leading and managing people

Assessment 3: Essay

This assessment is for these students only: Distance Education; Gold Coast; New Zealand - MIT; Papua New Guinea; SCU Melbourne; SCU Sydney; Singapore - MDIS.

Assessment Group/

individual Learning outcomes Grading indicator Min Score Weight Length/

duration Due Professional accreditation

Essay Group 1, 2, 3 Graded N/A 30% 3500 Words 21 Aug 2015 12:00 AM N/A

Assignment 3 requires you to work in teams of three to four people to write an essay on the topic below and to provide individual feedback from each team member regarding the group work process. The feedback is to be included as a separate section in the same document as the essay.

Essay Task (3000 words)

Select three (3) leaders to examine (two from textbook, and the third may be from the text or another leader of your choosing). As a group, research, evaluate and write an essay on the leaders selected (1000 words each) addressing the following questions:

What kind of leader is the individual?

Describe the individual’s leadership style

Describe the individual’s communication style

Is this leader ethical? Why or why not?

Do you respect him or her? Why or why not?

How effective do you consider the leader to be or to have been? Explain why you answered the way you did.

Individual Feedback Task (500 words)

Provide feedback on the group-work process addressing the following questions:

How well did your team work together?

What were the pros and cons of working as a team on this project?

How would the outcome have differed had this been an individual assignment?

How did what you have learned about teams and teamwork shape your understanding of this project?

This assignment will account for 30% of your grade. Unless there are unusual circumstances, all members of the team will receive the same grade.

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

For use with online submission of assignments

Please complete all of the following details and then make this sheet the first page of each file of your assignment – do not send it as a separate document.

Your assignments must be submitted as either Word documents, text documents with .rtf extension or as .pdf documents. If you wish to submit in any other file format please discuss this with your lecturer well before the assignment submission date.

Student Name:	Yoann Gnako, Veerpal Bassi, Chamkaur Chahal & Andreas Arianson
Student ID No.:
Unit Name:	Leading and Managing People
Unit Code:	MNG03217
Tutor’s name:	Dr Brian Morris
Assignment No.:	3
Assignment Title:	3 Great Leaders from the 20th century
Due date:	21 August 2015
Date submitted:	21 August 2015

Declaration:

I have read and understand the Rules Relating to Awards ( Rule 3 Section 18 – Academic Misconduct Including Plagiarism ) as contained in the SCU Policy Library. I understand the penalties that apply for plagiarism and agree to be bound by these rules. The work I am submitting electronically is entirely my own work.

Signed: (please type your name)	Andreas Arianson
Date:	21.08.2015

3 Great Leaders from the 20th century

Introduction

Leadership is a commonly used word, and depending on the context and the environment, the meaning of the word varies. In the corporate world a good leader is one who leads from the front, and motivates people to achieve the best they can, while the meaning changes in the world of politics. While the exact definitions may vary, it’s safe to assume that leaders are people who know how to achieve goals and inspire other people on the way. However, no matter what context/environment the leaders are from, the successful and popular leaders have been people who were ethically sound and had a good relationship with the people they influence. An ethical leader is one that considers positive and negative views, the rights of everyone involved, ensure decisions are made in an ethical manner, and that members are held accountable. The relationship between the leader and followers is that the followers place their faith in the leader’s decisions and choices, and the ethical actions of a leader enhance his or her credibility with the followers.

No one is born a leader but anyone can become one with some efforts. Every individual has different personality types and it can be modified with appropriate knowledge and education. Wise things are a bit hard to be accepted but they can never be denied. We have been studying different leadership skills and qualities, however we all know that positive thinking is the basis of every good thing. The best leadership skill is when someone helps others to enhance their skills.

In the following work, we take a closer look at three ethical leaders who exhibit various leadership styles, have been/are very popular, and have been accepted as great leaders in today’s society. We look at the differences in their personalities and the qualities that have endeared them to their followers around the world.

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

We all have heard the stories of Nelson Mandela and in some ways been inspired by his bravery. From growing up in a royal family on the outskirts of Johannesburg to twenty-seven years of imprisonment at Robben Island and then to become the first black president of South Africa.

