I have chosen The Godfather because, as many men, I like story predicated on ancestral honor, associated with ability and money. Mafia reports I would say. . And, of course, as a marseillais and corsican, I really like Mediterranean culture and traditions of tribalism (values of big families operating like tribes).
The Godfather is movie about the finish of reign of an old mafia key, Don Vito Corleone, in NY, after WWII. It shows the road wars that leading a mafia family includes, and also shows the approaching of a fresh Godfather to displace the previous one, Michael Corleone, child of Vito. We start to see the real birth of a very clever and frigid leader, among a very violent and cynical group of men: the "familia" Corleone.
Vito has many concepts, and is said to lead family business in an old fashion way. The bad times begins for him when he refuses to make an alliance with a medicine supplier name Sallozo: he prefers working with less "dirty businesses" such as women traffic (!) and gambling. This is actually the exact second when the conflict for power begins within NY crime people, with, in centre of every clans' strategy, intimidation and effect. The drug seller wants to neglect Vito (with gunpowder of course), to produce a deal with one of his son, more inclined to try medication business.
Michael, who's the only genuine guy in Corleone family, gets involved for the first time, with the taking pictures of his father. As the film should go and Vito gets older with less electric power and more health issues, he will become the head of the family. And I'll explain you what are the primary characteristics of his control and where his legitimacy originates from.
I have chosen to remain focused on Michael because we can follow his way to be the first choice all along the report. He becomes the new godfather as the film runs, and has to win trustworthiness and acknowledgement among his family. I have thought maybe it's interesting to investigate how he gets his legitimacy, his value, as he's not in the beginning the most obvious innovator of the family (because of his very honest past life : he's said "never to be inclined to get involved into family business", according to his sibling Sonny). I am going to often make comparisons between Michael and his father, but in fact, we cannot see Vito in many head situations, except in the beginning of the movie, at the weeding, when he is talking to folks who would like his help. The comparison can be based on what the other individuals say about him.
And first I will set the situation through an Corporation chart.
Michael Corleone's Management.
The repartition of power
Before going into Michael's command style, I am going to describe the interactions between the other character types before he gets engaged into business. Here is a schema that amounts up all the key people' position in the storyline. The arrows signify the authority. The top square stands for the crime company.
Before Michael gets into business
Don Vito Corleone
Historic Head of the family
THE Godfather
Michael Corleone
War hero with a honest life. Will not want to get included into family business
Tom Hagen
Don's step kid. He's the consiliero he helps the Don in taking decisions.
Santino Sonny » Corleone
Don's son, supposed to be the next head of the family. He is included into family business.
Tessio & Clemenza
Caporegime, they lead the fieldmen », on the avenues. These are led by Vito and sometimes by Sonny (for example, when Sonny thinks that Paulie is in charge of Don's episode, he asks Clemeza to kill him)
The other sons, such as Fredo who is in NEVADA, and the rest of the Corleone crime business (fieldmen etc).
After Michael gets leadership
The squares that are dashed are for people who get wiped out or disappear through the start of Michael's reign.
Michael Corleone
New Head of the family
THE Godfather
Don Vito Corleone
Untill his fatality, he is the consiliero, the man who helps the Godfather into taking decisions.
Tessio & Clemenza
They are willing to create their own corporation And one betrays the Corleone Corporation.
The other sons, such as Fredo who is in Las Vegas, with Tom Hagen, and the rest of the Corleone crime corporation that remained in NY (fieldmen etc).
After Michael becomes the leader of the crime organization, a lot of things change. As we see, he has regrouped the whole leadership and ability in his own hands. Even when Vito is nominated as a luxury Consiliero, he cannot do that job for years because he has a health car accident and dies. Now Michael appears to be the only person to consider his decision. And he gets his new rank after having made his proofs.
How Michael becomes a leader
As we observed right before on the first organization chart, Michael is not engaged into offense business. He just has learned his father and brothers' activities from a very far viewpoint. We can see it in the very beginning of the movie when he foretells his fiance about Vito's ways to convince people. Even if he does not actually want to discuss it to protect both his young lady and his family, he seems never to be so alert to details.
But he also seems to have a good romance with his father. Even if he does not approve his activities he's not in a personal battle with him. He is not in total opposition with Vito, as his "war hero" could lead him to do. We are able to say that he is alert to his father's position, but he considers it as different things as his own honest way of living. He really separates in his mind his familial marriage with Vito from his own private ideas of justice and life.
