Thank you for auditioning for COPORATE TRAINING VIDEOS ROLE: AMIR

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Clementine Paul
6 years ago
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Thank you for auditioning for COPORATE TRAINING VIDEOS ROLE: AMIR Please prepare: The full packet that matches your Character Number or is most correct for you based on your Nationality.

1 Thank you for auditioning for COPORATE TRAINING VIDEOS ROLE: AMIR Please prepare: The full packet that matches your Character Number or is most correct for you based on your Nationality. You do not need to be off book but should be familiar with the material so you can give us the best character read possible. The style of this work should be honest and real and a bit heightened. Think Law & Order or any crime/law based TV show. These characters are all well educated and smart and have a strong sense of self. If you are coming in for the foreign language roles and will be speaking Cantonese, Mandarin or Hindi, please see the extra script pages with sample lines to demonstrate your language skills. These events will be presented LIVE so the best approach for vocal work is theatrical and not TV/Film. INSTRUCTIONS: Be sure to bring your picture and resume, otherwise we will not have one in the room! DRESS: Business casual but definitely well dressed and well groomed/styled. Show yourself off as the business-person you can be. Please note that auditions will be recorded so other members of the Creative Team can view them. Thanks so much! W S Casting

2 Jill E. Perry-Smith & Terry C. Blum, Work-Family Human Resource Bundles and Perceived Organizational Peformance, 43 Academy of Management Journal 1107 (2000) Ellen Galinsky et al., Workplace flexibility: from research to action, 21 Future Child 141 (2011). 7. Merit Assessment Kenji: Even in meritocratic company culture, we often reverse engineer the criteria from the preferred candidate rather than choosing the candidate based on fixed criteria. You ve just interviewed Larry and Jocelyn, two amazing candidates for Watson Financial Services. See if you can unbiasedly pick the best person for the job. BEAT 1 Jocelyn and Larry are displayed in the upper right with their credentials. AMIR and TRINA POV Prompt: Ok, we ve got Larry and Jocelyn. Larry is postdoc MIT, he went to Stanford, he s smart as hell. His references do say he can be headstrong at times. Jocelyn has real experience. She s been at the firm for the last 10 years and in the Watson group for the past five. But UCLA is no Stanford. Whom do you want to hire? Two buttons pop up <Larry> and <Jocelyn>. They sit contemplating until you press one. Hire Larry I totally agree. No firm experience, but he s got amazing credentials. So we re done? Definitely the right call. True to our meritocratic culture. I ll write the offer now. Hire Jocelyn Really? She s got great recommendations, but I think Larry s got more potential.

3 (thinks about it) You re right. He may not have the experience, but he s got the smarts. I don t want to favor Jocelyn just because she s a member of the firm. Yeah, this is a meritocracy. I ll write the offer now. Prompt: Larry s a great choice, but what happens if we mix things up? A button pops up, <Swap Credentials>. We hear a swoosh and see their credentials swap in the upper right hand corner. BEAT 2 AMIR and TRINA POV. JESSICA: Jocelyn is postdoc MIT, she went to Stanford, she s smart as hell. Larry has real experience. He s been at the firm for the last 10 years and in the Watson group for the past five. But UCLA is no Stanford. Weird, I feel like we ve done this before, don t you? Yeah, total dejavu. Prompt: Now, whom do you want to hire? Two buttons pop up <Larry> and <Jocelyn> Hire Larry I totally agree. Larry may not have the fancy resume, but he s got a lot more experience. Yeah, we need someone more street smart. So we re done? Wow, I can t believe we re passing up Stanford. It s great to be part of such a meritocratic culture. Hire Jocelyn Really? She s got fancy credentials, but not real experience. Also, one of her references said she could be a bit headstrong. That s true, you can t teach a decade s worth of experience in anything less.

4 Yeah, this is a meritocracy. I ll write Larry the offer now. BEAT 3 Prompt: Hmm. Interesting, you chose Larry again. Maybe you should try something different. A button pops up <Choose an alternate beginning> So, before we interview these candidates, let s talk about what we re looking for specifically? Definitely experience, good credentials and the ability to work effectively on a team. Totally agree. Why don t we rank the importance of each, out of say, 20. Ok, I d say, experience -10, credentials -5, interpersonal skills-5. Sounds right. All right, let s bring them in. <fade out> KENJI: The paradox of meritocracy is that individuals who believe they work in a meritocracy are often less meritocratic in their employment decisions. The researchers who developed this finding hypothesize that this is because of moral licensing the idea that individuals can coast on a brand, rather than engaging in constant vigilance against bias. This scene was a case in point about why that vigilance is important. In a famous experiment, individuals were given a male and female candidate for a police chief a job that individuals associated with men. The researchers found that rather than taking criteria and applying them, the interviewers unconsciously favored the man and then reverse engineered the criteria of merit from whatever the man had. If the man had strong academic credentials but was not street smart, they would value academic credentials. But when the man and woman were given each other s credentials, then suddenly the interviewers would value street smarts. This meant that a woman was severely disadvantaged. Moreover, it was hard to catch this bias, as in any given scenario, the reasons given would be totally plausible. The hopeful point in this study is that the researchers found that if individuals committed to the criteria of merit in advance, the gender bias not only diminished, but actually disappeared.

