Pg 3 Tom And Meredith example essay topic

Pg. 1 Disclosure is a drama / thriller. The genre for this movie states, "Sex is Power". Tom is a happily married man, a successful computer expert, and works for a major computer company "Digicom", which is about to merge. He believes he is going to receive a promotion because of all his devotion and work for the company. Instead the job goes to Meredith, who is from another plant and with whom he was romantically involved in his bachelor days. She is now his new boss, who is very aggressive, sexy and dedicated to destroy him after he refuses to have an affair with her.

She files sexual harassment under false pretenses, he charges her on the same charges however he is telling the truth. Once this is over with, Tom needs to solve a major production problem set up by Meredith. He gathers evidence against her not only proving she was the one that sexually harassed him but also she was the cause of the conspiracy in "Digicom". Meredith is fired and Tom continues his work for the company. Meredith and Tom have entered a race to be in control at the firm. In general both of them have to have similar personality traits in order to have reached as high as they have in the company.

There have been various events that are the deciding factors of who will make or break it; their specific personality characteristics will be the deciding point as to who will come out on top. Both Meredith and Tom show internal locus of control. Internal locus of control is believing that their own behavior and actions are the leading reasons for your life's outcome (pg. 45). They believe in working hard to move up and if Pg. 2 they cannot accomplish something it is because they are not trying hard enough. Tom starts to waver between internal and external locus of control through out the movie. When he was on the fairy to work he met a man that had been laid off and gave him a card and told him to call about job possibilities.

On his way home he saw the man that had been looking for a job and Tom did not talk to him, it seemed that since he was passed up for a promotion and was not guaranteed his current position he felt he would be looking for a new job too. He did not feel he was in control of things since he worked so hard and was passed up. Another turn in his locus of control was in the sexual harassment case. As things get harder with the sexual harassment case and his files are taken and everyone started be on Meredith's side, Tom starts doubting that he will be able to do anything about it, he feels that all of his hard work was for nothing since they want him to transfer. It was not until he got a break and found out a friend, he had tried to call the night of the meeting, had the whole evening on his answering machine that he felt in control again. Meredith always felt she was in control of things, if she wanted it she got it herself.

Even during the mediation when they listened to the tape that proved she sexually harassed Tom, she got right back up and said that he did not matter and just because he won that she would still find a way to get rid of Tom. The only time she wavered from this was when her plan backfired and she was the one to get fired. She blamed their boss for being weak not her. There was nothing she could have done to come out on top because it was out of her hands.

Pg. 3 Tom and Meredith are more extroverts than anything. Extroversion is an orientation toward other people, events, and objects (pg. 47). They are both sociable in their work surroundings. They are able to make the buyers comfortable and are usually on their toes.

Meredith seems to be more so than Tom. She is more extroverted. She tries to make the person of most influence, in this case it is her boss, more comfortable so she can gain more support than the employees that have been there a while. Tom just socializes with everyone; he does not do it to guarantee he will get a job. Going in to authoritarianism, Meredith comes off liking to be the authority but only giving the image of respecting authority to get her ahead (pg. 48).

She does have a negative view of society but does not do things conventionally. Tom falls under authoritarianism more so than Meredith. He follows the rule and respects authority in general. Organizational commitment was one breaking point for Meredith. Organizational commitment is the strength of an employee's involvement in the organization and identification with it (pg. 54). Tom was very committed to the company and did things to make the company succeed.

He wanted the company to do well so he could possibly get promoted. Which did not happen. This job at this company was his life. Meredith more or less was out for herself. She would cheapen the material in company just so their profits were larger. Meredith only had commitment to the company if she was able to suck money out of it, if it meant possibly ruining a line, she did not care as long as there was a profit.

In the end when she was fired she did not show Pg. 4 remorse for leaving she just mentioned all the offers from other companies she has had. This leads us to analyze ethical behavior. Meredith definitely falls under using immoral management tactics. Immoral management is the belief in the maximum exploitation of opportunities for corporate or personal gain to the exclusion of other consideration (pg. 56).

Not only through her money saving cutbacks can we observe this but also there was the point of several men transferring out of her sections because of sexual harassment. Meredith threatened Tom's co-workers jobs so that they would persuade Tom to back off his lawsuit. She easily covered up her immoral ways. Tom did things morally. Moral management is not pursuing profits outside the boundaries of the law and sound ethical principles (pg. 56). Tom liked to do things right and have items work even if they cost more because he knew in the end it would create more profits then trying to cut the corners and gain profits that way.

Tom also cared about the co-workers. He liked them to feel comfortable in their jobs. A member of individuals, associated together in work and having some unifying relationship is the foundation of any group according to Webster's dictionary. Although, there are several defined groups in Disclosure, the technical division group has been chosen to be the focus for analytical assessment of its effectiveness as a team. The technical division group has six members that share the same goals.

