Margaret Thatcher

Leadership research

Fang Zi Ying

Tay Jia Shin

Jonathon Koh Jun Jie

Ernest Cheong Yi Ern

In office4 May 1979-

28 November 1990

Contents0 Biography0 Political work and roles0 Strengths of Margaret Thatcher’s leadership0 Weaknesses of Margaret Thatcher’s leadership0 Conclusion

Biography

Early Life0 Grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire

0 Composed of a closely-bonded conservative community.

0 Attended Somerville College, Oxford

Early Life

0 Her Father, Albert Roberts, has vastly shaped her political conviction.0 Methodist Father is active in local religion and politics0 Brought her up as a strict Methodist0 Frequently talked with Margaret on issues of the day

Early Political Career0 She received her first taste of politics in her mid-

twenties0 Ran as the Conservative candidate of Dartford in the 1950-

1951 General Election, with both resulting in defeat.0 Nevertheless, she cut the opposing Labour majority sharply

and hugely enjoyed the experience.0 Interestingly, she had little difficulty getting a hearing from

any audience, speaking easily with confidence on issues which mattered to the voters.

Career1950 •Lawyer, specializing in taxation

1959 •Member of Parliament for Finchley, a North London constituency

1992 •A member of the House of Lords

1994 •Junior office in admin of Harold Macmillan

1964-70 •Established her place among senior figures of the party, served as shadow minister

Career1970 •Achieved cabinet rank as Education Secretary

1975 •Elected Conservative Leader

75-79 •Leader of the Opposition

79-83 •Prime Minister- 1st Term

83-87 •Prime Minister- 2nd Term

87-90 •Prime Minister- 3rd Term

Political Career 0 After the Conservatives were

defeated in 1974, Thatcher challenged Heath for the leadership of the party.

0 To the surprise of many, she defeated him in both ballots and won.

0 In the 1979 general election, Conservatives came to power and she became prime minister

Prime Minister 1st Term0 Pledged to check and reverse Britain’s economic

decline, she implemented many painful measures.0 Privatization of state-owned industries and utilities 0 Reform of the trade unions0 Lowering of taxes and reduced social expenditure

0 Her policies succeeded in reducing inflation, but unemployment dramatically increased. Re-election seemed unlikely

Prime Minister 1st Term0 A military victory in the

Falklands War in 1983 made the electorates extremely impressed

0 This allowed her to win a landslide victory in the 1983 general election.

0 In 1984, she narrowly escaped death when IRA planted a bomb at the Conservative Part Conference in Brighton

Prime Minister 2nd Term

0 In foreign affairs, Thatcher cultivated a close political relationship with US president Ronald Reagan0 Based on a common mistrust of communism0 Free-market economic ideology

Prime Minister 2nd Term0 Thatcher was nicknamed the 'Iron Lady' by the

Soviets. 0 She warmly welcomed the rise of reformist Soviet

leader Mikhail Gorbachev.0 Played a constructive part in the diplomacy that

smoothed the break-up of the Soviet Empire

Prime Minister 3rd Term0 In the 1987 general election, Thatcher won an

unprecedented third term in office. 0 Made controversial policies such as the poll tax and her

opposition to any closer integration with Europe0 produced divisions within the Conservative Party0 Led to a leadership challenge

0 In November 1990, she agreed to resign 0 Succeeded as party leader and prime minister by John

Major.

Margaret Thatcher Political work

Duration as prime minister

0 Was Britain’s first female prime minister0 Served for three terms, from 1979 to 1990

Privatisation0 An advocate of privatisation of state-owned industries

and utilities, reform of the trade unions, the lowering of taxes and reduced social expenditure across the board

0 Her policies succeeded in reducing inflation, but unemployment skyrocketed as many workers were left jobless.

Trade Unions0 Margaret Thatcher set out to reduce the power of

trade unions0 However this resulted in many strikes and the loss of

millions of working days0 Her impact was such that trade unions were

effectively crippled for one generation

Foreign affairs0 Margaret Thatcher formed a strong alliance with then

U.S. President Ronald Reagan, based on their mutual distrust of Communism and their free-market economic ideology.

0 The 1982 Falklands War was handled superbly by Margaret Thatcher and Argentina was defeated

A WRAITEC approachDone by: Tay Jia Shin

Strengths of Margaret Thatcher

Defining certain key terms

What is leadership?

