Introduction
Leadership is an important component of any organisation. It provides the roadmap that the organisation should follow to attain its goals and objectives. While leading, many issues are bound to arise such as crises and risks. This paper examines various theories of power that explain how authority influences decision-making and leadership. Such theories include Lukes’s three dimensions of power, ideological values and norms, and Foucault’s disciplinary power model.
The movie The Hunger Games is a must-watch masterpiece that provides a good illustration of how leaders can overcome a crisis and/or face challenges. The movie is about two young characters Everdeen and Mellark who fight a deadly battle. They end up facing the consequences of their actions. However, as leaders the two characters devise working strategies to cope with the challenges. Using The Hunger Games as a case movie, this paper seeks to discuss various aspects of leadership, namely power, risk, and leadership in crisis.
Background of The Hunger Games
Steered by Gary Ross, the movie The Hunger Games is set in Panem that has 12 impoverished districts that surround the affluent Capitol region. In the initial ages, the region encounters an unsuccessful uprising from the 13th district. To discourage the remaining 12 districts from attempting a rebellion and/or exerting their power and authority, the Capitol region introduces ‘Hunger Games’ as a yearly broadcast event where each of the 12 districts are required to produce an energetic man and woman aged 12 and 18 through a raffle process as participants in the event. Appendix I has details of the participants’ proceedings.
Power
Definition of Power
The assertion that power is equally divided among humans is an apparent fact. However, this paper presents power as the ability of some people to influence or control the behaviour or life of others. Power exists in various forms. First, the legitimate power is acquired through the position that one occupies that allows him or her to influence and control others. People who have power because of the position they occupy can order their followers or subjects accomplish a particular task within the limits of the authority that is granted to them (Pye 2005).
Power can also be earned and applied through rewards. Other individuals choose to exert power coercively. Coercive authority refers to a situation where an individual gathers followers through intimidation or castigation. From the movie, the leaders of Capitol are an illustration of how people can use threats, punishment, and harsh strategies such as the Hunger Games to threaten and control the impoverished districts. In the case of an organisation, coercive power operates in the manner that employees perform the tasks requested by their managers in the fear that they might lose their jobs if they defy the orders. The protagonist Everdeen suffers such consequences of having to obey harsh orders that leave her with many wounds to nurse.
Another form of ruling is the expert power, which operates with the notion that individuals can acquire power through the skills they possess. For instance, tributes from the Career district earned power because they were well trained days before the onset of the fatal competition. Thus, they were more skilled than all other players and hence the reason why other participants such as Mellark wanted to associate with them to control the game. Moreover, the archery skills of Everdeen her earned power to the extent that players saw her as a big threat in the game. Lastly, referent power is gained through deference and admiration. Everdeen offers a good illustration of referent power when she goes back to her district after the completion of the Hunger Games. The district admires her for her brevity during the battle in addition to the fact that she refused to kill Mellark. Through this power, she is well placed to control her community by asking them, for instance, to rebel the leadership of Capitol.
Theory of Sensemaking
Sensemaking is a key ingredient of effective leadership. The concept enables leaders to understand the current situation in their environment so that they can build on other aspects such as objectives, goals, and visions (Weick, Sutcliffe & Obstfeld 2005; Colville & Pye 2013).
Karl Weick, who developed the concept, presents sensemaking as the ability of leaders to demonstrate logic and/or structure the indefinite. Through sensemaking, a leader can explain the ongoing environmental intricacies and offer a solution. However, applying the concept requires brevity from the leader. Although he or she may desire to comprehend what is happening in a transforming world, he or she may be hesitant to speak about the change. For instance, although a manager may notice that a particular culture or strategy is derailing the company, he or she may not express the notion in fear of conflicting with other stakeholders (Hawkins 2007; Hawkins 2013). Sensemaking is generally relevant when people’s comprehension of the world is inarticulate because of the rapid societal adjustments in that they are unprepared to handle (Pye 2005).
