Fear of the Power of Science in Frankenstein

Some readers have seen the novel as an illustration of the fear of the power of science. To what extent do you agree with this view of the novel? There are many different readings of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, first published in 1818. The traditional reading sees the novel being about a man getting punished by God for crossing his domain. Many different Gothic themes are used in the novel to create a sense of fear in the audience, not just in the fear of science but the fear of the power of science and the influence this power has on Victor’s character. Frankenstein’ serves as a warning to others of the power of science and creates a sense of fear in the audience. One of the key ways Shelley creates this fear is through the juxtaposing references to nature, helping to serve as a warning. In the midst of Chapter Four, when Victor is engrossed in his work, a paragraph is added describing the beauty and nature around him. Through describing the outside wo rld as ‘beautiful’, Victor is admitting that the world is already beautiful and by ignoring that, he is being ignorant.If Victor had left his house, maybe the beauty of the world could have lifted him out of his depression and stopped the future events. This sense of foreshadowing in the novel creates the sense of fear in the power placed in Victors hands; he knows he is wrapped up in his work ‘neglect the scenes around me’, and through this unhealthy obsession is left with nothing. By adding the beauty of the summer months it further highlights how obsessive Victor had become as time speeds up and months pass within a short section of the novel. The language used in ‘Frankenstein’ to describe his task is interesting to note.The opposing views throughout the novel, adds the retrospective notion towards the story, as he is telling the story having learnt his lesson. ‘If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your af fections and to destroy your taste†¦ then that study is certainly unlawful’. The sense that Victor has learnt from his mistake, creates the interpretation that ‘Frankenstein’ is a morality tale. Morality tales flourished in the 16th century and were often seen as personifications of good and evil usually involved in the struggle for a man’s soul. Victor, the rotagonist, can be seen as a representative of society as a whole, with Victor representing the many scientific discoveries at the time. During the 19th Century, Science was controversial as it questioned many fundamental religious beliefs such as Creation and God. Shelley uses the novel of ‘Frankenstein’ to address the problems with advancements in science and the fundamental consequences of those playing God, thus creating a sense of fear of the power that many were acquiring at the time. The setting is an important feature in Gothic literature and the fact that Victor has isolated himself is influential in the structure of the novel.Victor describes where he works as a ‘solitary chamber’ or ‘cell’ implying he has trapped himself there. This fuels his obsession in creating his ‘monster’ as he has little or no contact with the outside world. The negative description of the room where he works, ‘workshop of filthy creations’ and ‘slaughter house’, creates a dark and creepy atmosphere in the novel, with this use of darkness evident throughout and a key concept in Gothic Literature such as ‘Dracula’. The isolation he creates adds a sense of fear not only to science but a fear towards Victor as his obsession could lead to him becoming crazy.Although one could presume that a fear of science is being created, this can be argued. Many would argue that actually it is the fear of the unknown that is evident in ‘Frankenstein’. Victor is exploring something that no one has ever done and thus the path to his discovery, although with good intentions, is flawed. During the 19th Century, the new scientific discoveries were controversial with many going against Religion. The description used such as ‘fire tissue’ and ‘sizzling light’ of lightning, reflects Victors experiments with conducting electricity through organisms.During the time, Johann Willhelm Ritter, had done experiments whereby he would pass electricity from metal conductors into frog’s legs and this is referred to in the novel. Ketterer says that Shelley’s awareness and fascination with the big scientific discoveries of her day is highlighted in the 1831 version of Frankenstein, where Victor asks his father to demonstrate that lightning is electricity. The novel ‘Frankenstein; is a response to these scientific advancements acting as a warning to those playing god ‘How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge’ creating fear in the unknown not j ust in science.Following on from the fear of the unknown, some would argue that it is also the fear of change in ‘Frankenstein’. Religion was a fundamental part of society and many believed that Science was a usurper to Religion and many would still believe that today. ‘In other studies you have gone to where others have gone before’. Unlike subjects such as History, Victor believes Science is about change and therefore oversteps the boundaries of discovery; it is the reference to the sublimeness of his task that makes this more evident. ‘In scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder’.The fear not only in the power of science but in the ‘discovery’ is clear in ‘Frankenstein’ with continual conflict between the two. The novel describes the ultimate consequence of those attempting to cross two of Gods domains, ‘man’ and ‘God’. Victor creates the monster, which challenges the advancement of technology during the industrial revolution and thus a fear of industry and scientific advancement, not necessarily the direct fear of science. The fear of the power of science is a concept that can be seen clearly in ‘Frankenstein’.Although, it can be argued that it is the fear of the unknown or change, the real fear is in the power of Science. Victor’s obsession with science allows him to feel powerful and thus make mistakes, that when retrospectively telling the story he is able to recount and acknowledge. The power placed in Victors hands when he is able to create life, is ultimately the one to be feared. Shelley’s ability to subtly create fear through setting, language and structure is important in creating the fear of the power of science which is crucial in this Gothic text.

