Movie Analysis: Office Space

I choose to analyze the movie Office Space. My analysis focuses on the lack of motivation Peter has for his job as well as analyzing the values he takes into consideration when making decisions. I will be using the scene where Peter is interviewed by the Bobs as a focal point for my analysis. I will be performing this analysis by using one concept and two theories which are the psychological contract, Hackman & Oldham Job Characteristics Theory, and Kohlberg’s theory. Peter’s perspective on what is wrong with Initech is described in the scene where Peter talks to the two Bobs. Instead of going to a higher authority in order to fix his situation, he has instead gone along with his mundane tasks with just enough effort in order to not get fired. His non-chalant attitude towards his job can be seen when he stops coming to work for long periods of time, playing games when he should be working, and spacing out at work among many other situations. In the interview with
This led him to come up with three levels of moral development with each level having two stages. The three levels of Kohlberg’s moral reasoning are self-centered, conformity and principled with each step leading to better moral reasoning. Level one, self-centered, is the level of moral reasoning when things are seen as black or white, or, right or wrong. The resulting judgement is determined through consequences or through physical power those making up the rules hold. The second level, conformity, focuses on social harmony by accepting social norms. The judgment is guided by rules and laws of society because the person has chosen to accept societal norms. The third level, principled, emphasizes decisions made through internalized ethical standards. Judgments are derived through these internal ethical standards and take precedence over the rules and laws of society.”