People from the Capitol region are in control of the other 12 districts because they are wealthy whilst the others are impoverished. Their wealth has earned them coercive power to rule their subjects from the 12 districts. The 12 districts have the option of obeying the Capitolians. Despite adapting to the culture of slavery, they are not ready to adjust to a free life, although Everdeen is optimistic that they will attain autonomy soon. Through critical thinking, the other districts can comprehend their environment and develop new ones that show a shifting reality. It is evident that the other districts have been engrossed in the culture of dependence through the Hunger Games. They even train their youngsters for the game.
Theories of Power
Contemporary notions of power can be traced from as early as the 16th century from the works of Nicollo Machiavelli in his masterpiece The Prince and Thomas Hobbes in his work Leviathan. Their thoughts have guided modern scholars on issues concerning power. According Machiavelli, power is decentralised such that it acts as a means rather than a resource while Hobbes views power as domination that supreme rulers use. Recent scholars of power such as Steve Lukes and Michel Foucault borrowed their ideas from Hobbes’ ideologies (Bolden et al. 2011).
Steve Lukes introduces the three-dimensional power model where power can be evaluated based on the capability to impose incoherent ideas on people. It is not easy to realise this facet since individuals who are led under it may never realise its reality. The happenings of this influence are apparent in the Hunger Games. The 12 districts have been influenced to participate in the event. Had it not been introduced by leaders from the Capitol region, these poverty-stricken people would not have participated in the event.
Moreover, they even prepare themselves physically and mentally for the event. Although the event is a televised punishment, the communities do not rebel its broadcasting, neither do they refuse to participate. Only a few minorities such as Everdeen have discovered that the political agenda of the Capitolians is contrary to their real interest.
Michel Foucault expands this notion from sociology to other aspects of life. Foucault follows Weber’s thinking that power is decentralised such that there is no ultimate source from which actions arise. Foucault also develops a disciplinary power where people are required to adhere to some laws, which are contrary to which they are punished. Furthermore, he notes that the harmonisation of knowledge, power, and the government leads to a disciplinary society (Fairhurst 2007).
Since knowledge has a strong link with power, supremacy influences how people view things. Lukes’ three-dimension model of power is a perfect expression of how individuals can be brainwashed to believe in political preferences that are not their genuine interests. In fact, some of them even take pride in winning the event. Snow is dictatorial and cruel in his governance. His underprivileged people are also unsure of how he assumed the presidential position. He uses punishment to enforce his power by establishing a disciplinary society as propounded by Foucault. For instance, he kills the family of Abernathy because he performs a force field stunt that he presumes will embarrass the Capitolians.
The Relationship between Sensemaking and Power
Through sensemaking, individuals can comprehend what is going on in the environment and change where necessary. Lukes’ theory of power shows how people can live under political agendas that they do not subscribe to because of the power that their leaders adopt. In fact, followers find it difficult to determine when they are only serving the interests of those who are in power (Pajunen 2006; Lipman-Blumen 2005). The twelve districts in the Hunger Games are a good example. Moreover, punishment in the form of a podcast makes them (districts) not change the ongoing injustices following their fear of the wrath of the president. Through sensemaking, individuals such as Everdeen can identify the enslavement and desire for the freedom (Pye 2005).
Moreover, sensemaking allows an individual to discover a problem and the most efficient solution for it. By knowing what is going in her environment, Everdeen is well placed to develop a strategy that will liberate the real estate citizens from the harsh governance of Snow without causing a serious conflict with the regime as the previous community which had tried to rebel the president faced. Sensemaking also allows leaders to effectively understand the interest of their subjects/followers such that they lead them in the most effective way (Pajunen 2006; Pye, A 2005). For instance, sensemaking paves a way for leaders to know how to effectively apply their power without harming their citizens. Snow does not use sensemaking to understand his subjects. Instead, he chooses to use coercive power and a tyrannical form of leadership against the interest of his subjects.
Taking Risks and Managing Change
Everdeen demonstrates how taking risks is unavoidable when making changes. She is the first character who ignites change in Panem. She illustrates the character of a transformational leader where one leads others towards a vivid vision or goal with brevity. Everdeen was adamant to change the tyrannical regime of Snow. She gained trust from other districts. Hence, she could face the threats from the president and even goes against his orders of killing Mellark to emerge the winner.
