Preface This report is an analysis of Leadership in the movie Wall Street (1987), directed by Oliver Stone. This report explored the concept of leadership and how it depicted in the movie. The reports explain leader’s use of power and influence tactics. As the report proceeds it shows leader’s attributes and style and how it influences on movie character’s action and the environment in which they operates. In the end, it gives an analysis of the effectivness of the learder. This reports justify analysis based on existing theroy, research evidence and empiricallly grounded data. Major Characters in movie Bud Fox …………………………….Charlie Sheen A young, smart and very motivated stock broker Gordon Gekko ………………….Michael Douglas The millionaire, a corporate raider and a Wall Street shark Darien Taylor …………………..Daryl Hannah A yound and beautiful interiro decorator, friend of Gekko and Bud’s girlfriend Carl Fox ………………………….Martin Sheen Airplan mechanic and labor union leader at Blue Start Airlines, Bud’s father Introduction Leadership has been defined in different ways, a definitaion of leadership that would be most commonly accepted would be “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization…”(House et al., 1999, p. 184 as cited in Yukl, 2013, p. 19). After a comprehensive review of different leadership literature, Stogdill (1974, p. 259, as cited in Yukl, 2013, p. 18) concluded that “There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept." Leadership can be viewed from two different angles one is shared influence process and other as a specialized role. Researcher who view leadership as a specialized role consider attributes as a factor in selecting a designated leader. On the contrast, theorist who emphasises on influence process considers “Leadership” as a social process or a pattern of relationship. This report will analyse the leadership style of two main characters, Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko. This movie shows corporate America and the ethical behaviour in the workplace at the Wall Street. Bud Fox a smart, yound and very motivated stock broker has the desier to become the highes salesperson in his company. His main target is centered on big share trading account like Gordon Gekko. He says, “Just once I would like to be on that side” he dreaming of the day when he will be big corporate shot controlling the flow of millions of dollars like his hero Gordon.
“Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes” (Rost, 1931). But in today’s time, the styles of leadership are changed every time a new technology is invented or discovered so there is lack of persistency. The only thing which manages to stay constant is the principles of carrying out business activities. There are philosophies and ideologies on leadership which can be used in any time period as they are mostly a reflection of the principles of leadership. Theorists and authors like Hobbes (1679), Lewin (1947) and Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), in their time have produced enough material which can be put into use by modern day leaders and managers. Philosophers like Aristotle, who was known to be one of the most business-oriented and practical philosopher of his time, his work is still used by businesses today because of their relevance as he is interested in defining principles in terms of the ethics of leadership (Santa Clara University). In the essay I have tried to show how leadership has adapted to the changes around them and compared to the past and what circumstances caused need to change it. As a layman, anyone would think that the principles centuries ago will be very different to what we follow now but after studying on Hobbes, Lewin and Aristotle it has made a big impact on my way of thinking because the work produced by them still has more relevance compared to some of the work produced now. I have tried to explain the evolvement of leadership through three aspects which are psychology, sociology and philosophy.
In the film 12 Angry Men, a group of twelve jurors are deciding the fate of a young boy accused of murdering his father. Throughout the juries dilleration, one man exhibits all of the qualities of leadership. This man is juror number 8 played by Henry Fonda. Fonda not only exhibits the the 10 qualities of a leader but he uses these qualities to lead the entire jury to a vote of not guilty (Fonda & Lumet, 1957).
The emphasis on leaders being not just executives and managers, and that not all executives and managers are leaders, is extremely vital. Anyone can strive to be a leader in whatever organization in which they are involved. Bennis and Nanus claim that leadership is about character, setting the example for how team members treat one other (and in a corporate setting, their clients as well), being truthful and sustaining organizational trust, and encouraging themselves and others to learn. On one hand, it can be easy to see how many people in leadership positions do no match up to these standards of leadership. On the other, it seems a bit like common sense to be truthful to others and to effectively communicate with people who work together everyday. Leaders is an effective tool for summarizing and inspiring leadership not in that it teaches tough strategies and manipulations, but that when looking at an overview of its content, Bennis and Nanus are essentially teaching human relations and human decency. All in all, this book highlights strategies for us all to be better in our lives and our everyday
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
The movie 'Wall Street' is a representation of poor morals and dissapointing business ethics in the popular world of business. This movie shows the negative effects that bad business morals can have on society. The two main characters are Bud Fox played by Charlie Sheen and Gordon Gekko played by Michael Douglas. Bud Fox is a young stockbroker who comes from an honest working-class family but on the other hand, Gordon Gekko is a millionaire who Bud admires and wants to be associated with. Greed seems to be a huge theme of this movie. This movie portrays the unethical society we live in. It shows how money oriented society has become and that people will do almost anything to get ahead. Competitiveness has become such a widespread game all over the country, especially in big cities.
Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns many different companies, is one of the most successful business leaders of our time. According to Howard (2014), he is the second richest American, coming in at a net worth of over $70 billion. Besides his personal net worth, Berkshire Hathaway is the fifth-most valuable public company in the United States at $350 billion (Howard, 2014). While he is clearly a very wise investor, Warren Buffett is also a successful leader. As stated by Spindler (2010), leadership is a crucial part of any successful business, and good leadership is what Mr. Buffett portrays. The analysis given in this paper will show Warren Buffett’s values and leadership qualities, his leadership style, as well as looking into his influence he has on his followers.
