Short Essay Outline Example

1. Intro: (Roadmap): The GLOBE Dimensions’ Framework is a tool leveraged by senior leaders to assess an organization’s culture. Using this theoretical framework, the Allied Forces’ organizational culture was misaligned with its mission and external environment during its WWII Mediterranean operations. Under Eisenhower’s leadership, AFHQ’s culture demonstrated a dearth of In-Group Collectivism and Assertiveness.
2. Body:
   1. Assertion: Eisenhower’s AFHQ suffered from Low In-Group Collectivism
      1. Support: Define theory - In-Group Collectivism - the extent of cohesiveness and loyalty¹
      2. Support: Quarrelling among the “prima donnas” distressed Eisenhower²
      3. Support: Ike wrote: “I sensed every individual was suspicious of everyone else—every man was sure all others were crooks and liars.”³
      4. Analysis: Explain how the support proves that AFHQ’s culture was not properly aligned with its mission - a high degree of cohesiveness and loyalty is required, and why this information proves the assertion
   2. Assertion: Low Assertiveness also characterized Eisenhower’s headquarters.
      1. Support: Define theory - Assertiveness is marked by the degree to which members of an organization are tough and exhibit a “can do” attitude⁴
      2. Support: II Corps Commander noted, “We had been unquestionably timid. . .”⁵
      3. Support: Eisenhower’s involvement in planning was “minimal and indecisive”⁶
      4. Analysis: Explain how the Allied Forces culture of Low Assertiveness resulted in confusion, frustration, lack of confidence, as the support shows, and why this support proves the assertion
3. Conclusion: An organization’s culture directly impacts its long-term effectiveness. During its Mediterranean operations, the Allied Forces’ organizational culture was out of sync with the requirements of its mission and competitive external environment. This historical example serves as a warning to future leaders that an organization’s cultural misalignment can jeopardize its mission and critically compromise its ultimate effectiveness.

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¹ Leonard Wong and Stephen J. Gerras, "Culture and Military Organizations," in The Culture of Military Organizations, ed. P. Mansoor and W. Murray (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019), 6.
² Carlo D'Este, Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002), 352.
³ D'Este, Eisenhower, 364.
⁴ Wong and Gerras, "Culture and Military Organizations," 5.
⁵ D’Este, Eisenhower, 361.
⁶ D’Este, Eisenhower, 376.