Analysis of “Music and Lyrics” Essay

â€Å"Music and Lyrics† revolved around the relationship that was formed between Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant), former 80s pop star, and Sophia Fisher (Drew Barrymore), Alex’s plant keeper and a copywriter for her family’s weight loss center. More than anything else, Alex was portrayed as a washed-up 80s pop star who had nothing left in his career but a bunch of country fair and amusement park performances definitive of a â€Å"nostalgia circuit† as well as a few high school reunions here and there (Moviefone 2007). He had another chance to becoming somebody in the music industry as pop diva Cora Corman commissioned him to write and record a duet with her (Moviefone 2007). This was under the pretense that he was going to write and compose a hit song for her in just a few days. This posed a problem for him because he had not actually composed anything for years and he found it hard to work with anyone else except for Colin, his former band mate from their group â€Å"Pop. † Colin was the one who got famous out of all the members of â€Å"Pop. † Sophie Fisher enters the scene as Alex’s substitute plant-keeper whom he recognized to have a natural flair for writing witty lyrics. He discovered her fear of committing to write again after a traumatic relationship with former professor and famous novelist Sloan Cates (Moviefone 2007). However, discovering that they had real chemistry writing the songs and off the job, they finally gave themselves the chance at love and success they way they never thought they deserved (Moviefone 2007). Protagonist Conflict They say that a movie is only as good as its story’s problem, because the stronger the conflict, the more chance that would be generated into the energy of the movie’s screenplay (Whitcomb 2002). The moment the conflict appears that would be the time wherein the story has really begun until then that would be parts that are considered setup, background and exposition (Whitcomb 2002). Basically, the â€Å"Conflict is the heart of the story in a very real sense; it’s what keeps it pumping, makes the blood race through its veins, and brings it to life† (Whitcomb 2002, p. 56). External Conflict began upon Alex’s realization that he was really an established has-been, although his reaction to this may be more of an internal conflict, how the world saw him served as an external one. Following the premise above, the story of this movie actually started when he was presented to be part of the show called â€Å"Battle of the Has-Beens. † The format of this show actually presented him in a comical light wherein people get to see the people who were stars before and are not stars anymore, thus the term â€Å"has-been† because they had been stars. If this announcement to world was not embarrassing enough, stars of the past had to battle it out in the boxing ring for another chance to perform before the audience. The show was not only demeaning; it portrays them as pathetic stars that missed the limelight so badly that they had to go through some great lengths of boxing with each other. It symbolized Alex’s stature in the industry, as a washed up pop singer. After such interview with the producers, Alex was faced with other realities such as show cancellation. He was given another realization how society found him replaceable and disposable. He show at Knots berry was cancelled, even as he considered it one of the biggest gigs he had since the fall of his stardom. It was this realization of public’s perception that made Cora Corman, famous but eccentric pop star during that time, and her offer to Alex to compose a song for her an appealing deal. However, with this offer came high stakes because Cora had given Alex merely enough time to compose and to write the lyrics of a song for her in just a couple of days. When the dilemma of writing a song was addressed because of the presence of Sophie, another external conflict broke out as they found out how Cora wanted to do the song. Her treatment of the song was different from the sweet and witty love song Sophie and Alex initially had in mind. It was turned into something erotic and sexual more than being romantic. Sophie was appalled by it because she felt it was a destruction of the creative integrity of their work. During that time, she tried her hardest to fight against succumbing to what Cora wanted to do with the song. Being a first-time lyricist to work in the music industry, she appeared naive enough to put more pressure of Alex about changing the song back to how it was supposed to be. The final external conflict was the pressure for Alex to give in to the new treatment of the song, no matter how, farfetched it was from his original composition, only to have another chance to redeem him in the pop industry. On the other hand, the external conflict for Sophie was with this professor, Sloan Cates. He has been the one who had written about her in his novel and poked fun of everything she felt insecure about. The presence of the novel Sally Michaels has also brought Sophie shame, the same way Alex felt shame as his career also went down the drain. The mere arrogance of Sloan after Sophie and Alex confronted him, caused also much pain and shame for Sophie realizing that she still could not talk up to him after all those time. Internal The news that he was being considered in the â€Å"Battle of Has-beens† was acceptable to Alex in the surface. But upon knowing that instead of performing, he was, asked to go there to box it out for a final song, and then it dawned on him just how low his career has gotten. Although, he would be the first one to admit he was a â€Å"has-been† there were certain areas in the film wherein he would feel the shame of it, like the high school reunion he performed at when he pulled a hip muscle and the time at the carnival wherein he did not want to do his last song anymore before Sophie encouraged him to do so. His battle with accepting his fate as a â€Å"has-been† was one thing, but there was also his fear of composing again and writing lyrics. The breakup of the band â€Å"Pop† for him was more devastating for him than he would than he would let people see. He tried to come up with his own solo album after the band broke up but he struggled to keep his pride after that was a flop. He also struggled internally with what he was going to do about the changes in the song. He wondered if he was going to walk away from the project like Sophie did or was he about to give up Sophie, a woman who had brought inspiration back to his life. Sophie had a lot of internal conflicts as well. She had to be forced to write the lyrics for Alex’s project because of how she struggled with Sloan’s fictional novel that was based on her life. She refused to write for him knowing she was not good enough. She did not acknowledge how she did not feel that way before the incident with Sloan’s novel that actually destroyed a part of who she was. She felt she was not good enough because of how her former professor had treated her, calling her a mimic and someone who without following the styles of her contemporary writers would have no creative genius of her own. She struggled to find her own creative self-worth after that. She also struggled when Cora had a different idea she had in mind about the treatment of â€Å"A Way Back into Love,† the song she and Alex created. She refused to get on with the project if it was like that. However, she felt Alex’s despair of seeing this as his last chance in the industry. She was torn between that and how she was furious about Alex’s inability to stand up for the integrity of their work. She was torn because she had feelings for Alex as well. Moral Component Much of the moral component found in the film laid in the fact that Alex and Sophie struggled to maintain the creative integrity of their work. It showed a â€Å"behind-the-scenes† peak into the pressures of the business. It showcased how a work that is entirely different would make into something erotic and sensual in order to appeal to the public. Sophie was so appalled by this change in the song because the erotic version took away what the song actually stood for. She did not want Alex to make a comeback that did not reflect who he was. She wanted him to make one that actually displayed his sensitive and honest side. Both of them knew that the revised version of the song did nothing of that sort; nevertheless, Alex went ahead with it. Although, there was a falling away that took place between them, in the end, Alex did the right thing of maintaining the song’s original composition. He even got the chance to write a song of his own for Sophie as well. Another component laid in the fact that Alex stood up for Sophie when she could not do so for herself against Sloan. Their experience together had taught them much more than writing a new song but being able to see themselves for the worth that they had as people and as artists. It showed how even if in the past, they had been turned down and their talents did not seem good enough, it should not have defined them as people the way they allowed it to happen. It showed how other people, like music critics or famous novelists, cannot have that much power on them that they are constricted artistically. It is only when they had let go of baggage from the past and used all their pain to fuel their creativity that they were able to complete the song. Mise en Scene Mise-en-scene literally means â€Å"put the scene† in French and was a term used in theater (Kolker 2005). When used in film, it points towards the totality of the composition of the shot (Kolker 2005). It refers to the â€Å"framing, movement of the camera and characters, lighting, set design and general visual environment, even sound as it helps elaborate the composition† (Kolker 2005). It is also the â€Å"articulation of cinematic space† wherein space was used to help tell the story (Kolker 2005). The principle of cutting also falls under mise-en-scene as it determines what goes on in that particular space (Kolker 2005). In the movie â€Å"Music and Lyrics,† the shots followed a basic flow. It flowed from one scene to another. It did not have anything fancy or dramatic. It served as a basic canvas that reserved much of its charms to the actors and own presence on the screen. However, a lot of the shots were similar to music videos as the movie revolved around the music industry of the 80s and the present. The movie opened with a â€Å"Pop† music video that represented the 80s and soon showed a music video Cora Corman was shooting that represented popular music in the 21st century. When it came to framing, there were a few instances wherein they would be held at quite close or tighter shots to focus on the actors. The framing was basic shots to let the actor’s witty banter to shine more than anything else. Everything was kept to a minimal so as not to serve as a distraction as this film was mostly about the comedic script and the charm of the actors. There were also instances wherein the shot began from the television screen that overcomes the whole shot and there was a similar one that had an entire magazine cover of Cora taking up the whole shot. Such were done to establish how the movie had a pop theme and that such symbolisms represented the music industry, through MTV shows and teen magazines. There were also instances wherein they used old techniques like the shot panning from the wall to the actors or the frame actually panned through the fixtures of the apartment like the column inside the apartment. It was reminiscent of the old shots they use for movies that give it the old feel to it. The camera, the lenses, the lighting instruments and other tools are used photographically to create the feel, and to fulfill the vision of how the film should look like (LoBrutto 2002). In this case, the lighting of the film reflected the mood of the characters. There had been instances wherein Alex was not feeling very confident about himself wherein there was less light available on the screen. This can also be attributed to the street scene wherein it was dark outside. However, it was noticed again when he and Sophie were stuck on the lyrics of the song wherein it was also dark. There was also noticeable parts wherein the nice moments Alex had with Sophie were represented by soft bright lights that was reflected the warmth of Sophie’s persona. She always seemed like there was some glow to her every time she was in the scene. The light also played an important factor in terms of marking time. Since they only had a few days to finish the song, it showed how when it was dark again or morning again another day has passed by and they were closer to the deadline. It showed how they stayed up, pulling an all-nighter to finish the song. There were exaggerated lights used in the â€Å"Pop† music video as they way they did it in the 80s. It was in comparison with the more modern lights Cora had in the shooting of her music video. They were also red lights in Cora’s dressing room area that established her eastern inclinations. Cinematic tools do not only include skills in cinematography, sound and production design, it also includes editing (LoBrutto 2002). The editing for this movie was simple using cut-to-cut transitions that are widely used for television and movies to avoid distraction from other kinds of transitions. The production design includes the physical environment of the movie that would be constituted by the sets, the location (LoBrutto 2002). It also includes the costume designs as well as the hair and makeup required for the shot. This film called for a particular set design because of its reference to the music of the 80s. Since Alex was a member of the 80s pop band, â€Å"Pop,† there was a necessity to create the set of a 80s music video. The look was cheesy and over-the-top; they way they used to do it with red backgrounds and checkered black and white ones. Their costumes were also of the way they used to dress that was more on femininity of tuxedos they were wearing. Such outrageous costumes went together with the eye shadow and eyeliners that were descriptive of the style in that music generation. It was held in comparison to the modern style of music videos with Cora’s video. It showed more skin and the sex appeal was different as it was more erotic than the bubblegum love songs the â€Å"Pop† band had. Not that the context of Cora’s songs were deeper, they just presented pop in a more sexual manner. There were already dancers that backed her up and much use of the smoke machine. The other sets included Alex’s apartment that played a part in the story as Sophie wanted to move around the furniture in her hopes to get lyrics out of it. The major pieces of furniture that was important in telling the stories were the grand piano, the large couch chair and the plants that Sophie was drowning. A notable set that was created for this movie was the enormous Buddha on the stage designed for Cora’s concert. It was such an incredulous set that intentionally desperately tried to incorporate Cora’s Buddhist influence with her music even if it was not so relevant. Sound was a very important factor to this film because a large percentage of it was about musical performances. Most of the sound design for this film relied on staying true to the 80s theme with the songs that were used for this film like Pop Goes my Heart and the songs that it was contrasted to with Cora’s sensual songs like Welcome to Booty town. Another area of sound was the piano Alex played as he tried to compose the song. It also included his jiving â€Å"jeopardy† tune that he used to pressure Sophie finish the songs. Part of the greatest charms of the movie, was the part wherein Alex and Sophie recorded the demo for Cora in Alex’s own mini-studio in his apartment. Narrative The personalities of the characters were essential in the narrative of the movie. Alex was dryly straightforward yet witty. Sophie talked too much and was paranoid yet naive at the same time. The other characters like Rhonda, Sophie’s sister was the strong one in her household but she was also an Alex-fanatic. Ray, Alex’s manager, was ever supportive of him. Cora was an epitome of a pop icon of today’s time; beautiful, eccentric and sensual. Each of the characters represented something the moviegoers could relate and empathize with (Tan 1996). Their little flaws and quirks were what made them charming because the viewers can see a part of themselves or somebody else in them. It makes them relatable to the audience (Tan 1996). The viewers were drawn because of Sophie and Alex exchanged their witty banters and has come to the point of liking each other despite their own oddities. Audience could find the narrative relatable because it spoke of a generation that most of them have undergone or are in. Most of it involved, a generated of music videos. Even if, most were not former pop stars, interests were still aroused because of their interest in the music industry and social cognition of what was going on with the movie with what they know happen in reality (Tan 1996). Most of all, the narrative worked because of the presence of music. Something most people can relate to and most people are interested in. There was an excellent metaphor that the actors have used in terms of using music and lyrics in reference to relationships. It also serves as a theme for the movie itself. When Alex referred said it was just lyrics. Sophie argued that lyrics were important as well. She referred to melody as meeting someone for the first time and the physical attraction that came with it; it was related to sex in a relationship. On the other hand, once the couples get to know each other that turn into the lyrics wherein their story actually unfolds and reveals who they were. The combination of sex and the knowledge of each other was what make the relationship magical. Lyrics A Way Back into Love was the song Cora wanted Alex to compose. Listening to the lyrics actually summarizes much of the emotions and the thoughts that went on between Alex and Sophie, as well as the things each of them had been through in the past. The â€Å"cloud above my bed† symbolized how long they prevented themselves from moving on because of the fear they had due to past rejections. The following verses reflected exactly that saying â€Å"I’ve been lonely for so long, trapped in the past, I just can’t seem to move on! † It can be just a love song about past heartbreaks but it reflected the struggles Alex and Sophie had in the past about their careers. It also showed that the â€Å"someone to shed some light† was the person they found in each other. The chorus and other verses about dreams being kept in a box reflected their hope to find the joy that they had lost in the past. The song Alex composed by himself had similar charms to A Way Back into Love, he sang Don’t Write Me Off at Cora’s concert. It basically spilled everything he felt about his life saying â€Å"I’m happy to live my so-called fallen glories† and how he felt about Sophie with charismatic antics like â€Å"it’s not just my furniture you’ve rearranged† and â€Å"now I need you despite the fact that you’ve killed all my plants. † References Kolker, R. (2005). Film, form and culture. United States: McGraw-Hill. Also retrieved on November 29, 2007, from http://userpages. umbc. edu/~landon/Local_Information_Files/Mise-en-Scene. htm. LoBrutto, V. (2002). The filmmaker’s guide to production design. New York: Allworth Press. â€Å"Music and lyrics. † (2007) Moviefone. Retrieved on November 29, 2007 from http://movies. aol. com/movie/music-and-lyrics/25137/synopsis. Tan, E. (1996). Emotion and the structure of narrative film: Film as an emotion machine. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Whitcomb, C. (2002). The writer’s guide to writing your screenplay: How to write great screenplays for movies and television. Canada: Kalmbach Publishing Co.

