Thursday, October 31, 2019

Product use for a resendential application Essay

Product use for a resendential application - Essay Example Vinyl flooring has become very popular because of its durability and quality. They create a stylish and long-lasting beauty for every constructor that uses them in polishing up a floor. Being a tile, vinyl gives its clients a variety of options on the number of ways it can be laid down. The tiles can be custom cut in different shapes to form variety of patterns and designs depending on what the constructor wishes to have. Because of this flexibility, any look can be attained in setting up the design of the floor (Kapsin, 1). The different colours that the tiles are available in make it possible for the flooring to suit any room decor. Vinyl flooring has been known for its resilience. The flooring cuts down on the level of noises in the room and also gives a lot of comfort underfoot. Their resilience, compared to other floors such as terrazzo or wood, gives the vinyl floors an edge and makes it the most preferred choice for the customers. Other than being resilient, the vinyl floors are actually very durable. Even when subjected under a lot of heavy foot traffic and loads, the floor still maintains its beauty. It is resistant to moisture and stains, which give it an upper hand when it comes to handling of spills on the floors (Vinylflooring.com, 1). Thus, it gives the owner of the apartment a polished and outstanding look over a long period of time. When it comes to health issues the vinyl floor offer a great deal on this. The floors are designed to basically be slip resistance. Vinyl floors are enhanced with the slip-retardant surfaces to make them less slippery and avoid accidents (Kapsin, 1). The floor is also very easy to clean without causing the spread of germs, such as mold, all over the apartment. Vacuum cleaners clean the vinyl floors very easily. Vinyl floors are very economical. They are easy to install and maintain as they do not require frequent upgrading. Most of the other flooring options such as wood always

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The part of the film Essay Example for Free

The part of the film Essay In the opening scene of the film there is an important camera shot going on, a point of view shot of a creature flying over the water, which eventually leads into a and if you listen very carefully you can hear a drum beat that could relate to a heart beat, this could make the audience become jumpy or scared because it could make them feel as if they were there. That camera shot is effective because it begins to involve the audience. The camera shot continues over the water and up until you have a point of view of Santa Carla and the rides, because it is night time have is a slight horror element because most villains and monsters get their prey at night. Straight after that we go into a close up of David and his gang and the people he fights with on the carousal, this is when we get our first glance of who David is and makes the audience ask questions like, Is that the vampire? When David attacks the man on the carousel we get to see what he is going to be like throughout the film. In the camera shot after this we can hear flapping and laughing of the creatures suggesting that it is a vampire of some sort. This part of the film, this would make the audience jumpy because it goes from a close up on the guard to show his fear and a point of view shot from the creature to show its getting closer. When the creatures finally get the guard we see the door been ripped off and screaming of the guard, the cameras very cleverly disguise is to the audience can not see what is been ripped apart. This would build tension because the audience would want to known what is happening and what the monster is meaning they will have to wait until further in the film. The camera shots that are filmed in the day part of the scene also bring the horror element to the film. At the very start of the day scene it is a similar camera shot to the start of the night scene, due to it looking like a point of view shot over the water, yet again. When entering into Santa Carla on the back of the welcome sign it says Welcome to the murder capital of the world in a red paint. This is a moment of iconography because the colour red is the same colour as blood and gore. At this time the Mother says I know what we have been through over the last couple of years. This is ironic because of what has happened so far suggests that this will not be much different from what they have had before. All the characters in the car are completely oblivious about it and do not know what will happen and what is happening. During the next scene we get a camera shot of a close up, on the people of Santa Carla with inter cut ups of missing posters suggesting that Santa Carla is a weird place going with that and the weird people. This shows quickly that Santa Carla is a weird place and has some strange problems. That part of the film links to the song that is going on at this point, People are strange, the part of the film fits in with the song because the people of Santa Carla are actually acting very strange.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Tourism Analysis Of Disneyland Resort Paris

Tourism Analysis Of Disneyland Resort Paris Disneyland Resort Paris (formerly known as Euro Disney) is the fourth of the Walt Disney theme parks, built to follow the success of Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World in Florida, and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. It is located in central France, making it accessible by a two-hour plane flight to more than 300 million people. Disneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallà ©e, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located 32 kilometers (20 mi) from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part on the territory of the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne. After Tokyo Disneyland opened to great success in 1983, the executives of the Walt Disney Company began plans for a European extension. The company considered many possible locations, but soon chose Marne-la-Vallee, a French town, as the site. Disney CEO Michael Eisner signed the first contract with the French government in 1985, and construction on Euro Disney began in 1988. Th e information center Espace Euro Disney opened in 1990, keeping the public informed