Discussion for online HRM Healthcare class Essay

Discussion for online HRM Healthcare class - Essay Example The result of the study was that health care professionals act in a professional manner because of their professional consciousness. The study even figured out that the main reason due to which individuals of the health care are de-motivated is because they fail to satisfy their professional consciousness. They quit their jobs because of lack of required resources and inappropriate application of tools of human resource management. The study proved that a major role in the retention of health care professionals such as nurses is played by incentives that are not monetary in nature. The study even proved that if human resource management is properly applied, nursing professionals will become motivated. Proper application includes: helping health care professionals develop their career and recognizing and rewarding nurses for the professionalism they have shown towards their profession. Work environment is required which will help promote wellbeing of the workers. Mathauer, I., & Imhoff, I. (January 01, 2006). Health worker motivation in Africa: the role of non-financial incentives and human resource management tools. Human Resources for Health, 4

Legal Research on the Preclusion by the Federal Law of the United Article

Legal Research on the Preclusion by the Federal Law of the United States of Formation of Legal Systems affecting Individuals - Article Example While mostly all the laws are embedded with the inherent responsibility of the protection of the rights of the individuals who are the citizens of the countries concerned, they are framed in such a way that they take as their matter of concern only a group of individuals. This also gives rise to thoughts about the role of the states in providing the legal frame work. Even from the ancient times of civilization, the role of the state has always been primary when designing and applying a specific legal framework and there had been no instances where the law makers had framed legal provisions that apply only to specific persons or the individuals involved. But it cannot be denied that the subsequent interpretations of the legal provisions had made various legal provisions favorable or unfavorable to individuals depending on the circumstances of the individual cases. But those situations could only be attributed to the lacunae in the legislations or the clever and efficient interpretations of the provisions put forth by the lawyers and the opinions of the judges formed on the basis of such interpretations and arguments. But still the world had witnessed intensive debates over the intervention of the state in the formulation of the legal framework that affected individuals voluntarily or involuntarily. A classic example of such an instance can be cited in the case of Schiavo1 in which all the academics, scholars, journalists, columnists and whoever can write or say something irrespective of their depth of knowledge vehemently debated the changes made by the Federal Laws only to affect the life of an individual in Schiavo. With this background I intend to present this paper on the ability of a country like United States to handle the Bills of Attainder or the legal framework made to control the acts or deeds, commissions or omissions of an individual. I also present though a series of researched materials, whether the Country was effective in doing so. I intend further to present to the readers a comprehensive theory on the same issue, as being handled in other developed nations like United Kingdom and Japan. The paper also makes known to the reader the impact of the legal framework on the lives of the individuals in a country like Russia where the State till recently had backed communist views that concern more about the individuals and the community more. Though many similarities can be found between the legislative frameworks of United States and the United Kingdom, I chose these two countries for comparison to show the differences in the approaches of the countries' legal systems in the protection of the individual citizens. In a similar way I presumed that the legislations in Russia once being a communist country should deal differently with the issue of the laws affecting individuals and hence the research on Russian legal

Corporate Governance And Ethics Practice

Corporate Governance And Ethics Practice This report looks at the differences of the sustainability report for year 2011 of the two companies that from the same automotive industry and based in different countries. The first company is a Volkswagen Group, which is a German multinational automotive manufacturing company based in Wolfsburg and founded in 1937. The area served of Volkswagen Group is worldwide and it produced almost 8.5 million vehicles in year 2011. It is one of the worlds leading motor automobile manufacturers and has kept the largest market share in Europe for over 20 years (Wikipedia, 2012). The second company is a Mazda Motor Corporation, which is the Japanese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchu Aki Hiroshima and founded in 1920. The area served of Mazda Motor Corporation is worldwide and it produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales in 2007 (Wikipedia, 2012). Are all the car manufacturers harmful to society and environment? Based on these two firms sustainability reporting, both firms have revealed that they are taking their corporate social responsibility seriously which will audit and measure their activities, and putting money into green research. The two automotive companies, of course, have to comply with toughening fuel economy regulations reduce the impact of global warming and be more compliant because there is an increasing market demand that new generation of consumers are looking at fuel economy and sustainability mobility for making decision for what they buy. For fuel economy regulations, according to (Feng Amanda, 2004) in their report for Pew Center on Global Climate Change that the European Union (EU) and Japan have the most stringent standard for requirement for gasoline new passenger car fuel efficiencies as shown in their report. For the purposes of this assignment, the focus will be on sets out the differences between the reports of the two companies on in terms of the range of issues dealt with in the reports and the depth of the coverage; explains to the differences between the two reports in terms of country factors; assesses the quality of the reporting in terms of Zadeks (1997) criteria (i.e. inclusivity, comparability, completeness, evolution, management policies and systems, disclosure, external verification, and continuous improvement); evaluates the extent to which it would be appropriate for the two companies to use a standardized approach; and makes recommendations about how each of the reports could be improved and why. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO REPORTS IN TERMS OF THE RANGE OF ISSUES DEALTH WITH IN THE REPORTS AND THE DEPTH OF THE COVERAGE The sustainability reports of these two automakers have look into consideration of ESG criteria (Environmental, social and corporate governance) and making major strides in these similar sustainability issues: Management Approach; Corporate Governance and Ethics Practice; Environmental Protection; Product Quality and Safety; Workplace Practice; Human Rights; and Community Practice. In terms of reporting structure, Volkswagen Group had divided the report to eight chapters, which are strategy, economy, society, CSR projects worldwide, sustainability mobility, environment, key indicators/figures, and back-up. On the contrary, Mazda Corporate had identified the six chapters, which are Mazda CSR, management, environmental protection, social contributions, customer satisfaction, and respect for people. The next few paragraphs of this report will looks at the coverage of the issues dealt in these chapters and the differences between the two sustainability reports. Management Approach At Strategy chapter, Volkswagen Group had disclosed the management approach on CSR strategy in eight pages that covered company new sustainability objectives, development of top class team, sustainability requirements for suppliers, management approach to the sustainability mobility, sustainability management of corporate social responsibility, stakeholder dialogue, global compact, cooperation with Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), and the compliance to corporate code of conduct. Whereas Mazda Corporate had disclosed their approach of CSR strategy in the chapter of Mazda CSR in seven pages that covered corporate vision, CSR operations, external evaluation of CSR, awards, rising of employee awareness, stakeholders communication, shareholders and investor relations initiatives and dialogue. Set-aside the unstandardized of reporting structure, Volkswagen Group had disclosed the basis of information on its stakeholder dialogue program, but had not follow Mazda Corporate to disclose information on how company engages with each key stakeholders that with a full page table of Mazda group key responsibilities to stakeholders and opportunities for dialogue and disclosure. Corporate Governance and Ethics Practice At Economy chapter, Volkswagen Group had covered this chapter in seven topics, which are customer satisfaction, sustainability in suppliers relations, economic stability, raw material, localization, risk management, and compliance. On the contrary, Mazda Corporate covered this in two chapters with total of seven topics, which are corporate governance, internal controls, risk management, compliance, implementing CSR in the value chain, and customer satisfaction. At Customer Satisfaction topic, Volkswagen Group identified customer satisfaction as a key indicator of how well product developments and model facelifts cater to the needs of stakeholders, and focuses on market studies, complaint handling, and meets customer wishes. Mazda had covered this topic with extensive information on safety approach from three viewpoints of vehicles, people, and roads and infrastructure, with details information in safety technologies to explain how safety can be achieved. Additionally Mazda also covered extensive information in the four pillars that how the company can increase customer satisfaction, which are creating appealing products, improving product quality, improving customer satisfaction in sales, and improving the quality of after-sales service. At Sustainability in Suppliers Relations topic, Volkswagen Group had explained the system was built on four pillars which are sustainability requirements for suppliers before submitting quotes, an early warning system for minimizing risk, a transparent procurement process, and supplier monitoring and development process. On the contrary, Mazda had covered clearer information that outline on the Mazda supplier CSR guidelines, major channels of communication with supplier, evaluating and recognizing suppliers, measurement and quality improvement program for local suppliers. At Economic Stability topic, Volkswagen looked at global economic competition and stability; the company recognized the effort that to help in global economic is to achieve sustainable success by taking more responsibility for the environment and for social developments. This topic not covered by Mazda. At Raw Material topic, Volkswagen Group had revealed the secure and economic supplies of raw materials program, which contains corporate analysis system and regularly engages in dialogue with the Extractive Industries Transparencies Initiative (EITI) to identify risk of corruption. This topic not covered by Mazda. At Localization topic, Volkswagen Group had covered the implementation of systematic localization that had proven not only benefits in logistical but commercially and generates growth in the respective regions at new Volkswagen plan. This topic is not cover by Mazda. At Risk Management topic, Volkswagen Group had disclosed information on its risk management programs briefly. As a comparison, Mazda had enclosed more information on risk management policy, action guidelines, and methods of implementing, and the scopes of application. At Compliance topic, Volkswagen had outlined its compliance effort to keep in line with Germane Corporate Governance Code, which is core compliance teams were appointed, annually evaluation of compliance activities, anti-trust legislation matters, and corruption measurement. On the contrary, Mazda had revealed extensive information on corporate governance framework diagram that help in better understanding of company effort in dealing with management issues and how company boost transparency of management with board of corporate auditors. Also Mazda had covered internal controls topic that not by Volkswagen Group, which is disclosed its own self-examination of internal controls framework that having a department to support internal controls. Workplace Practice, Human Rights and Community Practice At Society and CSR Projects Worldwide chapter, Volkswagen Group had covered three ethic issues here, which are Workplace Practice, Human Rights and Community Practice. There are three topics covered, which are employment, reward and profit sharing system, AUTOUNI institution, Volkswagen way, employee opinion survey, ideal management, training and skills development, demographic change, advancing women and promoting diversity, social responsibility, and reveals on CSR projects worldwide. On the contrary, Mazda Corporation had covered in eight topics, which are social contribution framework, major activities in Japan and overseas, human development resolving around the principles of the Mazda Way, employee choice of self-realization, promoting work-life balance, advancing women and promoting diversity, reward and profit sharing system, and respect for human rights. As a comparison, Mazda had included a great data in the same page to explain their measurement and how Mazda achieve the g oals. Environmental Protection and Sustainability In terms of environmental protection and sustainability issue, these two companies had revealed their strategies in similar structure and topics, as shown in the table 1 below. The major differences between the two reports are Mazda had disclosed an impressive Mazda Green Plan 2020 Mid-Term Environmental Plan and clear data within the topic that help in understanding the topic. Both companies had covered good information on how they promote in climate protection, and the coverage are CO2 emissions reduction for automobile, energy supply strategy, environment factory, efficient production, environmental technology, green IT, and green logistics. Table 1: Comparing the coverage of environmental protection and sustainability issue: Volkswagen Group Mazda Corporation Environmental Management Mazda Approach to the Environment This is not cover by Volkswagen. Green Plan 2020 Mid-Term Environmental Efficient Powertrains and Fuels Developing New SKYACTIV Technology Electro-mobility Making Environmentally Friendly vehicles Resource Efficient Recycling and Resource Conservation Biodiversity Management and Reduction of substances Water Preventing Air and Water Pollution This is not cover by Volkswagen. Environmental Communication Climate Protection Prevention of Global Warming This is not cover by Volkswagen. Environmental Communication This is not cover by Volkswagen. Activities and Impact on the environment DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO REPORTS IN TERMS OF COUNTRY OR INDUSTRY FACTORS The effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake in year 2011 has influenced on how Mazda Corporate structured and produced their sustainability reporting. The word earthquake had appeared 25 times in the sustainability report. The top message of chairman of the board has included a paragraph to express company sympathies and condolences message. The paragraph explained how company makes a concerted effort to establish their ethical strategies, and deploy response plan into action to contribute in recovery for the areas affected by earthquake. The details of support activities for the recovery of stricken regions have presented in this formal report. The report also reveals the damage to Mazda group that Hiroshima Plant and Hofu Plant where forced to suspend operations temporary due to inability to obtain certain parts, and Mazda moved to weekly days off from Saturday and Sunday to Thursday and Friday during the summer period in accordance with the policy of the Japan Automobile Manufa cturers Association to reduce electricity consumption. For CSR strategy, Mazda Corporate evaluates its CSR strategy referencing to the Charter of Corporate Behavior issued by the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren, 2004), and structure the table of contents of the sustainability report on these areas of Environmental Protection, Customer Satisfaction, Respect for People, Social Contributions, and Management (Compliance and Information Disclosure). Whereas Volkswagen Group has referencing their CSR strategy with EU Strategy 2011-14 (European Trade Union Confederation ETUC, 2011) and structure the table of contents in these areas of Strategy, Economy, Society, CSR Projects Worldwide, Sustainability Mobility, Environment, Key Indicators, and Back-up. In terms of code of ethics, Volkswagen Group has paragraph their compliance report in line with the German Corporate Governance Code, aside of Volkswagen corporate ethics codes of conduct. Per required by section 161 of the Aktiengesetz (AktG German Stock Corporation Act), an annual of conformity with the German Corporate Governance Code has issued by the Board of Management and the supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG on November 18, 2011 (Volkswagen, n.d.). Whereas Mazda Corporation has outlined their five principles of Mazda corporate ethics code of conduct. THE QUALITY OF THE REPORTING IN TERMS OF ZADEKs (1997) CRITERIA This paragraph looks at the quality of the reporting in terms of ZADEK et al.s (1997) eight principles of quality in social accounting. To what extend the reporting of two companies conforms to and contributes to the best practice. The eight issues are Inclusivity, Comparability, Completeness, Evolution, Management policies and systems, Disclosure, External verification, and Continuous Improvement. Inclusivity AAA Comparability AAA Completeness AAA Evolution AAA Management policies and systems AAA External verification AAA Continuous Improvement AAA THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE TWO COMPANIES TO USE A STANDARDISED APPROACH Currently the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, version 3.1, is the most widely used standardized sustainability reporting framework in the world (Wikipedia, 2012). The two companies have adopted the GRI framework as a reference to compile their reports. However both companies reports are not prepared exactly according to GRI guidelines and structure. Should two companies have to use a standardized approach for their sustainability reports that will exactly according to a GRI framework, so that it is helpful for reader to navigate the report, finding specific information, and easier to compare data among similar companies. Or should companies are recommended to be selective or focus primary that are most relevant to their business. To what extent that it would be appropriate for the two companies to use a standardized approach? It is not possible for the two companies to presence their data in sustainability reporting exactly the same structure and templates because each company is having their own reporting tools, data and context. However it is possible that the two companies to disclose and to measure of the extent to GRI Guideline Content Indexes. However as per Crane Matten (2010, p. 219) recognized that there is an issue with GRI which GRI has been criticized is its concern only with establishing procedures for voluntary reporting, rather than having an explicit aim to promote mandatory reporting. So it is not a regulation that company must follow the same GRI framework rules to prepare company sustainability report. Every company is free to determine its own data according to rules of its own choosing, and there is no performance or penalty at all. The new GRI fourth generation is now in development. It is an opportunity for the GRI seeking input from worldwide into development of the new standard which cater all the possible gaps in standardized approach. With the new G4 GRI standard it should improve on content in the current guidelines that could possibility encourage companies to use a standardized approach. THE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT HOW EACH OF THE REPORTS COULD BE IMPROVED AND WHY GRI Content Index Mazda Corporation could improve their sustainability report by including a comparative table with GRI content indexes that disclose all items in the report at each rows of GRI content index. On the contrary, Volkswagen Group had included the GRI content index but the reference column that contains page number can be confused to some readers and might be pointing to the wrong topic. The comparative table with GRI content index could provides an objective to measure whether all the elements in GRI guidelines have been applied in the report. It is definitely helpful for reader to find specific information and to compare data among similar industry. The sample of comparative table with GRI content index has shown below. Table 2: The Sample of Comparative Table with GRI content index (G3.1): Item GRI Content Volkswagen Group Mazda Corporation Strategy and Analysis 1.1 Statement from the most senior decision maker -Responsibilities increase with commercial success (Page 6-7) -Top Message (Page 5-6) 1.2 Key Impacts, risks -Responsibilities increase with commercial success (Page 6-7) -Responsibilities (Page 10-19) -Compliance (Page 28-29) -Top Message (Page 5-6) -Management (Page 21-22) Organization Profile 2.1 Name of the organization Page 1, 3 Page 1-2 GRI Content Index Mazda Corporation. CONCLUSION Reporting on sustainability performance is an important way for organizations to manage their impact on sustainable development. The challenges of sustainable development are many, and it is widely accepted that organizations have not only a responsibility but also a great ability to exert positive change on the state of the worlds economy, and environmental and social conditions. Reporting leads to improved sustainable development outcomes because it allows organizations to measure, track, and improve their performance on specific issues. Organizations are much more likely to effectively manage an issue that they can measure. By taking a proactive role to collect, analyze, and report those steps taken by the organization to reduce potential business risk, companies can remain in control of the message they want delivered to its shareholders. Public pressure has proven to be a successful method for promoting Transparency (behavior) and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and social responsibilities. As well as helping organizations manage their impacts, sustainability reporting promotes transparency and accountability. This is because an organization discloses information in the public domain. In doing so, stakeholders (people affected by or interested in an organizations operations) can track an organizations performance on broad themes such as environmental performance or a particular issue such as labor conditions in factories. Performance can be monitored year on year or can be compared to other similar organizations. (2704 words) (References/bibliography on the next page)

