gene Krantz is an intellectual leader but his IQ was not higher than his followers. But he had strong perceptional, reasoning and verbal abilities which lead to a productive outcome as he didnt have any difficulties communicating with his subordinates. Job Related Knowledge Not only Krantz the engineer -had the job related knowledge as he was a flight director for many years, but also the ability to learn from his subordinates experiences and applied that learning to new and different situation. He was able to derive meaning from all kinds of experience in the NASA team with his learning agility -which is different from basic intellect- according to the changing circumstances during the crisis. (Povah, 2012b) Determination A sense of urgency was clearly identified by Krantz during the Apollo 13 crisis which gave the capacity to impart an action- orientation towards achieving results. He has the desire to get the job done as he was persistent and dominant. He battled against pessimism and focused on solving the problem despite all obstacles faced them. He was proactive with his team but still directing his team to achieve the goal. Trust Integrity Competence Conisistency Loyalty Openness Leadership Behaviours Style The leadership Style Krantz used was more Democratic rather than Autocratic or Laissez-Faire Style. He listened to his team and encouraged different point of views. However, there was a time limitation to do more analysis. Krantz pulled one flight control team out of its normal role to work on solutions for the crisis. He moved staff from team to team to bring specific skills, knowledge and expertise. He kept directing them towards the goal as his leadership was the key factor of successfully accomplish the mission although it was considered the successful failure. Managerial/Leadership grid (Blake and Mouton) One of the most well-known approaches to leadership The Managerial Grid developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton (1964) was used to analyse the leadership style of Krantz. He had to achieve the goal of getting the astronauts safely back home (Task) and at the same time, manage his team (People). His main concern was to ensure that his subordinates get the job done without failure based on obedience, trust, respect and support. His team was responding with involvement and enthusiasm. Using the grid which forms a matrix of possible leadership styles to analyse how he used his skills and intelligence in working with and through other people for results as shown in Figure 1. (Sui Pheng and Lee, 1997) Figure 1.1: Krantzs Leadership style associated with Managerial Grid Source: (Sui Pheng and Lee, 1997)   Ã‚   According to the managerial Grid, Krantz was an effective team leader. He was contributing to the crisis and committed to getting the job done. Although he was concerned about the result of getting astronauts back home and pushed his subordinates to the limit, he was motivating the team while empowering them with trust, respect and commitment. This sound leadership style is also inspired by the McGregor Y theory. Situational Approach Fiedlers Contingency Model Leader- Member exchange theory Authentic Leader Transformational Leadership Apollo 13 movie told the story of a crisis that could have ended tragically. It required transformational leaders to articulate a clear vision that would allow the constituents to take on leadership roles based on their experiences, needs, values, morale and strengths. Through innovation and creative problem solving they were able to collaboratively work towards their new vision to getting the astronauts home safely. This was successfully achieved as the leaders used idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration to lead constituents through this catastrophe. In summary, this report reflects the leadership demonstrated in Apollo 13 using many leadership theories. Our use of the Leadership Trait Theory, Situational Leadership and leadership grid provided a more behaviour- specific focus on interpersonal skills concepts.  

Joining Wrestling Team Essay

There are many sports that a student can join in high school, but there is one sport that separates itself from the rest. The sport, without a doubt, is wresting. Wrestling is an outstanding sport because it teaches discipline, tenacity, and the values of friendship. The only way to succeed in this sport is with discipline. Wrestling far exceeds the practice times and schedules of football, which is thought to be the â€Å"toughest† sport. Wrestlers must stay in shape, have a very low body fat percentage, and must be lean and muscular. A wrestling practice can start with a six mile jog followed by a thirty minute session of running up stairs, and carrying people on their backs. Afterwards, the wrestler would engage in a full practice of drills, learning new moves, and going â€Å"Live†. Live is not quite drilling, but not as intense as a real match. It allows wrestlers to see what will happen when they try new moves and counters in a sort of â€Å"practice† match. Not many people are physically and mentally fit for this kind of practice. Only a select few can cope with it without giving up. There are many other aspects of the sport that not many of the participants can overcome. One of these would be that when anyone hears the word â€Å"wrestling†, they would think of a gay sport. These people could not be more wrong. Many of the moves require grabbing the inner thigh or lying on top of the opponent, but this does not mean the sport is gay. This sport measures a man’s brute strength and skill in the most primitive of ways. Matches are paired up with wrestlers equal in weight so that no one has an advantage in weight. This sport dates back 15,000 B.C. to early Egyptian and Babylonian beliefs and cave drawing found in France. Tenacity is also a key factor of becoming a wrestler. This sport requires a wrestler to have a highly developed stamina, because a match can tire a person out in under a minute if he or she is not in shape. During a match, a wrestler must fight with all he has to not let his opponent hold them down on their shoulder blades for three seconds, and this is no easy task. Even though a match is almost always less than six minutes, most wrestlers are gasping for air as they wobble back to their seat whether they won or lost.  Their senses go haywire, and the room keeps spinning and then everything comes back to them a few minutes afterward. Tenacity would also play in a role with the fact that sometimes wrestlers have to â€Å"cut† weight so their body weighs a predetermined weight before a given match. This is for the few people that naturally weigh in-between classes. Rumor has it that the lighter a person gets, the easier it is, but this is not true, and is dangerous to one’s health. Even though the first few weeks of practice would burn off at least three pounds off of everyone because of the intense training, a few ignorant people would put on plastic suits and sweat off as much as fifteen pounds! These are the hard-core wrestlers who think that being lighter is so important that they feel that have to drop down to a very unsafe weight class. The more they sweat, the more dehydrated they get, and from this, a wrestler’s metabolism would slow down, making it nearly impossible for them to lose any more weight. This is their body protecting itself from the wrestler’s unsafe conditions it puts itself through. If he does not stop what he is doing, the body would completely shutdown, and the wrestler would be tired within minutes, as well as pull muscles, jam fingers, and get strains much more frequently. This ultimately leads to a really good wrestler losing to a beginner who cannot even compare in skill or experience because he was too tired to go on. This sport is not the easiest to accept, but the lessons a wrester learns are well worth it. Wrestling is an individual sport – in the sense that the outcome of a match is solely dependent on how that person did – but teamwork is required in every aspect other than the actual match. A wrestler’s training partner is the one person who can warn them when a move they did was done incorrectly or if there is a way to make the move more efficient. Only with a good training partner can a wrestler find and work on positions and moves that are troublesome. As the season progresses, the wrestlers on the team would get to know each other much more then any of their friends would. Wrestlers grow together in  suffering from the intense practices and the significant amount of time they spend with each other during the season. Wrestlers of the same team usually hang out together and would go out for pizza as a team after a match they won to celebrate. The bond a wrestling team gets as the season ends is much different from a friendship, for it has no boundaries in trust, kindness, and loyalty. This sport has a bad reputation for many things that are untrue. Wrestling is not gay, and it does not make anyone â€Å"cut† weight in order to participate. This is a sport unlike any other, for the fact that a person must have a few key qualities to excel in the sport. Any person, athletic or not, has no reason not to sign up for the team.

