Note: The first slide has embedded video made by me to captivate the audience. Also, this presentation has lot of animations. Download presentation to watch the videos and animations. This presentation is an attempt to analyse Human Resource Management policies used explicitly/implicitly in the movie Whiplash. The personality type and traits of the lead characters Terence Fletcher and Andrew Neiman are analyzed as part of presentation. Other HR policies and tactis have been analysed and discussed.

2.  The central theme of Whiplash is of unlocking
potential and driving someone to be their absolute
best – no matter the methods.
 The film tells the tale of aspiring drummer Andrew
Neiman, who is mentally abused by band leader
Terence Fletcher as the teacher attempts to push the
pupil beyond his limits in order to become better than
he thought possible.
 Throughout the film, Fletcher mentally batters Neiman
to draw out every last bit of talent he has. There's no
praise, no pats on the back; every minuscule mistake is
picked up on then thrown back at Neiman in a flurry of
foul-mouthed tirades.
Backdrop

3. Fletcher as a Leader (From his view-point)
His intention was to push people beyond what was expected of them.
Whiplash is a movie that brings out this lesser known facet of motivation
quite clearly.
Although, Fletcher is abusive toward his students. He mocks and insults
them with a firm belief of trying to make them better than what they
believe they can become. He opines that it is these occasions that get
people to stretch themselves to achieve greater heights.

4. Fletcher as a Leader (From his view-point)
Fletcher’s pushing, take-no-nonsense approach is to make people
the best they can be.
The various out-of-line tactics used by him are as follows:
 Using fear to control and dominate
 Creating off-balance with head-games and inexplicable uncertainty
 Shocking and denigrating vocabulary
 Forcing a win-at-all-costs culture
 Making it more about “me and my success” than the “team and our
success”

5. Kouzes & Posner's
5 Principles of Leadership.
 Fletcher Models the Way by having a strong and obsessive knowledge of music.
Fletcher sets a high standard for his students to follow.
 He Inspires a Shared Vision, which is to thoroughly understand your work even if
it means bleeding over it and he desired to produce the next greatest musician.
 He Challenges the Process by constantly pushing his students to be better and not
being content with themselves. Fletcher pushed his students because he believed
that they had the potential to be the best.
 He Enables Others to Act, rather, he dares his students to act and take initiative.
 BUT! He does not Encourage the Heart. Fletcher intentionally, verbally, and
physically abuses his students until they achieve greatness or drop out of his band.
His students do not take enjoyment in learning from him; however, they know
that his training and expertise will elevate them above other musicians. Fletcher's
students need him.

6. Comparing him with other ‘Leaders’
The pursuit of perfection and excellence combined with their lack
of appreciation are traits Fletcher shares with other real-life
business leader.
Amazon employees recollects examples of Mr Bezos’s most
eviscerating put-downs, including, “Are you lazy or just incompetent?”
“Why are you wasting my life?” and “I’m sorry, did I take my stupid
pills today?”
Two days back, Bill Gates said “I had to be a little careful not to try
and apply my standards to how hard they worked. You know, I knew
everyone's license plates so I could look out in the parking lot and see
when did people come in, when were they leaving. Eventually I had to
loosen up, as the company got to a reasonable size.”

7. Comparing him with other ‘Leaders’
An anonymous Tesla employee once said to Elon Musk’s official
biographer “Elon's worst trait by far, in my opinion, is a complete
lack of loyalty or human connection. Many of us worked tirelessly for
him for years and were tossed to the curb like a piece of litter
without a second thought. Maybe it was calculated to keep the rest
of the workforce on their toes and scared; maybe he was just able to
detach from human connection to a remarkable degree. What was
clear is that people who worked for him were like ammunition: used
for a specific purpose until exhausted and discarded.”
Steve Jobs, for me, is the one who is most close to Fletcher’s
character. The cold-heartedness, the ruthless pursuit to excellence
embodied Jobs.

8. Terence Fletcher – Coercive Leader
Modus Operandi: Demands Immediate Compliance
The style in a phrase: “Do what I tell you”
Underlying emotional intelligence competences: Drive to achieve,
initiative, self-control
When the style works best: In a crisis, to kick start a turnaround, or
with problem employees
Overall Impact on Climate: Negative

9. Culture / Group Dynamics
Nature of the other band members – Cowed.
They had any sense of initiative or creativity beaten out of them, presumably by the
treatment we then witnessed being dished out to Andrew. They were a cultural fit for
the band – compliant, molded to the requirements of the leader, technically
competent, and not daring to question the leader’s goals or methods.
Another parallel with corporate culture noticed was how this coercive leadership style
affected band members when they got the chance to hand it out to others. Andrew is
alternate to another drummer who is as rude to Andrew as Fletcher. The culture in
which bullying is set up as acceptable is then extended throughout the organization.

10. Group Dynamics
Video

11. Theories of Learning
Operant Conditioning:
Operant Conditioning (also, ‘Instrumental Conditioning’) is a learning process
in which behavior is sensitive to, or controlled by, its consequences.
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward
or prevents a punishment.
Reinforcement and Punishment are the core tools through which operant
behavior is modified. These terms are defined by their effect on behavior.