The Partiality Of Wholeness :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Religious people believe in the existence of a supreme being. It has many attributes but two of the most striking are that it seems to both encompass and to pervade everything. Judaic sources are in the habit of saying that we all have a "share of the upper divine soul". Put more formally, we can say that we are both part of a Whole and permeated by it. But what are the relationships between the parts and the Whole? They could be either formal (a word in a sentence, for instance) or physical (a neurone in our brain, for instance). A formal relationship entails an impairment of the truth value of a sentence / proposition / theorem / syllogism with the removal of one or more of its parts. As a result, a part could be reconstructed to fit into an impaired Whole once the formal relationships (and the derivative truth value) are known. Things are pretty much the same in the physical realm: the removal of the part renders the Whole - NOT Whole (in the functional sense, in the structural sense, or in both senses). A part is immediately discernible: it is always smaller (size, mass, weight) than the Whole and it always possesses the potential to contribute to the functioning / role of the Whole. The part need not be active to qualify as a part - yet, it requires the potential to be active to do so. In other words : the Whole is defined by its parts - their sum, their synergy, their structure, their functions. Even where epiphenomena occur - it is inconceivable to deal with them without resorting to some discussion of the parts in their relationships with the Whole. But the parts are also defined by their context, by the Whole. It is by observing their place in the hyperstructure, interactions with other parts and general function of the Whole that we can assign the title ("parts") to them. There are no parts without a Whole. In this sense, it seems that parts and Wholes are nothing but language conventions, a way that we chose to describe the world that was compatible with our evolutionary and survival goals and with our sensory input. If this is so, then, being defined by each other, parts and Wholes are inefficient, cyclical, recursive, in short: tautological modes of relating to the world.

