Spy Game

A film analysis in terms of Organizational Behavior Concepts 1
SPY GAME
SPY GAME
1. INTRODUCTION
Spy Game is an example of action, drama and thriller genre films. It was released in
November, 2001 and its length is 2 hours 6 minutes. It was directed by Tony Scott for
Universal Pictures and Beacon Pictures. The main casts of the film are Robert Redford, Brad Pitt
and Catherine McCormack. Robert Redford stars as Veteran CIA officer Nathan Muir and Brad
Pitt stars as CIA agent Tom Bishop. Catherine McCormack stars as Elizabeth Hadley, girlfriend of
Tom Bishop. The tagline of the film is ―It is not how you play the game. It is how the game
plays you.‖ As plot outline, ―retiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop
and works against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors‖. The movie contains rich
material for Organizational Behavior concepts such as individual behavior, organizational
culture and structure, motivation, groups, teamwork, leadership, power and politics, and
conflict and stress management.
2. MOVIE SUMMARY
Spy Game begins with the scene that Tom Bishop enters into a Chinese prison and tries to rescue
one person from the prison. However, he is captured while he is going out the prison. Then the
scene turns to Nathan Muir, who is a high level CIA employee on the brink of retirement. He is
awaken up in the morning with a telephone from Hong Kong CIA spy who tells that his old
subordinate Tom has been arrested in China for espionage. This is the time the Cold War is
ending. This event occurs just days before the US president is to visit China for trade walks. The
newly developing relationships between China and US can be broken up due to this capture. In
addition, Tom will be shot in 24 hours unless the president steps in China.
CIA (Central intelligence Agency) and NSC (National Security Council) arrange an immediate
February 4, 2011
task force to decide whether Tom Bishop will be rescued with an operation or he will be left in
the Chinese prison or killed in 24 hours not to damage the relationships. Nathan Muir is the
man who recruited and trained Tom. CIA wants to gather information about Tom from Nathan
at this meeting. Nathan burns the documents about Tom not to give them to CIA but he accepts
to tell his past experiences with Tom. After that point the story continues with the flashbacks.
Nathan recalls how he recruited and trained Tom and how they worked together.
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

SPY GAME
Flash-Backs
Nathan and Tom first met in Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. Nathan required a sniper to kill
a General of Vietnam Army. Tom was suitable for the task since he worked as police at ―Boy
Scouts‖ before he joined the army. Nathan employed Tom for the task and informed him about
the operation. Tom reached the operation area with another soldier. However, a risky situation
occurred at the beginning of the operation and Nathan ordered them not to shoot, meaning
not to complete the operation. Tom did not obey the order and accomplished the task. He also
survived the life of his partner who was injured in the operation.
Next, Nathan recalls how he recruited him for CIA after the war and how he trained him as a
spy. The training period is told in details in the film.
In the next flash back he recalls the operation in Berlin with Tom. The operation was about
finding an insider in CIA. Tom was a small but important piece of the operation. He was
responsible for crossing a German man through the borders of the city and this would
determine the insider that they suspected since only the suspected person knew this travel. That
night while Tom and the German man were on the way Nathan warns Tom by telephone that
he determined the insider and she had given information to German police about their travel.
Therefore, police was searching the German man to kill and all the passing points had been
already held by the police. Tom should immediately have left the man. Tom argued with
Nathan on the phone that if he had left the man, the police would have killed him. Tom could
not accept the death of the man because he was used only for trapping the insider woman.
However, Tom obeyed the orders of Nathan unwillingly.
After the operation Tom and Nathan had an argument about the way that Nathan uses in the
operations. He saw the people as assets that can be used or even killed if this would be on
behalf of him, operation, or his organization, CIA. The German man was one of those whose
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life had no importance related to the achievement of the task. Tom was against this opinion
and thinking they were responsible for the death of the man. Nathan warned Tom that one day
he could be in the same position with the German man if he put the operation in a dangerous
situation to survive the lives and nobody including Nathan would try to rescue Tom. At the end
of the argument, Tom seemed as accepting the ideas of Nathan.

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The last flashback was in Beirut where another operation would be organized for assassination
of a man. Tom played a journalist to collect information for CIA and for establishing a
relationship with the doctor of the target man. The team had planned to negotiate with this
doctor that he would kill the target man by injecting a poison. Doctor was working at a health
camp designed by an international health organization. To become closer to the doctor Tom
brought health aid to the camp and met Elizabeth who is a voluntary employee in the camp
and very close to the doctor. After a while Tom and Elizabeth fell in love with each other.
Nathan noticed their relationship and searched the past of Elizabeth. He found out that
Elizabeth was a member of a radical organization and she was in the task of bombing a Chinese
building in London. China was searching her to arrest. In Beirut she was working as a negotiator
for Hizbullah and in return Hizbullah was financing the camp. Nathan considered Elizabeth as a
threat for the operation and he tried to break up this relationship. Later on, he exchanged
Elizabeth with an American agent prisoned in China.
In Beirut Tom gave Nathan a whisky bottle for his birthday. Nathan asked how Tom found such
a whisky bottle and Tom answered that he brought it with the operation ―Dinner-out‖. Nathan
said that he would remember the name of the operation- ―Dinner-out‖.
During that period, Nathan and Tom achieved to negotiate with the doctor and he accepted to
kill the target man with the poison on next Thursday. On that day things did not go as they
were planned. An attack occurred toward to the civil public in Beirut and many people were
injured. Although doctor should have gone to the target man, he was at the camp for the
injured people. Tom lifted the doctor from the camp to the operation place although it was
late. Nathan did not want to leave the operation to the chance and he decided to apply the
plan B, which was to send a car to the building the target man was at, with full of bombs and
with two suicide commandos. At the end while the doctor was successful at entering the
building and the man would be killed by poison, the suicide commandos arrives and bombs the
full building. 75 people died in the attack with the target man. Tom was shocked February 4, 2011
psychologically due to the death of people. On the other hand Nathan found the operation
successful since the target man was dead. Tom could not accept this event and he decided to
separate their ways with Nathan.
This was the last flashback of Nathan. Tom was in the Chinese prison to rescue Elizabeth, who
had been reported by Nathan.

