Objective: Students will identify various aspects of management illustrated within 12 Angry Men and discuss lessons learned in an individual report. The report should be 2 pages single space, Times New Roman, Font size 12.
Basic Plot: The jury of twelve 'angry men,' entrusted with the power to send an uneducated, teenaged Puerto Rican, tenement-dwelling boy to the electric chair for killing his father with a switchblade knife, are literally locked into a small, claustrophobic rectangular room on a stifling hot summer day until they come up with a unanimous decision - either guilty or not guilty. The compelling, provocative film examines the twelve men's deep-seated personal prejudices, perceptual biases and weaknesses, indifference, anger, personalities, unreliable judgments, cultural differences, ignorance and fears, that threaten to taint their decision-making abilities, cause them to ignore the real issues in the case, and potentially lead them to a miscarriage of justice. (http://www.filmsite.org/twelve.html)
Cast of Main Characters:
Martin Balsam.................................................................. Juror 1 (Foreman; coach)
John Fiedler.............................................. Juror 2 (Bank clerk; inexperienced juror)
Lee J. Cobb....................................... Juror 3 (Angry gentleman with photo of son)
E. G. Marshall....................................................................... Juror 4 (Stock Broker)
Jack Klugman.......................................................... Juror 5 (Grew up in the slums)
Edward Binns................................................................................. Juror 6 (Painter)
Jack Warden.............................................................................. Juror 7 (Sports fan)
Henry Fonda...................................... Juror 8 (Architect; Man who doesn’t know)
Joseph Sweeney....................................................... Juror 9 (Nice older gentleman)
Ed Begley...................................... Juror 10 (Prejudiced older gentleman with cold)
George Voskovec..................................................... Juror 11 (Foreign watchmaker)
Robert Webber........................................ Juror 12 (Advertising Executive; doodler)
The film emphasizes:
Leadership
Decision-Making
Equality
Conflict
Diversity
Working in groups/Teams
Effective meetings
As you watch it, pay special attention to Juror No. 8's ability to discern the behavioral signals of people—their often subtle but very real concerns, needs, orientation, and disposition. This is what we mean by empathy. Researchers have found a positive correlation between this cognitive “sixth sense” and effective leadership.
Please answer the following questions:
1. Are the jurors a team or a group? Briefly explain.
2. Identify at least three positive behaviors that you saw in the movie that can make your group/team more effective?
3. What did you notice about the styles of communication among the jurors? Which styles were most effective? Least effective?
4. How would you describe Juror No. 8's leadership style?
5. In addition to Juror No. 8, who showed leadership credibility and how? Who didn’t?
6. Who showed respect, honor, and trust for others? Who didn’t? Did it weaken or strengthen leadership? What were its benefits? Its costs?
7. Who showed empathy? Did it weaken or strengthen leadership? What were its benefits? Its costs?
8. What assumptions did some of the jurors make? In what ways did these assumptions demonstrate the presence or lack of respect, honor, and trust? Did you notice any stereotypes?
9. How does group conformity apply in this case?
10. What can people that lead meetings learn from this movie?
11. Would this be a successful group/team if they were part of a large multinational?
12. Briefly describe what other management lessons you learned from this movie.