What is the situation (event) and decision/s you will be analyzing?
The situation that I chose for my case study that I will be analyzing was President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Personally, I spent two years combined of my life deployed in support of combat operations and have always questioned whether or not it was worth it? Did Saddam Hussein really pose a threat to our national security? Did the Iraqi regime really possess Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) particularly nuclear weapons or did President Bush have an agenda to finish his fathers unfinished business?
What do you hope to understand because of your case study research?
In my research I hope to gain a better understanding into why President Bush thought there was a military necessity to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. I think that we can all agree that initial phase of the invasion of Iraq went fairly well for the US military campaign as Bagdad was capture in less than a month. However, was there enough credible intelligence that WMD existed Iraq? I believe that the existence of WMD was the first mistake. Afterall, did we find any evidence of WMD that was a credible threat to the US and our allies national security? The military’s plan to defeat Saddam’s and Iraqi military was swift and American service member distinguished themselves in combat. Why was there no solid plan to rebuild Iraq and transition control from the military? The U.S. intelligence community had been divided about the state of Saddam’s weapons programs, but there was little disagreement among experts throughout the government that winning the peace in Iraq could be much harder than winning a war (Strobel, 2014). The aftermath of Saddam Hussein fall from power was messy to say at least.
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The 8-10 pages does not include your cover page and reference page.
The bulk of your emphasis should be on strengths and weaknesses (the traits that made your leader effective and the traits that made your leader ineffective), ethics, organizational culture, the decisions your leader made and your analysis of that decision, and especially the lessons you learned from this research. Spend very little time in your paper on the background and the situation; we already know about it from your Week 2 DQ. This is not a biography, therefore utilize your critical thinking skills to explain why your leader’s actions caused the result they did. The lessons you learned and how you can apply those lessons to improve your own leadership acumen will carry the most weight.
I cannot stress enough that you need to cite your sources. Your analysis/position/conclusion will not be found in your research; if you do find that one of your references stated that your leader was
(Note: Please use headings for the sections below. They correspond to each seminar’s discussions, discussion questions and journals).
The situation
This is the situation that you are exploring; the situation that your case study focuses on. Give us enough detail to understand what happened, yet not too much to overwhelm us. Don’t make us think about what is important – that is providing too much detail. You want us to be able to remember the situation as we read the remainder of your paper.
Leadership strengths and weaknesses
This is the section where you identify the strengths of your leader (those traits that made your leader effective), along with their character traits that worked against them (made them ineffective). Think of the leaders in “How the Mighty Fall” and use those steps in either the positive or the negative manner. You can also go to www.kevan.org/johari and www.kevan.org/nohari for additional traits.
Ethics and community
What ethical boundaries did your leader come close to or cross – or which ones did they hold fast to? How did these actions affect the community in which they live and work? Be sure to explain the results of their ethical or unethical actions. Conjecture about “had they done this ….” or other such thoughts should be in the Results and lessons learned section.
Organizational Culture
What about their organization (or the environment in which your leader operated) permitted / inhibited / promoted or otherwise had an effect or an influence on the situation and the leader’s actions? Was there no check-and-balance? Was the culture more authoritarian and less participative? Were employees (including upper level management) concerned about retaliations if they spoke up?
Decision Making
What factors did your leader consider when making their decisions? Did the economy, rules and regulations, war and conflict, or ‘accepted standards of practice’ influence their actions? What other events were occurring in the world that affected your leader’s actions? How did their effective and ineffective traits influence their decision? Your emphasis should be on the traits and what role those traits played in the decision they made.
Using your critical thinking skills, analyze their decisions and state why you believe they took the action they did. Provide evidence for both the decision and your reasoning. Be sure to cite your sources.
My overall conclusion
Based on your research and analysis, answer these three questions:
1. Was your leader effective in this situation? Why or why not?
2. Which strength or trait of theirs was the strongest, and what effect did it have on their ability to lead?
3. How will you incorporate #2 into your leadership acumen?
References
All references you used should be listed here in APA format. They should be listed alphabetically by author. Use the Purdue Owl or www.worldcat.org for format.
**Be sure to cite all your sources**
Last Completed Projects
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