Leadership and Decision Making PDF

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Leadership and Decision Making
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Introduction
Barrack Hussein Obama was born on 4th August 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was the
first-born son of Barrack Obama senior; a Kenyan of Luo descent and his mother was Ann
Dunham from Kansas America. The parents met while studying at the University of Hawaii,
Manoa. His parents however separated in 1964 and the father returned to Kenya. Obama begun
his studies at Punahou Academy before later joining Occidental college. He studied at the
college for two years and later transferred to Chicago University. He was a student of political
science and he graduated in the year 1983. He later decided to study Law at the Harvard
University school Of Law. After finishing his Law degree, he joined a Chicago firm where He
Met his wife Michelle. His first book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance,
was published in 1995. His book got high accolades from pundits and has since been translated
to over 25 languages. His advocacy made him contest for a political position in the State Senate
of Illinois and he won in the 1996 election (Notablebiographies.com, 2018). In 2000 however, he
failed to win a seat in the House of Representatives following the Democratic party primaries. In
November 2004, Obama was elected into the U.S. Senate with 70 percent of the votes. In
October of 2006, he released his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming
the American Dream, in which discussed his vision for America. Obama made news again on
November 4, 2008, by becoming the first African-American to be elected president of the United
States. His humanitarian efforts saw him awarded with the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. On
November 6, 2012 he was re-elected for the second term as the US president. This essay will
cover some of the fundamental aspects portrayed by Obama through his leadership tenure.
Barrack Obama has always been in a true sense a leader. Being the president of the
United States was not an easy feat. His habits and qualities of a great leader confirmed him as
high reputably leader worldwide (Kumar, 2014, pp. 20). He is a leader who has conviction and
perseverance. He has a firm belief in following what he thinks is right with no equivocations and
influencing his followers on the right path. Obama’s campaign slogan was “change we believe
in.” as a leader, he tried the aspect of change in the running of the country. Change is
synonymous to Obama and whenever one talks of change, his name resonates (Morgenroth, et
al., 2015, pp 465). One of the most fundamental aspects portrayed by Obama is his willingness to
take risks. In his book, “The Audacity of Hope” he states that he took a gamble in running for the

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presidency amidst contrary advice from aides and friends. He urges people to take calculated
risks.
After the assumption of office, Obama acted on diverse fronts. The key strategic decision
was signing his health care reform plan which later came to be known as Obamacare. The
ascended law prohibited hospitals from denying Medicare to patients with pre-existing
conditions. It also allowed parents’ insurance premiums to cover those children under 26 years
old and improved medical care and insurance cover to millions of Americans. Obama reached
out significantly to amend foreign relations with countries such as China, Russia, Cuba, and Iran.
He urged allies to offer support to the global economic package. In his military strategy, he sent
an additional 22,000 forces to Afghanistan. He consequently gave an order for the attack of
pirates at the coast of Somalia. Obama also gave an executive order against inhumane
interrogation techniques and issued an order for the closure of the military detention camp in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2011, Obama signed a military policy which allowed openly gay
individuals to serve in the US military for the first time (Gunn and McPhail, 2015, pp. 10). This
was followed by the U.S. Supreme Court reversing the ban of same-sex marriage. Obama openly
aired support for same-sex couples and supported the court’s decision. Perhaps the most notable
decision made by Obama was in May 2011 when he gave the go ahead to a covert mission in
Pakistan, that resulted to the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces. In September
2013, Obama was faced with an International crisis when Syrian Leader, Bashar al- Assad, used
chemical weapons which resulted in thousands of deaths and fatalities. Obama termed Syria’s
action as a national threat to the U.S. and worked to encourage the international community and
the U.S. Congress to take serious action against Syria. Obama ordered airstrikes in August 2014
against ISIS, a self-proclaimed Islamic State. ISIS was responsible for the beheadings of foreign
hostages. His decision attracted several Arab Nations to join in the airstrikes against the
extremist. Obama used his executive power in December 2014, by making a move to mend
diplomatic relations with Cuba. American leaders had never made such a move in over 50 years.
In August 2015, Obama announced the introduction of The Clean power plan that aimed at
reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (Lowndes, 2013, pp. 470). This was in line with the
global fight against climate change. The plan advocated for aggressive environmental protection
and encouraged the use of more renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. On the
final year of his tenure, Obama announced several executive orders relating to control of guns

