NEGOTIATION SKILLS

ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITTED BY

S.SINDHOORI

18-108
NEGOTIATION:

Negotiation serves as a special form of communication which engages reasoned

discussion, problem solving process and understanding of the issue. It is a form of
communication that involves two or more parties dealing with an issue with different opinions
and different viewpoints. Negotiation is only the means to reach a mutual agreement but not the
agreement itself. It is a process to reach a mutual beneficial solution. Negotiations occur almost
everywhere today. Negotiation has become a way of life.

There are two different approaches of negotiation

• Distributive

• Integrative

The content of negotiation is

• Perception

• Relationship

• Issue

• Information

• Process

• Outcome

• Interests

TYPES OF NEGOTIATION

• Managerial

• Commercial

• Day-to-day

• Legal
ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE: THE 12 ANGRY MEN
The 12 angry men directed by Sidney Lumet is an American drama of 1957
adapted from a teleplay. This movie has been quoted as culturally, aesthetically or historically
significant. The plot of the movie revolves around 12 men who are selected as jury members to
convict an 18 year old boy for the first degree murder of his father. The jury members were
presented all the evidences against the defendant. They were all settled in the jury room for
discussion.

The 12angry men come from different occupations and classes. They are

1. An assistant high school football coach

2. A meek and unpretentious bank clerk

3. A businessman and an emotionally distraught father, opinionated and stubborn with

a streak of sadism

4. A rational stock broker, unflappable and self-assured

5. A young man from a violent slum

6. A house painter, tough but principled and respectful

7. A salesman, sports fan

8. An architect, the lone dissenter in the beginning

9. A wise and observant elderly man

10. A garage owner; a pushy

11. An immigrant watchmaker, proud to be a naturalized American citizen

12. An excitable, indecisive advertising executive

INTRODUCTION

The entire movie portrays the negotiation skills and how personal prejudices should be kept aside
when reaching a mutual agreement.

NEGOTIATION PROCESS OF THE MOVIE

PRE-NEGOTIATION

After settling down in the jury room the jurors have some little conversations among
themselves. The issue they had in hand is to identify whether the boy was guilty of murdering his
father or not.

OPENING

The juror 1 takes the initiative as foreman of organizing all the members as per their
numbers and suggests for a vote system. In this voting all should vote to a unanimous decision.
The result of the first voting was 11 voted the defendant was guilty and only one voted not
guilty. The 11 jurors were surprised and examined the juror 8 very intensely. They tried to talk
him into saying yes but juror 8 was firm that he can’t cast his vote without being fully convinced
that the boy was guilty. The rest of the jurors ridiculed him and imposed their viewpoints upon
him. He only said there is a possibility of the boy not being guilty and it should be discussed
though most of the members were not even willing to listen and want to finish it off soon and
depart. They didn’t realize that they had a huge responsibility in their hands. Another voting was
made anonymously where the outcome was 9-2. The rest of the jurors were agitated as who the
other person was and then juror 9 raises his voice saying that juror 8 deserves a chance to speak
his point of view also.

INFORMATION SHARING

The juror 8 is questioned by the rest on what grounds he is convinced that the boy is
not guilty. He patiently emphasizes that the boy was regularly beaten and violence is a normal
state of his life there is nothing out of the blue that could make him kill his father. Then few
jurors began to sympathize the defendant and start using their heads to come up with better
reasons to convict him guilty. It is at this point only he starts sharing the information he possess.

He begins with bringing a switch blade similar to the one the defendant used to kill which
was also was unique. By looking at the blade and its similarity to the used blade juror 8
could see some faces which are confused about their vote. Juror 5 changes his mind and
casts his vote as not guilty.
 He evaluated the options to convince the rest of the jury. To do so he reasoned logically
that the lady who witnessed the murder when the train was passing had actually saw the
murder when the last two coaches moved. He reasoned how a murder can happen in the
matter of few seconds. How could the lady hear any voice when the train is moving? This
gives a good reason for juror 6 also to vote not guilty.

He then questions the testimony of the old man as to how he reached his bed room door
and walked the hallway and ran to the stairs to see the boy running down the stairs all in
15 seconds? The juror 8 measures the distance between his bed and the bedroom door and
then to the hallway and he himself walks to check the time of walking juror 3 measured
the time and it exceeded to 45 seconds this convinced juror 3 that the boy is not guilty.

Then with the help of juror 2 and juror 5‘s statements juror 8 had also proved that the
switch blade had been used in a wrong manner to kill or there is a possibility that the
switch blade is not used at all.

He even gets the favor of juror 1,7,11 and 12.

PROBLEM SOLVING

The problem arises when juror 4 brings the point of the lady’s witness that she has seen
the murder through her window very clearly. He challenges the juror 8 as to how he can deny
this evidence? He also states that the boy has not gone to any movie as he could not tell it to the
detectives who questioned him at the murder scene.

Juror 8 makes it a point to put juror 4 under stress and question about his day-to-day
happenings where at one point of time he fails to answer and proved him that even the
boy was under such an emotional stress seeing his father murdered to recall the name of
the movie or the details of it.

With the wisdom and keen observation of the juror 9, juror 8 stressed of the possibility
that the witness’s short sightedness would have constrained her from witnessing the
murder scene very clearly. She could not hear the voice of the boy by sitting in her
bedroom opposite to the boy’s home and the train passing simultaneously.

He also gains the favor of other jury members in this issue.

AGREEMENT

The process of agreeing to the statements of juror 8 began by the favor of juror 9 and then
ended by the breakdown of the juror 3 following his agreement also. He did not pull the magic
wand to change every mind slowly, all he did was he used his logic and common sense to bring
out certain facts which were totally ignored by the defense lawyer. He persistently persuades
them to think how is it possible? And patiently convinces every person by letting them talk and
even thinking from their point of view. This type of agreement is called the procedural
agreement. The juror 8 has communicated well enough to make a unanimous decision of the boy
not guilty.

The movie ends here by all the 12 jury members taking the decision of the defendant not
guilty.

CONCLUSION

The movie begins with lots of confusion and commotion where no one feels responsible
for the life at stake. They consensually decide guilty of the defendant without any further
discussion except for one who thinks otherwise. They generalize the defendant and even criticize
the juror 8 but he patiently listens to them and starts contradicting their statements. He gets into
the shoes of the defendant and tries to analyze the options very logically. He slowly proposes the
information gathered by him which brings him favor from most of the jury members. Juror 3 and
juror 10 are the best examples of what should not be done during the process of negotiation.
There is a lack of empathy in both the jurors and they even criticized who have changed their
opinions. They have tried to inflict their opinions in a very agitated manner.

This movie has given a wide perspective of the dos and don’ts of the negotiation.