History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

History - Essay Example a).When were these documents written? Who were the authors and who were the intended audience? The first document that is being explored in this study involves a documentary history of the United States which was written in the year 1952 by Richard. D. Heffner and was published by the New American Library London in the city of New York City. The intended audience for this document entails all the intelligent leaders including those people who may want to learn about the history of the United States. On the other hand, is document concerning the â€Å"Great Issue in American History† and was written in the year 1958 by Richard Hofstadter, the ,third edition for this document was later released in the year 1976. This document was published by Alfred.A.Knot.F.Inc and Random House, Inc. Whereby, the authors intended audiences are mostly the undergraduates’ student who may have interest to use this document and connect it with other sources for better understanding of the Am erican history. b). Why were the documents written -- what did each author want to accomplish by writing this document? What kind of a mindset did the author bring to his/her subject? The two documents were written to explain to the audience about the issues and events that were taking place during this period in that American History. Whereby, the author in the first document labeled as a â€Å"documentary history of the United States† wanted to accomplish the aims of providing insight to the audience social, political and economic pattern in the United States by combining varicose events that were taking place during this period. The author has discussed two issues namely. The veto powers of the bank and the liberty across the United States during this period. The author of the second document labeled as â€Å"Great Issue in American History† was aiming to provide an insight of the major controversies ranging from political social and economic controversies that were taking place America during this period. Therefore, based on the two documents, it can be observed that the authors wanted to place some mind sets to the audience that, during 1776 to 1861 the government had neglected the interest of its majority citizens by giving too much social and economic powers to the foreigners and the rich people. In addition, the authors had tried to indicate the cause of a long term developed conflict between the southern and northern regions (Richard, pp.296-300). c). what do the document reveal about what was happening in the society in which it was produced? What events were taking place to which the document refers, either directly or indirectly? The first document involves a â€Å"documentary history of the United States† by Richard .D. Heffner written in the year 1952.This source provides an insight of American social, political and economic events that were taking place from 1976 to1861.Whereby, argument made by various major actors such as; judges, private individual, legislative bodies to mention just but a few. The emphasis on this document has been placed on two major issues namely; Veto of the bank renewal bill of 1982 and the Liberty or Union. The writer has criticized the Veto power of the bank and the government because the ownership and stock purchases have been monopolized. Whereby, the congress posses all the powers to create 28 million stocks while at the same time incorporating the powers to sell those stocks. For example, almost half of the stocks have been

Identity in Korean contemporary art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Identity in Korean contemporary art - Essay Example The focus of the essay "Identity in Korean contemporary art" is on the issue of identity as presented in Korean contemporary art. In meticulous, modern Asian artists of the post-1990’s facing the double demands of localism in the course of globalization knowing the argument on localism as an abstract tool for post-ideology and multi-value rather than as identity crisis to build a new uniqueness of Asian art. In reality, a local identity can be clear only by destructing the dichotomy of true localism can be come up through confined custom and historicity. For example, many of contemporary Asian artists – counting artists based in their native soil or abroad are dealing with one’s own civilizing custom with a approach of duality acceptance both history and present. Workings of artists which own traditional opinion and motifs such as Zen philosophy, ceramics, packaging cloth, etc. apparent how custom can be conveyed to the modern context and thus re-contextualized. According to dictionary the meaning of literal meaning of contemporary art is the modern art but generally it includes the art from the World War II till the present or modern art. Uniqueness in art, particularly for Asian countries like Korea which went all the way through Western influence in the line of creation and expansion in modern art, is often taken as a substitute model to distinguish them from the West. So it changes constantly according to changeover and influence of foreign power, confronted by a new identity.