about the ongoing work. The park opened in April 1992, and although 500,000 visitors were expected, only 50,000 came. For the first three years, the park reported large financial losses. Attendance was poor, employees reported high dissatisfaction and the French press grew more appalled at the presence of an America-centric park in their country. In 1994, the park was renamed Disneyland Resort Paris in order to dissociate it from the negative press surrounding Euro Disney. In 1995, Space Mountain was added to the parks attractions, and the park turned its first-ever profit. The park is still dubiously profitable. Even with much of its debt written off, the company reports billion-dollar deficits: specifically, $2 billion in 2007. However, in 2008, the park was the most-visited attraction in Europe and reports more than 15 million visitors every year receiving more visitors than the Louvre and the Eif fel Tower combined (Christian Sylt, The Independent, 2008). Why was Euro Disney performing poorly during its first year of operation? Recommend and propose strategies and suggestions to improve the situation? Michael Eisner, CEO of the Walt Disney World Company, once said, Fantasy is very hard work. Eisner was referring to the intensive labor that goes on behind-the-scenes within the Disney Company to create the magic and fantasy which have become synonymous with the Disney brand. From the founders humble beginnings (Walter Elias Disney) creating animated cartoons in the 1920s, to the multi- facetted corporation Disney has developed into, hard work has always been the key ingredient to the success of this entertainment empire. However, hard work does not always lead to success, especially when international expansion occurs. On April 12, 1992, Disney officially opened Euro Disney, a $4 billion USD, and 4,400 acre resort located in Marne- la-Vallà ©e, France. Despite over 7 years of planning and countless hours of research, Euro Disney quickly developed in one of the most costly mistakes in company history. In the first 2 years of operation, Euro Disney lost close to $1.03 billion USD and was forecasted to lose approximately $1 million USD a day for the foreseeable future (Lyn Burgoyne, Euro Disneyland Venture, 2001). The main reason why Euro Disney performed poorly during its first year of operation was due to several factors such as European recession, Cultural differences and Marketing. Just as Euro Disney opened, Europe was in the middle of an economic slump. Disney felt that they could overcome this issue however; High interest rates and the devaluation of several currencies against the Franc caused Europeans to have little spending power at that time. That results in a reduction in disposable income among the French population. Many of the other countries in Europe were experiencing a similar downward slope during the period. Disney did not anticipate the huge differences between themselves as consumers and the Europeans especially the French. The entire resort was designed along the same guidelines as the original Disneyland (Rohese Taylor, Disneyland Paris Case Study, 2000). Much of the reasoning behind this strategic approach can be attributed to the success Disney had with the opening of Tokyo Disneyland. According to (Marty Sklar, Vice Chairman and Principle Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering), The Japanese told us from the beginning, Dont Japanese us. What that meant was, we came here for Disney. We came here for America. Dont give us Japan, we know Japan. Disney determined that the Europeans would want the same as the Japanese an Americanized Disneyland. However, the general sentiment among the French was one of indignation at what some called cultural imperialism. Therefore, Euro Disney was not accepted among the European culture. Euro Disney was marketed incorrectly to both the consumers and the media. The views of the French were not considered when marketing strategies were created. The resort was marketed in the American-style of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦bigness and extravagance. Instead, Euro Disney should have concentrated on the emotional aspect, marketing that guest would have a unique, extraordinary experience they would not forget (Lyn Burgoyne, Walt Disney Companys Euro Disneyland Venture, 2001). To improve the situation, there is a need for Disney to take control of the management decisions and analyzing issues and problems based on their own practice and not to use some team to analyze the problem and have it presented that is way outside the management. Thus, there is also the imperative need to understand and execute appropriate plan of actions that will bridge the gap of culture difference such as knowing what are the characteristics and attitudes of the European people in terms of the nature of business considering what will work on both sides and achieve good marketing strategies that would have connection to promotion and advertising process. The fact that marketing issues was present, it may be proper for Disney to consider strategies that will cater to resolving such issues and probably focus on useful market tactics. The Euro Disney should implement marketing mix strategies which are the price, product, place and promotion. Promotional discounts for families on weekends will fit in to the European culture and planning more ways on how to make business better despite of business conflicts will cater to resolving those issues. Furthermore regarding the environment and location factors, Disney can choose such locations that have strong sales magnet, something that sales and profits are manageable and that possibly, Disney can opt for transfer of Euro-Disney location considering that all aspects of costs and expenses have to be minimal and does not overspend the resources and the need for a justifiable budget is important as high risks within the management and its process may be evident any time. Moreover, Disney can impl ement and apply flexible labor systems that will be adaptable to the situation, and is accepted by the French laborers and thus, the need also to cut down costs and manage risks and small changes properly to have balance of business. Question 2 To what degree do you consider that these factors were a) foreseeable and b) controllable by either Euro Disney or the parent company, Disney? The factors that played into the unsuccessful first year for Euro Disney could easily be foreseen