12 Angry Men: an Illustration of Concepts of Organisational Behaviour
12 Angry Men:
An Illustration of Concepts of Organisational Behaviour
Introduction
In 1957 Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men was published (Lumet, 1957). Now, 55 years later, the movie’s teachings still hold most of their truths. The events shown in the movie can be scientifically explained using concepts of organisational behaviour. Although some of these concepts did not even exist by the time the movie was made, the movie still is an excellent case to study and illustrate them. The reason for this is the isolation of the movie’s characters. All events in the movie are triggered by the characters only. There are no external influences nor is there the possibility for the characters to leave the scene.
This essay will apply concepts of organizational behaviour to events of the movie. Particular attention will be paid to the concepts of perception, attribution biases, decision making, leadership and group dynamics. In order to do so, the essay will move along the plot of the movie and apply concepts where there are fit.
None the less for the purpose of referencing a brief introduction to the movie and its characters is given here: The plot of 12 Angry Men describes the events that take place as a jury has come to a unanimous decision. The defendant is accused of homicide. If the jury decides upon a verdict of ‘guilty’ the judge will inevitably sentence the accused to death penalty. In the beginning all jurors but juror no. 8 are willing to verdict ‘guilty’ without debating. However juror no. 8 states he will verdict ‘not guilty’. The group is then forced to discuss and reconsider. In the end of the movie juror no. 8 is able to get all other jurors to verdict ‘not guilty’. His main antagonist is juror no. 3.
Analysis
Group Structure and Development
At the beginning of the movie the group of jurors is homogenous in every aspect. It consists of mostly mid age white men. Juror no. 1 is the jury foremen and the formally appointed leader. The rest of the group
An Illustration of Concepts of Organisational Behaviour
Introduction
In 1957 Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men was published (Lumet, 1957). Now, 55 years later, the movie’s teachings still hold most of their truths. The events shown in the movie can be scientifically explained using concepts of organisational behaviour. Although some of these concepts did not even exist by the time the movie was made, the movie still is an excellent case to study and illustrate them. The reason for this is the isolation of the movie’s characters. All events in the movie are triggered by the characters only. There are no external influences nor is there the possibility for the characters to leave the scene.
This essay will apply concepts of organizational behaviour to events of the movie. Particular attention will be paid to the concepts of perception, attribution biases, decision making, leadership and group dynamics. In order to do so, the essay will move along the plot of the movie and apply concepts where there are fit.
None the less for the purpose of referencing a brief introduction to the movie and its characters is given here: The plot of 12 Angry Men describes the events that take place as a jury has come to a unanimous decision. The defendant is accused of homicide. If the jury decides upon a verdict of ‘guilty’ the judge will inevitably sentence the accused to death penalty. In the beginning all jurors but juror no. 8 are willing to verdict ‘guilty’ without debating. However juror no. 8 states he will verdict ‘not guilty’. The group is then forced to discuss and reconsider. In the end of the movie juror no. 8 is able to get all other jurors to verdict ‘not guilty’. His main antagonist is juror no. 3.
Analysis
Group Structure and Development
At the beginning of the movie the group of jurors is homogenous in every aspect. It consists of mostly mid age white men. Juror no. 1 is the jury foremen and the formally appointed leader. The rest of the group
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