Change Management: ExxonMobil Case Study

Change Management: ExxonMobil Case Study Change is only permanent feature of our life. Life of individuals and organizations are evolving ever since their creation. Modern companies are in a state of cultural change. From working more or less alone to solving specific tasks, we are now required to work in an interdependent way. Teamwork is vital. These changes require that we change what we expect from the co workers. We have to change the values we highly believe. Values like awareness, teamwork, tolerance, responsibility and information are paramount just as flexibility and change readiness. Team work make in imperative that we develop project team instead of specific tasks. Therefore, our daily lives are becoming project oriented. [Baekdal, Thomas, Change Management Handbook] Overview What is Change Management? Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. [Wardale, Dorothy. 4 components of the module; 2009] The current definition of Change Management includes both organizational change management processes and individual change management models, which together are used to manage the people side of change. Change Management is be essentially linked to oganisational Change which is Organisational change is the process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness. [Organization Theory, Design, and Change by Gareth R. Jones] Organisational change may be formally defined as an Organisation-wide effort to enhance the effectiveness of an Organisation by strengthening, modifying, or replacing the culture, structure, technology, task, and human processes through the application of planned interventions with or without the assistance of external agents. [People Change Management in Power Distribution] All changes interface with three Organisational components which constitute the Organisational culture. Those three components are: The historical and political evolution of the company. The management and organization of the company. The people who work for the company The historical and political evolution of a company will have a significant bearing on its acceptance of change. The important factors are Base or origin of company, values of company, image it like to promote, traditions and norms practiced by individuals and company policies. Changes will impact the roles of management. These changes consist of structure and operation of organization, style of leadership, role of senior management, and effect of change on workforce, their acceptance and willingness to take remedial measures. Most of the issues in change management are people oriented. Every decision on change impacts the people. All cautions should be exercised in the people oriented changes. Typically with any change people expect a reward pay hike, promotion or other type of recognition. Think carefully the impact of change in every job it affects. [Change Knowledge Management] Importance of Change Management: Change Management is proactive support focused on preventing incidents and problems by effective planning. Some of the benefits are: Consistent planning for change Consistent planning in case of failure of change Communication with appropriate parties before change occurs Approval received from appropriate parties before change occurs Reduction in incidents and problems caused by unplanned change Time spent on preparation and prevention rather than fire fighting and downtime. Model of Planned Organizational Change When organizations are caught flat footed, failing to anticipate or respond to new needs, management is at fault. Change can be managed by observing external trends, patterns and needs, managers use planned change to help the organization to adapt to external problems and opportunities Four events make up the change sequence: Internal and external forces for change exist Organization managers monitor these forces and become aware of a need for change; and The perceived need triggers the initiation for change, which Is then implemented. How each of these activities is handled depends upon the organization and managers styles. Forces For Change Forces for organizational change exist both in the external environment and internally within the organization. Environmental Forces External forces take its root in all environmental sectors, including client, competitors, technology, economic forces, and the international arena. Internal Forces Internal forces for change arise from internal activities and decisions. If goal of rapid company growth is set by top managers, internal actions will have to be changed to meet that growth. Steps For Effective Organizational Change The four steps for organizational change process are as follows: Assess the need for change Initiate change Implement change Evaluate the change Assessing the need for the change The external and internal forces translate into a perceived need for change within the organization. Managers sense a need for change when there is a performance gap-a disparity between existing and desired performance levels. The performance gap may occur because current procedures are not up to standard or because a new idea or technology could improve current performance. Managers in every company must be alert to problems and opportunities, because the perceived need for change is what sets the stage for subsequent action that creates a new product or technology. Big problems are easy to spot. Sensitive monitoring systems are needed to detect gradual changes that can fool managers into thinking their company is doing changes slowly, because managers may fail to trigger an organizational response. Initiating change After assessing the need of change the next crucial step is to initiate change which is true part of change management. This is where the ideas are developed. Search Search is a learning process about current happenings inside or outside the organization that can be used to meet the perceived need for change. Search typically unfolds existing knowledge that can be applied or adopted within the organization. Hiring of experts, consultant is a very important aspect of such search. Creativity Creativity is the development of novel solutions to the perceived problems. Creative individuals develop idea that can be adopted by the organization. Creativity can be designed into organizations. Companies or departments within companies can be organized to be creative and initiate changes. Idea Champions And New-Venture Teams If creative conditions are successful, new