Nelson Mandela was a visionary leader (Williams 2013). He always believed that the good in humanity would overcome the bad things in society. He gave the South African people a long-term vision that their lives gave meaning and that every action they did were for a greater purpose; freedom for all (Mandela 1995). Mandela was a truly mindful leader. He was a leader that sent his followers up front in good times to receive praise, and stood firmly in front by himself in bad times (Williams 2013). He was also a great communicator. He had the ability to listen to everyone and to not exclude anyone from a conversation. His message was always strong. He wanted to create a free society for all South Africans (Wainger 2013). He also had consistency in his communication. He said the same things in his speeches before and after his imprisonment (Wainger 2013). He was an honest man; he had no problem with admitting that he was not perfect and had flaws just like the rest. He always reiterated that he was just a normal man and not a saint (Shriberg & Shriberg 2011). He was a charismatic man who always smiled and greeted people with a warm embrace. His language was simple, he used humble words that everybody understood and painted pictures in the minds of his audiences (Wainger 2013).

Shriberg and Shriberg (2011) claim that good leadership is not good until it is ethical. And by that they mean that it is required that a good leader values the truth and always reflects on the ethical implications of any decision they make. Fehr, Yam and Dang (2015) also argue that leadership needs to be ethical, but also includes the morality of leadership. When we then look at Nelson Mandela and his leadership skills, the authors think his actions were both ethical and moral. He always wanted the best for his people and followers. He operated in an ethical way and always with a great moral. Most of us would not be so forgiving and resilient after the treatment he got. Despite his twenty-seven years in prison, he never felt bitterness towards his jailors (Shriberg & Shriberg 2011). The authors think they can honestly say that Nelson Mandela is one of the people that are most respected in the entire world. For a man to first of all have been thrown in jail for twenty-seven years and then to believe that he still would one day change the world is reason enough to respect him. His values, his ability to forgive and reconcile, his tolerance, and his ability to have dignity no matter what, is the main reasons why people respect him. People also appreciate his desire to make the society free for all. He also did a lot of work in increasing awareness about HIV and aids to the world. He lost a son to this decease, and has later named it the curse of Africa. Nelson Mandela is in many ways a genuine good man, a great leader, and a contributor to making the world a better place. He was, and still is, a model example of what a great leader is today. The authors think that every leader should take some time to study his leadership methods, as it would increase their awareness about their own style and what they have to do to become a better leader. Everybody can learn something from Nelson Mandela.

When looking back on the things Nelson Mandela achieved during his life it is fair to say that he made a big impact on world society and probably will continue to do so long after his passing. He became the first black president of South Africa, uniting the blacks and whites. In a country that had apartheid for almost 50 years, and where racial segregation was part of the law (Wikipedia 2015). He managed to turn the focus of his people from hate towards the whites to the system (apartheid) that had turned them against each other (Shriberg & Shriberg 2011). He received The Nobel Peace Price in 1993 for his achievements (The Norwegian Nobel Committee 2015).

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam is also known as Missile Man of India (Somassundari Latha 2011). He was born in middle class family of India on 15 October 1931. He had to work as newspaper agent to survive in his childhood. He believed in living simple life even after becoming the president of the country. He was a scientist by career and his role was influential while India’s nuclear test held in 1998 in Pokhran-2. Both political parties selected him as India’s president and he started his civil services after completing 5 years in central government.

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam was an inspirational and ethical leader as he spent his entire life serving the humanity by education. He dedicated his entire life to teaching and inspiring people to learn as much as they can. He believed that a nation could be developed only when all citizens are educated. Every person should be a fighter who can take wise decision and can follow his or her dreams. He was a visiting professor at many good institutes in India. He has been teaching lot of students from different schools and colleges. He was so humble that students felt different bonding towards him. He has all the qualities that an ethical leader should have. He taught people the lesson of trustworthiness and honesty. He himself is a great example of honesty and integrity. There is an incident to be mentioned here which happened in a school during Dr. Kalam’s visit. A student asked Dr. Kalam that why he didn’t marry his entire life although he was quite famous personality, very talented individual who served on well respected designation of the country as president. Dr. Kalam replied to that student that if he had his own kids from that marriage he couldn’t be sharing so much special bond with many other students. He wanted to spend time by students than making own family.