by either euro Disney or the parent company. The same goes to the factor that Euro Disney and its parent company is controllable. It is evident that French has develop a sense of hostility towards the plans as it was stated in the case study, that they did not want American imperialism invading their country and culture. The worse thing is that Euro Disney worked in the arrogant nature of the American thinking. In this I mean, they expected the Europeans to act as Americans and thrive over this newly designed theme park, thus making things a lot worse. (John Graham, International Marketing, 2002) stated that Paris theater director Arianne Mnouchkin became famous for her description of Euro Disney as a Cultural Chernobyl. In the case study, it was also stated that in the fall of 1989, during a visit to Paris, French columnist pelted Michael Eisner with eggs. The joke going around that tim e was, For Euro Disney to adapt properly to France, all seven of Snow Whites dwarfs should be named Grumpy. The French was disappointed during the early advertising because the advertisements focus more on the size and glitz rather than the types of rides and attractions (Phillip Cateora, 2002). Everyone knows advertisements play a major part that influences the society today and affects our everyday life. Nowadays it seems that the only way to avoid any form of advertising is to isolate oneself and live in a cave but not all advertising is negative and bad. It is found almost everywhere such as just by walking on the street, driving a car or watching TV. (Ference, 2004) reports Every surface that could possibly have an ad slapped on it such as clothing, buses, taxis, myriad walls and billboards, even the snow you ski on now hawks something. Every advertiser or company must do more than just make a product, give it an attractive price and offer it to the consumer, communicate and promote it to their current and future customers, they have to advertise it. Therefore, the ability to foresee that the advertising was getting a negative response was obvious and this could have been somewhat controlled by Euro Disney or the parent company. Advertising bombards us everywhere but it is not without control and regulation by the government, businesses and citizens. This opens one of the major issues in advertising, the question of law and ethics. Advertising should be carefully controlled. Society needs to make sure that people are not taken in by misleading advertisements in which Euro Disney make a huge mistake emphasizing the glitz and size instead of different rides and attractions. This can be controllable if Euro Disney followed principles such as telling the truth, showing the truth in which the product should look exactly the same way as the consumers will purchase it. The general impression should as well be truthful because Advertising is judged not by what it says, but what the consumers thinks it says (Roman Mass, 2003, p. 200-202). Other important factors that managers could have foreseen included the approaching European recession, the Gulf War in 1991 and increased interest rates. External factors that affected business also included the devaluation of other currencies against the franc and competitions that drew the attention of European tourists. These competitions were the worlds fair in Seville and the 1992 Olympics, which was held in Barcelona (Phillip Cateora and John Graham, p. 615). It was apparent that the managers of Euro Disney and Disney separated themselves from their counterparts with many levels and departments. These include the government, banks and other parties that were involved. Some of the Disney managers admitted that they were arrogant and that their attitudes were forceful and controlling. It was as if all would agree to do it the way they suggested, then everything would be just fine and everyone would be happy (Phillip Cateora and John Graham, p. 614). Question 3 Evaluate the cross-cultural marketing skills of Disney. The origins of cross-cultural analysis in the 19th century world of colonialism was strongly grounded in the concept of cultural revolution, which claimed that all societies progress through an identical series of distinct evolutionary stages. Culture consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, and works of art, rituals, ceremonies and symbols. It has played a crucial role in human evolution, allowing human beings to adapt the environment to their own purposes rather than depend solely on natural selection to achieve adaptive success. Every human society has its own particular culture, or socio cultural system (Encyclopedia Britannica). Cross-cultural marketing is international marketing on a personal level. It means considering cultural differences when planning marketing campaigns and media, realizing the need for a balance between localization and globalization and most importantly, implementing strategies that respect differences while seeking to unify brand messages. The problem with Euro Disney was that they did not utilize the cross-cultural marketing skills. Based on the case study, Disney executives were told that the French did not eat breakfast so that the meal was downsized but surprisingly the French do eat breakfast. 2,500 breakfasts were served in a restaurant that only held 350 people. They also discovered that the French did not just want croissants and coffee, they wanted bacon and eggs (Phillip Cateora and John Graham, p. 615). This showed that the cross-cultural skills were not employed such as the misinterpreted of data and wrong information retrieved during the environmental scanning of the elements of the European culture. The managers should have known that Europeans were more energetic and will certainly covered more of the Euro Disney theme park and rides than those in the western hemisphere. In contrast to Disneys American parks where visitors typically stay at least three days, Euro Disney is at most a two day visit. The Eu ropean vacations were not examined so the theme park did not see the profits and success as hoped. Americans take short breaks but they take them more often. However, Europeans take one month holiday. The American managers were naÃÆ' ¯ve that they thought the Europeans would change their one month tradition and adopt the Americans shorter yet more frequent time off but that did not happen. The French schedule remained the same as they would close the office and factory during the entire