12. Shaping Behavior –Terence Fletcher
Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an
individual closer to the desired response.
 Positive Reinforcement (Learning)
Providing a reward for a desired behavior.
 Negative Reinforcement (Learning)
Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior occurs.
 Punishment (Unlearning)
Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior.
 Extinction (Unlearning)
Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation.

13. Fletcher
ENTJ
(Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging)
(Sociable & Assertive, Unconscious Process, Uses
Reason & Logic, Wants Order & Structure)
Fletcher: "I was there to push people beyond what's
expected of them. I believe that's an absolute necessity.
Fletcher: "For the record, Metz wasn't out of tune. You
were, Erickson, but he didn't know and that's bad
enough "
Fletcher: "Not my tempo.”
Neiman
INFP
(Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving)
(Quiet & Shy, Unconscious Process, Uses Values &
Emotions, Flexible & Spontaneous)
Neiman: “My Dad says I have trouble making eye
contact"
Neiman: “You got any friends, Andy?” “No, I just never
really saw the use”
Neiman: “I’d rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have
people at a dinner table talk about me than live to be
rich and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who I
was.”
Neiman: “[after being replaced by another drummer]
Are you serious? That s**t?"
:: MBTI ::

14. 9,1
“It is apparent
from the movie
that Fletcher was
totally a Task-
Oriented
person.”
Fiedler’s Model

15. Terence Fletcher
Video

16. Criticism perceived as a method of Motivation. 2 Types:
 Destructive Criticism
 Constructive Criticism
Fletcher’s Motivation:
“I was there to push people beyond what's expected of them.”
Andrew’s Motivation:
“I think being the greatest musician of the 20th century is
anybody's idea of success.”
Motivation

17. Pros & Cons of Destructive Criticism
Pros
 Strong-willed.
 Made Andrew all the more determined
& strong-willed.
 Fletcher wanted to ‘Push people
beyond what’s expected out of them’
 Being a Perfectionist - There are no two
words in the English language more
harmful than “good job”.
Cons
 Excessive coercing leads to bullying.
 Makes work environment
unsustainable.
 Leads to an abusive relationship.
 Loss of confidence in the mentee.

18. Feedback VS Praise
Feedback
 Provides an opportunity to improve on
mistakes.
 Can push a person to learn and improve.
 Helps in analyzing the work.
 Fletcher’s statement: If you don't have
ability, you wind up playing in a rock
band.
 Provided critical feedback.
Praise
 Provides boost to self-esteem.
 Getting better is the main goal, not
feeling better.
 Role of language important.
 Fletcher’s view: “Good Job” induces
complacency and are the most harmful
words in English language.

19. McClelland’sThree NeedsTheory
 Need for Achievement (nAch)
The drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed-
 Andrew: Being the Greatest Musician of 20th Century.
 Fletcher: Making the next Charlie Parker.
 Need for Power (nPow)
The need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise.
 Fletcher: If you think you will come and sabotage my band, I will f*** you.
 Need for Affiliation (nAff)
The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships - Shown neither by Andrew
nor by Fletcher.
 Andrew: “I just never really saw the use of having friends.”
 Fletcher: Always being a coercive and bullying teacher.

20. Terence Fletcher
Video

21. Andrew Neiman
Video

22.  Highly-Ambitious, Awkward, Impulsive, Abrasive, Self-Centered,
Dedicated.
 Andrew is hyper-focused on his career, and he truly believes that if he
works hard enough, he’s destined for greatness.
 Instances that explain this about him:
• “I’d rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about me
than to live to be rich and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who I was.”
• Andrew moved his dorm mattress to the school’s practice room so he can hone his
drumming skills at any hour of the day or night.
PersonalityTraits – Andrew Neiman

23. Andrew Neiman
Video

24. Andrew Neiman
Video

25. The BIGQuestion
Andrew's empowerment at the end of the film begs the
question: Did the teacher influence the desired effect? The
story of “How Charlie Parker became Charlie Parker?”
(Parker’s humiliated off-stage so he practices and practices,
never to be humiliated again, becoming perfect at his craft.)
Or was it all Andrew Neiman? His ambition/intrinsic
motivation to become the best jazz drummer that fuelled him
to excel in spite of Terrence’s abuse.

26. References
 Whiplash – Directed by Damien Chazelle
 https://heroesandvillainsofmbti.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/the-oscars-mbti-terence-fletcher-entj-whiplash/
 http://harveychimoff.com/tag/whiplash-movie-leadership-lessons/
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-whiplash-effect-lesso_b_6732864.html?section=india
 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-clinical-picture/201502/witnessing-abusive-relationship-
whiplash-the-movie
 http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/10/the-ethics-of-whiplash/381636/
 http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0440988/quotes
 http://theleadershipreview.org/features/whiplash/
 http://harveychimoff.com/2015/02/24/whiplash-movie-is-case-study-for-terrible-leaders/#more-5871
 http://www.zimbio.com/Beyond+the+Box+Office/articles/QcJ5QPAzECX/6+Deep+Thoughts+About+Whiplash

27.  Aditya Raval
 Akshatha Neeraje
 Arjun Parekh
 Debolina Choudhury
 Naren Shetty
 Ronak Sharma
Prepared By: Group 8