Transformational Theory Essay

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Leadership Theories In Twelve O’clock High Twelve O’clock High was an American war film. It followed the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany. This movie has become a classic for many reasons. General Frank Savage was brought to the 918th unit to replace Keith Davenport and make the unit highly efficient. Savage began making many chances within the unit however his main goal was to change the behavior of the men. He accomplished this by the use of leadership theories, making this a movie that has been analyzed by many. There are three theories present in the film. These theories include; the Path-Goal theory, transformational leadership theory, as well as behavioral perspective of leadership. In the following paper we explore these theories and how the characters of the movie applied these main components to achieve their goals. The first theory we will discuss is the Path-goal theory. Robert House developed the Path-Goal theory of leadership; his theory describes how leaders can motivate their subordinates to achieve group and organizational goals. House also explains how leaders can encourage those behaviors that followers engage in to accomplish their goals. There are three main guidelines by which House’s theory suggests leaders can motivate their followers. These guidelines are clearly portrayed in the film and accurately demonstrate the theories effectiveness. A leader must determine what outcomes his subordinates are trying to obtain and have the ability to distribute these outcomes or withhold them. In the film, the higher ranks of the US Air force have set their own desired outcomes for the 918th Bomb Group. They have required the pilots to go on daily bomb runs to destroy the enemy, which resulted in many failed attempts and has suffered many casualties under the favored leadership of Colonel Keith Davenport. This group of

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