Movie/Tv Show Critique

The workplace in the 21 st Century is characterized by pressure owing to such aspects as increased competition and the need to meet the organizational goals. Thus, most work environments are marked by frustrations that affect not only the employees but also the CEOs. To ensure productivity in such situations , the efforts of numerous individuals is requisite. This has occasioned the need for Industrial-organizational psychology (I/O psychology). This field entails the study of the behavior of humans in the workplace ( Garcia et al., 2010) . In this pursuit, it derives the principles of group, individual and organizational behavior . Subsequently, I/O psychology applies this knowledge to resolve problems in the workplace. In this paper, Veep, a TV show produced in 2012 will be critiqued using numerous parameters. These include abuse of power, organizational justice, emotions at work, organizational culture, work-family conflict, social loafing, and leadership-sources of power. 

Abuse of Power 

Abuse of power is evident in workplace environments where there is a culture of operating in complete disregard to the needs of the employees. Abuse of power at the workplace is most often perpetrated by individuals in superior positions . It, therefore, involves a superior maltreating and dehumanizing an employee. However, victims of abuse of power can either be subordinates or managers. Abusive practices in the workplace are typically aimed at controlling employee behavior through unethical and sometimes illegal managerial practices (Ebeid et al., 2007) . Abuse of power at the workplace is evident through work overload, job stress induced by superiors, workplace confrontation popularly referred to as desk rage , discrimination as well as other unethical practices . Abuse of power at the workplace is also aided by economic uncertainties, downsizing trends and increase in the length of the working day.

Abuse of power is showcased in Veep , a political satire that stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus. S eason five episode one, entitled “ Morning After , ” revolves around a stress pimple break out on Selina’s phase following an unprecedented electoral tie . The electoral tie leaves Selina once again vulnerable to becoming vice president, however, this time to a smugger president in O’Brien. In the midst of the political crisis, the Dow sinks resulting in an economic crisis. Selina appoints Senator James, her political archrival within the Democratic Party, as the economy czar with the intention of making the latter loose face with the public consequently settling their political disputes . Simultaneous to these two cris e s, Selina is also having a family cris i s . Her daughter Catherine is trying to make a film on the election for her school project . H owever , Selina frustrates this project.

Abuse of power is evident in several parts of the episode. To begin with, Selina uses her work demands as an excuse for absconding her motherly responsibilities to Catherine . Selina verbally offers Catherine support , while her body language speaks otherwise. Reading her body language, Ben Cafferty, Selina’s chief of staff, stalls Catherine citing work crisis in Yemen. Further, Selina asserts “the only thing Catherine ever finished was an entire ice cream cake” in a derogative statement to paint the picture that her daughter will not finish her film project (Mandel & Addison, 2016) . Abuse of power is also evident in Selina using the economic crisis to settle her political battles with Senator James by appointing the latter as the economy czar .

Abuse of power has been correctly portrayed in “ Morning Afte r.” All instances of abuse of power in the episode are propagated by Selina in her capacity as acting president and mother. These are positions of power. Further, the cited examples of abuse of power involve the dehumanizing and degrading of both Catherine and Senator James by Selina. T herefore , S elina could have improved the wellbeing of Senator James by appointing him based on his economic credentials as opposed to using a political lens . When Senator James turned down the appointment, Selina should have also respected his wishes. Concerning Catherine, Selina should have granted her limited access to her campaign as promise d under the supervision of Cafferty . Further, she should have supported Catherine as her mother, in the successful completion of her project rather than being a stumbling block.

Organizational Justice 

Organization justice (OJ) can be defined as the perception of employees concerning fair and equal treatment within their organization. C onsequentl y, OJ can be categorized into four aspects; procedural, distributive, interpersonal and informational justice . Procedural justice is evident in establishing practices that determine the distribution of outcomes at the workplace while distributive justice refers to the fairness with which resources and rewards are apportioned at the workplace following certain outcomes . On the other hand, interpersonal justice relates to how an employee is socially treated following their compliance with certain behaviors at the workplace . I nformational justice refers to the sufficiency of the knowledge exchanged with the employee with regards to procedures of decided outcomes . Employee perception of OJ is therefore linked to employee attributes of loyalty, commitment, citizenship behavior, confidence and performance (Rahman et al., 2016) .

