Negotiation Case study Analysis on movie 12 Angry Men

Abstract

12 Angry Men is the story of a murder trial. A teenager from the slums was tried for the murder of his father. The case was in the hands of the 12-membered jury. Initially, eleven jurors voted against the defendant as there were strong evidences against the defendant. Only Juror no.8 insisted on a further speculation of the case. The jurors regularly called for informal votes to see where the judgment stood. Juror no.8 persuaded his fellow jurors to speculate the facts. One by one, Juror no. 8 proved weaknesses of all the evidences by using different negotiation techniques. His rational negotiation approach solved the case and saved the life of the innocent boy.

Introduction1

Overview of the Film Industry of The Era1

Discussion2

Major Case Issues of 12 Angry Men2

Negotiation Approach of Juror No. 83

Negotiation Techniques Used by Juror No. 84

Rational Persuasion4

Patient and Active Listening5

Reasonable Questioning5

Going the Extra Mile5

Appealing to People's Logic6

Collaborative Problem Solving6

Prepared and Organized6

Influencing People's Sense of Compassion7

Foot-in-the Door Method7

Invention of Options7

Making People Realise That They Are Heard8

Compromises Made by Juror No. 88

Applying Juror No. 8's Techniques in Real Life8

Rational Persuasion9

Patient and an Active Listening9

Reasonable Questioning10

Going the extra mile11

Appealing to People's Logic11

Negotiations Strategy of Juror No. 412

Rationalism12

Independent Thinking12

Calm and Well-spoken12

Justification of Juror No. 4's Guilty Verdict13

Techniques Employed by Juror No. 8 to Move Juror No. 4's Vote13

Negotiation Approach of Juror No. 314

Aggression and Domination14

Prejudice14

Rigidity15

Impoliteness15

Juror No. 3's Style and Approach towards Other Jurors15

Role of Juror No. 3 in Changing the Vote Position16

Conclusion17

References19

Negotiation Case study Analysis on movie 12 Angry Men

Introduction

12 Angry Men is one of the masterworks of nineteen fifties' era. It was written in 1954 as the script of live television drama for the CBS series Studio One. Three years later, the teleplay was adapted to the big screen. The film was released in 1957 (Platt, 2008).

The movie was produced by one of the famous American actors of the times, Henry Fonda (1905-1982) who also acted in the film as Juror no. 8. It was written by Reginald Rose (1920-2002), originally as a teleplay and then adapted as a film. Director of the film was directed by Sidney Lumet (1924-2011).

In the movie, a sixteen year-old boy from the slums was tried for the murder of his father. The case was in the hands of the jury. There were twelve jurors and a guilty verdict could send the boy to death. The case looked simple but the Juror no .8 insisted on a further speculation of the case. He was the only one out of twelve jurors who persuaded his fellow jurors to change their opinion; giving us the lesson that minority matters. (www.imdb.com)

As the name depicts, Twelve Angry Men is a male-oriented movie with all the twelve leading characters male and women serve only as observers (Landsman, 2007).

Overview of the Film Industry of The Era

In the 50s decade, the post World War 2 affluence was on its peak. There was much leisure time, changing fads, the growing trend of modern jazz, changing middle-class ...