ASSINGMENT -2 OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY

TOPIC: - The insider

Sub i!!ed !": Dr$ MRIDULA MISHRA

Sub i!!ed b#: %irb&' (u &r M&h&!" Re)$ n"- *+,+-.*/ R"'' n"- A*2 -!h se es!er

ANALYSIS OF THE MO0IE: The insider movie based on true story begins with corporate scientist Jeffrey Wigand leaving the tobacco company, brown & Williamson. While he is officially released from his head-of-research duties for "poor communication skills," the real fact is he refused to participate in "chemical enhancement" research. This unethical practice would allow cigarettes to become even more addictive as the smoker absorbs a higher dose of the nicotine. Wigand, bound by a confidentiality agreement, is forbidden to discuss company policies with anyone and if he did, would lose his severance pay and medical coverage perhaps even more. fter that enter !owell "ergman a radical newspaper man of the seventies who traded in his bandanna for a corporate office at #"$%s &' (inutes. "ergman%s initial contact with Wigand is for another reason altogether. )e*s researching a story cigarette as a fire ha+ard but Wigand*s apprehensive behavior when approached peaks "ergman*s curiosity. Wigand*s heavy conscience will not allow him to keep the truth suppressed and blows the whistle on "rown &Williamson despite the potential threat to himself and his family%s safety. fter that in the movie company shows their power they influence whole #"$ news channel by "rown and Williamson not air Wigand%s interview. )ow "ergman fights the &' (inutes e,ecs to get his story to the people. -r. Wigand is a hesitant, restless character who sacrifices all that is important to him for the greater good. )e is an average man caught up in the and very-high profiting arena of tobacco sales and the media. Wigand is threatened, characters defame and entire world turned upside down all because he "tells the truth." .t is this character whom the audience best relates with for he personifies the great merican hero who confronts the greedy and powerful conglomeration known as the big tobacco industry. S1OT &n&'#sis: .n the movie there was two strong character in the whole movie rounding and rounding on these two character .
*$ Dr$ 1i)&nd 2Russe'' Cr"3e4 2$ Mr$ %er) &n 2A' P&5in"4

*$ Dr$ 1i)&nd S!ren)!h This attitude will bring back lots of good will 1e&6ness /motions attached to it will have negative effect in practicality O77"r!uni!# 0pportunity to gain public mileage Thre&! Threat from former supporters financially, physically and psychologically

2$ Mr$ %er) &n

S!ren)!h "ased on an inner core strength, courage )e always try to deliver the truth to public by media 1e&6ness (ay not be applicable in another situation O77"r!uni!# .n a profession like 1ournalism, media this is an opportunity to get noticed in the peer circle Thre&! (ay get stamped as 230T 4.T 405 056 3.7 T.038

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The conflict between Wigand and "rown & Williamson and #"$ #orporation%s resistance to airing Wigand%s interview lead to a sharply negative portrayal of business in the film.

E!hi5&' di'e

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*4 %r"3n 9 M"rris"n:s de!er in&!i"n !" 6ee7 rese&r5h in;"r &!i"n &b"u! !he e;;e5!s "; ni5"!ine hidden ;r" !he 7ub'i5$ The tobacco company does absolutely everything in their power to keep the public from knowing about the health effects of nicotine. .n general terms, the film states that the seven largest companies spend 9&'' million per year in outside legal council, hundreds of thousands of people are dying from illnesses related to their product and they have never lost a lawsuit: t a detailed level, their actions against Wigand display their voracity. To summari+e, they fired him as soon as he disagreed with them, threatened him and his family to get him to not leak information and filed a gag order to stop him from talking to the media. They took a firm stance on what they would tell the public, which was nothing. Their sole interest was to protect profits.
2) 1i)&nd:s di'e & re'&!ed !" be5" in) & 3his!'eb'"3er "n !he !"b&55" indus!r#:s n"ndis5'"sure "; in;"r &!i"n$

