Assignment 3
Assignment 3
Case Studies – The USS Florida and The Boy, The Girl, The Ferryboat Captain and The
Hermits
Pim Janssens - 0573037
Analyze Alfonso’s impact on the crew in terms of love versus fear. What might account
for the fact that he behaved so strongly as captain of the USS Florida?
Since Alfonso had many anger-issues according to the case, it is obvious that he is leading
with fear instead of love. This is a very traditional approach which is often used when the
organizational success depends on people following orders. It can be a very powerful
motivator, but people often do not perform to their real capabilities (Daft, 2018). This, since
workers can fear failure, judgement, or in this case even the boss.
In this case, it becomes clear that leading with fear creates avoidance behavior (Daft,
2018). People were not telling Alfonso if something was wrong, since they feared the possible
consequences. They wanted to avoid telling him things since they were afraid of the possible
decisions Alfonso would take. On the other side, a nuclear submarine needs discipline and
good performance. The approach of Alfonso worked well since the certification grades were
high under his leadership. But at the same time, his crew feared him and did not want to tell
him what was going on. I think it is a bad thing if you fear your boss and you do not want to
share everything with him. It creates groups within a crew which is not good for the team
spirit. Bringing love, on the other side, binds people for a shared purpose through positive
forces. If he would have led with love, the team spirit was more likely to be better, which
caused the crew to be open towards each other. It attracts people to take risks, grow and move
the organization forward (Daft, 2018). Instead of motivation based on the fear of losing a job,
people will be motivated based on feeling valued in the job. Because Alfonso is taking
excessive control and he blames and attacks his crew in public, which is not usual in the
submarine according to their codes, his crew is feeling suppressed and they are afraid to make
mistakes. They were physically and mentally beaten by Alfonso.
Which do you think a leader should be more concerned about aboard a nuclear
submarine—high certification grades or high-quality interpersonal relationships? Do
you agree with Admiral Sullivan’s decision to fire Alfonso? Discuss.
First, let it be clear that it is important for a nuclear submarine that their certification grades
are high. But I think it should not come at cost of interpersonal relationships. When looking in
the short run, Alfonso’s approach of leading with fear seems to be effective. Anyway, we see
that crewmembers are already complaining about him and do not tell him everything that is
going on. In the long run, this will cause many problems and will also be likely to lead to a
decrease in performance. That said, I think that Alfonso should definitely pay more attention
to high-quality interpersonal relationships than he does now. Especially in the nuclear
submarine, there must be trust between crewmembers and their commander. Trust and
teamwork are necessary to achieve a shared purpose. A captain needs to rely on his
crewmembers and the other way around. This feeling is missing right now. Crewmembers do
not trust their captain and do not tell everything, where transparency and openness are
important in a work environment like the submarine. Crewmembers will be motivated based
on feeling valued in the job instead of fear of losing the job. I think that good interpersonal
relationships automatically lead to high certification grades since trust and harmony within
the crew will bind people and attracts them to grow, take risks and move the organization
forward (Daft, 2018). Although there needs to be high discipline in the submarine, I think
Alfonso had to find the right balance between them. Instead of attacking his crewmembers in
public, he could also take them apart and try to understand them. Next to being strict, it is also
important you acknowledge the greatness of your crewmembers and tell them the truth with
compassion. Emotions are contagious and influence performance (Daft, 2018).
List in order the characters in this story that you like, from most to least. What values
governed your choices?
1. The Second Hermit. I listed him first since he is caring, trustworthy and very helpful.
He put service before self-interest and focuses on others. These are characteristics of a
servant leader, where the leader transcends self-interest to serve the needs of others,
help others grow, and provide opportunities for others to gain materially and
emotionally (Daft, 2018).
2. The First Hermit. He acts as a facilitator instead of a decision-maker. He gives good
advice and wants to act neutral. It is a personal thing and I understand why he says he
cannot decide for her. But instead of making the decision, he still helps her by giving
some advice on what she can do to make the right decision.
3. The Girl. She is putting a lot of effort into trying to see the boy again. She is a real
risk-taker in this case. Furthermore, she is being honest from the start, she could also
have lied to the boy, but she told the truth immediately. Perhaps her actions were a bit
naive, but she meant to do the good thing and is a trustworthy person.
4. The Boy. He is really self-centered and not open-minded at all. He diminishes the
girl’s dignity and is unwilling to give in or to help. He pushes her away and left her,
without letting her explain anything to him. I think this is pretty egoistic since he does
realize why the girl did it and he does not want to listen to her. When relating it to the
theory, I would say he is an authoritative leader, since he acts like he wants to control
her and acts very egoistic by not thinking or caring about others.
