“A Mighty and Terrible Thing”Lt. Andrew Tyler is the

“A Mighty and Terrible Thing”
Lt. Andrew Tyler is the executive officer of the S-33, an American submarine in service during World War II. As such, he is second in command of the vessel and is responsible for many of the more mundane activities on board the submarine such as managing maintenance schedules and keeping things running smoothly. He ensures that the sub and its crew operate in tip-top shape, allowing the captain to focus on overall strategy and the tactical nuances of the mission at hand. Lt. Tyler, in short, is a manager who is responsible for developing the crew, maintaining the ship, and otherwise allocating resources in order to meet the goals set by the captain and those in the military above him.
 At the onset of their current mission, Lt. Tyler believes that he is ready to be a submarine captain; however, his advancement has been curtailed by Capt. Dahlgren, his commanding officer. When he approaches the captain about this, the captain acknowledges that Tyler is a first-rate executive officer and a “damn good submariner” but then challenges him on whether or not he’d be willing to sacrifice the men under his command to suit the needs of the overall mission. When Lt. Tyler fails to respond, Capt. Dahlgren says, “You see you hesitate, and as a captain, you can’t. You have to act. If you don’t, you put the entire crew at risk.” And as a captain, Dahlgren continues, “You have to be able to make hard decisions based on imperfect information, asking men to carry out orders that may result in their deaths.”
It is doubtful that anyof you, in your capacity as a manager of a company, will ever have to direct someone to do something that will lead to his or her death; however, Lt. Tyler’s shortcoming as a leader also prevents the advancement of many middle managers into the upper-management echelons. Leaders must maintain an overall vision of the direction that the company is taking, including the goals of the organization, the strategies for attaining those goals, and ultimately the resources available for reaching those goals. As such, a manager may be called upon to make certain sacrifices that he or she may not want to carry out such as laying off individuals or cutting ties with a longtime supplier. Though it may not be in the best interest of the individual who is laid off or the supplier who is suddenly without a customer, the manager has to recognize that such activities are in the better interest of the overall structure of the organization, at least in most cases. Lt. Tyler is, at this point, unable to maintain that overall vision, unlike Capt. Dahlgren. However, after the mission goes horribly wrong, resulting in the captain’s death,
Lt. Tyler must take up the mantle of leadership and press onward to complete the mission. The S-33 has been sunk, and he and a small crew of sailors have captured the German submarine, U-571. As the crew looks to him for guidance and leadership, he admits to not knowing what to do, prompting the Chief Petty Officer to take him aside. “This is the Navy,” he tells Tyler, “where a commanding officer is a mighty and terrible thing.” He then challenges him to take up the mantle of leadership, informing him that he’s “the skipper now, and the skipper always knows what to do whether he does or not.” Following this admonition, Lt. Tyler does take up the challenge and proves that he is capable of keeping focused on the overall mission.
The following chapter continues to explore the issues of management and leadership that are raised within U-571, outlining the role of management in organizations and providing an overview of each of those roles. Managers at varying levels of the organization take part in strategic planning; organizing activities; leading, guiding, and motivating others; as well as controlling those activities. Furthermore, the chapter outlines the various roles that managers must undertake as well as the various skills necessary to become an effective manager. As such, the chapter should help you to understand how you too can be an effective manager and how you can learn from those who guide Lt. Tyler.
Discussion Questions
 1 In the clip, we see three types of managers: Capt. Dahlgren, Lt. Tyler, and CPO Klough. What type of planning do you think each is involved in and why?
2 Both Capt. Dahlgren and CPO Klough speak to Lt. Tyler about the power that comes with leadership.
3 What types of power do you believe the two men are discussing, and which type of power do you think Lt. Tyler may have used before this mission? What type of leadership styles do you see in the film clip, and what type of managerial roles are at play?
4 The chapter outlines the three basic sets of skills that managers require to be successful. Assess Lt. Tyler based on these skills.