Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
I
Organizational Behavior
Barack Obama's presidential election
from an organisational perspective
an integrative analysis
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
P a t r i c k B a u e r , C h r i s t i a n B a u m a n n , A v i n a s h C h e n n a m a d h a v , G a u r a v S i n g h , B e n e d i k t W o l f
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
II
Table of content
TABLE OF FIGURES ... II
1.
INTRODUCTION ... 1
2.
SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND THE TIME FOR CHANGE ... 1
3.
THE OBAMA ELECTION CAMPAIGN ... 4
3.1. H
ISTORY
& B
ACKGROUND
... 4
3.2. O
RGANIZATION
& C
AMPAIGN
S
TRUCTURE
... 5
4.
HILLARY DIANE RODHAM CLINTON ... 7
4.1. H
ISTORY
& B
ACKGROUND
... 7
4.2. O
RGANIZATION
& C
AMPAIGN
S
TRUCTURE
... 8
5.
JOHN SIDNEY MCCAIN III ... 11
5.1. H
ISTORY
& B
ACKGROUND
... 11
5.2. O
RGANISATION
& C
AMPAIGN
S
TRUCTURE
... 11
6.
OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN ... 14
7.
LEADERSHIP ANALYSES ... 18
8.
CONCLUSION ... 22
9.
LIST OF LITERATURE ... 24
Table of figures
I
LLUSTRATION
1: T
OTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY RAISED BY QUARTER
- B
ARACK
O
BAMA
... 6
I
LLUSTRATION
2: T
OTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY RAISED BY QUARTER
- H
ILLARY
C
LINTON
... 9
I
LLUSTRATION
3: T
OTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY RAISED BY QUARTER
- J
OHN
M
C
C
AIN
... 12
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
1
1.
Introduction
The 4
th
November 2008 was an important day for the US citizens and the entire world. This
day proved for many that the American dream is still possible. For the first time in history an
Afro-American candidate became President of the United States of America. Barrack Hussein
Obama, a man with an uncommon background, has managed to win the election clearly with
365 electoral votes against his republican counterpart John McCain, who ended his campaign
with 173 votes.
1
Who is this man and how did he realize his goal to become president despite
the strong competition and the fact that just 40 years ago, racial segregation still was a major
problem in the US?
Clearly, he was different compared to his rivals in many ways and this finally accounted for
his overwhelming result. The following paper shall identify and analyze these success drivers
from an organizational behavior perspective. To what extent did he make use of theories
discussed in class, like effective leadership and organizational structure? To begin with, the
authors will provide a brief overview in regard to the US American election system, a major
reason, why the nation was ready for reconsiderations and change. An initial descriptive
discussion of Obama's election campaign as well as those of his competitors shall serve as a
basis for the following integrative analysis, linking both theory and practice in a comparative
manner. What made Barack Obama, his campaign and his operations so unique and
successful? The subsequent work will provide answers this central question.
2.
System analysis and the time for change
Exactly 220 years ago, in 1789, George Washington was elected the first president of the
Untied States of America. When looking at all past election processes the 43 different US
presidents had to go through, it can be summarized that despite some changes the basic
election system is still based upon the original idea to have an Electoral College choosing the
head of state in the name of the people.
2
In order to understand how the election system
helped Obama to succeed the reader has to be aware of its general characteristics.
1
President Map- Election Results 2008,
http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html
, accessed
17. April 2009.
2
The Electoral College- Origin and History,
http://www.uselectionatlas.org/INFORMATION/INFORMATION/electcollege_history.php
, accessed
02. April 2009.
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
2
Every four years a new president as well as vice president will be elected. As stated in article
II, section 1 of the US constitution, this the election process follows and indirect procedure.
So-called Electors, chosen by each state, vote for the presidential candidates not the public
itself.
3
Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) nominate a
number of electors equal to the number of representatives in Congress (House of
Representatives and Senate). In total, the Electoral College consists of 538 electors. In 48
states as well as the District of Columbia these electors vote for the presidential candidate,
who received the most votes in their respective state. For instance, if the majority votes for the
democratic candidate in a state, this potential president will get all votes from the states
electors. Only two minor states, Maine and Nebraska (each select only 3 electors) do not
follow this plurality system ("the winter takes all"), instead they use the Congressional
District Model.
