12 Angry Men
Organisational Behavior
BU4605
BA (Hons) Business Administration
LECTURER SETTING ASSESSMENT: - Mervin Sookun
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper is designed to study the behavior of “12 ANGRY MEN” and how they react to their responsibilities as individuals and as a group. The 12 men depicted in this movie are members constituted from different classes of a society, from an architect to a broker to a man brought up in the slums. Their one and only goal is to decide unanimously whether or not the accused 18 year old boy did or did not stab his father and result in death. Since the defense lawyer was appointed by the city, he goes lenient on the prosecution and does not thoroughly go through the case in hand to defend the boy, making all evidences put forward going against the boy which seems to make the jury’s verdict obvious – guilty.
In spite of all the evidence shown against the defendant, there is one juror who is not sure that all the evidences presented in the case has enough weight to put the boy to a death sentence, juror number 8, played by Henry Fonda who we later come to know as Davis. This case appears to be simple and the 11 other jurors in the room have already decided to vote guilty but Davis feels he has not seen adequate proof to send the boy to die. He wants undeniable and irrefutable proof that the boy is guilty instead of what the witnesses to the case have so ‘plainly’ seen or heard. Some jurors talk about baseball games, some about their jobs and lives, but juror number 8, Davis, is keen to talk and discuss with his fellow peers and point out contradicting factors in the evidence in favor of the defendant. He either wants to actuate himself into believing the boy is guilty or convince the other members that he’s innocent. 2. INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BEHAVIORS
Every individual is different in their own way and some factors to determine this difference is their personalities and their intelligence. People can be distinguished by
BU4605
BA (Hons) Business Administration
LECTURER SETTING ASSESSMENT: - Mervin Sookun
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper is designed to study the behavior of “12 ANGRY MEN” and how they react to their responsibilities as individuals and as a group. The 12 men depicted in this movie are members constituted from different classes of a society, from an architect to a broker to a man brought up in the slums. Their one and only goal is to decide unanimously whether or not the accused 18 year old boy did or did not stab his father and result in death. Since the defense lawyer was appointed by the city, he goes lenient on the prosecution and does not thoroughly go through the case in hand to defend the boy, making all evidences put forward going against the boy which seems to make the jury’s verdict obvious – guilty.
In spite of all the evidence shown against the defendant, there is one juror who is not sure that all the evidences presented in the case has enough weight to put the boy to a death sentence, juror number 8, played by Henry Fonda who we later come to know as Davis. This case appears to be simple and the 11 other jurors in the room have already decided to vote guilty but Davis feels he has not seen adequate proof to send the boy to die. He wants undeniable and irrefutable proof that the boy is guilty instead of what the witnesses to the case have so ‘plainly’ seen or heard. Some jurors talk about baseball games, some about their jobs and lives, but juror number 8, Davis, is keen to talk and discuss with his fellow peers and point out contradicting factors in the evidence in favor of the defendant. He either wants to actuate himself into believing the boy is guilty or convince the other members that he’s innocent. 2. INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BEHAVIORS
Every individual is different in their own way and some factors to determine this difference is their personalities and their intelligence. People can be distinguished by
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility http://psychology.about.com/od/dindex/f/diffusion-of-responsibility.htm Organisational Behaviour And Analysis (An Integrated Approach), 3rd Edition, Derek Rollinson Wright et al 1970 Victims of Groupthink, Irving Janis