Margret Hilda Thatcher Leadership - Essay Example

Great Leader Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecture Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 26th March, 2012. Margret Hilda Thatcher the first female prime minister of Britain was born on 13 October 1925. Becoming the prime Minister in a human society dominated by the male sex was one of Margret Thatcher’s biggest achievement, but not only did she become prime minister but also the one who held this high office for the longest time in the last century between 1979-1990 (Campbell 201,pp.93). Margret begun his political career by contesting for a seat in the Britain’s house of commons, her resilience is shown in these early years as she first contested in 1950 but had to wait until 1958, after contesting and losing in three elections(Vinen 2009 pp.7). When finally elected to House of Commons Margret she showed her independence by going against what was then accepted as norm for a member of parliament. In her introduction speech to the house she came out to support the holding of council assemblies in communal places. She went against her party’s position to offer her support to those who wanted caning reintroduced as punishment in prisons (Campbell 2011, pp 120). Margret also showed warmth to the minority Jews in her Finchely constituency referring to them as “my people” (Vinen 2009 pp.7). Margret was among those who started the “Conservative Friends of Israel” but believed Israel had to strive for peace and stop violating international; she denounced Israel’s bombing of Osirak. Margret Thatcher played a significant role in coming up and advocating for the policies of her conservative party. Margret believed in social justice, and as their Conservative party’s Housing spokeswoman she backed the Party’s position that tried to address the housing problem among the lower class by allowing them to buy the house they owned (Campbell 2011, pp. 286). Margret opposed the policy of the rival labour party on many occasion showing that they were other workable alternatives. In 1966 she contested labour’s economic policy aimed at controlling market prices and the income of individuals. She led the protest against high taxes in 1966 and argued that they would lower the morale of workers. Margret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister Britain at time when they faced a threat of attack from the Soviet Union, inflation was very high and was not controlled; the economy was unstable and needed immediate remedial action to recover (Dale 2011, pp. 126). The workers in Britain were misrepresented by the leaders of their union who advocated for policies that fitted them leaving workers an oppressed lot. The Gap between the rich and the poor in Britain had also widened because of the economic policies of previous labour government. Inflation levels were very high and protests had already taken place against a high cost of living (Dale 2011, pp. 128). As a prime Minister of Britain Margret took the responsibility of a state upon herself, her responsibilities included: making and implementing economic policy, ensuring the wellbeing of every citizen within the confines of her administrative power, security of the citizens, foreign relations (Campbell 2011, pp. 286). Margret’s job as prime minister was very involving and she had to factor in the opinion of the people she was governing. Margret Thatcher is regarded in some quarters as one of best leaders to have ever ruled in Britain and with good cause. Margret was admired for using a leadership style that delivered results rapidly, but disregarding the input of others including that of her own cabinet. In the years after the Falkland war Margret Thatcher is quoted to have shown preference for the small “War cabinet” she had chosen to make decisions during the, complaining against the slower process of implementing policy during peace time (Thatcher 1993, pp.123). According to the trait theory of leadership Margret Thatcher was seen to have a character that made her very successful in pushing through her agenda. As regards assertiveness, Thatcher exhibited it by taking inflexible positions on many issue. She strongly opposed the inclusion of Britain in a political and economic federation of Europe that was being initiated by other government leaders in European countries. Her assertive character saw a number of her cabinet ministers resign as they had views that could not be reconciled with her own. Margret Thatcher was detested and loved in equal measure; even today years after her premiership reign Thatcher is still spoken of in admiration. A soviet minister coined the name Iron Lady that would be used to refer to Thatcher’s unwavering stand once she had made her mind (Gamble1998, pp. 340). Margret was a strong opponent of the Soviet’s ruling soviet regime pointing out they were militarizing so they could conquer the world. Margret’s leadership style attracted a lot of negative opinion; Geoffrey Howe the deputy prime minister resigned after she refused to sign an agreement implementation of a timeline for introduction a common currency for European nations in his resignation speech Howe remarked: "It is rather like sending your opening batsmen to the crease, only for them to find, as the first balls are being bowled, that their bats have been broken before the game by the team captain” (Campbell 2011, pp. 288). Howe had served the longest in Thatcher’s administration and his resignation was followed by the collapse of the Thatcher government. Many people in the UK and elsewhere in the world credit Margret Thatcher with radical changes in all the aspects of life in Britain. Her social policy saw millions of social tenant become owners of houses they had previously rented from councils (Pratten1987, pp.122). Another success of Thatcher was the victory over the Argentine forces that had invaded the Falkland Islands; during the war she had ordered the sinking of an argentine vessel by use of a torpedo. Her leadership saw the streamlining of trade unionism and led to