4
After outlining the major characteristic of one of the world's oldest and most complex
election systems for clarity reasons, it is important to sketch the major steps for the road to the
White House.
5
Firstly, a politician with the goal to run for the head of state position usually
tests if he or she has the potential also in terms of "rear cover". At the same time they try to
raise money, for example through donations, and if they are confident they officially declare
their candidacy. The next stage is the primary season, which takes place from January until
June in the year before the election. During this pre-nomination phase delegates are selected
by the public, who support the different aspirants. This period is marked by inter-party
competition, as all candidates want to take the lead for the party's final nomination.
At the national party conventions in the summer, the selected delegates vote for a final
presidential candidate and decide on the party policy positions as well as goals. The fourth
stage refers to the general election campaign where each party's final nominees "fight" for
votes from the Electorate College. Massive advertisement and public relation expenditures
come into play. Special attention is given to the so called "swing states" where the outcome is
likely to be unsure. The last step is regarded to be the official election itself, when one of the
two aspirants will be picked to be the future chief of state in the beginning of November.
3
LII Legal Information Institute: United States Constitution, Cornell University Law School, April 2009,
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section1
, accessed 02. April 2009.
4
The winner of a district gets the electoral vote for the respective district, whereas the winner of the overall
popular vote picks up the Senate votes.
5
Kevin J. Coleman et al., Presidential Elections in the United States: A Primer, (Congressional Research Service:
The Library of Congress, 2000), found on
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/22616.pdf
, accessed 02.
April 2009.
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
3
When in 2008 Barack Obama ran for the highest public office in the US, compared to his
predecessors he took a different route in many aspects. For instance, he managed to collect
nearly $745 million donations or almost 70% of all donations for the entire democratic
candidates.
6
By comparison McCain, the republican president claimant achieved to gather
circa $346 million or almost 58% of the whole republican candidate bounties. These first
observations served as a strong pubic signal. Why was that?
During the eight preceding years before Obama's nomination for presidency, the US was led
by a republican government, which made many significant mistakes in several political fields.
Just to provide some examples, the majority of US citizens were showed little support, since
the former government did not care about fiscal responsibility. Throughout the dot.com crisis
around the years 2000/2001 money was spent in a more or less uncontrolled manner (e.g.
huge tax cuts but mainly for the rich), which led to permanent deficits and has put the federal
government of today in an even weaker position to fight the current world crisis.
7
Another
major mistake, also from an economical perspective was the Iraq invasion. The public
increasingly lost their trust in the head of state and his administration, after the disclosure of
the facts that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found as well as that the war put a
huge strain on the budget (estimations range between $1 and $3 trillion) whereas the goal of
economical and political stabilization was never achieved.
8
In other words the input-outcome
ratio was severely out of balance.
Furthermore, in a world, in which environmental issues played a growing role and countries
are looking for ways of decreasing the dependency of the limited natural resources, like oil or
gas, the previous US administration did not accord sufficient attention to environmental
aspects (USA did not join the Kyoto protocol yet). Instead the White House officials were
unwilling to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels for instance through focusing on the
research and development in sustainable energy sources. Since 2000 the public basically
experienced a government that was in many ways characterized by its inability to lead the
country in a responsible manner.
6
Federal Election Commission: Presidential Campaign Finance, (December 2008), found on
http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do?cand_id=P80003338
, accessed 02. April 2009.
7
Jim Young: A look at Bush's Economic Missteps, Time, found on
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1872229_1872230_1872232,00.html
, accessed
02. April 2009.
8
Spencer Platt: A look at Bush's Economic Missteps, Time, found on
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1872229_1872230_1872233,00.html
, accessed
03. April 2009.
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
4
Due to these and many other dissatisfying, or even missing decisions, a broad American
public was expecting massive change in direction. Increasing economic and public pressure,
often based on these sentiments of disapproval, paved the way for the young and dynamic
candidate Barack Obama and his objective to move into the oval office.
3.