Crime Scenes

Crime scenes are known to have many other types of evidence some are physical(DNA,fingerprints,Handwriting,photographs and clothing).Trace Evidence can be microscopic most Trace Evidence is small it can't be seen with the human eye.Trace evidence is evidence left by an individual at the crime scene it can be either intentional or unintentional. Trace evidence is left by touch and example would be if you had a really fuzzy sweater and a person brushes up against you,the fibers from your sweater would transfer to that person's clothing . There are several different types of Trace Evidence such as fibers,hair,soil,wood,gunshot residue,pollen,chemicals and many other types. Trace Evidence can be circumstantial an example would be if someone was murdered at a house and that person's moms fingerprint was at that the crime scene,and the mom had visited a week ago the fingerprint has a reason to be there. However she still could have murdered her child so she will still have to be cleared as a suspect.Edmond Locard, founder of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyon, France, developed what has become known as Locard's Exchange Principle. This states that every contact leaves a trace (Trace Evidence). Investigators can potentially link a suspect and a victim to a location through trace evidence. Glass from doors or windows can stick on the soles of shoes.It can be found on clothes,tools,skin and weapons.Different types of glass break and shatter differently.Glass can also hold fingerprints.Dust and dirt can also determine where a person has been,where they have worked,where they live and if they have pets. Pollen is also included in this this because it is a type of dirt and dust and can tell investigators if a suspect has been outside and where they have been.Forensic investigators must handle evidence from a crime scene with care so that they do not contaminate any evidence. Investigators have certain way of collecting ballistic evidence in order to prevent contamination and assure that it can be a valuable source of data. The truth about how investigators deal with evidence is very far from the Hollywood image that has been created from shows. The accumulation of ballistic evidence can be broken down into collection of firearms, ammunition, and gunpowder deposits. In all cases, an investigator's first priority is safety. Before a firearm is sent to a laboratory, it must be checked to see there is no chance of an accidentals shot of a weapon. To be safe, in most cases a weapon will be unloaded. Some important things that investigators note in this process are the weapon's safety position and the location of fired and unfired ammunition; this way, no evidence is lost. Since trace evidence covers a wide variety of stuff, there is similar variety in the testing that is performed. Specialized testing may be done outside of the local laboratory at regional or national facilities. The type of test performed and the range of information provided vary by the type of evidence tested. For example, analysis of a strand of hair may yield information on the race and general health of the donor, while analysis of a paint sample would probably find the manufacturer of the paint .Hair samples are tested primarily by microscopic comparison. Microscopic comparison identifies the shape, color, texture and other visual aspects of the sample.In some cases hair is subjected to DNA analysis. Trace evidence analysts usually have strands to work with. From these strands, fiber testing is done using high-powered comparison microscopes to compare texture and wear in a side-by-side test. Chemical analysis can determine the chemical composition of the fibers. In the case of synthetic fabric or carpet, this information can be used to trace the product to the manufacturer using standards databases, further enhancing the probative value of the evidence.Glass can have valuable information through fracture marks, lines and patterns. Testing for unique characteristics such as color, optical properties and density can determine the type of glass, for example a window pane, vase or glass bottle. Powerful comparison microscopes are used to compare colors, thickness and layer patterns, and luster or to match fragments and tears. Blood Spatter Blood Spatter is another thing that helps get rid of lunatics and murderers. One of the most important fields of forensic science is blood spatter analysis. Under the Crime Scene Investigation, analysts gather the information that could eventually lead to a victim's killer. Basic and complicated information can be found when analyzing blood. We can learn what kind of weapon was used, the time of death of a victim and other important facts that can help a case. The pattern that the blood gives off give forensic scientists the tools that they need to help solve cases. Investigators can find clues from a murder through a number of different ways. Typically they find out how many times an object hits a part of the body. Stains that are on walls and/or ceilings can tell you that a lot of force was used.. A basic bloodstain pattern is known as transfer or contact. These are made when someone walks through a blood leaving footsteps or trails. Gunshot spatters are very common in crime scenes, and give off a sort of mist effect. Sources of blood can reveal the origins of whatever it is investigators are looking for. If someone was interested in pursuing a career in forensics they would need a strong stomach or hardy exterior. The scenes can be gruesome and this job isn't for everybody. Also work environment involves visiting morgues with hundreds of dead bodies. A quality that is needed in this field is composure. Things do tend to happen so forensics and other technicians have to refrain themselves and get the job done. Critical thinking and problems solving skills are very important when solving cases that deal with quick decision making and the need of good judgment. Every analyst needs to pay attention to detail because they need to notice the small things in order to collect good data.The first record of blood spatter was in 1895. Dr. Eduard Piotrowski of the University of Krakà ³w published a paper titled â€Å"On the formation, form, direction, and spreading of blood stains after blunt trauma to the head.†

Book Analysis

David Mamet’s Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business is one of the latest books written by David Mamet. The book is about the sharp views that Mamet makes about the movie business and the inner doings of Hollywood. On 30th November 1947 Lenore June gave birth to a boy in Chicago who was named David Alan Mamet. Mamet’s mother Lenore June was a teacher and his father Bernard Morris who was an attorney. (Film Makers, Pp 1)Mamet is an American movie director, writer, novelist, dramatist, and a screenwriter.He is famous for his works which are well-known among people for their clever, short, and at times offensive dialogue and his mysterious styled phrasing sense. (Film Makers, Pp 1) Mamet has received a number of award nominations like he got nominated for Tony Award for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). He was acknowledged with Oscar suggestion for Wag the Dog (1997) and The Verdict (1982) as a playwright. (Film M akers, Pp 1)Some of his recent books include The Old Religion written in1997, it is a novel about the execution of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy written in 2004, an explanation of the Torah, The Wicked Son written in 2006, contains a deep study of the Jewish self-hatred and anti-Semitism; and Bambi vs. Godzilla, a book having sour comments and is a collection of essays on the movie business. (Gabriel Steinfeld, Pp1) In this book Mamet gives us a revolutionary inside look at Hollywood from the point of view of a film-maker.The title brings together an impressive, arresting and a weird metaphor that is â€Å"Bambi vs. Godzilla,† which refers to an old underground small cartoon, with long and graceful subtitle which is expressed in more literary language that showed off his intelligence. The subtitle which is â€Å"On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business† shows that this book is a collection of essays on different phases of film making which includes production, direction, behind-the-scene stories etc. The book consists of eight major sections and forty-odd short chapters.The eight major sections contains the titles such as â€Å"The Screenplay† ( this section provides the steps to effective skill writing), â€Å"Technique† , â€Å"Genre† and â€Å"Some Principles† are the sections that covers the areas of film criticism , â€Å"The Good People of Hollywood† (this section of the books covers dissimilar topics, that are mostly related to the power dynamics that take place behind the scenes of movies), â€Å"The Repressive Mechanism† (this section is somewhat freely linked by the subject of power and the relation of art to it), â€Å"Passing Judgment† ( this section covers the part of acting and criticism), â€Å"Crimes and Misdemeanors† (covers the portion of the cheats and the dishonesty that big na mes make in the Hollywood). (Gabriel Steinfeld, Pp1) He in details explains what happens at the studios, what happens during the shooting of a movie and various questions which arise in the mind of a common man.Mamet presents a clear-cut view of the deepest and the secret inner workings of the general movie industry and particularly concentrates on Hollywood in the book. Mamet provides entertaining, astonishing, and willingly gives the answers to questions about almost every portion of filmmaking, right from the concept to script and to the screen. (Gabriel Steinfeld, Pp1) Before Bambi vs. Godzilla Mamet wrote and directed a drama Spartan in 2004, which was very much mishandled by Warner Bros. they didn’t knew how to present this drama to audience so after a short period of time they dumped this drama. The way Spartan was handled and treated Mamet could be expected to reveal his anger and rage through this book he had for the studios and the film industry.Even though several of these pieces were written before the Spartan misfortune, Mamet showed his disapproval for the present structure and organization of conventional cinema and to show his disapproval he does not even waits for the main chapters to start he begins it from the introduction of the book. (Gabriel Steinfeld, Pp1) In the book Mamet covers a wide range of topics that range from â€Å"How Scripts Got So Bad† to the â€Å"Manners in Hollywood. † He takes us gradually through some of his personal favorite movie stunts and directorial tricks, and clearly in the film speaks aloud the fact that it is the craft and the crew that make great films not the actors and producers.He also tells the audience in the books that who are his preferred and much loved performers and what are his favorite films, according to him who he thinks is the most ideal actor that would bring elegance to the screen, and who he thinks should never have showed on screen. (Christopher Hirst, Pp1) Modern or Pos t-modern? Mamet was post-modern in his artistic perspective. He has used to portray art which is considered to be in disagreement to a number of features of modernization, or to have appeared or developed in its consequences. In common activities for instance inter-media, setting up art, theoretical art and multimedia, mainly connecting video are illustrated as postmodern.The qualities linked with the exploit of the expression postmodern in art incorporates bricolage, utilization of vocabulary significantly as the fundamental creative constituent, collage, generalization, misappropriation, representation of user or accepted civilization and presentation art. The book is written about the present situation of Hollywood. David Mamet speaks about the flaws of the film industry. His way of writing and his ideas clearly shows that he is a man of modern culture. He looks at the modern situation of the film industry and suggests ideas that could make drastic changes in the film industry of today and those would pertain in the future. The choice usually Mamet makes for his actors would be disapproved or ignored by the current film-makers but if they looked through Mamet’s point of view Hollywood would very soon start to produce well-crafted and outstanding movies of its time.(Christopher Hirst, Pp1) References Christopher Hirst ,Paperbacks: Bambi Vs Godzilla, by David Mamet, (2008) Retrieved 01-02-2009, from http://www. independent. co. uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/paperbacks-bambi-vs-godzilla-by-david-mamet-864393. html Gabriel Steinfeld , Book reviews: Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose and Practice of the Movie Business, by David Mamet,(2009) Retrieved 01-02-2009, http://www. helium. com/items/536905-book-reviews-bambi-vs-godzilla-nature-purpose-practice-movie-business-david Film Makers, David Mamet. Media Pro Tech Inc. (2006). Retrieved from: http://www. filmmakers. com/artists/mamet/biography/index. htm

Hydropower essays

Hydropower essays With the earths precious natural resources being used up and the pollution from our great use of fossil fuels, many nations and communities have turned to the use of an alternative energy sources. Among those alternative energy sources is the use of tidal waves and currents to generate electricity. This source is known as offshore hydropower. Believe it or not, hydropower is the most common source of renewable electricity in the United States. Though hydropower is a fairly new source for energy, it is definitely possible to be used on a large scale. Seventy-five percent of our earth is made up of water, so the lack of the resource should never be a problem. Most large scale hydro-facilities come from the development of dams and reservoirs. Many large-scale dam projects have been criticized for blocking fish migration, shifting wildlife habitats, and affecting the quality of the water and the way it flows. Though dams and reservoirs may not be ideal for a long-term, large-scale use, tidal and wave energy is definitely one. Tidal and wave energy is a great source to use on a large scale because it produces a lot of energy with only a little amount of negative impact. A single turbine has the ability to provide an efficient amount of electricity for up to seventy-five homes at a time. Tidal energy is already used on a large scale in countries such as China, Japan, and the United States. Of course, each project for harnessing energy has its drawbacks as to why it would be hard to use on a large scale and among those for tidal power is the loss of a marine habitat. The marine life is a very precious one that it rather delicate to changes around it and with the placing of these massive turbines in the water it causes a disruption in their habitat. Many fish have the possibility of swimming into the currents that go through a turbine and getting killed by the rotation of the blade. With the problem of over-harvesting already, pe...

HIV

HIV HIV And Its Effects 1 HIV And Its Effects Elizabeth Grundy Psychology 102 Dr Peggy Peach October 10, 2001 HIV And Its Effects 2 HIV AND Its Effects The effects HIV has on a person, symptoms, risks, history and prevention will be explained. HIV is on a rise among sexually active people. According to Packer (1998), HIV, the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), is a member of a family of viruses. The first member HTLV-I and related to STLV-I researchers believe they both have a common ancestor in Africa. (P.13).This will be explained in the following questions: 1. What are the symptoms of HIV? 2. What are the risks to getting HIV? 3. What is the history of HIV? 4. What is the treatment for HIV? This research paper on HIV will be focused on these four questions.1. What are the symptoms of HIV? According to Nash (1997), when a person infected with HIV has symptoms such as fever, night sweats, weight loss, fatigue, and lymphadenopathy (persistent, unexplained swell ing of the lymph nodes), but no opportunistic infections (illnesses that healthy immune systems fight off) or Kaposi's sarcoma, he is said to have AIDS-related complex (ARC).HIV Testing AD2The acronym ARC is not used as frequently as it was in the early years of the epidemic. AIDS is now thought of in term of a HIV continuum. It begins with HIV-positive diagnosis in a person who is not experiencing any symptoms. It continues to a symptomatic stage in which the person has opportunistic infections, HIV and Its Effects 3 andKaposi's sarcoma, or any of the conditions previously used to define Arc, and the HIV-positive continuum ends with full-blown AIDS diagnosis (p.22).2. What are the risks to getting HIV? According to Nash (1997) No one is safe if...

