Contemporary Management Issues: Leadership Analysis and Evaluation

This report examines contemporary management issues through the lens of leadership styles, using the case study of Ernest Shackleton to illustrate effective leadership in crisis and analyzing Walmart's organizational leadership. It highlights Shackleton's instinctive leadership, emphasizing the importance of employee welfare, teamwork, and adaptability in challenging situations. The analysis of Walmart explores transformational, transactional, strategic, and charismatic leadership approaches, alongside recommendations for enhancing employee satisfaction and organizational performance. The report concludes by underscoring the significance of learning from historical leadership examples and adapting strategies to improve organizational outcomes in the modern business environment, encouraging a focus on employee well-being and continuous improvement.

Contemporary Management Issues in the
21st Century

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
1.......................................................................................................................................................3
Ernest Shackleton’s leadership style...........................................................................................3
The important lessons that can be learnt from the article in context of contemporary business
organisations is crisis are.............................................................................................................5
2.......................................................................................................................................................5
Critically analysing and evaluating an organisational situation by drawing on the schools of
leadership.....................................................................................................................................5
Recommendations for improving performance and enhancing value.........................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
The report is based on the case study of Ernest Shackleton. In this report, the characteristics of
his leadership style will be highlighted and also the lessons that the contemporary business
organisations in a crisis can learn from his leadership approaches. The report will then outline
certain leadership approaches of a company and their effectiveness. Lastly, some
recommendations would be given to improve their performance and enhance value.
1.
Ernest Shackleton’s leadership style
The case study depicts various situations and crisis that Shackleton and his crew had to face
over the period of many months. He did not learn his management or leadership skills from
anywhere but followed his instincts to manage his men and focused mainly on the welfare of
his crew. His instinctive leadership style has set an example for people to learn from. He was a
very cautious leader who would always think about the needs and wants of his men and never
forced them to do something that he himself wouldn’t do. He tried to analyse the strengths and
weaknesses of all his men and work upon them to help them overcome their weaknesses and
build on their strengths to survive during such harsh months. His crew not only survived in
such bad weather and conditions for so long, but also did not lose hope and kept their spirits
high(Bragg, 2018). His intention for the best of his people was also seen during his journey to
the pole, in which he was very close to his destination did not have enough food for his men,
hence he turned back so as to not risk the lives of them.
Shackleton’s biggest concern during those months was that his crew would get demoralised
and that would lead to them losing all hopes for survival which would definitely be an obstacle
for them. He always tried to ensure that the men are fed well as hunger usually makes people
irritable and irrational. He also intended on keeping this hopes and spirits high, for which he
encouraged his crew to do fun activities like singing, dancing, playing in the evenings. The
effect of this was seen when one of the men wrote that ‘it was one of the best days of his life’
in his journal. He also treated all the 28 men equally irrespective of their expertise and helped

everyone who struggled to cope. He realised that to overcome this hard times, teamwork and
confidence of men on each other was very crucial.
Even though he knew things would not be easy and survival in these terrible ordeals was very
difficult and might also be impossible because no one knew for how long they will have to be
trapped there as it was clear that they would not get help from others. Still, he did not show his
emotions before his men so that they do not get disheartened. During all those months of being
stuck, the men were motivated by Shackleton to cross-train, can also be called as job rotation
for various tasks, this not only enhanced their competence and stimulation but also helped in
keeping them motivated and more developed. He did everything he could to avoid pessimism
taking roots in their heads(Cognat and et.al., 2020). He had an open-door policy and always
listened to them and their opinions. Although, he always kept his men above everything, but he
also ensured that they were all disciplined.
Some of the other major elements of his management and leadership are -
 One of the most prominent aspect seen in his leadership was that he never got attached
or rigid to his plans irrespective of the time and efforts he invested devising them
because he knew a single plan would not let them achieve their goal. This was seen
when he changed and adjusted his plan four times according to the new information he
got while searching for land for 15 days.
 He made the purpose and objective very clear to all his mean so that all of them can
have a shared vision and a common mission irrespective of their personal objectives.
 It times of crisis, unity and strength of the team members is very important to overcome
the challenge, hence he used a systems approach to give strength to all his men so that
they can effectively face the difficult situations.
 He never let his fear and emotions get the best of him and always focused on trying to
find solutions to the problems faced. Hence, he acted as a role model for his team. He
himself was always enthusiastic and this inspired everyone to be optimistic and never
lose hope.
 He built good relationships and loyalty in his team and hence everyone would follow
him irrespective of how tough it got.

