US management & leadership: the case of Martin Luther King

Résumé du document

The leadership concept has emerged in the nineteenth century in the course of the Industrial Revolution and the formation of new workers' organizations. The employees were managed by a formal authority called notably in the work area by the expression “the boss says”. Until 1950, there was an establishment of hierarchy where the status was a sacred thing : the hierarchical head was the reference. The leadership notion was identical with the legitimate power to command and to be obeyed : authority was centralized. It was based on the know-how and formers respect.

The leadership is multi disciplinary, leaders are presents in various fields : sport (Laurent Blanc), politic (Winston Churchill), business (Steve Jobs), army (Napoléon), rights (Nelson Mandela) and charity (Teresa mother). Currently, the leadership is defined as the ability of an individual to lead or to run other persons or organizations in the aim to reach certain objectives. A leader is someone which is able to guide, to influence and to inspire.

Michael alias Martin Luther King , born on Tuesday 15th January 1929, is the second child and the first son of a pastor and a teacher : he has one brother and sister. He lives in a comfortable, secured and loving middle class family based on the evangelist morale code : he receives a good education in a segregationist America. As Junior King said it in An Autobiography of Religious Development : "It is quite easy for me to think of a God of love mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central and where lovely relationships were ever present." At five years old, Martin Luther King Junior begins his education and attends the public school at the Yonge Stress Elementary School in Atlanta and after the David T. Howard Elementary School. However already very young, Martin experiences of segregation prejudices : indeed, he was only six year old when one of this white friend refused to play with him due to the fact that he was sent to a segregated school.

Extraits

[...] The fifth principle is the conflict resolution, either interpersonal or intrapersonal. As interpersonal conflict resolution, we can name the courageous protestation with the Montgomery Bus Boycott based on Satyagraha. After, he has created an action plan with alliances forming of people, using dialogue and seeking negotiation as innovation (taxicab, carpools) The carpool is out of operation. I do not think any court would be ambitious enough to get an injunction against feet, so we are going to continue to walk and share rides”. [...]

[...] Through this assignment, we are going to study a historical leader of racial rights in America : Martin Luther King. In a first part, we will be interested in his background and career. Then, we will see that his period was suitable to the change. In a last part, we will analyze and evaluate his leadership style. The Martin Luther King's background and career Michael[4] alias[5] Martin[6] Luther[7] King[8] , born on Tuesday 15th January 1929, is the second child and the first son of a pastor and a teacher : he has one brother and sister. [...]

[...] In January 1966, he takes a stand against the Vietnam war and in October 1968, Martin leads its last action with the Poor People's Campaign: he wants to create a multicultural and poor team to solve economic, poverty and unemployment problems. On 4th April 1968, Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis: he was only 39 years old. In the course of his life, Martin Luther King has been arrested thirty times for its civil rights activities and attacked four times. [...]

[...] Indeed, he is the president: he takes the decisions. Fourthly, he has the expert power with his knowledge and skills in sociology and theology which allow him to collaborate through non- violent tactics. Fifthly, he has a referent power on account of his charisma (commanding, energetic and commanding presence): partisans believe his message and see themselves in him. Martin Luther King had the Direct, Spirited, Considerate and Systematic as main leadership style[27]. Direct because he lead by taking change: it has been materialized by all the undertaken actions (for example the voter educating program) to improve life conditions of black people: he leads by being the change he wanted so see in the world[28]. [...]

[...] there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. [...]