Wigand%s decision to become the whistleblower to the tobacco industry was portrayed as a very difficult decision with high costs either way. .f he did not do the interview on &' (inutes, he was not being true to himself. "efore "rown & Williamson, he worked for health companies. .t was clear that he had an internal struggle with keeping information he knew ultimately hurt people. .f he did the interview, he would be sub1ect to intense public scrutiny, e,posed to potential for physical harm and his personal relationships would be stressed. .n the film, Wigand decided to do the interview and become a whistleblower. "rown & Williamson created a public image assassination campaign to discredit everything he said and his wife filed for divorce. .n the end, the interview ran and informed millions of people. This is in line with how the dilemma should have been resolved. Wigand made the right decision. The personal sacrifice he made is enormous. -espite this resolution being ethically correct, it is ;uestionable that many people would do the same. .n fact, there must be hundreds of others working in tobacco companies around the same time who had access to the same information. 0bviously the tobacco company%s unethical attacks on Wigand and his family were the biggest problem with the resolution. nd, they were also perhaps the biggest deterrent to other potential whistleblowers. <4 The C%S C"r7"r&!i"n:s de5isi"n !" edi! !he s!"r# de8e'"7ed b# %er) &n !" n"! in5'ude 1i)&nd:s in!er8ie3$ #"$ #orporation%s decision to edit Wigand%s interview out of their show on the tobacco industry was portrayed as an incredibly divisive, incentive-laden decision. &' (inutes is a whole show based on finding and airing information that the public would not otherwise see. The decision was made as a result of not wanting to upset the merger between #"$ #orporation and Westinghouse. .n other words, #"$ #orporation censored their investigative news program to protect their financial interests. They created a version without Wigand%s interview, which was the real meat of the segment, as an alternative. This was resolved by aggressive actions from "ergman to get the show on the air. )e did that by leaking the situation to the New York Times editorial department to put pressure on #"$ #orporation to air the show. .t eventually worked.

#"$ #orporation%s only choice to maintain the integrity of &' (inutes was to prove them wrong and air it. This situation should have been resolved without such aggressive intervention from "ergman. #"$ #orporation should not have blocked the show in the first place. They have an ethical obligation to support the shows mission, freedom of speech and make information public when it could help people make better choices.

%eh&8i"rs "; !he 5h&r&5!er:

Dr$ 1i)&nd
Res7"nsibi'i!# - ccountability, self-control, the pursuit of e,cellence, and considering conse;uences of our actions prior to making them, responsible to the family matters regarding medical coverage, cars, house. F&irness - <laying by the rules, not taking advantage of others, making informed 1udgments without favoritism or pre1udice, and not blaming others Ci!i=enshi7 - Working to make one%s community better, protecting the environment, making our democratic institutions work, and operating within the law like when =entucky court gives them a gag order. E "!i"n&' - When -r. Wigand was in the hotel room after hearing that #"$ was not going ir his interview he feels depressed and lost in his day dream and crying, not responding to anything. ngry not listen to others and drinking.

Mr$ %er) &n

Trus!3"r!hiness - )onesty, integrity, reliability, loyalty, keeping promises and not (isleading others. Res7"nsib'e > 5esponsible as a 1ournalist whatever he shows in the &' minutes video try as much as possible deliver the truth. $o the public aware about that. E "!i"n&' > /asily attached to the people for e,ample providing special security to -r.Wigand family. $ome time shows angry to the politics in #"$ news. Ris6 -5isk taking attitude is there in him the kind of risks he is taking to get the story published in 3> Times at the end.

C"n5'usi"n
This film and e,ercise made me think about the power of large corporations, the responsibility that power implies and the responsibility of media as a corporate watchdog. .t seems obvious that large corporations have a tendency to ignore the negative effects of their actions in favor of profit. .t also made me think about media%s role in business. . think it should be 1ust as portrayed in this film. "ergman uncompromisingly pursued the truth, using a very credible source. Too often today, media is spoon feed by corporations. (edia has a responsibility to ob1ectivity that can be important in keeping businesses honest. "ut, it%s really up to media to maintain that ob1ectivity.