This is the first reason why Michael will be required to take decisions that can make him get increasingly more involved with Corleone's crime activities.
The first decision he must take is very associated with that. When he hears about his father's murder, he would go to a healthcare facility and locates no bodyguard, no one to cope with the security. Incredibly, he immediately responds by phoning his brothers to have significantly more information, and inform them about this. This isn't the first typical result of a son seeing his father laying in a clinic bed. The actions of his daddy are needs to have an effect on his decisions. Because, he would have only waited for his brothers to come, or waited for their instructions as mafia users. Rather than this, he chooses to use decisions by himself, in this very special situation, and action for the first time as a head: he determines to improve his father's place and also to put him in another room. Then he convinces the baker who possessed come to go to Vito to do something like an equipped bodyguard, in front of Sollozo's family members car. This is a very dangerous situation because they could be shot down. Michael handles to obtain the baker do what he would like. Michael also pretends he's an equipped bodyguard, braving the risk to be taken down, but it appears to be totally natural for him, as the baker gets the concern with his life.
We can examine this first rung on the ladder into business through Hersey and Blanchard's situational theory. Anybody who knows a little the Corleone family already is aware of that Michael is not engaged into business. Moreover, some collaborators do not know that Michael is present. So Michael has not any specialist and legitimacy yet. Which is why I have chosen a situational theory. In this particular case, Michael becomes a situational leader. So now, why don't we talk about the follower. The baker has a higher level of subconscious maturity according to Hersey and Blanchard's view. Vito already helped him in the past and he wishes to be thankful and show his value. He is eager to help the Corleone family. But he really lacks job maturity: he is not a gangster in any way. So Michael will respond very ingenious by aiding him. This is more in regards to a non spoken vocabulary: we can easily see trust, support, health care, encouragement into Michael's sight voice and tendencies, but also a lot of firmness and determination. For his first decision taking, in the movie, Michael acts just like a very adaptative head. Because he handles to have the baker do what he needs, and also reaches his goal which is to avoid a confrontation with Sollozo's men, by intimidating them.
This decision making was such as a kind of advantages for Michael into Corleone's business. The picture with McCluskey, the Police chief, will encourage him going further into the dishonest area of life.
But the real first big decision Michael will take is when he chooses to get rid of Sollozo and Mc Cluskey. We are able to see for the reason that scene an integral part of Michael's leadership. First of all we must set the background. Sollozo desires to destroy Vito, to create pressure on Corleone family, and to then have them into his medication dealing business. So Michael finds the following answer to his father's problems: he gets into business by eradicating mafia lord Sollozo and the Police head, McCluskey. He's never considered by the other brothers as a heavyweight advice, as a genuine player in criminal offenses game. Moreover, he is regarded as inexperienced. Furthermore, this decision has heavy repercussions: eliminating a Policeman is an awful tactic since it creates an extremely bad image on the general public opinion and on the family's politics protectors. And moreover, this is a very punishable action. So, to influence his brothers, Michael has a big insufficient trust to fill up. Here we can easily see all his management behavior.
He creates a very high level of legitimacy through the way he exposes his ideas. First, the words themselves. They are extremely well chosen, without possible misunderstanding, no hesitation, no manipulation. Michael only provides facts, and incredibly clear ideas, easy to understand and follow. His demo is simple, with an explanation of the issues ("Sollozo would like to wipe out Dad") goals and his solutions to reach them (" we habe to get rid of him first"). This makes his solution the answer. And it creates his quite stupid idea to wipe out the Police mind very trustable. We can also notice that Michael does not talk much. He only uses the right amount of words, without many discussions. His thoughts are so clear that they almost can't be mentioned. He also takes the time to believe all his decisions over, to make them look better.
Then we will also discuss the non verbal aspect of the conversation. Michael has a very peaceful and slow way to speak. His voice is very quiet and fluent. But he also talks with a whole lot of firmness and dedication. He talks in an exceedingly simple and didactical way: it creates his discourse appear like the only one possible, the sole possible solution. And what is even more unusual is the fact that Michael never uses verbal violence, or physical impact to influence his brothers, on contrary to Sonny. His legitimacy comes from his words and activities, the power of those, rather than any physical influence.