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In The Last 24 Hours
At 7:55 am Nathan is informed that Tom is in danger by the Hong Kong’s embassies.
When Nathan comes to his office, the documents about Tom Bishop are wanted by task force.
Nathan joins to the meeting.
At 8:02 am Nathan learns that Tom will be executed at 8:00 am the next day. There are 24
hours to the execution.
Nathan recalls how he met with Tom.
He calls a friend from press and he informs that Tom was captured in a Chinese prison. He aims
to rescue his friend with this way.
Then he continues telling more about Tom, how he made him a spy for CIA.
Nathan wants to learn the operation name, but he is not allowed to know any information
about it. The operation name is ―Sideshow‖.
He understands that CIA searches a reason to kill Tom because the operation that Tom made in
China may cause to destroy the relationships between China and US.
After the news about Tom is broadcasted, Nathan thinks that he rescued Tom. However, it does
not work. After a while press says that the news about Tom is not true. Nathan starts to make
new plans to rescue Tom and he has very limited time.
He continues flash-backs. And also he collects information about the operation.
At 5:42 pm (00:38:18 part b) the meeting finishes and they make a decision about Tom. He
should not have been in Chinese Prison. Thus, CIA will not rescue him. However, Nathan plans
a new operation to rescue him with keeping the operation secret from the CIA.
At 9:22 pm (00:41:35 part b) he transfers all his money to a single account.
At 11:03 pm (00:43:25 part b) he prepares the details of the operation.
At 2:55 am (00:45:54 part b) He prepares the official papers for the operation. The name of
the operation will be ―Dinner-out‖.
He negotiates with Chinese for an electricity shortage 30 minutes long, in which the operation
will take place.
At 7:04 am (00:48:13 part b) the meeting of task force starts again. They sign the report about
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Tom Bishop. Tom will be executed at 8:00 am.

At 7:17 am (00:54:23 part b) operation Dinner-out begins with the order of Nathan.
At 7:42 am (00:56:00 part b) Nathan achieves to rescue Tom and Elizabeth and leaves the
building.

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3. THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
The United States has carried on foreign intelligence activities since the days of George
Washington, but only since World War II have they been coordinated on a government-wide
basis.
Even before Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was concerned about American
intelligence deficiencies—particularly the need for the State and War Departments to cooperate
better and to adopt a more strategic perspective. He asked New York attorney William J.
Donovan to draft a plan for a new intelligence service. In July 1941, Roosevelt appointed
Donovan as the Coordinator of Information (COI) to direct the nation's first peacetime, non-
departmental intelligence organization. America's entry into World War II in December 1941
prompted new thinking about the place and role of the COI. As a result, the Office of Strategic
Services (OSS) was established in June 1942 with a mandate to collect and analyze strategic
information required by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to conduct special operations not assigned
to other agencies.
During the War, the OSS supplied policymakers with essential facts and intelligence estimates
and often played an important role in directly aiding military campaigns. However, the OSS
never received complete jurisdiction over all foreign intelligence activities. The FBI formally
received responsibility for intelligence work in Latin America when its Secret Intelligence Service
was established in June 1940, and the military branches conducted intelligence operations in
their areas of responsibility.
As World War II drew to a close, Donovan's civilian and military rivals feared that he might win
his campaign to create a peacetime intelligence service modeled on the OSS. President Harry S.
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Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt in April 1945, felt no obligation to retain OSS after the
war. Once victory was won, the nation wanted to demobilize quickly—which included
dismantling wartime agencies like the OSS. Although it was abolished in October 1945,
however, the OSS's analytic, collection, and counterintelligence functions were transferred on a
smaller scale to the State and War Departments.

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President Truman soon recognized the need for a centralized intelligence system. Taking into
account the views of the military services, the State Department, and the FBI, he established the
Central Intelligence Group (CIG) in January 1946. The CIG had two missions: providing
strategic warning and conducting clandestine activities. Unlike the Office of the Strategic
Services (OSS), it had access to all-source intelligence. The CIG functioned under the direction
of a National Intelligence Authority composed of a Presidential representative and the
Secretaries of State, War and Navy. Rear Admiral Sidney W. Souers, United States Navy
Reserves (USNR), who was the Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence, was appointed the first
Director of Central Intelligence.
Twenty months later, the National Intelligence Authority and the CIG were disestablished.
Under the provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 (which became effective on 18
December 1947) the National Security Council (NSC) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
were created. The 1947 Act charged the CIA with coordinating the nation's intelligence
activities and correlating, evaluating, and disseminating intelligence which affects national
security. In addition, the Agency was to perform other duties and functions related to
intelligence as the NSC might direct. The Act defined the DCI's authority as head of the
Intelligence Community, head of the CIA, and principal intelligence adviser to the President,
and made him responsible for protecting intelligence sources and methods. The act also
prohibited the CIA from engaging in law enforcement activity and restricted its internal security
functions. The CIA carries out its responsibilities subject to various directives and controls by
the President and the NSC.
In 1949, the Central Intelligence Agency Act was passed and supplemented the 1947 Act. The
addendum permitted the Agency to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures and February 4, 2011
exempted CIA from many of the usual limitations on the expenditure of federal funds. It
provided that CIA funds could be included in the budgets of other departments and then
transferred to the Agency without regard to the restrictions placed on the initial
appropriation. This Act is the statutory authority which allows for the secrecy of the Agency's
budget.