month of August. These factors should have been considered. Cross-cultural marketing would have been extremely useful but the parent companys executives were being quite ethnocentric and it cost a great price (Phillip Cateora and John Graham, p. 615). Needless to say, their cross-cultural skills were unsatisfactory; in fact nonexistent is more appropriate to say. Had they had any skills of this sort, the beginning would have been a success and not such a failed start. As we now understand, the Europeans have to be attuned to the nuances of culture so that a new culture can be viewed objectively, evaluated, and appreciated. Just because a culture is different does not make it wrong. Euro Disney marketers should understand how their own American-style cultures influence their assumptions of another culture (John L. Graham, The Global Environment of Global Markets). Question 4 Do you think the new theme park would have encountered the same problems if a location in Spain had been selected? Discuss Spain, a country located in south-western Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Portugal and France covers a total area of 505,957 sq km. Spain has 4,964 km of coastline. Besides five other places of sovereignty on and off the coast of Morocco, Spain consists of 17 administrative regions, 15 of which are on mainland Spain. Spain occupies four-fifths of the Iberian Peninsula and is a land of immense geographical diversity. It offers the tourist a great deal. Spains coastline has long since been a magnet for visitors but in recent years more and more people are spending holiday time, exploring beautiful and cultural Spain, away from the sea and sand. Spain has everything from lush, green forests and mountain ranges, through to endless arid plains and long, sandy beaches (Idealspain, 2010). Since the 1960s and the invention of the package holiday, Spain has always been a top tourist destination. There are few areas of Spain that have not seen the effect of tourism. Spain has adapted to cater for tourists and every area offers something different. Northern Spain offers a different type of holiday with lush green forests, un-spoilt nature reserves and clean rivers. This part of Spain has adapted to offer nature holidays and activity holidays, based on the rivers or within the nature reserves. Hotels tend to be more individual and have rural locations. Beach holidays have always been popular in Spain with the attraction of the wonderful climate, clean beaches and ample hotel facilities (Idealspain, 2010). If the location selected by Disney is in Spain, it would have been met with less criticism and is believed the cultural differences will play a huge role in its success. As I mentioned earlier, Spain is also one of the top tourists attraction countries in Europe. Disney would still have to learn the customs and the culture of Spain and incorporate them into the development, implementation and operation of a new theme park. The work habits of the Americans is totally different from Spain in which the Spains main concern is focus on life and family first whereas the Americans focus more on themselves and individuality, not the group. This suggests that if Disney theme park is in Spain at least the Spanish which gives top priorities to the families will often bring them to the theme park. (Tom Strong, Spanish Cultural Commentator) gives his view of the differences between Spain and the U.S.A. In the U.S.A., a newborn baby gets a social security number. In Spain, the newborn gets added t o the Libro de Familia. In Spain, it is not at all uncommon for children to stay at home until age 30 whereas in the U.S.A. they would be tagged with the word loser. International marketing is all about culture and what we are able to do in marketing to a particular foreign product such as Disneyland to market its theme park is shaped by the cultural variables of the country as well as the great importance to understanding the Spanish culture. The geographical conditions of Spain provide sunshine all year round and milder winter temperatures. The advantages are that it may attract potential customers form the northern Africa and the Middle East because of its wonderful climate. In terms of its purchasing power, total population and its density it wont lose to the French counterpart. The (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook, 2010) stated that the Spain purchasing power for the year 2009 is $1.367 trillion and its French counterparts is $2.113 trillion and the GDP for Spain is $33,700 whereas the French is $32,800. As a member of the European Union, travel to the southern state already a tourist center in the Union, will yet provide more rea son for the launch of Euro Disney. The entry ticket should cover the cost of the Spanish sunshine, sympathy and service, unlike the rest of Europe. Question 5 If you were the business development manager, what would be the major consideration you would go through before selecting a location for the next Disneyworld? From your discussion select a location you think will be the next Disneyland site. As a business development manager, I will have to take into consideration about some in depth knowledge and analysis about a countrys background before selecting the location for the next Disneyworld. There are many factors in the macro-environment that will affect the decisions of the managers of Disney. Tax changes, new laws, trade barriers, demographic change and government policy changes are all examples of macro change that will help Disneyworld to know more about the foreign market conditions and the external forces. To help analyze these factors I will categorize them using the PESTEL model. Political factors may refer to the government policy such as the degree of intervention in the economy. What goods and services does a government want to provide? To what extent does it believe in subsidizing firms? What are its priorities in terms of business support? Political decisions can impact on many vital areas for business such as the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the road and rail system (Aguilar, F.J., Scanning the business environment, 1967). Economic factors include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. As we all know a shift in economic can have a major impact on a firms behavior. For instance higher interest rates may deter investment because it costs more to borrow a strong currency may make exporting more difficult because it may raise the price in terms of foreign currency inflation may provoke higher wage demands from employees (Aguilar, F.J., Scanning the business environment, 1967). Social factors are changes in social trends which can impact on the demand for products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. In the UK, for example, the population has been ageing. This has increased the costs for firms who are committed to pension payments for their employees because their staffs are living longer. The ageing population also has impact on demand for example; demand for sheltered accommodation and medicines have increased whereas demand for toys is falling (Aguilar, F.J., Scanning the business environment, 1967). Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. Changes in temperature can impact on tourism industry such as Disneyland. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. The growing desire to protect the environment is having an impact on many industries such as the travel and transportation industries for example, more taxes being placed on air travel and the success of hybrid cars and the general move towards more environmentally friendly products and processes is affecting demand patterns and creating business opportunities (Aguilar, F.J., Scanning the business environment, 1967). After the extensive analysis of these major external forces, I would think the next Disneyland site should be in Canada. I think it should be top in priority because Canada is rich in history, landscapes and its aboriginal cultures. Canada is a country with much diversity as it has mountains, national park and alpine forest. According to the Nation Brand Index (Anholt and GfK Roper research agencies, 2008) that measures the worlds perception of 50 nations by interviewing 20,000 adults from 20 countries, the friendliest nation in the world is Canada. Canada has hosted several high-profile international sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada is the host nation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia (The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games, 2009) which we can see is obvious that it is a place for major tour ists attraction which can bring advantages for Disneyland.. This scientific approach to friendliness may seem a bit formal, but indeed, the Canadians are really quite hospitable, kind people and are truly worthy of honors. Many Europeans and Americans travel to this country as it is less expensive if compared to the rest of Europe. The Europeans are most likely to head there during august, the people from the United States usually head up during spring break, and many companies offer trips to Canada as incentives, bonuses and conferences. Visitors from central and South America also visited Canada. There is an influx of expatriates moving to Canada as many want to go there to escape the Asian life and as well to pursue The American Dream. Having stated all of this, it is still very important to that the tunnel vision of ethnocentrism be avoided. Although there are advantages and reasons supporting why Disney can do well with its current operation style because they are neighboring countries, Canadas culture, beliefs and morals still vary. Like other countries, Canada is not considered to be a country of workaholics as the United States is stereotyped to be. The family or group is still top priority versus the Americans view of individual accomplishment being the top goal. It is important to learn from the mistakes that were made when Euro Disney was started. Having offices and managers from the country will be detrimental. Incorporating Canadas culture and examining the tourists activities, practices and trends will be crucial to the making or breaking of a Disney in Canada. Conclusion Euro Disney has greatly enhanced their product since the troubled beginnings in 1992. During this period, many key lessons were learned about the relationship between culture and product offering. These lessons learned became the basis for future development in the European market. Today, the Disneyland Paris Resort is marginally profitable and is experiencing high, yet stagnant, attendance rates. It would be presumptuous to label the resort a success, especially since its net total loss is still over $700 million. However, changes in the marketing and design of the resort have led to profitability and gradual acceptance among the European citizens. In order to increase profitability and attendance, three factors must be achieved: product marketing must be increased, the current marketing strategy must be enhanced and ethnocentric obstacles must be overcome. There exists long-term optimism for the future of Euro Disney due to the strong foundation it has developed over its 10 years o f existence, the strong financial backing of the investors, and its plans for future development within the European culture. With proper strategic planning and a relentless pursuit to continue to learn and adapt to the European culture, Disneyland Paris will be a successful resort. Bibliography Aguilar, F.J. (1967), Scanning the business environment. New York: Macmillan. Cateora, Phillip Graham, John (2002), International Marketing: Eleventh Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. [Online] CIA The World Fact book (2010). https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html, Accessed on February 18, 2010. [Online] CIA The World Fact book (2010). https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp.html, Accessed on February 19, 2010. Della Cava, Marco (October 10, 1999), Theme parks are staking bigger claims in Europe. Prada, Paulo Orwall, Bruce (2002), Mickeys Bosses Learn From Past Mistakes in Opening New Park in France. Dow Jones Interactive Business. Schneider, Mike (2001), Theme Parks Adapt to Nations Cultures; Disney, Other Firms Look Outside North America for New Markets. Dow Jones Interactive Business. [Online] Idealguides Ltd Group of Companies (2010). http://www.idealspain.com/Pages/Information/GeographyHeading.htm, Accessed on February 20, 2010. [Online] Sylt, Christian (2008), Magic results: Euro Disney plans new hotels. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/magic-results-euro-disney-plans-new-hotels-899529.html, Accessed on February 21, 2010. [Online] La-Vallee, Marne and Chu, Jeff (2002), Happily Ever After? http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901020325-218398,00.html, Accessed on February 21, 2010.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Brave New World State Motto :: Essays Papers