5 Shopping Cart: Emilio J. Castilla & Stephen Benard, The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations, 55 Administrative Science Quarterly 543 (2010). Eric Luis Uhlmann & Geoffrey L. Cohen, Constructed Criteria: Redefining Merit to Justify Discrimination, 16 Psy. Soc. 474 (2005). 8. Retiring Personalities Kenji: Introverts make up about a third of the population, yet, leadership has been dominated by the extrovert ideal. While this sometimes comes up among Asian-American employees, it is in fact an issue for all introverts within an organization. This is Eric, a recently promoted Director and natural introvert. His boss has told him in order to move up the leadership chain, he needs to be more extroverted. Choose which behavior to portray for the best possible outcome. BEAT 1 ERIC encounters Robert. Hey Eric, how s it going? Prompt: How do you want to behave? Two buttons pop up, <Introverted Eric> and <Extroverted Eric>. Extroverted Eric (forcing extroversion) Hey Robert! Everything s going great! How are you? How about those Eagles? Oh, I d love to talk to you about presentation skills. I m thinking of delivering a process presentation to my team and I d love to learn your methods! His life bar goes down way. Wow, I ve never seen you so exuberant. Thanks! I m trying to be more extroverted, per Amir s comments. (He

6 Shopping Cart: Emilio J. Castilla & Stephen Benard, The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations, 55 Administrative Science Quarterly 543 (2010). Eric Luis Uhlmann & Geoffrey L. Cohen, Constructed Criteria: Redefining Merit to Justify Discrimination, 16 Psy. Soc. 474 (2005). 8. Retiring Personalities Kenji: Introverts make up about a third of the population, yet, leadership has been dominated by the extrovert ideal. While this sometimes comes up among Asian-American employees, it is in fact an issue for all introverts within an organization. This is Eric, a recently promoted Director and natural introvert. His boss has told him in order to move up the leadership chain, he needs to be more extroverted. Choose which behavior to portray for the best possible outcome. BEAT 1 ERIC encounters Robert. Hey Eric, how s it going? Prompt: How do you want to behave? Two buttons pop up, <Introverted Eric> and <Extroverted Eric>. Extroverted Eric (forcing extroversion) Hey Robert! Everything s going great! How are you? How about those Eagles? Oh, I d love to talk to you about presentation skills. I m thinking of delivering a process presentation to my team and I d love to learn your methods! His life bar goes down way. Wow, I ve never seen you so exuberant. Thanks! I m trying to be more extroverted, per Amir s comments. (He

7 forces a laugh) I m already exhausted and I just started this morning. Tell me about it. I ve been at it for years. But you re not shy at all. Being an introvert isn t the same as being shy. After a meeting or presentation, I need some down time in order to function. Oh wow, I thought introversion was mostly an Asian thing. In China the saying is, The loudest duck gets shot. Ha, well here, The squeaky wheel gets the grease. It s not the best model for leadership. You should talk to Amir about it. Introverted Eric Life bar stays high. (speaking softer and more naturally) Hi Robert. I m doing Ok. Just trying to figure out how to adapt my personality to the leadership model here. Amir mentioned I should be more outgoing and confident, but that s just not my style. I m naturally an introvert. Ha. Me too. Really? But you re not shy at all. Being an introvert isn t the same as being shy. After a meeting or presentation, I need some down time in order to function. Oh wow, I thought introversion was mostly an Asian thing. In China the saying is, The loudest duck gets shot. Ha, well here, The squeaky wheel gets the grease. It s not the best model for leadership. You should talk to Amir about it. BEAT 2 Prompt: You re about to lead a team meeting, how do you want to lead? Two buttons pop up, <Introverted Eric> and <Extroverted Eric>. Extroverted Eric

8 <If this is the second time you chose extroverted, a message will pop up that says.> Warning, your life bar is dangerously low. We cut to after the meeting. Eric looks exhausted. His life bar is depleted. Great meeting Eric! I ve never seen you so outspoken. I m glad you re taking my advice to heart. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. It s really taxing, It s just not how I naturally am. I totally get it. I wasn t raised that way either. But in this country, leadership requires more extroversion. I had to adopt a more outgoing style to get to where I am. Wouldn t it be better for the firm if we nurtured different leadership styles instead of celebrating only the loud, outspoken leaders? It just makes sense for us to bend toward the company rather than having it bend toward us. Introverted Eric We cut to after the meeting. His life bar remains high. Hey ERIC, can I talk to you? Sure, what s up? I know I mentioned it before, but if you want to become a VP you need to be more outgoing. Own the room. I hear you, but that s not who I am. I m not naturally that way either. I had to adopt a more outgoing style to get to where I am. But I didn t write the rules, in this country leadership requires more extroversion. Wouldn t it be better for the firm if we nurtured different leadership styles instead of celebrating only the loud, outspoken leaders? It just makes sense for us to bend toward the company rather than having it bend toward us. BEAT 3 Prompt: What do you want to do?