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In 1953, Congress amended the National Security Act to provide for the appointment of the
Deputy Director of Central Intelligence by the President with the advice and consent of the
Senate. This amendment also provided that commissioned officers of the armed forces,
whether active or retired, could not occupy both DCI and DDCI positions at the same time. The
DDCI assists the Director by performing such functions as the DCI assigns or delegates. The DDCI
acts for and exercises the powers of the Director during his absence or disability, or in the event
of a vacancy in the position of the Director.
Congressional oversight has existed to varying degrees throughout the CIA's existence. Today
the CIA reports regularly to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as required by the Intelligence Oversight Act of
1980 and various Executive Orders. The Agency also reports regularly to the Defense
Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees in both Houses of Congress. Moreover, the
Agency provides substantive briefings to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, House
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Armed Services Committees in both bodies, as well as
other committees and individual members.
4. CULTURAL AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF CIA
To identify the structure of the organization, the job tasks and how they are divided, grouped
and coordinated must be considered. The key elements in designing an organization’s structure
are work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization
and decentralization, and formalization. Therefore, the organization’s structure was analyzed
according to the degree of these six key factors, taking into consideration the dialogues and
events in the film.
According to the film, CIA has a highly standardized and formalized organization. The suits
that the men wear show that in this organization there is highly formalization.
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There is a high degree of hierarchy and very rigid chain of command system. Nathan was a
supervisor of Tom. Tom should implement the orders of Nathan in operations especially. There
is highly detailed information for the operations and also many procedures in preparing and
implementing an operation. For instance, an operation coordinator Nathan had to prepare

SPY GAME
some analyses reports and an order request form and also many official papers approved by the
director of CIA.
Delegation of information is narrow. The name of the operation (Sideshow) and the details of
the operation were not wanted to give Nathan because he is not allowable to know them.
Everyone has to do his/her own business. If one person is an operation’s coordinator, he has his
own team for this operation and he is allowable only to report the operation’s details to his
supervisor and take command from his supervisor. The authority was too centralized. The
biggest authority in CIA is the president. Considering that the CIA is an governmental agency,
we can easily talk about the ―bureaucracy‖ as a main feature of the organization. There is also
as a bureaucratic structure highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, very
formalized rules and regulations, tasks that are grouped into functional departments, narrow
spans of control, and decision making that follows the chain of command.
Furthermore, at the operation level, team structure is highly used in the operations by the
organization. In Vietnam, Beirut and Berlin, team work can be observed. However, team work
is a result of the structure of the work. One person cannot do all the operation on his own.
However, the hierarchic structure of the organization can be observed among the teams. One
person gives the orders and the others follow these orders.
Finally, evaluating all the cues and messages in the film, it can be said that the organization has a
typical mechanistic structure which is characterized by extensive departmentalization, high
formalization, a limited information network, and centralization. Since the organization size
affects the structure, and CIA is a large governmental structure, it is not easy to organize without
specialization, departmentalization and using procedures and regulations.
Another important point is the organizational culture of the CIA which refers to the common
perception held by the organizations members. The organization type of the CIA is strong. That February 4, 2011
means there is low risk taking. In the first operation in the Vietnam, Tom Bishop took the
command of not shoot the target because it is risky. Another example Nathan started the B plan
because Tom was late with doctor in Beirut. Nathan did not want to take risk being
unsuccessful. Moreover, the CIA did not want to rescue Tom, because there is a risky situation
in the relationship between China and US. Attention to detail is very high. In training Nathan
said to Tom that he has to show high attention everything around and memorize every picture
to be able to understand what is wrong in the picture. Suspicion and attention to the details are
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close to the paranoid level. Furthermore, Charles showed very high attention like a good
trained CIA agent to be able to catch Nathan in doing against the CIA. Since it is a bureaucratic
organization, if an operation does not go according to its procedures, they stop the operation.
Therefore it may be said that the outcome orientation is not high. Procedures and rules are
more important than the outcome. People orientation is low. The effect of outcomes on people
within the organization is not much important, because the main important thing is the values
and the goals of the organization. The German man, who Tom is not allowed to cross the
border, died, and in Beirut many civil people died. The outcomes of the operations were
successful for the CIA. However, Tom was influenced negatively by the outcomes. Team
orientation is low. There are teams in the operations. However there is always a supervisor
who gives the orders. Therefore, there is no individual participation in decision making.
Aggressiveness is low. Everyone in CIA is doing his/her business and there is not high
competition for promotion between the employees. Stability is high. Since it is a governmental
organization, profitability and growing are not important.
The core values of the CIA are had to be shared by all members within the organization. Since
in the strong culture, the organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared,
there is a strong dominant culture which expresses the core values.
Since the CIA is a bureaucratic organization and has a strong and dominant culture; it may be
considered that the employee turnover is low and commitment to the CIA is high. Nathan is
an employee who has served to the organization 30 years long. He adapted to the
organization’s culture and stayed loyal to the CIA until his last day there. If Nathan is considered
in a socialization model, he passed all the socialization process in the organization many years
ago. However, if Tom’s socialization process in the CIA is considered, he passed the pre-arrival
stage when he is being trained by Nathan. He passed also the encounter stage when he was in
Berlin and Beirut. He sees what the organization is really like. However, he could not pass the
metamorphosis stage which is the adjustment to his work group’s values and norms. Tom left February 4, 2011
Nathan at the airport of Beirut and said him that he did not want to be like Nathan. Tom did
not accept the value and norms of his work partner. Furthermore, Tom made an operation
without informing it to the CIA. His commitment to the organization is low. It can be said that
he cannot pass the socialization process to the organization, so he has not much commitment to
the CIA.