Heather Ale by Robert Louis Stevenson

Heather Ale by Robert Louis Stevenson The poem Heather Ale by Robert Louis Stevenson is a ballad about the legendary Pict precursors to modern era Scots. In mythology, they may also be identified with pech, who were pixie-like creatures. They brewed heather ale and battled the Scots. Certainly, it would be convenient to be able to turn the abundant heather into an alcoholic beverage. Among the curiosities of human nature, this legend claims a high place. The historical Picts were a confederation of tribes in eastern and northern Scotland in the late Iron Age through the early medieval periods. The Picts were never exterminated. Today, they form a  large proportion of the folk of Scotland: occupying the eastern and the central parts, from the Firth of Forth, or perhaps the Lammermoors, upon the south, to the Ord of Caithness on the north. Archaeological studies dont find the Picts to be much shorter than current-day Scots.   It may be a case of the victors writing the history. The last nominal king of Picts reigned in the early 900s AD. In fiction and motion pictures they are often depicted as tattooed, blue-painted woodland warriors. Did the elements of this legend stem from some ancestors who were small of stature, black of hue, dwelling underground and possibly also the distillers of some forgotten spirit? See Joseph Campbell’s  Tales of the West Highlands. Heather Ale: A Galloway LegendRobert Louis Stevenson (1890) From the bonny bells of heather  Ã‚  Ã‚  They brewed a drink long-syne,Was sweeter far than honey,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Was stronger far than wine.They brewed it and they drank it,  Ã‚  Ã‚  And lay in a blessed swoundFor days and days together  Ã‚  Ã‚  In their dwellings underground.There rose a king in Scotland,  Ã‚  Ã‚  A fell man to his foes,He smote the Picts in battle,  Ã‚  Ã‚  He hunted them like roes.Over miles of the red mountain  Ã‚  Ã‚  He hunted as they fled,And strewed the dwarfish bodies  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of the dying and the dead.Summer came in the country,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Red was the heather bell;But the manner of the brewing  Ã‚  Ã‚  Was none alive to tell.In graves that were like children’s  Ã‚  Ã‚  On many a mountain head,The Brewsters of the Heather  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lay numbered with the dead.The king in the red moorland  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rode on a summer’s day;And the bees hummed, and the curlews  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cried beside the way.The king rode, and was angry,  Ã‚  Ã‚   Black was his brow and pale,To rule in a land of heather  Ã‚  Ã‚  And lack the Heather Ale.It fortuned that his vassals,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Riding free on the heath,Came on a stone that was fallen  Ã‚  Ã‚  And vermin hid beneath. Rudely plucked from their hiding,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Never a word they spoke:A son and his aged father-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Last of the dwarfish folk.The king sat high on his charger,  Ã‚  Ã‚  He looked on the little men;And the dwarfish and swarthy couple  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looked at the king again.Down by the shore he had them;  Ã‚  Ã‚  And there on the giddy brink- â€Å"I will give you life, ye vermin,  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the secret of the drink.†There stood the son and father  Ã‚  Ã‚  And they looked high and low;The heather was red around them,  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sea rumbled below.And up and spoke the father,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shrill was his voice to hear:â€Å"I have a word in private,  Ã‚  Ã‚  A word for the royal ear.â€Å"Life is dear to the aged,  Ã‚  Ã‚  And honour a little thing;I would gladly sell the secret,†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quoth the Pict to the King.His voice was small as a sparrow’s,  Ã‚  Ã‚  And shrill and wonderful clear:â€Å"I would gladly sell my secret,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Only my son I fear.â€Å"For life is a little matter,  Ã‚  Ã‚  And death is nought to the young;And I dare not sell my honour  Ã‚  Ã‚  Under the eye of my son.Take him, O king, and bind him,  Ã‚  Ã‚  And cast him far in the deep;And it’s I will tell the secret  Ã‚  Ã‚  That I have sworn to keep.†They took the son and bound him,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Neck and heels in a thong,And a lad took him and swung him,  Ã‚  Ã‚  And flung him far and strong,And the sea swallowed his body,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like that of a child of ten;- And there on the cliff stood the father,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Last of the dwarfish men. â€Å"True was the word I told you:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Only my son I feared;For I doubt the sapling courage  Ã‚  Ã‚  That goes without the beard.But now in vain is the torture,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fire shall never avail:Here dies in my bosom  Ã‚  Ã‚  The secret of Heather Ale.†

Symbolic interaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Symbolic interaction - Essay Example One should watch carefully and correlate it with the findings of earlier studies. Then it'll be possible to reach in new conclusions. For reaching the next stage the same exercise is to be repeated. In short, both reading and observation are inevitable in understanding mind. Discussions and meetings with experts in this field too will be of very great help as its common to all other studies. I've tried to explain much of my ideas on mind in the work "Mind, Self and Society". It may be helpful to get a basic idea about the role of mind in human life. In my view, an individual starts his understanding of the society of which he's a part, through "play" and "game". As far as a child is concerned everything it sees and experiences in the world from the time of birth onwards is new and afresh. When we think of a child's stages of development, first and foremost is nothing but "play". In a way, in almost all "plays" the child is trying is to imitate the "adults" in the society. For example, when it plays "Cops and Robbers" the child takes the role of both policeman and robber alternatively. Through this it understands the role of both cops and robbers in society. This in turn helps it to understand basically that man will have to play different roles in life. The child also understands the reason for different persons doing different jobs. "Game" helps child entirely in a dif ferent way. "Game" is more related with "the generalized other" concept. "The generalized other" concept tells of the character formation of a child when it remains part of a group. The group explained here may be anything like a football team, family, class or a meeting hall. These are actually social settings from where the child both knowingly and unknowingly feels that it's expected to behave in a particular way by others in the society. The child learns what others expect from it. While playing a game all players have to perform following the rules strictly. No point in explaining the importance of rules of a game to grown ups. But for a child, it's new information and an important step for joining the society. Later it finds that like the rules of games in the court, there are socially accepted ways in behaving in different situations. Here, I should say something of the "I" and "me" concepts. The "I" stands for one's own very personal views and concepts. It creates one's individuality. Thus it's important. At the same time "me" is related to "the generalized other" concept. "Me" is actually the understanding of "the generalized other" concept. Now, let me come to my views on the relationship between an individual's mind and social contacts. It's to be noted that an individual is the product of society. And the development of one's self depends on his social contacts. So for remaining as the member of society, what an individual should do is get involved deeply in different positions in it. Through this exercise one would catch the perspective of other persons and it'll make the individual self-conscious. In short, my concept is that individual mind can exist only with the happy co-existence and sharing of other minds. It should be noted that this concept remains to be the backbone of the theory of symbolic interaction. Of course, so many other thinkers had made enough value additions and further findings on this concept. Still this is a topic which is being studied and being revised accordingly, but only in tune with the basic concept. Highlights of

Sartre and Lacombe Lucien Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sartre and Lacombe Lucien - Essay Example The film breaks through these preconceptions by presenting a main character who in the course of the film attempts to join the resistance, works for the Gestapo, and, nearly accidentally defects. The character is presented as simple man. In fact, the simplicity of his character could be considered allegorical for the undereducated front line solider of the war, men barely more than boys who might otherwise have been simple farmers or tradesmen. Like these soldiers, Lucien Lacombe takes on a life that he did not choose, but also one that he does not fight, as if swept up in powers beyond his control. In The Republic of Silence, Sartre comments of being faced with choices in the face of death that â€Å"the choice that each of us made of his life and of his being was an authentic choice†, implying that human strength of resolve in the face of adversity is a choice more true to one’s self and thus to humanity as well (Liebling and Sartre 498). In another work, Satre sugges ts the a person should â€Å"seek within [oneself] an authentic impulse to action† (Blunden et al. 1).

Freedom and Responsibility of Parents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freedom and Responsibility of Parents - Essay Example In this story we have Patrick, the head of the family who brought untold miseries to his family by being an irresponsible parent. Patrick’s wife was very naà ¯ve and was carried away by all that Patrick told her and never once questioned his actions. In fact she thought that her husband was very handsome and genuine in his dealings with her. Patrick took advantage of the situation and never told his wife any details of how he earned his money. Patrick worked as an orderly at the hospital but stole a lot of drugs and sold them for a high price. Sometimes, he used to be away from home for days on end and when he returned usually brought a lot of money. His wife never questioned from where the money came but she happily spent her share without asking any questions. Their little son Davey was too small to understand what was going on between his parents. The drugs such as Valium and ludes were found all over the place and both parents took whatever they wanted and did not care ab out what happened after that. Soon Patrick got into deep trouble and was imprisoned and got a sentence of 25 years and Davey’s mother had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. She was in a rather bad shape and when at the hospital she said â€Å"They took me for a junkie and I guess I was really one too, though I hadn’t known it till that very day.† (Madison Smartt Bell) When she came out of hospital life was still hard as she had to run up and down between the prison and the house. Her son Davey was given away to the Bakers who looked after him with great care and love. Once a month his mother used to visit him and spend some time playing around with Davey. According to me this whole scene is unwarranted and a child who could have had a safe and healthy home was now penalized and was forced to live away from his family because of responsible parents. This pain and trauma could have been avoided had Davey been blessed with good parents.

