Mutiny in the Band of Brothers: A Juxtaposition of Two Leaders

Abstract

The first episode of the critically acclaimed television series, Band of Brothers, juxtaposes two leaders navigating an environment of uncertainty and high-risk stakes. We review this first episode, titled Currahee, with the intention of adding to the library of teaching resources that instructors may use to illustrate leader–follower relations, power dynamics, contingency models, and follower voice and mutiny. This dramatic depiction of a team of paratroopers preparing for military engagement in World War II challenges students to examine the human and organizational antecedents and consequences associated with mundane, incompetent, tyrannical, or inspirational leaders. We provide a detailed set of discussion prompts and points of analysis for selected clips that will guide instructors as they implement this resource as part of an in-class exercise, a video case exam, and/or a written assignment for face-to-face and synchronous or asynchronous online classroom formats.

Lessons on the Resource-Based View and Generic Competitive Strategies From Kinky Boots: The Musical

“…Third, the film should help “keep student interest in the theories and concepts in action” (Champoux, 1999, p. 213). This use compares favorably with the use of other films or series in management courses, such as 12 Angry Men (Rabinowitz & Fender, 2020) and Band of Brothers (Stratton et al, 2020). Finally, while several authors have detailed how specific films could be used to teach strategy-related concepts (Cannon & Doyle, 2020; Champoux, 2001; Hayward & Walker, 2016), Kinky Boots: The Musical is unique in its focus on a Black gender nonconforming protagonist.…”

Helping Our Students to Develop Into the Leaders Our World Needs

“…Business schools do this in a number of ways, whether it be full courses devoted to leadership, units in courses such as introductory management or organizational behavior, team projects, or in extracurricular activities. Management Teaching Review has published a number of exercises and articles related to leadership across a range of aspects of the topic, including defining what a leader is (Polin, 2019), preparing to be a leader (Tyran, 2017), how leaders differ (Stratton et al, 2022), and bread and butter concepts like transformational leadership (Capitano et al, 2022).…”