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5. WHO is WHO?
Nathan Muir is a veteran CIA officer who is known
for making tough decisions that cost people their lives
as observed during the operations he had led in
Vietnam, Berlin and Beirut. However, this time, he
must deal with the clandestine CIA executives, who
appear ready to sacrifice Tom, by using his intelligence
and skills while not drawing back from whisky and
some profanity. During the political chess game at the
meeting table, Nathan does whatever he can in order
to avoid full disclosure and actions aimed to block his
attempts at saving Tom whom he was once jealous of
in a guy’s manner due to the affair between Tom and
Elizabeth.
Tom Bishop is a young CIA operative spy, who
became disillusioned with Nathan's ethically
questionable tactics. As a policeman in Boy Scouts, he
enters the army as a volunteer and meets Nathan in
an operation. After the war, he is trained by Nathan
and is used in many important spying activities. He
uses strong profanity, ends up romantically involved
with Elizabeth in Beirut, and finds himself set for
execution in a Chinese prison after being captured
during a rescue operation. He continuously faces
conflicts within himself and his duties.
Elizabeth Hadley is a human-rights activist who
appears in the scene as a British foreign aid worker in February 4, 2011
Beirut. Tom fell in love with her, violating Nathan's
rule about treating ―assets‖ as disposable goods in
order to survive, and also made Nathan jealous.
When Nathan finds out that she was involved in a
bombing in the past that killed innocent people, his
antipathy against her rises.

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Charles Harker is one of Nathan's associates who

seems to be irritated by him, wants to uncover and
thwart his efforts, and briefly uses strong profanity. It
plays with the same off-putting self satisfaction, which
is the chief characteristic of Nathan's adversary
Charles. Nathan's disdainful rival starts sniffing
around, knowing that Nathan knows more than he's
letting on. Yet his efforts cannot stop Nathan’s
operation.
Troy Folger is the boss at the meeting where the
executives question Nathan about Tom. He is
committed to sacrifice Tom for the sake of not
harming the relations between the US and China,
while he is eager to be objective and somewhat
cooperative with Nathan with whom he has a sincere
background. His style allows Nathan to take
advantage for disclosure avoidance.
Gladys Jennip is the faithful assistant of Nathan, who
helps him in various ways. She helps Nathan to
organize the last operation of saving Tom and
Elizabeth, making necessary phone calls and research.
Acting loyal to her manager, she takes the risk of
losing her job. She is not only an assistant, but also
acts as a friend and job partner of Nathan.
February 4, 2011

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6. CHARACTER ANALYSIS
Intellectual Abilities
Dimension Description Character(s)
Number Aptitude Ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic Nathan
Nathan uses this skill in timing of the operation and money transfers.
Verbal Ability to understand what is read and heard Nathan, Troy,
Comprehension and the relationship in between words Charles, Gladys
In the meeting about Tom, the first three characters show good verbal skills and
comprehension. Gladys is so successful in this dimension that she comprehends even
the coded verbal expressions used by Nathan for closure.
Perceptual Speed Ability to identify visual similarities and Nathan
differences quickly and accurately Tom
As the two spies who took part in many operations, they have developed this ability
to understand their environment and make fast decisions.
Inductive Ability to identify a logical sequence in a Nathan
Reasoning problem and solving the problem Troy
Nathan solved the problem of saving Tom from Chinese prison and Troy tried to
identify the acts of Nathan during the meeting and made the decision.
Deductive Ability to use logic and assess the implications Nathan
Reasoning of an argument Troy
Nathan and Troy had two choices. Nathan chose to make the operation whereas Troy
chose to sacrifice Tom instead of an operation.
Spatial Ability to imagine how an object would look No Clues
Visualization if its position is changed
There are not any clues to determine this ability of any of these characters.
Memory Ability to retain and recall past experiences Nathan
Charles
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As an experienced spy, Nathan referred to his flashbacks to explain the situation in the
meeting. Charles also proved his memory by not trusting Nathan during the meeting
and trying to find out what his plans were.

