University of Binghamton and University of Nebraska-Lincoln are currently conducting research on Leadership with the leaders of Transformers Franchise as examples.
“We believe that Transformers presents three key lessons about leadership,” said Seth Spain, an assistant professor of organizational behavior who studies “the dark side of work” at Binghamton University. These lessons are are: 1) flatter groups are more successful—sharing power is more valuable than trying to use power for the selfish benefit of oneself; 2) in general, leaders tend to be exceptional people; and finally, 3) intelligence (cognitive ability and skill) is a particularly important attribute for a leader to have. These messages align well with the current academic literature about what kinds of individuals emerge as leaders and what it takes to be effective as a leader. “‘The Transformers’ characters and the stories told in the cartoon are a modern example of traditional folklore as a means of educating individuals about leadership. And, as examples go, one that is particularly relevant since the generation that watched them and were exposed to the toys are in their mid-30s to early-40s. They are the decision makers of today and the immediate future” says Peter Harms, assistant professor of management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.You can read more on both researches at phys.org:
Xabungle
The paper's focus is NOT on finding keys to leadership in the tech specs. The paper seems to ask the question "How do children raised on the beliefs represented in Transformers lead?" The most obvious example is the emulation of Optimus Prime. There are philosophies of leadership reflected in even the way Peter Cullen voiced Prime. Modeling Prime after his brother, Peter Cullen does not have Optimus shout demands or bully the Autobots, but issues orders calmly, because he knows his soldiers and trusts them to follow orders just as they trust him to lead.
TFTheoretician
Sorry if this amounts to necro-posting, but I wonder if anyone read the actual essay and not just the news articles about it? I finally took my time to find and read it today, it is on Researchgate and seems to be open access:
Children?s Stories as a Foundation for Leadership Schemas: More Than Meets the Eye (PDF Download Available)
As I am currently doing my PhD in environmental psychology I read this with great interest (also cuz I am a major TF fan, duh!). I think the essay is well anchored in the discourses of its academic field and has a rigorous methodology (yeah, I skipped through the specifics of the statistics section but it looks legit) yielding some interesting results regarding leadership, followership (new word for me) and teamwork in general.
I think the main weakness of the study is also what he hinges its justification on; that no other 80s toy franchise had such thorough bios for every character, down to numbers, allowing for quantitative analysis to complement the qualitative analysis of the cartoon itself, allowing for a more robust analytical framework.
The problem is however, as mentioned, that there might be discrepancies between a given characters toys tech specs and the way it was portrayed in the cartoon, as in, we don´t know how much the script writers kept the tech specs in mind when writing the episodes. In other words, he should have either demonstrated their consistency with the cartoon or at least mentioned the possible lack thereof as a potential weakness of the study.
Nevertheless, it is an interesting read, if not else to observe the characters we love through an academic lens (the analysis of the cartoon personalities is interesting in its own right), and also see the author´s love for the franchise shine through between the lines…
Again, it is an overall nice read in my humble opinion, I recommend it to any fan with 15 minutes to spare!!!
Autovolt 127
I meant to say MTMTE the comic series, you guys crack me up.
Raiju
Yeah, he definitely was, and I do think he was justified in being so snappish due to his frustrating circumstances (and Mirage being the unlikely hero that saved the day is a cool twist that emphasized the importance of teamwork and cooperation), looking back in hindsight as an adult. It just wasn't something I picked up on as a kid, is all. Similarly, as a kid I hated how wishy washy and lacking in confidence that Rodimus Prime was in Season 3 but when viewed as an adult now, I can sympathize more with him.
Infosaur
I'm surprised that so many people remember Optimus as being snappy in MTMTE pt.3
Dude was "this close" to ending a million year war, got thrown out of a spaceship!
He was having a bad day.
Raiju
Yeah, after rewatching MTMTE as an adult nearly 30 years later, I was surprised that Optimus was so irritable and snappy toward his fellow Autobots like that. That wasn't the Optimus that I remembered as a kid but rose-tinted nostalgia glasses and all that.
I'll be the first to admit that I myself have snapped at my subordinates when stress at work got the best of me. I'd apologize afterward in private, of course, but it's still regrettable to lose my cool like that. If nothing else, being a leader is definitely something you learn along the way, mistakes and all, rather than something you're born with, I think.
PrimeOQZ
Yeah, Optimus was more direct and less patient in those early episodes. There was no transition. it seems more of Peter Cullen changing the character a bit.
that's a good analogy about starscream and office politics that I never compared.
About the article, the data should have come from a much broader source than tech specs. Most might agree about the results, but it seems like the data was made to fit the conclusion.
Edit. I take that back. Looks like it was not just tech spechs but I'm curious how they measured everything.
WilyMech
I rather give to my Senators but I know it would over their heads. Ugh Ted Cruz…..