Note: The descriptions below have been collected from the Hartwick
Humanities in Management Institute web pages. They are
slow-connection-friendly in this collected format. I've added links to
Amazon.com via the film titles.
I've not yet reviewed case studies, but the film's reviews (on Amazon)
are very impressive. I can remember watching some of these films as a
child (Twelve O'Clock High, Flight of the Phoenix) with
my father, one of the Miami Valley's institution builders (National
Center for Aerospace Intelligence). Only years later do I appreciate
what he must have seen in those films.
Others from the Hartwick list I keep available for colleagues
(Gandhi, Apollo 13). I hope to create viewer's guides
to some of the films absent from the Hartwick list (The
Mission, Romero, Catch 22).
In this brilliant
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®,
Henry Fonda plays a juror who seeks to convince his eleven peers to
reconsider their hasty decision to convict a young boy who has been
charged with murdering his father. The struggle to change his
colleagues' minds is highly charged and fascinating, and gives
students the opportunity to consider how important it is for an
effective leader to be able to read the behavioral clues of
others. Students come to realize, too, that the increased emphasis on
participative leadership suggests that cognitive complexity (accurate
perception and insight into self and others, problem solving behavior,
flexibility, empathy, and interpersonal skill) is essential to
effective leadership.
| Topics Include: | Behavioral Clues, Power and
Influence, Cultural Diversity,
Ethical Decision Making and Diversity, Group Dynamics,
Conflict Resolution
|
| Theories Covered: | Organizational Culture,
Conflict Management,
Fiedler's Leadership Model
|
| Film Information: | 1957, not rated, 92 minutes, black & white
|
This Hartwick
Classic Film Leadership Case® focuses on
the crisis that can result when an organization demands "maximum
effort" from its members. Based on the story of a stubborn general's
mission to rebuild a bomber group whose shattered morale under heavy
losses threatens to undermine the aerial offensive against German-held
Europe in World War II. The case dramatically contrasts the leadership
styles of two very different leaders and provides students with the
opportunity to consider the benefits (and costs) of each. Students are
challenged to determine why one leader seems to be succeeding whereas
his predecessor did not. In the process, they come to realize the
importance of matching their leadership style to the situation.
| Topics Include: | Turnaround
Management, Situational Leadership
Transformational Leadership, Vision, Goal-setting
|
|
Film Information: | 1949 (not rated),
Approx. 132 minutes, Black & White
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
uses the highly acclaimed film Apollo 13, which is based on the
real-life crisis on board an Apollo spacecraft that occurred on April
13, 1970. The Apollo missions had become so routine and perfect that
the Apollo 13 mission generated little interest from the press - until
a routine maintenance procedure caused an oxygen tank to expolde,
leaving the three astronauts trapped in a crippled capsule that might
not ever make it back to earth. This movie describes the struggle of
the astronauts and the Mission Control technicians in Houston to
improvise a new set of procedures to safely return the astronauts back
to earth as one crisis after another arises. This Hartwick Classic
Film Leadership Case® makes us aware of
just how often disruptions and discontinuities occur. How is a leader
to survive and thrive in a world in which the unexpected events occur
on a regular basis? This is the question that Apollo 13 raised
so pointedly.
|
Topics Include:
| Individual
Leadership, Situational Leadership,
Group Problem Solving, Decision Making,
Environmental Complexity, Managing Ambiguity,
Crisis Management, Managing Paradox, Ethics
|
|
Film Information:
| 1995,
rated PG, 140 minutes, color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
tells the story of the fatal charge of the English cavalry at the
Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The film is based on
historian Cecil Woodham-Smith's book The Reason Why. Ordered to
advance against well-defended Russian artillery, the Light Brigade is
destroyed by the jealousy and incompetence of its commanding
officers. The Earls of Cardigan and Lucan, brothers-in-law and sworn
enemies, fight over matters of prerogative and recognition while their
organization suffers. Through lack of clear communication,
organizational confusion and petty infighting, the brigade is doomed
to destruction.
