Organisational Change and Leadership: Lessons from Shackleton's Leadership Style

This report explores the leadership style of Ernest Shackleton and its relevance to contemporary business organizations facing crisis. It discusses the impact of AI on organizations, challenges of managing remote work practices, and contemporary management practices with context to AI and technology. It also provides recommendations for enhancing performance and value of the chosen organization, with a focus on the supermarket chain Tesco.

Organisational change and
leadership

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Characterizing Shackleton's leadership style and the important lessons that can be learned in
the context of contemporary business organizations in a crisis...................................................3
Recommendations for enhancing performance and value of the chosen organization................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
The biggest challenge of leading in turbulence is being able to play the role of leadership
in the finest way and drive the subordinates to play to their strongest suits as well. The current
report explains characteristics of Ernest Shackleton's leadership style and understand the
important lessons that can be learned in context of the present business organization facing crisis.
It critically analyses and evaluate an organizational situation by drawing on different schools of
leadership. The report contains learning outcomes from Shackleton's leadership style and
recommendations for improving performance and enhancing value of the organization and
improving leadership strategies to rise from challenging situations.
MAIN BODY
Characterizing Shackleton's leadership style and the important lessons that can be learned in the
context of contemporary business organizations in a crisis.
Ernest Shackleton is a well- known Irish voyager of the early 21st century. He is best
known for his epic voyage of the “Endurance”. This was the incident after which he was started
to be idolized as a great leader. The Endurance expedition started on January 18, 1915 as Sir
Ernest Shackleton as the commanding leader exploring the icy waters off the coast of Antarctica.
Unfortunately the mission ended with destruction of the Endurance in glaciers of Antarctica
(Sousa and Rocha, 2019). I was the leadership and endurance of Sir Ernest Shackleton that saved
the lives of the men on the ship in that dangerous encounter.
Shackleton was a great leader. He had a great improvisation skill and would never give
up in any situation. He was never afraid to go against the rules if they were not satisfactory for
him and unfavourable for the teammates. Shackleton would never ask his teammates to do
anything that he would not do himself (Al-Malki and Juan, 2018). He had a strong leadership
characteristic. Shackleton was a leader whose goal was to serve rather than only focussing on the
initial goals. He would prioritize the interests and needs of employees first and help them
develop and perform as good as possible.
Impact of AI on organizations
The philosophy of Shackleton to manage the tough situations is useful for the
contemporary organizations in order to gain better competitive advantage in the industry. The
leadership style of Shackleton explains that despite many problems and issues in the business
environment a leader should always motivate and help their employees. It is always beneficial

for businesses to increase their productivity with the help of several approaches and ideas that
helps a business to achieve their organizational goals and remain profitable in the market (Rowe
and Macauley, 2018). The organizations in the current business environment may find issues to
operate in the time of crisis. The difficult situations may impose pressure on the contemporary
business organizations to successfully operate in the business environment and improve their
services. There are several important lessons that can be learned by business from the leadership
style of Shackleton which can be useful for them to increase their success and have a better
competitive advantage in the industry. The consistent efforts of the leaders towards the
development and motivation of their employees is one such example that can have a positive
impact on the business organization. These businesses may apply new and appropriate
frameworks such as use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which can be helpful in enhancing the
productivity of the activities that are conducted by the business organization.
AI provides a new approach towards conducting business practices and monitoring the
performance which has a positive impact on the overall business. It is helpful in reducing human
errors and providing the organizations with a better framework to increase their effectiveness in
the current market they are operating in. It helps in providing better customer service to the
consumers and improve their knowledge about the different activities that are provided by the
business. The companies can protect and manage their crucial data with the help of automation
system and different tools that are designed in order to monitor the performance and analyse the
effectiveness of the business (Atasoy, 2020). With the help of these tools and techniques the
contemporary business environment can be benefited and the organizations can improve their
current sustainability in the industry. This learning is crucial for these organizations in order to
coordinate with the evolving digital business environment which requires the use of such tools
and techniques in order to gain the maximum quality of output in the industry.
Challenges of managing remote work practices
The modern business environment has developed several changes which are different
from the traditional methods of conducting the business practices. Remote work has become
highly popular in the current scenario where the employees are encouraged to work from their
respective homes. It has a positive impact in increasing their productivity and achieve higher
quality of results in the difficult times such as Covid-19, recession etc. It is difficult for the
businesses to manage their expenses under these times, where remote work practices are

beneficial for improving their overall productivity. There are yet certain challenges that are faced
by the business to successfully apply the remote work in their organization and manage their
work appropriately. The face to face supervision of the employees may not be possible in the
remote work which can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of these businesses. It is
difficult to evaluate their contributions towards their work and can have a serious influence on
their performance towards the organizational goals. Low productivity of the employees is a big
challenge that has a major issue for remote workers as some employees might not be able to cope
up with the remote work environment (Burnes, Hughes, and By, 2018). It can have a negative
impact on the overall ability of employees to achieve their desired results and gain a better
market image in the business. Lack of communication is another such challenge that act as a
barrier for the businesses to operate properly. It may reduce the team working abilities of the
employees which is inappropriate to achieve better results in the market.
The face to face engagement with the employees is not easily accessible in the remote
working setup that may have certain issues for the business to properly conduct their business
practices. Team communication is a highly required attribute for the business to manage their
daily activities appropriately. These challenges may be managed by the business in order to
enhance their organizational framework and develop better strategies that are fruitful for creating
a better impact on the business. The organizations may prepare effective strategies for increasing
their productivity in the business environment and gain better advantage in the industry. It may
be beneficial for the employees to adapt the remote working conditions and make effective
changes in their current approach towards achieving their personal and professional goals.
Contemporary management practice with context to AI and technology
Contemporary management practices are planning, organizing, controlling the operations
in order to achieve organizational aims and objectives. The control of different resources,
processes and innovations in the organizations is considered as integral part of the contemporary
management process. Various technological tools and techniques may be used by the businesses
in order to improve their performance in the industry. The use of technology and AI is an
effective for the businesses in the advanced era in order to enhance their organizational
framework and develop better practices. These advancements in the technology is crucial for
organizations in the current scenario in order to stay sustainable and relevant in the future. These
tools and techniques helps in simplifying the procedure of these companies which is highly