Brave New World State Motto Community + Identity = Stability In a world based on the motto â€Å"Community, identity, stability,† every aspect of society follows that phrase. In the Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, everyone belongs to everyone else. The people live in one community, follow their pre-destined identity and lead stable lives as a result. The whole society in Brave New World is based on community. No one is ever alone. Solitude and loneliness are unheard of. Everything, as well as everyone, belongs to everyone else. There are constantly community gatherings, such as Orgy-Porgy and community-sings. Depending on what caste you are part of, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta or Epsilon, you attend different events. Community is the basis of life in the civilized world. Every citizen of the Brave New World has a pre-destined life already planned for him. From the moment a person is decanted, their caste, career, thoughts and fears are picked out for them. Infants are brainwashed into what they are destined to become. Basically, your identity is chosen for you and it is your job to fulfill it, which isn’t difficult because that’s all you know. A person is trained to love their lifestyle and their role in the world and to think they have it better than everyone else. Betas can’t imagine life as an Epsilon, while Epsilons would never dream of being Beta. The result of a strong sense of community along with pre-destined lifestyles is stability, the third part of the Brave New World’s motto. No one has to think for himself or make choices on their own; the government does all that.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Movie: Crash / Movie Review

Crash is a movie which tackles racial and social conflicts in Los Angeles, California. It was directed by Paul Haggis and it was released in the international market by the year of 2005. Haggis was inspired by a true to life event wherein his own car was carjacked in 1991. The story shows how human beings were born inherently good, yet as they grow older, people tends to have their own prejudices in life. Crash is a movie which depicts prejudice, racism, and racial norms. The location of the film was good in that Los Angeles is home to different people, of different culture and different beliefs.Crash begin when a number of people are engaged in a multi-car mishap. From then on, the audiences were brought to the day before the crash happened. It allowed the audiences to see the lives of the characters of the story, as well as the problems and the dilemmas they came across on that fateful day. An LADP cop was featured while he was attempting to get medical assistance for his sire. How ever, he encountered a problem with a black HMO clerk who would not allow in giving his sire consent to see a different doctor.This led to him turning his annoyance out on a black couple in the course of a traffic stop. Sandra Bullock, a rich girl, along with a District Lawyer (Brandon Fraser) was then on showed being carjacked by 2 black juveniles. In turn, Sandra released her fury on a Mexican locksmith who, at that point in time, was innocently working on the door locks of their house. Later on, the Mexican locksmith was once more deprived of hid own dignity by a Persian store-proprietor. The story depicts how each character shows their good side, only for the movie to later on show their negative side in the story.Crash, by Higgins portrays the way we tackle every facet in our daily lives which could be linked to the world’s class and racism. Each plot processions were constructed in such a way that tackles racism and class in the center. The movie itself allows the audie nce to relate to a variety of emotions. Higgins is exceptional by making supplementing each act with certain turn of fates which leaves the audiences in certain thoughts even after the movie was already over.Each characters of the story leads a complex life and though we were allowed a brief view of what their lives were, we were still unable to fully comprehend the intricacies of each character. The movie was constructed in such a way that it allows us the opportunity to relate ourselves with that of the characters. The film was successful in tackling the problems and hazards of stereotyping and racism in today’s society.They were able to accomplish this goal by inspecting personal apprehensions of other cultures, biases, marginalization, and racism from the numerous standpoints of the characters in the film. In a way, Crash dares its viewers to question the beliefs and biases they held within themselves. In the end, the movie was able to make a statement that each and every one of us has our own set of prejudices which at times leads us to making a wrong move or decision.In the short period of two days, the protagonists in the movie look as though they are interwoven with each other. The characters appear to be caught up with their personal encounters with racism. A good example of this would be the couple, Christine Thayer and Rick Cabot. When they arrived home after being carjacked, Christine was both frantic and disturb, she claimed to know better and believed that there is little chance of the same thing ever happening again.She even went as far as giving those two Black juveniles the benefit of the doubt. People tends to act the same way Christine did, after we experience something bad or traumatic we prefer to forget about the incident and move on. At times we even try to think why people do certain things. We would certainly feel better if we know that what they stole from us was used for good reason such as feeding their family than to think th at they did something terrible simply because they think that doing that thing is fun or the like.Another scene in the story which specifically points towards the issue of racism is when Matt Dillon pulled over a black couple for no apparent reason at all. If we were one of the couples surely we would be shocked to be pulled over when we know very well that we did not commit any crime. The couple does not have any inkling whatsoever that the only reason they were pulled over were linked with racism and Dillon’s anger towards the Black man who refused to allow his father to see another doctor.The movie was able to make us realize that we face the