|
Topics Include:
|
Crisis
Management, Team Building, Motivation,
Leadership Style, Individual Leadership,
Group Leadership, Situational Leadership
|
| Theories Covered: | Cognitive
Clarity, Integrative and Segmentalist
Problem-Solving Strategies, Organizational Life-Cycle,
Change and Group Identity, Leadership and Organizational
Planning, Leadership in Strategy Implementation,
Complexity of Environment, Managing Paradox,
Ethical Dimensions of Leadership
|
| Film Information: | 1968, rated PG-13,
approximately 130 minutes, color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
is based on the innovative film that combined a powerful script with
equally powerful directing, acting, and cinematography to create what
many consider to be the best American film ever made. It is the story
of a reporter's attempt to find the truth about a dead newspaper
tycoon - the greatest American of them all - by interviewing
individuals who knew him well. It investigates Kane's attempts to
become sole arbiter of truth, morality, beauty and reality. The life
of Kane as depicted in the film closely parallels the life of William
Randolph Hearst.
| Topics Include:
| Ethics/Values, Dysfunctional Leaders, Individual Dimension of
Leadership, Status and Power, Group Dimension of Leadership,
Situational Dimension of Leadership, Cultural Factors in Leadership,
Leader-Follower Dependence and Independence, Leadership Traits
|
| Theories Covered: | Leadership
Needs, Self-Actualization and Autonomy,
Democratic vs. Autocratic Leadership, Stress and Directive
Leadership, Intristic and Extristic Motivation
|
| Film Information: | 1941,
not rated, 119 minutes, black & white
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
uses the highly acclaimed film Courage Under Fire. The backdrop
of the movie is the Gulf War in which the heterogeniety between the
Iraquis and the Gulf Confederation was so great that it could only be
overcome through war. Lieutenant Colonel Nat Serling has been assigned
to determine wheter Captain Karen Emma Walden, who died in the Gulf
War, deserves to be awarded the Medal of Honor for combat. Captain
Walden was commander of a medevac unit that consisted of a white male
(Rady), an African-American male (Altameyer), and a Hispanic male
(Monfriez). During the investigation, Colonel Serling encounters three
very different versions of her conduct during her command of a medevac
helicopter attempting to rescue a downed Black Hawk crew. Colonel
Serling must also determine why different crew members give such
different accounts of her conduct, and how these accounts relate to
different cultural ideals of masculinity. In addition, the
psychological effects of tokenism are explored as Serling, an
African-American, must confront the doubts about his own bravery
regarding his own conduct during the Gulf War. Courage Under
Fire is a powerful movie because it makes us aware of the tensions
that differences in gender, race, and culture can create and how they
give rise to varying interpretations of the same events.
| Topics Include: | Leadership
Traits, Gender Stereotypes, Subordinate Reactions to
Female Leadership, Management of Diversity, Cross-Gender and
Cross-Culture Mentoring, Situational Leadership, New Models of
Leadership
|
| Theories Covered: | Motivation
to Lead, Disadvantageous Stereotypes,
Dimension of Leadership Across Cultures, Cultural Influences on
Acceptable Leadership, Ethical Dimensions of Leadership
|
| Film Information: | 1996,
rated R, 115 minutes, color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
is based on the fast-moving, provocative film about a nuclear
ballistic submarine which has received orders to do the unthinkable -
launch a nuclear first strike against Russia. The strike is ordered to
prevent a threatened launch of nuclear missiles which have come into
the possession of a rebellious Russian ultra-nationalist - a
frighteningly plausible contemporary situation. At this most critical
moment, the command structure falls apart as a dispute between the
Captain and Executive Officer over the proper course of action results
in the crew splitting into two combative factions. The ship convulses
as the rival groups take, then lose, control of command. With the
clock ticking toward the last possible moment for launch, the
situation must be resolved one way or another, with potentially
disastrous consequences to an incorrect decision. The strength of the
film is that the Captain and the Executive Officer ar both right and
wrong. The case study shows the potential conflict that can occur
when two senior officers differ on the strategy and course of action
to be followed. The dependence of a leader on the willingness of
followers is exposed, showing the internal conflict that followers
experience when the actions of a leader seem to deviate from their
understanding of the mission and values of the organization. In
addition, there is a racial undertone in the film, since the Captain
is white and the Executive Officer is black.