He used to live a simple life that was never changed with his official designation. He has no personal belongings except few books, a laptop and few more small things. He left no will after his death. He was the only Indian to receive honorary doctorates from 40 universities (Somassundari Latha 2011). Indian government honoured him with many awards like Padma bhushan, Bharat Ratna. He wrote huge number of books and famous ones are ‘India 2020’, ‘Wings of Fire’ and ‘Ignited Minds’. The name of every book by Dr. Kalam shows the real intention of his expectations from youth. He wanted to people serving nation with honesty. His purpose of life was to educate people as much as he could. These all qualities show that Dr. Kalam was an ethical leader in every way.

Dr. Kalam was popular because of his humble nature. He has thanked the security guard on the day of his last speech in shilling (India) where he was died after few minutes. He appreciated and thanked that guard who was standing for that function for long hours. It shows the humbleness he had in his behaviour. His communication was effective and simple. He was used to deliver speeches in different schools, colleges and universities and had shared very close bond with millions of students. His saying has been really famous amongst youth; he strongly believed that internal beauty is important rather than external beauty.

Here are few famous saying of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, ‘Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy success’, ‘if you want to shine like a sun, first burn like sun’, ‘Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough’ ‘Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something which doesn’t let you sleep’.

He has been true inspiration for youth. He was the man of dreams and always encouraged youth to work hard towards their goal (Abdul Kalam & Tiwari 1999). He believed that only hard work could complete your dreams; either wealth or other resources can make it happen. He himself worked very hard to achieve his dream of a better country.

He was called as a people’s president because he paid more attention to others. He stated in his one speech that leadership is not commanding things on others it’s all about inspiring people to do better in their life (The Wall Street Journal 2015). He already motivated youth to put maximum efforts to make their dreams reality. He himself was never afraid of hard work and never worked less after receiving high level of government designation. His daily routine was never changed ever. Dr. Kalam was once asked in an interview that if he feels guilty for creating nuclear power and weapons for county even after being so spiritual but the answer he given was really impressive. Dr. Kalam mentioned that my country’s peace and development comes first and I believe that peace comes from strengths. He also mentioned that strength respects strengths so you need strength to keep the nation strong and peaceful and that is how the weapons and missiles were born.

He is a respected leader, not because of his well-known personality but because of his kind behaviour towards common people. He has been serving his native land since his birth. He could have taken good opportunities from different countries as he was offered. But he didn’t, he followed his dream of transforming India into well-educated and developed country. He always spoke his heart. He was the only one president who didn’t face the opposition during the elections. He did a lot for good will, which cannot be reimbursed in any way. He was one of the best presidents India ever had so far. He is a good example of honesty, humbleness and supportive nature in the society.

Barack Hussein Obama

Commonly known as the first black president of the United States of America. Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and 1st African American president of the USA. His leadership characteristics were shaped at an early age by his highly educated family’s implication, which believe that hard work and education was the key for getting ahead, along with the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others (The White House 2015). The current American president is a very humble individual who, during his inauguration in November 2008 stated that he was an ordinary citizen like everybody else and that the highest leadership position in the country was within everyone’s reach (The White House 2015). On general opinion, He is found to be adopting the transformational leadership style because of his ability to efficiently motivate his followers into accomplishing common goals. He was raised in an environment, which believes that servicing others is a source of blessings, although it is one characteristic that he always carries (Example: He dedicated two years of his life working as a nonprofit community organizer for low income residents in one of the poorest suburb of Chicago). Additionally, Obama being one of the most influential person in our today’s world with solid background (academic, professional) and skills that helped him to become an ideal role model for his followers not only locally but throughout the world. Some argue that his racial difference compared to all of his predecessors, highly contributed in inspiring and giving hope to his followers especially to the minorities, since they are able to relate to one another more efficiently. All of these attributes embodied by the US president clearly demonstrated that he is a transformational leader. In another hand, others think that he also exercises a democratic or participative leadership style. According to the way the American constitution is setup, important decisions have to be discuss and voted by the congress. Even if the president have the ability to issue executive orders on some decisions, the main decision making process mostly involve the inputs of a group of people. Hence on the constitutional viewpoint, Obama and all the other US presidents are submitted to a participative leadership style.