 He had to make many tough decisions for the best interests of everyone throughout the
expedition. Their survival could not have been possible if he did not think intellectually
and made decisions to overcome so many hardships they faced during those times.
 He always put the well-being of his team as his top priority which was even above his
mission. He had an open communication system which also gave a sense of
belongingness to all his men. This was clearly observed by everyone on his team and
they became more loyal and committed towards him.
The important lessons that can be learnt from the article in context of contemporary business
organisations is crisis are-
As the article shows that no matter how hard the situations get, one should never be
disheartened and lose hope, the businesses should also follow this during the times of crisis.
Businesses and its personnel should always be flexible to adjust their plans and not stick to a
plan rigidly if it does not work according to the expectations. They should always have a
backup plan in case the plan they devised does not work. The higher management should
always try to keep the employees motivated and work on the enhancement of their strengths
and to overcome their weaknesses so that they can be strong enough to perform well even
during hard times. Teamwork and coordination should also be the key elements to be taken
care of as if there is disharmony among the members or employees, their efforts will not be in
the shared direction and would fail to achieve the desired outcomes. Also, the leader should
have intellectual thinking and should not only focus on their primary objective of betterment of
the organisation but also should give due importance to the welfare of its employees to gain
their trust, loyalty and commitment.
2.
Critically analysing and evaluating an organisational situation by drawing on the schools of
leadership.
Let’s take an example of Walmart, one of the leading supermarkets in UK. The organisation
handles various things and situations with different leadership styles that are suitable to the
circumstances. Transformational leadership being at the core of the organisation and the

company’s founder has a visionary and transformational leadership approach. This leadership
style not only focused on the enhancement of the employees but also to provide better
experience to the customers. The visionary leadership approach adopted in the organisation
helped everyone to understand that the company’s main mission was customer
satisfaction(Hansen and Pihl-Thingvad, 2019). The vision for the future was executed when
products were provided at cheap rates as it can be a great way to attract customers and grow the
company. Transactional leadership helped the organisation to implement its strategies and
work. This leadership style was also helpful for the organisation is many ways as it ensured
that the employees who are hardworking and perform better are promoted as they deserve, it
also ensures that the employees get the required autonomy but also follow the standards
wherever needed thus striking a proper balance between freedom and standards. The leaders of
the organisation also follow strategic leadership as the effective strategies adopted by the
company like expanding at an appropriate time; and becoming cost leaders has brought the
company to a place where it now stands(Leadership styles in Walmart, 2022). The founder also
had all the qualities of being a Charismatic leader which helped him in installing confidence,
customer service qualities, and a sense of ownership among the various store owners and
employees. Satisfied employees tend to perform better which can be seen by the company’s
success over the years.
Recommendations for improving performance and enhancing value.
In some areas and aspects, it has been claimed that the company does not have very good
healthcare coverage and also sometimes shows lack of respect for the employees and this
leaves the employees dissatisfied and reduce their motivation and morale(Ma and Jiang, 2018).
This ultimately affects their performance. Hence, the company is recommended to make efforts
towards providing better healthcare facilities to its employees so that they can start being more
satisfied with their jobs and also the personnel and management should always be respectful
towards the employees. This will not only enhance the productivity of the employees, but will
also improve the reputation and growth of the company.

CONCLUSION
The report states that Shackleton was one of the great leaders of time and has been an example
for many students and leaders who try to manage difficult situations and time. The
organisations in crisis should learn how to overcome the difficult situation through his efforts.
The report also outlines various leaderships and their effectiveness followed in Walmart and
also outline some recommendations to enhance the value and performance of the employees
and the company.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bragg, M., 2018. The Endurance: Three Lessons in Leadership from Ernest
Shackleton. GPSolo. 35. p.7.
Cognat, E. and et.al., 2020. The ‘Seal’of Sir Shackleton. European Journal of Nutrition. 59(7).
pp.2823-2824.
Hansen, J. A. and Pihl-Thingvad, S., 2019. Managing employee innovative behaviour through
transformational and transactional leadership styles. Public Management Review. 21(6).
pp.918-944.
Ma, X. and Jiang, W., 2018. Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and employee
creativity in entrepreneurial firms. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 54(3).
pp.302-324.
Online
Leadership styles in Walmart. 2022. Available through:<
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/leadership/high-performance-leadership-at-
walmart.php >