Veep season five episode three, entitled “ The Eagle ,” revolves around American foreign policy . In this episode , Selina makes an impulsive decision to impose sanctions on China following an allegation that Chinese hackers had breached White House servers. In the real sense, Selina was using the Chinese hackers as a scapegoat for offensive tweet s directed at O’Brien , her opponent in the presidential rac e . While on a weekly basis, Sue had issued warnings on the activity of Chinese hackers in breaching the NSA, White House, and National Security Council servers, her warnings had been mainly ignored . This episode further portrays that American foreign policy is based on the principle of blaming other countries for crimes they had not committed.

D epictions of OJ in this episode are evident in several ways. Despite Sue diligently performing her job on a regular basis with respect to Chinese hackers, her warnings are ignored, and consequently, no action is taken . This points to an organizational environment in the Meyer White House whereby all the four components of workplace justice are ignored . Also , OJ is evident in Cafferty’s perception that American foreign policy is hinged upon blaming other countries for things they have not done. When Selina asks Cafferty whether she can blame China for something they did not do, the latter responds “It’s been the cornerstone of American foreign policy since the Spanish-American War” (Koren & Addison, 2016) . Finally, Selina depicts that the modus operandi of her White House is to muzzle potential threats. After disclosing the t weeter misstep to Bob Bradley , her trusted advisor, she discovers that Bradley has gone senile. To contain the situation, Selina appoints Bradley as the communication czar, therefore, resulting in the latter being confined to a basement office without cell reception.

The Eagle depicts organizational injustice as opposed to justice. Procedurally, the exemplary performance of one’s responsibilities should be rewarded with action from one’s superiors. However , in the Meyer White House, excellent performance is rewarded with inaction except when it is convenient to cover up administrative errors. To enhance the performance of Sue, Cafferty should have acted on the numerous warnings she gave concerning breaches by Chinese hackers. Dishonesty also seems to be the standard practice of solving all crises in the Meyer White House. Instead of wrongfully imposing sanctions on China, Selina should have issued a public apology for her tweet hence protecting the integrity of her administration. Further, Bradley should have been allowed to seek medical attention instead of being confined to the basement office.

Emotions at Work 

Previously, emotions at the workplace were not welcome . This is because it was assumed that emotions could potentially get in the way of rational decision-making in the workplace . However, emotions in the workplace cannot be just ignored . More importantly, employee emotions affect their performance ( S chiopu, 2015) . It is therefore vital for employees to modify their emotions so as to improve their work performance. For instance, an employee can change how she feels so that she can better interact with her colleagues or customers. Negative emotions at the workplace, therefore, need to be either modified or managed.

Veep season five episode seven, entitled “ The Congressional Ball ,” revolves around two key events; the annual congressional ball and Jonah’s New Hampshire congressional campaign. In this episode, Selina lobbies Congressmen to back her bid for the presidency . At the same time, Senator James is working at ensuring a tie in the congressional presidential vote so that the matter might be determined by the Senate where he could use legal loopholes to become president (Kimball et al. , 2016) . Jonah’s campaign, on the other hand, is filled with his insult-laden speeches and missteps which ironically contributed to him winning the election.

This episode depicts how American politics is laden with destructive emotions due to pettiness. This is evident in how Selina strong-arms her political enemies into backing her presidential bid. The climax of her emotional expression is evident in how she deals with her saboteur, Senator James. In public, she dances with him while smiling and whispering threats in his ears. In private, she yells at him and threatens to destroy him before finally having sex with him (Kimball et al. , 2016) . This episode represent s the us e of negative emotions to exert undue influence on employees. Jonah’s campaign is also a cocktail of shouting matches between Jonah and his handlers. Both Jonah and Selina could do with emotional modification in order to communicate e ffectively without resorting to aggression and shouting.

Organizational Culture 

Organizational culture refers to the collective norms, values, and objectives collectively subscribed to by employees at the workplace. The culture at the workplace is therefore significant in guiding and informing the desired behavior among employees (Iljins et al., 2015) . Based on the fact that culture affects employee behavior, it also affects organizational performance. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the management to shape the organizational culture in addition to indoctrinating new employees into the said culture.