| Topics Include: | Power/Authority, Followership, Ethics/Values,
Cultural Diversity, Team Breakdown,
Why Leaders Fail, Authoritative Leadership
|
| Theories Covered: | Theory X and Y, Behavioral Perspective
|
| Film Information: | 1995, rated R, 116 minutes, color
|
In this
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®,
a newly-appointed teacher inspires a love of poetry and intellectual
freedom among his young students at a strict New England prep school.
In the process, however, he encounters the profound resistance of his
teaching colleagues and administrators. Students have the opportunity
to grasp how difficult it is to bring change about in entrenched
organizations, and in addition are encouraged to focus on alternative
ways in which that change might be implemented. Even more profound is
the question of whether or not the change he attempts will be good for
the organization. The case also dramatically portrays the differences
between transactional and transformational leadership as well as
autocratic versus democratic leadership styles.
| Topics Include: | Transformational vs. Transactional
Leadership,
Charismatic Leadership, Power Bases, Motivation
|
| Theories Covered: | Social Learning Theory,
Misuse of Authority
|
| Film Information: | 1989, rated PG, 128 minutes,
color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
presents the leader of Camelot in real-life, flesh-and-blood
terms. Based on the best-selling novel, The Once and Future
King by T.H. White, the film tells the story of how Arthur is
challenged by his magician/tutor, Merlyn, to create a kingdom in which
power is exercised, not for his own gain, nor to sustain the vanity of
his nobles, but for the benefit of the common good. The betrayal of
Queen Guinevere with Arthur's strongest supporter and friend,
Lancelot, forces Arthur to decide between the good of his realm, and
his personal loyalties to family and friends. This legendary tale asks
whether power used on behalf of a trancendent vision can survive, and
how a leader imbued with such goals can protect his achievement.
| Topics Include: | Organizational Renewal, Charisma, Power/Authority
Intristic and Extristic Motivation, Organizational Structure
Organizational Conflict, Management of Diversity in Organizations
|
| Theories Covered: | Leaders Versus Managers, Managing Paradox,
Life-Cycle Theory of Leadership, Situational Leadership,
The Autonomy-Heteronomy Polarity, Participative and
Directive Leadership, The Unity-Plurality Polarity
|
| Film Information: | 1981, rated R, 141 minutes, color
|
William Golding's compeling story of a group of British schoolboys
stranded on a remote island provides the core of this Hartwick
Classic Film Leadership Case®. Their
gradual degeneration into a savage horde leaves an unforgettable
imprint on anyone interested in leadership failure. Students focus
first on what went wrong. They contemplate the damage that can be done
by organizational power struggles; they observe the boys attempting to
organize for survival; and they study closely the two leaders. There
is Ralph, who holds position power from the outset. And there is Jack,
who successfully and tragically wrests leadership from him. Students
then concentrate on the main conflict: the choice of which
organizational path to follow the impulse to satisfy immediate desires
or the need to plan strategically for the longer term.
| Topics Include: | Group
Dynamics, Group Cohesiveness, Power, Dependency,
Misuse of
Authority, Leadership Style, |
| Theories
Covered: | Group Development, Task and Relationship
Behaviors,
Fiedler's Contingency Model, Leader-Member Exchange
Theory,
Path-Goal Theory, Group Structure |
| Film Information: | 1990, rated R, 90 minutes, color
|
* can be used as a supplement to
Hartwick Classic Leadership Case® Lord of
the Flies.
