Hoosiers Movie Leadership Paper

James LeBoeuf

Individual Paper

“Hoosiers”

4/1/2010

Part I

Using examples from the movie, explain and support ALL the various aspects of Path-Goal theory. This is a leadership theory therefore, you need to look at the ‘leader’ for examples (how can his/her actions be explained using the theory). Please note that several examples of each area are expected along with a discussion that demonstrates your understanding of the theory.

2 Basic Goals of the Path-Goal Leadership Theory

~According to the path goal theory, the manager’s job is to guide all of the workers to choose the best paths in order to reach their goals, and simultaneously, the overall organizational goals. According to this theory, it’s the leader’s job to adapt his/her leadership style to different situations in order to best align the team to achieving a particular goal.

-Ex. The movie Hoosiers, Gene Hackman plays Coach Norman Dale, who is the coach (leader) of a small town Indiana basketball team. Being that the movie is both about basketball and completely focused on Coach Dale, he becomes the primary leader. In this movie, just as in life, it is the basketball coach’s job to guide the team and call its plays. One of the best ways that this is evidenced through the movie is that coach Dale instructs practices and designs the plays for the players to execute on the court. His goal is to make the team successful, and win, and the overall goal of the town is to have the most competitive basketball team it can produce. His goal is to win basketball games, and the town’s people’s goal is to have a winning season and a team they feel proud to follow.

-It is also Coach Norman’s job to adjust his leadership style to the different situations that he’s required to adapt to. One of the best examples from the film that illustrates this is at the very end of the movie. The team is in state championship game down by one. Coach Dale calls for an end around screen pass and for a lesser known...