Veep season five episode five, entitled “ Thanksgiving ,” revolves around Thanksgiving. During Thanksgiving, Selina decides to skip spending time with her family and instead take that opportunity to get a face lift . In typical fashion, her administration is riddled with crises. Specifically, salmonella outbreak ensues affecting birds across the country while Selina is still recovering from her surgical operation (Gray et al. , 2016) . Also , tragedy befalls the country as Harry Sherman, the representative from New Hampshire succumbs to illness and dies. Selina takes this opportunity to fill this vacant seat with a Congressman loyal to her hence Jonah is asked to run.

This episode reveals the insidious nature of the political environment in several ways. First of all, Selina succumbs to the stereotype that women’s beauty and youthfulness are critical to how they are perceived. While Selina is recovering from surgery, Senator James continues with his sabotage of the Congressional presidential vote. Further , Andrew takes advantage of Selina’s weak position to get her to promise him a secretary of state position should she retain the presidency. This exemplifies how women are taken advantage of in politics should they show any sign of weakness. Jonah , on the other hand , is forced by Jeffrey, his politically influential uncle to run for office . However, after one term , he ste ps down in favor of Ezra, his war-hero cousin. Th ese scenarios demonstrate a culture of powerful interests conflicting with public interests in politics. Political culture should, therefore, change to ensure that women are treated equitably. Selina also should spend more time with her daughter Catherine instead of investing either in her job or herself at Catherine ’s expense. Further, candidature in political seats should be based on public good as opposed to elitist interests. Moreover, p owerful forces should not strong-arm candidates .

Work-family Conflict 

Work-family conflict explores the relationship between commitment to one’s familial relations and career. This relationship is exemplified by the difficulties faced by employees in balancing work and family demands (Kengatharan, 2015) . Globalization and economic uncertainty have increased the prevalence of work-family related pressures among employees. Work - family conflict is therefore instrumental to the competitive survival of the organization in addition to significantly affecting familial ties. Work-life balance depends on an individual’s inclinations as well as organizational policies.

Veep season five episode four, entitled “ Mother ,” depicts the work-family conflicts that have now become evident in Selina’s life. Specifically, Selina’s mother is admitted t o hospital. H owever , Selina is focused on the Nevada recount . C onsequently , she ends up being the last person to visit her ailing mother. Just after her mother dies, Selina receives news that the courts have ordered a recount (Gregory at al. , 2016) . In this episode, Selina exhibits a cocktail of emotions that oscillate between happiness and sadness as the events turn and twist in her life.

Due to work-family conflict, this episode makes Selina come across as being callous. In a critical period of her life, the family loses to work once more. Despite her mother’s condition and eventual demise, Selina is only concerned with Nevada’s politics. Also , Selina’s eulogy is tainted by her loss in Nevada which ironically results to her behaving in a manner in consistent with the occasion. At some point, she is elated that due to her mother’s illness, her approval ratings ha ve increased. Politics is demanding and more often than not political office holders and their families are expected to work round the clock at the expense of their social lives. T herefore , p olitical office holders must be guided by clear work-family conflict policies to shelter their family lives from negative consequences of service to the public. Selina in this context should have taken time off work like a normal person and attended to her ailing mother in addition to mourning her appropriately. This will have prevented her meltdown as a result of the overwhelming pressure from family and work demands.

Social Loafing 

Social loafing refers to the tendency of employees to exert minimal effort when included in teams. Social loafing is, therefore, an impediment to effective teamwork given that it is associated with a reduced individual performance which consequently compounds to reduced team performance (Simms & Nichols, 2014) . When individual responsibilities are not well defined, and there is no way of track ing individual performance, social loafing occurs. The lack of clarity in responsibility allows a team member to fade into the background and hence his or her workload is transferred to the team. When other team members finally realize that one of them is loafing, they consequently also reduce the effort they exert hence reducing the overall team performance. Social loafing can, therefore, be reduced by individualizing teamwork and having effective performance appraisals of a team effort.

Veep season five finale, entitled “ Inauguration ,” revolves around the end of Selina’s political career. Following a tie orchestrated by Senator James in Congress, Selina is forced to ask him for a job in his administration as secretary of state as it becomes clear that he will become the next president. James , on the other hand , offers Selina the vice president position which she initially de clin es but later accepts hoping to use it to secure her legacy and potentially win a Nobel Award for Peace (Margolis et al. , 2016) . However, in a twist of events, Senator James loses the vote to Senator Montez in a dramatic vote orchestrated by Vice President Doyle.