beneficial in order to receive the maximum output from the different sources that are beneficial
for the businesses to grow. It is a crucial aspect of the business practice in order to make the
required changes in their current approach with the help of the AI and technological aspects in
their organization (Cummings and et.al., 2018). It can improve the performance of the businesses
to gain better competitive advantage in the industry and increase their chances of achieving
better quality of output. These changes in the organizations are useful in order to experience
effective changes in the business and compete in the dynamic business environment.
Recommendations for enhancing performance and value of the chosen organization
Tesco is a popular supermarket chain in the UK which has a wide network in the region
and offers various products and services to their customers. It is operating from a long period and
has a significant market share in the industry. The organization provides general merchandise
and groceries to the customers and has a crucial experience of providing these services to the
customers (MacKillop, 2018). There are different leadership styles that can help the business to
motivate their employees and gain their trust towards the business practices. Democratic
leadership style is adopted by the business in order to increaser the engagement of these
employees and improve their interest in the decision making process of the business.
This leadership style is considered as one of the most suitable approaches to lead the
employees and improve their satisfaction levels. The democratic leadership style focuses on the
different suggestions and inputs that are provided by the employees that can be helpful in
achieving organizational goals. This activity can be useful for the personal and professional
development of employees and help in producing better quality of output in the industry (Doyle
and Brady, 2018). There might be certain miscommunication between the management and the
employees due to availability of lot of feedbacks and suggestions. It is inappropriate for the
business to operate under such situations where there is confusion in managing the business
activities and increasing their overall productivity in the business environment. The
unavailability of appropriate skills with the staff members may lead to irrelevant suggestions by
them, which can have a negative impact on the business.
Leadership which is needed to effect the changes
A suitable leadership style such as the transformational leadership is crucial for Tesco to
improve the skills of their employees. Under this leadership, the employees are constantly
pushed by their superiors in order to increase their productivity and achieve the organizational

goals. The transformational leaders have a positive impact on the behaviour of the employees
towards their work and the growth they achieve in the business organization. It helps in engaging
the employees in a better way and increasing their capability to achieve enhanced output. The
transformational leadership style is effective in motivating the come out of their comfort zones
and give appropriate contribution to the development of these practices (Elkhwesky and et.al.,
2022). These changes in the approach of the business can be useful for the employees to improve
their current performance. This is a useful leadership style which can improve the overall
sustainability of the organization and improve their competitive advantage in the industry which
is crucial for their overall productivity in the business environment. The appropriate training and
development activities will be provided for employees which can improve their skills and help
them to achieve better output in the industry. These practices are helpful for the businesses to
engage the employees to contribute with their full potential towards the organizational goals.
These changes in management can improve image of the business in the industry and help it to
gain success.
CONCLUSION
According to the above report it has been concluded that leadership have played a vital
role in the sustainability of different contemporary business organizations. The businesses in the
current business environment have adopted various technological tools and AI which has been
beneficial in increasing their overall productivity. It has been fruitful for the businesses to
manage their work with the help of advanced technological changes and gain better recognition
in the business environment. It has been beneficial for the organization to adapt positive
leadership styles in order to provide better support and guidance for their employees. The
employees have experience changes in their performance with the help of these approaches
which has a positive impact on their overall development.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
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review. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing. 3(3). pp.40-49.
Atasoy, R., 2020. The Relationship between School Principals' Leadership Styles, School
Culture and Organizational Change. International Journal of Progressive
Education. 16(5). pp.256-274.
Burnes, B., Hughes, M. and By, R.T., 2018. Reimagining organisational change
leadership. Leadership. 14(2). pp.141-158.
Cummings, G.G. and et.al., 2018. Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing
workforce and work environment: A systematic review. International journal of nursing
studies. 85. pp.19-60.
Doyle, T. and Brady, M., 2018. Reframing the university as an emergent organisation:
implications for strategic management and leadership in higher education. Journal of
Higher Education Policy and Management. 40(4). pp.305-320.
Elkhwesky, Z. and et.al., 2022. A systematic and critical review of leadership styles in
contemporary hospitality: a roadmap and a call for future research. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
MacKillop, E., 2018. Leadership in organisational change: A post-structuralist research
agenda. Organization. 25(2). pp.205-222.
Rowe, M. and Macauley, M., 2018. Giving voice to the victims of sexual assault: The role of
police leadership in organisational change. Policing: an international journal. 42(3).
pp.394-407.
Sousa, M.J. and Rocha, Á., 2019. Leadership styles and skills developed through game-based
learning. Journal of Business Research. 94. pp.360-366.