Hunffington Posts review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hunffington Posts review - Essay Example This was a bit of a bold move considering the outcome AOL’s previous merger with Time Warner, which ended in disaster. It is not difficult to understand the reasons for it. AOL gets access to all of the HuffPost’s readers (i.e. customers) to sell its other products to and HuffPost gets the opportunity to be part of a major new media company. In the context of the newspaper industry, I feel that this merger has both a positive and a negative aspect. As a member of the ‘internet’ generation, I like to see innovation and change. The internet has truly democratized the exchange of information in a way that the printing press or the telephone could not, despite their historically meaningful contribution to the same. If AOL and HuffPost can become sustainably profitable, the new company will provide a model for what journalism and journalists need to do in the future in order to not only survive but actually thrive. That of course brings me to the negative side of the merger. The merger has occurred in an environment which has witnessed the near collapse of the newspaper industry (and the homologous printed book industry). As an avid reader of both books and newspapers, I do not find great pleasure in their disappearance. The printed word has been at the center of human cultural growth over the last few centuries . Personally I love the smell of old books and a freshly printed newspaper. That smell brings up memories of rainy afternoons spent devouring books and mornings spent watching my father read the paper before going to work. The idea that Kindles and websites will replace all that is displeasing and even frightening. You can touch paper. You cannot touch a computer-generated image. The Dewey-Lippman debate in some ways presaged the 21st evolution of the news media. Lippman once said that the â€Å"average American [reader]† is similar to the â€Å"deaf spectator in the back row† in that â€Å"[h]e does not

Nuclear Weapons Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Nuclear Weapons - Thesis Proposal Example In spite of the apprehensions that have been elevated about the nuclear weapons, those who are taking part in the creation and development of such weapons have stated that the weapons are not intended to disturb the world peace. They have argued that the project is important for their countries and should not be seen as steps towards destabilizing the world or causing unnecessary harm to the world populations. Some people have argued that the nuclear weapons pose no threat to the world and they should therefore not be destroyed and the countries that are involved in the creation and development of the nuclear weapons should be allowed to proceed with the projects (Mueller par 3). B. The public needs to be given information on the various perspectives of the nuclear weapons and also on the implications that devolvement and use of the weapons will have on their lives as well as the lives of the rest of the world population (Krieger 65) A. When countries are involved in the creation of nuclear weapons, other counties use it as an excuse to also develop their own nuclear weapons and this has led to the militarization of world countries (Bernstein 43) B. Others have however argued that the choice to engage in the creation of the weapons is something that is solely dependent on the administration of a country and is not influenced by the fact that others are engaging in it (Mueller para 4) D. Some, however, argue that the nuclear weapons are not the sole cause of cross-border diplomacy wars since such wars and relations issues exist even in areas where nuclear development and creation is not taking place.

Solar power Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Solar power - Research Paper Example The report also focuses on one more crucial aspect of solar power, i.e. the solar panels. It describes the three basic types of solar panels and specifies the details of the types of solar panels. It also focuses on the longevity and productivity of solar panels as well as analyzes on the cost benefit analysis of the solar panels in the short as well as the long run. Another key component of power and energy generation is charge controllers. The essay also elaborates the types of charge controllers for commercial as well as individual use. The essay also highlights the importance of AC generators as an alternate for power back up and analyzes their importance to individual as well as commercial users. It is evident from the analysis that solar energy has certainly become one of the most important and crucial sources of energy generation in the modern era. When compared with the other modes of power generation, it can be stated that solar energy system is definitely very low. Not only energy generated through solar power is highly cost-efficient and cost effective but it can certainly reap long term benefits for its users. Solar power is one of the most important and reliable sources of energy generation. Solar power is the process of capturing energy from radiant light and heat from the sun which is than harnessed using a variety of range of ever-evolving technologies which include solar heating, thermal electricity and also artificial photosynthesis.The process of power generation through solar technologies can be termed as active or passive solar and it all depends on the way the energy is captured, converted and finally distributed. Solar power is a significant and inexpensive source of electric power, in comparison with the grid power, because, the grid power is, not really convenient to use and also extremely costly to connect. Due to the

Nuclear Weapons Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Nuclear Weapons - Thesis Proposal Example In spite of the apprehensions that have been elevated about the nuclear weapons, those who are taking part in the creation and development of such weapons have stated that the weapons are not intended to disturb the world peace. They have argued that the project is important for their countries and should not be seen as steps towards destabilizing the world or causing unnecessary harm to the world populations. Some people have argued that the nuclear weapons pose no threat to the world and they should therefore not be destroyed and the countries that are involved in the creation and development of the nuclear weapons should be allowed to proceed with the projects (Mueller par 3). B. The public needs to be given information on the various perspectives of the nuclear weapons and also on the implications that devolvement and use of the weapons will have on their lives as well as the lives of the rest of the world population (Krieger 65) A. When countries are involved in the creation of nuclear weapons, other counties use it as an excuse to also develop their own nuclear weapons and this has led to the militarization of world countries (Bernstein 43) B. Others have however argued that the choice to engage in the creation of the weapons is something that is solely dependent on the administration of a country and is not influenced by the fact that others are engaging in it (Mueller para 4) D. Some, however, argue that the nuclear weapons are not the sole cause of cross-border diplomacy wars since such wars and relations issues exist even in areas where nuclear development and creation is not taking place.