Case study on cafe expresso

This is a detailed report on a research case study cafe expresso. This report throws light on how the company was facing problems because of their stagnant marketing strategy. And how did the company loose its market share and went to number three position after it faced down fall. They appointed a new chief executive Ben Thomson who brought up many changes in the company. This report also highlights about Ben Thomson’s leadership qualities. In this context few of important types of leadership theories and styles are explained. Ben Thomson also appointed Kam Patel as a new global HR who brought many important changes in the organization. This report critically analyses the situation of the cafe expresso and the role played by Ben Thomson and Kam patel, through underpinning theories of leadership, human recourse management and team work. The report also makes few recommendations to the company that will help the company to grow with its goodwill and will be able to get back to the number one position in the market with new name and fame. Table of Contents 1. 0. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction This case study elaborates us about a cafe house which was one amongst the most well reputed cafe houses in the world. Due to certain unfavorable situations, the cafe expresso had to face some problems. This report has discussed about Leadership, human resource management and team work in relation to this case study. I have also highlighted certain points on leadership styles and quality, human resource management characteristics and factors, team work and working effectively with the team. The report gives a clear picture on how the company worked together and how the new chief executive Ben Thomson worked in the situation of crisis. Then when the new HR director was appointed what kind of strategies she applied and what kind of new innovative idea she came up with, to encourage and motivate employees. It also discusses what kind of strategic planning she followed and so on. Strategic participation is very important for HR executives who desire to have increased influence in their company. A number of prior studies have suggested a great connection between Human resource management and strategic planning (Uen and Ahlstrom, 2012). Leadership is a special quality that not all individual possess. It is a kind of talent that has to be developed. According to Claydon. et. al, (2010, pg. 295), leadership in an organizational role involves establishing a clear vision and sharing that vision with others so that they follow willingly. In other words, the activity of leading people or a group of people or an organization or the capacity to follow the aim is called as leadership. The report also elaborates on team work and how the entire team in the organization helped the organization to get back its number one position. According to Claydon. et. al, (2010, pg. 650), â€Å"team work is difficult part of administration as it involves employees to work together trying their best to work under any situations and circumstances†. In other words, team work is the process of working together collaboratively with a team of people in order to achieve a goal . The main things that are highlighted in this report is, how did cafe expresso prelaunch their marketing strategy to get back their number one position back. According to Torrington and Hall (2011, pg. 57) â€Å"Human resource management includes conducting job, planning the needs, training orienting, communicating, recruiting the right people for right job†. It was an administrative discipline of engaging and developing employees so that they become more valuable to the organization. The report gives a clear picture of performance management and how did all employees work together to attain the goal. According to Kleynhams, Markham. et. al (2007), â€Å"A work of an employee is to progress towards predetermined goals†. LITERATURE REVIEW Cafe Expresso was one of the most leading cafe houses and it was also one among top three players in the cafe house. Cafe expresso had enjoyed 15 years of advantage of being on number one position. The main drawback which was committed by Cafe expresso was that, they being in a dynamic service sector, they did not change their marketing strategy and hence it caused them a problem, because other competitors from coffee world took over their business strategy and hence they had to face a major drawback in the market. Cafe expresso lost its market share. For a company to succeed in the turbulence of today’s business markets, it must never stand still or allow employees mindsets to congeal. This was one of the main mistakes committed by cafe espresso. Cafe expresso did not patent their company, so that any other companies couldn’t copy their business strategy. (Smith and Day, 2000). Strategic planning in many organizations has never given space for strategic thinking. However the planning is not sufficient. The requirement for strategic planning has never been in demand (Uehlinger,2004). Valuing employees in crucial time and communicating with them can help employee to motivate and reduce tension among employees. It helps building of essential trust and commitment to company. When the company hired a new chief executive Ben Thomson he transformed the entire organizational strategy. Ben Thomson took over the company’s marketing policy to a new level and helped it to come up with new marketing strategy. LEADERSHIP STYLES AND QUALITIES In a business there is a leadership style called â€Å"transformational leadership† which is essential and effective. Transformational leaders have ability, skills and integrity by which they encourage people to manage and communicate (Clegg, et. al, 2011, pg. 141). There are other few styles of leadership that are very famous like, 1. Transactional Leadership 2. Autocratic Leadership 3. Bureaucratic Leadership 4. Charismatic Leadership 1. Transactional Leadership According to Clegg,et. al, (2011, pg. ,138), â€Å"Transactional Leadership is a leadership style that starts with an idea that, the followers agrees to obey their leader â€Å". In this kind of leadership the leader has all the right towards their employees. This is such a kind of leadership which is based on management more than a dictator kind of leadership. In this kind of leadership the employees are encouraged by giving incentives, commission etc. 2. Autocratic Leadership According to Torrington,et. al, (1998, pg. 295), â€Å"Autocratic Leadership is a kind of leadership is an extreme kind of leadership where only the leaders have control over their employees†. This kind of leadership is used only in crisis when any kind of complex decisions have to be taken. That permits groups to relate their attention on performing there given tasks and vision, mission. 3. Bureaucratic Leadership According Torrington,et. al (1998,pg. 299), â€Å"Bureaucratic leadership is a Style where they work by books, follow procedures and ensure that their people work accordingly†. This can cause resentment when members don’t follow their advice or expertise. 4. Charismatic Leadership According to Clegg. et. al, (2011, pg. 139) â€Å"the difference between charismatic and transformational leadership lies between their main intention. The important side of charismatic leaders is that they believe more in self than in teamwork. In this kind of leadership if leaders take wrong decisions the whole company collapses. From the above mentioned 4 types of leadership, it can be concluded that, Ben Thomson was a transactional leader. He took up all the important managerial responsibility of the organization and also encouraged his employees simultaneously. We can also call him a charismatic leader, because he came up with certain ideas of employing a new global HR who took up the risk and applied it in an organization, where all the employees agreed to work accordingly and hence they succeeded to achieve their goal. According to the charismatic style of leadership the main intention was to reintroduce the entire marketing strategy in an organization. Kam Patel also can be regarded as transactional and charismatic leader. She took up risk of giving the opportunity to the store managers to take interview of new candidates and also gave opportunity to selected candidates to work on half-trial basis. According to Sparrow,et. al (1998, pg. 245), â€Å"a magnanimous leader is one who sees that a proper credit is given to all his/her employees†. Kam Patel is a magnanimous leader. This kind of leaders helps the employees to concentrate and grow better day-by-day. To become famous and take responsibility of failure needs courage that is a hallmark of leadership. HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGY According to Torrington, et. al, (1998,pg. 69), the human resource management is about assurance and attitude, which is carried in business environment. (Eg: Kam Patel took into consideration about the wages and interest of employees). The following few factors are taken in to consideration while discussing about HRM. 1. Environmental factors 2. Share Holder 3. Human resource strategy 4. Long-term outcomes. According to Maund. et. al, (2001, pg. 71), human resource management has become very popular in western countries. It is very important how HRM is being handled for the success of the business. Like fashion and new trends in technology the human resource strategy also keeps changing day to day. Characteristics of Human resource management (Maund,. et. al. 2001,pg. 32. ) 1. A particular path of promises and hypothesis 2. A strategy informing and involving decision about employee 3. The central participation of all managers 4. Reliability to improve employment relationship. 5. Huaman resource management is about commitment, trust and employee-centered According to Wright, Gehart, et. al, (2010, pg. 350), companies that look for competitive advantage from employees must be ready to manage the outputs and attitudes of all the employees. Performance appraisal is a legal/official duty that is followed by managers and is accepted as the primary responsibility of human resource function. Managers now look at performance appraisal as annual belief. Kam Patel was very much aware of the situation and the environment in the organization hence she took a decision of making performance appraisal by making the employees of the organization as partners of cafe expresso. This was one of the new HR strategy which was introduced by her. She also stressed more on the following points like business strategy, resourcing and retention, learning and development, talent management, employee involvement and communication, compensation, incentives and benefits. Motivation: According to Maslow (1965), motivation refers to encouragement or supporting to work more effectively (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis,2011, pg. 148). In this context, it shows how Kam Patel, also focused on the compensation and benefits. She introduced new discount program, where the employees of the organization could have 30% of discount in all coffee stores globally. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Performance management is one of the key factors that are supposed to be included in the management sector (Loewenberger, 2012). It includes few essential factors like, 1. Leading and motivating 2. Learning and development 3. Reward and recognition 4. Involvement, participation, and empowerment 5. Managing teams 6. Assessing performance Performance management is one of the key factors in the organization because it involves the efforts that are taken by the management and the leader (Loewenberger, 2012). The cafe expresso had to concentrate more on performance management because they had lost their market share. And also, because of less wages, they had few employees. So they had to concentrate more on performance management criteria to get back their position, because some where Ben Thomson and Kam Patel knew, how to handle and deal with performance management. Hence they were successful. TEAM WORK According to Torrington and Hall, (1998, pg. 335), a team can be described as a certain number of individuals working together to achieve a common goal. While performing in an organization the team comes at the beginning and the individual comes later. All the task that individual member does is regarded as the fulfillment towards the teams goal rather then their individual credibility. In other words, a team can be termed as more psychologically committed to each other to achieve a common target in which all employees are involved and share some amount of responsibility and outcome (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis, 2011, pg. 88). In the case of Cafe expresso, Kam Patel encouraged the employees of the organization to work in unity. She focused on appointing new partners through window advertising and verbal evidence. This approach worked very well for her because quite a lot of partners actually understood the marketing strategy and marketing approach of the organization. This kind of behavioral approach shows how Kam Patel worked indirectly on teamwork and took efforts to reach out to the employees. FUNCTIONS OF TEAM WORK (Loewenberger, 2012): 1. Task 2. Maintenance 3. Self-orientated 4. Collective performance 5. Positive energy 6. Complementary skills TASKS PERFORMED BY TEAM WORK Task is one of the main functions of team when they work together. A real team has a common approach goal and strategy to work together to achieve its goal. While working in team if people don’t challenge each other they will not be able to work effectively and independently. In a high-functioning team, people enjoy their work because any problem which comes across the team, becomes a challenge to them and hence they enjoy it. So any problem or difficult situation which ever comes across them they take it as a challenge (Loewenberger, 2012). In the case of cafe expresso the loss of market share and the loss of their number one position was one of the main challenges and it was a very difficult situation.. CONCLUSION It is believed employees and relationships are at the core of the business success. Hence from the above report we can draw a conclusion that cafe expresso was one of the leading cafe expresso and due to their stagnant marketing strategy they did not bring in any essential changes in their organization. Hence their marketing strategy remained the same for 15 years. In the mean time, other coffee houses copied their marketing strategies and plans, which affected their market share and hence they lost their position in the market. Under the active leadership of Ben Thomson and Kam Patel, the company undertook many new steps and tried to improve their marketing strategy. Kam Patel being the new HR manager introduced few ideas because of which the company got its position back. Even the employees were encouraged and motivated. Because of above factors, they recaptured their market share to some extent and were able to move to number two positions as the best cafe house across the globe. The company made many changes and followed new practices in the area of HRM, teamwork, leadership, and performance management to resolve their problems. When Ben Thomson and Kam Patel worked together as a team they were very successful and hence they enjoyed their work and came up with new strategies, which actually helped the team to achieve their market share and also helped to regain their position in the market. When Kam Patel actually brought up the new policy of making the employees as the business partners this strategy helped directly to the organization because each and every individual would with more interest and enthusiasm because they would feel that somewhere they were also responsible towards the success of the company. The strategy of feedback from customers helped the organization to develop and improve . She also introduced a coffee program called â€Å"coffee master â€Å"which enabled the employees to become ambassador. The discount of 30%added up to motivate the employees in a positive attitude. RECOMMENDATION After the analysis of the case study as a management student I strongly recommend SWOT analysis that is explained below with help of a diagram. Internal Factors STRENGTHS WEAKNESS Marketing expertise Innovation Location Quality process Business that adds value to service Un- differentiated service Risk of stagnant marketing strategy Low employee morale Wage plan External Factors OPPORTUNITY THREAT Improve performance Innovation Patents Adding of new services Endorsements by celebrities Can be expensive Can be copied Can become hectic work for employees Can cause a problem for taxation 1. The company should introduce a scheme where a particular employee is been rewarded regardless of his incentives. 2. The company should develop their own USP to reach out to more customers. 3. The company should understand the competitor’s strategy well and try to be more innovate in their own strategy reach out to more customers in order to regain their number one position. 4. The company should carry out some training sessions that are going to be more creative and fun 5. The customers who visit regularly should be given some discount when the customer buys any mega deal 6. The company should maintain the standard salary of the industry to retain their employees. 7. The customers should be given a card on which they can add credit points on the basis of coffee they purchase so that when the customer buys the same coffee next time he gets a discount. 8. The customer should be encouraged to invest in the companies share by doing this the customer will indirectly help the company to advertise and hence the company will get publicity. 9. If the company adds some more kind of flavors and varieties this will attract the customers.

