Cameron Crowe, the director of the movie “Jerry Maguire” attempts to demonstrate how success and failure in leadership are a part of life. In this case, the director uses the character of Jerry Maguire to illustrate the importance of ethical behavior within the business environment. Subsequent to condemnation from a wounded player’s son sparking a life-changing realization, Maguire writes a mission statement concerning discerned deception in the business of sports management (Lewicki et al., 2015). Within the mission statement, Maguire mentions that he prefers to represent fewer sportsmen while maintaining a more personal and better relationship with his clients. Because of his impulsive decision, Jerry Maguire creates conflict with his supervisor, who later fires him.
Jerry Maguire’s attempt at being a leader and developing the new vision statement generates conflict with his superior. The initial goal of Sports Management International (SMI) was to satisfy customer expectations while making a profit in the process. However, this had changed and the vision of the company was to make more profit. Jerry and his supervisor, at some point, had the same objective, which led to engaging in numerous activities that neglected their clients’ needs. Maguire’s new mission statement seemed to alter the current business trend at SMI. What it suggested was that the business should put customer necessities fast even when the business was making low profits. To do so, the organization would reduce its clients to provide better services that were more interpersonal. Jerry’s supervisor did not believe in this mission statement and, therefore, he decided to fire Jerry.
Jerry Maguire’s main aim was to alter the company’s money-oriented vision to be people-centered. Nevertheless, this was not aligned with most of the beliefs of Jerry’s colleagues, as well as the organization’s mission. SMI was in the business of making more profit at the expense of its client. In this case, that meant neglecting their client in their time of need. For instance, in some situations, the company would not take responsibility for treating an injured player. Furthermore, they would stop promoting a player who did not perform well due to health problems. To make more money, the organization needed to cut spending on such areas as promotion and medical expenses for the people they represented. Therefore, they would continue making money while focusing less on the people. Thus, Jerry Maguire’s new mission statement was a complete contradiction of both SMI’s and its representative’s beliefs.
An organization must have a vision if its objective is to succeed. The vision of a company refers to an idea of what a particular business will be in the future. As a result, such firms must have a visionary leader willing to guide followers toward achieving this vision (Lewicki et al., 2015). Similarly, a mission statement in business is a precise and detailed explanation of the business’ cause for operating. The mission describes the firm’s overall intention and its purpose. The mission statement provides support to the vision and functions as a source of purpose and direction to stakeholders, customers, and employees. On the other hand, strategies are the techniques an organization utilizes to ensure it meets its vision and mission. The culture and leadership of an organization must correspond to its mission, vision, and strategies. A leader must have a clear vision and must be able to communicate it to employees through the mission of the company. By creating an ethical culture, the leader ensures that there is no conflict within the organization.
If I were Jerry Maguire, I would have privately proposed a new statement mission to my supervisor. I believe that Jerry Maguire violated the code of conduct by distributing the new statement mission without consulting his superior. Consequently, his supervisor felt undermined by a lower-ranking person. By discussing it with my superior, I would have had a better understanding of the potential outcome of the new statement and vision. Furthermore, I would have discussed some of the details with some of my colleagues. By doing so, I would have had an idea of how to introduce the mission statement without offending others within the company. Through this technique would have had ample time to prepare and introduce the new mission statement at the right time.
The analysis of power, in this case, can determine whether one can build a career or fail. For Jerry Maguire, it was both since he had the opportunity to lose and rebuild his career. Initially, he had everything a person would want in life. However, after having a revelation during the night, he reevaluates his position and writes a new mission statement. Without consulting anyone, he distributes this statement to everyone in the company. Despite earning his reputation as the best sports representative within the company, he was still answerable to his supervisor. However, Jerry Maguire manages to learn from his mistakes and his vulnerabilities to become a powerful and successful leader. Therefore, power is an important tool that requires a charismatic person who can utilize it when the need arises.
Reference
Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2015). Negotiation: Readings, exercises, and cases. McGraw-Hill Europe.