Once people have acclimatised to the norm, it is difficult to convince them to adopt another new behaviour, culture, or idea. Since people’s reactions remain unknown until one introduces the idea, initiating the change remains a risk that the initiator must be ready to face. A good leader must apply change with confidence and good strategy to overcome the expected risk (Pedler, Burgoyne & Boydell 2010). Everdeen’s leadership skills are portrayed when she decides to introduce change in Panem. She uses charisma and brevity to earn trust from the citizens as a way of minimising the risk of opposition when trying to change the regime in Panem.
Transformational Leadership
President Snow is a bad expression of transformational leadership. He pushes his followers to subscribe to ideas that only endorse him. He does not consider subjects’ general opinion. Using the wealth and knowledge of the Capitol region, he mistreats the districts and uses punishment to discourage them from airing their dissatisfaction. On the other hand, Everdeen is an icon of transformational leadership. Through her hard work, charisma, and confidence as key leadership attributes as presented by Sharma and Grant (2011) and Sankowsky (n.d), she acts as a role model for the impoverished to express their distress against Snow and the Capitolians. Transformational leadership requires leaders to have charisma. They act as role models to their followers. They should also be capable of inspiring their subjects (Pajunen 2006). Indeed, Snow tried to inspire the twelve districts to participate in the Hunger Games claiming that it was meant to build their hope. Nonetheless, his dictatorial form of leadership tarnishes all his transformational headship skills.
Rethinking Organisational Change
Organisational change is bound to happen. It is hard to avoid change because of new concepts and technologies, which when applied, are likely to raise the status of the organisation (Tsoukas & Chia 2002). In the movie, the president should admit that change is bound to happen when people are exhausted with the slavery. Like Snow, some leaders in an organisation prefer maintaining the status quo. Change may not happen as natural as it may appear. Many temperate factors that cause its happening include an uprising as witnessed in the movie. Organisational change is important for any institution since it keeps the organisation in the forefront. As Fairhurst (2007) asserts, it is advisable for leaders to introduce organisational adjustments through well-developed strategic plans. The strategic plans should address all possible challenges that the organisation is expected to face when introducing the change (Pedler, Burgoyne & Boydell 2010).
This initial planning before the change can be introduced in the organisation helps in ensuring that change is successfully employed, despite the expected risks and challenges. For instance, before a change is introduced in a company, the HR manager can gradually change the mindset of the employees so that when the new ideas are introduced into the company, they can easily adapt to the adjustments (Pajunen 2006).
Crisis
When people want to change a system in a situation where others are of a contrary opinion, crisis is likely to occur (Hawkins 2013). Since leaders are rigid and not ready to transform, followers resort to rebel as observed in the Hunger Games. The few enlightened people from the 12 districts want to liberate themselves. They are calling for a change, which the president is reluctant to endorse because of his personal interests. He wants to retain the power that he has had for years by ensuring that District 1 and 2 and the wealthy class can control food that is supplied to the impoverished districts. Nevertheless, although it is difficult to avoid this dark side of leadership as Bolden (2007) and Conger (n.d) confirm, it can be controlled.
The absence of proper strategic plan before a change is introduced in an organisation is likely to lead to a crisis. Hence, the followers or employees are unaware of the changes. Since leaders remain reluctant to explain to them the need and purpose of the change, they (employees) are likely to resist it and hence lead to a crisis. According to Bolden et al. (2011), good leaders use their power to control the crisis and establish order. However, how they utilise their power during the crisis is of great importance. For instance, Snow used coercive power during the rebellion of the 13th district. Such a leadership style led to dissatisfaction among the citizens and hence the reason why they were planning to change the regime.
Conclusion
Power is a key component of leadership. Every leader needs power for him or her to influence others to engage in a given activity. However, power can have negative and positive impacts depending on how one uses it. Moreover, leaders should always be ready to face a change whenever it arises. Being resistant to change as a leader can only trigger confrontation. The analysed movie provides a good contrast of two leaders Snow and Everdeen. Snow who wanted to maintain the status quo was resistant to change. He used Capitolians’ wealth and knowledge to control the poor communities. On the other hand, Everdeen who has a clear vision for her people confidently and courageously fights for a change that is meant to free her people from the bondage of the Capitolians.
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