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Personality Dimensions of the Big Five Model
Extraversion – sociability, talkativeness and assertiveness
Charles Tom Troy Gladys Elizabeth Nathan

Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High
Agreeableness – good-nature, cooperation and trustworthiness

Charles Nathan Elizabeth Troy Gladys Tom
Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High
Conscientiousness – responsibility, dependability, persistency and achievement orientation

Elizabeth Troy Charles Nathan Tom Gladys
Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High
Emotional Stability – calmness, enthusiasm, secureness vs tension, nervousness, depression,

insecureness
Elizabeth Tom Charles Gladys Troy Nathan
_ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- +
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Openness to Experience – imaginativeness, artistic sensitivity, and intellectualism
Nathan Elizabeth
Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High

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Major Personality Attributes Influencing Organizational Behavior
Locus of Control – degree to which people believe they are the masters of their fate
Elizabeth Gladys Tom Charles Troy Nathan

External ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Internal
Machiavellianism (Mach) – degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional

distance and believes ends can justify means
Elizabeth Tom Charles Gladys Troy Nathan

Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High
Self-esteem – degree of liking or disliking themselves
Elizabeth Tom Troy Nathan Charles

Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High
Self-monitoring – degree of ability to adjust behaviors to external, situational factors
Charles Tom Troy Elizabeth Nathan

Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High
Risk Taking – degree of willingness to take chances February 4, 2011
Troy Charles Gladys Elizabeth Nathan Tom

Low ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High

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Relationships among Personality Types
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The closer two fields or orientations are in the hexagon, the more compatible they are.
Adjacent categories are quite similar, whereas those diagonally opposite are highly dissimilar. As
observed in the hexagon, Nathan and Tom show as two extremely opposite personality types,
whereas Nathan has a closer type to his rival, but colleague, Charles. This situation is
correspondent to the characters’ choices of rules for playing the game.

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7. MOTIVATION
Performance is highly affected from motivation. The motivated employees are in a state of
tension. The greater the tension, the higher the effort level is. The efforts exerted by spies prove
that they are somewhat highly motivated in their duties.
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, spies show a different pattern than many other
people. Their physiological needs are satisfied, but for the second level of needs, which is safety,
it is hard to say that they are fully satisfied because of the lack of security and protection in
many operations. Yet, their social needs are somewhat satisfied and for the fourth stage,
Nathan, Troy and Charles have self-respect, autonomy, achievement, status, recognition and
attention. They also seem to be self-fulfilled. There is a missing step, safety, which people who
chose to become spies usually ignored, so Maslow’s theory does not fit correctly to spy business.
Points to mention is the power of alcohol that many spies are used to drink. Alcohol may help
spies to feel more safe and protected either by making them forget the tension and dangers of
their duties or by giving them more courage both for security and for social needs. Therefore,
Maslow’s theory may still be of use for spy business by the use of alcohol for feeling safer.
Employee involvement is one of the factors of motivation. CIA has a strong culture and
participative management is low especially in lower levels of decision-making. It can be
mentioned that there is some representative participation that is observed when Nathan is
consulted during the meeting about the decision of Nathan’s employee, Tom. This showed
some example of a works council.
Motivating professionals is another issue worth to mention. Money is less important than job
challenge in many professionals’ priority list, as in Nathan’s. Nathan is provided with ongoing
challenging projects all through his career. He has autonomy to follow his interests and is
allowed to structure his work in ways he finds productive. He is also rewarded with the February 4, 2011
recognition by the Certificate honored to him for working for 30 years. Nathan as a supervisor
recognizes individual differences, needs while using local people in operations in Beirut and
Vietnam. He uses goals to increase his employees’ motivation, yet he does not want to get any
feedback as we saw after the bombing in Beirut talking to Tom.

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8. GROUPS AND TEAMWORK
Nathan Muir: ―What is the name of this task force, ha?‖
As Nathan asks when he first enters the meeting, this task group is formed in a crisis time
between US and China just before the US President’s visit to China after Tom finds himself in a
Chinese prison. In the excitement and panic of the crisis, CIA and National Security Council
form a task force to make a suggestion to the President about Tom’s future.
Key discussion point is Charles questioning Nathan’s integrity and consistency, proving that he
has low mutual trust on Nathan. Yet Troy as a leader stays neutral maybe because of their
friendship with Nathan.
This task force is called a task group because they are working together to complete a task, or
make a decision. Group boundaries are not limited to its hierarchical superior as there is the
officer from the National Security Council in the group.
February 4, 2011

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Analysis of the group behavior of this task group can be done by analyzing the external
conditions, group members, structure of the group and the group decision making process.
External Conditions Imposed on the Group

Organization Strategy Relationships with other countries need to be protected.
Authority Structures Troy is formally designated leader. According to the group’s

suggestion, President makes the decision.
Formal Regulations Job policies limit each associate seeing other’s files. There is
standardization of employee behavior through files, folders,
recordings.
Organizational Resources Time is limited, but other resources like information are high.
There is even salad bar and drinks on the meeting table.
Organizational Culture CIA has a strong culture with different subcultures depending
on the location of the facility and groups.
Group Member Resources
Abilities and personality characteristics make up the group member resources. All members of February 4, 2011
the group have qualified to take part in important decisions related to US politics and security.
Different character types as analyzed in the previous sections like Nathan, Troy and Charles
affect group performance and Nathan somehow controls the group by sharing his information
about Tom to get more time for his operation.

