• Southeast Missouri State University

• IM 419

Critical Incident 4-3: Coping with The New Manager
1. Assess Donald Patterson’s leadership style. How might his past military experiences govern
the way he tries to lead Blan’s Tennessee plant?
Returning to civilian life has become a challenge for Donald Patterson. Some veterans are
having a hard time readjusting to civilian life while others make the transition with little difficult.
Veterans who say they had a clear understanding of their missions while serving also experienced
fewer difficulties transitioning into civilian life than those who did not fully understand their
duties or assignments. Military service is placed in the middle of the figure, as a lens refracting
the different social pathways that lead individuals into service. As a result of their experiences,
including those of wartime and combat, individuals can have various outcomes in later life,
which can be positive, negative. Army teaches you valuable people and project management
skills that can make you successful in any civilian position. He has to remember that someone
who has never served in the military will not understand what Basic Combat Training is. I think
that is the reason for his behavior. He is trying to control the supervisors and workers as a
military batch. He should understands that not everyone wants to be a soldier and not everyone
was a former soldier. That's why it he has make the working place more difficult. He should have
recognize there are valuable skills taught in every Army position that will be not relevant to
many other civilian opportunities like Blan’s Tennessee plant