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TASK two (M1, D1)

SCENARIO

A small infantry unit of six men is trapped behind enemy lines in desert conditions.

They must maintain radio silence so that they are not detected by the enemy. They

have enough water and rations for 72 hours but the journey they must make to return

to safety is approximately six days long. Two of the men are experienced in desert

conditions but three are relatively new recruits. The Commanding Officer (CO) must

lead them to safety.

An Authoritarian leader would direct and control his team and everything else that he

could, he wouldnt include his team in the decision making process. For example, he

would dictate the route that they will use to escape, also how the water and rations

would be used over the course of the six days. This kind of leader may result in force

or threats to make his team achieve their goal of returning to safety. However I dont

think this style of leadership would be effective with three new recruits, who have

little experience in desert conditions, also with the leader dictating what is going to

happen, this will cause tension within the team and they could be identified by the

enemy if they decide to have a disagreement.

A Bureaucratic leader would respond to the situation by being strict with the

members of the team and the use of systematic discipline to gain control. Systematic

discipline is the leaders own style of discipline for their team to gain self control, and

self discipline. A Bureaucratic leader works by the book; basically this describes

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how strict a Bureaucratic leader is, as they follow the rules exact, also the team is

pressured to follow the rules precisely. I think this style of leadership would be

effective in this situation because Bureaucratic leadership is an appropriate style for

work involving serious safety conditions as the leader will work to the best standard

to not get detected by the enemy. There may tensions in the team due to the new

recruits little experience and the constant pressure from the team leader.

These two leadership styles are very similar in how the team leader treats the team.

For example, an Authoritarian leader dictates to the team about what is going to

happen, whereas a Bureaucratic leader also enforces the rules on the team to get

them to safety. Also these two leaders will not include the opinions of their team

because they will use their inner mentors to dictate the final decision. However these

two styles do have differences. For example, an Authoritarian leader uses force and

threats to motivate their team; however a Bureaucratic leader is strict with their team

but uses systematic discipline to control them in a high risk situation. Although the

use of different styles of motivation, the tension within the teams is very similar, the

three recruits that have little experience may not agree with their team leader and

this may cause a debate and frustration within the team.

I would suggest a combined approach between Bureaucratic and People Orientated

leadership would be effective in this situation because a Bureaucratic leader has the

authority to control the team in a high risk situation, also with a people orientated

leader they involve and encourage the team, and are supportive of all team

members; so this leader will recognise the three new recruits with little the

experience and will support them over the course of the six day journey out of the

dangerous situation.

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The most important thing to any team leader should be the welfare of their team, if

their team is unhappy then the job only gets half done, when the team is not happy,

they will not work to the best of their ability. With the combination of the People

Orientated and Bureaucratic leadership styles, the leader will gain great control and

motivation over the teams actions. The target of six days to get to safety is only

approximate, if the team is kept happy and motivated then the team will work hard

together and be determined to reach their goal earlier than expected.