Workplace Motivation Essay Example for Free

Workplace Motivation Essay In this paper, I will examine many motivational strategies that affect productivity in a workplace. Another will include an explanation of organizational efforts to improve performance, employees’ resistance to increasing productivity and satisfaction, and management’s philosophy of motivation and its practices in the workplace. Motivation is one of the single driving factors in one’s work performance. Organizations take this very seriously and to waste time, and energy and the expense into training someone who is not motivated. Needs Theories, Goal-Setting Theory, Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory are the four specific theories that are used in motivational practice. In addition, I will identify and analyze the implications of applying any two motivational theories not currently used in my selected workplace and how they will influence both management and employees. Organizations are always looking for ways to increase productivity, especially in the growing competitive environment. It is a known fact that when employees are unsatisfied with their current job, productivity decreases, tension builds up in the work environment, and morale is low. Most organizations have motivational programs that provide useful tools to increase motivation, and reduce employee turnover. There are many strategies that are used to influence employee loyalty and these are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is one’s personal development, self-control over their work without reward. Whereas, extrinsic motivation is having external incentives, pay bonuses, time off, these are some common strategies used to motivate and individual to complete or do a task. I work for a organization mostly based on customer service and to provide nursing care for long-term residents and rehabilitation following a hospital stay; and assisted living communities. As an employee, I am a member of the nursing staff department. Some of the motivational strategies used at Trisun are competitive salaries, health benefits, sign on bonuses, and employee perks. Recently, their census has been very low, so now employees have to take longer lunches or downsized. Thus, they want employees to work shorthanded but at the same time still have the same responsibilities. This tactic only makes employees frustrated and unmotivated to be productive. Only when you reward employees, they become happier, stay longer, and become more productive at the workplace. Many organizations fail to recognize that money is not the biggest factor in motivating employees. An engaged employee comes in early, reaches out to other employees, smiles, and has great customer service. On the other had you have an disengaged employee and they come in late or absent, and doesn’t want to be bothered with and most always leaves right at five. Successful business should have only one kind of employee, engaged. The process is to reward, recognize, and keep those behaviors among employees. If you don’t recognize those behaviors, you won’t get them back. People think that more money is better than a closer parking space. That is not always true. Depending on what you do, even the smallest perk can be bigger than a bonus and would be more valued. There are whole ranges of factors that motivate people. Many organizations have surveys to find out what really motivates employees and learning their values. Are they motivated in intrinsic or extrinsic theories, do they like more money, status, rewards, or do they value what people think of their work instead. Management can sometimes be pulled in different directions, so it is good that other employees see you working hard and are recognized by your supervisors. The two motivational theories that are not used in practice in this workplace were the Goal-setting Theory and the Cognitive Evaluation Theory. Cognitive evaluation theory is the event in which affects individuals’ feelings and self-determination will affect their intrinsic motivation. By using this theory, it will help employees feel self-determined, competent, and intrinsically motivated. Secondly, Goal-setting Theory was not used in the workplace. This theory explains that individuals are able to reach a defined objective. Sometimes this is a reward in itself and primarily a goal’s ffectiveness is implemented by three factors; specificity, proximity, and difficulty. Another theory self-efficacy will enhance an individual’s to achieve the goal. By using the self-efficacy, it will give positive feedback and have impact on applying the goal-setting theory in management and increase productivity. The most noted theory would be Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The Needs model is where each need is set on a basis of the strength of need. The human needs are physiological, Safety, Social, Esteem, and Actualization. Physiological need is the highest strength and is essential for survival. These form every human motivation and fulfilled more than any other human need. Motivation Strategies The highest levels of motivation for employees are individuals who empower workers, have an effective rewards system, redesign jobs, and create a more flexible work environment. Empowerment is to design the worker to become more responsible and encourage accomplishing a given task. Providing an effective rewards system is to reinforce employee behavior and the reward is when outcome is positive for the individual. There are two ways to receive rewards: Extrinsic rewards are common in the workplace, which are pay bonuses, promotions, time off, and verbal praises. Intrinsic rewards gives people a â€Å"natural high† when completing a job. It gives them a certain personal development and self-control over their work. Managers need to realize that all people are different; managers must provide a range of rewards, time off, recognition, and promotion. Redesigning jobs is a concept that will help employees not get bored with their everyday routine. One attempt would be job enlargement, which increases the job tasks decreases boredom. Job rotation is a practice which people can do different tasks and at the same time be exposed to new interest in the workplace. Job enrichment also includes tasks with more responsibility and authority. In today’s busy world employees value their personal time. Therefore, having a flexible schedule always helps employee’s needs. A full-time job is 40-hour workweek, so most employees get three days off which benefits the individuals lifestyle and give more leisure time and lowers commuting cost. Lastly, job sharing and twinning is when one full-time job is split between two or more people. Job sharing involves working only half a day, thus organizations benefit by employing people who wouldn’t otherwise be a unable to work full-time. In this paper, I explained different motivational strategies that affect productivity in the workplace, and analyzed two theories that are not in affect at my job. I explained organizational efforts to improve performance. By applying these theories and strategies will influence both management and employees to be motivated and be more productive at the workplace.

