A New Officer for a New Army: The Leadership of Major Hugh J.C. Peirs in the Great War

World War One brought dramatic changes to the officer corps of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting on the Western Front. The heavy casualties sustained meant that mass mobilization at home had to take place in order to replace combat losses. As a result, the previously small, but professional British army was forced to transition into a large citizen-soldier army. This new force required not just new officers, but an entirely new leadership model. The formation and exercise of this new style of leadership is examined through the letters of Major John Hugh Chevalier Peirs, executive officer and later commander of the 8th Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment who served on the Western Front from 1915-1918. Major Peirs’ letters highlight the emergence of this new breed of leadership within Kitchener’s New Army and make clear why its emergence was so important to the overall morale and success of the BEF

Millennials: What They Offer Our Organizations and How Leaders Can Make Sure They Deliver

According to recent Pew research, ten thousand Baby Boomers reach age 65 every day in the United States and the pace will continue for the next 18 years; similar numbers are also reported for Canada and Europe. The effect on the workforce will be dramatic, perhaps even more dramatic than the effect they had when they arrived on the scene six decades ago. Thus, it falls not to Generation-X, as this generational cohort is too small to make a significant impact, rather the task shifts to the Millennials. Much has been said of the youngest generation currently in the workplace. The Millennials have been described as globally aware, socially inept, technologically sophisticated, needy, narcissistic, team-oriented, optimistic, lacking in work ethic, multi-tasking geniuses, ambitious, and curious. With such a wide spectrum of views this paper utilizes the popular and academic literature to provide clarity on these aspects of the Millennial Generation, focusing on their work values, and how their entrance into the workplace will impact organizational culture in the years to come. Finally, leadership approaches that will best align with their values, desires, and development will be addressed, focusing upon developing core competencies for leaders of all generations

Learning about America's Best: Resources on Educating, Training, and Hiring Returning Veterans and Service Members

This document provides a quick list of some of the many books, articles, and web sites that offer information for educators, trainers, employers, service members, veterans, and family members. It is part of a series of materials written to address the growing need for information and ideas that can help our nation's schools, training organizations, and workplaces make a welcoming, productive, and satisfying place for returning veterans and transitioning service members

Critical thinking represents...

Alvesson and Willmotts’ statement within their 1996 book “Making Sense of Management” is widely discussed. The paper illustrates two different management approaches while focusing on Modernism and Rationality as well as Interpretivism and Subjectivity. Critical Management Theory is placed within the context of and a discussion about issues such as “Organisational Culture”, “The Role of the Manager” and “Emancipation”. Finally, the need for an appropriate open-minded thinking approach in order to deal and cope with upcoming future challenges due to an increasing complexity and fundamental changes within the management processes is emphasise

Challenging heroic masculinity: leadership myths of nineteenth century King Shaka Zulu

The Zulu of southern African have long been held as a particularly strong example of African patriarchy. Over almost two hundred years, king Shaka Zulu (b. 1787, d. 1828), has been credited with founding the great Zulu state, and he has often been described as a brilliant leader, warrior and military strategist conquering all in his path − the ‘black Napoleon’. Popular history books abound with ‘facts’ of Shaka’s life. Two books have been published in recent years that translate so called leadership secrets of king Shaka to modern leadership and management practice. Leadership lessons from Emperor Shaka Zulu the Great by Phinda Madi (2000), and Lessons on Leadership by Terror: Finding Shaka Zulu in the Attic by Manfred Kets de Vries (2004). On the basis of lessons learned from Shaka, or aspects of his psychology, Madi manages to produce 10 leadership lessons including ‘leading the charge’, while Kets de Vries provides 15 lessons. Not only is much of what is written about Shaka based on myth, but also totally ignores the leadership role of chiefly women. It is curious that these myths of Shaka still hold so strongly despite research findings to the contrary. Leadership by women was an intrinsic part of several pre-colonial systems in southern Africa, and Shaka did not rule alone. This is all very far removed from any lessons on modern management and leadership to be learned from king Shaka. Many of the points in this paper in relation to women have raised in previously published work (Weir 2006), but it is worth repeating in an effort to go some way towards limiting the impact and reproduction of Shaka myths in the modern leadership studies, and because the role of women has been left out. There’s enough evidence to show that the long enduring picture of Shaka Zulu presented by Kets de Vries, and many before him, is questionable