5. The Ferryboat Captain. I put the Ferryboat Captain last because he is self-serving and
profit conscious. Where the Second Hermit helped the girl and puts service before
self-interest, the Ferryboat Captain did want something in return, which in the end
resulted in the Boy dumping the Girl. The girl did not know that beforehand, since she
was being a bit naïve, but the Ferryboat Captain did probably know the consequences,
but he was just only thinking of getting something in return.
When rating the characters in the case study on their level of moral development, I would
do it as follows:
1. The Second Hermit. As discussed above, the second hermit puts service before self-
interest and focuses on others. When looking at the different levels of moral personal
development, he would be in the last stage: postconventional. He acts independently
and ethically and he wants to help out. He says helping people pleases him, so for him,
this is the right balance between self-interest and concern for others.
2. The First Hermit. Also, the first hermit would be at the postconventional level. He is a
bit less helpful than the Second Hermit, but he still wants to give advice which could
make the decision easier for her. He does not want to decide for her, since he thinks it
is a personal thing. This can be seen as his self-interest because he does not want the
blame if the decision turns out to be wrong. But still, he has concern for her and tries
to help her out as good as possible.
3. The Girl. She wants to do what is just and right. Although she is asking advice, in the
end, she chooses an independent person. I would place her in the third level of
postconventional, or just in a transition from conventional to postconventional.
4. The Boy. He is upholding the law since he has a strong principle and he sticks to it.
This is typical for the second level of personal moral development, the conventional
level. If the rules are, for example, to not cheat, a person at this level will attempt to
obey. People at the conventional level adhere to the norms of the larger social system
(Daft, 2018). In this case, I assume that the Boy finds the girl is cheating on him. Since
this wrong according to the norms and his principles, he pushes her away.
5. The Ferryboat Captain. I placed him last since I think he is still at the preconventional
level. He acts egocentric and is concerned with receiving external rewards. He does
not really want to help and is more focused on himself than he has concern for others.
In this level, people obey authority and follow rules to avoid detrimental personal
consequences or satisfy immediate self- interests (Daft, 2018). The focus is on taking
what one can get, which is in this case the focus of the Ferryboat Captain as well.
Before I will evaluate each character’s level of courage, I will rank them:
1. The Girl. It is clear that the girl is acting beyond her comfort zone since she is asking
other people for advice on what to do with the situations related to the Ferryboat
Captain and the Boy. She hesitates what to do, but in the end, she follows her feelings
and tries to do what she thinks is just and right. She is asking for what she wants, but
more importantly, she says what she thinks. Without any hesitation, she explains the
situation to the boy, and she tells the truth. Furthermore, she is fighting for what she
believes in, which for her is love for the boy. She does everything to see him one last
time before he leaves.
2. The Second Hermit. He fights for what he believes in. He thinks it is important to help
other people and that gives him satisfaction. What he does, begging for money for the
girl without wanting something in return, takes courage and kindness. It also refers to
nonconformity, which is linked to courage as well. This, since the established idea is
that if you do something for someone, you will get something in return. If you work
for your boss, for example, you expect him to pay you. The Second Hermit waives all
this.
3. The Boy. Although the boy is self-centered, he also fights for what he believes in. He
has strong principles which he wants to maintain. Since he was in love with the girl, it
is a hard and tough decision to make to push her away. I know for sure he wanted to
end it differently, but he just fights for what he believes in and he does what is just and
right for him. He just says what he thinks, which is part of courage.
4. The First Hermit. The level of courage of the First Hermit is not that high, compared
to the others. He does not say what he thinks, since he finds that it is not his decision
to make. I am sure he has his thoughts about it, but he does not want to share them and
just gives advice. He is just playing safe and does not want to do anything wrong.
5. The Ferryboat Captain. In the last place, we have the Ferryboat Captain again. He
sticks to the established ideas and rules, which say you should get something in return
if you give something. He has no room for nonconformity, and he wants the girl, who
has no money, to pay him in any way possible. He is not pushing beyond his comfort
zone and sticks to his normal behavior, which makes his level of courage not that high.
The only thing I can give him is that he says what he wants. But in this case, I do not
think that requires a lot of courage since it is a thing he is always doing.
References
Burkus, D. (2020). Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation at Work. Retrieved September 11th 2020
from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/creative-leadership/202004/extrinsic-vs-
intrinsic-motivation-work