ideas will be generated that must be carried forward for acceptance and implementation. This is where idea champions come in. The formal definition of the idea champion is a person who sees the need for and champions productive change within the organization. Champions are passionately committed to a new product or idea despite rejection by others Implementing Change Effective Implementation of perceived change is the most vital part of Change Management. Creative culture, idea champions and new-venture teams are ways to facilitate the initiation of new ideas. One frustration for managers is that employees often seem to resist change for no apparent reason. To effectively manage the implementation process, managers should be aware of the reason for employee resistance and be prepared to use. Techniques for obtaining employee cooperation are: Resistance To Change Idea champion often discover that other employees are unenthusiastic about their new idea. Members of a new-venture group may be surprised when managers in the regular organization do not support or approve their innovations. Several reasons for employee resistance are: Self-Interest. Lack Of Understanding And Trust. Uncertainty. Different Assessment And Goals. The reasons for resistance are legitimate in the eyes of employees affected by the changes. The best procedure for managers is not to ignore resistance but to diagnose the reasons and design strategies to gain acceptance by users. The strategies for overcoming resistance to change typically involve two approaches: the analysis of resistance through the force field technique and the use of selective implementation tactics to overcome resistance. Force Field Theory of Change Developed by Kurt Lewin: Its the process of determining which forces drive and which resist a proposed change. To implement a change, management should analyze the change forces. By selectively removing forces that restrain change, the driving forces will be strong enough to enable implementation. As restraining forces are reduced or removed, behavior will shift to incorporate the desired changes. The theory underlying organizational development proposes three distinct steps for achieving behavioral and attitudinal change: unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. In the first step, unfreezing, the diagnostic stage of organizational development in which participants are made aware of problems in order to increase their willingness to change their behavior. Diagnosis is done by change agent. This diagnosis helps determine the extent of organizational problems and help unfreeze managers. The second step, changing, a step in the intervention stage of organizational development in which individuals experiment with new workplace behavior. There the change agent implements a specific plan for training managers and employees. Refreezing, a step in the reinforcement stage of organizational development in which individuals acquire a desired new skill or attitude and are rewarded for it by the organization. [5] Selective Implementation Tactics The other approach to managing implementation is to adopt specific tactics to overcome employee resistance. The following five tactics have proven successful: Communication and Education. Communication and education are used when solid information about the change is needed by users and others who may resist implementation. Education is especially important when the change involves new technical knowledge or users are unfamiliar with the idea. Participation. Participation involves users and potential resisters in designing the change. This approach is time consuming, but it pays off because users understand and become committed to the change. Negotiation. Negotiation is more formal means of achieving cooperation. Negotiation uses formal bargaining to win acceptance and approval of a desired change. Coercion. Coercion means that managers use formal power to force employees to change. Resisters are told to accept the change or lose rewards or even their jobs. Coercion is necessary in crisis situation when a rapid response is urgent. Top Management Support. The visible support of top management also helps overcome resistance to change. Top management support symbolizes to all employees that the change is important for the organization. Evaluating The Change The last step in the change process is to evaluate how successful the change effort has been in improving organizational performance. Using measures such as changes in market share, profits, or the ability of manages to meet their goals, managers compare how well an organization is performing after the change with how well it was performing before. Managers also can use benchmarking, comparing their performance on specific dimensions with the performance of high-performing organizations to decide how successful the change effort has been. Types Of Planned Change Now that we have explored how the initiation and implementation of change can be carried out, let us look at the different types of change that take place in organizations. The types of organization changes are strategy, technology, products, structure, and culture/ people. Organizations may innovate in one or more areas, depending on internal and external forces or change. In the rapidly changing toy industry, a manufacturer has to introduce new products frequently. In a mature, competitive industry, production technology changes are adopted to improve efficiency. In the diagram, the arrows connecting the types of change show that a change in one part may affect other parts of the organization: a new product may require changes in technology, and a new technology may require new people skills or a new structure. Technology Changes A technology change is related to the organizations production process-how the organization does its work. Technology changes are designed to make the production of a product or service more efficient. How can managers encourage technology change? The general rule is that technology change is bottom up. The bottom-up approach means that ideas initiated at lower organization levels and channeled upward for approval. Lower level technical experts act as idea champions-they invent and champion technological changes. Employees at lower levels understand the technology and have the expertise needed to propose changes. Managers can facilitate the bottom-up approach by designing creative departments. A loose, flexible, decentralized structure provides employees with the freedom and opportunity