My Future As A School Counselor - 1605 Words

Introduction In 2006, 5% of children ages 4 – 17 were reported to have serious difficulties with emotions, concentration, behavior, or being able to get along with other people. Among the parent of children with serious (definitive or severe) difficulties, 84% reported contacting a health care provider or school staff about their child’s difficulties, 49% reported their child with prescribed medication, and 44% reported their child had received treatment other than medication (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2008). Theories of counseling are based on a theoretical framework of understanding, interpretation, and integrity. It is not a matter of a theory being â€Å"right or â€Å"wrong,† as every theory offers a unique contribution to understanding human behavior and has unique implications for counseling practice (Corey, 2013). 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Minority and low-income students are more likely to be taught by teachers with three or fewer years of experience and to be in schools with higher teacher

At The Mezzo Level, Social Workers Interact With Clients

At the Mezzo level, social workers interact with clients on a much broader level than they do at micro-level interventions. Mezzo-level practice includes engaging with clients as individuals as well as schools, families, task groups, local organizations, small businesses, or neighborhood residents. Mezzo-level social work works well when a social worker bringss clients together to beat daily challenges who may benefit from the same stakeholders. This paper will discuss single mothers in poverty at a mezzo level, which will include theory, intervention, change in the system, research and theory, as well as social work skills and values that impact work. Problem Identification and Theories Problem from Mezzo-Level Perspective Being a†¦show more content†¦When talking about how an individual interacts and behaves in their environment, the person-in-environment perspective is a useful perspective to use. The person-in-environment perspective focuses on assessing an individual’s strengths, weaknesses and presenting problem (oxfordbibiographies). This theoretic framework is useful when focusing on single mothers in poverty, at the mezzo level, since single mothers throughout the community are constantly accessing stakeholders. Intervention using this model can include, at a minimum, social support and education groups for single mothers or groups that focus on improving financial situations for mothers in poverty. Each group focus is on a different struggle that influence everyday living for single mothers in poverty. The solution focused-model can also be used to help out single mothers living in poverty. The solution focused model starts with the solution in mind, then creates a plan to establish the steps that will lead up to the solution (http://web.augsburg.edu/socialwork/msw/pdfs/CheatSheet.pdf). 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Howard Schultz Leadership Style & Qualities †Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Describe about the Report for Executive Leadership of Howard Schultz. Answer: Introduction Leadership is the most important element of business management. George (2015, p. 43) stated that the success of a business organization depends on the leadership qualities of its leader or owner. Leadership is a very sensitive element that has direct impact on the employees of the organization. In this context, Hellriegel and Slocum (2011, p.16) mentioned that behind the success of every large business organization, there is huge contribution of its leader. For example, Apple is one of the top most companies in the Smartphone manufacturing industry in the international market; but the company has achieved success because of the active contribution of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, the leaders and owners of Apple Inc (Northouse, 2016, p.15). However, this study aims to discuss on the leadership of Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. In the beginning, the study provides a brief description of Howard Schultz. After that the study evaluated the leadership strategies that Howard Schultz has taken during his leadership (Sendjaya, 2015, p. 118). Critical evaluation of the strategies is done. At the same time, the study also identifies the impact of the strategies taken by Howard Schultz on the performance of Starbucks in the past years (Mathias Smith, 2016, p.215). Howard Schultz In the year of 1982, Howard Schultz joined Starbucks, when the organization was operating its business at small scale (Aiello Dickinson, 2014). Howard Schultz belongs from a Jewish family in United States. He started his work life with Xerox just after completing his education (McQueen, 2014, p.47). After working for few years with Xerox, Howard Schultz joined Perstorp AB, which was Swedish house ware manufacturing company. After few years, the marketing skills of Howard Schultz were noticed by the owner of Starbuck and he offered job to Howard Schultz in the retail and marketing department at Starbucks. After joining Starbucks, Howard Schultz came up with several innovative marketing strategies that helped Starbucks expanding its business in international market (Bookman Martens, 2013, p.303). Leadership styles adopted by Howard Schultz In the bibliography of Howard Schultz, it can be identified that after joining Starbucks, Howard Schultz made Starbucks mission as the mission of his own life. In the year 1983, Howard