Invictus - Path Goal Theory Essay

I have chosen the movie “ Miracle” as an illustration of an individual, Herb Brooks, fulfilling the parameters of Robert House’s Path-Goal Theory .

Pienaar is invited to meet the President and arrives at Government House with trepidation, uncertain of the reason for the meeting. Mandela’s personal style, his warmth, the way he treats everyone around him with great respect and appreciation completely charms Pienaar who leaves with the realization that something very significant has just happened to him. During their brief but meaningful time together Mandela has skillfully Inspired a Shared Vision about the importance and meaning of a Springboks win to South Africa.

6) however, like Gandhi, he encouraged the volunteers not to retaliate. Mandela spent 26 years and 8 months in jail as punishment for his protesting however, he felt that “no sacrifice was too great in the struggle for freedom” (Doc. 9). He spent time in jail with other protesters that all felt that “whatever sentences [they] received, even the death sentence… [their] deaths would not be in vain” (Doc. 9). Freedom for the South African people from apartheid finally came in 1993. To Mandela this was not just the freedom of his people but “the freedom of all people, black and white” (Doc. 12). “South Africa’s New Democracy” rose after years of continuous nonviolence from the populace.

“To deny people their right to human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To impose on them a wretched life of hunger and deprivation is to dehumanize them. But such has been the terrible fate of all black persons in our country under the system of apartheid (“In Nelson Mandela’s own words”). Nelson Mandela was a moral compass symbolizing the struggle against racial oppression. Nelson Mandela emerged from prison after twenty-seven years to lead his country to justice. For twenty-seven years he sat in a cell because he believed in a country without apartheid, a country with freedom and human rights. He fought for a country where all people were equal, treated with respect and given equal opportunity. Nelson Mandela looms large in the

1. Do you feel that the Bearington plant has the right equipment and technology to do the job? Why?

The Springboks were seen as the whites’ team. The blacks hated and rooted against the Springboks, who had fourteen white players and just one black player (30 for 30). They would cheer when the opponents would beat or hurt the Springboks, because in their eyes they saw the people oppressing them being beat. However, Nelson Mandela decided to embrace the Springbok team and use them as an opportunity to bring the nation together. Mandela put on the Springbok hat at a rally in Soweto, endorsed the Springboks, and asked the black South Africans to support them too (Lodge 212). The blacks met the speech with boos, skepticism, and anger. Black South Africans hated rugby, and the Springbok logo was one directly associated with apartheid oppression (Carlin 192). Nelson Mandela was a very calculated political leader, and he understood that the black South Africans would be reluctant of accepting the Springboks. However, he also understood the impact of sports and that an entire nation rooting for their national team would bring the country together. South Africa was a very fragile nation at the time, and if things at the World Cup went wrong, it could have backfired. Mandela’s plan relied on both the whites and blacks

Mandela was imprisoned in South Africa from 1964-82. During the period of his imprisonment his public reputation grew. Upon his release from prison, he was considered the most prominent leader in black South Africa and he was a strong symbol of resistance in the anti-apartheid movement. Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s president in 1994. His main leadership qualities characteristics were his determination, persistence, focus and will.

In this scene, Mandela invites Pienaar who was a white Afrikaner and the Springbok’s captain, to the government house. Pienaar arrived with trepidation uncertain of the reason behind his invitation. Mandela challenges him by asking “how do you inspire your team to do their best and be better than they think they can be?” Pienaar replied by example. “Charismatic leaders have the ability to inspire and motivate people to do more than they would normally do, despite obstacles and personal sacrifice.” (Daft, 2008). Such leaders intense and stimulating persona can aid to ease the pressure among followers. Mandela’s warmth; the way he treated everyone around him with great appreciation and respect mesmerizes Pienaar who leaves the government house

When Francois Pienaar in the movie goes to Mandela’s old prison cell and imagines Nelson Mandela there. Francois Pienaar went to the cell just days before the 1995 World Cup Final. Another thing that happened that was true was in the movie Invictus Nelson Mandela really did invite Francois Pienaar over to have tea. After Nelson Mandela had just been elected president. Francois Pienaar had just been chosen to be the Springbox

There are many different types of leaders and many different types of leadership. The most prominent leaders tend to arise when there is an issue that is causing conflict. This paper will discuss one of the most influential leaders of the time Nelson Mandela. He was a leader in South Africa from 1963 to 1999. This paper will analyze Mandela’s leadership in the four frames of leadership by Bolman and Deal; Structural, Human Resources, Political and Symbolic frames. It will ultimately show how Nelson Mandela’s leadership led to his successes and failures.