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
is based on one of the best screen biographies in the history of
motion pictures. It describes the life of the former Indian leader so
intimately that students feel they have actually known and been deeply
affected by this great leader; one reviewer of the film wrote that
"There is a genuine feeling that the spirit of Gandhi is on the
screen." Students look at Gandhi as exemplar of a new model of
leadership in which the ability to translate an idea into reality and
sustain it is crucial. As a result, they consider the importance of
absolute values, the need to reconcile power with service, and the
necessity to make decisions and take actions that are bounded by moral
principles.
| Topics Include: | Transformational Leadership,
Ethics/Values,
Negotiation, Cultural Diversity
|
|
Film Information: | 1982, rated PG, approximately
187 minutes on 2 cassettes, color
|
Oriented around the film Gettysburg, which is bases on the
historically accurate novel The Killer Angels by Michael
Shaara, this Hartwick
Classic Film Leadership Case® study
deals with the largest and most deadly battle ever fought on American
soil. It reveals much about leadership - successful and
unsuccessful. It is during the Civil War that the small town of
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania became the site of what is seen by many to be
the war's turning point. The three day battle, which took place from
July 1st to 3rd 1863, is best known for Pickett's Charge, a
magnificent feat of individual courage and a terrible waste of life.
The Civil War itself involved the development of industrial war, a war
of ideas fought as a total war involving economics and politics as
well as military strategy and certainly leadership. The war was only
won when the Union appointed its first great modern generals, Grant
and Sherman. They took the field against Robert E. Lee, the last and
to many, the greatest old-fashioned general. We will meet Lee at
Gettysburg to see how several leadership issues come to light. Why did
the Union and Confederate armies meet at Gettysburg? Why did they
fight? How were they led? How was this battle to become a picture of
what came next - a deadly mirror for all that was greatest and most
troubling in American democracy?
|
Topics Include: | Strategy,
Crisis Management, Visionary Leadership,
Leadership Style, Organizational Culture, Followership,
Motivation, Situational Leadership
|
| Theories Covered: | Risk
Management, Decision-Making Procedures,
Leadership and Organizational Planning,
Language of Leadership, Suboptimization
|
| Film Information: | 1993, rated PG,
approximately 254 minutes on 2 cassettes |
In this
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®,
students learn what few know: that not only was the Civil War the war
to free the slaves, many people of color themselves fought in the war.
They watch as members of the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry made up of entirely African Americans fight an
uphill battle across impossible terrain against the Confederate
army. They were decimated, but their performance and dedication so
impressed the army that it began to recruit African Americans into its
ranks. But there is more here than history. The case profiles the
story of a young white officer who, although doubtful about their
capabilities, is ordered to lead a regiment of African
Americans. Students are encouraged to think about the insights into
both race and humankind that the film suggests. They are also struck
by the numerous cases of emergent leadership that reveal themselves in
the regiment. Finally, they focus on how the officers and men forge
themselves together into an effective organization based on mutual
trust.
|
Topics & Theories Include: | Cultural Diversity,
Teambuilding,
Servant Leadership
|
|
Film Information: | 1989, rated R, approximately
122 minutes, color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
is based on Shakespeare's great exploration of leadership as portrayed
in the award-winning Kenneth Branaugh film Henry V. Students
witness what is perhaps history's finest call to arms as they see and
hear the young king deliver his St. Crispian's Day speech, ending
with the unforgettable words: "We few, we happy few, we band of
brothers." This is a fundamental case on leadership development,
focusing students' attention on conflict, succession, and above all,
redemption. Students observe as Henry V grows in stature and ability,
developing skills and credibility in the eyes of his followers. They
come to realize that Henry V epitomizes transformational leadership as
they witness his single-minded attention to England's well-being, on
unifying his realm, and on achieving organizational goals.
| Topics Include:
| Transformational Leadership, Succession, High-Performing
Teams,
Situational Leadership, Managing Ambiguity, Ethical
Leadership |
| Theories Covered:
| Leadership Traits, Language of Leadership, Leadership and
the
Basis of Power, Turbulent and Nonturbulent Environments,
Stress and Cognitive Mapping, Principle-Centered Leadership
|
| Film Information: | 1989, not
rated, 138 minutes, color |
* can be used
as a supplement to Hartwick Classic Leadership
Case® The Henriad.