Still on the non verbal aspect, we can ad that Michael uses the same physical ways to encourage as he used to influence the baker: an extremely insistent look, right in the eyes, full of light, as he was looking at the near future. . He also rests just a little tilted behind, prefer to show some drive and intelligence.
Part of his way to persuade is a non verbal one: his attitude is the one of a smart charismatic person.
In this specific picture, we can also observe that Michael repeats that he does not mix personal feelings with business, which appears to be the first quality of the mafia lord. On the other hand to Sonny, he responds coldly and always thinks in terms of methods.
The bout of the discourse about Sollozo and McCluskey murder is essential in Michael's way to be the leader, the godfather. With this simple fact mentioned and done, he will prove that he's reliable, that he totally can take and assumes decisions, and this he is not just a field man, like could be Sonny, or an only intellectual, like Tom Hagen. He demonstrates he's both of these, and that he can do on the field the things he will ask from his Godfather's desk to the family members.
Michael as a leader
Sonny's murder packages the pressure on Corleone family. After is revenge on Sollozo and his exile in Sicily, Michael appears to be the only person to lead the family business. Fredo is not strong and experienced enough, and does not have the abilities and stature to do it. Tom Hagen is an attorney, and will continue having these activities for the family. He is too useful in this task. So Michael has to take the command.
As we subjected on the previous schemes, he will change the organization of the family, and also have an extremely autocratic style of leadership.
We will illustrate Michael's ways to be a innovator through some criteria that are: reactions to conflicts/personal engagement, decision taking, and associations with fans, and then the monitoring.
First we will talk about personal involvement. Nonetheless it is a genuine personal event that received Michael involved into business, his way of dealing with it is very detached. He highly separates personal feelings and business decisions. He keeps on stating it in the field with the talk about Sollozo's murder, but we also can see it just how he chooses to lead the family. He does not hesitate to miss Tom Hagen from his important role in the family business, although he is his sibling in law plus they have known each others for a long time. He acts the same with Fredo in NEVADA, or with Tessio, who is killed although he is a very old family collaborator. Michael only focuses on goals to reach and thinks about business first. We can also see it in the manner Michael reacts when a conflict happens. For example in NEVADA, when he talks about with Moe Green and the dialogue starts to turn into a disagreement, Michael never forgets to keep his list, never shows no stress and will not to let his violent feelings act instead of him. His get ranking supposes he stands firm and calm and also to act clever. He's the first choice so he has a huge legitimacy, his role is merely to give requests and alert when someone does not respect them. And it is just what he does indeed.
On a second hands, we can say that Michael's way to consider decision is completely different from his father's. On the other hand to Vito, who is more a head member exchange relation (LMX theory), he's a total autocratic leader. Even though he asks the old godfather to be the consiliero, we can suppose it is more an honorific role, than a real one. In addition, it is usually to make the changeover softer among the rest of the family. Michael may use his father's natural specialist and previous role. He skips Tom Hagen to be the only head when Vito dies. Then he is the only one to adopt decisions, without the consultation. He pieces the new objectives of the family (make clearer plus more genuine business), and communicates them by himself to the other members of the family. Based on the Path-Goal Theory of Leadership, Michael is the very exact description of a directive head ("A directive innovator sets clear benchmarks of performance and makes regulations clear to followers in a non-threatening way").
His connections with the family seem to be to be regulated by a very advanced of hierarchy. Michael is the Godfather and every little decision must get his approbation. And he does focus on the weight of long term relationships. For example, when Tessio asks him to get started on a new family, although he is an extremely old good friend of Vito and has been doing work for the family for ages, he will not make favor and fixes himself the time when Tessio could be able to get it done. However, Michael has a real powerful flow of information arriving to him. Another facet of his management is an extremely reliable monitoring.
But on the contrary to Vito, on Michael's reign, the other family are just here to send information. They are the monitoring system of Corleone family. It allows the new godfather to take quick decisions, and run an extremely dynamic form of management, by being alert to the slightest changes in to the environment.
APPENDIX ONE
THE PLOT
In late summer time 1945, Don Vito Corleone and Tom Hagen (his consigliere) notice requests for favors during the Don's girl Connie's wedding reception, following a Sicilian tradition. Performer Johnny Fontaine, Corleone's godson, requests help in landing a movie role that will revitalize his flagging profession. Hagen is dispatched to California to talk with studio head Jack Woltz. After at first refusing to cast Fontane, Woltz caves in when he locates the severed mind of his prized $600, 000 racehorse in his foundation the next morning hours.