to initiate continuous improvements. A rigid, centralized, standardized structure stifles technology innovation. Anything managers do to involve the grass roots of the organization-the people who are experts in their parts of the production process-will increase technology change. New-Product Changes A product change is a change in the organizations product or service output. New-product innovations have major implications for an organization, because they often are an outcome of a new strategy and may define a new market. The introduction of a new product is difficult, because it not only involves a new technology but also must meet customers needs. Companies that develop new products usually have the following characteristics: People in marketing have a good understanding of customer needs Technical specialists are aware of recent technological developments and make effective use of new technology Members from key departments-research, manufacturing, marketing-cooperate in the development of new product. These findings mean that the ideas for new products typically originate at the lower levels of the organization just as they do for technology changes. One approach to new product innovation is called the horizontal linkage model. In this model people from research, manufacturing and marketing departments meet frequently in teams and task forces to share ideas and solve problems. Research people inform marketing of new technical developments to learn whether they will be good to customers. Marketing people pass customer complaints to research to use in the design of new products. Manufacturing informs other departments whether a product idea can be manufactured within costs limits. This teamwork required for the horizontal linkage model is a major component of using rapid innovation to beat the competition with speed. Structural Changes A structural change is a change in the way in which the organization is designed and managed. Structural changes involve the hierarchy of authority, goals, structural characteristics, administrative procedures, and management systems. Almost any change in how the organization is managed falls under the category of structural change. Successful structural change is accomplished through a top-down approach, which is distinct from technology change (bottom up) and new products (horizontal). Structural change is top down because the expertise for administrative improvements originates at the middle and upper levels of the organization. The champions for structural change are middle and top managers. Lower-level technical specialists have little interest or expertise in administrative procedures. If organization structure causes negative consequences for lower-level employees, complaints and dissatisfaction alert managers to a problem. Employee dissatisfaction is an internal force for change. The need for change is perceived by higher managers, who then take the initiative to propose and implement it. The top-down process does not mean that coercion is the best implementation tactic. Implementation tactics include education, participation, and negotiation with employees. Top-down change means that initiation of the idea occurs at upper levels and is implemented downward. It does not mean that lower-level employees are not educated about the change or allowed to participate in it. Culture/People Changes A culture/people change refers to a change in employees values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. Changes in culture and people pertain to how employees think; these are changes are in mindset rather than technology, structure, or products. People change pertains to just a few employees, such as when a handful of middle managers is sent to a training course to improve their leadership skills. Training is the most frequently used tool for changing the organizations mindset. A company may offer training programs to large blocks of employees on subjects such as teamwork, listening skills, quality circles, and participative management. Another major approach to changing people and culture is organizational development. Organizational Development Organizational development (OD) is the application of behavioral science knowledge to improve an organizations health and effectiveness through its ability to cope with environmental changes, improve internal relationships, and increase problem-solving capabilities. Organizational development improves working relationships among employees. The following are three types of current problems that OD can help managers address. Mergers/Acquisitions. Culture differences should be evaluated during the acquisition process, and OD experts can be used to smooth the integration of two firms. Organizational Decline/Revitalization. OD techniques can contribute greatly to cultural revitalization by managing conflicts, fostering commitment, and facilitating communication. Conflict Management. Conflict can occur at any time and place within a healthy organization. Organizational development efforts can help solve these kinds of conflicts. OD Activities A number of OD activities have emerged in recent years. Some of the most popular and effective are as follows. Team-Building Activities. Team building enhances the cohesiveness and success of organizational groups and teams. Survey-Feedback Activities. Survey feedback begins with a questionnaire distributed to employees. Employees are engaged in problem solving based on the data received from questionnaire. Intergroup Activities. These activities include retreats and workshops to improve the effectiveness of groups or departments that must work together. Process-Consultation Activities. Organizational development consultants help managers understand the human processes within their organization and how to manage them. Symbolic Leadership Activities. This approach helps managers to use the techniques for cultural change, including public statements, ceremonies, and slogans. References Baekdal, Thomas, (2006). Change Management Handbook. Technology and immediacy of information (on-line) available http://www.wikipedia.com Becta (2003) Available http://www.becta.org.uk/tsas. Daft, Richard L, (1997). Management. Florida: Dryden Press. Change Management Report by Zulfiqar,Shamsullah,Shahzad,Rizwan; 2009 Case Study: EXXON MOBIL Company Profile: Company History: Exxon Mobil Corporation is the second largest integrated oil company in the world, trailing only BP p.l.c. The company is involved in wide range of oil and gas related