Human Resources Functions Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Functions Essay Human resources or personnel function fulfils a number of needs. It is responsible for the hiring and firing of employees, for staff training and development, and for dealing with matters relating to industrial relations. In this report I will be analysing each of the functions related to human resource and then take one of them and make an in depth analysis of it. Once I collect the information I need regarding the responsibilities of the human resources and how they should be carried out, my next step will be to compare them with a medium or large size company to see how they carrying out the responsibilities and what alterations they have made to suit their particular needs. To do this I have chosen Tesco. Below I will briefly look at the four functions of human resource and how they affect Tesco: 1. Human Resource Planning Human resource planning can be defined as: The activity of management which is aimed at coordinating the requirements for and the availability of the different types of employee In simplicity, this means to make sure that the organisation has the right number of employees and of the right quality. For the human resource to achieve their targets they need to have a good understating of the labour market in the local area. When planning human resources Tesco need to take into account the following factors: a) Local employment trends Local employment trends tells Tesco about the levels of employment in the area and gives them a general idea of the type of jobs people are getting and the type of jobs that there are a shortage in. b) Local skills shortages Local skills shortages is an important aspect to Tescos human resource because it informs them about the lack of people with certain qualities in the local area. This is important as it can be used to compare against the Tescos skills criteria for new employees. If they are looking for certain skills from people and theses are not available then they will either need to compromise or look elsewhere. Also, if they know the general skills of the people then when they advertising for a job, it will reduce the chance of them asking for qualities which are absent in the people, which might keep very suitable people from applying and few applicants might mean that further advertisements are needed, costing time and money to Tesco. c) Competition for employees There may be very few people with top qualities willing to work for a company like Tesco. It would be in the best interest of Tesco to seek and take theses enthusiasts on board. If they dont, then other similar retailers will recruit them and then they will become rivals to Tesco. Competition for employees may even be on the lower skills end where there may be a shortage for cashiers, for example. Tesco will need to provide suitable incentives to attract these key people. One simple way in which to attract the mass of people is to increase their wage. This is not always the case due to the financial constraints on a business. d) Availability of labour Availability of labour is an important factor for Tesco. They need to make sure that they are aware of the quantity and quality of workers available when recruiting. This understanding will allow them to make right decision when employing people. If there are very few suitable candidates then they will have to choose someone amongst those. However, if there are many people suitable for the job then they can carry on with their search until they come across some one who fulfils all the requirements. It is important for Tesco to know the availability of workers in their locality as this will enable them to prepare and make back up plans for when there is a shortage of suitable people willing to work for Tesco. Human resource planning also involves looking at how labour is organised within a business. The factors that Tesco must take into account are as follows: a) Labour turnover This is about forecasting supply of labour. It asks the question how many employees will we have in the future? It therefore means looking at internal and external sources of labour. When Tesco is looking at the total supply of labour in its organisation it is important for them to look at labour turnover. Below is an example of one of many ways of working out employee turnover: This is sometime called the percentage waste rate. It tells Tesco what percentage of workforce left in a year. There are also other indexes which deal with stability, which give a good idea of how long employees are staying with the organisation. If employees are not staying very long in certain departments of Tesco, then this can be pinpointed and investigated. b) Sickness and accident rates A high level of sickness absence will affect the supply of labour very badly. If genuine then Tesco can do very little in the short term. If they are bogus then moral within honest workers will be low and confidence in managers can sink. There are many ways in which the human resource team can monitor performance against: o Performance in the previous year o Trends in other organisations in the same industrial sector o National sickness absence figures Accident rates can be lowered and kept to a minimum if health and safety guidelines are followed properly. c) Age, skills and training This is also known as stock taking. It asks the question what is the quantity and quality of staff available in the organisation? It uses the following techniques: o Job analysis involves gathering information about all employees. It collects information regarding their duties and skills required to fulfil those duties. o Skills audit is a survey of the skills, qualifications and experience of all existing staff. o Performance review involves looking at the performance of all employees in order to: o identify potential staff o identify where staff have more training needs This information will give an idea to the rest of the company about the skills and training of their employees. Weakness can be tackled using these information and strengths can be built upon. d) Succession This really only applies to employees at supervisor/line manager level and above. Succession planning enables the organisation to ensure that staff with potential to fill top jobs are given extra training or wider experience so that when the time comes they will be able to fill those positions. Without this type of planning Tesco would see good employees leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. This will make it harder for Tesco to fill gaps at a later date. Conclusion on Human Resource Planning Humans are the most important resource to Tesco and they will need to make sure that they plan properly to ensure that they employee the best people who are best suited to the job. This will ensure they have an advantage over their rivals, as rivals can copy products but not staff. 2. Recruitment and Selection Tesco recruit staff for a number of reasons. Initial recruiting is needed when a new store opens and after that there will be a constant need for recruiting due to the changing needs of Tesco and the needs of he employees. o The growth of Tesco is usually seen with the opening of new stores. The opening of stores means that they need to recruit so that the employees can run the store. o Changing job roles within the business o Resignation, retirement, dismissal also means that recruitment needs to take place in order to replace these workers and keep the business running as before o Internal promotion means that new recruits are needed when existing employees are being promoted to higher positions, which leads to vacancies which can be filled by internal candidates. Promotion usually means that there are now gaps at the lower skill level in the store and this creates jobs for external candidates with less experience. Extra costs are always frowned upon by businesses and recruitment, if not properly done can cost a business a lot of money and time. This means that it is very important for a business to recruit accurately and this will mean that the recruiting team have a clear idea of what sort of person the business is looking for and what is expected from them. The team can save the business money and time by: o Preparing person specifications and job description which clearly outline what kind of person they are looking for and with what qualifications. The job description will clearly linked with what they are expected to do once recruited and what is expected of them. o Carefully planning how, when and where to advertise as this will save time and money for Tesco. Tesco need to weigh out the costs and benefits of different methods of advertising (e.g. using internet or the local newspaper), when the best time for advertising is (in the summer holidays or beginning of the school year) and where to advertise (e.g. in the stores or at the job centre). o Identifying the strengths and weakness of job applications, curriculum vitae and letters of application. The recruiting team will need to be very experienced at electing candidates. Their experience in recruiting will be reflected in the quality of candidates they recruit. o Short-listing candidates involves selecting a small number of applicants for the next stage. This may well be training or more tasks to lower the number of people for the next stage. This selecting will carry on until the right numbers of candidates are found with the desired quality. The recruiting team need to be able to distinguish easily the strong applicants from the weak as there may be hundreds of applicants. When recruiting every applicant deserves and expects the same opportunity as their rivals. There are many legal and ethnic responsibilities relating to equal opportunities which Tesco must uphold so that they dont break the government law and trust of the public. Below are a few acts passed by the government which will govern the recruiting method and process. o Equal Pay Act 1970, requires employers to pay same rate of pay to men and women if they are doing the same job. o Sex Discrimination Act 1975 states that employers may not discriminate on grounds of gender. This act makes it illegal to discriminate against a particular sex when: o Advertising to fill jobs available o Appointing employees for those jobs o Promoting staff into better jobs o Determining the terms and conditions of the ob o When offering employees opportunities for training and development There are Exceptions to this act where this act does not apply. However, these exceptions do not apply to Tesco and this means that the whole act is to be followed by Tesco. o Race Relations Act 1976 makes discrimination on grounds of race illegal in the same areas as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, i.e. advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits. Again there are exceptions which do not apply to Tesco which means the whole act is to be followed by Tesco. o Disability Discrimination Act 1995 updates the protection for disabled persons and places it onto a similar basis as for other forms of discrimination. Key aspects of the Act warn against discriminating when advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits. It also states that reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that a disabled person can work on the premises. This act does not cover organisations employing fewer than 20 people. It is therefore correct to say that this act is to be followed closely by Tesco as their employees number thousands. However, Tesco only have to do what is reasonable. If modifications are very expensive then this would be deemed unreasonable. There is some government financial assistance available for modifications to buildings. To ensure that only suitable candidates are chosen and to make the selecting process easier and less time consuming, there are testing method and techniques available to the recruiting team. Aptitude tests It has become increasingly common for employers to expect job applicants to carry out tests to give a fuller picture of their ability to do the job applied for. They are appropriate or manual work where there is some skill involved and also for office work. These types of tests are appropriate for Tesco to use as they will allow them to find out more about the applicant before selecting and will allow the applicants to show their full potential. Psychometric tests These types of test assess the intelligence and personality of applicants. They are much more sophisticated then aptitude tests and Tesco must have properly trained staff to carry out and analyse the tests. The producers of such test argue that they are unbiased and that they can sow, for example, if a candidate would work well in a team. Human resources department must have good interviewing techniques and the interviews must adopt these methods and techniques when interviewing to ensure they reach out comes in the best interest of Tesco and its entire staff. Tesco must make sure that recruiters are aware of all the criteria for evaluating the recruitment process and must ensure that all the guidelines and methods are followed carefully. Many employers now use their employees in a flexible way so that they can get the most value form them. Tesco must understand the importance of recruiting and maintaining a flexible workforce if they are to remain competitive. There are different bases for recruiting people for a flexible workforce, and below I have mentioned a few: o Different modes of employment o Different terms and conditions Just as methods of working have changed, so have the terms and conditions under which people are employed. People may be employed full-time or part-time under a number of contractual arrangements. o Core employees are highly paid workers who offer firm-specific skills which are hard to acquire form anywhere else. Often such skills will have been acquired within the organisation itself. They provide functional flexibility because they do a range of tasks. Because they are so firm-specific they have high job security. o Part-time, temporary and contract labour Sometimes temporary staff are required for short periods of time either to replace employees who are absent or to help out in busy times. When labour is plentiful the short-term contract enables firms to meet present staffing needs without making a long-term contract. Tesco use this type of recruitment when there is a shortage of staff or when there s a busy period (e.g. Christmas) which demands more assistants in the shop floor. Conclusion on Recruitment and Selection Tesco must ensure that their recruiting team is the properly qualified as a good team will lead to good recruits. Tesco must ensure that they use the best and fair methods suited to their environment to select the right candidates. This will ensure the best people are working for them to create the top company. 3. Training and Development A general definition of training is: the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills which can be applied to a particular job Training can be divided into two main categories: on the job training or off the job training. on the job training This means that the employees acquire their training or development in the workplace itself. An example of this in Tesco is when they recruit a school leaver who has little work experience. One of the supervisors will show the new recruit what they have to carry out and may show them how this is done. off the job training This means attending courses which may be in a collage or training centre away from the work place. This usually applies when there are insufficient facilities or people to train the trainees. Tesco may want its entire senior staff to have a high degree of understanding in health and safety and for this they may send their seniors to a course where they would acquire this knowledge from experts. Induction This is an introduction to the organisation for new employees. It is designed to familiarise new recruits with the organisation, its rules, facilities, policies and key staff. Usually an introductory pack containing the main details will be provided. In Tesco this would be carried out once a recruit starts working or when they are being promoted and new responsibilities are put on them. The induction is very important to both Tesco and their new employee. Tesco need to ensue that they give the best possible start to the recruit and the employee needs to be satisfied that this it is in their best interest to work for Tesco. Tesco will also get their first impression of their recruit so this stage is important for Tesco. Mentoring This can take a number of forms. It may involve an experienced member of staff supporting a new recruit through initial stages after joining the organisation. The aim is to give a new member of staff a point of contact where problems can be taken and advice given. The meetings are usually informal and supportive and the mentor is often someone at the same level in the organisation as the new recruit. Mentoring will allow the new member to pick up new ideas quickly and will be more beneficial for the company. Coaching Coaching is a term which is becoming increasingly used in association with training in business. It involves an expert helping employees to develop specific skills through explanation, practice and encouragement. Coaching is becoming popular as a means of developing the skills of senior managers. This is important as it targets employees at the higher end of the chart. Their success will be passed on to the juniors and this will mean that better managers will mean better staff. Apprenticeships Traditionally, an apprenticeship involved a trainee working for a period of time with a craftsperson in order to learn a trade. In-house raining This is where employers run courses inside their own organisation. Courses run in house will be ones where it is impractical and unrealistic to offer any other alternative an oblivious example would be the organisation induction programme. This type of training is very useful to Tesco because this means that they can easily gather all their employees and teach them new methods or make them aware of surrounding situations. This will give them advantage over rivals as it will mean that all their staff are always up-to date with the latest knowledge, skills and methods. External training Sometimes it is necessary to send staff to do courses elsewhere. This may be at a factory of a n equipment supplier (when an organisation buys new equipment the supplier will usually run training programmes at its own factory to get employees accustomed to using it). This type of training will make the employees more efficient as they wont be wasting valuable time on the shop floor trying to figure out what certain buttons on a machine do. Transferable skills These are skills that, once learnt, may be applied in many different situations. The key skills of Application of Number, Communication and Information Technology are transferable. This could be for example cashing up the till. Non-transferable skills These are narrow skills that are job specific; they apply only to a particular situation. This for example could be the procedure of dealing with out of date food. Conclusion on Training and Development Knowledge and skills of staff are vital to the success of Tesco. Therefore, they must ensure their employees are best trained and that they are always developing. 