Is the American President sufficiently free from domestic pressures to Essay - 1

Is the American President sufficiently free from domestic pressures to be able to play the leadership role that American hegemony requires - Essay Example 499). For many years, European hegemony was experienced around the world with massive success. In fact, the hegemonic principles still apply today in the world as witnessed by the reverence given to royal families such as the queen and prince. For instance, the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince Charles was air globally illustrating the existence of the modern hegemony in the society. Consequently, the imperial dominance exhibited by the royal family is a product of cultural imperialism. The cultural imperialism is a process whereby a state such as America dictates the internal politics and the societal character of the subordinates states via the sphere of influence. The growth of hegemony in the post-Cold War world is similar to the 19th and 20th century, but the leading country in hegemony in the 21st century is the U.S. in fact, most Neo-Marxist philosophers describe America as the hegemonic hyper power (Clark, 2011, p. 36). The definition is based on the unilateral military actions worldwide including the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. However, senior American political scientists argue that the current American set-up does not present a truly hegemonic state because it does not finance or use the military resources to impose a formal or proper global hegemony (Clark, 2009, p. 156). However, the global leadership is a result of American leadership and can be described as hegemonic governance. In spite of the nonexistence of the clear link between hegemony and the American government in the global environment, it is possible that the American hegemony is evident in the global politics. In political science, the denotation of hegemony extended to describe predominance of a country upon others. The action can be through extension and the development of Great Power Politics, which establishes the indirect imperial rule (Hung, 2013, p. 1343).

Immigrants and Health Care Access in the United States Essay

Immigrants and Health Care Access in the United States - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  the successive waves of immigration into the country has kept the country demographically young and enriched with a variety of cultures. Consequently, there have been an improved productive capacity throughout the country and this has helped shape the influence and position of the United States in the world. Immigration has always given the United States an economic edge in the global economy. Immigrants have brought the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas into the economy of United States. Through immigrants, the demand for goods and service has increased. It is immigrants who have developed new innovative products such as Java computer language, a programming language that have created a lot of employment for millions of Americans.  This discussion highlights that  the American immigration laws are very complex laws, and for one to become an American citizen there is a long way to go. The immigration policies provide several legal dis tinctions between different types of immigrants, such as naturalized citizens, undocumented immigrants, and noncitizens. Naturalized American citizens are individuals born in foreign countries but have become citizens of the United States lawfully and can enjoy all the rights enjoyed by American born citizens. The non citizens on their parts involve the individuals born in foreign countries but live in the United States lawfully but have not obtained American citizenship. They include the legal immigrants, refugees, asylums, and refugees.

Page 463 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Page 463 - Essay Example The aspect of setting proposals requires prior understanding of what is needed. NSF provides information regarding its requirements and offers so much information regarding the increased productivity and the quality of ideas that will meet the inherent needs of the organization as a whole. Most people will have to get clarity and this will be essential because it will provide NSF with an easy time while going through the requests. Another thing that NSF attains by having these guidelines out is the ability of the audience to understand the persuasive nature of an argument based on the culture required within the company. In most cases, people present arguments that do not portray any requisite understanding of the language and culture present in the organization (Markel, 2012). It allows its clients to make better judgments when making choices as well as create precise proposals that can meet the desired working platforms within the organization. Like any serious organization, it is always important to stick to scholarship and proper rules of attribution. This essential part of the proposal gains more emphasis by the fact that research misconduct will be construed if the authors other than the major authors do not receive any acknowledgment. By creating such guidelines, it allows people to understand that relevant proposal writing skills need to be prevalent and people have to work on establishing the requirements beforehand. The important thing is to use experiences to benefit the intended topic and subject of concern, as well as mediate between the audience and the committee making the grant decisions (Markel, 2012). This process involves a lot of skills and identifies the main purpose of getting the grant. The lack of such details would see the grant proposal thrown out, something that might jeopardize the chances of getting any such attributes in the

Human resource Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Human resource - Assignment Example along with sharp observations and strategic management decisions, their loyal and skilled workforce is one of the reasons behind their success. With a fleet of airplanes at their service and a multinational and lean workforce Emirates is able to employ labor cost and fleet cost economies and lower their overhead (El Namaki, 2007). The airline’s continued performance and profitability for the last 24 years has enabled them to pursue a strategy of rapid expansion and growth in recent years. The Emirates Group has posted a net profit of AED 2.3 billion ($629 million) for the 2011-12 annual year, with revenues growing by 14.9 per cent when compared to the 2010-11 financial year (Graphic Ghana, 2012). In the same year the group acquired around 22 new aircrafts to grow their transport services. A very important part of their business is the crew and staff that manages their services and Emirates has developed a long term strategy with selecting, recruiting and training the best fit employees for the Emirates culture. The official website provides transparent information about their recruitment procedures. Taking advantage of the global talent pool, The Cabin Crew recruitment team regularly travels to over 60 countries to select the best people for the organization.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Global Information Open Days†Ã‚  and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Global Assessment Centres†Ã‚  are currently scheduled at various international destinations to streamline the process. These events are conducted to allow aspiring pilots and technicians (along with other staff) to connect with the company, after initial short list, interviews are conducted - assessment centers are used and in some cases psychometrics tests are required (Emirates Group, 2012). They provide an extensive training for their pilots of upto four years including foundation stage of airline flying, practical training in Spain and Dubai and training with commercial planes for 6-9 months before getting their air transport pilot’s license. The extensive recruitment and training process cuts down on employee turnover and performance is up to the standards required by the airline. In 2012 Emirates increased its overall staff count by more than 10 per cent. The group employs a total of 63,000 multicultural workforce from 160 countries. (Graphic Ghana, 2012)Adel Al Redha, Executive Vice-President, the Department of Engineering and Operations, Emirates Group, said ‘the company has a strategic plan for recruitment in the coming years, in conjunction with the expansion." (Staff, 2011). As well as international recruits, the group plans to invest in cultivating local talent from the Emirates. At present Emirati pilots, engineers and technicians from about 12 per cent of the airline's staff, but with an expected 8,500 more jobs opening in the organization- hiring close to home will let Emirates help the community and increase the job base for the nationals. For the group, the external recruitment strategy is in line with their mission to become a global air transport service provider. The ‘Open’ business model they follow (Annual Report, 2010-11) which favors open sky policies and liberalization in the aviation industry to foster health competition as different

Compare and Contrast Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare and Contrast - Assignment Example The question is why, despite of many oppositions against it, does discrimination still exist in many cultures of the African countries? Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a controversial international issue on human rights that many people from different cultures, whether they are for or against female circumcision, vary in opinions which come in clash with one another. The World Health Organization (2012) defines female genital mutilation as a procedure that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other injury to the female genital organs, whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons. It is often called female circumcision implying the male circumcision as reasonable counterpart for the rite of passage of the masculine gender. However, it differs greatly from male circumcision because the degree of cutting is far more extensive, which human right advocates believe to be inhuman. This is one of many reasons why human rights’ enthusiasts fight against female genital mutilation as it is considered as a violation on the rights of women and children causing gr eat harm rather than being good according to anti-FGM enthusiasts. Focusing on the ill effects of female genital mutilation, according to anti-FGM and pro health movements, it often impairs a woman’s sexual and reproductive functions and can even affect the ability of girls and women to pass urine and menstrual flow normally that often leads to retention and further infection of the genital and pelvic area. This is why WHO have termed the practice a female genital mutilation because universally it mutilates women violating their rights (Royal College of Nursing, 2006). FGM has been a practice that can be traced a thousand years ago and still flourish even on today’s most modern and humanistic times. If it has been deemed as a violation of human rights then the question is why for humanity’s sake it still persists