activities such as exploration, production, transportation, and marketing in more than 200 countries. Exxon Mobil is a major manufacturer of basic petrochemicals, such as olefins, aromatics, and polyethylene and polypropylene plastics. The company is operating 4000 service stations under the brand names Exxon, Mobil, and Esso. Mobil Corporation and Exxon Corporation are merged in 1999 to form Exxon Mobil. [Exxon Mobil Corporation Business Information, Profile, and History http://companies.jrank.org/pages/1494/Exxon-Mobil-Corporation.html#ixzz0cW28yLUs] The Merger of Exxon and Mobil 21st Century In December 1998 Exxon agreed to buy Mobil for about $75 billion in what promised to be one of the largest takeovers ever. Merger was necessitated by reducing Oil prices and prevailing Asian economic crisis. By Merger both companies foresaw annual Profit benefit of $ 2.1 Billion. Based on 1998 results, the proposed Exxon Mobil Corporation would have combined revenues of $168.8 billion, making it the largest oil company in the world, and $8.1 billion in profits. As discussed earlier Merger/Acquisition are an important part of organizational development (OD). Exxon Mobil has utilized this tool effectively to maximize their profits and reduce operation cost and overheads. Exxon Mobil in the 21st Century The integrations of Mobil into Exxon resulted in delivery of cost saving and two contrasting corporate cultures. Exxons strength was always reflected in finance and engineering while on contrast Mobils strengths lie in marketing and deal-making. By union of both giants Exxon Mobil resulted in cost saving of $4.6 billion. These saving were used to fund the companys growth by internal means, and expanded their Oil Gas output. Between 1999 and 2004 after successful merge, Exxon Mobil earned $75 billion in net profits and generated $123 billion in cash. As Exxon Mobil prepared for the future, perhaps the most significant event on the horizon was a change in leadership, environment policy and meeting geo political situation challenges in region such as Middle East, North Africa, and Caspian Sea. However, most of significant is meeting challenges posses by decade old environmental policy of non acceptance of Green House gases (GHG) effect on climate. This Organizational Change is discussed in depth in next part of report. EXXONMOBIL AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT ON ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE Old Guards and Organization Resistance toward Climate Change: ExxonMobil released its 2005 Corporate Citizenship Report (May 2006) and its report on Tomorrows Energy (February 2006). Both make clear that Exxons fundamental business approach and thinking on climate change had not changed. The company firmly believes that oil is the future and that concerns about climate change do not merit meaningful investments in clean energy and alternative fuels. In these two reports, ExxonMobil acknowledges that human activities have contributed to the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) and that this accumulation poses risks that may prove significant for society and ecosystems. The company declares that these risks justify actions now, but the selection of actions must consider the uncertainties that remain. Exxon then goes on to describe: the complexities of climate science; the limits of climate knowledge; the limits of current climate models; the uncertainty of projections ExxonMobil declares that even with many scientific uncertainties, action is still justified. However, by emphasizing the remaining points of uncertainty rather than the scientific consensus that has emerged on the human role in climate change, ExxonMobil continued to take a deliberative approach that casts climate change as a long-term problem rather than a priority for near-term action. Despite their rhetoric, ExxonMobil was not taking the actions needed to address the financial and competitive risks posed by climate change due to inherent organizational resistance to change. Leadership shrugs off from taking decisive actions and taking lead toward this grave issue. ExxonMobil operates on the assumption that oil and gas will continue to represent a large percentage of the energy mix, whereas renewable energy sources will remain minimal. In contrast, the private venture capital community has begun investing heavily in clean energy technology, as have ExxonMobils competitors. ExxonMobil continues to lag behind. ExxonMobil lags behind competitors like BP and Royal Dutch Shell on low-carbon leadership ExxonMobils nearly only focus on oil and gas has placed it behind competitors like BP and Royal Dutch Shell, which have committed billions of dollars toward the development of low-carbon technologies that they intend to build as new profit centers for their companies. Climate Change ExxonMobils Change Strategy: A newly published report (Dec. 2008) by ExxonMobil titled Responding to Environmental Ethics: Moving from Petroleum to Renewable Energy for the 21st Century. As title indicated an organizational shift in environment policy is happening at Exxon Mobile. Exxonmobil admitted link between Oil Gas and climate change in following words ExxonMobils focus on petroleum and gas products, especially those that are combusted to extract energy, has played a key role in promoting climate change through an enhanced greenhouse effect. The combustion of petroleum and gas has increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to levels that are rapidly warming the planet, leading to severe consequences for the world economy and most of the Earths natural features. Exxonmobil inactiveness in past regarding Global warming is also addressed in said report ExxonMobil has traditionally been skeptical of climate science. It wasnt until recently that the company decided to accept that climate change is largely attributed to human activity and that something must be done about it A perceived Change is envisioned by Exxonmobil. This remarkable change in Exxonmobils outlook toward climate related issues happened due to following few theoretical Factors, Environmental Factors: As discussed earlier in our report, environmental Factors such as clients, competitors and changing technology are basis of any Organizational change. Same is true with Exxonmobils new Climate Strategy. Exxonmobil moved towards change after realizing that competitors such as BP Inc., Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron are taking lead on climate related issues concerning Oil Gas