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Group Structure
Formal Leadership Troy is the leader, yet each member of the group has close
relationships and similar experience level.
Roles Shakespeare said, ―All the world’s a stage, and all the men and
women merely players.‖ All group members are actors, each
playing a role. Nathan’s role is much different in terms of role
identity, since he is playing a fake role to the group while
planning the operation. Charles is playing the opposite side,
whereas Troy as the leader acts more neutral. Troy faces a role
conflict when Nathan asks him about the difference between
good men (Tom) and bad men.
Norms Performance, appearance and arrangement norms of the group

fit CIA’s norms and values. Troy’s conforming efforts and
attitude enables smooth discussion, without making Nathan feel
he is being judged.
Size & Composition Nathan, Troy, Charles, the person from National Security
Council, the Chinese man, and a few more officials. Size is
small, but composition is rich in terms of personal abilities and
characteristics and of hierarchical levels as well.
Cohesiveness Cohesiveness is low since this group is formed in an emergency
status and increases stress of the members. Some members get
out of the meeting table like the children run out of classroom
when the bell rings.
Group Decision Making Process February 4, 2011
Nominal group technique is used in decision making. Individual members meet face-to-face to
pool their information and judgments in a systematic but independent fashion. The most
important point is that all members except Nathan seem to be in a consensus to let Tom die in
the hands of Chinese officials. Although Nathan knows that he cannot change their decision, he
creates an atmosphere about Tom’s probable death, causing interpersonal conflicts especially in

SPY GAME
Troy. He tries to bring social pressure by giving the news channel data about Tom, yet the
channel chooses to cover the CIA prepared news rather than reality sent by Nathan.
Work Teams → ―Nathan-Tom‖ & ―Nathan-Gladys‖
Nathan uses teams for operations in Beirut, Vietnam and Berlin, yet the most obvious teams are
the couples Nathan with Tom in many operations and Nathan with Gladys, his assistant in the
last operation of saving Tom. The difference between these teams and the task group in the
meeting is that in these teams, individuals’ efforts result in a greater performance than the sum
of individual efforts. The goal of these teams is collective performance, whereas in the group,
the main information is to share information to make a decision. There is not any synergy in
between group members, whereas Nathan’s teams have positive synergy, which allows the
ordered missions to be accomplished successfully. Skills of group members around the table are
varied. On the other hand, skills of Nathan and his team members are complementary to each
other, enabling success in CIA operations with Tom and Nathan’s ―Dinner-out‖ operation with
Gladys.
The best work teams tend to be small. In CIA operations, privacy and security are very
important. Less people in the operation means less risk of CIA being uncovered during a crisis.
Trustful team members are chosen by Nathan, which allows him to avoid risk of failure. Tom’s
partner in Vietnam who helped in coordination and Arabs in Beirut operations have enough
skills and expertise. Tom would not say a word about himself in the Chinese prison although he
would die. Nathan’s success in the last ―Dinner-out‖ operation is a result of Gladys’
complementary work. These prove that Nathan has high mutual trust to his team members.
Leadership in the team is very important, as Nathan’s decisions are not questionable among
team members. Tom’s willingness to discuss Nathan’s decisions shows his openness, yet Nathan
does not accept any mistakes as his job is so risky and dangerous.
February 4, 2011

SPY GAME
9. NATHAN MUIR AS A LEADER
According to Behavioral Theories:
 Dimensions developed by University of Lowa: He is a autocratic leader, Roles of the

team members including him are defined and structured clearly, and neither tolerance for
subordinates’ ideas nor regard for their feelings is given.
Quotes:
Nathan Muir: If I'm walking into a storm I wanna know which way the wind's
blowing.
Nathan Muir: Don’t ever question me again! I give you an order, you take it!
 The Managerial Grid: With low concern for people and high for production, Nathan is
in a position near 9, 1 – Authority-obedience. He believes that efficiency in operations
results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to
a minimum degree.
According to Contingency Theories:
 Leader-Participation Model:
The unwillingness of Tom comes out as a major problem due to Nathan’s highly
autocratic self-decision making behavior. The feasible behavior of Nathan as a leader
should be Group II (GII) which is sharing the problem with Tom on a fair basis, but since
he does not even see deaths of people as a problem, moreover strongly believes in their
utilization as disposable assets; he goes on with his autocratic behavior resulting in loss of
a skillful subordinate. Please check the table below: February 4, 2011

SPY GAME
Time-Driven Decision Tree Group Problems
QR Quality requirement How important is the technical quality of High

decisions? (they relate to national security
issues)
CR Commitment requirement How important is Tom’s commitment to High
the decisions? (Without Tom’s skills,
Nathan’s decisions cannot be applied
appropriately)
LI Leader’s information Does Nathan have sufficient information to Yes
make a high-quality decision? (He is highly
experienced)
CP Commitment probability If Nathan was to make the decision by No
himself, is it reasonably certain that Tom
would be committed to the decision? (He
ethically questions Nathan’s decisions)
GC Goal congruence Does Tom share the organizational goals to Yes
be attained? (He is an idealist patriot)
CI Subordinate information Does Tom have sufficient information to Yes
make a high-quality decision? (He is a well-
knowledged spy)
GII Group II Feasible behavior of leader None
 Charismatic Leadership Theory: The Nathan Charisma
Among the personal characteristics that provide

Nathan with a strong charisma; extremely high February 4, 2011
confidence, dominance and strong convictions in his
beliefs are highly observed. His conviction power is so
strong that he gets Tom in the readiness stage for the
Beirut operation by saying very little things in a calm
and persuasive tone, although Tom is very angry with
the deaths of people which Nathan employs simply as

SPY GAME
―the way game is played‖. He has the strong ability to manipulate anybody and
anything in his world.
A Moral Approach to Nathan’s Leadership
Transformational Leadership: As a highly transformational leader, Nathan, tries to develop