Managing for the future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Managing for the future - Essay Example Development of the scenario 15 7. Development of the future 16 7.1 Future scenario of sustainability 16 7.2 Future scenario of CSR 17 7.3 Future scenario of distribution 18 7.4 Assessing requirements of management 18 7.4.1 Requirements in sustainability 18 7.4.2 Requirements in corporate social responsibility 19 7.4.3 Requirements in distribution 20 8. Comparison of the competence 21 9. Conclusion from the comparison 23 Reference List 24 1. Introduction The readiness for the future determines the ability of the company to face the unprecedented changes of the future more aptly. Thus strategic planning is all about planning for the future. The strategic planning for the future is a model that is in a continuous mode of change. In the initial stage of the planning process the strategic model is not sturdy but as time progresses and more variables are added to the model, then the model becomes scalable (Achrol, 2011). The strategic management model is developed depending on the way the future spans out. Apart from that the performance of the management for the last 7 years is also analysed. The present research endeavours to create a critical analysis of the performance of the management of Shell for the period 2007 to 2013. ... In a similar way the future capability of the management of Shell is dependent upon the way it prepares itself for the future. In order to prepare for the future it is necessary that the future conditions that may come are based on realistic assumption. Keeping this logic in mind, a similar pattern is followed in the preparation of the research. Three broad areas of operations are chosen for critical analysis as well as future prediction. The three broad areas are sustainability, distribution and another one is corporate social responsibility. The choices of the three areas deserve special mention. The three areas are linked to one another and in turn also influence one another (Bonaccorsi and Daraio, 2009). Effective corporate social responsibility of a company helps to improve the corporate social image. Improved corporate social image in turn also improves the confidence among the investors. Investors have strong preference for a company if it has good track record in performance as well as have a clean corporate image. Increased investor confidence helps to bring in more amount of capital. These in turn enable a company to carry on with its operations in a smooth procedure. Supply and distribution channels, two of the most vital life channels of an oil company need significant improvement from time to time (Clark and Mathur, 2011). There is a definite link between corporate social responsibility and distribution operations. Improved distribution operation in turn helps to bring in sustainability in the operation in future. 2. Analysis of the historical performance of the organisation Three separate areas are chosen for analysis. The three separate areas are corporate social responsibility, distribution and sustainability. 2.1

Nutrition in Our Schools Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Nutrition in Our Schools - Research Proposal Example It is imperative that this problem is dealt with and addressed with the urgency it deserves. We should, therefore, emphasize educating our youth especially teenagers and use them as missionaries to educate the entire community across Florida. This will extend to the rest of America and the world as a whole about the alarming effects of this problem. Due to the lapse of nutritional sense in America, I have taken it as my agenda to the champion teaching of nutrition classes among teens in Florida. This is so that we can have a breeding ground where we can get personnel who can tackle this problem in the near future in Florida and across the globe. This will in a great way help get rid our region certain self-inflicting diseases and turn better the health of our future. With this, many people taking poor diets, one has to really ask: who is actually paying attention to what is going on persons taking poor nutritional diets?  Currently, the negative impacts on health have been predominantly caused by poor nutrition. As a result, the latest statistics are above board and stress further the need for the urgent remedy through teen education. For instance, it has been noted that 11% of high school students suffer from nutritional disorders, and 30% is the percentage of persons who die because of disabilities. It has also been noted t hat 33% of persons losing their lives due to cancer all trace their way back to poor nutrition. The teenagers that we endeavor to empower have also been revealed by statistics to have very serious problems. This is especially young women whereby 90% of those who suffer from nutritional disorders who are within the range of 12-25 years are actually women. The numbers of child deaths, which are cancer-related are about 50% (Caroldo 58).

Organizational Behavior Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Essay There are basically 2 types of organizational structures commonly found in every organization. Namely these two are the vertical organization or the horizontal organization. (Deal, Kennedy, Deal Kennedy, 2000). I myself have worked in both scenarios and personally favor the horizontal approach as the proposition for success is to work in teams, and cross functional teams. If a company follows a vertical approach then supervision of work becomes a much more difficult task and communication gaps arise which have been termed as the major component of project and process failures. In a horizontal organization hierarchal levels are divided in such a way that management of work becomes easier and people of different departments can share their expertise and knowledge when working together. An organization’s bottom line consists of 2 aspects, which are sales and costs. It is the major objective of any organization to maximize its sales and decrease its costs to the minimum in order to extract maximum revenues and hence increase profits and growth (Belker Topchik,2005). Costs can be reduced when a horizontal structure is being followed as the number of channels through which information flows till it reaches its destination is reduced but opposite is in the case of a vertical approach where any information needs to cross through many channels before it reaches its destination. his results in the altering of the original message which negatively affects business plus due to the number of channels costs also increase (Porter, 1998). In the same way cross functional teams in a horizontal approach can lead to better and efficient performance as each member of the team is representing his or her department and wants to prove his or her abilities, hence this results in more efficient business processes (Singer, 2004). On the other hand a vertical approach makes it difficult for the company to work because no department is ready to share his or her data with other departments and it is difficult to manage the circulation of information throughout the organization, which results in slow business processes and inefficiency.