Sector. Public awareness vis-Ã  -vis global warming increased significantly over the few years which also contributed toward Exxonmobils new climate strategy. Internal Factors: Internal Factors such managers, top management and shareholders also play a decisive role in this Change strategy. Shareholders worried that competitors investment in alternative renewable energy may cause lower future growth. Exxonmobil adopted knowledge as the basic search tool assessing change. Exxonmobil stated in their 2008 report said In general, the companys goal is to provide energy around the world to improve quality of lives while minimizing environmental impact and supporting communities. Second, the company assesses any issues identified in the first step through information from various sectors, including non-governmental organizations, academia, financial institutions, and employees. Then it develops a list of material areas that the company will focus on based on its analysis. In 2007, these material areas were Environmental Performance, Workplace, Corporate Governance, Transparency and Human Rights, and Community Development Implementation of Change Strategy: After assessing perceived change, next logical step for Exxonmobil is initiation of Change Implementation at organizational level. Exxonmobil Called this The End of Carbon Era. To save environment damage petroleum combustion must be curtailed significantly in this century by taking action to fight climate change. Exxonmobil has decided to reinvest its business to remain one of the worlds most significant companies and ensure it viability. Exxonmobil is to invest in existing alternative technologies that are emissions-free. This will mean entering fields to provide reliable energy to the world and improved its tarnished image. ExxonMobil has invested in improving its energy efficiency, increasing its co-generation capacity by 12% in 2005 and working to reduce gas flaring in Nigeria and elsewhere. It has also supported research into producing more fuel-efficient internal combustion engines, although the extent of that support is unclear. The company states that technologies like carbon capture and sequestration, hydrogen production and use, solar, and biotechnologies all require fundamental breakthroughs in research to overcome current barriers to cost, performance, safety, and public acceptance before they could enter into widespread use. Conclusion: ExxonMobil claims that the risks from climate change justify action now. Exxonmobil which is world leader in petroleum production has assesses the change based on theoretical effecting factors, initiated perceived change and implemented change for betterment of mankind. Our study concludes that the Exxonmobil has followed theoretical cycle of change and now successfully implementing the Change, thus transforming its global image. Biblography: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Exxon-Mobil-Corporation-Company-History.html Baekdal, Thomas, (2006). Change Management Handbook. Technology and immediacy of information (on-line) available http://www.wikipedia.com Becta (2003) Available http://www.becta.org.uk/tsas. Daft, Richard L, (1997). Management. Florida: Dryden Press. Jones, John Aguirre, DeAnne. (2004). 10 Principles of Change Management: Tools and techniques to help companies transform quickly. Responding to Environmental Ethics: Moving from Petroleum to Renewable Energy for the 21st Century by Carlos Rymer. December 11, 2008. http://companies.jrank.org/pages/1494/Exxon-Mobil-Corporation.html http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Exxon-Mobil-Corporation-Company-History.html Organization Theory, Design, and Change, 5th Edition by Gareth R. Jones.

Comparing Women in The Bell Jar and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

Exploitation of Women Exposed in The Bell Jar and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute      Ã‚  Ã‚   In their manifesto, the Redstockings argued that the relationship between men and women was a class relationship, and that the men repressed and controlled the women. The women were objects, and the men owned them. They said that, as a class, women "are exploited as sex objects, breeders, domestic servants, and cheap labor" by the male class(Bloom, Takin' it to the Streets, 486). Many of the women characters in The Bell Jar and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute give us examples of this repression and exploitation.    In both The Bell Jar and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, we often see women as being subordinate to men. For example, in "Debts", one of Grace Paley's characters is happy because she has found "a husband to serve"(Paley, Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, 11). Her life has no meaning apart from her role as wife. She is defined by her husband. The idea that women are defined by their husband is so pervasive that we even find it in the language of the stories. In "The Burdened Man" there is a newspaper article describing the shooting of a wife and her lover by her husband. The husband and the lover are called by name, Sgt. Armand Kielly and Alfred Ciaro, respectively. The wife is only referred to as Mrs. Kielly. In The Bell Jar, when Buddy Willard proposes to Esther, he asks her "How would you like to be Mrs. Buddy Willard?"(Plath, The Bell Jar, 75). In both these instances, the language used defines the women in terms of their husband. This casual indication of dominance says a great deal about the culture.    The exploitation of women as sex objects is also easy to find. Both works contain extreme i... ...(Bloom, 486). As a class, men exploit them for personal use, both economically and sexually. They do everything they can to keep women in an inferior position. This repression is so pervasive that it is even found in the language of the women themselves. Correcting this problem is not a matter of changing individual relationships within the society. As the manifesto says, "the conflicts between individual men and women are political conflicts that can only be solved collectively"(486). In order for things to improve, there must be some change in society at a base level.    Works Cited Bloom, Alexander and Wini Breines, eds. Takin' it to the Streets. Oxford University Press, New York, 1995. Paley, Grace. Enormous Changes at the Last Minute. Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, New York, 1974. Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. Harper and Row, New York, 1971.   