Analysis On Jit Sourcing Strategy Information Technology Essay

Analysis On Jit Sourcing Strategy Information Technology Essay Outsourcing problems are very complex where even a small decision when taken wrongly can lead to unpredictable risks. From JITs outsourcing experience, the following questions should be considered in order to analyse the case. How to strategically select the appropriate activities that can be outsourced or be maintained internally? How to identify the relative risks and benefits of outsourcing the selected activities? (Quinn, J. B. Hilmer, F. G., 1995). It has been identified that most managers do not consider the risk factors into account while giving importance only to the costs and benefits of outsourcing and offshoring. Many IT jobs outsourced offshore are help desk jobs. People who hold such jobs typically do not have computing discipline degrees. Murphy and Chabrow (2003) argue that the IT jobs outsourced offshore were the routine, repetitive, and largely uninteresting ones. They are well trained and well versed in the product that they are supporting but in-depth questions regarding the internal workings of the product usually require that a person with a computing discipline degree be summoned to assist. (Antonio M. Lopez, Jr., 2004). Similar to many other outsourcing projects, the key reason for failure in JIT outsourcing activity is poor management and governance. In order to identify the root cause for this failure, we need to frame the key stages of the outsourcing cycle followed by JIT. Based on the success of Corporate Intranet, selective sourcing was decided. Also, it should be noted that corporate Intranet did not involve any vendor employees and was only purchased and handled completely by the JIT. IT outsourcing problems usually happen at the contract and post-contract stages (Alborz et al.s 2003), where how to negotiate and come out with a sound contract, how to manage the contract, and how to build up and maintain a good relationship become the most critical issues IT executives need to face. Managers have to carefully select which IT activities to outsource. John Smith in JIT had an uncertainty about the IT departments value. In order to resolve the internal Infrastructure department issue, some of the IT activities had been selectively outsourced without a proper strategy. An increased IT costs and poor service level in vendors has been mainly due to ill-defined relational contracts and non-flexibility in adapting to both business and technical changes. Thus, many IT activities like JIT did should have remained in-house, but instead were handed over to the vendors.( Lacity, M. C. Willcocks, L. P. Feeny, D. F., 1996). The IT outsourcing lifecycle suggested by (Sparrow E., 2003) can be used to identify the outsourcing process implemented in the IT department of JIT. Initiation Vendor Selection Contract Negotiation Transition Service Delivery (Continuous) Contract Renewal/Termination Pre Execution Execution Time In the Initiation stage, the plan was to outsource the Datacentre management and PC help desk activities to outsourced vendor in order to give provision and for the IT infrastructure group employees to concentrate completely on the enhancement and up gradation of projects within that division. The main motive of outsourcing is generally cost cutting or for maintaining the legacy systems. However, it is required that whatever outsourcing option a company adopts, there is always a need for a capable IS managers to manage the IT operations effectively. It is just not enough to just outsource the work. A companys IT managers should also know how to manage contracts and relationships with third parties. The main motives for JIT outsourcing of Datacentre and PC helpdesk were to reduce IT Infrastructure cost, Improve service quality in PC helpdesk and resolve employee retention in the IT infrastructure section. The IT employees were highly qualified and disliked to work on PC helpdesk. There was employee retention in the infrastructure section. The IT employees spent more time on day-to-day maintenance activities due to which they had no time to enhance the existing projects or innovate new ideas for a competitive advantage over other firms. A study found that only 54% of the agreements realized expected cost savings (Lacity and Willcocks 1998). More recently, a Gartner Dataquest Report claimed that about one of every three outsourcing contracts targeting cost reductions failed to match expectations (Caldwell 2002b; Caldwell 2002a).It should also be noted that, when a company outsources its IT services to a third party vendor, how can it be sure that the vendors skills would be updated? Moreover, in JITs case, cost reduction has been the major concern to decide the outsourcing. Therefore, it cannot expect the vendors CMPI to be updated on technical capabilities and process management. (Earl, M. J., 1996). In the Vendor Selection, JIT finalized with two vendors for each outsourcing projects. The vendor was mainly selected based on the cost/benefit analysis, expertise level. The Datacentre activities in JIT did not face any cross-cultural issues. However, the PC Helpdesk activity required that the staff should know Japanese language as well, in order to support the rotational staffs. Hence, it is essential that the outsourcing firm should be able to understand and manage the cross-cultural differences. (I Oshri, J Kotlarsky, LP Willcocks, 2009). Among the two vendors that JIT finalised for PC helpdesk outsourcing, CMPI was not an experienced company in handling this, whereas, Outsourcing Solutions had proposed a unique business model to provide technicians in four different levels covering all aspects including the cross-cultural differences in JIT. The proposal of Outsourcing Solutions had to be compromised considering just the cost factor. The third stage is the Contract Negotiation. In this, JIT had a Service level agreement with both the vendors for a one year contract. Willcocks and Kern (2000) suggest that strategic intent as well as technical capability shape both contract structure and interpersonal relationship development. In JITs case, the strategic intent and technical capability of DR solutions was strong. But, it was not the same with CMPI. Thus, it resulted in a very poor interpersonal relationship. Thus, a relationship that aims to tap into the technical leadership capabilities of a vendor to achieve IT efficiency may generate higher value if it is run as a partnership; whereas, one that aims to achieve IT efficiency by tapping into a vendors widely available resource pool, may be better managed as a technical supply pay-per-service relationship. In the transition stage, both the datacentre and helpdesk activities were moved to DR Solutions and CMPI vendor appropriately. The IT manager John Smith did not have a clear cut plan with the outsourcing vendors .Immediately after the contract begun; there was not much of monitoring or management of IT operations. (Earl, M. J., 1996). Because of this, it is also likely that the company might have to some of its crucial competencies or capabilities. In JITs aspect, there has been value capture of the outsourcing companies but no value creation. Moving the Datacentre from JIT to DR Solutions was not efficient in terms of preplanning. Although JIT had involved 5 different specialists for the deployment, there was no one to actually monitor the process. Moreover, it was not an appropriate time to relocate the Datacentre to the DR Solutions. In the Service delivery stage, although Datacentre activities was a success, the CMPI employees allocated for PC helpdesk did not possess enough troubleshooting skills right from the beginning, in order to manage the escalation calls they received. They could handle only the quick fixes. They also were reluctant to handle the calls from Japanese executives which clearly convey that, CMPI employees were not well versed in Japanese language. This is another major drawback in CMPIs business model. Governance is considered not just in terms of pre-specified frameworks for a formal relationship, but that emerge in interactions between client and provider (Mintzberg, 1978). It involves both the client as well as the vendor. The MOG model addresses the question of how a companys governance affects the outcome of outsourcing in terms of Value Capture and Value Creation. .