The Costs and Consequences of Drone Warfare International Affairs

Question: Discuss about the Essay for The costs and consequences of drone warfare.International Affairs? Answer: Introduction Changes in the management that are increasing at a fast rate and becoming less predictable are leading to a condition where the gathered information is becoming outdated. The trends of business are changing at an alarming rate all over the world and the companies or organizations that do not support change in the system of management (Johnson, 2013). Many in the global sector have acknowledged the importance of leadership in managing emergencies. Strategic leadership, change management and crisis management are very important for an organization to function smoothly. This particular paper will discuss the use of drones in the military system of the United States of America. The U.S. military operates numerous unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs to target suspect militants in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Yemen. It has been confirmed by President Barrack Obama that the U.S. military is using drones or UAVs to protect the country from external attacks (Byman, 2013). The drones are usually used in conditions where manned flights are considered difficult or too risky. Drones can be referred to unmanned combat aerial vehicle to keep a close watch on the activities of the attackers. The drone operators who are technically skilled people and work for long hours operate the drones. It is because of the tremendous pressure that people are expressing less interest in pursuing the positions of drone operators. This paper will find out the possible outcomes for people backing out from the position and showing less interest in pursuing the position of drone o perators. Strategic Leadership Perspective Strategic leadership is considered as the ability to accommodate visionary operational management by integrating philosophical thoughts with the realities of the company (Schoemaker, Krupp Howland, 2013). It requires the operational supervision of daily activities. It further helps in assuming the implementation and formulation of strategies for unseen events and implementing the long-term objectives to ensure development and survival. The organizational leaders of the present era require strategic thinking skills to foster growth, sustain operations and facilitate smooth functioning of the organizational activities (Carter Greer, 2013). The drones patrol the skies and they are used in launching lethal strikes against the suspected terrorists. Drones help the military officials to reach remote places where normal aircrafts cannot reach. It is because the regions are either difficult or too risky to reach. The drone policy has helped to spark public backlash in Yemen and Pakistan. Drones usually do not create sympathy or anger for terrorist movements in the countries. The drones are piloted and unmanned and they are used to help the military officials to keep an eye on the terrorists or attackers. However, it is seen that the drone operators (also known as the pilots) need to work for a very long time. They are skilled personnel and face tremendous pressure to operate drones for nearly eight long hours. On the contrary, they work six days a week. Therefore, it becomes hectic for them to deliver their services. This is the only reason that people are not willing to pursue the position of a drone operator. This is when strategic leadership is required. A leader can help the military system to pursue other individuals to make decisions voluntarily for the betterment of the military organization. He or she will influence people to operate drones for the betterment of the military operations (Springer, 2013). It can help the individuals to cope with the essential environmental changes. A strategic leader is believed to adjust, reorient and organize the improvements within an organization. A strategic leader is also believed to appeal to the emotions of the group and inspire the team members to achieve success in the end. The leaders in the U.S. military can motivate the individuals to participate in the welfare activities of the country. They can adopt strategies to reduce the working hours of the pilots or increase their pay to gain benefits from the individuals (Kark, Karazi-Presler Tubi, 2016). This will affect the military system of U.S. in a better way and the country can safeguard itself from the attackers. Change Management Leadership is an effective process of generating change within an organization (Hayes, 2014). The leader usually imposes the change. However, it is often considered as a sharing process of the same values and purpose. Leaders should be the change promoters within the organizations. Leaders have the power to motivate and influence others to achieve the desired organizational goals. A leader who imposes change is usually an individual with the capability to influence the employees, teams and organizations to change their behaviors on a certain decision-making process (Cameron Green, 2015). Leadership plays a crucial role in implementing certain organizational changes. Leadership can be quite effective and successful on implementing the organisational changes under the following topics: Creating structural change- leaders need to keep a track of the change phenomena within the organization and providing support through consistent processes and tools. Implementing, as well as, sustaining changes- leaders must develop effective action plans to supervise the progress towards the change. Engaging other people- leaders must be efficient enough to engage people in the decision-making process of the organization. Creating the change case- leaders should be capable enough to create awareness among the employees regarding the necessity of change. Developing and facilitating capability- leaders should be able to sustain people to bring out their motivation to achieve change. In this particular case, the leaders of the U.S. military should speak to the concerned authority to send fewer individuals into war and attacks on the enemies of the country. It will help the country to save the individuals from being ravaged at wars. However, the country needs many behind-the-scenes workforces. It means that the military forces need to keep a watch on the terrorist activities with the use of drones. However, most of the individuals are not showing interest in pursuing the role of a drone operator. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the leaders to influence the people to make them aware of the necessary changes within the military forces (Horowitz Stam, 2014). Crisis Management It is the duty of the leaders to foresee the crisis of the organization. The necessity of leadership in crisis management is acknowledged at the global sector (Coombs, 2014).The leader should take responsible decision during the crisis period for the smooth functioning of the business of the company (Johnson, 2013). During the crisis period, the employees often lose their hope and shows less interest at the workplaces. This particular case depicts a similar situation. The drone pilots are not showing interest to operate the drone due to excessive stress. They work for eight hours a day and six days a week. It is very stressful for them to work for such long hours (Russell, Butkus Figley, 2016). There is often limited funding in the military and therefore, it becomes impossible for the individuals to devote their time to the work for less money. Here comes the responsibility of an efficient leader. A leader should adopt certain measures to motivate and influence the individuals to de liver their best performances. The workforce is diminishing with every passing day, as the individuals are no longer interested to pursue the position of drone operators. The leaders must instill the thoughts of patriotism into the minds of the individuals. They should be motivated to work for their country. The leaders should consider the fact that there is limited funding. The workforces, who go outside at war, have fixed funding, which is quite limited (Boyle, 2013). The leaders should motivate the workforce to continue with their services within the limited funding. They should be made aware that they go at war only for the betterment of the country. This ideology is instilled among the individuals through effective leadership. On the other hand, the leaders should adopt some measures to reduce the pressure of the drone pilots. Few of them can be appointing alternative pilots after a fixed period, offering incentives for hard work and extreme effort. This will help the military forces to cope with the crisis period and defend the enemies through drone operations. Team and shared leadership are best suited for managing crisis within the military operations. Every individual would receive equal opportunity to participate in the decision-making process (Daft, 2014). However, the team leader would take the decision. This would lead to the success of the military operations. Conclusion At the end, it can be concluded that effective leadership is quite necessary for the smooth functioning of the organizational affairs. The leaders in the U.S. military should be efficient enough to manage the team members and motivate them to deliver their best performances for the betterment of the organization. The leaders need to be cautious regarding the operations of the drone pilots. They remain under huge stress and because of the stress, they are backing out from pursuing the position of drone operators. It is the duty and responsibility of the leaders to motivate the officials to manage stress and work for the betterment of the country. This will help the country to prevent themselves from the external attackers and terrorists. Strategic leadership, change management and crisis management define the characteristic and responsibility of a leader to take effective decisions. References Boyle, M. J. (2013). The costs and consequences of drone warfare.International Affairs,89(1), 1-29. Byman, D. (2013). Why drones work.Foreign Affairs,92(4), 32-43. Cameron, E., Green, M. (2015).Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. Carter, S. M., Greer, C. R. (2013). Strategic leadership: Values, styles, and organizational performance.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 1548051812471724. Coombs, W. T. (2014).Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding: Planning, Managing, and Responding. Sage Publications. Daft, R. (2014).The leadership experience. Cengage Learning. Hayes, J. (2014).The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Horowitz, M. C., Stam, A. C. (2014). How prior military experience influences the future militarized behavior of leaders.International Organization,68(03), 527-559. Johnson, C. E. (2013).Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Sage Publications. Kark, R., Karazi-Presler, T., Tubi, S. (2016). Paradox and challenges in military leadership.Leadership Lessons from Compelling Contexts (Monographs in Leadership and Management, Volume 8) Emerald Group Publishing Limited,8, 157-187. Russell, M. C., Butkus, S. N., Figley, C. R. (2016). Contribution of military organization and leadership factors in perpetuating generational cycle of preventable wartime mental health crises: part one.Psychological Injury and Law,9(1), 55-72. Schoemaker, P. J., Krupp, S., Howland, S. (2013). Strategic leadership: The essential skills.Harvard business review,91(1), 131-134. Springer, P. J. (2013).Military robots and drones: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO.