Answer to Question 1
Arnold Schwarzenegger has journeyed to great heights from a very humble beginning. In the process of attaining his current position in the society Arnold has demonstrated a great deal of determination and perseverance. Additionally he has demonstrated high levels of social adaptability by establishing himself as a recognizable figure in the U.S, irrespective of the fact that he was brought up in Austria. As an actor he had created a network of influential friends who were unrelated to Arnold’s profession, this is suggestive of the fact that he is an extrovert and an outgoing person.
Politicians need to be able to handle unexpected situations and Arnold has shown the ability to remain unstressed in trying situations that crop up during public meetings and in debate with other politicians; this is suggestive of the fact he is a calm and composed individual. As the governor of California he has shown a significant amount of humbleness which is uncommon in people of authority, Arnold would visit other legislative members in their office rather then call them to his, this is something that no recent governors have ever done.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personality is best described by following words; outgoing, adaptive, friendly, witty, charismatic, humble, determined, persistent, hardworking, calm, responsible, nonconformist and blunt. The following is a comparison of words that describe Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personality and the big five taxonomy of personality (Nathan, Popkins).
1. Introvert Extrovert (outgoing, witty, charismatic)
2. Neuroticism (calm, composed)
3. Agreeableness (trustworthy, cooperative, humble)
4. Conscientiousness (hardworking, determined responsible)
5. Openness (nonconformist)
High extrovertism, low neuroticism, moderate agreeableness, high Conscientiousness and high Openness are the facts about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personality that contribute to his success as a leader.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has transformed himself from being a no body to becoming a big shot celebrity. In order to achieve this feat he had to survive difficult times and his determination, tendency to work hard and extreme extrovert nature has been of significant importance in shaping his career.
Answer to Question 2
Arnold Schwarzenegger used the power of his charisma, his popularity and his links with influential people to his advantage in the process of becoming California’s governor and thereafter justifying his pre election promises.
Schwarzenegger had made optimal use of advice given by his influential friends Warren Buffer, and economist Milton Friedman in the process of defining the goals that his administration would strive to achieve for the benefit of California, and based on their help Schwarzenegger came up with an execution plan only days after he officially took up the position of governor. His immediate action after assuming office was to make his voters happy and he achieved this by repealing a car-tax increase bill. Schwarzenegger’s main objective was to stabilize California’s economy and he intended to achieve this objective by means of cutting governmental costs and in doing so he passed some propositions which were not liked by some segments of the society, nevertheless he pursued his goals with optimism. There is evidence to the fact that Schwarzenegger has greatly leveraged the power of his popularity; this is evident from the fact that during the 2004 presidential reelection campaign republicans were in a dilemma over the issue of calling Schwarzenegger to speak at the convention, at that time Schwarzenegger told New York times in an interview that if the republicans were smart he would be called and that too in prime time. Eventually the Republicans did invite Schwarzenegger and he delivered a fabulous speech that reinforced his image as a charismatic leader.
Question 3
Arnold Schwarzenegger is definitely a charismatic leader; According to (Weber. 2008) charisma is the quality of an individual’s personality which sets him apart as a possessor of unnatural qualities. Charismatic leaders have a vision and are capable of effectively communicating their vision to their followers additionally charismatic leaders thrive on challenges. Due to many achievements and accomplishments Arnold Schwarzenegger is distinguished from other politicians because he has been a former Mr. Universe, a renowned body builder and a great actor prior to stepping into politics. Like most charismatic leaders who thrive on challenges; Schwarzenegger assumed the office of the governor with a promise to stabilize California’s economy.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s leadership strategy has a great chance of success because he is likely to get a great amount of public support for his policies and proposals and with such magnitude of support he is likely to pressurize members of the legislative assembly to vote for his propositions.
Answer Question 4
The SMART goal setting theory suggests that a goal must be specific, measurable, relevant, and time bound (Mind Tools). Considering Arnold Schwarzenegger’s life story, he was brought up in Austria under difficult conditions at that time his main objective in life was to become somebody and leave Austria, this objective was eventually achieved by accomplishing a series of goals. Schwarzenegger had idolized Reg Park a former Mr. Universe and he wanted to become his idol’s equal so he took up serious body building and excelled in it and at age of 19 became Mr. Universe. From this point onwards he could plot his future more prominently. Becoming an actor was the next relevant and achievable goal which Arnold accomplished by enrolling into an acting school in the U.S. After a successful career as an actor and because he had built a network of influential friends, becoming the governor of California was the next relevant and achievable goal which Schwarzenegger did manage to achieve.
Answer to Question 5
Schwarzenegger has a tendency to infuriate sections of society due to his habit of insulting people or ideas in public. When called upon to speak at the republican convention during the 2004 presidential re election campaign; Schwarzenegger had stated “Speaking of acting, one of my movies is called True Lies. And that’s what the democrats should have called their convention”. Schwarzenegger use of his charisma in this manner may have a negative impact on his gubernatorial activities, since for him to accomplish his task successfully he needs to have the support of other legislative members and what he did at the Republican convention will only limit the possibilities for gaining support for his proposals.
Question 6
Arnold Schwarzenegger has optimistically pursued the goals he had set for his administration and in the process upset many segments of the society, in April 2004 he passed a bill to overhaul workers compensation, this bill favored businesses but was not in favor of workers similarly Schwarzenegger attempted to make many changes in the way Schools and Universities were run and he had suggested tying teachers pay to test scores. Although this would help in cost reduction which is what Schwarzenegger intended, teachers were of the opinion that such a move would consequently degrade the quality of education. Thus in regards to some matters Schwarzenegger has shown a complete lack of concern for possible negative outcomes that his policies may lead to. Focus on goal achievement is a very good thing, but Schwarzenegger would be better off if he evaluated all round implications of his suggested actions rather then use his popularity and public support to crush opposition.
References
Nathan C, Popkins. The five Factor model. From http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/popkins.html October 23, 2008
Locke’s goal setting theory. Mind Tools. From http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm October 22, 2008
Max Weber. (2008). Charismatic Leadership. 12 Manage. From http://www.12manage.com/methods_weber_charismatic_lead
ership.html October 23, 2008
