Movies

Movie: The Pursuit of Happiness

“You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Peroid.” (Will Smith)

In the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness”, Will Smith plays a self-employed man who is trying to sell his idea and his prototype to doctors in San Francisco. He is a person who has to adapt to the changes that are being made in the world. Anyone who has their own company has to make room for the changes that others make. For example, people in this world are going to come up with similar ideas and similar prototypes. He has to come up with new ideas and new add-ons to keep his prototype unique and desirable. That is the ultimate goal is to make your product the most desirable and the most wanted product on the market.

The changes that small business owners and self-employed people need to make are all little things to keep on top of the advancements. Paying attention and adapting to change is an important quality that all employees and employers need to have. 

Movie: The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 comedy-drama film. It stars Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs, a college graduate who goes to New York City and gets a job as a co-assistant to powerful fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep. The film depicts numerous elements of organizational behaviour such as power, values in the workplace, as well as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. These elements are a changing force within the workplace. 

Meryl Streep’s character, Miranda Priestly, holds a majority of the power in this film. Within the trailer the audience can distinguish numerous power bases within her role. She is coercive in that her employees react in fear when negative results are evident, such as asking a ‘question’. This power bases allows her to bully, humiliate and deny respect for her employees. This form of power is most common in business however, top managers now realise it is the lease effective way of obtaining commitment from employees. It is likely within the next few years this will change immensely. Another power base her character reveals is her expertise in the fashion industry as well as legitimate. She is able to enforce power due to her position within the company, it is therefore expected employees comply with her requests (Langton, Robbins, and Judge, 2009).  Despite her coercive means, Miranda seems to obtain commitment from her employees as they show initiative and persistence in carrying out certain tasks yet decreased overall satisfaction and increased mistrust. 

Anne Hathaway, as Andrea Sachs, is constantly trying to please her boss, her boyfriend, and herself. This can be illustrated using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Years ago, many women in the workplace were only motivated by the basic physiological needs, such as food, shelter, as well as safety. They may have received other needs through alternative manners such as participating in clubs or volunteering with the school. However, since women make up 50% of the workforce today additional needs, such as the social, esteem, self-actualization must also be met in order to motivate them at the workplace. Throughout the film Andrea strives for respect and to feel accepted. At the end of the film, Andrea reaches self-actualization and is able to follow her own path which makes her the happiest. The theory of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has been in effect for years but the ability for the workplace to meet these needs is always changing. Businesses must strive to go above the basic needs of physiological and safety (money) for employees to become motivated (Langton et al., 2009).

The film also depicts an ongoing change in values. Anne Hathaway/Andy eventually realises how much she values workplace balance. This value is common in the younger generations. Values in the younger generations typically include: flexibility, job satisfaction, personal autonomy, and to seek meaning in their work. In the past, work place values (elders and baby boomers) included: order, authority, equality in the workplace (Langton et al., 2009).  A character in the film of an older generation replies to the statement ``my personal life is hanging by a thread `` by stating, that’s what happens when you start doing well at work. Let me know when your whole life goes up in smoke- It means it`s time for a promotion``. This film goes to show, values are changing in the workplace to fit younger generations.