Mcdonald’s History

McDonald’s Bar-B-Que, was a â€Å"Drive-in Restaurant† in 1940 which was conceptualized by Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald’s. Drive-in concept was a new and unique idea to adapt which caught everyone’s attention (Our Company, 2011). The initial mascot of the famous fast food restaurant was â€Å"Speedee. † â€Å"Speedee† was a hamburger-headed man wearing a chef’s hat (McDonald’s, 2011). However, running a restaurant is not a piece of cake, thus, by 1948 they made alterations in their menu by reducing the available food items and calls itself a â€Å"self-service drive-in restaurant. The new nine items presented in 1948 were: hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips and a slice of pie (Our Company, 2011). In the following year potato chips were replaced by French fries along with additional ‘triple thick milkshakes. ’ In 1954, enters a new significant character for McDonald’s, Ray Kroc. He was fascinated by the profitable new concept by the brothers whom produced best quality product, on the contrary to providing a small menu in a small restaurant. At the same time the Dick and Mac McDonald’s were in search of an agent to help them begin nationwide franchising (Our Company, 2011). Their vision turned into reality by the help of Ray Kroc. In 1955, Kroc opens a McDonald’s in Desplaines, Illinois which brought in a lot of cash for the corporation (History, 2011). And by the end of 1950s they managed to open 100 McDonald’s restaurant. Following decade started, the 60s, McDonald being itself, so successful, opened a Hamburger University in Illinois. During this year they created McDonald into a proper restaurant with indoor seating (Our Company, 2011). They received their first TV commercial hit via their new mascot Ronald in 1966. In the following year, 1967, McDonald’s goes international and today, 2011, it has restaurants in 118 countries all around the world. It is now known to be the world’s largest hamburger fast food restaurant serving more than 52 million customers daily (History, 2011). And Thailand ranked as number 28 by nation master manages to have approximately 88 McDonalds’ restaurants (Food Statistics, 2011). In 1985, the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Amarin Plaza, Bangkok, Thailand. McDonald provides protein-full menus including: chicken, pork, beef and seafood. Throughout time McDonald’s in Thailand has embraced the early-morning working culture and started Big Breakfast. Moreover, they also present customer favorites such as McNuggets, burgers, fried chicken and ice cream (History, 2011). Although, McDonald’s in Thailand follow strict 5 operating principles or philosophy you may call it which includes QSC & V. These letters represent: Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value. McDonald’s main focus is to produce 100% total customer satisfaction. However, focusing on the 5 figure formula to operate McDonald’s successfully; firstly, quality, is regarding the food presented to the customers. For example, McDonald’s consistently provides their customers with healthy, best standard and tasty products. Secondly, service embraces the efficient and friendly service available at McDonald’s. Their focus on service makes sure that McDonald’s can maximize customer satisfaction offering full help via provided techniques and training. Thirdly, cleanliness was first magnified by Ray Kroc back in 1955. From that day till today, McDonald’s makes sure they present themselves cleanly. Cleanliness in a fast food restaurant has to deal with a clean kitchen, dining area, rest rooms and the exterior. Lastly, value is all about the experience you pay for and prices of the products at McDonald’s. The experience they allow you to have is the environment, fine service and enjoyable food (QSC&V, 2011). Reference http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html?

Financial Analysis Lowe s Corporation - 1489 Words

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