Schultz visited at Italy and found that in Italy, the coffee stores or coffee bars are not just the places, where the people come to drink coffee, but these are the places, where the sense of community can be observed. People come at the coffee centres for various purposes other than drinking coffee. At the same time, Howard Schultz also noticed that the way of providing service is also different. The behaviour of the staffs is much polite and they provide personalized services so that the customers feel free at the coffee center. Along with that, he also noticed that the leadership styles in those coffee centers are very friendly, which provides employees the scope to express their views (Cornett Erhemjamts Tehranian, 2015. P.54). Noticing the business styles of the coffee bars in Italy, Howard Schultz understood that if Starbuck wants to grow further, it needs to implement proper leadership strategy. Howard Schultz focused on the democratic and transformational leadership strategies. He believed that friendly working atmosphere can be built within the organization only when the relationship between employees and employers or managers becomes friendly (Pollitt, 2014, p. 21-23). Democratic and transformational leadership styles are the most effective in building better relationship between the management and employees. Democratic leadership is such a leadership style, under which, the management or the employer provides the scope to its employees for expressing their opinions or views regarding any particular situation of the organization (Rubin, 2013, p. 59). Howard Schultz believed that this type of leadership style is very effective for motivating the employees towards organizations goal (Cornett, Erhemjamts Tehranian, 2015, p. 12-14). Employees feel that they are valuable to the company because the management considers their views before taking any particular decision or strategy. Pangarkar (2015, p. 295-297) stated that Howard Schultz considered the democratic leadership style because he thought that he can get different ideas from his sub-ordinates, which can help him in taking any particular decision. However, Schiffrin (2015, p. 639) argued that due to the adaptation of democratic leadership style, Howard Schultz faced several challenges and these were as follows: As in democratic leadership style, leader needs considers much time taking a particular decision; Howard Schultz felt difficulties while taking any such decision that are against employees interests. For example, during the recession, that is during 2008, when there was financial crisis in the market, Howard Schultz had to take the decision of employee reduction (Schultz Gordon, 2011, p. 234-238). While taking this decision, Howard Schultz could not consider the views of employees, which created negative impact on the business of Starbucks. Due to the use of democratic leadership style, Howard Schultz faced much conflict in some situation. For example, after the recession, when Howard Schultz took the aggressive expansion strategy, he faced conflicting situation. Many people within the organization did not support the decision of Howard Schultz. In order to overcome the loopholes in the democratic leadership style, Howard Schultz came up with the transformational leadership style during 2010. The main idea in the transformational leadership style is to lead the people with the help of high level of motivation and morality. Weinzimmer and Esken (2016, p. 333) commented that the transformational leadership style helped Howard Schultz to motivate the employees in a better way. Adopting this particular leadership style, Howard Schultz was able to re-build the trust and faith in the employees. Before the adaptation of transformational leadership style, there was much internal chaos at Starbucks related to the organizations internal strategies. However, with the help of transformational leadership style, Howard Schultz became able to influence the creativity of his sub-ordinates (Leavy, 2016, p.21). At this time, Howard Schultz came up with several new products and successfully expanded its market in Eastern countries. Bookman and Martens (2013, p.290) considered that the decision of Howard Schultz to implement the transformational leadership style was very effective for Starbucks because from 2011 onwards, the performance standard of Starbucks was much improved than before. The revenue of the company increased from USD 10707 million in 2009 to USD 13276 million in 2012. The gross margin of the company also increased from 55.8% in 2009 to 58% in 2011 (Neac?u B?rbulescu, 2015, p. 26). These financial figures are clearly indicating that the performance standard of the company was improved after implementation of transformational leadership style. Life Journey Executive leadership signifies the capabilities of directing or managing the employees of an organisation for motivating or influencing the individuals. The effective leadership style ensures the establishment of the team motivation that automatically creates the performance efficiency. He was born in 19th July, 1953. He was born in a poor family. His parents were unaware of the fact that their son could become the wealthiest person in United States. He belonged to a family where the monthly income was average. Due to such reason, he has the idea about the difficulties that the low-income families face to overcome such monetary obstacles (Flamholtz Kannan-Narasimhan, 2013, p. 37). When he was a little boy, he often saw that his father had been struggling to find a job and faced the financial