Conflicts Being a College Student

Patrice Williams November 12, 2013 Conflicts of A College Student The daily life of a college student is filled with many conflicts. To begin with, students face everyday conflicts such as having transportation, family issues, financial problems, and also lack of focus and responsibility. In college if one is without a car or a reliable source of transportation every day, it can really affect them in school. One might could have a car but it is currently broke down or someone said they were willing to provide the transportation but possibly not showing up.For example, Nicole’s car has broken down over the weekend now she’s wondering how to get to school Monday morning. Nicole calls her friend Monica to give her a ride to school and then she’ll take the metro back home. This could cause Nicole stress and causing her to take focus off of school work. Second, college students also face family issues and crisis. One could have lost a family member that is causing a l ot of stress or grief on their head while attending school. A student may have a family member or friend at home that causes them stress everyday also.For instance, Mark lives at home with Mom, brother, and sister. Conflict may be between everyone at home that causes Mark stress everyday he comes to school. Next, many students come across financial problems during their college life. Some students may lose their job or simply just don’t always have the funds to get by every single day. A student may be on a payment plan every month to pay for school or a student loan. Having everyday issues such as these can cause stress on the mind of a student that he or she doesn’t need while attending college.Take Mya for example, she’s currently in college and is on a payment plan at school to pay her tuition every month, for this current semester. Mya just lost her job and is finding it hard to come up with the money for this coming month; with her also struggling the prev ious months when she did have a job. This situation is very stressful on Mya and causing her to jeopardize school such as being late, missing assignments, and sometimes not showing up at all. Financial issues can play a huge downfall in a life of a college student.Finally, having a lack of responsibility can cause conflict while attending college. Some students start college but aren’t fully prepared. College students would sometimes start off college as if they were in high school and not strongly aware of the transition. Students hang out and party all night with school being in the morning. They slack on their work and put in high school work ethic instead of College work. Having a lack of focus can also affect students. Conflicts such as all of these can pay a huge part daily in a student’s life.

Blockbusters and Star Wars Essay

If one views the top grossing films of all time, it becomes easy to see that most of the films rely heavily on computer generated images, whether to enhance live action or the animation of popular animated features. Many cinematic experts cite the fact that blockbusters in the last thirty years have relied increasingly on special effects to the point that they overshadow the plot, which in essence becomes superfluous. However, this is hardly the case, and most blockbuster films feature plotlines and ideologies that date back to the earliest days of cinema when special effects were scarce. One of the most popular film franchises in history, Star Wars contains not only special effects that helped change movie making, but it also features a plot with many of the same elements as classic western films, including the ideological battle of good versus evil, the wild frontier, and archetypal characters. In the first few years of its existence, cinema was nothing more than a novelty that possessed little artistic value. The idea of moving images was more than enough to attract audiences, though like all novelties, the public would soon grow weary of the invention without the efforts of men like Edwin S. Porter. Undoubtedly, Porter can be said to be the creator of the first blockbuster in movie history, with 1903’s The Great Train Robbery. The film advanced filmmaking in many regards, as not only the first western, but also by incorporating action, violence, frontier humor, color, special effects, and a full-screen closeup of a bandit firing his pistol at the audience. While a short film featuring only one reel of action, it soon led to the proliferation of the nickelodeon as the most popular and commercially successful film of the pre-nickelodeon era, establishing the idea that film could be a commercially-viable medium. This realization that films could make money would eventually become the driving force behind the Hollywood film industry, and the conventions of the western would serve as the perfect template for plots to the present day. When the Hollywood studio system emerged in the 1910s and 1920s, films were produced much in the way of automobiles, with an assembly line mentality and factory-based production operations that allowed the studios to dominate the movie industry in the U. S. and abroad. The impact of the western formula on the success of film was apparent and by the mid-1920s, nearly half of Universal Studio’s annual output of feature films was westerns. After remaining the most profitable genre of film for decades, by the 1960s the western had peaked both as a viable Hollywood commodity and as a national myth to ease America’s rural-urban transformation, in part brought low by a combination of market saturation and generic exhaustion. However, many of its familiar conventions would find their way into the plots of some of the biggest blockbusters in history. Over seventy years after Porter’s blockbuster, George Lucas would also change the face of cinema, relying on the basic plot techniques developed through the evolution of the western. Stars Wars is credited as ushering in not only the era of dominating special effects, but also remains one of the highest grossing blockbusters of all time, with a worldwide box office take of $797,000,000, not to mention another few billion from its subsequent sequels and prequels. While Star Wars contains amazing artistry