His academic background path along with his previous career as an Editor for Harvard school of Law review and as a civil right lawyer enabled him to acquire outstanding communication skills. He is often compared to President Kennedy for his ability to use effective communication practice to sway and convince people to action. As mentioned in a book called “Say it like Obama: the Power of Speaking with Power and Vision” in which his communication techniques are outlined such as:

· Usage of gestures, body language and voice to establish a positive first impression.

· Effective communication enable to lift barriers by talking about common issues in which everyone can relate in order to gain support from a diverse set of people. 

· Well thought out speech to conquest the mind and the heart of listeners as well as securing their loyalty.

· Express vision excellently, using imagery and words to capture people’s attention.

In Addition to that, mass media communication was one the ultimate technique utilized by the president Obama and his “Yes I can” team to win 2008 election against John McCain (Shriberg &Shriberg 2011).

President Obama has exposed is ethical facet to the whole American community long before while he was still an active US senator, making clear that he will do his best to lead the more openly and transparently (The White House 2015). Nonetheless, before and throughout his presidency terms, he initiated many exceptional actions that qualify him to be Ethical leader such as:

· Introduction of a bill of transparency, which requires the full disclosure of the federal/government spending Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.

· Introduction of policies that included change in tax policies, reform the United States Health care industry to enable to poorest individual to get access to free treatments.

· He ended the war against Iraq and returned the American troops back to their family.

During his speeches, he often states that, as an African American growing up in the USA, he is painfully aware of what is it like to be treated differently. So in fact, he is a strong believer of the principal of treating people equally under the law. In the same sense, a recent ethical controversy aroused throughout the country, when same-sex marriage was legalized. As many religious and cultural oriented people was outraged by the issue. Others on the flip side applauded the president and found it to be an ethical act. When Obama was questioned on the event, one of his statement was: “Looking at the history of countries around the world, when you start treating people differently not because of the harm they are doing to anyone but just because they are different that is the path whereby freedom began to erode”

On top of being the president of one of the most powerful nation in the world, he is well respected among his peers and followers. In some parts of earth especially in the African Continent most people see him as a living legend. For example during his recent visit to Kenya, the home country of his biological father located in East Africa, the day of his arrival was declared as an national day off, which is a strong sign of respect and admiration.

Looking closely to what he has done and all the things he continues to do, President Barack Obama is one of the greatest leader that exist in our current era. His candidacy win will forever altered the way Americans think about race and politics. He is a great inspiration to all the people that stopped believing in equality between all humankind. Therefore, he is a true symbol of hope for many individuals on the planet.

Conclusion

In many ways the three leaders in this essay all show traits of great leadership. They all contributed in great manor to their respective countries and followers. One of the big factors in leadership is the ethical part. They have all shown through their actions that being ethical is what they are. They also share the ability to communicate a message. When they speak up, people listen. Good communication skills are vital for a leader. They all shared a common goal of making their respective countries better. And to a certain extent they managed to do so. They have inspired their people to do better and to follow their dreams. They are widely respected all around the world. Though they came from very different backgrounds, from different nations, they managed to overcome their doubters and become great leaders of their nations. Their names are already frequently mentioned in books and journals, and will probably continue to do so in the future. They have set an example of what leadership should be, and every ambitious leader should take some time to study their leadership skills. It can only make you better and wiser.