the decline of the power of activists who had made the human resource market unstable in Britain (Wilks 1997, pp 120). The decline in the bargaining power of trade unions and the numbers of registered members meant the workers had lesser influence over working conditions and remunerations. Thatcher’s policies saw her get re-elected as prime minister in three consecutive elections showing he had received a high rate of approval during his reign. Margret Thatcher was recognised as having an autocratic leadership style abhorring discussion as wastage of time that could be used elsewhere for development (Hughes 2000, pp. 34). To achieve a higher level of success during her reign, she could have accommodated the opinion of others in making her decisions. Margret showed a disregard for her own cabinet that is supposed to advice her on policy issues; in one instance a minister resigned after Margret supported the takeover of a Helicopter Manufacturing firm by a rival company of the one the minister had reached an agreement for the firms buy-out (The Economist 1990, pp 19). Margret was also depicted as having made policy decisions based on her own personal opinion of the issue; she refused to participation in the proposed European integration because she mistrusted the Germans. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life in prison, incarcerated by the apartheid government in his South African homeland. In 1994 he was elected president of the Republic of South Africa under majority rule. The leadership of Mandela is a direct contrast with that of Thatcher though they both share similar characteristics (Hort &Brown, 2006 pp.92). Both Mandela and Thatcher possessed strong moral values and are viewed as examples of people who stand by their principles. Thatcher and Mandela were charismatic leaders who inspired dedication among their loyal supporters, but they used the support from the masses differently. While Nelson Mandela is made economic reforms that were aimed at empowering the downtrodden, Thatcher main policies were aimed at manipulating the electorate in her favour (Encyclopedia.com 2004). Thatcher had an abrasive leadership style while Mandela took a reconciliatory tone in most negotiation; Thatcher refused to negotiate with trade unions when she wanted to reduce their powers while Mandela urged the blacks to reconcile and forgive the Afrikaners who had subjected them to apartheid previously (Hort &Brown, 2006 pp.92). In making the decision to intervene in Lesotho using the military shows he was willing to take on firm position on very difficult decisions, this quality are exhibited in Margret Thatcher when she ordered an Argentine Warship to be Torpedoed during the Falklands war. Thatcher’s leadership style can be used as a reference point for today practitioners of human resource management. Thatcher’s autocratic style led to a high turnover of ministers in her cabinet as she could not accommodate their differing views, for any manager with a similar style a similar outcome that has high employee turnover would be disastrous for his organization. Disregard of the input of others in decision making leads to lack of sufficient support for their realization. An individual personal feeling must be set aside while making decisions that influence others in the organization. Thatcher refused to lead the integration of Britain with the rest of Europe because of her own personal feelings of distrust, this refusal led to a split in her party and her eventual resignation. Years after the Reign of Margret Thatcher the problems created by her radical policies continue to be felt by the British population. Human resource managers must learn to make wide consultations on the long-term implication of their policy decisions in contrast Thatcher who hated consulting but ended up making weak policies that took Britain years to recover from economically (Nott 2003, pp.183). Secondly one can see the value of making firm decisions when faced by a moral dilemma; Thatcher ordered the sinking of an Argentine Warship killing those on board, but consequently resulting in a victory for Britain in the Falkland war (Berlinski 2008,pp.48). A good leader can also learn the lesson of being firm as exemplified by Thatcher’s stand against trade unions. Another important lesson from Thatcher is that an authoritarian style can deliver results very fast, but they would have to use it very few times. Margret Thatcher leadership illustrates that a single person in position can indeed make the World/Organization a worse or a better place. References Berlinski, C 2008, There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters, Basic Books, New York. Campbell, J 2003, The Iron Lady, Jonathan Cape Ltd. London. Campbell, J 2011, The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer's Daughter to Prime Minister, Penguin (Non-Classics), London. Dale, I 2011, Margaret Thatcher In Her Own Words, Biteback, London. Encyclopedia.com 2004,"Margaret Hilda Thatcher." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Encyclopedia.com, 25 Mar. 2012, . Gamble, A 1998, The Free Economy and the Strong State: the politics of Thatcherism, Macmillan, Basingstoke. Hort, L Brown, L 2006, DK Biography: Nelson Mandela, DK Children publishing, New York. Hughes, L 2000, Madam Prime Minister: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher, IUniverse, London. Pratten, C. F. 1987, 'Mrs Thatcher's Economic Legacy', in Kenneth Minogue and Michael Thatcher, M 1993, The Downing Street Years, HarperCollins, London. The Economist 1990, To the victor these spoils—The Economist reviews Margaret Thatcher’s Years as Prime Minister’, The Economist (24 November 1990), p. 19. Vinen, R 2009, Thatcher's Britain: The Politics and Social Upheaval of the 1980s, Simon & Schuster, London, p. 7. Wilks, S 1997, Conservative Governments and the Economy, 1979-97, in Political Studies, Vol. 45, No. 4 (Sept. 1997). Nott, J 2003, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow. Recollections of an Errant Politician, Politicos, p. 183. Read More