Throughout her entire public career, Selina’s team has consistently underperformed. This exemplifies social loafing in action. For instance, as a result of the team’s lackluster performance, Selina did not have a legacy in addition to her administration being riddled by one crisis after another. Due to their incompetence, Selina has consistently lost most of her political battles. Except for Gary, Kent, Amy, and Sue, the rest of the team comes across as bystanders in the administration with Mike, the press secretary, being the epitome of incompetence. Selina should have reviewed individual as well team performance to weed out non - performing staff member s . Further, she should also have fired Mike a long time ago but kept him for sentimental reasons.

Leadership – Sources of Power 

Leadership involves exercising power. H owever , p ower in both theoretical and practical contexts is perceived negatively. This is because power has been used unethical ly and immorally by leaders. On the other hand, leaders must exercise power in the pursuit of organizational goals. Power is, therefore, an integral part of the organizational environment (Lunenburg, 2012) . Depending on its source, power can be categorized into legitimate, reward, coercive, expert and referral power. Legitimate power is as a result of the position one hold s in an organization while reward power involves exerting influence by bribing subordinates. Coercive power, on the other hand, is exercised through punitive measures while expert power is dependent on one’s skills, experience, and capabilities. Finally, referent power develops out of admiration for a leader.

Veep season five episode eight, entitled “ Camp David ,” examines the talks between the Chinese and the U . S disguised as Meyer family Christmas celebrations. In this episode , Selina relies on her old friend Minna Hakinnen, a Finnish stateswoman, to set up a secret meeting with the Chinese. The meeting is supposed to return manufacturing jobs to Ohio and North Carolina , therefore, improving the chances of Selina winning the congressional vote (Axler et al., 2016) . Andrew, Selina’s ex-husband at the same time takes the opportunity to try and convince his daughter to invest in one of his shady real estate deals. Jonah , on the hand , surprisingly wins the New Hampshire Congressional seat following unexpected support from the NRA.

Four sources of power are evident in this episode. The NRA uses its coercive power to secure Jonah’s congressional election despite the fact that he was trailing in polls before the gun incident. Selina exercises her legitimate power in trying to broker a deal between the Chinese and the U . S. Minna uses her expert power in helping Selina broker the deal with the Chinese. Further, Andrew resorts to referent power in trying to convince Catherine to invest in his business. Jonah’s victory was based on the NRA’s power as opposed to the interests of the people. New Hampshire ended up having a representative who does not reflect its interests. The NRA should, therefore, have not interfered with th e election but rather allow the people’s will to prevail. Selina also wrongly exercise d her legitimate power to influence the congressional vote as opposed to discharging her responsibility devoid of personal motivation. Finally, Andrew should have sought alternative sources of funding instead of preying on his daughter’s affection.

Conclusion 

While frustrations characterize the modern day working environments, there is a need for all employees to work towards making the environment conducive. This is crucial to improving the respective organization’s performance. The importance of I/O psychology in this regard can therefore not be overstated . This is due to its focus on studying the behavior of employees at the workplace. In numerous episodes of Veep, various aspects of I/O psychology are highlighted . Notable among these are the abuse of power, organizational justice, emotions at work, organizational culture, work-family conflict, social loafing, and leadership-sources of power. 

References  

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Gray, S., Pritchett, G., & Addison, C. (2016, May 23). Thanksgiving. Veep . New York: HBO. 

Gregory, A., Huyck, P., & Stern, D. (2016, May 16). Mother. Veep . New York: HBO. 

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Kimball, B., Wilkinson, A., & Marable, M. (2016, June 5). Congressional ball. Veep . New York: HBO. 

Koren, S., & Addison, C. (2016 , May 8 ). The eagle. Veep . New York: HBO. 

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Margolis, J., Wilkinson, A., & Martin, B. (2016, June 27). Inauguration. Veep . New York: HBO. 

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Schiopu, A. F. (2015). Workplace emotions and job satisfaction.  International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories ,  5 (3 ), 277-282.

Simms, A., & Nichols, T. (2014). Social loafing: a review of the literature.  Journal of Management Policy and Practice ,  15 (1), 58 .