(Moments of Governance in IS outsourcing: conceptualizing effects of contracts on value capture and creation). Having char ged $180/per user/month, the employees felt that they were not receiving a quality service from the PC helpdesk. Thus, John smith decided to improve the quality of service by outsourcing to CMPI and also increasing the user charge $200/month. This did not bring any change in the quality of service. This in turn has increased the expenditure in the Infrastructure division of JIT. Also, there was also a need for expense reduction. Even before finalising the contract with CMPI, John smith had the doubt whether the employees from CMPI would be able to handle the numerous numbers of calls received by JIT per day. In order to identify the core capabilities of the outsourcing suppliers, the framework proposed by (Feeny, Lacity and Willcocks,2005) can be applied. In this framework, the capabilities of the outsourcing suppliers have been rated based on their Delivery, Relationship and Transformation Competency. Based on the given information, Compared to the Outsourcing Solutions vendor, CMPI had lacked in the leadership, as CMPI had less experience in providing IT services. It had provided services only to 20 companies. Whereas the Outsourcing Solutions vendor had the credit of providing services to Fortune 500 companies. Considering the technical expertise level, CMPI had highly skilled technicians. However, they did not follow any specific business model to implement the helpdesk activities. Whereas, Outsourcing solutions had proposed with a specific business plan with 4 PC helpdesk technicians of 3 different levels for JIT. Also the technicians had excellent resumes and references with them. Also, CMPI were not willing to give an upper limit on the amount of time its employees would take to resolve an escalated call. This information was very unclear when compared to Outsourced solutions. While the Relationship and transformation competency of Outsourced Solutions is much better when compared to CMPI, the cost has been very high. This forced JIT to choose CMPI.(I Oshri, J Kotlarsky, LP Willcocks, 2009).If a company decides to outsource IT services just focusing on costs; It is assuming that its directions and necessities are clear. (Earl, M. J., 1996). Key Problems with JITs Sourcing Strategy: JIT was focusing more on cost cutting instead of the quality of the service provided by the vendors. This is because, although the vendors CMPI chosen for PC helpdesk activities were not expensive, they did not have as much of experience as the other vendor Outsourced Solutions. The existing IT division employees at JIT felt that PC help desk Job was not a very productive and was not improving their career as all these employees felt they were overqualified to perform the mundane job. Moreover, as they were spending most of their work hours on maintenance and PC problems, they were unable to concentrate on upgrading or enhancing the existing projects. This eventually started demotivating them. There was poor governance and Management right from the beginning of the outsourcing contracts initiation. The Service Level agreement was not made clear during the initial contract with CMPI. There have been poor contract and relationship issues. According to Deming (1986), a poor communication or a poor coordination between the vendor and the client is mainly due to poor vendor performance. Some of the anticipated benefits of outsourcing such as cost reduction, expanded, updated skills from vendors and increased flexibility often failed to materialize. (An enterprise perspective of Software Offshoring).Most companies that are outsourcing IT for the first time are not aware of the hidden costs that might start occurring post contract. These may arise as a result of insufficient planning or an unexpected turn of events. (Daniel C. M. Tan, 2009). The IT director John Smith, who was solely responsible for both the outsourcing projects, did not actually investigate deep into similar outsourcing cases. Based on just the Corporate Intranet outsourcing that gave a success to JIT, he proceeded with this outsourcing decision. He did not give much interest for getting consulting, although he just got a suggestion from one of the known consultants. In Information technology, Customized services are generally not outsourced. As, Michael Cunningham (Ask IT Professional IT Advisory Services Company) Said to John Smith, IT outsourcing is significantly less mature than other outsourcing sectors. Before outsourcing the Datacentre and PC Helpdesk activities, the JIT Company had little knowledge on the Outsourcing strategies. From the clients perspective, IT outsourcing decision makers are usually short of experience to select and evaluate service providers and immature in negotiating contracts, managing contracts and maintaining good relatio nships with the providers.(Q.Cong, 2000). Recommendations for fixing helpdesk problems faced in 2002: Aron and Singh (2005) suggest that firms should base their outsourcing and offshoring decisions on the assessment of operational and structural risks. For activities that present high operational and structural risks (e.g. corporate planning), they recommend to execute in house and onshore. Activities that present moderate operational and structural risks (e.g. supply chain coordination) they suggest to outsource carefully, using extended organization offshore, and monitor closely in real time. Activities with low operational and structural risks (e.g. transaction processing) are suitable for outsourcing to offshore service providers. With the datacentre outsourcing, although there was a problem in the transition phase, it got resolved immediately due to the vendors dedication and strong relationship with JIT. However, there was no risk management planned for both the outsourcing. With the PC helpdesk outsourcing, rather than choosing the in-house facility, choosing the right vendor/vendors for outsourcing will always be cheaper and efficient for mundane IT tasks. According to Willcocks and Lacity, over 75% of organizations in the developed economies outsource 15%-50% of their IT budgets, typically with multiple suppliers. JIT can continue for the same SLA with CMPI. But, instead of re-negotiating the contract only with CMPI, it can also involve into a new contract with Outsourced Solutions. As Willcocks (2008) said, outsource only business and not your problems. Outsourcing should be viewed as an opportunity and not just as a cost cutting strategy. Hence, JIT should consider the quality, their experience and capability while choosing to outsource the tasks to vendor. As JIT is going to outsource a part of its helpdesk activities to the new vendor, the cost can be reduced. Also through the adoption of multi-vendor strategy, competition between two vendors result in the right pricing for the client and the quality of service will be improved. In order to resolve the PC helpdesk problem, my recommendation would be to continue with the existing vendor (CMPI) and shift some of the other helpdesk activities to a new vendor. In this case, the new