Essay on "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Essay 4 pages (1199 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Leadership Styles

Leadership Perceptions from "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Leadership

Defining and understanding the different types of leadership is necessary for this article. Leadership could be defined as the art of making a person do something that needed to be done by you, because he has the ability and urge to do it. There are many leadership styles including the following; authoritarian leadership also known as autocratic, is a style where the leader makes the decisions and the group under him has no authority making the leader dictatorial. The next style is the democratic one, where a leader is ready to listen to the team and involve them in the making of decisions. The leader is always ready to take opinions from the team members, and then later instruct them on the best alternatives.

Laissez-faire style occurs when the leader hardly rules the team, but in the contrary, leaves the group to make decisions, and the leader's decisions are not directly influencing the group's affairs. Decisions are, therefore, coming from the group and not the leader as is the case in the other leadership styles. Transformational style is a model where both the subordinates and leader lead their way to motivation and moral maturity.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Bridge on the River Kwai, is one of the best films in the 1950's, and obviously the best in 1957, when it won seven awards after numerous nominations. When the film begins, there are symbolically done images of a lone hawk that soars in the air, representing joyous moments of freedom, then followed with shots of graveyards all covere
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d with crosses that are crudely placed, to indicate the outcomes and consequences of war. Guinness, who was acting as Colonel Nicholson, together with his subordinates comprising of soldiers of British origin, march towards a camp whistling Colonel Boggie March in uniform. As they move ahead, William Holden who plays the part of Shears, the American Commander of the Navy, together with another man are digging graves and rearing that the incoming prisoners might be frightened by the site of graves. Just from this, a conclusion may be made, after Colonel Nicholson shows attributes of an authoritarian leader, who likes his orders followed.

Shears, who is just a commander, displays leadership features of minding about his subordinates and their feelings. However, it is still too early to judge Shears as per his leadership attributes. As he reads the honest eulogy of the dead soldier, Shears shows the power he has, of saying the truth about his people regardless of the company he is.

Because of the brutality faced by the prisoners, shears approaches Nicholson asking for any chance of hopeful escape from the camp. Shears believed in democratic means of live, that are not characterized by violations they experienced every day. Nicholson has a contradicting opinion however, when he views escape to be against the law, displaying his way of leading that is dictatorial to an extent. He says that without law, there is no civilization, and that the issue of escape should not even be given a chance. Regardless of the situation which places Nicholson to be a slave of war, the Colonel still sees himself as a conqueror, and better than his opponents intellectually and morally. This is a weakness in leadership, as he is not serving the people, but prioritizing his interests. Shears replies to his in a negative way, as he sees himself as a slave and not a soldier, showing a weakness he already owned.

Nicholson, even after getting orders from above (in… READ MORE

Quoted Instructions for "Bridge on the River Kwai" Assignment:

The film *****The Bridge on the River Kwai***** provides invaluable insights into leadership issues. You responses to the following questions should indicate an understanding of the key leadership issues explored in the film, an explanation of the implications and outcomes of the various decisions made by the film*****s protagonists and an evaluation of the effectiveness of different leadership behaviors across several situations. Specific references to the film, as well as Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez Faire leadership styles should be made.

a) What kind of leader was Saito? What traits and behaviors made him an unsuccessful leader? What traits and behaviors made him a successful leader?

b) What kind of leader was Nicholson? What traits and behaviors made him an unsuccessful leader? What traits and behaviors made him a successful leader?

c) Was Shears a leader? Why or Why no?

d) Why did the British succeed in building the bridge?

How to Reference "Bridge on the River Kwai" Essay in a Bibliography

Bridge on the River Kwai.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2012, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/leadership-styles-perceptions/6235962. Accessed 19 May 2024.

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[1] ”Bridge on the River Kwai”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/leadership-styles-perceptions/6235962. [Accessed: 19-May-2024].
1. Bridge on the River Kwai [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2012 [cited 19 May 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/leadership-styles-perceptions/6235962
1. Bridge on the River Kwai. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/leadership-styles-perceptions/6235962. Published 2012. Accessed May 19, 2024.

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