Everyone has heard a story about a losing high school sports team
that with the help of new blood and rigorous training goes on to "win
the big one." But this Hartwick Classic
Film Leadership Case® is based on a true
story, one that describes the rebirth of a down-and-out Indiana high
school basketball team at the hands of a new coach. As students
witness this comeback, they are struck by how apt the metaphor of
coaching is to effective management and leadership. They also see how
the resurgence of a failing athletic team resonates with meaning for
any organization seeking to reinvent itself. They also focus on the
challenges a newly-installed leader often faces: organiaztional
politics, naysayers, gossip, scandal, even vengeance. The coach's
ability to articulate and communicate a vision for the team, to
analyze the situation and develop a plan of action, to set measurable
and realistic goals, and to gain the respect and trust of others
provides a rich tapestry of leadership insight.
| Topics Include: | Team
Building, Turnaround Management,
Renewing the Organization, Goal Orientation
|
| Theories Covered: | Kouzes and Posner's Leadership
Challenges, Power,
Evered and Selman's "Coaching and the
Art of Management," Change
|
| Film Information: | 1986,
rated PG, approximately 114 minutes, color
|
John Huston's film based on Rudyard Kipling's famous story explores
the dynamics of power and charismatic leadership against the exotic
backdrop of India and Kafiristan in the late nineteenth century. This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
study examines the challenges facing two swashbuckling
entrepreneurs as they attempt to scheme their way into positions of
power. What results is an investigation into the clash of cultures,
the nature of authority, and types of group interaction. The
dramatics series of events exhibits classic strengths and weaknesses
of the human psyche in extreme situations.
| Topics Include: | Organizational
Values, Cultural Diversity, Entrepreneurship,
Followership, Conflict Management
|
| Theories Covered: | Fiedler's
Contingency Model, Leadership Substitutes Theory,
Charismatic and Transformational Leadership
|
| Film Information: | 1975,
rated PG, 129 minutes, color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
characterizes the leadership skills of a New York male labor organizer
and a southern female textile factory worker. Both characters exhibit
leadership qualities, one in particular the ability to empower others
to accomplish the overall goal of organizing a group of powerless
textile factory workers. Students observe as each empowers the other,
and focus on the techniques each use to accomplish this all-important
leadership task. In addition, students are given the opportunity to
contrast the effects of an authoritarian leadership style and
democratic leadership style. But perhaps the most important element in
this case is the opportunity it provides to watch a woman of
thirty-one achieve her full potential.
| Topics Include: | Men's
and Women's Leadership Styles, Empowerment,
Change, Leadership Traits
|
| Theories Covered: | Theories
of Charisma and Charismatic Leadership
|
| Film Information: | 1979,
rated PG, 113 minutes, color
|
This gripping adventure about the crash of a small plane and the
arduous efforts of the survivors to reconstruct the wreckage and then
fly it provides the heart of the Hartwick Classic
Film Leadership Case®. Observing this
group as it faces what are clearly near-impossible odds as well as
starvation and dehydration, students witness the struggle for
leadership and the basis on which the characters vie for and receive
leadership authority. Of particular note is the apparent leader's
unwillingness to serve as leader outside the plane and his need to be
in control. The case stimulates a rich discussion of the behavior of
leaders in groups and emergent leadership as a function of group
dynamics.
| Topics Include: | Emergent
Leadership, Leadership Style, Crisis Management,
Power, Conflict, Organizational Survival
|
| Theories Covered: | Fiedler's Contingency Model,
House's Path-Goal Theory,
Situational Leadership Theory, Leadership Substitutes Theory
|
| Film Information: | 1966, not rated, 143
minutes, color
|
In this Hartwick
Classic Film Leadership Case® based on
Tom Clancy's best-selling novel, a Russian naval commander (the most
respected man in the Soviet submarine service) defects to the West
with his crew, nuclear weapons, and state-of-the-art submarine. His
leadership skills are undeniable and surface clearly as he enlists
others to his cause. Yet two other leaders also emerge in the film: an
American submarine commander and a highly-talented military
analyst. The interpersonal dynamics which result from this triad
reveal much about leadership. Students are encouraged to consider how
challenging the status quo, inspiring a common vision, role modeling,
and motivational ability play an important role in leadership. The
case is also a cautionary tale about how easily leaders can go wrong,
and how dramatic consequences can result from tactical decisions.