vendor can be Outsourced Solutions, which means JIT can follow a multi-vendor Outsourcing Strategy. Or, JIT can cancel the contract with CMPI and choose Outsourced Solutions for better service. Benefits / risks of Single vendor Outsourcing strategy: By adopting a single vendor strategy that JIT already follows, it needs to track only a single implementation. Complexity of management will be much minimized. This is mainly adopted by clients to benefit from lower operational costs. Similarly, JIT also adopted the single vendor strategy only to lower its operational costs. But, cost should not be the only criteria. Vendor management, capability, and experience, of vendor should be given more importance. The client can expect the highest level of vendor capabilities through a well-planned Service Level Agreement. The risks could be poor quality of service by the vendor. There is also a possibility of too much dependency created on the vendor by the client. At the end, this can result in a situation for clients where they cannot move out of the vendor at their will. However, as JIT failed to follow this strategy efficiently, I would recommend that a multi vendor offshore outsourcing can be adopted by JIT to solve the issues faced in its Infrastructure section. Benefits /Risks of Multi-Vendor Outsourcing: As mentioned earlier, JIT did not follow a risk mitigation methodology while choosing the vendors for both the Datacentre and PC helpdesk activities. Thus when JIT outsources the PC help desk activities to CMPI as well as Outsourced Solutions, it can reduce the risk level because, even when CMPI does not provide a quality service, Outsourced Solutions will be there to backup. Working with multiple suppliers provides a strong element of power for a company for at least two reasons. First, if a supplier underperforms, it becomes easier to transfer the work to a supplier that is already executing the same processes. Second, working with multiple providers will generate a competitive climate among them that, if managed carefully, can become very beneficial for the customer, both in terms of the quality of service delivered and in terms of price. As there are two vendors (CMPI and Outsourced Solutions), there is increased domain and technical expertise. This will also enhance the service quality as each vendor will try to compete with the other vendor while providing its services. However, in multi-vendor outsourcing, the companies engage an array of vendors; the managers should be increasingly adept at managing the entire portfolio of vendors. Thus, John Smith should think beyond cost to ensure the success of the PC helpdesk outsourcing. (Lacity, M., Willcocks, L. and Feeny, D., 1996). Firstly, vendors familiarity with the business is most important. Although, CMPI was familiar with helpdesk activities, it was not aware of the actual activities happening in the Infrastructure section in JIT. (Kakabadse, A., and Kakabadse, N., 2000) Secondly, there should be good involvement from the JITs IT team to equally co-operate with the vendors employees. (Kreitner, R. and Kinicki, A., 2007).

An Analysis Of The World Film Industry Economics Essay

An Analysis Of The World Film Industry Economics Essay In this research project, the target audience should to be the people working in the film industry. The results might be better validated through consultation with his target group, however, obtaining this data, e.g. via a survey, is problematic, as it is hard to predict the return rates. For this reason, this primary research could not be done. Nevertheless, secondary research will be adapted in this project, and this chapter will still contain the data from some scholars in order to provide some evidence in answer to the research question. It will also contain some data and results from EcoWin. EcoWin is a web-based database that collates a wide variety of financial and economic time series from over 100 different countries. Moreover, the economic concepts used in this project will be the multiplier effects. This is because the multiplier effect is a method by which job opportunities and wealth are created by attracting new industry to an area. It is used to explain the relationships between an industry and the related creation of wealth in the area. It could increase the amount of industries in the area, which would create more jobs and hence wealth and the overall image of an area. 3.1 The Multiplier Effect The multiplier effect can be seen in most industries, and can illustrate the improvement and development of an industry. The multiplier will meet its greatest impact where idle resources exist. The following model (diagram 1) is an example of this theory. It shows how the film industry could affect the economy. Although the film industry has been established in a particular country, it will need to decide whether the film will shoot locally or overseas. Each step will lead to different consequences. For instance, where the film industry decides to shoot a film overseas, it may induce jobs to that country, which will help the country to improve their technology and cultural. Furthermore, this will help them to attract more companies from overseas to invest in their country. This may successfully raise some of the countrys GDP. As seen in Appendix 1, information from the UK council, it was stated that the multiplier effect had helped the UK gain  £425 million in tax revenue and had c ontributed  £1.6 billion to their GDP per year. This shows the significance of the multiplier effect to the economy. Diagram 1 Example of the Multiplier Effect in the Film Industry. Chapter 4. Data Analysis and Results The factors that might affect the economy are categorised as employment, tourism, technology and culture. Taking a film festival or shooting a film as an example, we can compare the unemployment rate during the hosting of the festival and during any other time. This is because the employment rate might only affect the countrys economy within a short period of time. In addition, the tourism, culture and technology elements spillover to the film industry might also affect the local or national economy. India, Korea and Hong Kong are all examples of developing countries that are showing good performance in their film industry. This chapter will compare the results from selected developing countries (India, Hong-Kong) and developed countries (UK, US), to see if there are any similarities and differences between them and why. This chapter will also try to investigate only one film Blood Diamond, released at the end of 2006, because the ranges of the film industry are too big. This film was produced in America but shot in South Africa, so it is a good example for this project to investigate. Furthermore, we will compare the tourism rate before and after the release of the film to see whether there were any affects to the economy. It might be easy for people to find out whether are there any relationship between film industry and the economy. Also, by finding some data of labour income and referring to the multiplier effect (diagram 1), we will draw a timeline of the film industry to see the threshold and investigate and analyse all the process the between developed and developing countries. The result may able to show whether the development of a film industry will help to increase the LDCs economy. 4.1 Developing countries (Hong Kong India) VS Developed Country (US) To find out whether the film industry could help and improve the LDCs economy, we will compare the growth of the film industry in developing countries and a developed country. 