The film depicts two HR realities. The first is that of the complex relationship between Frank, a young intern in Human Resources, who is dynamic, energetic, and his father who is both fearful and disillusioned with the job he has held since he was young. Frank is a victim of deceptive illusions about the world of business. The company has successfully implemented globalization, and the power of shareholders is now taking precedence over managerial decisions and the logic of profit is taking precedence over the humanistic vision.
[...] The film presents a somewhat caricatured image by escalating aggression through a speech with Marxist overtones. The speech leaves no room for constructive discussions aimed at social progress. Madame Arnouz is, constantly depicting as posturing about her ideologies and protesters are not able to look beyond this image. The director is also not able to convey that management can be a partner who may accompany and assist staff. Madame Arnoux arises as a personification of the discomfort experienced by many employees. [...]
[...] Furthermore, it is clear that the role of HR, in business such as that presented in the film is not the same as it is in large companies which have the means and resources to implement effective Human resources policies. It is indeed likely that in such small industrial structures, the HR function has contributed to management problems, without trying to actually achieve progress in this area. It is therefore difficult to imagine the function of Human Resources in such an undertaking at the scale of advanced management practices such as are now commonly found in larger companies The key actors in the business The role of the Manager The Plant Manager, a key figure in this film embodies an Employer in a post- war scenario. [...]
[...] His posture is that of a skeptic about the human contribution in the productive process. The apparent camaraderie with the workers does not hide the distrust of men that he has, which includes the requirements of a changing economic world. In this regard, the phrase "That's leaders" is very significant as it represents a profound break between the management and the workers. The somewhat grotesque aspect of this pattern should be noted as we ignore the human dimension as shown at the implementation of layoffs and the decision to place Frank's father into early retirement. [...]
[...] The emphasis on the human aspect appeals to a large audience as it crystallizes the anxieties felt by many employees who perceive themselves as adjustment variables dependent on strategies in which they have no voice. The film tackles a very controversial topic. There is a lot of public opinion against the strategy of companies who decide to make redundancies without any consultation or regard to their older employees. It is an illustration of real life situations with an abundance of redundancies in Lu or Michelin that had unleashed a wave of misunderstanding among the public and demonstrated the inadequacy of politics to deal with such situations. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