difficulties throughout their lives. Recalling such memories, he shared his feelings by stating, I saw my father losing his sense of dignity and self-respect. I am sure that this was caused most ly by the fact that he has been treated as an ordinary working man. Career Mr. Schultz got his first job at the age of 12. At the initial stage he used to sell newspapers and then he was appointed in a local cafe. When he turned 16, he faced numerous hardships and difficulties. He even worked in fur store where he used to stretch the leather that is a much troublesome work. He set his aim to be much successful by bearing all such toil and hardships. The exhausted scenario made him stronger to achieve his purpose. He was physically strong and was rewarded with the athletic scholarships. He completed his Bachelors degree in Communications from Northern Michigan University in the year of 1975. He was appointed as the sales manager at Xerox after he completed his graduation. After leaving this company, he started working at Hamamaplast in Sweden. He used to sell home appliances as well as the grinders to the businesses like Starbucks. He observed that Starbucks used to purchase maximum number of coffee machine than many other renowned companies (Aiello Dickins on, 2014, p. 308). At that point of time, he decided to meet the owner of Starbucks and travelled to Seattle. Career in Starbucks Starbucks is the US based global coffee company. The coffeehouse chain is based in Seattle, Washington. The company was found by three college friends Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl. These people presented their passion for coffee and together started the coffee shop. However, it was noticed that the shop was started in a most inconvenient time. At the end of 60s, most of the Americans lost their interest on instant coffee. They preferred other typed of coffee instead of instant coffee. However, Howard Schultz tasted the coffee and instantly was impressed with the uniqueness. He then exclaimed, I went outside whispering to myself: Oh my Gosh! What a wonderful business, what a wonderful city! I want to be a part of this. The major feature that has made the company more successful is the credo that the procedure of making the workers aware of preparing coffee. The art of making coffee is the most impressive way that attracts the customers towards the taste and texture (Mar tins, Rindova Greenbaum, 2015, p. 101). It invoked the interest of Schultz who was just 29 years old then. In order to get a job at Starbucks, he literally started begging to the director. He started persuading him to open more stores that may derive much profitability to the company (Lephart Kleiner, 2015, p. 4). On the other hand, Baldwin feared that if the company started concentrating on rapid expansion, it might affect the business. In such time, Schultz presented his proposal by stating, Well, lets do it all gradually, in your usual pace, but lets also create something truly significant. He was offered for the post of marketing director and his salary was less than the half of his previous salary (Di Giuli Kostovetsky, 2014, p. 160). However, after recognising the effective potentiality of the business, Howard Schultz decided to associate with Starbucks and develop his career in this company. In the year of 1982, he moved to Seattle for accomplishing his wish. Further Progress In the year of 1983, he went to Milan to find the exclusive recipe of Cappuccino coffee, which was much beneficial for Starbucks Sales ratio. It was noted that introducing such recipe, the company could triple the amount of sales in a year. The most impressive concept to Schultz was the Italian Cafe, which was a place for leisure and social meeting as well. It is noted that in United States, most of the people spend the quality time in fast food restaurants or cafe. In order to create an innovative network, Schultz started exploring different concepts that can be presented in front of Baldwin. However, it was noticed that the CEO of the company frequently refused many of his proposals regarding such concepts (Lemus et al., 2015, p. 25). They perceived that if these concepts are applied to the business functionalities, it might lose the individuality. The traditional thinking was quite responsible behind such refusals. In such regards, Schultz remarked, Only those who go by unexplored roads, creating new industries and new products, can build strong, long lasting company and inspire other to achieve great results. It is to be indicated that the efficient leaders must follow the trait of exploring the risky and innovative way. If there is no challenge, it will not be able to maintain the uniqueness anyhow. Being an efficient leader he was ready to take such risks and apply the innovative initiative for the future growth of the company (Doerr Gue, 2013, p. 728-729). Emergence of Modern Starbucks It was noted that Mr. Schultz needed almost $1.7 million for establishing the new entity of the store. He then partly borrowed the money and the remaining balance he lent from the bank. In the year of 1986, he opened the new store of Starbucks in Seattle. The new name of the cafe was Il Giornale. This initiative was a great success for the company. At the initial stage almost 300 customers in the first working day. After a year, it was noted that the owner of Starbucks were eager to sell the company including the brand and roasting factory due to the inefficient management functionalities. The owner offered to sell the company in $4 million, which was much interesting for Howard