Organisational Behaviour - Movie Review

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

MOVIE REVIEW

ON

GLADIATOR

GMBA January 2008

Avinash Anand

“We mortals are but Shadows and Dust Maximus… Shadows and Dust!”

- Proximo

Summary

The movie, set in 180 A.D. traces the journey of a man who goes from being a trusted army General to the Emperor of Rome to a Slave to a Gladiator who eventually defies the Empire to exact his revenge and ensure that Rome gets converted back into a Republic.

The movie highlights various aspects of inter personal relationships, group dynamics, leadership qualities and personal qualities such as courage, determination, self belief, love, jealousy, ambition and most of all Power.

Character Analysis

Maximus (Played by Russell Crowe)

The central character of the movie вЂ" Maximus plays the role of an army general, a slave and eventually a powerful Gladiator . He is someone who epitomizes courage, leadership, wisdom, fortitude and selflessness.

As an army general in the Roman Empire, he is dedicated to carrying out his duties as instructed by his Cesar. He looks up to his Cesar and Roman Empire with a lot of respect and believes that everything he does is for a cause. He is chosen by Marcus Aurelius as the worthy successor of Rome but the situation soon changes when Commodus kills the Emperor, orders the killing of Maximus and gets his family murdered. A wounded and forlorn Maximus is soon captured by nomads and sold as a Slave to fight in flea markets.

He continuously motivates his team of Gladiators and does not hesitate to take charge when they are put up against a series of fights. By exhibiting all the abilities of a natural leader, he is able to earn the respect of everyone who interacts with him. These include the Emperor, Lucilla, his army and his friends. On reaching Rome, Maximus dreams of an opportunity to get even with Commodus and fights for the sole reason of facing him. Eventually, by the power of his will, he gets his revenge by defeating Commodus in front of the large Roman crowd and asks for the wishes of Marcus Aurelius (Conversion of Rome to a Republic) to be fulfilled.

FIRO-B ANALYSIS

Inclusion & Sociability

Expressed Wanted

• Is an extremely private person by nature and does not show much intention to be sociable

• In a rare instance, in order to win the crowd he raise his sword after the Gladiator fight against the Barbarians • Being a private personality, he does not expect people to include him in social activities

• He wants the crowd in the Gladiator games to love him.

Control & Leadership

Expressed Wanted

• Being a natural leader, every time he finds a situation out of control, he automatically takes charge

• In all the battles, he portrays himself to be fully in control and responsible for the situation • He is proud to serve his country whenever required and does not mind being in a controlled and regulated environment

Affection & Warmth

Expressed Wanted

• Is extremely affectionate towards his family ,Lucilla, Lucius, his army men and Marcus Aurelius

• Is kind by nature and this shows in his interactions with fellow Gladiators

• Initially, all he wants by way of affection is to be with his family and spend time at home

• After the murder of his family, the only person from whom he seeks some affection is Lucilla

JOHARI WINDOW ANALYSIS

Maximus’ Johari Window analysis is as seen below.

Known to Self Not Known to Self

Known to others Arena

• Courageous Fighter.

• Natural Leader

• Fair in Judgement

• Enjoys loyalty of his team (army).

• Empathetic

• Selflessness

• Wisdom

• Fortitude Blind Spot

• Underestimates his might as a political leader

Not Known to others FaÐ"§ade

• Family loving

• Religious, prays in private Unknown

• Degree of affection for Caesar

• His ability to fight for his survival

Maximus� analysis through Johari Window reveals that he shows characteristics of Type D which is normally seen as the Ideal Window.

The Ideal Window Diagram

In the above, diagram, A represents Arena, BS represents Blind Spot, F represents FaÐ"§ade and U represents Unknown. The Ideal Window in the first example reflects a high degree of trust in the group or in any relationship significant to the person. Among managers, Type D practices constitute an ideal state from the standpoint of