0% found this document useful (0 votes)
1K views6 pages

Assignment 3

1) The document analyzes Commander Alfonso's leadership of the USS Florida crew in terms of emotional intelligence. It finds that Alfonso lacks self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship management skills, though he has some ability in self-management. 2) It advises Alfonso that interpersonal relationships are more important than grades alone on a submarine, where trust between crew members is essential. Leading with fear long-term can damage performance and safety. 3) The analysis recommends Alfonso work on understanding his own emotions and limitations, as well as those of his crew. He needs to build positive relationships through empathy, compassion, and kindness rather than public criticism and anger.

Uploaded by

Pim Janssens
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
1K views6 pages

Assignment 3

1) The document analyzes Commander Alfonso's leadership of the USS Florida crew in terms of emotional intelligence. It finds that Alfonso lacks self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship management skills, though he has some ability in self-management. 2) It advises Alfonso that interpersonal relationships are more important than grades alone on a submarine, where trust between crew members is essential. Leading with fear long-term can damage performance and safety. 3) The analysis recommends Alfonso work on understanding his own emotions and limitations, as well as those of his crew. He needs to build positive relationships through empathy, compassion, and kindness rather than public criticism and anger.

Uploaded by

Pim Janssens
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

MGT-525-BN Assignment 3

Case Studies – The USS Florida and The Boy, The Girl, The Ferryboat Captain and The
Hermits
Pim Janssens - 0573037

The USS Florida

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.

This can be an example of extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is any reason we


do the work other than the joy of doing the work itself (Burkus, 2020). You are motivated
because of the result since you may get fired if the results are not good. You are not motivated
because you love the work or the crew, but because you want to keep your job. In this case,
people are not happy with their boss and they fear him, but they still perform well because
they want to keep their job, and in submarine, more importantly, their pride.

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).

Discuss Commander Alfonso’s level of emotional intelligence in terms of the four


components listed in the chapter. What advice would you give him?
Emotional intelligence is a person’s abilities to perceive, identify, understand, and
successfully manage emotions in self and others (Daft, 2018). There are four components of
emotional intelligence: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship
management.

Firstly, I want to discuss the component self-awareness. Self-awareness is the ability


to recognize and understand your own emotions and how they affect your life and work (Daft,
2018). This component is about the ability to accurately assess your own strengths and
limitations, along with having self-confidence. I do not think Alfonso is lacking any
confidence. He is sure his approach is good, and he also does not see the reason why he is
being replaced. The performance of his crew under his leadership is good, which makes him
think he did the job flawlessly. The thing is, that his crew feared him and thought he did not
have control of his anger. When looking at his anger-issues, he possibly cannot assess his own
strengths and limitations very well. He thinks he did the job perfectly, while is crew thinks
differently. Since he is not able to assess his limitations, it makes me think he does not
understand his emotions very well. So, his self-awareness is not optimal. On the one hand, he
is self-confident, but on the other hand, he does not have an accurate self-assessment and does
not see what he is doing wrong.

Secondly, we have social awareness. Instead of understanding your own emotions,


social awareness relates to one’s ability to understand others (Daft, 2018). Social aware
leaders show empathy. Without empathy, you can’t build a team and you will not inspire
followers or elicit loyalty (Gourguechon, 2017). You need to be able to recognize and serve
the needs of employees. When looking at Alfonso, it is clear he does not understand the
emotions of his crew. His crew does not share everything with him, since they fear him as a
leader. I have the feeling he does not know that this is going on, which means he does not
understand the emotions of his crew and how they think of him as a leader. They feel
mentally beaten, where a socially aware leader would have made his crew feel good and
heard. He does not know how far he can push them and where the limits are. Every
crewmember has a different personality, which means every crew member needs another
approach to perform at his or her best. We can conclude that Alfonso is not socially aware,
which also resulted in him being replaced as a leader.
Thirdly, there is a component called self-management. Simply explained, this is the
ability to control your unproductive, harmful emotions and desires. There are different
characteristics when it comes to self-management. Self-management for example includes
emotional self-control. Since the crewmembers often talked about Alfonso’s anger issues
about small things like not having a fork with dinner, we can conclude he scores poorly at
emotional self-control. Another characteristic in this category is conscientiousness, which
means managing and honoring your responsibilities (Daft, 2018). Since he is very oriented on
achievement and he asks everyone, including himself, to take responsibility and show
discipline, I think he is doing pretty good at this. Although his crewmembers fear him and
want to see things be done differently, he is managing to get the job done and takes
responsibility to achieve the goals. In this component, I would say he scores average. His
emotional self-control is poor, but he manages responsibilities, is initiative and achievement-
oriented.

Lastly, I will discuss the component of relationship management. This component


refers to the ability to connect with others and build positive relationships. Leaders who score
high on emotional intelligence are aware of the impact their behaviors have on others, and
they treat people with compassion and kindness (Daft, 2018). As discussed above, the
crewmembers did not like Alfonso’s personality and his anger-issues. Therefore, we can
conclude that Alfonso is not scoring high on this component of emotional intelligence. He did
not share much with others, blamed and attacked his crewmembers publicly (which is against
the codes of the submarine) and definitely did not build positive relationships.
The USS Florida and The Boy, The Girl, The Ferryboat Captain and The Hermits

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.

Rate the characters on their level of moral development. Explain.


Moral leadership is distinguishing right from wrong and doing right. As a moral leader, you
will seek the just, honest and good in the practice of leadership (Daft, 2018). When it comes
to moral development, there are three levels:
1. Preconventional. In this level, a person follows rules to avoid punishment and he or
she acts in own interest (Daft, 2018).
2. Conventional. Here, someone lives up to the expectations of others and fulfils duties
and obligations of the social system (Daft, 2018).
3. Postconventional. In the last level of moral personal development, a person follows
internalized universal principles of justice and right. There is a good balance between
self-concern and concern for others and the greater good (Daft, 2018).

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.

Evaluate each character’s level of courage. Discuss.


Courage is the mental and moral strength to engage in, persevere through, and withstand
danger, difficulty, or fear. It means accepting responsibility, pushing beyond your comfort
zone and saying what you think and want (Daft, 2018).

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

Daft, R. L. (2018). The Leadership experience. New York: Cengage learning.

Gourguechon, P. (2017). Empathy Is An Essential Leadership Skill -- And There's Nothing


Soft About It. Retrieved September 11th 2020 from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/prudygourguechon/2017/12/26/empathy-is-an-essential-
leadership-skill-and-theres-nothing-soft-about-it/#69d267e72b9d.

You might also like