Appendix A

This assignment was a group assignment. We were randomly selected into groups of four. I started to communicate through the group discussion board but did not get any response. I then tried to e-mail my group members so we could start planning the work. Only one member replied. We met the following Friday and discussed how we could get hold of the rest of the group. I also talked to others in class who were experiencing the same issue. I then went to the tutor to ask about forming a new group. After he accepted this and our new group were formed, things started to happen. We organized the workload and gave time limits to when the work needed to be done by. I think the group overall worked well together.

The pros of working in a group on this assignment were that we were able to focus on specific task and not the assignment as a whole. We could then concentrate on our “own” task and try to make them perfect. The cons were that it took several weeks to actually form this group. I spent a lot of time doing nothing waiting on response from my mails and posts on the discussion board. A lot of time was wasted in the beginning due to the fact that no one replied me.

I think that the outcome may not necessarily have been better if this was an individual assignment. I base this on the fact that we now have different views and ways to write about this type of text. The outcome is definitely more diverse than it would have been if it were an individual assignment. I would not have spent that much time on waiting if it were an individual assignment. But there is also the possibility that the outcome would be better if this was an individual assignment. But that would just be speculations.

I have learned a lot about teams and teamwork, not just in this unit, but also other units I have done at SCU. I can say that I took on a role as a “leader” of the group. I felt that our group needed someone to guide and lead the way. I also did it to secure that the members were aware of what to do and the time limits they had. I feared that nothing would happen if I did not take on this role. I think that the group appreciated that I took on this role as well. I have had some previous experience with teamwork in my career. I think this benefitted me in this group, as I knew what was coming. When I am part of a team I change my approach to satisfy the other members. I have learned through this unit that I am a logical personality who likes to get things done, and not wait until the last week. I had to change and adapt my process for this assignment.

Andreas Arianson

Appendix B

For the most part the group-work process went by quite smoothly. At the beginning of the group assignment, I have encountered some issues since none of the other members was responding to the emails that I was sending to the group discussion board. After three weeks of unsuccessful attempts, I have written down the name of the group members and approached to the tutor at the end of class to help me locate them. Luckily one of my team members was actually present in class that day so we discussed about the project. But then it was his last time coming to class, so the instructor assigned me to a different group that was also experiencing the same issues. Right after joining my current team, then things started moving forward and teamwork then start making more sense. We started working cooperatively toward the same goal and also more quickly to catch up for the wasted time. Workload was equally divided among all the members, also guidelines and deadlines was set up in order boost everyone performance. Although communication was sometimes slow from some of the members, the team happened to work efficiently with one another.

From working collectively on this project, I was able to distinguish some pros such as:

· Splitting the workload into parts and tasks, allow us to work more quickly

· Ability to share ideas and combine knowledge for better result

· Ability to meet and interact with other students from the course

· Increased my motivation and my involvement toward my task

Even if there were more pros coming out this common project, I have noticed a minor cons which was that:

· Very busy members were unable to check the group emails regularly, which delayed final draft.

For my personal point of view, I believe that if it were an individual assignment I would not have necessarily written the three thousand work in the same timely manner. So the group-work process helps me save time. Additionally, if I was working alone I would have be self-centred in my decision making and probably I have chosen to research about leaders that I was more familiar with; whereas working collectively help me expand my general knowledge.

As I was the last member to join this team I had to compromised with the group guidelines and make sure that I delivered my best performance to meet the group expectation. For this particular project, our ability to share ideas, bring in inputs and communicate efficiently were major factors to successfully achieve our goal. In completion of this project, I have ultimately learned that every team regardless of its size need a leader in order ensure that everyone remains on the right track. Finally, since we were tied to share a same overall score, thus we were equally accountable so I assume all team members had to take on personal responsibility to double check each other work and make sure that the final output met individual satisfaction.

Yoann Gnako

Appendix C

Working in a team or a group is always exciting and full of challenges as well. Everyone has a different way of working and its bit hard to collaborate everyone’s work according to the timeline, but that is how groups work. This was my second time when I work with few people to complete the assignment and this time I really felt relaxed.