4. Performance Management A business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish to: o Identify areas which are unsatisfactory o It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developed o It may wish to encourage and reward good performance perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases. Performance management refers to the practice of setting targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action. A number of methods may be used to check performance the choice will depend upon the business in question. Performance reviews including appraisals An increasingly important way of getting feedback on employee performance is through appraisal. Appraisal may be closed, in which case the report remains confidential. More usually the process is open, in which case the appraisee takes an active part in the review process and discusses the results. The appraisal essentially looks at what an employees job is, how well it is being performed, and what action should be taken for the future. Self-appraisals Self-appraisals involves employees assessing themselves against a series of criteria. These results can then Peer evaluations This involves employees on the same level within the organisation assessing each other. This may mean that managers in different of Tesco observe each others and write a report. Target setting for individuals and groups All employees should know just whats expected of them on the job. When setting targets the Human Resources department for Tesco must make sure that their targets meet these criteria: o They should be specific. Every person doing a job should know exactly what he or she is expected to do. o They should be measurable. Tesco should have a touchstone against which performance can be measured. o They must be attainable. Unless the targets can be met, staff will consider them unfair and Tesco may find that their staff, resist working towards them. Measuring individual and group output/production Tesco employ staff in order to help the organisation sell the products and provide its customers with quality service. The efforts of the human resources managers will be towards improving the performance of employees and thereby enabling the organisation to achieve its objectives. Performance can be measured in a number of ways: o Performance through profit This may mean comparing its profit for different years or against its other stores. o Performance through quality Today, quality is a word used in all organisations, those providing services as well as those providing goods. This means that Tesco can use methods such as suggestion box for customers to praise customer service or to make complaints against staff. This will enable management to work with the employee in question or to reward them. o Performance through productivity In Tesco, sales representatives, for example, keep records of sales they make. Tesco can for example, compare two staff at the checkouts working the same shifts to see how fast they are serving the customers, by analysing how many customers they have served. They can use this to determine training needs. After setting these performances, the staff will be monitored and their results analysed. In order for Tesco to prosper amongst their rivals they must use the performance results as a way to find and solve problems. For example, the results may show that a particular employee or a group of employee lack certain aspects of knowledge in their jobs. Using this information Tesco can target these employees and send them on training programmes so that they are more developed. Motivation It may seem obvious that staff should be motivated; however, from the point of human resources management this is only true if motivation leads to improvements in the work. Over the years a number of management theories have been put forward in an attempt to explain the nature of motivation and suggest ways in which it may be improved. Frederick Taylors principles of scientific management Taylors belief was that complex tasks should be broken into separate operations so that little could go wrong. Each operation would be performed by a separate employee. The whole job could then be completed in a series of stages by a number of employees working together. This theory can be seen if one aspect of Tesco is looked in to detail. For example, when a delivery comes one employee doesnt unload the truck, check them off, and put them on the shelves. This process of getting goods from the truck on to the shop floor is done by a number of employees working in team so that once one stage is completed the second can be tackled by another set of employees. This way each set of employees knows exactly what they are required to do and chance of something going wrong is decreased. Fredrick Herzbergs two factor theory Herzbergs theories, produced in the 1950s, concern job design and satisfaction. From numerous interviews with accountants and engineers he concluded that two sets of factors are important. o Hygiene factors, which include reasonable pay, satisfactory conditions of work and benefits such as sick pay. o Motivators, which include responsibility, challenge and self-improvement. Hertzberg believed that properly designed jobs provide satisfaction and personal development for the employee. The workers become motivated, perform well and are less likely to be absent. To Tesco this theory is very important. They have taken advice from such theory and adapted their policies where possible to suit their employees. Tesco pay competitive rates, their working conditions are of top quality and they have many benefits. These are a result of understanding this theory and implementing them so that they get the desired results that all companies want. Abraham Maslows hierarch of needs Maslow developed his Theory of Human Motivation in 1943. He believed that motivation comes from a desire to satisfy needs. He placed these in a hierarchy with the basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid and higher needs at the top. In practice Maslow accepted that a variety of needs will exist at the same time, but suggested that once lower needs are satisfied then higher needs become the strongest motivators. Maslows theory has the same basis of Fredrick Herzbergss two factor theory because they both argue that what satisfies a person is the hygiene factors and the Motivators. Fredrick just says that a combination of these two factors leads to better performance where are Maslow goes further to say that they come in a set order where once basic needs are satisfied, higher, more complicated desires will be sought. Both Maslow and Fredrick speak of the same requirements in their theory. Evidence of both these theories can be seen in the day to day running of one of the Tesco stores. One such examples is the promotion of senior managers to managerial positions. In this instance the desire of the employee in question has been fulfilled and soon their desire will advance and they may start looking for further responsibility. Douglas McGregors Theory X and Y. In his book , The Human Side of Enterprise, he put forward two extreme views about the way in which organisations manage their employees. He called theses Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X states that all employees are lazy unambitious and dislike extra responsibilities. They will always resist change of any kind and are totally uninterested in the future success or otherwise of their employer. They are not interested in how the organisation works and prefer to be told what to do. Theory Y is exactly the opposite. Employees are interested in their work and want to be asked for their opinions on how to improve things. They want to be given more responsibilities and will naturally work hard without having to be told what to do all the time. They are also prepared to accept change because they understand it is in everyones best interest to move with the times. In practice theses views are extreme ends of the scale and Tesco like most other organisations falls between the two. They have both employees who have the characteristics of theory X as well as employees with characteristics of theory Y. Naturally the more characteristics an employee holds of theory Y the more likely that that person will be promoted to higher, more responsible positions as its in the best interest for Tesco to make theroy Y employees managers key workers. One reason is that theory Y employees are more likely to have better attendance and punctuality rates because they are self motivating, and this is a great advantage to Tesco and will help Tesco move further. McGregors theories are similar to Muslows and Fredrick Herzbergs. They are all closely related because they all base their theories on the same principle of desire. All their theories show that if a person desires for something and the condition is right then they will work towards it with all their effort. For example, if their s a managerial position and they have the ability to grasp that position then they will, but only if they have the desire to take such responsibility. If however, the conditions are right but the desire is absent then they may not try for such a position or may be promoted with no desire which could lead to chaos. On the other hand, if there is an employee with the desire and no opening is in sight then he/she may decide that the best option for them is to move to another company. Therefore, Tesco endeavours to provide eager, hardworking employees the benefits and promotions they rightly deserve. Relationship between Training Development and Performance Management Before Tesco can give its staff advance training it needs to know what they lack. It will be very expensive for Tesco to give training to its entire staff regarding all the different aspects of the company. Therefore Tesco needs a way of knowing what their staffs lack knowledge in and which staff or group of staff in particular. As I have mentioned earlier there are many different ways of finding out the training is needs and there is a variety of training programs to suit the needs of the employees. Tesco will set training according to the needs which arise from the performance reviews. Once training is given another performance review will be done to asses its success and further training may be suggested. This cycle of training and reviews will always be part of any company due to advances in technology and constant changes in employees and the attitude of society. The training methods Tesco decide to use and they way in which they review performance will be according to the way in which the person in charge understands and evaluates the A business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish to: o Identify areas which are unsatisfactory o It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developed o It may wish to encourage and reward good performance perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases. Performance management refers to the practice of setting targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action. Conclusion on Performance Management Tesco must ensure that performance of staff are at their very best. They must use suitable methods to find weakness in staff and improve. T succeed they must make certain that the correct attitude is always emanating from their employees and that they are ready for change. Quality of information collected from recruitment documents When Tesco are recruiting people they have set procedures to deal with application forms and there are several key recruitment documents that are used by them to evaluate the quality of the person applying. Before any candidate is given the an interview they must pass the selection process. When Tesco are advertising for a recruit they will provide the person with a job description. A job description lists the main tasks required in a job. The person flicking through the newspaper for example, will decide if the tasks suit them and they will then apply if they do. Along with the Job description, Tesco will also provide what is known as a person specification. This sets out the qualities of an ideal candidate whereas a job description defines the duties and responsibilities of the job. The best-known method of drawing up person specification is based upon seven separate groups of characteristic: 1. Physique, health and appearance 2. Attainments 3. General intelligence 4. Special Aptitudes 5. Interests 6. Disposition 7. Circumstances This specification clearly sets out the description of the ideal candidate and applicants can be easily measured against this. This makes the job of the interviewer much easier and will ensure that Tesco are recruiting the right people for the right job. One a person has seen the advertisement and they want to work at Tesco, there are many ways they can apply. Below I will list them and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each: The curriculum vitae (CV) This is the most common way in which applicants let Tesco know that they are interested to work in Tesco. CVs are very useful to Tesco as they advantages Provides an overview of the applicant Easy to produce Taught at school Can be used in the selection process Can be used to compare against requirements disadvantages May not provide vital information Not everybody has easy access to computers The letter of application This is simply a letter asking for the job and explaining why they are suitable it. Human Resources department staff may need to read hundreds of application letters so it is in the applicants interests to pay attention to doing it properly. advantages o Can be used in the sorting process o Provides an overview of the applicant disadvantages o The person taught to write letters well at school will stand out even though their other qualities might no be so good o The letter may miss out information, which is important, and conversely is likely to dwell on factors, which make them look a more attractive applicant. The application Form This is a far more commonly used method of selection. Consultants devote hours to designing a new and better forms which will extract even more accurate information from people. advantages o Specific requirements from the job and person specification can be compared with the application form o Questions, which might otherwise not be answered in CVs or letters, can be asked. o The form can act as a framework for the interviewer, making the interview easier to conduct. o Forms can be kept of all short listed candidates and drawn on them again if another vacancy arises. o The form for the successful applicant will become a very useful part of his/hers personal records. disadvantages o Costly to design and produce. The effects of I.C.T on recruitment documents The advance of I.C.T means that companies like Tecso use their web site to advertise jobs. They also have online application forms that will appeal to a wider range of audience. Their website also facilitates for C.Vs to be sent directly to Tesco. The new ways of capturing information is a great advantage to Tesco. They receive application forms and C.Vs within minutes, which saves them time and money. However initial costs of setting up the websites are very high, but the Human Resources Department doesnt have to worry about this because Tesco will have a website whether the Human Resource department want to use it or not.