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(Sheckels, 2013, pp. 1722). Giving the example of Sandy Hook elementary school shooting,
Obama shed tears as he urged the gun lobby and Congress to join him in making America safer.
His measures would implement stricter background checks for gun buyers. In his decision
making, President Obama chose the policy of substance over politics (Allin, 2014, pp.187). He
was more inclined towards formulating policies at the expense of playing politics. This decision
was detrimental as it affected his Democratic party. In the 2010 mid-term elections, the
Republicans scooped 63 seats, the biggest gain for the party since 1938. Afterward, Obama’s
authority struggled immensely under the radicalized Republican party who hold the majority seat
in the Congress. The Republicans provided a gridlock that vetoed most of Obama’s executive
power orders.
Barrack Obama noticed an important aspect in relation to the dispensation of leadership.
He believed in the empowerment of his followers. According to him, leadership is not about
ordering people around but encouraging the citizens to voice their concerns and talk about things
that impact their lives. However, circumstances resulted in Obama embracing the power he was
once skeptical about. In his tenure, Obama reshaped the nation by enforcing executive orders and
regulations. He left the office as a prolific author of major executive orders in the history of the
presidency. His executive orders were informed by the blocks he experienced from the congress
especially in his second term. This was because the Congress was constituted mostly by
Republicans. Obama’s administration passed major orders to the tune of 570, almost 50 percent
more than President George Bush administration. Obama’s frustration was major due to the
gridlock imposed by the Congress and he resulted in bypassing the lawmakers in some of the
issues like immigration, gun control, welfare, and education. As a result of enacting strict orders
regarding guns purchase and licenses, gun activists accused Obama of an unconstitutional power
grab. Many of Obama’s executive orders were relatively modest, such as ones for establishing
task forces and advisory groups. However, some had political implications, for example, the one
imposing sanctions on Iran. Notably, in June 2012, Obama issued an order which was later
known as “mini-dream Act order.” He ordered the Department of Homeland Security not to
repatriate undocumented children immigrants. This was against a Senate bill that had been
passed restricting the rights of children immigrants. In October 2011, President Obama ordered
the Department of Justice to do away with the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, terming it as
unconstitutional (Oczkus, 2013, pp. 35). This sparked an outcry from the Republicans claiming

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the move as unprecedented and extreme deviation from the norm (McGrath, 2013, pp. 316).
Obama’s executive order against the deportation of children brought in the U.S. illegally by their
parents was his most aggressive. The Congress had initially rejected the proposal since 2001
(Cianci, et al., 2014, pp. 590). In one of his speeches in Denver, Obama openly stated he was not
waiting for Congress who were reluctant in passing fundamental laws. He said he intends to do
anything in his powers to represent the American citizen. He was ready to apply his executive
powers when situations require him to (Strandburg-Peshkin, et al., 2015, pp. 1359). His
predecessor, President Bush had issued an executive order known as the Espionage Act, which
intended to punish traitors and spies and those who intimidate and leak confidential information
on matters of national security. Obama’s administration increased the enforcement of this law by
prosecuting many leak cases than all the other former administrations combined (Biography,
2018). In February 2014, Obama signed the executive order number 13658 which ultimately
raised the minimum wage of workers under the federal contract to a minimum of 10.10 US
dollars an hour. He signed another order requiring corporates to make public any past violation
of the labor laws. This order had the implication of protecting the lower-class earners and
improving the working conditions of the American citizens. The American drone program under
the administration sparked appraisal and controversy alike. The program was designed to
eliminate terror targets, but Obama wanted to incorporate it locally to eliminate fugitives and
high-risk individuals on American soils (Stulp, et al., 2013, pp. 170). There was a public outcry
as the citizens viewed drone surveillance as an infringement into the bill of rights. The
Department of Justice stated that everyone had the right to face a trial regardless of their actions,
and only the Department of Justice could dispense judgment. The administration was seen as
overstepping their mandate on this matter. In the foreign ground, Obama’s power was detailed in
Iran as he loosened sanctions against the Islamic state in trying to formulate a reasonable
approach on Iran’s nuclear deal. He regulated that Iran can employ nuclear energy for power but
the level of uranium is to be controlled so as not to reach the level of making weapons (Miller,
2013, pp 430). Obama was highly criticized for a cover-up attempt concerning the death Of
American citizens in Libya. The strategic consequences following the attack on the U.S. embassy
in Libya were very minimal (Murphy, 2015, pp. 220). Obama’s administration failed to include
the international community in their pursuit of Libya’s despot Muammar al-Qaddafi. Following
Russian annexation to Crimea, Obama invoked the International Emergency Economic Act and

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signed an executive order which declared a national emergency and imposed sanctions which
included; freezing of assets and instituting travel bans, inter alia to those responsible. He stated
that Russian action sort to undermine the democratic process in Ukraine (Fulop and Mark, 2013,
pp 270). Obama has, however, encountered some setbacks such as the Congress restricting him
from funding the transfer of inmates from Guantanamo Bay, after he had signed an executive
order ordering its closure. Obama was faulted for issuing orders that aimed at circumventing the
Congress and the constitution. However, Obama remained steadfast in protecting the interest of
the American citizens.
Conclusion
Barrack Obama tenure at the U.S. top office was based on the platform of change. He led
the country through two terms totaling to 8 years and his impact was significantly felt. His policy
of profound social inclusivity, technological and demographic changes, key legislative and
institutional reforms have characterized his administration, so have diverse shifts in public
opinion and government policy. As a leader, Barrack Obama did not focus much on politics, but
rather advocated for substance in his administration. Despite the opposition, he was constantly
facing from the congress due to the tyranny of numbers of the Republicans, he diligently pushed
for reforms he believed would empower Americans and shape his legacy. Notably, his healthcare
reforms provided relief to millions of Americans especially those with existing pre-conditions
and those who could not afford medical expenses. In his tenure, he improved working conditions
and minimum wages significantly. He also passed a 787 billion US dollar economic stimulus
package that created six million jobs and countered economic recession.

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Bibliography
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