same instances on our daily lives. Although slavery was already abolished the long ago rift between the Blacks and the Whites still exists. This is all true to every people of different color all around the world. We are then faced with the issue of color. Is color that important for other race to be so racist with the other culture? Personally I believe that color is only skin deep and that is why I find it hard to fathom why people tends to go racist over that of people of other color or ancestry.However the movie made me realize that although I long ago believed that color is of no importance and that I went to great measure to be sure that I treat each people I come across as fairly as I can, I realized that I was not really all that fair with my dealings with other people. Sometimes, although we are unaware of it, we tend to get racist. In the film we were shown an episode wherein Sandra Bullock let out her anger on the Mexican locksmith fixing her door.This particular incident made me realize the fact that we actually tends to do things that way. We usually let out our frustration on other people especially if we believe that our rank is far superior to them. As I have mentioned before, though unaware, we sometimes commit racism towards other culture. Maybe it is all due to that hidden feeling lying somewh ere there for all of us. It maybe that belief or the inherent wish for our culture to be the best, it may have stemmed up from our inherent belief that our race is far superior to that of another. In reality, we are thrown into a world full of hostility and violence. In a way, I commend the ability of the movie to make its audiences question their own biases in life.For one, I never really thought that I am capable of racism until I started questioning myself if I could truly tell myself that I have never in my life, been racist.   Although the movie centered most of its theme on racism, and although it made its audiences aware of some reality in life, the movie in itself did not give any ways nor did they explained how are we going to fight racism. The fact that the movie gave us a sense of awareness may be enough and in a way it is good that it did not give us any tips regarding the matter. Personally I believe that we alone could judge or determine the proper ways to fight raci sm. The truth of the matter is racism still exists; it is still there although we refuse to acknowledge it. Racism is prevalent in every society that even the most open minded of people is caught in the act of doing it.The movie showed in detail our all fight against our personal demons. It was clearly portrayed that no matter what race you are you are guilty of the crime of racism. This is evident by the way Cjristine realized later on the movie that her problem did not arise from the Mexican locksmith and maid. Rather, the problem lies within her self. In fact, the maid proved to be a great friend in the end. The inherent goodness of mankind is evident all throughout the movie. In the end, human beings were just that-humans, capable of mistake yet also capable of compassion and understanding.This is highly apparent as each character changed some of their attitudes. For one, the very cop who insulted the woman in front of her husband was the one who saved her own life. Another inst ance was when one of the black juveniles who stole Bullock’s car liberated an illegal Asian immigrant which remained concealed in the van There was also an instance when people of different races and color were seen in the screen (each one of them have certain problem towards that of another). Certain offensive phrases were thrown towards each other, covert biases were disclosed, and political rightness was thrown.This is one of the things I admired in the movie, it is indeed invigorating to be able to hear and feel all of those emotions on a widescreen. However, although I could say that the film is good in its own right there are still certain things to which, I believe the film failed. Although the film gave us a chance to reflect, I still believe that the way it was made was all so typical. For one, the irony of the film is that the so-called racist cop ended saving the day of the woman he earlier insulted wherein the supposedly good cop ended up killing an innocent black man. It was all there, it was already expected that this particular twist of event was already foreseen and lost its surprise in the process.Another factor is that Haggis gave us a brief glance on each character in the story but that alone was not enough. It made the story more complicated since there are so many stories you need to link together to be able to decipher the story as a whole. The brief glance we have of the other characters been too short for us to fully gauge what kind of stuff they are really made of. Due to Haggis intense hope to link each story of the characters with each other (which produce too much coincidences and luck) he failed to ignite some interest in the characters individual lives.â€Å"Crash† indeed is a good title for the movie, since it already says it all – the fact that we crash into different people without realizing that no matter how different we are from that of another, in the end we were all one (unity in diversity). Towards th e end of the movie they played an assortment of extensive music which portrays everyone on the cast looking so touching and emotional while an indie-rock song plays in the background. Basically, this particular scene in the movie was meant for the audiences to have some kind of a self reflection based on the movie we have just watched.The brilliance on the film lies on the way Haggis portrayed racism. He did not went on portraying racism as a white man always abusing that of a Black, rather he went on to show that racism is a natural phenomenon and each and every one of us is capable of being a racist without even realizing it. He did not portray racism as a sin prevalent only to the whites rather he showed us that no matter what race you are in you could still be considered a racist at some point in time. The fact that the movie did not give any explanation or tips on how we are supposed to end racism made some feel rather irritated. However, that particular lack of advice could be viewed as Haggis acknowledgement of the fact that racism is inherent in all of us and as of the moment there is still no cure to solve this particular disease.One thing is for sure though, Haggis was successful in making us realize that we are all at fault in some point in time and thus, we do not have any right to judge other people (or accuse other people of racism for that matter) since we are all guilty of the crime. We certainly could not blame others and mock racism without insulting our very own selves. It is great how Haggis portrayed each character as someone who is annoying and made us feel certain kind of irritation towards them. However, as the film progress we see ourselves reflected on the characters themselves. We then on realize that the characters Haggis made were indeed us – humans who are inherently good yet acts bad depending on the situation which arises.  