The Art Of Seduction And Notting Hill Film Studies Essay

The Art Of Seduction And Notting Hill Film Studies Essay The film The Art of Seduction is one of the well-known Korean romantic comedy films and was made in 2004 by Ki-Hwan Oh who is one of famous and influential film makers in Korea and also made Someone Behind You (2007) and Ogamdo(2009) . It is a film version of a book called The Art of Seduction and it is said to be everyones must-see film in order to understand the reality of relationships between men and women in todays lives. There are two protagonists in this movie is Ji-Won (Ye-Jin Son, a South Korean actress who got the best actress awards more than ten times in Korean Film Festivals and now one of top ten Korean stars), a fiercely pretty girl who always has had any guys that she wants. The other is Min-Jun (Il-Gook Song, one of popular Korean actors, who is the son of a Korean actress and a member of Korean parliament Kim-Eul Dong), a successful architect, and attractive young gentleman. Both of them have their own rules for 100% success in any dates. Ji-Won follows her own dating rules, she makes a fake car accident to get Min-Juns attention and approaches him successfully. However, although both are very attracted to each other at first sight, they start a game which seduces each other using their own rules. What intrigues Ji-Won is that Min-Jun does not act the same as guys who always fall for her charm. Min-Jun also thinks Ji-Won is the perfect match and ideal type of woman for him but never shows his true feelings. They are both veteran players in the game of love but finally they fall in love with each other. It is interesting to see that the movie does not end with the two protagonists becoming boyfriend or girlfriend, they appreciate each others expertness and go for a new game of love. Notting Hill overview Notting Hill is a British romantic film which was produced by Roger Michell who also directed Changing Lanes (2002) and The Mother (2003) in 1999. William Thacker (played by Hugh Grant) is a bookseller in Notting Hill district in West London and shares his house with his Welsh friend, Spike (Rhys Ifans). Every mans dream comes true when Anna Scott (played by Julia Roberts), the worlds most famous and beautiful American actress who is in London working on a film, enters his travel bookshop. She buys one book from William and their relationship would end here if William did not go out for another cup of orange juice a few minutes later. He bumps in to her and spills orange juice over her top. William offers to clean up at his place which is very nearby and Anna agrees since he looks harmless. Anna thanks William and gives him a kiss, which surprises her even more than him. They eventually get to know each other better but they find it difficult to be together as Anna is the worlds well-known star. They get on fairly well with each other just before her American actor boyfriend flies to London to see her. Anna, one day, comes to William for help, she is upset because of harsh press and needs calm and comfort. Once again, being together with someone who is the worlds most wanted is definitely not easy. Williams close friends arrange dates for him, helping him to forget about Anna Scott and move on. After months, Anna visits his travel bookshop with little gift, asking to love her again but William replies to her with an answer no. He thinks what he said to her was the right answer and tells his friends who are shocked to hear the story and tell him to get her back before it is too late. William and his friends run into where Anna is having the last interview in London before she flies back to America. William pretends to be a journalist and asks her ques tions about their relationship and whether she will forgive him and give another chance for their love. Anna says yes with a big happy smile and the movie ends with their successful romance. Textual Analysis Both films The Art of Seduction and Notting hill are made in contemporary background and the two films are set in urban area. However, when looking at the main male and female characters in these films, there are some differences in character settings except the fact that male characters are heterosexual. Min-Jun, the male protagonist, is a successful architect in his 30s and he seems to have grown up in a high social family. It is shown by his father being a playboy and having many young women around him all the time not because of his charm but his money. Min-Jun in the film is described as handsome, rich, smart and fashionable. The main female character, Ji-Won, is also a successful fund manager and her character is what Korean womens image is all about, she is portrayed as independent, assertive and perfect face and body. The main male character in Notting Hill, William Thacker, is a divorced middle-aged bookseller in West London. He is portrayed as normal, little boring and incapable and he does not belong to high social class. Anna Scott, the female protagonist in the film, is one of the top actresses in the world, portrayed as rich, attractive and every mans dream. There are differences in constructing masculinity between the two films and the next section will look at different aspects of masculinity other than the character settings. Physique As Min-Jun appears to be rich, attractive and smart, he cares a lot about his clothes and fashion accessories which women used to care more than men in the past. It is called Metro sexual which was born in Europe with increasing male diversity and Min-Jun is also one of metro sexual men who is interested in fashion and invest money and time for himself. (à ­Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‹Å"à ªÃ‚ ±Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¬Ã‹Å" ¤Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¬- Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ ¹Ã‹Å" à «Ã…’â‚ ¬Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬, à ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã…“à ªÃ‚ ²Ã‚ ½Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤, www.kbizweek.com: 20 feb 2010) He goes for gentle, sophisticated and chic style of clothing and the suits he wears are mostly from DolceGabanna, Givenchy and Yohji Yamamoto. What is more, when women are obsessed with bags and believe that which brand or how much their bag costs shows the standard of living and lifestyle, men believe nice watches and shoes make them feel confident. Min-Jun also sells his precious watch, which costs over  ¿Ã‚ ¡3500 by Gio Monaco, in return for a fabulous night with Ji-Won. Not only has he cared about outfits, but he is also enthusiastic about his lifestyle and appearance. Min-Jun is confident about his looking but when he was asked to attend charity evening, specifically called Slave date auction, by Ji-Won, he determined to get fit by taking lots of exercise at gym. His aim to get a masculine body is successful and he waits to appeal his masculinity to Ji-Won but suddenly loses his confidence as soon as he finds out other participants with more masculine bodybuilder body. Since the beginning of 2000, a variety of mens types have positioned them as they are and it has become their competitive differentiations. (à ­Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‹Å"à ªÃ‚ ±Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¬Ã‹Å" ¤Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¬- Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ ¹Ã‹Å" à «Ã…’â‚ ¬Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬, à ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã…“à ªÃ‚ ²Ã‚ ½Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤, www.kbizweek.com: 20 feb 2010) His enthusiasm about appearance applies to female counterpart. Plastic surgery is very popular among women in Korea and men looking for perfect-looking, which includes big eyes, small face and skinny body, can be one of the reasons why women get this surgery done. Sometimes men judge women by their appearances more than personalities and it is shown by Min-Jun thinking Ji-Won can be a perfect match for him a minute after looking at her outfits and appearance. Additionally, Min-Jun is looked as a sexual object by women. The film The Art of Seduction starts with him seducing a female psychiatrist by unbuttoning his shirt slowly and at the same time appealing his sexuality to her. Ji-Won, like Min-Jun, is assertive about her appearance. She attracts attention from many guys with her exceptional prettiness and her occupation as a successful private banker is a plus element in consisting of her charm. Unlike the male protagonist, Ji-Won tends to wear clothes in conservative style, but still shows her S-shaped body line. William in Notting Hill is rather very ordinary type of a British man who usually goes for classic and casual style of clothes, which perhaps match his occupation as a bookseller. Not only William does not take regular exercise to get fit, but also he does not seem to care too much about his appearance or his outfits and it is shown by a scene where he goes out to the cinema with Anna Scott. He looks for his glasses all over his house and realises he is likely to be late, he decides to take another option, swim-goggles. It looks funny that he wears swim-goggles while watching a movie but also shows that he prioritises practicality rather than obsession in styling. What is more, he seems lack of self-confidence and it is probably due to his social status compared to Anna and previous marriage failure which should have changed his lifestyle a lot. William is portrayed as heart broken and fragile and it definitely is opposed to Min-Jun who is always confident about himself. However, Anna, a big world star, slowly attracted by William who could have been just a guy who sold her a travel book while she was in London. Anna even has a boyfriend back in America and she has much higher standard of living compared to Williams. She is portrayed as independent and perfect looking to the public but no one except William truly understands her feelings or emotions. Although William is not what we call manly type of guy or an assertive and smart guy, he instead has true heart and naÃÆ' ¯ve personality which may be another important element to become a real man. Personality There are clear differences in which the two main characters behave and treat their female counterparts. Firstly, what Min-Jun does is all studied beforehand. His aims are to seduce and win over the woman who he thinks is the perfect match for him, though not necessarily as his girlfriend. Therefore, he does not show his true feelings about her at the beginning and pretend he has not set up anything in his mind. In fact, the main male character is a type of true carers and it is shown by many scenes in the film. For instance, he says to Ji-Won Yesterday, you were so out of wits so I have asked the doctor to take care of you. It was surprising for her because she crashed into his car and he should have been the one who needed to see if he were hurt. What is more, all of Min-Jun and Ji-Wons credits cards suspended by jealous Do-Chul who has loved Ji-Won for a long time and always gets rejected by her. They decide to stay in a Motel and Ji-Won starts complaining about its condition and dirtiness. Min-Jun lies to her that he will go to restroom and he goes out to a pawnshop to sell his expensive watch to get money for dinner and hotel room. Since he has much self-respect, he never says he feels ill all after running in the rain so many times at night in order to satisfy Ji-Won. He actually is a carer and nurturer but does not show his genuine personality to win her. This contradictory personality is what Korean women these days, especially younger generation prefers than nice and good guys. Though macho man has been the most classic and representative masculinity, macho man in 2009 is far from its perceptions that he is patriarchal and male superior but he is sexually attractive and what we call a real great man (à ­Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‹Å"à ªÃ‚ ±Ã‚ ´Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¬Ã‹Å" ¤Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¬- Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ ¹Ã‹Å" à «Ã…’â‚ ¬Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬, à ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã…“à ªÃ‚ ²Ã‚ ½Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ¬Ã…  Ã‚ ¤, www.kbizweek.com: 20 feb 2010) Limiting expression their feelings and one step forward and two steps back date rule makes guys attractive. What the male character does impresses women as they do not expect a lot in the beginning. Min-Jun is gentle and smart and can be a bad boy to those women who he thinks do not deserve him at all. It applies the same to the female character in the film The Art of Seduction. Men usually act more bravely than women and Ji-Won is portrayed as the god of innocence which most of Korean women would become when dating with men. When there is a date for dinner, she hardly eats and says I am full already. She never shows her true feelings to Min-Jun because she strongly believes herself that she will lose out as soon as he senses that she likes him. How she behaves and talks to whom she likes is one of the typical characteristics of Korean women although it has been changing slowly by younger generation who respects honesty and are braver when dating with men. William Thacker, on the other hand, has the characteristics which are opposed to Min-Jun. He is nice, gentle and truthful although these can be seen as quite unattractive and boring to some women. William and Annas relationship begins when he offers to clean her clothes at his place and he continues to offer drinks and food to her. Everything he does to her is not studied at all but it might be due to the fact that Anna is a famous world star who is an unrealistic woman for him. What is more, even when she confesses him saying Im just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her, he could not have believed his ears. Women in Korea used to fall for nice and truthful guys and their preference changed to more bad boy type of men. It does not mean Williams character was not popular among them when the movie came out; his English gentleness is special and it is what they have not seen in Korean men. William, at first, was scared of showing his true feelings to Anna but as their relationship grows he is no longer shy and becomes more brave. He goes out with Anna for dinner and hears people talking and laughing about her rumours and gossips. Since they are having dinner in public place, he tries to ignore them but becomes intolerable. He asks them to stop talking about her because he wants to protect her from getting hurt by a bunch of stupid people. The main male character appears to be nice, shy and sometimes dull, he is still a man who is not scared of protecting a woman and shows he does care about her. Anna Scott, the female counterpart of William, is more assertive about her and has much self-respect than him. She is tired of too much attention in her private life and relationship she has had in the past. However, she is, unlike Ji-Won in The Art of Seduction, not afraid of showing her feelings and an enthusiastic attitude to her male counterpart. Anna is brave enough to tell William that she loves him whereas Ji-Won waits for Min-Jun to say it first. Gender Roles There have been stereotypes of gender roles in our society, especially in Korea, men are still conservative about what they do or women do at home. Young students are conservative in their views on gender roles, often copycatting their fathers viewpoint and they stuck to the patriarchal system. (Kwon Mee-yoo, Staff Reporter, www.koreatimes.co.kr 20 feb 2010) Min-Jun breaks the conventional gender roles by showing domestic side of him such as his exceptional cooking skills to Ji-Won. What is more, he feels more attracted to independent career women such as his ex-girlfriend, a psychiatrist, rather than those who become financially dependant on their boyfriends because they have no intellectual ability. He is not embarrassed to show Ji-Won that he is interested in cooking or making tea at home. On the other hand, even though both of them have similar standard of living, he always want to look powerful and strong to her. As a man, he protects Ji-Won while they are in Jeju Island, trying to satisfy everything she needs or wants by whatever the methods he can do. The female counterpart represents an ideal woman in our modern society, being confident and enjoying a decent lifestyle. Though there still exists the ethnic stereotype, the percentage of working women has been increasing in Korea, especially as a consequence of more and more parents letting their children study aboard. This phenomenon is to break the traditional gender roles, especially of women and give them an opportunity to become independent and intellectual so that they can realise their career in the future. Gender roles are slightly different when it comes to William and Anna; it is less conventional and conservative. He is still a man protecting his love from agony and distress by letting her stay at his house even after she let him down. Shelter and protection that he offers show his male dominance. It is certainly differentiated from being patriarchal; it is a facet of a great man. Nevertheless, she is more in control of their relationship and acts in a way that she wants. It is due to a difference in their social status and of course William thinks it is surreal for him to meet such a beautiful world actress. Men are usually more brave when they approach to women who they are interested in but he is rather afraid and gets more emotional than her. Despite Annas dominance in relationship, she also shows feminine side of her such as making breakfast for him. In England their county has had a Queen that has political influence. The election and repeated re-election of Margaret Thatcher as prime mister show Englands desire to have people in leadership role according to ability and not gender. (Trey Hill, http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/10251/e08hill.htm 20 feb 2010) It means that people in England do accept women can also be in powerful position. Masculinity Index by Geert Hofstede It is one of Cultural Dimensions by Hofstede, looking at the degree to which masculine values like competitiveness and the acquisition of wealth are valued over feminine values like relationship building and quality of life. (http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/masculinity.html, 22 feb 2010) It indicates the distribution of gender roles in a society and it can be masculinity versus femininity. (Geert Hofstede, http://www.geert-hofstede.com, 22 feb 2010) Korea MAS=39 (Feminine) .  In life the main priorities are the family, relationships and quality of life .  Conflicts should ideally be solved through negotiation .  Men and women should share equal positions in society .  Professionals work to live, meaning longer vacations and flexible working hours UK MAS=66 (Masculine) .  Lifes priorities are achievement, wealth and expansion .  It is acceptable to settle conflicts through aggressive means .  Women and men have different roles in society .  professionals often live to work, meaning longer work hours and short vacations http://www.kbizweek.com/cp/view.asp?vol_no=702art_no=31sec_cd=1037 date accessed: 20 feb 2010 http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/11/117_55813.html date accessed: 20 feb 2010 http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/10251/e08hill.htm date accessed: 20 feb 2010 http://www.geert-hofstede.com Geert Hofstede date accessed: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/masculinity.html 22 feb 2010