Tom as a spy sheltered against harms of the game, but, unlikely, does not pay attention to
Tom’s concerns. Also, he uses his charisma in an immoral attitude when trying to enhance
power over Tom.
Means used to achieve goals: According to rules of Nathan, every person should be utilized as
an asset to achieve goals and none of them is worth taking risk of life. He is too intolerant
against Tom who questions ethical sides of such actions.
Moral content of the goals: The goals of the US army and CIA for whom Nathan used to and
does serve for are ethically questionable in terms of their moral contents. Attaining a goal for
the US army in Vietnam War is a success, but serving to attain such goals might not be morally
acceptable.
One of the toughest leaders of all, Nathan, finally accepts the virtue that lies within Tom whom
he cared much. He decides to divert his manipulation power to the organization in order to
avoid scarification of Tom and set Elizabeth free together with his regretting, sinful soul.
However, the final part of the power game will be the most challenging one since it will require
intensive and clever use of politics which will be discussed in the next section.
10. POWER AND POLITICS
Power-Dependency Relationship between Nathan and Tom February 4, 2011

SPY GAME
Nathan takes his power from his position in the formal hierarchy of CIA, highly developed
special skills and knowledge, and charisma, in other words; legitimate, expert and referent
power bases respectively. Tom was highly dependent on Nathan when they first met, since
Nathan had the expertise and opportunity for Tom to serve his country. The rules imposed to
Tom for the spy game lowered Tom’s willingness and Nathan’s charisma in Tom’s perception,
and resulted in a power corruption and lost dependency.
Political Behaviors at the Meeting
Nathan is a highly experienced and powerful individual who refers to extremely illegitimate
political behaviors that violates the implied rules of the game. Nathan’s individual factors of
high self-monitor, internal locus of control and high mach combined with the low trust factor
within the organization members – especially Charles – generate intensive political behavior
throughout the meeting. Nathan engages in a process of impression management and defensive
behaviors to win the game.
Ethical Questioning of Nathan’s Political Behavior against CIA
Although the questions about the ethics of such political behaviors cannot be answered clearly,
a subjective point of view is given below:
A) Is the political action motivated by Nathan’s self interests to the exclusion of CIA’s
goals?
The political action is motivated by Nathan’s self interest in saving Tom. It seems to
exclude CIA’s goals of maintaining national security, however another goal – or interest –
of CIA should be protection of its members. Nathan’s efforts resulted in a spoilt US-
Chinese relation, however; if it were the organization itself, rather than an individual, to
deal with the situation; things could be handled easierly. They have the right to punish February 4, 2011
Tom but not burn him.
B) Does the political action respect the rights of the individuals affected?
Nathan’s misrepresentation actions do not respect the individuals’ rights to information.
Anyway, that was to be done to show respect to a greater right – that is, Tom’s right to
live.

SPY GAME
C) Is the political activity fair and equitable?

Probably yes, since this is how the things work in the espionage business where people
tend to use intensive political actions but in a balanced degree.
11. CONFLICTS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT
The ideas of Nathan and Tom conflict about using the people as assets. According to Nathan,
people are assets that can be used or maybe killed on behalf of him or his organization. On the
other hand, Tom totally disagrees with Nathan and he tries to prevent civil deaths as much as
possible. Tom first perceives and feels the conflict with Nathan during the operation in Berlin.
Nathan ordered Tom to leave the German man, although he knows that the man would be
killed by the police. Tom felt guilty about the death of this man, since he would survive his life
if he did not leave him. Tom’s feelings can be observed from his angry behaviors and body
expressions. He cannot know what to do for a moment because the life of the man could cost
the operation. Then, Tom obeys the orders of Nathan unwillingly. For him life of one person is
more important than the operation. However, he behaves in an accommodating manner that
he does not mind his own ideas. He follows Nathan’s way of accomplishing tasks.
The same thing happens, when the argument arises between Nathan and Tom after the Berlin
operation. Tom prefers to behave in accommodating intention again. Though Tom disputes the
opinions of Nathan and the way the operation completed, he accepts his ideas. This can be
because he is concerned about his career in spying, which depends on Nathan or maybe this
time only one person died and he thought he could forget this in the future. He chooses not to
break up their relationship. However, this event causes the hostility feeling of Tom toward
Nathan. His accommodating behavior brings Tom to Beirut.
In Beirut, the conflict reaches to the top. Even though Tom tried to complete the operation
without causing any other death by selecting the hard way of doing, Nathan did not want to
February 4, 2011
leave the task to the chance and used the suicide commandos. At the end of the operation 75
civil people died. Despite Nathan, who thinks that the operation was successful since the target
man died, for Tom the operation was a crime. After the Beirut operation, Tom separates their
ways with Nathan. The outcome of their conflict is dysfunctional due to this separation and
smash of the team. Maybe the only way of forming a functional outcome was the
accommodating intention of Tom again, because Nathan was applying the philosophy of his

