Movie Case study and motivation paper

Introduction

Apollo 13 tells a story about NASA’s perilous lunar voyage that took place in 1970.  At the beginning of the movie, a space capsule catches fire and explodes during a pre-flight test.   The movie revolves around the attempts by the mission controllers and crew to save the astronauts' lives in the crippled spacecraft.  The movie shows the crew and mission controller battling time, gravity, distance, unknown damage, limited oxygen and power, intense cold and heat, carbon dioxide, infection, fatigue and a tropical cyclone. The mission is a successful failure in which the crew returned safely but failed to make it to the moon.

Leadership

Leadership is a vital part of every project. The movie demonstrates situational leadership.  Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model suggests that there are four styles of leadership; these include participating, delegating, selling and telling (Useem et al., 2013). Throughout the movie, Ken uses leadership traits to lead the team.  He influences the team to keep going when there are no solutions in sight.  He has a strong belief that the answer is close and encourages others to be creative.  He encourages the team to use a simulation shuttle so as to accomplish their goal.   Another important component of Core Leadership is the ability to create a vision and influence others to achieve the vision. Ken vision’s vision was clear. He articulated and engaged all stakeholders in his vision.

Management

From a project management perspective, two individuals successfully managed the crises. Kranz and Jim demonstrated effective project management skills are maintaining balanced attitude as they manage the mission and crises. In space, Jim effectively engaged the crew and encouraged collaboration among all members. On the other hand, Kranz took full charge of the NASA mission control center, displaying authority when necessary, allowing proper delegation of work and forcing important actions on the team.  As a project manager, Kranz recognized the importance of controlled ambiguity. 

Organizational Structure

NASA’s organizational structure can be viewed as complex, specialized and formalized. During the incident, NASA had a specific type of structural configuration known as adhocracy, in which some areas functioned as decentralized units.  This form of structure allowed groups of highly specialized experts to operate and collaborate effectively with other specialized groups. By decentralizing particular decision-making functions through adhocracy, the organization was able to master highly technical and complex projects unique to its ambitious space program.

Group Dynamics

Apollo 13 is an example of collaboration. Groups were important because the mission involved geographically-dispersed people working together in real time to accomplish a common goal. The goal was to save the lives of astronauts John Swigert, James Lovell and Fred Haise.  There was no opportunity to table decisions and no time to reflect. Poor design and structure of teams, coordination breakdowns, dysfunctional conflict and serious motivation challenges often result in failure to realize the group’s potential and frequently underperform. Despite the group dynamics, collaboration occurred spontaneously due to the role of leaders. The Apollo 13 leaders established a culture of collaboration among group members.

Conclusion

Apollo 13 demonstrates the factors of leadership, management, group dynamics and organizational structure. Leadership and group dynamics are reflected in leaders’ efforts to structuring the team and lead them to excellence (Johansen, 2012).  Kranz and Jim demonstrated effective project management skills by controlling, directing and leading team to achieve the mission throughout the crises. NASA’s organizational structure allowed groups of highly specialized experts to operate and collaborate effectively.

References

Johansen, R. (2012). Leaders make the future: Ten new leadership skills for an uncertain world. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Useem, M., Jordán, R., & Koljatic, M. (2013). 10. Bringing up the Thirty-Three: emergent principles in multi-tiered leadership. Extreme leadership: leaders, teams and situations outside the norm, 117.

Question 1

Various aspects of work can make employees feel unmotivated.  Two years ago, I worked in a private firm on a part-time basis.  The major cause of demotivation was the unrealistic workloads given to part time employees. The management did not keep a check on the demands and expectations placed upon employees.  The impossible workload made me feel overburdened, and I soon became disengaged, stressed, disillusioned, and lost motivation.

Additionally, there was a significant problem with communication in the organization.  Often, important information was withheld or provided on a “need-to-know” basis.  As a result, employees lacked clarity in their work and dealt with regular conflicts. Without proper communication, insubordination backstabbing, gossip were prevalent in the workplace.  Employees were unclear about policies and procedures, supervisors often had hidden agendas and there was confusion about who to follow.  There was also a lack of recognition and poor compensation which made employees feel unappreciated. The work environment became deteriorated until new leadership took control of the organization.

Question 2

Expectancy theory assumes that behavior is an outcome of conscious choices among different alternatives in order to minimize pain or maximize pleasure. According to Vroom, performance is influenced by individual factors such as personality, knowledge, skills, abilities and experience (Pachter, 2014). He suggests that effort, performance, and motivation are variables in an individual’s motivation.  The theory can be used to explain how the above workplace situation could be more motivating.

Expectancy

By having necessary support to get the job done could make the workplace more motivating (Renko et al., 2012). Management support can be in the form of providing correct information on the job and clarifying on expectations.  In such an environment, a manager should take the time to meet and listen to employees and provide important feedback on an employee or departmental performance.

Additionally, managers should strive to create a work environment that is fun, open and trusting. Establishing trust requires establishing channels to promote open communication. An open communication strategy necessitates that an organization establishes a two-way communication between management and employees.  This technique can be effective in providing employees with a platform to voice ideas and concerns.  Managers should also involve employees in decision making and encourage them to have a sense of ownership in their jobs and work environment.

Instrumentality

Instrumentality suggests that a first level outcome should lead to a second level outcome. Therefore, by doing a good job, an individual expects reward. Lack of adequate compensation and recognition is demotivating and frustrating for employees (Chemers, 2014).  It gives the impression that employees’ efforts go unnoticed. Motivation is a compelling reason to focus on employee recognition.  By feeling appreciated, employees become more productive and motivated and often go beyond what is expected of them by the management.

Valence

For the valence to be positive, an individual must prefer achieving a particular outcome to not attaining it (Herzberg et al., 2011). When an employee is paid less than some healthy level, they may start looking for a different job. On the other hand, when a manager matches the money with the employee's comfort levels, they can stay in the organization.  Being an employee, I would have preferred to know that my compensation was competitive enough in line with how others in similar work were earning. Paying low salaries means that employees will leave work.

References

Chemers, M. (2014). An integrative theory of leadership. Psychology Press.

Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (2011). The motivation to work (Vol. 1). Transaction publishers.

Pachter, B. (2014). The Power of Positive Confrontation: The Skills You Need to Handle Conflicts at Work, at Home, Online, and in Life. Da Capo Press.

Renko, M., Kroeck, K. G., & Bullough, A. (2012). Expectancy theory and nascent entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 39(3), 667-684.

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