0Can be defined as: the process of influencing, inspiring and supporting others to work towards the achievement of group goals

0In our case, Margaret Thatcher’s leadership is political leadership

0How is leadership measured?

What method is used to measure leadership?

0Trait Theory – leadership qualities0Path goal theory – it is the leaders job to assist

followers in attaining their goals and to provide the necessary direction and/or support to ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the group or the organization.

What are some qualities of a leader?

0Dynamic – Able to change his leadership style0Tactful0Motivation0Good oration / communication0Foresightedness0Good analyser0Interactions –Understand his followers better0Supportive0Job Related Knowledge0Confidence

What should a leader do?

0Bring out the best in his people

0Give new hope and enthusiasm

0Lead by example0Guide his people

What should a political leader

do? • Garner support of

his people• Makes decisions

for the greater good

• Integrity and loyal to his people

What are some leadership qualities that Margaret Thatcher possess?

0Confident0“Iron-willed”0Persistent 0Decisive0Hardworking0Committed0Able to install several new effective policies

Why do you say that Margaret Thatcher possesses these leadership

qualities?

Hardworking

0Displayed constant hard work during her school days

0Won a scholarship for Somerville College0Eventually she went to Oxford in 1943 to study

in Natural Sciences with a specialization in Chemistry

Persistence

0She faced several rejections before being elected as a Member of Parliament in 1959 election

0Lost the 1950 and 1951 election from Dartford0Between 1950 and 1958 she was rejected several

times in her pursuit of a safe Conservative seat0After a hard campaign, she eventually gained a

seat for Finchley in April 1958

Decisive

0 Put up a Private Member’s Bill requiring local council meeting to be held in public

0 Her first speech in its support was instrumental in getting it passed by the Parliament

0 In 1961, she voted against the Conservative party’s official stand and voted for restoration of birching

0 Opposed mandatory price and income control0 Believed would distort the economy0 Against the Government’s high tax policy, 0 Low taxes work as an incentive and motivation to

work hard.Corporal punishment with a birch rod, typically applied to the recipient's bare buttocks

Confident

0Youngest ever female conservative candidate, yet she stood for the 1950 and 1951 election from Dartford

Committed

0Almost assassinated by IRA (Irish Republican Army), which bombed her hotel where she was staying to attend the Conservative Party Conference

0Refused to be cowed down by the act and insisted that the conference be held on schedule and at the same venue

Visionary; install effective policies

0 Initiated new economic policies0 Successfully managed the Irish crisis0 Recaptured the Falkland Islands from Argentina 0 Reduced the power of trade unions0 Privatisation:0 transferring the ownership of business from the public sector to

the private sector0 Thatcherism:reduced role of the state in economy0 Influenced government thinking in other countries as well0 British Airways0 Emulated by more than 50 countries

Are we making any assumptions?

0Are we assuming that being such a successful leader, Margaret Thatcher did not make any mistakes in her political career? 0No. 0Her combative personality and overriding

opinions of colleagues gave rise to discontent against her within the party

0Introduction of poll tax in 19890Unpopular and led to a lot of riots and

decreased support for the Party

0But great leaders make mistakes too: 0Theodore Roosevelt was a great leaderExample: 0In 1907, Theodore Roosevelt decided to send the

US navy on a round-the-world cruise, believing the event would prove America's power and strength.

0But by using his position as Commander-in-Chief to avoid negotiations with Congress, Roosevelt's actions set a dangerous precedent for presidents to exert total power.

What are the direct implications of Thatcher’s strengths?

0Able to remain Prime Minister of England for 11 years (three consecutive terms)

0One of the most dominant and popular women leaders of the 20th century

What are the indirect implication of Thatcher’s strengths?

0Thatcherism0Privatisation0Reducing the power of trade unions0UK’s economy prospered, due to Thatcher’s

structuring of the labour market0Nationalised industries were sold off to the

public – every one share the wealth of the nation

Are these strengths a true representation of Margaret Thatcher?

0Might have put up a public façade, like Eva Peron

0However, based on her contributions, she is a good leader by making critical decisions that has helped shape England.

0Leadership is difficult to measure, subjective, as well as difficult to define

0It means different things to each person

Is there an example of a great leader with Thatcher’s qualities?

0Her determination and hard work are most representative of her traits

0Winston Churchill possesses determination:

“We shall go on to the end.  We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.  We shall fight on beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never

surrender.”

Is determination really necessary for a great leader?