4.1.1Hong-Kong India Hong-Kong and India are both developing countries that are performing well in their film industries. Hong-Kongs film production reached its highest levels during the 50s and 60s. However, after the world war, the education of the new generations became more Occidentalising; one of the reasons for this is because traditional Hong-Kong films were not able to meet the audiences taste. Bringing in US films, also bring in their culture and technology. For example, the performed of the new 3D technology from the US in 2009, it had helped to increase the revenue for Hong Kongs film industry. From a report of US Commercial Service (2010), said that the new 3D technology has helped grow Hong-Kongs box office, it had gain US$151.9 million in 2009 which had grown 6.5 percent from 2008. It shows the affect of the USs film industry to the Hong-Kong economy. Moreover, from the Financial Express (2002), it had stated that the India film industry could contribute around RS 50000 crore to their GDP. Bhushan (2010) had also stated that the film industry had contributed $1.5 billion to the Indian economy from 2008-2009. The Website Indiancinema.com (2008) has stated that filmmaking in India may be the best among all developing countries because other countries are more sophisticated in their technologies. Moreover, it also provided evidence  [1]  that the development of the film industry will support the economy. 4.1.2 US UK Nowadays, the US film industry could be considered the most successful, as it has produced such a high number of famous films. Also, the US film industry might have a higher budget for shooting films, because their financial resources are much more abundant compared to others. However, the US film industry was not like this at the beginning, and has undergone a number of development processes. The following shows the impact from film industry to UKs GDP in 2009; it had reinforced the fact that the film industry could affect the economy. Table 1 Summery of Economic contribution of UK film industry 2009. (Source: Oxford Economics) 4.3 Tourism: The inducement of tourism is one of the important factors that the government should pay attention to. Tourism might increase in other countries because of the publics attraction to the films or stars; it will create an incentive for the local economy. For example, the rise of tourism will also cause a rise in production, which may in turn raise the local economy. 4.3.1 South Africa Many scholars have agreed that the film industry might affect the economy by drawing in tourists attracted by the film. Figure 1 shows the total arrivals and departures of foreigners in South Africa. Both the arrivals and departures rates are increasing each year, showing successful development. In early 1986, both rates increased at a slow tempo until 1990, after which they both had a sharp increase. During 1995 and 1997, both rates are growing unstably, showing slight fluctuation. Mongabay (2009) stated that Africas economy had been shaped over many centuries, and started getting better in 1994 because of their new government policies, which also improved the health of their economy and saw a growth in their GDP  [2]  . Figure 1 South Africa: Total Arrivals/Departures of Foreigners. (Source: EcoWin) 4.3.2 America: 4.4 Labor Market: Employment/Unemployment The employment rate might only be significant in the developed world, with no reverent correlation in the third world. Refer to the Multiplier effect (Diagram 2), the exits of film industry will provide jobs for the local, and will induced jobs overseas in short run. The example of a US film Blood Diamond shows that, although the film industry will induce jobs to South Africa this will only apply while the film is shooting. This only shows a small effect on the local economy, unlike the countries that have built their own film studios, like the US, and who will be available to provide long-term employment opportunities. Figure 2 US: Full/Part time/Total Employment. (Source: EcoWin) It is important to note that the national employment rate is not affected by the film industry; however, it will affect the local employment rate temporarily. This is because the employment rate will only be affected while the film is shooting, unless the country builds a film studio in order to apply long-term employment. In other words, the film industry will only have a certain amount of effect in the national labor market. 4.4.1: South Africa: As the film industry may bring in some job opportunities for local people, Figure 5 shows the comparison of total employment and unemployment from 2001 to 2009, while Figure 6 shows the unemployment rate in South Africa. Table 3 in Appendix 3 shows that while the unemployment rate in South Africa in 2006 is at its lowest, the employment also starts to rise. Figure 3 South Africa: Total Employment/Unemployment. (Source: EcoWin) Figure 4 South Africa: Unemployment Rate. (Source: EcoWin) The film industry will be able to affect the employment rate locally in the short run; however, it will be impacting the income rate of the local people in the longer term. As Figure 7 shows below, the income rate is increasing each year; it started to grow faster in 1985, and rose sharply from 2000 to 2006. Relate this to Table 5 in Appendix 3, the income in 2004 is 141167, 156270 in 2005, rising to 193678.5 in 2006. It had increased by 37408.5 from 2005 to 2006, a sharp rise. Part of the reason for this might be that the film Blood Diamond was shooting during this period. It affected the local income gradually. Figure 5 South Africa: Labour Income. (Source: EcoWin) 4.5 Cultural; Culture will show the characteristic of a country and could represent a country in some cases. In the film industry, each country will have different interests in the type of film they produce. For instance, Indian movies will be more likely to contain song and dance but in the US they prefer more a more hi-tech approach. As the song and dance in the movie are already become a feature to Indian film, this is why people had called the Hindi cinema as Bollywood  [3]  . Nowadays, people will recognise Bollywood as producing Indian films and Hollywood as producing American films; this could show the affect of culture. Sometime, the living habits of a country will be reflected in the movie. 4.6 Technology: The improvement of technology will affect the production of the economy and will have the power to affect the national economy as well. Where filmmakers shoot films in other countries, they might bring in some new technology. Or technology will be improved through communicating and competing with other countries. For example Avatar  [4]   in 3D was a novelty to many people around the world and attracted a wide audience, which resulted in high box office profits. US Commercial Service (2010), it has stated that gross revenue of Hong Kongs film industry is expected to expand in the coming years because of the opening of new multiplexes and 3D cinemas, and strong government support If this film had been released in some LDCs, it would have created an awareness and interest of some new technologies amongst the locals, who may not have seen this kind of high technique film before. It would enable let the LDCs to gain knowledge and information by the inducement of technology, or they may decide to use the same techniques used in the film in their own productions. Furthermore, the exchange of technologies between countries will cause a technology spillover. 