in the scale and scope of its special effects, its plot still relies on the simple conventions of the western film, which are designed to be accessible to all audiences. Often considered the first blockbuster to star one of cinema’s greatest icons, John Wayne, the film Stagecoach is an adult drama that had deep roots and moral lessons that helped make it a timeless classic, whose plot is about a group of strangers thrown together on a journey and put under stress so that the strengths and weaknesses of the character within them is revealed; this same basic formula has been seen in blockbuster films like Apollo 13 and the biggest blockbuster in history, Titanic. While both of these later films are heavy with special effects, they feature these proven plot techniques, much like Star Wars. The first time viewers see the heroic Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, it almost looks like a scene from a western. The classic desert landscape, the flat, expansive land and the big sky are all classic icons of the western genre. It is this vastness that is a key characteristic in Star Wars and westerns. Specific settings for westerns include lonely isolated forts, the isolated homestead, the jail, or small frontier towns that are forming at the edges of civilization. Luke, much like the young heroes of westerns, yearns only to get off the farm and lead a life of greater excitement. It is only when the Empire storms through and kills his family is he forced to become a man and take on the evil forces conspired against him. Usually, the central plot of the western film is the classic, simple goal of maintaining law and order on the frontier in a fast-paced action story: â€Å"It is normally rooted in archetypal conflict – good vs. bad, virtue vs. evil, white hat vs. black hat†¦ Often the hero of a western meets his opposite â€Å"double,† a mirror of his own evil side that he has to destroy† (Dirks). For Luke, the good, his opposition is Darth Vader, the evil. This point is even illustrated by the color of the clothing they wear, as Luke dresses in white and Vader is decked out in ominous black. This element of good versus evil, or white hat versus black hat is a key to western films and make it easy for viewers to delineate between good characters and bad characters is traditionally easy in conventional western movies. There is little question as to who the good guys and bad guys are. And, this is even seen in Luke’s sister, Leia, who begins the movie wearing an all-white dress. The white clothing of Luke and Leia link them through their apparent goodness, even though it is not revealed until later that they are brother and sister. The only character that is seen in both white and black is Han Solo, who wears a white shirt with a black vest. Unlike Luke and Leia, Han has elements of mischief and is also an outlaw. The white shirt signifies his goodness, while the black vest hints of his less than admirable qualities–his greed, selfishness, and willingness to deal with shady characters. When Han is introduced into the movie, he kills an alien within the first few minutes. According to author Stephen D. Greydanus, this scene is typical of western films: â€Å"The saloon shootouts, of course, come from that other great American mythology, the Western. (So does Han Solo’s general cowboy look and demeanor. ) By the 1970s, though, the Western no longer enjoyed the hold on the popular imagination it once had, though its influence has continued to be felt in films [like] Star Wars†. With all the element of classic westerns, including cowboy-type characters, evil villains, and a plot filled with action, it would only seem appropriate that Star Wars also possessed a classic theme, as many popular westerns do. However, Han’s goodness is finally known and he becomes one of the rebels’ greatest assets and is one of the movie’s best examples of a western style cowboy. While Star Wars could be considered a western set in space, it certainly possesses more elements and intricacies of plot than are given credit. While none of the conventions are new, they helped infuse the modern blockbuster with the spirit of old Hollywood, to very profitable results. A few true westerns have become blockbusters in the past thirty years, most notably Dances with Wolves, which grossed $424,200,000 worldwide, and featured many of the same elements as Star Wars, including good versus evil, the encroaching omnipresent technological power, and the perseverant hero. Ironically, Dances With Wolves even won the Academy Award for best film, beating out the film Goodfellas, which actually ended with an homage to Edwin S. Porter’s original western; it featured one of the most sinister mobsters in the movie shooting his gun directly at the audience at the end of the film, almost exactly duplicating the ending of Porter’s film. This just goes to show that regardless of what genre today’s Hollywood blockbusters fall under, the plot elements of the American western permeate most, from the simple battle of good versus evil to the ultimate victory enjoyed by the pure-hearted hero. Bibliography All-Time Worldwide Box office, Internet Movie Database, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Dirks, Tim, The Great Train Robbery (1903), The Greatest Films, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Dirks, Tim, Western Films, The Greatest Films, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Eyman, Scott and Gianetti, Louis, Flashback: A Brief History of Film, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1991. Greydanus, Steven D. , An American Mythology: Why Star Wars Still Matters,† Decent Films Guide, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Levy, Emanuel, Oscar History: Western Genre–Best Picture, EmanuelLevy. com, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Lucas, George. Star Wars. Hollywood, CA, Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. Schatz, Thomas, Cowboy Business, The New York Times, November 10, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Schatz, Thomas, Studio System, Film Reference, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Williamson, Ed, John Wayne’s First Blockbuster Movie, Epinions, 2002, retrieved 2 April 2008, .