|
Topics Include: | Power/Authority, Conflict Resolution, Decision Making,
Team Building, Motivation, Command Excellence
|
|
Theories Covered:
| Intuition Theory, Conflict
Theory, Reengineering
|
| Film Information: | 1990, rated PG, 135 minutes,
color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
is based on the film which is based on Pierre Boulle's novel of the
indomitable Colonel Nicholson, a British army officer captured by the
Japanese during World War II. Colonel Nicholson and his men are
forced to build are forced by their captors to build a railway bridge
across the River Kwai. As students will see, the railway bridge
becomes Colonel Nicholson's means of preserving his organization and
inspiring his men with the will to survive. A triumph of planning and
strategic vision, the bridge is a symbol of Nicholson's humane and
rational leadership even as it becomes a target of the British
Commando team sent to destroy it.
| Topics Include: | Motivation,
Power, Followership, Empowerment vs. Alignment,
Goal Displacement, Situational Leadership
|
| Theories Covered:
| Excellence, Acceptance Theory of Authority,
Dynamic Adaptive Autonomy, Suboptimization,
Cultural Factors in Leadership, Principle-Centered Leadership
|
| Film Information: | 1957, rated PG, approximately
162 minutes, color
|
This
Hartwick Classic Film Leadership Case®
is based upon the book, Mutiny on the Bounty. This film depicts
the mutiny against Captain William Bligh during a worldwide British
naval expedition in 1789. Mel Gibson is Fletcher Christian, the
leader of the mutiny, and Anthony Hopkins is Bligh. Captain Bligh is
given the mission of bringing breadfruit from Tahati to Jamaica with
his old friend Fletcher Christian. As the drew members wait for the
first breadfruit plants to mature, they become enmeshed in the culture
of the native inhabitants. When it comes time to bring the breadfurit
plants to Jamaica, Captain Bligh faces the problem of restoring group
unity and cohesion. Captain Bligh's attempts to create group unity
through authoritarian and coercive means causes Fletcher Christian to
lead the crew in a mutiny in which Bligh and the officers are set
adrift.
| Topics Include:
| Individual Dimension of Leadership, Group Dimension of
Leadership,
Conflict Resolution, Situational Dimension of
Leadership,
Ethical Dimension of Leadership |
| Theories Covered: | Theory X and Y, Safety-Valve
Institutions, Acceptance View of
Authority, Cognitive and
Affective Conflict, Groups in Organizations,
Organizational
Conflict, Authoritarian Personality |
| Film
Information: | 1984, rated PG, approximately 130 minutes, color
|
*Can be used as a supplement to
Hartwick Classic Leadership Case® Mutiny
on the Bounty
In this Hartwick
Classic Film Leadership Case®,
double-dealing in the stock market provides the backdrop for a
profound inquiry into the ethics and behavior of individuals and
organizations in a capitalistic society. Students observe the film's
leading characters as they try to make as much money as they can,
breaking the law regularly as they persue their financial goals. In
the process, the squarely face the caricature of business leader as
predator - a person for whom the challenge of a deal, and the desire
to win, are everything. In this Darwinian world, they attempt to come
to grips with the assertion, so unforgettably articulated in the film,
that "greed... is good." In the process, students grapple with a full
range of ethical questions, including whether or mot an act is immoral
or illegal when "nobody get hurt" or when "everybody's doing it."
| Topics Include: | Ethics/Values,
Decision Making, Power/Authority,
Conflict Resolution,
Charismatic Leadership, Mentoring
|
| Theories Covered: | Ohio State Leadership Grid,
Organizational Values
|
| Film Information: | 1987, rated R, 126 minutes,
color
|