Being that it is a small group, member participation is not inhibited, which Pg. 5 encourages lots of dialogue between the members and many conversations. This small group is comfortable without rules and procedures that create an easy-going environment. Communication is very open and free to any suggestions and ideas. Everyone is talkative as they are walking in and out open doors given the impression that the group will provide and receive help from one another. This overall picture gives an atmosphere where the operational norm is casual, and interactions among the members are informal (pg. 224-225).

Their performance generates commitment toward their common goal. Being a small group also generates an allowance for problem solving and fast decision making that in turn will influence the group's effectiveness. There are many interrelated factors that determine the outcome of a group as these factors influence team effectiveness, but also the relationship these factors have to each other will determine if the team is negatively or positively influenced. These influences are carried out by the team behavior and by the group's context such as the value orientations of members, the behavioral roles in the team, the physical condition in the work environment, management practices, goals and leadership to mention just a few.

These are some of the very important context conditions in the understanding of many different factors that make a group effective or ineffective. The technical division group does know its purpose for existing. They know they have been assigned the responsibility to design a technical product called the virtue of reality, and to include the manufacturing of this technical product. Pg. 6 The values of members in the technology division group are ethical values, pride and greed integrated with behavioral roles as these influences interact and affect group behavior, dynamics and outcomes. Some illustrated examples of these behaviors are obvious when the group was under pressure. Tom Sanders is the head of manufacturing and manages the technology division group.

His role is task oriented as he is always facilitating, coordinating and seeking information to the group's common goal (pg. 239). An example would be his persistence in finding out information from the Malaysian operation regarding the fabrication problem the product was having. This is relevant to the group as it give clarity to information regarding problems, issues and task. Tom's decision to fight back sexual harassment demonstrated ethical values of what he believed was right. His persistence in fighting back also showed the group the strength of determination to be beneficial management qualities for the group to be effective. For Tom to take care of both personal and career conflicts, and still remain dedicated to the group stemmed from his ethical values.

Cindy is the administrative secretary to Tom. Her values almost led to a problem for those who would use it against Tom's sexual harassment charges. Cindy is Asian and cultural conflict overlapped Tom's friendly gesture of tapping her behind with a writing pad. He did not know it was a problem, as she never mentioned it to him. Cindy's role is relations-oriented (pg. 239). She did not take the responsibility and tell Tom how she felt.

However, it appears Pg. 7 Cindy's personality and cultural values are best dealt with by her avoidance behavior as it inhibited her to confront Thomas. Mark Lewin is head of design in the technical group division. Under pressure his values turned to greed. He did not want anything to rock the boat of making money when the company merged. His self-oriented behavior (pg. 239) became a real threat to the group effectiveness, because he deviated toward another group in the organization for personal gain. Mark collapsed to the pressure as it drove him to the other side.

Marian Hunter is one of the three design engineers. Her performance is task-oriented as she clearly gave Tom information what is relevant to the group and that was to work and to be dedicated. She is serious about her job and is not on anybody's side. She also expressed pride in obtaining her engineering degree and just wanted to do good work.

This core value she extended and brought to the group. She generated commitment among the group with her attitude and values. She was loyal to her own principles and did not collapse with the pressure. She would be straight toward Tom and did not abandon the common cause they all had. Don Terry is also a design engineer. His role is relations-oriented (pg. 239) as he creates a group-centered feeling with his enthusiasm and admiration to the product.

Don Terry reacted different to the pressure. He showed some ethical values toward Tom and the group as he was not disloyal like Mark, but he also did not want to disclose anything to Tom. Remaining neutral was the Pg. 8 safest thing he could do for fear of loosing his job. Don had immense pressure, it seems the design of the technical product had a great deal to do with his future career.

Influences are also external environment and the physical working conditions of the organization would be described to be of a contemporary design and layout, and is very conducive to open interaction and dialog's among the people. Instead of traditional white walls, rooms are separated with glass walls giving the appearance of an open airy feeling. Walls are not separating people. Everyone can see what everybody is doing. The offices are laid out in a circular format creating open communication and open participation equally among the people. This is beneficial to the group as it creates easy sharing of information with no physical barriers.

The management practices are exceptionally open and informal. Tom shows sentiment toward his secretary Susan. Susan sits outside the glass wall, because she is not in the technology group. But Tom still makes her an important person as well as a supporting team member by keeping the door open.

This may not be important to the organization, but is very significant to the group. The physical style and the management practices are parallel to each other. Tom demonstrates equal communication with the same openness. He deals with his group in an appropriate equal way, which means he guides them Pg. 9 with questions and keeps an open dialogue expecting them to find solutions. The group had autonomy and significant influence in accomplishing the goal and also had a choice in what it did without being told by Tom. The organizational goal is to merge with another company for a huge profit that would benefit everyone in the organization.