SPY GAME
organization, CIA and Tom’s understanding had the risk to damage the operation. Thus Nathan
could not change his opinions about people’s deaths. However, Tom could never confront his
feelings and if it was not this time, the next time separation would occur.
This time Nathan faces with his past ideas about using the people as assets. CIA sees Tom as an
asset whose life has no importance at the point that the welfare of CIA will be obtained.
Nathan conflicts with the opinions of CIA about Tom. Maybe for the first time in his work
experiences, he gives importance to someone’s life and he puts himself in a risky situation in
which he can lose his retirement and all savings. Furthermore, he cheats his organization for
which he served for 30 years. He behaves in a competing manner against CIA from the
beginning of the film. He desires to accomplish his own interests which are to rescue Tom and
Elizabeth, regardless of the impacts on the organization. Either he would win, meaning Tom
would be saved; or CIA would win, meaning Tom would die and the relationships with China
would improve. The outcome is functional for Nathan since his goals to rescue Tom are
achieved. However, it is dysfunctional for CIA since the goals of the organization are not
achieved and CIA falls into a crisis situation. On the other hand, whether CIA had weaker and
more flexible culture, it would divert the dysfunctional outcome to functional outcome by
questioning itself and understanding the weak points of the organization. This event could be a
change point for it. In that way, it would strengthen its weak points and will not face with
similar problems or cheatings in the future. However, in such a bureaucratic and hierarchic
organization it is very difficult to achieve these.
Another conflict is observed between Nathan and his rival Charles in the film. Nathan irritates
Charles. He is in a competition with Nathan, although Nathan is already at the point of
retirement. Charles feels happy and successful when he beats Nathan. He has great hostility
toward Nathan. Depending on these, it can be said that the reasons of the conflict lies on the
personal variables, not on only the structure of the work that makes them competitors. Charles
handles the conflict in a competitive intention and he shapes his behaviors as ―assertive verbal February 4, 2011
attacks to Nathan‖ and as ―overt questioning‖. Nathan answers these behaviors in the similar
way but he does not show his hostility as much as Charles does. At the end, Charles loses and
Nathan wins the conflict.
During the film risky conditions and conflicts create stressful situations for both Nathan and the
other parties. Nathan is a high self-esteem man who trusts on his skills and intelligence too
much. He does not let himself feel the stress easily. At the times when his stress level increases,
SPY GAME
he relaxes himself by drinking. That is to say, he chooses the way to forget the events with
alcohol rather than showing it in the relations. In the arguments with others, he never becomes
excited, anxious, or angry or maybe he does not show his feelings to other people. He always
maintains his calm and relaxed manner. This attitude, which can be his personal conflict
management technique, relaxes the other parties and they behave more logically rather than
behaving emotionally. Tom is not such a person who maintains his calm manner. His behaviors
are directed by his emotions when he is under stress. For example, he shouts, beats the other
party, or breaks the things around. Charles gets angry and excited easily and he shows his
feelings with his facial and body expressions or with assertive words. No other person in the
film is successful at managing conflict and stress as Nathan.
February 4, 2011

SPY GAME
12. CONCLUSION
Player Rules Action Result

Nathan Use people as Dispose Elizabeth in exchange for a Mission
disposable assets to more valuable asset – an American Accomplished
win the game and spy – from China
survive
Tom Try to have at Ignore Nathan Rules though such Failure
least some respect action is also against them and take
against lives of the life risk for an ―asset‖
human beings and Follow Elizabeth to save her from
take risks for it China in the name of love and
fairness.
CIA Nathan Rules Dispose Tom for the sake of trade Interrupted by
relations between China and the US Nathan
Nathan Tom Rules The last part of the game: Victory
Spoilsport Operation Dinner-out &
Completion of
―When did Noah build the ark Tom’s objective
Gladys? Before the rain.‖ says &
Nathan upon Gladys’s question Correction of the
―Feeling a little paranoid on our last mistake at the first
day?‖ part
Throughout the movie, players follow different rules for the same versions of the game that
result in dissimilar consequences. This situation is best explained by the movie tagline:
February 4, 2011
―It’s not how you play the GAME. It’s how the game PLAYS YOU.‖

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A film analysis in terms of Organizational Behavior Concepts 1

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

In The Last 24 Hours

Tom Bishop. Tom will be executed at 8:00 am.

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

3. THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

4. CULTURAL AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF CIA

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

Charles Harker is one of Nathan's associates who

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

Personality Dimensions of the Big Five Model

Extraversion – sociability, talkativeness and assertiveness

Charles Tom Troy Gladys Elizabeth Nathan

Agreeableness – good-nature, cooperation and trustworthiness

Conscientiousness – responsibility, dependability, persistency and achievement orientation

Emotional Stability – calmness, enthusiasm, secureness vs tension, nervousness, depression,

Openness to Experience – imaginativeness, artistic sensitivity, and intellectualism

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

Major Personality Attributes Influencing Organizational Behavior

Elizabeth Gladys Tom Charles Troy Nathan

Machiavellianism (Mach) – degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional

Elizabeth Tom Charles Gladys Troy Nathan

Self-esteem – degree of liking or disliking themselves

Elizabeth Tom Troy Nathan Charles

Self-monitoring – degree of ability to adjust behaviors to external, situational factors

Charles Tom Troy Elizabeth Nathan

Risk Taking – degree of willingness to take chances February 4, 2011

Troy Charles Gladys Elizabeth Nathan Tom

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

Relationships among Personality Types

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

8. GROUPS AND TEAMWORK

Nathan Muir: ―What is the name of this task force, ha?‖

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

External Conditions Imposed on the Group

Authority Structures Troy is formally designated leader. According to the group’s

Group Member Resources

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

Norms Performance, appearance and arrangement norms of the group

Group Decision Making Process February 4, 2011

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

9. NATHAN MUIR AS A LEADER

According to Behavioral Theories:

 Dimensions developed by University of Lowa: He is a autocratic leader, Roles of the

According to Contingency Theories:

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

Time-Driven Decision Tree Group Problems

QR Quality requirement How important is the technical quality of High

 Charismatic Leadership Theory: The Nathan Charisma

Among the personal characteristics that provide

The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan Campus

A Moral Approach to Nathan’s Leadership

Transformational Leadership: As a highly transformational leader, Nathan, tries to develop

10. POWER AND POLITICS