Assignment: LEADERS AND LEADERSHIP

Assignment Overview

The Case Assignment for this module involves viewing several vignettes depicting different leadership styles. Using critical thinking skills, you will identify which leadership style the character draws upon, and defend your answer using the leadership model principles presented in the background materials.

Case Assignment

View the following six video clips* and follow the Instructions listed below to write your 4- to 5-page essay.

1. This clip is from Dead Poets Society. Compare and contrast the leadership styles of both Mr. Keating and Mr. Nolan.

CineGraf (2014). O captain, my captain!

2. This clip is from the movie Office Space where the main character is asked to work the weekend. What leadership style is Lumberg using?

ResoluteProductions (2011). Office Space-Working tomorrow.

3. The third clip is a scene from Remember the Titans where the coach tells the players about the Battle of Gettysburg.

mikedaquila (2011) Remember the Titans Coach Boone Speech

4. This clip is from The Princess Bride and depicts a battle of wits between Vazzini and Roberts where Vazzini has to decide which cup is poisoned.

Vecchiarelli, M.S. (2013) The princess bride-Battle of the wits.

5. The fifth clip is from The Blind Side. What leadership style does the coach use and then what style does the mother use when she goes onto the field to tell Michael that the football team is like his family and he has to protect them?

MacPherson, J. (2011). Blindside p and p 2

6. The last clip is from The Devil Wears Prada where Andrea arrives at the offices of Runway to interview for a job as assistant to Miranda.

moviemomentsAUS's channel (2012). Devil Wears Prada.

*Note: These clips are all on YouTube. If you cannot access YouTube from a network that blocks access, you will need to use a different network or borrow another computer to complete the assignment. If neither is possible, contact your professor for instructions for an alternate assignment for writing a research paper on the Complexity Theory of Leadership.

Instructions:

· Discuss what leadership model(s) best describe the approach to leadership exhibited in the video clip.

o Trait Model
o Behavioral Model
o Contingency Model (identify which one-Fiedler Model, Path-Goal Model, and/or Normative Decision Model)
o Influence (Power) (identify which one-Reward Power, Coercive Power, Legitimate Power, Referent Power and/or Expert Power)
o Transformational Leadership

· Devote a section in your paper to each of the video clips. Each section should have a heading with the name of the video clip followed by the leadership style/styles portrayed. For example: Return of the Jedi (Coercive Power).

· For each of the video clips, you will need to use at least one of the leadership models listed above, and a few have more than one portrayed.

Also you must use of all five of the leadership styles at least once in your paper.

· Analyze the effectiveness of this leadership approach. Give examples of how specific behaviors or attitudes illustrate specific tenets of the leadership model you have chosen. Defend your answer with examples from the clip and references to the appropriate background material.

· Is this leadership style appropriate for this situation? Do you think it will be effective? Why or why not? Under what conditions might this approach be most appropriate? Most inappropriate?

There is not one right answer to which leadership style is being represented in each clip-it is open to interpretation. However, the critical thinking in this assignment hinges on how well you defend your choice of leadership style. Make a strong and logical argument by using examples from the clips to demonstrate the characteristics of the style as presented in the background materials.

Keep in mind there may be more than one leadership style represented in a video clip.

You may want to do additional research to supplement what is on the background page. Outside research does not substitute for citing and referencing the background material, but may add additional support and depth to your arguments.