Female Circumcision Essay Example for Free

Female Circumcision Essay Societies all over the world view an individual’s transcend from childhood to adulthood as a very important chapter in their life. Many rituals are done as part of the individual’s passage through adulthood. Some are ceremonious, while others involve much pain and suffering. One such painful ritual is female circumcision experienced by females in Africa. For many years, health experts have stressed the various complications that are experienced by females who had undergone the procedure ranging from excessive bleeding to death. Governments have attempted to ban the procedure by passing laws making circumcision illegal. In spite of this, female circumcision is continuous to be rampant among African communities both in Africa and even in African communities outside the country. This paper aims to establish the prevalence of female circumcision in African communities is strongly linked to their cultural beliefs regarding the essence and protection of the femininity of their women and the religious tradition of circumcision as prescribed in Islamic teachings. Look more:Â  foot binding process essay Process of Female Circumcision In order to establish female circumcision as a cultural tradition celebrated by African communities as opposed to the viewpoint of many health experts and human rights activists as an act of mutilation against women, the ritual and process surrounding female circumcision must first be discussed as well as its background in its role of preserving the virginity of the women of African communities. Contrary to the belief that female circumcisions is a tradition rooted among the indigenous African tribes, female circumcisions have been done in Arabia, Egypt and Syria as early as the fifth century BC with evidence provided in Greek documents by ancient historians. Female circumcision was also utilized by the ancient Romans among their female slaves where they would pierce the genitalia of the slaves with pins or fibula. Hence, the name infibulation. This was done by the Romans in order to prevent the female slaves from becoming pregnant by their masters. Female circumcision was also evident in Europe and the United States as a solution for the urge of masturbation and nymphomania (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Currently, female circumcision is being practiced by Muslims, Christians, Falasha Jews and indigenous African religions in Algeria, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal and Mali as well as in the Southern part of the Arabian peninsula, Malaysia and Indonesia totaling approximately between 80 and 100 million women who have undergone some form of female circumcision with another four to five million children and adolescents undergoing this procedure every year in compliance to both their African cultural tradition of female circumcision as an initiation to womanhood as well as the requirements of their religious belief that circumcision must be done in order to be purified (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997). The ritual of female circumcision among the rural African tribes begins with a ceremony where people of all ages would gather within the tribe’s compound and celebrate by drinking and dancing. This is in order for the women who would be circumcised to become tired and eventually numb for the pain that will be a part of the circumcision process. The circumcision rites would be carried out the following day at dawn and held in public without anesthesia with the girl either seated or lying down with her thighs held apart by helpers (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Walley, 1997). Depending on the tribe and preference of the family and woman to be initiated, the severity of female circumcision varies. The least severe form of female circumcision involves pricking the clitoris to cause bleeding. The second form of female circumcision is called the sunna. This procedure removes both the tip and the layer of skin covering the clitoris. The most severe is called the infibulation or Pharaonic type of circumcision. This procedure involves the removal of the entire clitoris, labia minora and most of the labia majora. Whatever is left of the labia majora is then stitched together using thread or thorns leaving only a small opening approximately the size of the head of a match stick to allow both urine and menstrual flow to pass. A powdery substance composed of sugar, gum, herbs, ashes and animal manure will be applied on the area afterwards. While the wound heals, the girls legs are tied together to immobilize her anywhere between fifteen to forty days (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). In more progressive African communities as well as communities in other countries, the circumcision ritual is less extravagant. There is usually no celebration before the ritual and the procedure is usually performed by medical professionals with the use of anesthesia to perform the infibulation (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Health Effects of Female Circumcision Female genital operations is viewed as a major health concern not just because of its geographic distribution but also the number of females involved and the adverse complications resulting from the procedure. A woman who has undergone female circumcision does not only suffer from shock, hemorrhage and injury to the adjacent organs right after the procedure, but becomes susceptible to a number of other infections such as septicemia, tetanus, formation of scars and keloids, urinary infection, cysts and abscesses in the vulva region, pelvic inflammatory disease, infection of the uterus and fallopian tube, painful sexual intercourse, and even death (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Women who had undergone this procedure, specifically from those who came from rural communities, experience psychological trauma as well as irritability, anxiety, and depression, reduced feelings of femininity, alterations of the personality and the absence of arousal in sexual intercourse (Kouba Muasher, 1985) Childbearing becomes hazardous not just on the part of the mother who has undergone a female circumcision procedure but the baby’s health is placed in danger as well. The formation of scars and keloids after the procedure may contribute to extremely painful labor. The tearing of the scar tissue surrounding the area where the procedure was done may also result to hemorrhage on the part of the mother. There is also a high possibility that the newborn will suffer from brain damage and other malformations since the sutures done on the labia majora of the mother will have to be removed only during the period of the delivery when the baby’s head will be crowning in order for the baby to pass through (Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Addressing the Issue of Female Circumcision Female circumcision has become an international controversy in reference to human rights and health issues within international conferences. In line with this, various efforts have been done in order to minimize, if not eradicate the proliferation of female circumcision which is now commonly practiced throughout much of Africa and is now being practiced within African expatriate communities in U. S. , Canada and Europe (Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). In 1958, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women called upon the World Health Organization (WHO) to study the persistence of customs that subject girls to female genital operations rituals as well as to create measures to eradicate it. The strategy being used is similar to that which led to the discontinuation of foot binding in China. This strategy would include education and public health interventions as well as the formation of groups of parents who will pledge that they will not only cease committing their daughters to the female circumcision ritual but to discourage their sons to marry women who have been circumcised (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Thomas, 1998; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Slowly, this strategy has been yielding positive results. In Somalia, authorities have begun to make considerable effort through their education system to inform the public about the adverse effects of female circumcision. Due to the increase in education in Africa particularly regarding the adverse effects of the ritual of female circumcisions, more and more young women are beginning to favor less severe types of female circumcision if not oppose the ritual completely (Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). But in other parts of Africa, the opposite has been happening. Instead of using education to inform the communities of the complications of female circumcision, it has driven communities to continue the procedure with the process carried out no longer by crude and unhygienic measures as they have normally practiced, but utilized the advancement of medicine in carrying out the rituals. Nowadays, more and more hospitals and health clinics in order to prevent the woman initiated from suffering from shock, hemorrhage and injury to the adjacent organs right after the procedure as well as psychological trauma due to the pain since the procedure now utilizes anesthesia and medicine to prevent possible infections (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Moreover, in spite the government passing legislatures banning the procedures completely, African communities still perform the rituals. For example, the Sudan government passed a law banning female circumcision in 1946. However, about 80% of women within the reproductive age group interviewed between the years 1989 and 1990 in Sudan have still undergone the ritual (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Another is in Kenya where female circumcision has been considered illegal by the government since 1982. Yet, communities still continue to practice this since they argued that it is part of their custom (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Walley, 1997). In fact, in a study conducted by Williams Sobieszczyk (1997), 90% of all African women both residing in Africa and in African communities in other parts of the world had planned to have their daughters still undergo some form of female circumcision with 50% of them preferring the most severe forms of circumcision. Reasons for the Prevalence of Female Circumcision The African tribes and African communities in other countries who have practiced female circumcision for generations have remained undaunted with the continuance of the ritual of female circumcision in spite of the availability of education and resource materials for them with reference to the adverse effect female circumcision have on the part of the women. What is even more disturbing is that there are some women who request to be circumcised (Walley, 1997). One reason for this is due to the strong ties that female circumcision has in reference to Islam. Islam is the dominant religion in the countries in Senegal, Mali, Somalia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania which have been noted to practice female circumcision. It is the belief of those who practice Islam is that all forms of circumcision is prescribed by the prophet Mohammed and that circumcision would make the woman more radiant and it is sanctioned by the Islam authorities called the ulama. However, scholars on the Islamic faith have determined that although circumcision is prescribed, the most of the severe forms of the practice of female circumcision is not a requirement according to the Quran or the hadith which are the collection of sayings of the prophet Mohammed. In fact, such forms of circumcision are prohibited (Jhazbhay, 2003; Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Another reason for the continuance of female circumcision is that African communities have viewed female circumcision as an important initiation to adulthood while serving to construct, enhance and reinforce female purity and virginity in connection with the norms that govern family honor, female sexuality and marriage which must be strictly followed. For a woman to turn back from the circumcision rites would amount to disgracing their families and relatives since they will be branded as cowards thus would be isolated by the community. By undergoing female circumcision, they believe that they develop a personal sense of self-confidence and pride as well as public respect. Such is the case among the Sabaot women who are envied by the women of Bukusu since, unlike them; they do not undergo female circumcision since their belief is that circumcision is only for male (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Thomas, 1998; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). African men also require their brides to be circumcised. Women who are not circumcised are prohibited from bearing children, particularly among the women in Meru (Thomas, 1998). Some tribes view the clitoris as a dangerous organ which could kill the baby during delivery. Others view it as poisonous that it will kill a man during sexual intercourse (Kouba Muasher, 1985). Moreover, women believe that fertility is enhanced after a woman is circumcised. Thus, female circumcision would increase the dowry that the men would pay in order to marry a circumcised woman further increasing the pride and self-confidence of the woman since she is now entitled to be married and bear children (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Thomas, 1998; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). The importance of patrilineal kin in African families also influences the decision for the younger females to undergo female circumcision since female circumcision was believed to enhance the masculinity of the males and the femininity of the females through the removal of the external genitalia. It is the common belief, especially among the Hofriyati women female circumcision is seen as a symbolism of emphasizing femininity focusing more on fertility rather than sexuality since many tribes believe that if left alone, the clitoris would grow into a penis (Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997). African communities have also perceived the views of many scholars in reference to the importance of their cultural traditions as harmful, coercive, superfluous and regarded as a myth that must be laid to rest and stated that development is the goal of every country today, with development pertaining to the assimilation of Western technology and living patterns. Although there have been a growing number of African women objecting to the practice of female circumcision, they also objected to the manner how feminists from First World countries are handling the matter. African women believed that women from First World countries do not comprehensively understand their experiences involving the matter. This is because most Euro-American studies about female genital operations view African women as thoroughly oppressed victims of a patriarchal society, ignorant, and not seen as social actors in their own right (Walley, 1997). As such, the practice of female circumcision still persists in many parts of the world because it remains as the center of the roles and how they value their women in society. Its continuance is seen as a social standing and a return to African tradition (Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Conclusion This paper has shown that there is a strong relationship between female circumcision and how African communities measure the worth of an African woman. Female circumcision is equated to courage, honor, family status, eligibility to marry and have children. Those who choose not to be circumcised are ostracized by society and are considered as a disgrace to their families, compelling them to endure this ritual. African communities have also viewed female circumcision as a fulfillment of the requirements of their Islamic faith even if scholars have stressed otherwise. In order to minimize, if not eradicate female circumcision, efforts in educating African communities both in Africa and in other parts of the country should center on ensuring that they properly understand the requirements of Islam regarding circumcision. By re-educating them of the requirements of Islam along with the adverse effects, the tradition would eventually be eliminated. References Jhazbhay, I. (2003, August 30). Islam in Africa. Retrieved on February 19, 2008, from http://www. nuradeen. com/currentissues/IslamInAfrica. htm. Kouba, L. J. Muasher, J. (March 1985). Female circumcision in Africa: an overview. African studies review, 28(1), 95-110. Obermeyer, C. M. (March 1999). Female genital surgeries: the known, the unknown, and the unknowable. Medical anthropology quarterly new series, 13(1), 79-106. Thomas, L. M. (1998). Imperial concerns and womens affairs: state efforts to regulate clitoridectomy and eradicate abortion in Meru, Kenya, c. 1910-1950. The journal of African history, 39(1), 121-45. Walley, C. J. (August 1997). Searching for voices: feminism, anthropology, and the global debate over female genital operations. Cultural anthropology, 12(3), 405-38. Williams, L. Sobieszczyk, T. (November 1997). Attitudes surrounding the continuation of female circumcision in the Sudan: passing the tradition to the next generation. Journal of marriage and the family, 59(4), 966-81.

