Shackleton's Endurance

An example of person vs person conflict is from “Shipwreck At The Bottom Of The World”. Shackleton’s crew is made out of 28 people, he was able to lead 28 of them and survive despite being stuck for 1 year on Antarctica. How he did it was because he observed his his crews, and treated them equally like taking turns on tents even if the other crew member position is higher. When one crew member McNeish refuses to follow his orders anymore Shackleton handled the situation calmly, he didn't yell or force him to follow him.

that are relevant to the practice of management. They describe two contrasting models of workforce

A. Bad evaluation of circumstances and stubbornness instead of perseverance. Shackleton was ready to depart to Antarctica however; just when he was at South Georgia, local seamen warned him that he might get trapped and advised him to wait until next year. At this point he had the opportunity to make a decision and wait, but due to the compromises reached with his sponsors and the conditions in Britain getting in WWI he took a risk to go forth and as a result, underestimate the situation. This I can consider to be the main crisis.

He notes that the crew seemed relieved by the departing Commander and realized that he must come up with a new leadership model to reach his crew. As he noted in the introduction that high percentage of turnover among crew bothered him and he notes some trends in society that contribute to this problem. The long economic boom had made most people unafraid of losing their jobs, or finding new ones. Thus he believed it manager’s challenge to retain them by motivating them to “work with passion, energy, and enthusiasm.” (p.12) By reading over the exit surveys he assumed as many that low pay was a main reason for people leaving, but was shocked when it was in fact 5th. The top four are strikingly similar to the slide we studied in class on “What Associates Want from Their Job” in wanting appreciation, ability to make impact, not being listened to, and more responsibility. This helped him understand his crew better and try to “see the ship through the eyes of the crew.” (p.13) He encouraged his crew to challenge the way in which they carried out their jobs by asking, “Is there a better way to do what you do?” If so, then he wanted them to take the responsibility one their own to implement the change, unless it involved major implications.

(STATE THESIS) When it comes to the leading their respective teams, Ernest Shackleton and Reinhard Heydrich’s approaches to leadership could not be more contradictory. This is not to say that their differences make either of them a good or misleader. Each individual demonstrated qualities that would classify him in either category. However, it is ultimately the intentions of the leader and the presence of or complete disregard for humanity that categorizes each man where he falls.

For an exemplary leader, what is one of the highest compliments that you could ever receive? Sir Ernest Shackleton was a British explorer who–after failing to reach the Southern Pole first–wanted to be the first to ever accomplish a trans–Antarctic expedition. On October 27th, 1915 Shackleton’s boat–the Endurance–was crushed by the pressure of the melting Antarctic ice; leaving Shackleton and his crew stranded in the Antarctic. On August 30th, 1916 after a treacherous one and a half years of living in the Antarctic and surrounding islands, Shackleton and his crew were rescued following an unimaginable story of survival. The qualities of leadership Shackleton exhibited that resulted in the survival of him and his crew were, having certain

As humans, we have experienced sad and happy times, but when trials come, we often feel depressed and hopeless. The men on the Endurance faced starvation, extreme cold, tests of patience, sorrow, and the battle for courage and hope. Though they had many trials; they would not let them choke the moral. Instead of showing anxiety and fear, they chose to show a face that could encourage one another. They used the positivity, which in their case was cheerfulness and laughter, which was almost always present through their journeys. For Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew, the lively atmosphere had made all the difference in their expedition. It had helped them not to have anxiety for the future that they may have to face while they would be on the ice, helped them to see hope through the fog of their weakness, and gave them sanity during the darkest time of their trapped situation.

Ernest Shackleton's leadership was very unorthodox for the time because he treated everyone as an equal and he hand selected the people of his crew by what seems like their differences. “He assigned several potential troublemakers to his own tent on the ice, proving the value of the saying, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”” (Kohen 2) Shackleton always worked right next to his men which also gained the respect of his crew because that is normally unheard of.

Ernest was known as an explorer and he was honored with Knighthood. He wanted to be the first to reach the South Pole, but R. Amundsen conquered it before Shackleton; in spite of two prior attempts. He was confident in his abilities but was unsettled in many aspects of life. He was always looking for a better or faster way of doing things. He controlled his moods and emotion even during his most difficult times of the Endurance Expedition. Not much has been said about his humility, but he didn’t like to be wrong nor be questioned on decisions he made. This trait kept order and prevented a mutiny but as leader one needs be humble and willing to show their weaknesses. On the Endurance Journey, there was an occasion that he didn’t sleep for days nor change clothes for over a week. He was stressed, but would never openly admit it to his men. Shackleton’s emotional intelligence would have be one of his strongest traits

The topic of this leadership case study is Ernest Shackleton. This paper will identify the development of Shackleton's leadership skills, provide examples and reflections of his abilities, and relate how he played an essential role in one of history's greatest survival stories. This study of Shackleton's leadership is set loosely within the framework of the five practices of exemplary leadership set forth in The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, and will focus on the benefits produced by his management of team morale and unity (13).

The topic of leadership evokes curiosity about our leaders and their approaches in decision making, leadership styles and the effectiveness of their leadership. At time leaders are critiqued for their actions or views on different business affairs. In today’s working environment leaders set the tone, vision, and goals of any organization. Leadership has a huge impact on the culture of an organization and how people communicate within the organization (Northouse, 2009). The actions of leaders should inspire and positively impact their followers. The approach of leaders in handling adversities highlights many features of their character.

1. Ernest Shackleton, acting as captain of the Endurance, demonstrated incredible leadership. There were several elements. The first is that he provided inspiration, even during difficult times. The crew faced numerous challenges while it was trapped in the ice, and on Elephant Island. During these challenges, Shackleton was able to provide inspirational leadership that kept the spirits of the crew member up. This was important, because negative morale in a life or death situation usually means death. So Shackleton's ability to provide positive morale was critical to the survival of him and his crew.

What parallels do you see between Shackleton and other entrepreneurs or leaders whom you have studied? What were Shackleton’s strengths and weaknesses?

Employees are not encouraged to take risks and rewarded for following rules. This is suitable for a stable environment that is hard to find in these modern days. It is visible that Quinlan’s culture was bureaucratic. In particular Quinlan had: a) Properly defined rules and procedures to function in a predictable and routine manner b) Roles were clearly defined and labour was divided based on these roles c)

Taylorism is a management system which was popular in the late 19th century. It was designed to increase efficiency by breaking down and specialising repetitive tasks. This is exhibited as mentioned in ‘Selection and Development: A new perspective on some old problems’ that several jobs presently no longer consist of clusters of similar tasks, but are now process based collections of activities (Harrington, Hill & Linley 2005). According to Weber’s foundation of organisation theory; bureaucracy was portrayed as an “instrument or tool of unrivalled technical superiority which entailed charismatic, traditional and rational authority” (1978, cited in Clegg 1994). Thereafter, other theories derived based on the instrument being used as a form of manipulation. This is evident in Knights & Roberts’ (1982) concept of human resource management and staff misunderstanding the nature of power, treating it as if it were an individual possession, as opposed to a relationship between people (Knights & Roberts 1982). Subsequently, this led to the establishment of unions and increasing cooperative resistance in the workplace as employees seek change in the occupational structure (Courpasson & Clegg 2012). The change in this occupational structure was based around the ‘superior-inferior’ concept where managers prioritise their own success