In this paper I will reflect on my person leadership style and practices. To get the ball rolling, I completed the “Seven Habits Profile” to get a better idea of what kind of leader I am. The first category is my “Emotional Bank Account.” This was eye opening for me because it is so easy to pick up on bad habits in this category.
At the start of Wall Street, Bud Fox is young and insecure about the business world. Bud is a broker seeking new clients and offering second-hand advice regarding the buying and selling of stock. Bud makes a visit to Gekko?s office with a box of Cuban cigars on his birthday in hopes of winning him over as a client. He wa...
The Wolf of Wall Street produced and directed by Martin Scorsese tells a story of Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker living a luxurious life on Wall Street. Due to greed and corruption, Jordan falls into a life of crime and abusive activities. Belfort made millions of dollars by selling customers “penny stocks” and manipulating the market through his company, Stratton Oakmont, before being convicted of any criminal activity (Solomon, 2013). Jordan reveals behaviours and impulses all humans have, however, on an extreme level. This movie illustrates “why ethics is another tool whose importance cannot be overstated” (Delaney, 2014). Without ethics and morality, individuals can never truly live an honest and happy life.
As we’ve learned over the course of the semester the definitions and qualities of a good leader. We also discussed the best ways to handle and make an organization a competitor advantage in respective of what it does, and finally the assumption, understanding and implementation of change for the betterment of an organization. Jack Welch 's theories and ideas he discussed in the articles are not exempt from the lessons I learnt from the class. The paper will discuss Jack Welch 's leadership style, his ideas and actions that made him the greatest CEO of all time.
Wall Street is a movie that exposes corruption and disguises all values, beliefs, and other ethical philosophy. Throughout the movie, Wall Street shows how ethics adapts to a person’s personality by power and wealth alongside honesty and truth. Bud Fox, a young stockbroker is looking for a way to make a name for himself. He is determined to get as many clients as he can to become successful. He later meets a ruthless man named Mr. Gekko where learns how to reach to the top by illegal actions such as insider trading. Bud Fox was an honest living man who had good ethics but was later showed what true power is became money hungry. The power of greed is fascinating the code that everyone lives by is inevitable once money comes into play. There are five types of interpersonal power; reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power, and expert power. These types of power will be used to correspond relationships throughout the movie. In Wall Street we realize how Gordon Gekko uses Bud Fox for his benefit. In this paper I will show the types of powers that are used by Gordon Gekko and how they are used. One clear type of power that Gordon Gekko uses in his relationship with Bud Fox is the Referent power base. This power stands out because it is clear that Bud wants to become a top notch in the industry. Bud is striving to be successful when he exposes what he’s able to do at the meeting with Gordon Gekko he instantly become closer to his goals. There were scenes where Gordon had legitimate power. His knowledge and information was what made him rich. Bud Fox had to listen to what Gordon was telling him in order to become successful. This was an example of Gekko having legitimate power over Bud Fox. Expert power which is an ...
This report is an analysis of the movie Wall Street (1987), directed by Oliver Stone. This report explored the concept of leadership and how it is depicted in the movie. The reports explain a leader’s use of power and influence tactics. As the report proceeds it shows leader’s attributes and style and how it influences on movie character’s action and the environment in which they operate. In the end, it gives an analysis of the effectiveness of the leader. This report justifies an analysis based on existing theory, research evidence and empirically grounded data.
Leadership is trait that is extremely important in any society. Leadership is known as the way people attempting to make a difference in a situation. However, I believe that it is better said to be a way of influencing others actions. Leadership is usually connected to a great leader that affected his or her followers in a dynamic way. Throughout the semester for my leadership class, I have expanded the knowledge in numerous ways. I now have fully understanding of the purpose and process of leadership to a society. Being a leader one must maintain an image of being the role model. I believe that this is leader should be who is someone who has the ability to influence, encourage, listen, and nurture. They are able to inspire, stimulate, persuade, shape, and have an effect on others.
Schermerhorn defines leadership as 'a special case of interpersonal influence that gets an individual or group to do what the leader wants done' (287). On the other hand, Kathryn Bartol defines leadership as ?the process of influencing others to achieve organizational goals? (415). After analyzing the two quotes, I ask myself ?What is leadership?? I believe that leadership is the process of directing and guiding the behaviors of others in the appropriate directions to accomplish the goals and missions previously set. Schermerhorn and Bartol highlight the same issue, however although they are extremely similar, they address it in different words. A leader is a person who is ambitious, determined, focused, and motivated to achieve the organizational goals. The leader must have a clear understanding of individual differences in order to effectively utilize and appreciate the different contributions of different individuals. In addition, a leader must also be aware of the importance of communication between the leader and the followers; and of the communication amongst the followers themselves. Now however we may start to address the role management, and what role does it play in this enigmatic equation? Which in turn causes the rise of the question, what is the difference between leadership and m...
Many people associate leadership with a specific job title or form of power within an organization. However, through personal experience, I have concluded that leadership can come in many forms and position as well as from multiple sources of roles and job titles both with and without power. Based on the definition of leadership, anyone can be considered a leader as long as they have the ability to influence people to achieve a particular result or goal which benefits the organization or group as a whole. Individuals with a secure sense of self and understanding, acceptance of diversity within an organization tend to be the strongest leaders that not only make others want to follow, but they also encourage other leaders to gravitate to their