The Task:
Observe the jury deliberation in the film 12 Angry Men (1957, Dir: Sidney Lumet) and make recommendations regarding the decision-making processes you see enacted by the group, so as to improve the jury deliberation process. These recommendations are drawn upon your expertise of decision-making based upon the related course materials. (That is, we are drawing on the article by Hirokawa [1992/2003] and by Gouran & Hirokawa [2003] for decision-making. (No other source material is required.)
Procedure:
Watch the film 12 Angry Men (1957, Dir.: Sidney Lumet) of a jury deciding whether or not to find a young man guilty in the murder of his father.
Use notes from watching it regarding decision-making. What concepts from the article (see attached files) by Hirokawa (1992/2003) and by Gouran & Hirokawa (2003) are relevant, and how to apply them to your collective observations (For example, how do you use the functional decision-making perspective to understand this jury and its decisions? What sort of conflicts are engaged in? How are they being resolved [if they are]? What outcomes do you see for each of these?)
Make recommendations such as anonymous voting, focus on selection of jury, functional perspective according to reading on decision-making, active listening, organization
Format:
Typed, double-spaced lines, one-inch margins using 10 or 12 point size of a clearly legible typeface (this handout is Calibri, 12 point font). Number and staple the pages. Be sure to place your name, your class group’s name, our class, and the assignment in the upper right corner of the first page. No cover page nor bibliography are required for this Case Study response. Your Case Study Response should fall between three (3) and four (4) pages in length.
Your Audience:
Consider that the audience you are writing for is composed of people outside of this class (representatives for the County). While you can assume they have some familiarity with decision- making and conflict in general, as the comparative “expert” you will want to include clear descriptions of terms and explanations of their use or relevance so readers will more likely benefit from your discussion. They will also appreciate your being explicit in describing those moments of the film you see as relevant for your points and how you apply material to understand them.