Chariots of Fire Analysis

Chariots of Fire Analysis Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film directed by Hugh Hudson. The original screenplay is written by Colin Welland, based on the true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two athletes that have competed in the 1924 Olympic Games. The film was nominated for seven and won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. 1.1. Synopsis The film is the inspiring story of two highly talented British runners, as they prepare for and compete in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) is an English Jew with Lithuanian roots, who faces both prejudice for his origins and criticism for his use of a professional trainer in his preparations for the Olympics. He is an ambitious sprinter from the Cambridge University, eager to win and to prove his place in the English society. However, in order to succeed, he needs to overcome his inner demons. His rival and teammate, Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), is a devout Christian, a Scottish Presbyterian protestant whose life ambition is to become a missionary, but who is a talented and passionate sportsman. He runs for his faith and to glorify God. Due to his religious principles, Liddell refused to run in the 100 meter Olympic heats, which were held on a Sunday.  «Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Chariots of Fire is a film that digs deep into the human spirit. It not only presents us the story of two men and the motivations they have for running, it reaches to the very essence of the questions of why we exist and what significance our lives have. The film begins with Abrahams funerals and then tells, in flashback, the story of the two main characters. It starts with Harolds first day at Cambridge, Caius College, in 1919. Later, he takes part in the college dash, a competition where the challenger will attempt to run around the court perimeter to and from a point beneath the clock within the time taken by the clock to strike midday. A distance traditionally recognized as one of 188 paces. His sole competitor is Liddell, representing Edinburgh University. Abrahams defeats him, to the slight discontent of his masters, who first discuss his social and ethnic origins, and then his capabilities. The focus shifts to Eric Liddell who is invited in Scotland, 1920, to preside a childrens race. At the end, he holds a speech about sports and faith. It is the first moment that presents his preaching spirit. Further along he is shown dining with his family, who has made from missionary a purpose in life. Another memorable scene is the one when Liddell runs in the France-Scotland competition and when he is pushed and falls. However, he finds the power within to raise and not only finish, but win the race. Afterwards, under the rain, people are mesmerized by his speech where he preaches that the true power comes from within. Harold Abrahams, who assists as this race, is amazed before his gift and envious at the same time. He takes the opportunity to introduce himself to Sam Mussabini, a professional coach, and to ask if he could train him for the Olympics gold. The latter does not accept, but agrees to watch him and see if he has the right talent, because, as he says, you cant put in what Gods left out. While Liddell is more of a loner, Abrahams is often shown with his friends or in public. He even has a love interest, Sybil Gordon, singer. The scene of the two of them dining for the first time is a very important one, as Harold speaks about himself, his heritage and why he feels he has to run in order to fit in the English society: Do you love running? Im more of an addict. Its a compulsion. A weapon. Against what? Being Jewish, I suppose. Youre not serious?! Youre not Jewish, or you wouldnt ask. People dont care. Anyway, being Jewish hasnt done you any harm. Im what I call semi-deprived . It means they lead me to water, but they wont let me drink. The climax of Abrahams pre-Olympic struggle is reached when his loses a challenge against Liddell. Demoralized by the fact that he feels he has done anything he could, he feels worthless: I run to win. If I cant win, I dont run. Despite his apparent failure, at the end of the race Mr. Mussabini offers to coach him: I can find you another two yards. This is the decisive moment, and from this point on all of Harolds energy is channeled to one purpose and one purpose only: winning the gold medal. They start training in a sustained and technical way, analyzing mistakes and finding ways to improve. In the meantime, Eric trains in a more relaxed manner, but always empowered by his faith. When his sister, Jenny, is worried that athletics is not something noble enough, and suggests that he should better pursue the family tradition and go to China to spread his faith, Eric replies: I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure. The preparations for the Olympics start generating rumors. A highly expressive moment is that when Harold Abrahams is called at Cambridge to the masters office. He is confronted by two professors who accuse him of denaturizing the amateur spirit of sports to his own personal interest; of turning into a tradesman: for the past year, you have concentrated on developing your own technique in the headlong pursuit, may I suggest, of individual glory. The athlete replies by a true declaration of independence, a manifest saying: I am a Cambridge man first and last. I am an Englishman first and last. What I have achieved, what I intend to achieve, is for my family, my university and my country [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦].You know, gentlemen you yearn for victory, just as I do. But achieved with the apparent effortlessness of gods [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]. I believe in the pursuit of excellence and Ill carry the future with me. After this bitter discussion Abrahams learns that he has been selected to represent his country at the Olympic Games of 1924, held in Paris. Eris Liddell was also qualified. On the boat to Paris, Liddell is informed that the 100 meter race will be held on a Sunday. This stirs enormous conscience turmoil for him. To run on a Sunday would be against Gods Law. The Prince of Wales himself tries to convince him to compete, but the problem is not solved until Lindsay, another member of the team, offers his place in the 400 meter race. However, this remains a highly representative scene of Erics dilemma and a testimony of his faith. He is torn between his desire to run and his commitment to praise God on the one hand and between his future King and God on the other hand. Liddell is depicted as a true man of principle and a true athlete. His speed is a mere extension of his life, its force. In the Olympic Games each of the two athletes wins a gold medal. However, the meaning of his success is significantly different. As Harold Abrahams discovers before his most decisive race; his life has become all about those few seconds in which he feels he has to justify everything he has done and who he will become I am forever in pursuit and I dont even know what is I am chasing. And even though he wins, he can not rejoice. He has not defeated his inner demons and he has not understood the meaning of his life. Eric Liddell, on the other hand, does not share his colleagues bizarre reaction. He is ecstatic after his success, he feels he has reached his purpose as a sportsman and is ready to embrace his future life, of a missionary. 1.2. The title The title is inspired by And did those feet in ancient time, a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem. Today it is best known as the hymn Jerusalem, whose music is written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. It seems that the films working title was Running. The inspiration came one Sunday evening when Colin Welland (screenplay writer) turned on the television to the BBCs religious music series Songs of Praise featuring the stirring hymn Jerusalem, its chorus including the words Bring me my chariot of fire. the writer allegedly leapt up to his feet and shouted to his wife Patricia, Ive got it, Pat! Chariots of Fire!  [1]  . A church congregation sings Jerusalem at the end of the film and a performance appears on the Chariots of Fire soundtrack performed by the Ambrosian Singers overlaid partly by a composition by Vangelis. 2. Chariots of Fire film analysis Our analysis will focus on the two heroes, their leadership style and their interactions with the other characters. In order to fully understand Harold, we also need to take into account Sam Mussabini, because their activity and achievements are complementary. We will begin with a short description of their personality based on the way the film depicts them and then we will observe their leadership styles. 2.1. The character of Eric Liddell Eric Liddell is a fully talented person, led by efforts for excellence in studies and sport. Being an academic, he belongs to one of the best schools of Scotland Eton College, Edinburgh University. he is also extremely talented in sports. He is initially very good at rugby, but gives up with it in order to completely dedicate himself to running for the Olympic Games. He is called the flying Scotsman. He is extremely gifted and works very hard to achieve his goals.   Ive never seen such drive, such commitment in a runner. He runs like a wild animal, says Harold Abrahams. He is more of a runner on long distances; opposite to Abrahams, who is a sprinter. Hes fast. But he wont go any faster, not in the dash, anyway. Hes a gut runner. Hes all heart. Digs deep, says Sam Mussabini. During a competition, he falls  while  running and still manages to win the race. Therefore, he achieves the almost impossible veterans, were unanimous in the opinion that Liddells win in the quarter mile was the greatest track performance that they had ever seen  [2]  . We also can notice that, despite the fact he has no coach, he wins the Olympic 400 meter race. He has been able to provide the right efforts on his own and with the help of God. He is a man who lives for his faith. His parents are missionaries in China and are very  strict  about religion. God is a loving dictator. His rules are such as attending the Sunday service, or not playing football on Sunday. Eric fully embraces this conception of religion. He feels that running and winning races will prove the world the presence of God. To win is an honor for Him. When I run, I feel his pleasure. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal becomes a priority, second only to his religion. The ambition to win this event is part of his religion; is spiritual. Eric believed that everything he did in the name of his belief should give God pleasure. I would like to give you something more permanent but I can only point the way. I believe God made me for a purpose, he says after a race. After winning the Olympic medal, he follows his family and becomes himself a missionary in China, as he had planned from the beginning. He is an example of a person who lived out the Olympic ideals while upholding the Olympic motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius (used for the first time in 1924), which means, Swifter, Higher, Stronger, throughout his life.  [3]  Today, a foundation and an internet site are dedicated to his memory. His conscience issue, his testimony of faith   When he learns that the heats are to be run on a Sunday, he switches to the 400 meter competition. Running on Sunday is against Gods law. His decision is taken; he will show inflexibility on this point. The Prince of Wales himself tries to influence him to change decision, but Eric says that although he loves his country, he is not ready for such a sacrifice. Lindsay is the one who suggests the solution. Having already won a silver medal, he yields his place on the 400 meter race, which takes place the next Tuesday.   In this situation, Eric has proven to be extremely focused; he wins and stands by his principles. It is a way to promote his religion, since his convictions make the headlines in all the newspapers Eric Liddell, God before the king.   His relationship with others For Abrahams, with whom he shares personal conversations, he holds a strong friendship. It is remarkable to notice that, although competition should be the master word in his field, he does not appear to be affected by this state of mind.   He does his best to encourage friendship and loyalty. His sister Jennie is very worried about him being stolen by sports: your mind is not with us anymore, it is full of running and starting and medals and pace. He is diplomatic and very soft with her, tells him that he will go to China, but only after the Olympic Games. He tries to convince Jenny that he is an excellent runner and that it is Gods wish for him to do his best to win the games, because it is God who made him fast. Sandy, his close friend confesses: Erics special to me. Precious. When Erics father goes back to China, he is asked to look after the family Im relying on you now to keep them all out of mischief. This is why he remains close to him; he even follows him at the Olympic Games. An illustration of charismatic leadership Leadership is described as  «Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  the art of influencing others in the manner desired by the leader  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ».  [4]  In this case, we believe that Eric has the natural talent to attract people around him without exercising authority. He gets his power from inside and does not need any kind of support or coach. It is a personality trait that he had from his birth, which makes him endowed with special qualities. His father being a missionary, we presume that it is a family gene. He takes risks by involving himself in religious purposes. He is extremely confident in his faith; he can therefore communicate strongly about it. This increases his leadership towards others as well as his charisma. He feels he is driven by a divine mission to uphold God throw his behavior in sports. He therefore takes every opportunity to preach the god news. He is skilled for public speaking and uses this talent very often; he is an authority for those around him. He is passionate and shows a lot of determination in convincing others.    At the end of a race, he does not hesitate to gather the crowd around him and speak about God. Under the rain, he is able to federate a large group of people. He speaks their language, talks about their problems. People are highly receptive, some of them captivated.   Open to others, he is able to mix with very different social classes. He is as well at ease with people from his high level College and people from the street who watch him racing. His modesty is entirely genuine and unaffected. Eric Liddell possesses a outstanding emotional intelligence  [5]  . He is self aware; he is good at understanding what motivates him and how his actions or words affect others. For example, when he speaks to his sister Jenny who is worried about his attitude towards sport, he finds the right argument and gains her support: he will pursue the mission to China when the games are finished. He is motivated by something beyond money or status. He wants to win in the name of his religion and that is his drive. He is empathetic, since he preoccupies himself with what is on peoples mind. He is a role model for children. For example, at the end of a Sunday service, a young little girl asks him to sign on her Bible. Eric also has good social skills, as we can see many friends are around him. On the Sunday when he should have run, he is called to participate to Sunday mass at the Paris Church of Scotland. He is asked to read a psalm and it is a moment of deep emotion for the people listening to him. Being a leader, he also shows abilities of self management: he entirely enjoys what he does and appears as someone very well balanced.   