As a whole, the film made me realize my mistakes towards my attitudes when dealing with other peo ple. At times, when we are so down, when we loses hope, we failed to realize that we are exerting our anger towards innocent people and an abuse of power occurs. The film also made me realize that there lays goodness within each and every one of us. The fact that we are all so different yet so alike is a fact we often overlook. What good could too much similarity give to us? If we are all created all similar to each other then certainly there would be a lost in balance in the universe.That is the very reason why we are created alike and yet different from each other. There are things only some group of people can do. Not simply because you are different from me it already means that you are inferior and I am superior from you. The color of one’s skin and the like does not necessitate that we act all mighty and superior towards other races. For peace to prevail, the important thing for us to do is to learn to accept the views and beliefs of other people. By boxing ourselves on our own personal beliefs and cultures we fail to acknowledge the beauty that lies on other people’s culture.Although our beliefs are different from that of another we must still learn to listen and to respect their own beliefs. It does not necessarily follow that by listening and by respecting other people’s beliefs we are already accepting that belief as our own. In the end respecting other people’s view would serve the best of our interest in that we avoided hurting other people’s feelings, we avoided causing commotion and we attained peace.Reference:Crash. 2005. Marina Grasic, Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Technology Implementation Essay

Technology Implementation Essay Technology Implementation Essay Technology Implementation TECH/401 Technology Implementation There are so many new technologies being introduced into companies and how they are helping companies become more successful. Managers and employees have to get used to change but it hard because people like things they way they are. Change is something that everyone has to go through one day in their lives. We all know that change can be either good or bad but whatever it is we will have to accept it. In this research paper, I am going to briefly explain how a new technology should be implemented or introduced to a company. I am going to explain this by using John Kotter’s eight step change model. John Kotter was a Harvard’s business school professor and also a world-renowned change expert. In 1995, John Kotter came out with a book called â€Å"Leading Change†. In this book he discussed his eight steps for leading change. Many people believe that this theory is very successful and will help any company get used to change. From the brief overview I read, I believ e this theory can be used daily in our lives and not with just work. If I was a manager of a company this is how I would implement change using Kotter’s theory. The first step need to be used to implement change is to create a sense of urgency. In order for a company to accept a new technology, there has to be a need for it. If I was a manager of a company, I would have a broad room meeting with my employees and explain to them this new technology that is being brought into our company and how it will bring a positive change to our company. I will also discuss the strengths and weakness of this technology also. I would also ask for any suggestions or concerns about this new technology to make sure I have my employees involve with this new change. For my technical staff, they will have to attend workshop while my nontechnical staff will have a choose to attend these workshops. There will also be workshops that everyone must also attend which will affect everyone job. John Kot ter also suggests that for change to be successful, 75 percent of a company's management needs to "buy into" the change. In other words, you have to work really hard on creating a sense of urgency, and spend significant time and energy building urgency, before moving onto the next steps. This step is very important and because this is the fragile step because you do not want to act without proper preparation because it make the process of change very rough. The second step is to form a powerful coalition. A powerful coalition is a group of people coming to together to perform a task which is to work for a successful company. As a manager, I would need to get all my strong employees together and give them roles to conduct the proper skills in order for this new technology implemented into my company to be a success. I will also have support teams in each department which help train each employee and there will also be morning meeting with support teams. We will promote an emotional c ommitment to our company and have workshops to help employees that are weak in certain areas. If I implemented these ideas into my support teams, I will have a powerful coalition. In order for this to happen we will need to look at values that are central to change. We also need to create a mission statement which will express how we feel about the company and how we see ourselves in the future. In my powerful coalition, I will also make sure that they know the mission statement of our company with this new technology involved. We also create a strategy that will help make our vision come alive and make our company more profitable. The fourth step is to create to communicate our vision for the new technology. As a manager, I will talk about my new technology and show all the positive aspects of it. This new technology will be talked about frequently and I will embed it in everything I do with the company. This technology will help our company daily