0Yes, most leaders possess determination0It is the pre-requisite for success, without

determination it is difficult to achieve anything

References

0 http://drmatthewashton.com/2011/04/16/great-mistakes-in-politics-no20-%E2%80%93-margaret-thatcher-and-the-poll-tax/

0 http://www.leader-values.com/Content/detail.asp?ContentDetailID=8570 http://womenleadership101.com/most-powerful-women/politic/4-margaret-thatcher0 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:5OCsvKpoSNgJ:www.conservapedia.com/

Margaret_Thatcher+margaret+thatcher+conservative+leader&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg&source=www.google.com.sg

0 http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/margaret-thatcher-57.php0 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/

displayAbstract;jsessionid=78EA591E8F9FB2292C67144C34AD3499.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=107625

0 http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/thatcher/6308.shtml0 http://convention3.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/1/0/8/9/p210895_index.html0 http://ips.sagepub.com/content/30/1/33.abstract0 http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/1/1.extract0 http://elpage13.tripod.com/personal.htm0 http://www.leader-values.com/Content/detail.asp?ContentDetailID=8570 http://www.margaretthatcher.org/essential/biography.asp0 http://www.practical-management-skills.com/leadership-characteristics.html0 http://www.srichinmoybio.co.uk/blog/life/what-makes-a-good-leader/0 http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/leadership-qualities.html0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher#Privatisation0 data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wBDAAkGBwgHBgkIBwgKCgkLDRYPDQwMDRsUFRAWIB0iIiAdHx8kKDQsJCYxJx8fLT0tMTU3Ojo6Iys/RD84QzQ5Ojf/2wBDAQoKCg0MDRoPDxo3JR8lNzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzf/wAARCABOADgDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAHAAAAgIDAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAABQYABwIDBAEI/

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Margaret Thatcher’s weaknesses and mistakesJonathan Koh 3S2

Major Weakness0 Stubborn/inflexible

0 Saw taking a U-turn was a sign of weakness

0 Felt people would think less of her if she went back on a policy

Major weakness0 Imperious nature0 Reluctance to reverse and review policies that were

bad decisions0 Resulted in the public antagonism0 Unpopular with her own party as she did not heed

others’ advice

Major mistake0 Poll Tax in 19890 In the past people paid taxes based on the value of

their property0 The tax system was changed to the number of people

living in a household.0 More people in a house = Higher taxes

Major Mistake0 Shifting the burden from the wealthy to the poor.0 Every household was paying more.0 She had personally identified herself with the Poll Tax

and was determined it should remain

Public discontent0 Poll Tax Riots0 They felt the government was trying to squeeze

money out of the people0 Widespread outcry0 The protests quickly became a national issue0 Large-scale riots in London and a non-payment

campaign0 100,000 protestors took to the streets

Feasibility0 A lot of the British population is highly mobile,0 Difficult to work out how many people were living in a

household at any one time0 Some people avoided paying tax

Conclusion

Was Thatcher a good leader?

0 Yes.0 She possessed many values essential for a good leader,

such as determination and perseverance. She had resolve in her policies and did not U-turn easily. She was also firm in her stance on important issues (such as Communism) and had a no-nonsense attitude (as demonstrated from her unwilling to give in to workers’ riots), thus giving the impression that she could not be pushed about.

Was Thatcher a good leader?

0 Margaret Thatcher possessed another very important value- she was upright. The saying goes, “Power corrupts”. However, she did not misuse the power which she had for her own selfish benefit. Neither did she cling onto power longer than she should have, voluntarily stepping down and letting John Major become the new Prime Minister.

Was Thatcher a good leader?

0 Margaret Thatcher did improve the standard of living of the people, to some extent. Under her Britain’s economy prospered, she distributed wealth to all of the people through Privatisation, and she managed to successfully reduce the rate of inflation.

Was Thatcher a good leader?

0 Margaret Thatcher was also dedicated. She kept to her task and insisted on giving her speech despite almost being assassinated by a bomb planted by the IRA earlier on in the day. From this one can infer that she had an altruistic desire to serve her countrymen; prioritising the nation above herself.

Bibliography0 http://home.earthlink.net/~zappo/apgov/thatcher.ht

ml0 http://drmatthewashton.com/2011/04/16/great-mi

stakes-in-politics-no20-%E2%80%93-margaret-thatcher-and-the-poll-tax/

0 http://factoidz.com/the-downfall-of-margaret-thatcher/