Schultz. He directly went to the creditor for taking loans. It is important to note that in the initial stage, Bill Gates was the major investor of Starbucks. Howard Shultz became the only owner of Starbucks. In the modern Starbucks, there was a bar counter for every single store. The professional baristas were appointed for grounding, brewing, and serving fresh coffee. The local coffee shops in Italy were much impressive and fascinating for Howard Schultz. The impressive presentation of Barista was also much attractive. One of the workers in Barista was pouring espresso in one hand and whipping cream by another hand. In fact, the worker was chatting with the customers simultaneously. Such attractive presentation of coffee mesmerized Mr. Howard for the second time when he went there and brought the menu and photographs of such presentation. The new Starbucks was then associated with the efficient workers who could show such attractive presentation. He personally used to provide training to the staffs that was considered as the major success story of Starbucks. Coffee is one of the most demanding products, which create much addiction among the customers. Schultz took the advantage of such preferences and started applying the different concepts of selling such products. Due to such reasons, Schultz is sometimes called an adventurer. He promised the creditors to open almost 125 stores in next five years. Within the year of 1992, he could introduce more items that were never planned. Initially, he opened the store in Chicago and Boston. Eventually, he opened another store of Starbucks in California (Flamholtz Kannan-Narasimhan, 2013, p. 76). The similar franchising system like McDonalds was adopted for creating the new corporation business. He kept his focus on strategic implementation that was concentrating on the quality, quantity and publicity. Even though such strategy was quite adventurous, he could take the risk for being an efficient leader. Leadership Strategy of Howard Schultz As a leader, Howard Schultz has always treated his employees as his partners in Starbucks. It is to be indicated that the company is renowned for building the effective relationship with the employees. The major task of the company was to provide the positive environment and vibes to the employees to bring the effective outcome. An efficient workplace experiences satisfies the employees in a significant manner. The company constantly supports and respects the associated staffs. It is quite helpful for the employees to generate motivation and bring out the performance efficiency. The proactive actions of taking care of the employees are undertaken by the company. The comprehensive benefits are provided to the employees. The eligible employees work for 20 hours per week. In fact, the flexible working hours are also much appreciable for the employees. The employees receive the competitive wages that are offered by the company. Howard Schultz believes in appointing the efficient people w ho are much fond of providing the best efforts and effective outcome (Stead Stead, 2016, p.26). Howard has set aim to identify and train the employees to generate the appreciable outcome that is beneficial for the company. In order to maintain the employee welfare, Howard Schultz introduced the employee stock purchase plan (Shefsky, 2014, p. 156). The employees will be able to contribute almost 10% of their basic salary for purchasing the common stock of the company. They will receive almost 85% discounts on the market price of the stocks. Such of these extra benefits provided to the employees were much beneficial for signified the decreasing turnover rate. The reports derived from the researches on the leadership styles of Howard Schultz are highlighting that the leader genuinely care about his employees. Leadership styles Even though it was noticed that the leadership style undertaken by Howard Schultz is completely democratic, there are some of the exceptional thinking involved as well. However, the styles and attributes were completely in support of the employees. It was always in his mind that he requires several innovative ideas to deal with all the troubles coming in front of the company. The different types of the ideas are needed to be gathered to develop the professional and personal skills. He is always known for his democratic leadership style. The attitude he maintains while leading the entire organisation is much appreciable. Even when he resigned from his post, it was noticed that it affected the organisation in a significant way. His absence was much harmful for the company, which was noticed during the frequent failures. Some of the stores were decided to close due to such loss. However, when he returned to his post, he again proved his efficiencies of being the most inspirational and s kilful leader. Employee Motivation and Leadership Style The effective leadership style is necessary for bringing the efficient performance outcome that is considered as the success factor of the company. A particular leadership style is needed to be adopted by the leader in order to motivate the employees more significantly. If concentrated on the leadership attributes of Howard Schultz, it can be seen that there are several requirements associated for becoming an efficient leader. The following characteristics of the leader are needed to be evaluated. Self-concept Leadership motivation Personality Drive Knowledge of the business Emotional intelligence Cognitive and practical intelligence Integrity The effective leaders need to adopt such characteristics