9 The two buttons pop up, <Advocate> and <Assimilate> Advocate Actually, I think the company should bend. China has tech companies. And those companies have leaders. They seem to be fine Yeah, but we re not in China. Robert overhears the conversation. the Super: Super: Sorry, I couldn t help but overhear. Actually, some of our most famous leaders--from James Madison to Abraham Lincoln, were introverts. Fair enough, but I need to give Eric realistic advice. I m not trying to boil the ocean here, Robert, just trying to get Eric promoted. I respect that, but as leaders at the firm, we re the ones that have to change culture. I want a company that has both kinds of leaders, where people can choose the style most authentic to them. Anything else is a colossal waste of time. Thanks Robert. Amir, maybe we should get something formal together to present to HR? I m on board with that. 6 months later. Amir, I just wanted to thank you for your support. I can t believe I m already leading my own team. I hope I can be a mentor to others like me. Without Robert, I don t think I would have had the courage to do it. Great job. Optional <play again button> Assimilate Yeah, I guess. I just find it totally exhausting. But if I want to lead a team, I m willing to make sacrifices. Robert overhears the conversation.

10 Super: Sorry, I couldn t help but overhear. Actually, you can lead as introvert. Some of our most famous leaders--from James Madison to Abraham Lincoln, were introverts. Fair enough, but I need to give Eric realistic advice. I m not trying to boil the ocean here, Robert, just trying to get Eric promoted. Thanks for having my back Robert, but I need to adapt to what the company needs. I m just one person, no need to change the entire company culture. We re two people. And at least a third to half of the company is likely introverts. But anytime you need someone to back you up, I m always here. Ok thanks, but I think I can manage. Six months later Hi Amir, I wanted to see you because I m submitting my resignation. This just isn t working. I feel like I m someone I m not. Not to mention, I m just wiped out. I ve taken a position at another company that s more open to different leadership styles. Optional Play Again button. KENJI: Introversion is one of the new frontiers of inclusion. In 2012, Susan Cain wrote the landmark book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can t Stop Talking. In this book she makes three simple observations. First, she notes that one third to one half of the U.S. population can be classified as introverts. Second, she observes that introversion and extroversion likely have a genetic substrate individuals can stretch their personalities in one direction or another, but only to a limited degree. Finally, she notes that introverts have many valuable including the creativity, persistence, and focus that flow from more time spent alone. Indeed, a separate study has shown that introverted leaders can even be better team leaders of proactive employees. For these reasons, we should be highly skeptical of a workplace that requires all of its leaders to be extroverts. In organizations, Asian American individuals often bring up the bias against introversion, given that their cultural upbringing can favor introversion. However, the population affected is much broader, and includes many people in the otherwise dominant group: straight white men. Organizations should reflect on how to create more leadership scripts so that some leaders are celebrated for being good orators and others are celebrated for being good listeners.

11 Shopping Cart: Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can t Stop Talking (2012). Susan Cain s Ted Talk: Adam Grant et al., Reversing the Extraverted Leadership Advantage: The Role of Employee Proactivity, 54 Academy of Management Journal 528 (2011). 9. Separate Spheres Kenji: When a terrorist attack or race-related tragedy like Charlottesville occurs, we re all affected at work. But many of us are unsure of how to respond or if it s even appropriate. Kevin and Robert are trying to navigate how to behave at work the day after a tragedy. Use the toggle to see how things things play out differently when they re covering and when they aren t. Two buttons <Cover> <Uncover> will appear on the screen. Viewers can toggle over at any time from one to the other.. Cover Uncover (Uncomfortable) Have a good weekend? KEVIN: (slightly upbeat) Yeah (awkward pause) So we ve got really fast turnaround on the Watson Customer Care implementation. Capacity-wise, how are you feeling? What an awful weekend. KEVIN: (Clearly bummed) Yeah. It s just such a terrible tragedy. I feel awful about it, so I can t even imagine how you are feeling. KEVIN: (clearly distracted) Fine. I can focus on the delivery. I m always excited to lead a project like this. (Pause) Ok, Well, if you need any help with it, just let me know. I know this is a big project. KEVIN: I can t even focus. What happened was like Charlottesville and Newtown times two. I m scared for my kids to grow up in a world like this. Well, if you need to talk one on one just let me know. I know it s hard show up at work after such a terrible tragedy.

Thank you for auditioning for COPORATE TRAINING VIDEOS ROLE: ROBERT

Thank you for auditioning for COPORATE TRAINING VIDEOS ROLE: ROBERT Please prepare: The full packet that matches your Character Number or is most correct for you based on your Nationality. You do not need