Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Culture

Introduction

The following report will discuss the leadership qualities of Borjigin Temüjin and the organizational culture of his people, the Mongols. Readers might be confused on who Borjigin Temüjin is, he was the man known today as Genghis Khan. This paper will illustrate how Temüjin’s ability to lead developed by exploring his beginnings and how through his exceptional leadership skills he went on to create the largest contiguous empire in history. The first part of the paper will concentrate on Mongol culture in the 12th century, Temüjin’s upbringing in that culture and how he changed it through the consolidation of the many Mongol tribes. The second part will discuss the rise of Borjigin Temüjin to the post of Genghis Khan and which of his qualities allowed him to achieve this. The third part will discuss his legacy and how even after his death his planning was evident and his empire continued to expand. All these parts will have explanations on how they connect to our present day study of organizational behavior.

“When we examine [organizational] culture and leadership closely, we see that they are two sides of the same coin; neither can really be understood by itself. On the one hand, cultural norms define how a given nation or organizations will define leadership – who will be promoted, who will get the attention of followers. On the other hand, it can be argued that the only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture; that the unique talent of leadership is their ability to understand and work with culture; and that it is an ultimate act of leadership to destroy culture when it is viewed as dysfunctional.”

(Schein, E. H. 2004. Organizational culture and leadership. Jossey-Bass, San ...

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...a). Nonetheless, what was most remarkable about the post-imperial make-up of the Mongol world was a remarkable degree of continuity with the past. Cultural exchange continued on a broad scale and even gathered momentum; the successor khanates in many ways enjoyed a common elite culture even if disunited.

The empire of Mongolia stretched from Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan at the time of his death but the expansion didn’t stop after that but it continued for generations. Under Ögedei Khan the expansion reached its peak and they expanded into Persia, finished off the Xi Xia and the remnants of the Khwarezmids, and then it came into conflict with the imperial Song Dynasty of China, starting a war that lasted until 1279 and which concluded that the Mongols gaining control of all of China. Russia and Eastern Europe were conquered after gaining control over China.