In the movie The West Wing, President Bartlet is having a conversation with his senior staff about the possibility of a military operation. He analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of launching a missile attack against a terrorist target to select what action to take next. There are many aspects to consider, one of which is the possibility of civilian deaths. Other elements include identifying the maximum permissible number of civilian casualties that can occur while still achieving the aim. Bartlet conducts a poll among his team. One of his workers responds to this question by stating that it is impossible to determine a suitable quantity because such a conclusion would depend on the conditions. The President then asks what the number would be if his wife or daughter were held captive inside the structure. The staff member takes a brief minute to reflect and then states that the figure would be zero.
One of the most emotionally moving parts of the film is when the President gives his reaction. He says, “That’s right. The number is zero. Because there is no such thing as an acceptable loss when it comes to family.” This scene has always stuck with me because it is a powerful reminder of the value of human life. It is easy to become desensitized to the news of civilian casualties worldwide in war zones and other conflict areas. Even if we are aware of the statistics and have read the tales, it is challenging to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation since we are not directly impacted by it. This scenario serves as a poignant reminder that the loss of any human life is a tragedy, regardless of the person’s identity or country of origin. In a world with so much hatred and violence, it is imperative to keep in mind the significance of every human life. We are all members of somebody’s family and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
Bartlet is having difficulty deciding, and this is the scenario he is going through now; hence, he decides to seek his employees for some direction. An example of a leader entrusted with making a difficult decision would be someone in this position. Because there are a lot of different factors to consider, the leader is currently looking to their team for help because there are many other things to consider. It is not unusual for leaders to find themselves in this situation, and it can be challenging to decide what course of action to pursue in response to such a circumstance. In this situation, it is necessary for the leader to carefully examine all pertinent information and arrive at the conclusion that it is in the people he is accountable for in his highest and best interests. Even though it is not always a simple option to make, it is crucial to bear in mind that the person in charge of making the ultimate decision is the one who is responsible for making this choice.
The possibility of President Bartlet and his top staff carrying out a military action is discussed in this scene from “The West Wing.” He is considering all of his options to decide whether or not to go through with the treatment, and he is doing so by evaluating his options and thinking over the many possibilities. He is mulling over the prospect of utilizing the military to preserve the American people and mulling over the possibility of using the military to safeguard the American way of life. He is thinking about the numerous options from various perspectives and attempting to arrive at a decision that is in the best interest of the people in the United States of America.
Leadership theory examines how persons in positions of authority interact with and exert influence over those around them. There is more than one leadership theory, and each provides a unique point of view on the characteristics of effective leadership and the variables that contribute to that leader’s success. The relational leadership paradigm places emphasis on the relationships that exist between leaders and those they are leading (Jian, 2021). In the context of the connection between a leader and a follower, it highlights the significance of communication, trust, and mutual respect. The theory of adaptive leadership focuses on a leader’s capacity to adjust their behavior in response to shifting conditions (Jefferies, 2017). It highlights the importance of leaders being adaptable and responsive to the requirements of the people they lead. The idea that leaders should cater to the requirements of the people they are responsible for is at the heart of the servant leadership theory. It highlights how important it is for leaders to provide their followers with support and advice and to be attentive to the needs of their followers. When it comes time to decide, Bartlet draws from several leadership ideologies. He makes use of the relational leadership theory in order to evaluate the relationships that exist between the various possibilities, and he makes use of the adaptive leadership theory in order to address the changing requirements of the American people. In addition to this, he is considering the American people’s requirements by applying the notion of servant leadership.
The “systems thinking” approach emphasizes the interrelationships between the various components that make up a system. It is concerned with the relationships between the pieces of a system and how those relationships affect the system’s functioning as a whole. Specifically, it concerns how these relationships affect the system’s functioning. Bartlet’s decision-making process also includes systems thinking (Dominici, 2017). He is thinking about all the possibilities from various angles and points of view. He is considering the alternatives from the points of view of the American people, the American military, and the American government. In addition, he is considering the alternatives from the point of view of the global community. He is attempting to arrive at a conclusion that will serve the citizens of the United States and the rest of the world in the greatest possible way.
An organization that embraces the learning organization theory is committed to steadily enhancing its operations by drawing lessons from past events and situations (Senge, 2006). It is an organization that is receptive to novel concepts and is ready to try out new things and assume some degree of risk to gain experience and knowledge from its failures. Bartlet also factored in the ideas associated with learning organizations into his decision-making process. He is attempting to gain insight from all of the available choices in order to arrive at a conclusion that is in the citizens of the United States’ best interests. He is attempting to gain wisdom from the errors of the past in order to arrive at a conclusion that will be in the best interest of the American people in the long run.
References
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline is the art and practice of the learning organization. Performance + Instruction, 30(5), 37–37. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.4170300510
Dominici, G. (2017). Governing Business Systems. Theories and Challenges for Systems Thinking in Practice. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 34(3), 310–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2454
Jian, G. (2021). EXPRESS: From Empathic Leader to Empathic Leadership Practice: An Extension to Relational Leadership Theory. Human Relations, 001872672199845. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726721998450
Jefferies, S. S. (2017). Adaptive Leadership in a Socially Revolving World: A Symbolic Interactionist Lens of Adaptive Leadership Theory. Performance Improvement, 56(9), 46–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21741
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