The group goal is to complete the product, which is to complete the design and get it ready for manufacturing. Was it an effective group with all the external conflicts and individual differences? The goal remained the same and that is to complete the product, except Mark's goal changed to the organization's goal. As a leader Tom Sanders influenced all aspects of the group and its behavior, because of the tremendous pressure Tom faced from sexual harassment, the intense mediation hearing, the anxiety of loosing his job, he still remained committed to the group and the production of the virtue of reality. His strength and determination will continue to affect the group in the future. The group was an effective group, because they endured and succeeded the many conflicts to the very end.

The team empowerment was strong, and the group viewed its goal to be important and meaningful. The group believed its projects were significant because they made an impact and a difference in the organization. They succeeded to be an effective group to finally make a positive impact on the new merger company that meant the organizational goal was met as well as the group goal. Pg. 10 In general speaking Tom and Meredith did things very similar.

Their personalities were similar in the day to day. It was not until you looked at once specific point in time that you could see the differences in their management techniques and personalities. Their little differences were the main factors in who would fall in the end. In this case the one that was one moral came out on top. Power is a capacity to influence other's behaviors (pg. 266); some desire this more than others. The way power is achieved plays an important role on what the outcome will be.

In Disclosure, sex is power. Meredith Johnson is a very attractive & successful businesswoman who is an outsider to the company; she gains power through illegitimate tactics, using sexual harassment to gain power within the company, therefore obtaining a very high raking in the company. Tom Sander's was past over by Johnson in the company, Garvin offers Johnson status as Vice President. Johnson's relationship to Sanders is very personal and it is the key to her control over him and the company.

Sanders is an ex-lover of Johnson's who broke her heart previous to her coming to the company. Johnson asked Sanders for a private meeting late at night, Sander's accepted. At the meeting, Johnson used her sexuality to try to seduce Sanders; he rejected her. This scene is the basis for her lies and her attempts to abuse her power as vice-president and as a woman. Johnson seeks revenge on Sanders and is willing to stop at nothing to get what she wants. Johnson's relationship with Garvin is one of professional nature, however Pg. 11 she controls Garvin without him knowing.

She impresses him with false information for the merger, turns Garvin against Sanders, makes him believe she is the key to merger, therefore Garvin will do anything to have Johnson stay in the company and does anything to maintain a positive image of her, in fear that the merger will not go through. Johnson convinces him she is telling the truth. She uses physical attributes to blind him, and gain control of the company. Johnson sees his personality as not very strong and easily manipulated. She sees him as possibly being an introvert, and uses him as a puppet turns all employees in the company against Sanders; it works.

Johnson's relationship with Blackburn is very much a controlling one. She lets him think that he has equality in the destruction of Blackburn yet; she uses him to support her and to do some of the dirty work for her. She uses Blackburn as a scapegoat just in case something would have gone terribly wrong. Blackburn's personality can be characterized as an introvert, high external locus of control, a follower, and easy to manipulate.

He can also be described as a nerd, who it seems like disliked Sander's from the beginning and before this whole entire thing started. Johnson's relationship with the whole company is very neural. She does not directly interact with any of them on a personal level besides Garvin & Sanders. Johnson uses Sanders to manipulate the rest and cause conflict between them and Sanders successfully.

She is disliked by the women of the company especially Hendler and Hunter because they can see through her and know why Pg. 12 Johnson was given the promotion in the first place; it wasn't for her keen intelligence but mostly for her physical attributes. Men were more intimidated by her and it was much easier for her to have power over them using sex as a tool for control. Sex is power. Johnson accuses Sanders that he sexually harassed her on their private meeting. She has full control and power of the situation, first by being the first one to make up the lie and come forward to Garvin.

She also has power because she is a female, and it is more believable to that she was sexually harassed because her physical characteristics and her persistent & convincing lies regarding the incident. Sanders had no power and if he did not get some legitimate proof; Johnson would have won. Johnson' personality can be characterized as high-self esteem & high internal locus of control. She is an extrovert, cold, assertive, aggressive and very confident (pg. 41). She uses a combination of influence strategies, which involve pressure, legitimating, coalition, & consultation (pg. 277). Johnson uses pressure at the private meeting with Sanders when she pressures him for sex, threatens him after the meeting, as well as sends threatening letters via e-mail.

Legitimating is used because of her prestigious ranking at the company, she know she has power from her status and gets into her head that she can control and do anything she want to. Johnson uses coalition by seeking the support and aid of Garvin, lawyers, Blackburn, and Lewyn to be on her side and to support her in her dirty scheme against Sanders. Consultation is mainly between her and Garvin, Johnson knows she can persuade Garvin into doing anything for her and Pg. 13 uses him to persuade Sanders to do anything she wants through Garvin. Her strategy is mainly played through her puppet master Garvin, because he is the president and has the control of the company, this way it gives her an indirect full control of the company.