4.7 Government Policy: Tax With regards to a government helping the film industry through tax relief, Wallack (2008) quoted a report by Massachusetts Film Office showing that when Walt Disney Pictures spent $50 million filming in Massachusetts in 2006, the company received nearly $10 million in credits from the state. The action of the government can affect the growth of the film industry, as shown in the example of tax relief. Moreover, it will be able to encourage local production. The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 included, amongst a myriad of other business tax breaks, a measure to benefit small movie production by allowing full write-off of production costs up to US$15m, at a presumed cost of US$336m. On the other hand, in the early 70s there were loopholes in the US tax system, which caused shooting to exceed budget, which had a negative effect on the economy. Chapter 5. Conclusion Production, consumption and distribution are important in the film industry; these may affect the profits that the country may earn. For instance, if a countrys production levels are high, it may increase their employment rates and distribution and may raise the reputation of the country, which might then increase investment from other countries. Every country will have to face developmental stages, which shows the improvement of each sector in the country. Take the film industry as an example: not every country had cinemas from the very beginning but each started to develop as time went on. The development of the film industry might affect the economy because as people had more social time than working time in the past, they would tend to spend their time watching shows or performances. The increase of globalisation has made the film industry an international commodity. The success of the film industry in Hollywood has always been an objective for most of the countries. However, Rod (1998) argued that there is evidence that the US is losing the comparative advantage in the international media market. This is because of the rise in competition; nowadays most countries have their own productions in the film industry. But most of the film industries in the world were impacted by American filmmaking because it used the highest technology in this field during the films Golden Age . 5.1 Implications of the Study: The purpose of this study was to find out whether the film industry could affect a local economy. If it is a successful pathway, this sector could alert LDC governments to pay more attention to this. 5.2 Limitations of the Research: Not many scholars are focusing on the development of the film industry in a country. There is little data on this, therefore, which will impact the accuracy of this project. Moreover, problems relating to the primary research survey might affect the final result. 5.3 Recommendations for Further Research: The film industry might be one of the sectors that the government should try to pay attention to. While it may not result in large increases to an economy, there are still benefits to be gained. Because of the word limit that applies to this project, it is not possible to cover in detail every question relating to this topic. Further research should firstly focus on whether the film could impact the income in developed countries, if yes, it may be a useful resource for LDCs. Secondly, is the level of development is important in determining, if film is going to affect the national consciousness. In addition, investigation should be made into the measures that could be uses to answer the questions of impact.

Displaying the Confederate Flag :: Racism Confederate Flag Symbolism Essays

Displaying the Confederate Flag Ever since I first moved here, I have always wanted to know why so many people from this area go out of their way to display a symbol that is regarded by many others as a symbol of hate. I see it everywhere I go—on clothes, backpacks, license plates, and even in yards. The confederate battle flag is flaunted by many in this area, and I think that we can all attest to this. Why do so many people display this flag on an everyday basis, and who exactly are these people? What does the flag’s glorification say about these people, and how do they want to be thought of by displaying this symbol? Finally, I would like to better determine what the flag means to me and to other people of the area who do not exhibit the flag. The first step in understanding this cultural phenomenon is to determine who exactly is responsible for creating it. It is pretty obvious who these people are. Have you ever seen a plain confederate battle flag shown off by an African American, Hispanic, Asian, or any other non-whites? I would bet my life savings that over half of the flag pushers are people who have never lived in a racially diverse area or a large metropolitan location, as this symbol is not tolerated in these types of areas. In addition, I think it is safe to say that many of these people come from the more rural, conservative areas of the country. All in all, however, the flag’s promoters are essentially the white people who choose to display it. I have come to the conclusion that these people display this flag for a number of different reasons. There are some people out there who actually use the flag as a representation of being from the south. Unfortunately, I think this belief is more often utilized as an excuse for displaying a symbol of racial intolerance than as a hometown indicator. The Ku Klux Klan, which houses its capital in nearby Harrison, has used the flag for years as a sign of white supremacy. Is it just a coincidence that many other whites from surrounding areas so proudly display the symbol as well? I wonder why the supposed non-racist southerners decided to use the same particular flag instead of the many other symbols that can be used to show southern pride.

Is the System Awash? :: essays research papers fc

Is the System Awash?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most Americans are unaware of the problems of the poor, it is hard to imagine the challenges of poverty, the daily fears of victimization or the frustration of not being able to provide for a child. These central ideas along with many others have plagued the United States’ economy for most of its history. What do we do with the poor? Who are they and what can we do to help them? Well the answer is a mix between individuality with a strong relativity to the central government. It is here that we find our argument and it is here that we find ourselves at bay with many sensitive subjects. I believe that it is the government’s responsibility to provide for the nation, but it is up to the individual whom is given to, to make a difference with what is given to them. With such problems as minimum wage, unemployment and little to no affordable housing it is hard for the poverty stricken individual to gain some if any ground at all in their quest to rise up out of the bonds of d estitution. There needs to be a â€Å"battle plan† if you will to attack this issue of poverty head on. It is here that my plan comes into effect. Many propose simply giving them some sort of aid in food or money and being done with it, what I propose is that you give a little and they take it much further than what was originally thought possible. It is not simply the act of supporting them for the rest of their lives, it is the act of providing a strong foundation for which they can build upon. An outstanding quote from a man by the name of William McDonough states (chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York), â€Å"Issues of equity and social cohesion are issues that affect the very temperament of the country. We are forced to face the question of whether we will be able to go forward together as a unified society with a confident outlook or as a society of diverse economic groups suspicious of both the future and each other.†(Collins, Leondar and Sklar 280)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a broad view the general public knows not of the hardships that a part of the country goes through each day. I had the opportunity to go to college in Kentucky my first year of schooling.