He is setting high objectives for himself, winning the games, and he visualizes his success.   He is mature because he knows that the Olympic Games will only be a step in his life and that after, his mission will lead him to higher purposes. His vision of the future is realistic. He balances  hard work, studies and personal life very well since he achieves all his goals, by a good management of time and resources. Moreover, he is well integrated in his social community and appreciated by many people around him. All these elements prove that he has the skills to self manage his life and his reach objectives very efficiently. We can observe that Erics followers are captivated, the message is healthy and people oriented. By his behavior and his personality, he shows the necessary qualities for a Spiritual Leader. His life after the film shows him even more determined on this point. Today, an internet site and a community exist and services are regularly offered in his name, a proof that his leadership was strong enough to still be present today. 2.2. The character of Harold Abrahams Harold Abrahams is depicted as a strong and somewhat tormented personality. He descends from a family of Lithuanian Jews and his familys origins follow him everywhere, not only in his perception, but also in the attitude of others. His determination and his desire to be appreciated for what he really is as a person, and not to be judged upon his ascendants, is evident from the very first scenes of the film. For example, as he arrives his first day at Cambridge, where he studies law, he feels obliged to correct the porters, who address him using the word laddie. In response, Abrahams mentions: I ceased to be a laddie when I took up the Kings commission. Harold is an excellent athlete, a great runner, and the first challenge he takes is to run the collage dash. He is the first student in all the 700 years of the college to attempt to run the whole perimeter of the court between the first and the last strike of 12. He is competitive, determined and extremely self confident when he runs. We learn however that his need to be valued and respected comes from his sense of inferiority. He feels rejected in the English society because he is Jewish. The confession he makes to Aubrey is particularly relevant: Its an ache, a helplessness and an anger. One feels humiliated. Sometimes I say to myself, Steady on, youre imagining all this. Then I catch that look again. Catch it on the edge of a remark. Feel a cold reluctance in a handshake. Thats my father. A Lithuanian Jew. He is alien [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]. I love and admire him. He worships this country. From nothing, he built what he believed was enough to make true Englishmen of his sons. My brothers a doctor. A leader in his field [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]. And here am I. Setting up shop in the finest university in the land. But the old man forgot one thing. This England of his is Christian and Anglo-Saxon. And so are her corridors of power. And those who stalk them guard them with jealousy and venom. Youre right to study law. Youre quite an advocate. A rare ethnic advantage. Its called the gift of the gab. So what now? Grin and bear it? No, Aubrey. Im going to take them on. All of them. One by one. And run them off their feet. In order to be the best, Harold Abrahams does something unusual and revolutionary for his time; he hires a professional coach, Sam Mussabini. The latter is reluctant to this demand, because it was usually him who made the proposition. Nevertheless, Harolds argument convinces him to observe and then acknowledge his talent: I can run fast. With your help, I think I can run even faster. Perhaps faster than any man ever ran. I want that Olympic medal. Now, I can see it there. Its waiting for me. But I cant get it on my own. During the few moments when Harold is shown with his friends, he seems outgoing and gregarious, a good company. There is a clear contrast in comparison to his moments of solitude, when his more fragile side of his personality appears. This is why we speak of inner demons, of the duality he faces: he is eager for others to like and appreciate him, but seems incapable to do that for himself. He denies his true essence, his origins, he doubts himself at the smallest failure. His life becomes even more complex when he meets Sybil Gordon, a singer who becomes his girlfriend, his confident and his supporter. She stands by him during his hardest moment of fear and uncertainty: when Eric Liddell defeats him. It is the moment when Harold expresses his compulsion for winning. He cannot conceive to run if he does not win. His thrill does not come from sports, from racing; it comes from winning, being the best. This is why a defeat is unconceivable, unbearable. His salvation, his drive to move on and aim for the Olympic gold does not come from love, nevertheless, but from the one who had refused him. Sam Mussabini is the one who comes at the end of the race and promises to find him another two yards. Mussabini is truly the person Abrahams needed to perk up his performance. His entire perception of life changes when the coach agrees to train him. Everything else falls into second place, including his girlfriend. He no longer has an amateur view over sports, but a more professional one. He understands that result can only come out of hard work and sweat. Together, they analyze other top athletes, their technique and their mistakes. Then they practice, improve Harolds performance and aim for the ultimate goal: the Olympic medal. Due to his use of a professional coach, Harold is accused of is professors at Cambridge of mercantilism, of desiring to win at all costs. In fact, in the 1920s, athletics were regarded as an emanation of talent, not of herd training. The masters plead for an amateur approach and consider that Abrahams attitude prejudices the name of their school: Here in Cambridge, weve always been proud of our athletic prowess. We believe, weve always believed, that our games are indispensable in helping to complete the education of an Englishman. They create character. They foster courage, honesty and leadership; but, most of all, an unassailable spirit of loyalty, comradeship and mutual responsibility [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]. Im afraid there is a growing suspicion in the bosom of this university [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] that in your enthusiasm for success you have perhaps lost sight of some of these ideals. Harolds reaction to these accusations reveals his innovative way of thinking. He is a visionary who has set his goals and will stop at nothing to achieve them. He is committed and ready to do everything humanly possible to succeed. He believes in himself and uses every resource available. A personal coach is one of them. I believe in the pursuit of excellence and Ill carry the future with me, he says leaving the masters office, only to find out shortly after that he has been selected to be part of the team for the 8th Olympic Games, held in Paris. Abrahams channels all his energy to attain his life dream. He strives for the medal and for recognition. From this point of view, he and Mussabini are very similar. The former is e Jew who feels inferior and therefore uses sports to prove that he belongs in the upper English society. The latter is half Italian, half Arab and is ostracized because he brings a professional approach to sports in an era when it was predominantly amateur. He becomes not only Harolds coach, but his mentor. They complete each other in their desire for glory and they need one another, because none of them can succeed on their own. A discussion between Sybil and Andy, a mutual friend, is extremely eloquent when it comes to Harolds commitment: He says he needs to clear his mind of me. He cant love me and say that. Syb, the worlds against him, or so he believes. Now hes got a chance to prove himself. He cant see or hear anything beyond that, not even you. The fastest man ever before [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]. Thats immortality. Just think what it means to a man like Harold. Well, to me the whole things fun. I dont need that. Cast care aside and all that. But for Harold, its a matter of life and death. In Paris, his competitors are two living legends, members of the American team: Paddock and Scholz. Harold suffers several defeats in the beginning of the Olympics and therefore questions his ability to ever reach his objective. He questions himself and everything he stands for. Before his most important race, he confesses to his frind: Contentment. Im 24 and Ive never known it. Im forever in pursuit and I dont even know what it is Im chasing. Aubrey, old chap, Im scared. Sam and I, weve labored, rowed and bullied for this. Day in, day out. Youve seen us, chuckled over us, Ill be bound. Out in all weathers. Madmen. And for what? I was beaten out of sight in the 200. Then I let Paddock trick me in the semi. Now, in one hours time, Ill be out there again. Ill raise my eyes and look down that corridor, four-feet wide, with ten lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But will I? Aubrey, Ive known the fear of losing. But now Im almost too frightened to win. Before the 100-meter dash Harold has almost overcome his fear of losing, but faces the fear of winning. He feels that his whole existence depends on that one race, which he might either win and offer him a long-desired status; or lose and render him into obscurity. In addition to his own dilemma, he receives a letter from Mussabini, telling him that he would not assist at the race, but that he wishes him all the best. He also offers him his fathers charm. He runs the 100 meters in 10.6 seconds and wins the gold medal. However, he can not celebrate his success. He seeks refuge in a bistro where he drinks with Mussabini. He does not want to party with his team. Yes, youve always thought of yourself as a ruthless man. Hard. Bit of a loner, like me. But actually, youre as soft as a limp pocket. Oh, you care. Care about things that really matter. If you didnt, I wouldnt have come within a mile of you. Do you know who you won for out there today? Hmm? Us! You and old Sam Mussabini. Ive waited 30 bloody years for this [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]. Harold! It means the world to me, this, you know. Because weve had, today you and me, and weve got it for keeps. Harold has an illogical, irrational reaction. One possible explanation is that he does not want to share this moment with those who might not have believed in him and in his method; that he wanted to savor his achievement all by himself. Another possible explanation is that he realizes that despite his medal, he is the same person. He is still Jewish and he would still have to face the same problems. Is Harold Abrahams a leader? What kind of leader might he be? Harold Abrahams is an outsider at these Olympics. He is passionate about what he does and he takes it to perfection. He has the vision of success and he sets his own goals; extremely high goals. He believes in himself and seeks to overcome his flaws. He is also looking at the future, knowing exactly what he wants to achieve. The only thing that he has not figured out is what he will do once he achieves everything. And this is exactly why he can not rejoice when he wins the gold medal. This is why he is not a leader in the true sense of the word. He does, however, manifest some kind of auto-leadership. He manages himself, he determines his objectives and he identifies his resources. He is extremely self-aware, realistic and down to earth. The fact that he acknowledges the fact that he needs a coach is essential. In a way, we would say that he seeks a leader, a mentor and a motivator. And he convinces Mussabini, the best in his field, to be that leader for him. If we had to integrate their relationship in a leadership model, it would be the cognitive resources theory and the transactional leadership. Mussabinis intelligence and experience are the resources that lead to performance. His directivity is exactly what Harold needs; he requires guidance. From a transactional point of view, we could say that there is a contract between the two and that the ultimate task is to win. Harold has every interest to follow his leader, because he is the best and he cannot succeed without him. This is why the contingent reward behaviour is well adapted in this situation, with the mention that the motivation is intrinsic. And this is exactly what permits them to excel. Harold is a mature follower, both in terms of job and psychological maturity (according to Hersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership Model). Therefore, Mussabinis directive pattern of behaviour (similar to Fielders task-oriented behaviour) works efficiently in their relationship; he is a teller. Transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms individuals. It often involves long term goals  [6]  . We believe that focusing on the process, the interaction between the two does not exclude the transactional point of view. We therefore consider that Mussabini helps Abrahams reach his full potential. They each have a vision, they are both inspired by their own motivation and they have to work together to achieve their goals. From a certain point of view, they render each other a service. 2.3. The character of Sam Mussabini Sam Mussabini is Harolds coach. He first appears in the film at a race opposing France and Scotland. He has a short conversation with Colonel John Keddie, President of the Scottish Amateur Athletes Association, and we understand that from his point of view he is a persona non grata; they do not share the same vision on sports. This is why when the Colonel says we do have a strict amateur code he replies that he is a mere spectator. Harold Abrahams is in the public as well and takes the opportunity to talk to him about his need to be coached by him. He wants to improve in order to be able to win the gold medal. Mr Mussabini first refuses, telling him that he should be the one to choose whether to coach him or not: its the coach that should do the asking. Still, he promises that he would observe him and see if he is talented and capable or not to deserve his attention. They meet again at another race, which opposes Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. The latter loses and this defeat in unbearable for him. He questions his ability to be a great runner, he is desperate and depressed. This is the moment when Mussabini appears, telling him I can find you another two yards. A line that is decisive for the rest of the film. They start training together; giving Harold the technique he needed to progresses. He has innovative pedagogical methods, consisting of showing him photos of other runners and analyzing why they win or fail, what they do right and what they do wrong. Abrahams strides are shortened, putting more poise into his running. He acquires a more powerful start and learns to concentrate on his dip at the finish. Mussabini understands the psychology of his student, what drives him: a short sprint is run on nerves. Its tailor-made for neurotics. He realizes that Harold is a good sprinter and that he is pushed by his nerves. He says