Monthly Archives: January 2017

David Griffin, the general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lebron James recently met regarding the current “drought” the team is experiencing. The 2015-16 NBA champions have lost six of their last eight games and have moved from second to fourth in the NBA power rankings  over the past two weeks. This may seem as typical behaviour for a sports team, yet Lebron James disagrees.

Lebron, who is viewed as the leader of the Cavaliers, criticized the team’s roster and was outraged at the teams managed when he claimed “we need a f*cking playmaker!,” following the teams loss to the Pelicans on Monday. However, Griffin argues, “The thing we have to do the most is get better from within.” Although Lebron may potentially be the best basketball player in the world, his remarks are unethical and unfair to his teammates. Also, with the large sum of money the Cavaliers are paying their players, it is nearly impossible for the team to alter their roster. Similar to what Mira Hayre states in her blog, this could perhaps be related to Lebrons grit and desire for perseverance. However Lebron is not the manager of the team and should not regard the roster for the teams issues.

Lebron’s actions demonstrate an abuse of McClelland’s theory of needs. These needs, which consist of achievement, affiliation and power, portray motivation for an individual to be affective in their field of employment. Lebron has definitely been an affective presence for the Cavaliers, and his drive towards the team’s achievement is a common goal. However, he is abusing his power and influence on the team by criticizing the general manager and his surrounding teammates.

With the trade deadline approaching it is unknown if the General Manager of the Cavaliers will satisfy Lebron’s wishes. Lebron has had a negative history with the management group of the Cavaliers and, if his actions continue, there is a possibility he could find himself on a different team. Yet, realistically, he is highly admired in the city of Cleveland too skilled of player to trade.

word count: 304

Sources:

http://www.si.com/nba/2017/01/26/cavaliers-gm-lebron-james-meeting

http://onsmash.com/sports/lebron-james-says-he-needs-a-fucking-playmaker/

http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcclelland/

Grit: If You Don’t Have It, You Want It.

This past Thursday, the political dilemma in Gambia has rapidly escalated, following Adama Barrow being sworn into office. The previous leader, Yahya Jammeh, claims he is still the President and will “fight back” to retain his position. As a result of Mr. Jammeh’s failure to step down, Senegalese military have invaded the capital of Gambia (Banjul) and insist on his departure.

Previously, Mr. Jammeh had been the leader of the country for over 20 years, yet suddenly his country has decided to vote him out. This is likely due to the arrival of millennials into the voting population. Gambia has seen a massive population rise over their past few elections and, with the mean age of their population being 20.7 years, millenials would therefore have a massive impact on the result of the vote.

This younger population (AKA millennials) is classified to have very high expectations, regarding their standard of living and, with Mr. Jammeh’s “dictatorship” approach, it is evident as to why he was voted out. Mr. Barrow, who was recently sworn into office, has continuously advertised the saying “We are one Gambia, one people” to portray the democratic approach he wished to enforce upon the country. Evidently, this was a significant reason as to why he was voted in.

Overall, Mr. Barrows leadership stance correlated more with the millennials political views, rather than Mr. Jammeh’s views, which correlated with very few citizens. Dilemmas similar to this portray how globalization is impacting the role of leaders and how their leverage is becoming less influential each day. Standards continue to rise with globalization, as newer populations continuously grow “picky”.

word count: 271

Sources:

Searcey, Dionne, and Jaime Barry. Www.nytimes.com. The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2017. Web. 21 Jan. 2017.

“PopulationPyramid.net.” PopulationPyramid.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2017.