Her personally style of behavior is similar to Machiavellianism in some ways. She uses deceits in interpersonal relationships with her co-workers and subordinates (pg. 277). She definitely has a cynical view of Sanders and is out to destroy his life and his reputation and has no concern for morality since her pure existence within this company is based on lies. She can also be considered a leader, not of the company itself but a leader from a character perspective. She has the characteristics of a leader; those include high motivation, intelligence, & charisma (people are drawn to her) (pg. 329 & pg. 359). People are easily influenced and intimidated by her.

Power, and how Johnson uses her power in respects to Sanders, Garvin & the rest of company. Johnson uses several sources of power: interpersonal and structural (pg. 269) in order to gain control over others. She gains power over Sanders by using coercive power, legitimate power, & resources (pg. 268, pg. 269, & pg. 273). She uses coercive power by punishing him for what he did in the past as well as his refusal to please her; she does this by an accusing him of sexually harassing her.

Her punishment is very critical to this movie and becomes an ongoing theme through out the movie. Legitimate power is an obvious one, she simply is on a high rank than him within the company, and is able to control him because he is her subordinate and obliged to answer to her. She has resources, Pg. 14 she uses his angel program against him, and makes everyone believe that he is responsible for it not working properly, yet she is the one that caused it, however her resources appear to be legitimate until the end. She uses this as a source of power over him, knowing that she really has nothing but making him believe she does.

Her sources of power over Garvin are reward power, expert power, and referent power (pg. 268 & pg. 270). Reward power is used by Johnson in this case to an extent, she makes Garvin be on her side in return guaranteeing him the merger with the other company by providing a positive image for his company, and of course making him and the rest believe that she is a crucial part for the merger and without her they will loose out on lots of money. Basically her main source of reward is money from the merger for Garvin and the company. Expert power as she makes it out to be, she makes him believe she is an expert and all expertise provided by her is legitimate when in fact it is not. Referent power is a definite, Johnson amuses Garvin, he thinks she is great and admires her. Johnson knows this very well and takes full advantage of it.

Her power over the rest of the members within the company is indirect and mainly done through Garvin using legitimate power, however for some of her subordinates such as Mark Lewyn, Blackburn, and some male workers, she uses referent power. Johnson achieves referent power through her physical attributes; she is sexy, beautiful and they enjoy looking at her. They admire the way she looks and are perhaps a little intimidated in a way and try to please her. Johnson uses her sources of power very carefully and picked out individuals who she knows she can gain Pg. 15 control of fast. She probably knew from the start upon meeting with Garvin she would be able to use referent power with him and impress him quite fast with not a lot of effort. She used it to her advantage, and therefore she was confident and went ahead with sexual harassment charges against Sanders while knowing Garvin would take her side and support her.

Johnson also knew before hand if Garvin would find out the truth, and eventually he did find out, he would still be on her side and help her persuade others to believe the untruth and twist the story around. This she was sure of because she made him believe she was key to the merger and eventually key to him making money. Sanders eventually used his own sources of power to expose Johnson as a fraud; his sources included knowledge, resources & networks (pg. 272, pg. 273, & pg. 274). Sanders used knowledge by knowing that she was a fraud and looking for information and resources to prove to everyone else who she really was.

His resources included the taped phone conversation, the video conference, little pieces here and there that he had found out about the program which she tried to manipulate, lawyer, & Kaplan's son who wrote him little clue messages via e-mail. Sex here was used as a main source of power for Johnson and she had used different tactics to make it work for her and to gain control. She believed that because she was a female, all she had to do is press sexual harassment charges and everyone would be on her side, see her as victim; giving her control, and see Sander's as the enemy and the guilty. She was wrong and her tricks Pg. 16 backfire and lead to her own self-humiliation and self-destruction. This movie was a good choice for this project because it was able to show group dynamics, how people abuse power and use it as a source for control, & relations between co-workers in a particular business setting. This movie showed a better understanding of how management can abuse its power because it has higher level of authority and the reaction it had on the whole entire structure of the organization.

Management styles and specific personality traits can also play a role in leading to rise or fall of someone's career. In the end good moral tactics paid off and the organization was placed in the hands of moral management. Pg. 17

Bibliography

Hellriegel Don, Slocum John W., & Woodman Richard W. Organizational Behavior. Ohio: South Western College P, 2001 Internet Movie Database Ltd.
Disclosure". IMD 2000-2001 web Dir: Berry Levinson.
Baltimore Pictures. Videocassette. Warner Bros. 1994 Pg.