A group crisis is an event that has a high - impact and threatens the viability of the organization. Crisis/stress is a factor that helps group evolves from stage to stage, get through phases. Under conditions of crisis swift decision should be made and considered necessary.
The jury room turns into an emotional stage, the jury becomes a target for other frustrations members may be having in their family life. Juror number three makes the whole case very personal, he wishes to condemn the young boy because he believes that by doing this he will punish his own boy who deserted him.
The stress that they are stuck on a hot weather in a room and they can not get out because one of them is determined to change their votes makes them reconsider their decisions regarding the case. Under immense pressure people react differently and the results usually are the desired ones. The stress is visible when they try to convince each other of the innocence or guilt. Every single one of them wants to get out and move on with their lives, to go back to their homes, or go to a football game. Instead they are "prisoners" they have to gain their liberty by unanimous vote. The hot weather seems to put a lot of pressure on them. Stress mediates the group. One way or the other they are forced to listen and talk to each other and in the end reach a fair decision. The crisis is clear when they can not agree and they can't reach the verdict, some of them are willing to give up. Crisis pushes them to talk and analyze more; they become more and more efficient in their discussions which helps in the end build the conclusion.
As time goes on some of the jurors change their minds and find that there is perhaps enough reasonable doubt not to convict the young man after all. But not everyone is...
The first juror that is convinced by Mr. Davis's arguments is juror number nine; he agrees that the evidence showed to be thoroughly reviewed. He changes his vote to "not guilty."
Henry Fonda masters the role beautifully. The character he acts is an example of a determined, self assured and convincing man, who becomes the leader of the jury without the other members even noticing. Even if he is not so sure of the boy's innocence he establishes a goal: not to sentence the boy to death. Once his objective is settled, with persistence and clear determination he focuses in leading the others think about the case the same as he does. He doesn't give up easily and he finds ways through conflict.
This movie has been used in management seminars as a case study in team building and leadership the resolution of conflict techniques presented in "12 angry men" have been analyzed and applied to employee efforts to collaborate among themselves to handle issues, the goal is to minimize or eliminate the inefficient micromanagement by company executives in areas in which are unskilled and/or unknowledgeable."
Website http:/en.wikipedia.org/wicki/12_angryMen)
Bibliography
Ivanovich, M., & Matteson, T. (2002). Group behavior and work teams. Organizational behavior and management. McGraw-Hill Irwin
Wickipedia free encyclopedia, Last modified 24 November 2006. Website: http:/en.wikipedia.org/wicki/12_angryMen nationalserviceresources.org/filemanager/download/06_MultiState_Conf/D2E2stages_group_develop_2.pdf
Neill, J (2004). What are the stages of group development?. Website: http://www.wilderdom.com/group/StagesGroupDevelopment.html
The Internet Movie Database. Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083