Upon Hagen's return, the family control satisfies with Virgil Sollozzo, who asks Don Corleone to protect the rival Tattaglia family's plannedheroin business. Don Vito disapproves of medication trafficking and feels his political affect could be jeopardized; he rejects the probably lucrative proposal. Then sends his major enforcer, Luca Brasi, to infiltrate Sollozzo's firm, but Brasi is summarily executed.
Don Corleone is shot within an assassination try out. Sollozzo abducts Hagen and persuades him to provide Corleone's eldest kid, Sonny (Wayne Caan), the deal previously offered to the Don. The youngest kid, Michael (Al Pacino), whom the other Mafia young families consider a "civilian" uninvolved in mob business, averts a second murder attempt at a healthcare facility where his father is being treated, but is beaten by corrupt police Captain McCluskey. Sonny retaliates by having Bruno Tattaglia killed.
When Sollozzo fits with Michael in an attempt to negotiate the dispute, Michael shoots and eliminates both Sollozzo and McCluskey. He requires refuge in Sicily, where he soon marries a young local woman. The 3rd Corleone brother, Fredo, is dispatched to Las Vegas, to be sheltered by internet casino providers the Corleones have supported financially. Start warfare erupts between your Corleones and the other people of the Five Households, while the authorities and other government bodies get started to clamp down on Mafia activity. Don Vito is particularly distressed when he learns of Michael's engagement, since he had prepared for Michael to stay uninvolved in the "family business. "
When Sonny impulsively leaves the guarded family mixture to confront Connie's partner, Carlo (Gianni Russo), over his wife-beating, he's killed in an ambush, this after he assaulted Carlo the very first time. On the other hand, Michael narrowly escapes fatality in Sicily, when his better half is killed by the bomb in their car.
Don Vito matches with the other Five Family dons and settles their dispute, withdrawing his opposition to the Tattalglia's heroin business. He deduces from the negotiations that the Tattaglias were functioning on behalf of the better Don Barzini. With his safety now guaranteed, Michael comes back home. Greater than a season later, he marries his long time American girlfriend, Kay. As his father withdraws from effective control of the Corleone family, and middle sibling Fredo viewed as not capable of shouldering the Don's duties, Michael calls for control of the family. He assures Kay he will legitimize its businesses within five years.
Biding his time, Michael allows rival people to pressure Corleone companies and eat away at their revenues, disturbing several of his caporegimes. He directs them not to retaliate, disclosing ideas to move family functions to Nevada while spinning off New York operations to family members who stay back of. Michael chooses Carlo to go to Vegas and replaces Hagen with a new consigliere; Vito clarifies to the annoyed Hagen that he and Michael have longer-range ideas for him as well as for the family.
Michael moves to Las Vegas, intending to buy out their modern casino partner, Moe Greene. Greene angrily rejects the proposal, deriding the Corleones as a faltering organization. Michael is specially angered when Fredo, under the sway of Greene and his associates, warns his brother that Greene is too important to be cured in that fashion.
Vito Corleone collapses and dies while playing with his young grandson Anthony in his tomato garden. On the burial, caporegime Tessio (Abe Vigoda) arranges a meeting between Michael and Don Barzini (Richard Conte), now viewed as the dominant body in the brand new York young families. As Vito acquired warned Michael, Tessio's involvement signals his switch of allegiance to the Barzini family; the organized meeting is intended to lead to Michael's execution. The meeting is defined for the same day as the christening of Connie and Carlo's kid, where Michael will stand as his godfather.
As the christening proceeds, Corleone assassins murder the dons heading the other New York family members, as well as Moe Greene. Following the christening, Tessio discovers that Michael knows his betrayal, and it is taken off to his fatality. Michael confronts Carlo over his suspected participation in setting up Sonny's killing, promising him security; after Carlo confesses, he's garotted at Michael's path.
Later that day, Connie accuses Michael of murdering the vanished Carlo as Kay watches. When Kay confronts him privately, he denies the accusation to her, a remedy she appears to admit. As the film ends, Kay considers Michael receiving gestures of admiration from other mafiosi, paralleling the procedure given his dad, just before the door to his office is shut down.
Source: Wikipedia
