Ambition, Ethics And Leadership Essay - 1253 Words

Values are individual beliefs that drive people to do things or act in different ways. Generally, people are inclined to adopt the values they were raised up in, either by society, the culture or history. Conflicts arise when people have different values, leading to a dispute of concerns. The comparative study of the texts ‘Lincoln’ by Steven Spielberg and ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’ by Christopher Koch, has enhanced my understanding of the texts’ explored values. These values include ambition, ethics and leadership, and they, to a large extent, enhanced my knowledge as the texts offer different perspectives into different values. Ambition is a key value in both texts, and it is seen through the main protagonists Abraham Lincoln in†¦show more content†¦Both these texts have enhanced my understanding of the value of ambition to a great extent, as they highlight that through ambition we can achieve a goal, similar to in ‘Lincoln’, but it can also mean that if we are overambitious we may end up betraying others to achieve things for ourselves and this is similar to in ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’. Another key value in both texts is ethics and is seen in challenges that the protagonists face. In ‘Lincoln’, a difficult choice must be made by President Lincoln. He has the capability to end the war early with negotiations occurring with the opposition, but he also desires to pass the 13th amendment to abolish slavery. To end the war early would mean that that no further deaths happen, but, the whole reason they are fighting for, to abolish slavery, would never occur, thus, a theoretical loss. Lincoln decided that in order to end slavery, just about anything was justified. When Seward, secretary of state, tries to persuade him that â€Å"It’s either the amendment or this Confederate peace, you cannot have both.† Lincoln replies by saying â€Å"If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me...†. This metaphorical response by Lincoln shows that he has considered many things and this was stil l the right way to go. Here ethics has been considered, but is disregarded to a small extent for the greater good, as itShow MoreRelatedMust All Good Managers Be Leaders?1164 Words   |  5 Pagesworthwhile to take a look into one of the contemporary and most popular approaches to leadership, the transformational leadership theory. Transformational leadership gives attention to charisma and affective components of leadership. It is a process that changes and transforms people. 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