Applying Leadership Skills Real-World Scenario Within U.S. Marine Corps
In an 10-12 page paper, explore the leader within. You will be applying your own leadership skills to a real world scenario within the U.S. Marine Corps. What would you do as a leader based on one of the case studies from the U.S. Marine Corps located at (copy and paste the URL below into the address bar of your search engine - clicking will not work)
(the link info above is in PDF in the handouts in Getting Started>Course Resources) . Leading can be a difficult task. It is hard to know what other leaders are thinking, what is important to them, and how they do it day in and day out.
First: Summarize the case. What were the leadership issues. SWOT it with your words and put your SWOT chart in an appendix after the references (not in the body of your paper).
Second: Now, evaluate your own personal leadership characteristics by taking the following assessment instrument. The survey is designed to provide you with feedback about your level of preference or comfort with leadership characteristics and skills. What are your leadership strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities, threats?
Third: Apply your leadership capabilities to the case. How would your style of leadership fit? Show you can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate.
Fourth: Justify the leadership choices you made in step 3 with the literature. In your analysis and evaluation, note what your strengths are and areas for development. Your leadership paper should synthesize OB theories and concepts learned throughout the term demonstrating your ability to apply to real-world scenarios. You should have strong ties to all chapters of your textbook readings as well as scholarly academic peer-reviewed articles research in the Keiser University online library.
Fifth: Conclude.
Please use as a source: McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2023). Organizational behavior: Emerging knowledge, global reality. McGraw-Hill Education.
Applying Leadership Skills in a Real-World Scenario Within U.S. Marine Corps
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Applying Leadership Skills in a Real-World Scenario Within U.S. Marine Corps
Commandership requires outstanding leadership skills. In particular, numerous leadership lessons can be obtained from the way Major General Oliver P. Smith led the Marine Corps who fought bravely at the Chosin Reservoir between November and December 1950. Major General Smith emphasized teamwork and discipline. He demonstrated that a good leader should be highly adaptable, focused, flexible, a critical thinker, an effective communicator, a problem solver, and a strategic decision-maker. Despite the harsh weather conditions at Chosin Reservoir, Major General Smith protected his soldiers and depicted meticulous decision-making by addressing upcoming challenges. In this case study, the Marine Corps can be compared to a large organization, which had the primary goal of winning the battle. Major General Smith being the leader of the Marine Corps, applied organizational behavior, which entails studying how individuals feel, think, and engage in various activities. He was powerful due to his influence on the Marine Corps. In contrast, soldiers trusted him and obeyed all his strategic moves and decisions, which made them conquer the Chinese Communist divisions. Major General Smith’s wisdom, character, and courage contributed to empowering the Marine Corps at Chosin Reservoir. His moral courage and intellectual power on the battlefield not only shaped the actions of the Marine Corps but also significantly influenced their behaviors in the context of his commandership (Marine Corps University, 2018). The paper summarizes the case study of Major General Smith’s commandership, evaluates the researcher’s leadership characteristics, applies those leadership capabilities to the case, and justifies the choices using relevant organizational behavior concepts.
Summary of the Case and Leadership Issues
Major General Smith led the Marines on the frozen Chosin Reservoir in the winter of 1950. At some point, these soldiers were surrounded, outgunned, and outnumbered in the freezing cold North Korea’s mountains, where temperatures dropped to -40 degrees. However, the Marines avoided being held hostage by the Chinese Communist Forces by disintegrating and re-attacking from different directions. They destroyed seven Chinese divisions (Marine Corps University, 2018). The most significant thing about Major General Smith is that he communicated effectively with the Marine Corps on the battlefield and kept supplying what they needed. For those who were injured, the commander extracted them from the battlefield. Despite the outstanding performance of the Marines at the Chosin Reservoir, several leadership issues were experienced. They include flexibility in making strategic moves under pressure, conflicting priorities, and the lack of clarity in holding specific roles. For instance, the Marines were sometimes outnumbered and outgunned due to inflexibility in deciding how to attack. Besides, during war there is not enough time to discuss things and decisions must be made faster to save the lives of soldiers on the battlefield to avoid more injuries and deaths. Although the Marines have a hierarchical leadership, where roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, it becomes challenging to decide who should take over during war when the chosen leader is injured or killed. Leaders or commanders should balance their priorities, particularly when it comes to meeting deadlines and complying with the set Marine protocols on the battlefield.
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) can be deduced from the case at hand. One of the primary strengths is that Major General Smith and his subordinates were capable and intelligent leaders which enabled them to make proper decisions under high pressure. Since they were committed to winning the battle and saving the lives of their soldiers, they made strategic combat decisions. However, some of the weaknesses include the lack of clarity on individuals who should accomplish specific roles and being too focused on winning the battle might have jeopardized the safety of the Marine Corps on the battlefield. In addition, the disintegration of units in the frozen Chosin Reservoir might have made timely communication more challenging. The opportunities include the Marine Corps learning from their leaders to make proper strategic combat decisions. Moreover, their unity throughout the war might have helped them to outwit their enemies. Notably, the primary threats are the incoordination attributed to various conflicts on the battlefield and the unexpected challenges on the battlefield that are difficult to address within a short period. Major General Smith’s emphasis on discipline and teamwork facilitated the combat effectiveness at the Chosin Reservoir such that these Marine Corps achieved victory in