ANALYSING ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOR CONCEPTS IN

APOLLO 11

OVERVIEW
The movie we have chosen is Shawshank Redemption. Through this assignment we
have tried to relate the movie to some concepts in the field of Organizational Behavior.
In this assignment, we have examined the main characters, their personality types and
attitude. We also tried to bring out the emotions and mood portrayed. In addition, we
examined bias in this movie and if decision making process model was used when there
was a need for making important decision. Application of motivational theories,
teamwork effectiveness, leadership skills and power tactics are also crucial subparts
portrayed here.

ATTITUDE AND PERSONALITY TYPES

The main characters in the movie: Andy Dufresne and Ellis Boyd Redding, also known
as Red. Some of the attitudes that we could identify in the main characters are
illustrated.

Coming to Andy, he was very strong minded since he stuck to the plan he had in his
mind till the end. In spite of knowing the consequence if caught, he willingly took the risk
which also shows how determined he was. He had a high level of self-control which
is displayed by the fact that though he had been convicted of a crime (murder) he didn’t
commit, he never portrayed any rebellious attitude or behavior. Andy is also someone
who is kind and cares for the people around him. One instance to support it is when
Red was rejected for parole, Andy gave him a harmonica as a present to encourage
him not to lose hope. Andy’s optimistic attitude is portrayed throughout the movie. He
is hopeful about his future and he instilled this hope to others around him as well,
especially Red.

Andy’s personality type can be classified into Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging
(INTJ). These persons are very private and less likely to share ideas with others which
exactly reflects Andy’s character. Andy is a person who is concerned of the inner peace
of his mind and does a lot of thinking, exploring his own thoughts and emotions focusing
on the ‘big picture’. Andy relies on his intuitions and prefers to have a control of things
that is going on around him.

Now coming to the second character, Red is seen as a friendly person. One example
is, Red is labelled as a man “who can get anything from anybody” indicating the many
connections and friends he has inside Shawshank. He is also a helpful person and
often helps Andy whenever he needs anything such as rock hammer or a picture of Rita
Hayworth. Andy often sought Red’s opinions and advice and Red was always there for
Andy showing how loyal a friend he was. This is also portrayed towards the end of the
movie when Red went to the exact place mentioned by Andy to collect what is left by
him and then visit him in Zihuatanejo. Red was also someone who used to reduce the
boredom and tension among his friends through his sense of humor, which is an
important trait to possess to lighten the mood of the group.

Red’s personality type, which is Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling and Perceiving (ESFP),
is complete opposite from Andy’s. Based on this, we can conclude that Red is someone
who is fun to be with, friendly, warm and love making others happy.

Moods and emotions portrayed in the movie:

Some of the emotions portrayed can be detected immediately whereas some requires
an interpretation and deep understanding. There are emotions which have high
negative affect such as tension and nervousness. The instances: the first scene when
the new inmate broke into tears and pleaded to be released, the guards dragged him
out of his cell and beat him until he is dead. There is also a scene where an inmate gets
shot by the warden. These emotions were not easy to perceive. When the inmate got
beaten, the others though could feel the sense of tension hearing him scream for his
life, didn’t express it directly but can be interpreted by the look in their eyes. Upset is an
example of high positive affect portrayed in the movie. In a scene we can see, Andy
was very upset when Tommy was killed because Tommy was his only chance to
escape from the prison. Low negative affect emotions such as relaxed is also portrayed
in this movie when Andy and his friend gets to drink cold beer at the roof top which was
given as a compensation for the advice Andy gave to the warden.

Availability Bias:
Availability Bias, which is a tendency for people to base their judgement on information
that is readily available to them, is also portrayed here. The Scene: Red, in his parole
interviews, when asked if he already felt rehabilitated, answered “Yes, I am honestly
feeling a changed man, I am no danger to society, and that’s Gods honest truth and I
am absolutely rehabilitated”. However, his parole got rejected twice indicating the
authorities interviewing Red was making decision based on availability bias. The
authorities didn’t consider the fact that he has been doing good and behaved well in
prison all this while.

Decision making process:

In the movie, some decisions were made based on intuition and not following any
definite decision-making process. Intuitions are instinctive and unconscious knowing
without reasoning. There are a few scenes showing Andy making instant or
unconscious decision based on his guts feeling. For instance: In the scene when Andy
tried carving out his name on the cell wall, large piece of wall broke off. Seeing this,
Andy immediately started formulating his escape plan. Even later, Andy deliberately
gave some advice to the guards’ Captain to get noticed so that he gets assigned to
handle their financial works thereby giving him a good opportunity to execute his plan
without suspicions. These decisions are based on Andy’s own gut feeling or intuition for
seeking out opportunities, even though he has no clue where his plans are going to lead
him to. He does what he needs to do without being afraid of taking risks.

Teamwork:

We also observe the application of teamwork in the movie when they are trying to
smuggle items from outside. Moreover, their teamwork is very effective and efficient
since they don’t get caught anytime. We can conclude the team as a successful one as
they are assertive and there is a sense of trust amongst them. Another instance is when
Andy tried to renovate the bookstore into library. The members cooperated with each
other and worked efficiently and successfully building a new mini library. Though they
faced difficulties, every member contributed with their physical and technical expertise
to make it work.

Motivational Theories:

Self-deterministic theory is a theory which is concerned with beneficial effect of

intrinsic motivation and harmful effects of extrinsic motivation. Self-determination
theories suggest that people prefer to feel that they have control over their actions. In
the movie we observe that Andy is portraying a character of a self-determined person,
however he is motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards are
when he enjoys doing what he is doing and does not concern about praises or rewards.
We saw how Andy was motivated by intrinsic effects when he helped the guards by
giving them advise, and he was clearly sincere in doing it because it was his expertise
though we know Andy had hidden intentions behind. Evident based on extrinsic rewards
are when he became the accountant for the warden and helped in swindling money by
creating an account with a different name. He did this for extrinsic reward which is
revealing the corruption practices of the warden when he escapes from the jail later. He
knew that by obeying to the warden’s order, he will gain trust which will benefit him in
executing his plan.