Bukowski Self-Exploration in Bluebird

Many times, the changes and transformations in the main character are shown as being caused partly by the world around him, sometimes making the main character even a victim of society. 1 Something causes the character to become morally prepared or emotionally wrecked and cut off, usually due to something that has happened in his life. These protagonists watch the world around them and feel disconnected from it, and act out with â€Å"taboo† themes, like violence or incest or taking drugs or anything that sort of pushes the line because the world they live in has disturbed their minds in some way. 3 Finding life empty and without value, the main character does things to numb the pain, like drinking too hard, or having a lot of meaningless and casual sex, or anything else that both cuts off his emotions and also test him feel pleasure and distraction for a minute. This is called escapism, as in indulging in meaningless distractions to forget about the root problems in someone's life. But the main character often actually has a conscience, or at least a deeper sense of self, and that part of him is in conflict with the way he is behaving outwardly, so this is where the pain and despair comes from and which we see in transgressing fiction, whether it is in novels or in poems. 3 The themes of transgressing fiction are all over Bouzouki's work. 1 His writings mostly cover the second half of the twentieth entry, and he drew on Los Angles as a source of inspiration. Since he spent most of his life in Los Angles, he identified with the city darkness and grittiness. 6 A lot of the transgressing fiction qualities in Bouzouki's poems are in his escapism from reality. He writes about drinking and women and gambling, and he lived his life chasing women, drinking and gambling. 5 Through this behavior, the characters escaped from their problems. And through writing about it in poetry, Bouzoukis expressed his temptation to escape from his problems by briefly having thos e indulgences. 5 Bouzoukis grew up during the Great Depression.California was expensive, and his father was unemployed. So there was a lot of frustration and insecurity at home, and his father was physically, verbally and emotionally abusive to Bouzouki's mother. 2 His father was also emotionally and physically abusive towards Bouzoukis, something that his mother did not stop. 2 This made Bouzoukis an introverted, insecure, and socially anxious teenager. 2 He had no confidence because he was being traumatized at home and felt that he wasn't good enough compared to everyone else at school. During this painful period of his youth, Bouzoukis started is lifelong habit of excessive drinking. His drinking only got worse as life went on. 2 He started his writing career after World War II began and never made enough money off of his writing, so he had to do Jobs on the side all the time. Hard Jobs, like working in a factory. 5 He could not make a lot of money off of his poems because not en ough people were buying his poetry. 5 He was failing to break in and make it big and found it hard to believe in himself and in the world.He became very cynical and depressed about what the publishers were looking for (they only wanted to cater to a market†) and did not believe that anyone had a fair chance. As if things weren't bad enough, considering that he had no money, no close relationship with his family, and on top of that no success in getting his writing published, during this time Bouzoukis also almost died from a stomach ulcer. 5 He was desperate for companionship and someone to show him the love he never had growing up, and so married another poet without thinking it through first, and divorced her two years later. For a long time after that he was not able to seriously form an honest and healthy relationship, o he was always lonely and always having affairs with women to briefly fulfill his needs. 5 He continued this behavior even after he began to enjoy some suc cess in the sass's. 5 He only married again a decade later, and he eventually died of cancer. 5 All in all, Bouzoukis led a pretty troubled, difficult and sometimes lonely life, and had a lot of issues going on with him that he expressed in his poetry. 4 Poetry was an outlet for his creative talent as well as his pain. Through poetry, he expressed his disillusionment with the world, his sense of loneliness and not being able to conform r be understood, and his need to escape from the feelings inside him, in a realistic way. 4 By realistic I mean he wants to show the truth without sugarcoating anything. In his poems, he shows his true self struggling to become free of the cage that his fake self traps it in. A good example how Bouzoukis expresses his inner self through realist, transgressing poetry is one of his last poems, published only about two years before he died: â€Å"Bluebird. . 1 â€Å"Bluebird† is a great poem because it is very sobering and a little depressing, bu t captures the main struggle that Bouzoukis seems to have aced for most of his life: confronting his inner self, being brave enough to accept himself for who he is instead of escaping from it with alcohol, women, gambling, and other distractions. The bluebird is his inner, true self that is trying to set itself free. He describes it as: â€Å"there's a bluebird in my heart that / wants to get out. 1 But the narrator (who is really the poet describing himself) says he is going to keep the bluebird hidden, and he'll hide it by distracting himself from it with alcohol and everything else. This is proven in the lines: â€Å"there's a bluebird in my heart that ants to get out but I purr whiskey on him and inhale cigarette smoke and the whore's and the bartenders and the grocery clerks never know that he's in there. † 1 He is burying the inner voice, the secret alternative personality or true personality within him, with alcohol, cigarettes, and women.He is afraid to let his true self show, because he's built everything in his life on lies and putting on a brave front that isn't who he really is. What is the bluebird then? It's all the toxicity of his trauma – the depression and failure and sadness – but also the person he can be if he really accepts all those problems instead of running away from them. But he is afraid to accept that side of himself. Bouzoukis has built up all these fears and barriers after a lifetime of running away from his problems.Now Bouzoukis has too much to lose to try and face these fears and problems, because his career and his fame and his success depend on squashing his pain and depression, or in other words, the bluebird. To illustrate this problem, he asks: â€Å"l say, stay down, do you want to mess me up? You want to screw up the works? You want to blow my book sales in Europe? † 1 This verse clearly shows how much his fears and denials of his inner voice, the bluebird, is tied to his desire to save the l ife he has worked so hard to build without ever really acknowledging his past, his hurt, and who he truly is.It's worth noticing that he uses the word â€Å"tough† 1 to describe how strong he is against the bluebird. This means he views it as a threat, even though it is not. He is not in total and complete denial of his inner self, however. Just selectively in denial. He calls himself â€Å"clever† 1 and says: â€Å"l only let him out at night sometimes† 1 of the bluebird. In the darkness and loneliness of the night, when nobody is there to see and he can be his true