The Obama election campaign
"I am asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real
change in Washington... I am asking you to believe in yours!"
3.1. History & Background
Barack Obama, the bi-racial son of a Kenyan father and a white American mother, raised to
national prominence with his speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Behind
this point in time there lies a very emotional and inspirational story.
Obama's story might be considered as inspirational. In search of right direction for his desire
to work for the society from grass roots level, he left his work as the financial writer for an
international consulting firm in New York and started looking for another job, which served
his desire. In his speech at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, he focused on
his efforts in the movement to oppose the apartheid regime in South Africa. He wrote letters
to every social organization he could think of to offer him a job, while his friends were
applying to the jobs on Wall Street. Finally, a small group of churches in south side of
Chicago offered him a job to work as a community organizer. A missing network and lacking
experience rendered his efforts considerably difficult. He was always inspired by the stories
of Civil Rights Movement and John F. Kennedy's call to service, but when he went to South
Side there were no marches, no speeches on Civil rights. There were lots of people suffering
in the shadows of Steel Plants. For the organization and his endeavors, there was not enough
response in the beginning.
But, later on, there was success. He gave a voice and feeling to the residents that there is a
need for a redevelopment, job training and environmental cleaning-up efforts. But during the
work in the community group, he realized that it wasn't just helping other people, but he was
embraced by the community, he gave a meaning to his citizenship. He saw this opportunity
that matched his feelings and thoughts to the entire service of America.
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
5
3.2. Organization & Campaign Structure
9
With his strong desire to work for the society even after his graduation from Harvard Law
School, he went back to his adopted home town of Chicago and worked for the community.
Obama himself thinks that he has a crazy idea that he has to work at the grass roots level to
bring about change in America.
Image
10
Having the credentials of being the President of Harvard Law Review and graduating with
Magna cum Laude in 1991, he could have easily done anything he wanted to, but he went
back to Chicago to practice civil law rights and taught in University of Chicago. His outlook
was very energetic and his vision was very clear. Every person who spoke to him for few
moments can easily understand that he is a politician who enables the citizen rights, efforts
from grass roots and a strong builder of broad based coalitions. This was his vision for
politics. There was no personal gain in it, no bad intentions to gain personal profits. He has a
vision that was learnt from the past but didn't stick to the old fashioned thinking process. He
was reputed as a new breed of politicians, able to come over the traditional and racial borders.
This was very much growing in the minds of people as they see him augmenting in his career.
Fundraising11
Obama's election victory was closely linked to his innovative way of raising the funds
through Internet. From the beginning 2007, his campaign was using the funds given by bigger
donors and smaller firm donors and supporters of Democrats. Later, he had to stop this
because of the rules not to use the tax payers' money to run the election campaign. There was
a total of $750 million of funds raised. The following illustration allows a quarterly overview
regarding the funds raised:
9
What makes Obama's online campaign work
http://www.atelier-us.com/e-business-and-it/article/what-makes
obamas-online-campaign-work
., accessed 8
th
April 2009
10
Organizing for America Barack TV,
http://www.barackobama.com/tv/
, accessed 4
th
April 2009
11
Summary data for Barack Obama Open Secrets.,
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00009638
, accessed 4
th
April, 2009
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
Barack Obama's presidential election from an organisational perspective
6
Illustration 1: Total amount of money raised by quarter - Barack Obama
Source:
http://www.opensecrets.org
, accessed April 3
rd
2009
Out of these, 88% of the funds came from individual contributors and rest from other
contributors, which include, PAC contributions, candidate's self-financing, federal funds et
cetera.
Berlin speech12
Obama not only concentrated on the American national but the whole world. There were
campaigning in Europe, Africa, and Asia and not to mention Americas. The most important
one was his historical speech in Berlin. Amongst the largest crowd for his campaign, he spoke
as a citizen, not as presidential candidate. He captured the minds and hearts of people by
giving speeches that eroded the walls between the countries on either side of Atlantic. Racism
and the walls between religions and nativity have been targeted.
12
The Huffington Post, April 6
th
2009,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/24/obama-in-berlin-video-
of_n_114771.html
, accessed 6
th
April, 2009
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