Many right-wing extremist were very upset at the prospect of these talks. Constand Viljoen was a former overall commander of the SADF (South African Defense Force). He soon become the leader of a group who called themselves the Volksfront. The Volksfront was a formation of many right-wing groups who had joined together for military purposes. Their main purpose was to not allow the majority (blacks) to be able to vote. These Afrikaners had been taught their whole lives that black people did not have the same rights as whites and had grown up in an apartheid society. One day they decided to show their military prowess and marched to the World Trade Center. Unsure of what to do the riot police (mostly Afrikaners) allowed the extremist into the building. No shots were fired, but Viljoen had shown that he had forces ready to act. Mandela was very troubled when he heard the account of that day and immediately requested a meeting with Viljoen. Once again Mandela used his overwhelming presence and quelled the concerns Viljoen and people like him had of the increasing likelihood of an ANC majority in parliament. After multiple meetings with Viljoen, the only attacks that occurred did not include the entire Volksfront. Mandela was proving that he could impress even the people who despised him the most, but he would later learn that was not enough to unite a country.

The distrust that the white people had towards Nelson Mandela made a twist when he went directly to the important symbol of them, the rugby. All he learned about the other culture was while he spent time in prison, the strategies that he used to make a better country all came to him with the time, and with the 27 years that he had to think while he was alone in his cell.

Nelson Mandela was an exceptional leader, as President he took South Africa to somewhere it had never been. He valued his time as President, because he knew his time was limited; often working days without a break. Each step of the way he took risks for the good of the people. When told he was ‘risking his political capital and his future as a leader’, he replied, “The day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead.”

Imagine being systematically oppressed from the moment you exited the womb. All your civil rights, based on the amount of melanin in your skin. Drinking from the wrong water fountain, could even get you thrown into jail. Coincidently; this was the life, of black South Africans from the moment of Dutch colonization in 1652, to the first true democratic election in 1994. Apartheid, meaning “separateness” in Afrikaans; was legal segregation enforced by The National Party (NP) from 1948 to 1994. It legally imposed preexisting policies of racial discrimination on the Majority of the South African population. The entire basis of the racist policies, was the darker your complexion the less legal rights you had. Presumably this injustice, could have continued much longer if it weren’t for all involved in the fight against the NP, however the man who arguably contributed the most, was Nelson Mandela. He ended an apartheid, with both his philanthropy and political prowess. He united a nation that used to be segregated; which seemed a daunting task at the time, but through the sweat and bloodshed he achieved the impossible. This alone exhibited his heroic characteristics, but to be more precise: both his actions and inactions lead to his success. Furthermore, Mandela was both a strong leader and forgiving at the same-time. Being in the forefront of the abolishment movement, was an extremely risky move during the apartheid. He risked his life for what he believed in, and this personal

This journal article on the path-goal approach theory is a study that carefully examines the rapport and connection amongst leaders and followers job expectancies. This model designed by House (1974) addresses the directive, supportive, participative and achievement –oriented components of leadership and subordinates. Additionally, it studies the conduct and character of leaders while investigating situational contingences that transform those behaviors. Therefore, the leader’s role in this model is to ensure that they provide guidance and support while demonstrating behavior that is motivational by inspiring followers to work diligently to achieve organizational goals that were carefully outlined to facilitate success. Hence, the purpose of this study was to test the validity of the path-goal theory with reference to expectancy theory. Conversely, it revealed that cellular companies gives adequate powers to its managers to offer incentives to individuals performing at high levels. However, a weaker relationship between the leader conduct and the followers’ job expectancy was the outcome. One exception noted was that of supportive leader behavior which was revealed at the conclusion of the study. Subsequently, the behavior of the leader had a tremendous impact on outcome. Leaders must assist subordinates throughout the path by eliminating road blocks along the way. The primary function of the leader in this research was to motivate subordinates and increase payoffs