Leadership and Management of Change

Leadership and Management of Change
MGT71304
Group Assignment
(4,500 to 5,000 words)
(60 percent of total assessment)
The Leadership of Sir Ernest Shackleton
‘We had seen God in His splendours, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached
the naked soul of man.’
Ernest Shackleton – South
“For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me
Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and
pray for Shackleton.”
Sir Raymond Priestly, Antarctic Explorer and Geologist
In 1914, on the eve of the 1st World War, Ernest Shackleton together with 27 men set sail on
the Endurance for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition after a clearance from Sir Winston
Churchill, the Admiral of the British Navy. The primary goal of the expedition was to be the
pioneer to traverse across the continent of Antarctic.
Within a 100 mile of the Antarctic the Endurance was trapped in packed ice – ‘stuck an almond
in a chocolate bar’ in the Weddell Sea. Driven by current and wind, massive plates of ice
crushed the Endurance leaving Shackleton and his men stranded dangerously on the ice floes
in the middle of the sea. Without any equipment, they could not communicate with the
outside world to summon for help.
Thus began the epic journey of Shackleton with his men and their extraordinary feat of
survival. Faced with freezing temperature, constant wetness, hunger, boredom, inhumane
living conditions and threats from the elements, Shackleton had an ominous task to sustain
the morale and the spirit of the team.
Twelve months later; after a 600-mile boat voyage on the James Caird across one of the
roughest seas – the Weddell Sea; Shackleton with five of his men reached South Georgia to
mount a rescue mission. It took four attempts over four months before the Yelcho ‘overcame
their old enemy’ to rescue the remaining men who stranded on Elephant Island. All the men
were rescued. Not a single man was lost.
The greatest contribution to this historical feat was the leadership of Ernest Shackleton. Today
countless books, articles and journals were written to depict this great adventure. One of the
more noteworthy efforts includes Nancy F. Koehn of Harvard Business School’s case study –
Leadership in Crisis – Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance (as attached
in this assignment).
Assignment Questions
You are required to read the attached HBS case study – Leadership in Crisis – Ernest
Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance and prepare a report with the following
questions serving as the guideline.
1. Critically analyse the leadership of Sir Ernest Shackleton from Gary Yukl’s 5 Leadership
Approaches i.e. traits, behavioural, power-influence, situational and integrative
perspective and discuss the effectiveness of Shackleton’s leadership.
(30 marks)
2. Sir Ernest Shackleton is a great example of a Change Leader. What were the challenges
Shackleton faced during the Imperial Trans-Antarctica Expedition and how did
Shackleton lead his men through the life & death challenges?
(30 marks)
3. Define Dr. Christopher Kayes’s concept of ‘Goalodicy.’ Critically compare the
Leadership of Sir Ernest Shackleton vs Rob Hall & Scott Fisher of the 1996 Everest
Tragedy.
(20 marks)
4. Drawing lessons from the above analyses, critically discuss the relevance of
Shackleton’s leadership and management of change approaches to the management
of organisations that is operating in a VUCA business environment. Illustrate your
discussion with specific cases or examples.
(20 marks)
Marking Rubric
TGC Criteria Weight
age Outstanding (9-10) Mastering (7-8) Developing (5-6)
4.3 Interpersonal skills:
Demonstrate
interpersonal emotional
intelligence in a
collaborative environment
to work towards a desired
common goal.
10
Consistently supports a
constructive team climate
through empathy,
cooperation, negotiation, and
social awareness.
Usually supports a
constructive team climate
through empathy,
cooperation, negotiation, and
social awareness.
Occasionally supports a
constructive team
climate through
empathy, cooperation,
negotiation, and social
awareness.
4.4 Leadership:
Demonstrate the abilities
and skills that provide a
foundation for future
leadership roles
20
Leads and empowers group
members towards
consensual solutions which
maximize members’
commitment to and
satisfaction with agreed upon
responses.
Is hesitant but able to lead
and empower group
members in consensual
solutions resulting in group
satisfaction with agreed
responses.
Requires significant
assistance in leading
and empowering group
members in consensual
solutions resulting in
group satisfaction.
5.3 Change management:
Be responsive to
changing surroundings,
recognise the need for
change, and manage
change productively
20
Identifies strategy (related to
processes, tools and
techniques to manage the
people side of change) and
demonstrates in-depth
knowledge of how the
strategies are applied to the
assigned scenario.
Application of strategy is
relevant to the scenario and
supported by logic and
detailed information.
Identifies strategy and
demonstrates proficient
knowledge of how the
strategies are applied to the
assigned scenario.
Application of strategy is
relevant to the scenario and
supported with logic.
Identifies strategy
however demonstrates
basic knowledge of how
to apply strategies to
the assigned scenario.
Application of strategy
is relevant to the
scenario.
5.4 Professional ethics:
Execute ethical reasoning
in the context of research
and/or professional
practice.
10
Independently applies and
assesses ethical
perspectives/concepts to an
ethical question accurately
and is able to consider full
implications of the
application.
Independently applies and
assesses ethical
perspectives/concepts to an
ethical question accurately
but does not consider the
specific implications of the
application.
Applies and assesses
ethical perspectives/
concepts to an ethical
question with support
(using examples, in a
class, in a group, or a
fixed-choice setting) but
is unable to apply
ethical
perspectives/concepts
independently (to a
new example).