If I talk about the pros of this group activity, the thing I liked about our group is that overall task was divided into section on the very first day and everyone was informed about relevant workload. There was clear communication between 3-4 members of group including leader, which helped a lot to complete the given task on time. We have been communicating via email, phone calls and texts time to time. This assignment was bit lengthy and can’t be done by 1 or 2 persons. The assignment tasks are completed because of mutual understanding and strong communication system. It helped me enhance my understanding while working with people with different point of view. I was asked to prepare introduction part of the assignment however it has been done by other team member. We decided to do things according to our interest. I was very much interesting participating more in the task so I requested one team member to swap the tasks and he agreed. We swapped our task after informing group leader, which has been good for both. I am glad that few members worked with good understanding and they tried helping each other to complete it.

Although it’s good that we were able to complete our task on time however it could have been better. There could have been more interaction among team to discuss things about the work. No doubt, we all were interacting whenever was required but SCU group discussion board was not being used much by all group members. 1-2 members didn’t reply to any email and they didn’t participate in any mutual conversation but it went smooth. So for me reaching people and discussing things on time was the kind of cons because it took long time to do so.

After completing the assigned task I am feeling quite confident and now I know more people in my unit than even before. It helped me making friends somehow and enhances the confidence within. I completely enjoyed this work. Few things were learnt as of value of time, respecting people while interacting, fulfilling the responsibility given by leader, managing time to complete task and delivering positive results.

We all worked in supportive environment, as all were available whenever it was required. I have been talking to group leader and few more team members to clear my doubts about the assignment and I always got the support. Group work was easily completed with the help of mates and tutor. There was only one thing which could have been done to make this team task better is to organize at least one face to face meeting somewhere. I understand that we all live far away from each other so we tried connecting through online service as university discussion board, emails and calls. Things were really smooth and there was no workload on any individual as it was divided equally. Overall it was different and positive team task, which I have worked with. Everything went well and task was completed on time, which was the purpose of our group. I really appreciate the work done by my entire group.

Thank you everyone

Veerpal Bassi

Appendix D

The work that we did for this group assignment is very beneficial for me as well as for whole team members also. It is first time when I did work with any other international student as a team member. It is also describable we have to face some problems in beginning. But when we start our work we lean some new method of doing work in groups. For example, to help each other, to communicate by e-mails, messages, phone calls and meetings. As well, we whole team member tried to do our best to complete our individually tasks. It is also describable some of our team member finish their work after beginning some days and other finish it to very close to assignment due date. According to me, the overall work of our team was very respectable. We whole team member followed the rules of teamwork.

Undoubtedly, through this group work I faced both side of coins (pros and cons). First of all, the pros are we whole team members belong to different countries so we learn different way and method of doing work while we are in team because everyone has his own experience. On the other word, this group work creates an international experience at one place and provides knowledge and experience individually. The mainly cons of this work is to depend on each other. We had to ask several questions each other’s. Some time we had to wait for others choice and replies. It was totally wastes the time.

It is depend on work situations. I think teamwork also provide better outcomes in spite of individually. Although, it was teamwork but everyone have different task and responsibility. It is also true, the outcome will be different if it is individually assignment for us because instead of transcribe different experience it would be one-sided assignment. I had work before in a group assignment that was huge different between our team members. Most of them were not any interest to write anything. This type of activity creates negative chances of better outcomes. But in this group assignment we all did strongly focused on our tasks. I hope the outcomes of this group would be better as equate to individual.

Teamwork always provides a different understanding and awareness. Some time we enjoy and found several superiority from teamwork but sometime it create critical situations, which putt negative effect on person’s performance. Through this assignment I also learned some different qualities. As I described before it was my first experience when I did work with whole different international team members. Through the team wok I noticed some unique point of doing work. For example, the methods of explication, experience of complete the task in teams, follow the instruction of team, different culture and complete the tasks with responsibility. The whole tasks I faced on one platform during our work in very short time. It is also positive point of our team we all member was very sincere toward our work. Finally, it was great experience in my life to do this task in work and I adopted some method from this experience.

Chamkaur Singh Chahal