for leading the entire team or the associated employees within an organisation. It is noted that Howard Schultz believes in adopting the people-oriented leadership styles. Her commitments towards the employees welfare are much remarkable. He provides the medical benefits to the existed employees and other stock options. These attributes are generally motivating the employees in a significant manner (Prabhakar et al., 2013, p. 22). When the employees have been receiving such effective benefits while they are working in an organisation, it automatically contributes efficiencies to their morale. The enhancements of employee morale are thus effective enough to perform better and increase organisational productivity. The major focus of the company is to provide the customers appreciable experience while they are spending their quality time with the social friends. The involvement of the employees is thus one of the most necessary cr iteria. If concentrated from the perspectives of leadership, it can be noted that Howard Schultz has been maintaining the democratic or participative leadership style. The leadership style signifies that the employees will be able to participate during the decision making process. The leader consults with the employees for bringing different innovative ideas that are beneficial for the organisational future (Cornett, Erhemjamts Tehranian, 2015, p. 238). The supportive leadership style specifies the collaboration of the employees, which is often termed as the people-oriented leadership. He listens to the concerns presented by his employees. Accordingly, he takes the feedback as well as suggestion to shape the future functionalities of the organisation. When the leader pays much attention to the benefits and welfare of the employees, it is the responsibility of the employees to be much committed towards their organisational benefits. In fact, while the employees have been receiving the chance work in a hygienic workplace by utilising flexible time schedule, it motivates them more significantly. Employees are considered as the forefront to Schultz that holds the special priority at Starbucks. The comprehensive health care provided to the employees is the major motivation for the associated workforce. The psychodynamic approach has made the company much employee-focused. Apparently, it can be considered that such treatments have been the driving force for the development of the professional attributes of the employees. Howard Schultz is the leader who is much fond of building the remarkable interpersonal relationship with the associated workforce (Rowe, 2014, p.2). The value based working benefits are much significant for keeping the employees motivated. The establishment of the transparent communication process is also signifying the appreciable leadership style adopted by Howard Schultz (Perera et al., 2012, p. 145). It has been noted that even during the crisis time, he performed his duty of an efficient leader. The further section of this study will shed lights on the cri sis scenario that brought challenging situations for the companies along with other associates. Retirement of Schultz from Starbucks In the year of 2000, Schultz announced his retirement from Starbucks. It was quite difficult moment for Starbucks, because Starbucks initiated many business expansions while he was the CEO of the company. The expansion process had been too fast. The store number tripled in a very short span of time. It was noticed that after his departure, the quality of coffee brewing decreased that created negative impact on customers. Moreover, it was noticed the reputation of the company was also hampered. It was noticed that the company became much focused on maintaining bureaucracy style. The customer focus was shifted after his departure. Previously, the customers used to receive the positive and impressive benefits, which became invisible during the departure of Howard Schultz. Reviewing such ineffective management practices, the company felt that the company needs Schultz back (Hutt, 2016, p.24). He returned to the position of CEO when America had been struggling with financial crisis. He sh owed his efficient leadership attributes to overcome such crisis scenario. Maintenance of effective leadership attributes during financial crisis On January 8, 2008, he returned to his previous CEO post after a long gap of eight years. He replaced Jim Donald to capture the position of an efficient CEO. He has the enormous experience about the company since it was established in the year if 1982. During the year of 2008, he found that the company had been struggling with the greater loss in economic factors. The worsening economic condition in US was affecting the business expansion in a significant manner. Moreover, emergence of the direct competition with McDonalds was also creating the hazardous situations for Starbucks. Once Schultz got back to his position and joined the office, he immediately sent letters to all the employees. He wrote, The Company must shift its focus away from bureaucracy and back to customers. His major objective was to increase the emotional attachments with the potential customers. It was noted that the previous leadership mainly blamed the economic crisis, which increased the costs of the dairy prod ucts for the slum in business. In fact, this was considered as the reason for the hikes in pricing structure (Cornett, Erhemjamts Tehranian, 2015, p.35). Schultz, on the other side, presented his contradictory view of such crisis scenario. He stated, The Company shouldnt just blame