self in private.This fear of showing the â€Å"real you† to someone would likely have been an important concern for someone who realized that his poetry wasn't selling easily when he first started out, likely because publishing is after all a business and publishers want poems that are in keeping with the trends in style, language and themes that would appeal to their customers. We all have t o remember that life is a business and you can't always afford to be your real self. That is why the narrator ells the bluebird that by letting it out, he might ruin his career. Why?Because the narrator – in other words, Bouzoukis – made a lot of money by partially figuring out what poetry editors wanted to read and selling it to them. This all leads to the fear of not expressing who you really are, and conforming to society. The narrator is being the person that other people subconsciously want him to be, and he knows that. His struggle is that he sees no value in this fake persona apart from societal acceptance. When he does eventually let the bluebird out, he does not ever truly accept it in public – only in private. There is also a sense of loneliness. He is isolated from society because he thinks nobody would understand and accept the bluebird. And since the bluebird is his true inner self, he cannot share that with the world because it seems so foreign and strange to them. He has nobody to talk about this with. The imagery is really powerful because of the way the images are arranged one after another and also because the language of the poem is so direct, simple, and straightforward. 1 He Juxtaposes the image of the bluebird trying to break free with al the signs of vice around it -whiskey, cigarettes, etc. This helps the reader subconsciously make an immediate comparison between the innocent, natural bluebird, which is clean and untouched, with all the things that can drown that clean, natural inner self, like alcohol. 1 Through the images, the simple language, and the discussion of his inner self versus the mask he puts on for the world, the narrator is an effective transplant of Bouzoukis himself, who had a lot of unresolved problems concerning his family. His self-exploration in â€Å"Bluebird† is a transgressing poem since it deals with his inner ormolu as he breaks out of a social norm – the norm of pretending to be someone hoys are not.

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West was born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music. [2] West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. His five albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards, including a cumulative twelve Grammys,[3][4][5] and critical acclaim. All have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive #1 album in the U. S. upon release. [7] West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. [8] West's mascot and trademark is â€Å"Dropout Bear,† a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos. [9] About. com ranked Kanye West #8 on their â€Å"Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers† list. [10] On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 â€Å"Hottest MC in the Game. [11] On 17 December 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV. [12] Kanye West's first career productions came on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album Down to Earth. West produced eight tracks on the album. While the album did not attract much attention and would be the only album released by Grav, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998-1999 he produced for well known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World. West got his big break in the year 2000 however when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well received Jay-Z song â€Å"This Can't Be Life† off of the album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West would later state that to create the beat for â€Å"This Can't Be Life† he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song â€Å"Xxplosive†. [19] After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, released on September 11, 2001. [20] His work was featured on the lead single â€Å"Izzo (H. O. V. A. ),† â€Å"Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)† and a diss track against Nas and Mobb Deep named â€Å"Takeover†; West has worked with Mobb Deep and Nas since the track's release. After meeting great commercial success and critical acclaim for his productions on The Blueprint, West became a sought after producer in the hip-hop industry, even before he became known as a rapper and solo artist. In the years 2002-2003 he would produce for artists such as Nas, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, T. I. , Ludacris, DMX, and Monica. He also continued producing for Roc-a-Fella Records artists and contribued four tracks to Jay-Z's follow up album to The Blueprint, The Blueprint? : The Gift & the Curse. After great successes as a producer, West now looked to pursue a career as a rapper and solo artist, but struggled to find a way to get a record deal. Chris Anokute, then A&R at Def Jam, said that when West regularly dropped by the office to pick up his producer checks he would play demos of solo material to Anokute in his cubicle and bemoan the fact that no one was taking him seriously as a rapper. [21] Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the â€Å"street image† prominent in hip hop culture. [19] Beginning his career as a rapper, Kanye West rapped a verse on Jay-Z's The Blueprint? : The Gift & the Curse, an album he produced for, from the same label he was signed to as a rapper. At the start of his career, Kanye West's production style often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. [20] His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was â€Å"This Can't Be Life†, a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's â€Å"Xxplosive† to use as a replacement for his drums on â€Å"This Can't Be Life†. [19] West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style,[16][88] and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, â€Å"Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time†¦ We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing hat. â€Å"[89] RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for Rolling Stone, â€Å"All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings†¦ For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: ‘Wu-Tang is forever. ‘ Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him. â€Å"[90] After hearing his work on The Blueprint, RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occurred between him and West, saying, â€Å"The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today. â€Å"[90] West accompanied by an eleven-piece chamber orchestra While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album Roseland NYC Live, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production. Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section. [2] West has stated on several occasions that outside of work, he favors listening to rock music over hip-hop. He cites Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Killers as some of his favorite musical groups. Additionally, on Graduation, West drew inspiration from arena rock bands such as U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for melody and chord progression. [91] Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis. [92] This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.