He believes the actions of the young people were symptomatic of the things that were wrong in society.
Too many people thought the world owed them something without thinking what they could give back in return, he told the Otago Daily Times in an interview yesterday.
‘‘With all the stuff kids are given today - iPods, cellphones, computers, games - they are not grateful. They regard it as their right.
‘‘They feel good for a while if their ‘rights' are met and miserable if they are not.''
It was the same for many adults when they received a rise in salary. They were glad for a short time until inflation and rising costs ate into the increase, he said.
In Dunedin to talk to a New Zealand Institute of Management seminar on leadership, Mr Jarvis (84) said he had dedicated his life to sorting out the credentials of an effective leader.
His Four Quadrant leadership programme was taught on all continents and an Internet search revealed some glowing references from around the world.
Research evidence gathered by Mr Jarvis showed that many managers were not regarded as leaders by the people who reported to them.
‘‘One outstanding trait of true leaders is their readiness to accept and deal with the truth even when it includes criticisms of their own decisions and actions. This habit guarantees them a very valuable advantage.
‘‘Their people tell them the truth because they have learned that honesty is really the best policy."
Last year, Mr Jarvis ran a survey where he asked 5000 managers whether or not they were instructed to take a course in leadership - and report back on what they had learned - before taking up their positions.
Only 3% of the 5000 had received leadership training and most of them had received it in the armed forces.
There was much emphasis in the workplace on the company share price, bottom-line profit and cost cutting as some managers recognised they could do well financially without being a leader.
‘‘They use people then chuck them away later. I could just cry when I see chief executives 30 years on who have retired and are not worth two bob. Nobody loves them and nobody wants them.
‘‘They build power at the expense of relationships and when they lose that power they lose everything.''
A leader was someone who could form a team to work together to get what they could not get as individuals. Everyone was treated equally no matter what their role.
A great leader through history had very little ego. Rather than everything being about ‘‘them' it was ‘‘us'' and what they could achieve together, he said.
Asked if there were great New Zealand leaders, Mr Jarvis said he had met Sir Edmund Hillary Sir Peter Blake and war hero Charles Upham and regarded them all as superb individual leaders.
They would be remembered for their kindness, consideration and philanthropy.
Mr Jarvis still despaired at the way some of his MBA students changed as they grew older.
At the end of the courses many would approach him and thank him for changing their thinking and swearing they would not be like the ‘‘evil' bosses they worked for.
Down the track, they became worse than the people they had replaced. Asked why he kept doing what he did, Mr Jarvis said there were still enough young people willing to listen to his message and change.
‘‘If I have the skill and strength, then I will carry on. I do not plan to just sit down and fizzle out.''
