Miranda priestly leadership style

Introduction

Have you ever watched a movie and thought to yourself “I would never do that.” Or maybe you thought “does that really happen?” Most of us think of movies as a source of entertainment, and we are right. Movies have long been a source of entertainment.

When we are kids, movies are about fantasy, make-believe, things that would be really cool but aren’t real. Some of these movies actually portray real life scenarios in a subliminal message. These messages can be interpreted in many ways. The characters can have courage, strength, problem-solving, and perhaps even critical thinking, but we don’t realize this as it’s just a movie.

Then, as we get older, the movies become more realistic, maybe they aren’t so innocent. In Wall Street, Bud Fox displays courage, strength and problem solving. In The Devil Wears Prada Andy also has courage, strength, the ability to problem solve and exercises critical thinking. In the childhood movies, these characters that are courageous and strong are heroes. The more realistic, mature movies, portray reality. So is the case in Wall Street and The Devil Wears Prada.

Wall Street Movie Summary

Wall Street, a movie released in 1987 starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen is a movie that defines the greed that exists in Corporate America. Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen is an average kid born to a blue collar, union representative from Queens, New York. He goes to college, becomes a broker on Wall Street and moves to Manhattan in the hopes of living the true American Dream. When Bud seems to be getting nowhere with his job, losing more money than he is making, he finds himself thinking about what steps he can take to make it big. Bud knows Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, is a big time investor and this is a client Bud would love to have. He had been trying to land the account by cold calling him every day for 55 days. The 56th day is the day when he finally gets an opportunity to meet with Gordon Gekko. Bud has five minutes to impress him, to land the deal, to find himself on the road to living that dream.

Followership - Wall Street

As our text suggests, “courageous leaders acknowledge the dangers they face and their anxieties. Nonetheless, they move forward despite the risks and costs. The same is true for courageous followers” (Johnson 71). Bud Fox displays courageous followership in this film. In the beginning of their business relationship, Fox does not live up to Gekko’s expectations and makes it clear he wants another shot at trying. Gekko then lets Fox in on some information about a competitor of Gekko’s. Gekko then tells Fox that he wants him to follow this person and get any information he possibly can about the moves he is making so Gekko can jump in on the investments first. Bud acknowledges the dangers in the unethical choice and proceeds anyway despite the risks. This is an example of the dark side of followership.

Abuse of Power - Wall Street

Abuse of Power is evident in many scenarios throughout this film, though there are a few that stood out the most. Firstly, Bud Fox gains power with insider information regarding Blue Star Airlines. Fox’s father is a Union Representative for the company, and after a visit with his father, Fox learns that a recent lawsuit against the airline is overturned, declaring the airline not liable for an accident that happened previously. This will mean that their stock price will increase after this information is released. With this information, Bud now has power with knowledge. He presents this inside information to get Gekko’s attention in the beginning, knowing that Gekko will jump all over it. Fox is right, Gekko tells him to buy 20,000 shares of Blue Star Airline stock. There is a great example of this type of situation in our text, under the “Shadow of Inconsistency” (Johnson 21).

Additionally, Craig Johnson says, “power is the foundation for influence attempts” (7). Gordon Gekko uses his power and success, to influence Fox to make unethical decisions. This is an example of referent power under the Shadow of Power. Referent power “rests on the admiration one person has for another” (Johnson 7).

Moral-Decision Making - Wall Street

Although there is no real set of rules for making moral decisions, they should be based on 1.) knowledge of the facts of the situation and 2). thoroughly contemplating the moral values or principles of the given situation (MacDonald n. pag.). Bud demonstrates moral-decision making in the beginning of the film when he first lands Gekko as an investor. In reference to the stock purchased for Blue Star Airlines, Gekko asks Bud if he purchased some for himself. Bud looks at Gekko and reminds him of how he can’t do that, because it’s illegal. Of course in this situation the law has an impact on his decision, but it is ultimately up to the individual to make the right choice.

Shadow Casters - Wall Street

Gordon Gekko is a shadow caster. He exercises the Shadow of Power as previously mentioned. The Shadow of Privilege is also present with this character. According to Johnson, “leaders almost always enjoy greater privileges than followers do” (13). In this film, Gordon Gekko enjoys the finest paintings, personal jets, a house on the beach and more. His riches from the business he does afford him the opportunity to live extravagantly. He also stresses this benefit to Bud Fox when he hands him a check for $1 million after the purchase of Blue Star Airlines stock. Gekko says, “you do good, you get perks – lots and lots of perks” (Wall Street).