the economy; Starbucks heavy spending to accommodate its expansion has created a bureaucracy that masked its problems. In order to involve innovative strategies, Schultz eliminated the previous conventional strategies. He kept his focus on developing the technological sources for implementing new strategies. The technology-oriented strategies proved to be much beneficial for bringing changes in the organisational scenario that may contribute more profitability during crisis scenario. During the implementation of such strategy, the employees received the opportunities to explore their ideas and think freely to share such innovative ideas with management. As the outcome, there is the string community based concept was developed During March, 2008, it was noticed that the customers even received the opportunities to share their innovative ideas about the perceived benefits. This initiative was known as My Starbucks Idea, which was rolled out for exchanging ideas with the company. The customers started sharing their feedbacks with the company. The feedbacks or suggestions provided by the customers were based on different segments, such as services, products, layouts, corporate social responsibilities, or advertisement process. It was found that almost 1.3 million users in social media presented share their ideas. The page view increased up to almost 5.5 million per month. Such initiative was much beneficial for rebuilding the relationship with the customers (Weinzimmer Esken, 2016, p. 336). It also highlighted the care and concerns for the community and environment, which was much beneficial for strengthening the sustainable business position. It was noted that this My Starbucks Idea was directly connecting the customers to headquarter of Starbucks. The higher authority even paid the attention on such feedbacks and implemented the changes accordingly. The company implemented almost 100 ideas by providing the customers chance to voice their concerns. The random tweets coming from the communities highlighted that the company is much admired and appreciated for dealing so efficiently even at such crisis scenario. Coffee Crisis Scenario at Starbucks It was informed that almost 600 coffee shops of Starbucks will be closed due to the insufficient profitability. It was noticed that the growth of the global economy grinds to halt. The consumer became much worried about saving their money and reduced their visit to Starbucks. If calculated, it was found that the profit fell almost 28% in compare to the profit gained last year at the same time. Therefore, the CEO announced that they need to close some of the stores of Starbucks that have the less profits or poor performance. The resources spent on such stores were the potential loss for the company since it failed to generate the expected profitability. The further investigation identified that the ineffective management functionalities were the major reasons behind such failure (Schiffrin, 2015, p. 643). The enormous financial crisis all over the country was also much responsible for such situational uncertainties. When Howard Schulz got back to his previous position, the company ove rcame all such uncertainties. The focus on the customer preferences brought stability. The enormous ideologies of Howard Schultz are thus much remarkable. Howard Schultz as an Inspirational Leader It was evident that the leadership attributes of Howard Schultz is much appreciated. In an interview of Howard Schultz, he expressed his efficient traits of a successful leader. He is considered as one of the most successful and iconic leaders of a fastest growing firm like Starbucks. It was noticed that he fought with every upcoming challenges with his keen ability and inspirational motives. In his interview, he maintained several courtesies that proved him as the inspirational character. Firstly, he frequently used the phrase I am responsible while describing the trouble faced by the firm. Most of the troubles were found to be occurred when he departed from the company. After his departure, the company faced the trouble due to the inefficient management process (Day Moorman, 2013, p. 20). It affected in the operational activities as well. Hence, the company struggled through many of the obstacles and financial crisis. When he returned to his position, he threw the previous management functionalities started re-structuring the activities. It is important to note that the procedures undertaken by this leader was much beneficial for coping with such crucial moment. He always thought that the company is associated with the good people who deserve to be rewarded. In fact, the company requires the advices and suggestions from these people. The innovative ideas will be much helpful for gathering the values of the effective organisational process. The efficient leaders even need to gather more innovative ideas to maintain the uniqueness of the company. He admitted in the interview that the company never faced much competition. However, the emergence of the new strategic position of McDonalds became the major threat for the company. In fact, it was necessary for the company to implement several relevant strategies that would have been beneficial for the survival in the competitive scenario. However, the la ck of inefficiencies in the management decision after the departure of Howard Schultz, the company somewhat failed to cope with such situation. It has always been the major concern to enhance the integrity (McQueen, 2014, p. 47). However, the effectiveness of the leadership attributes is much appreciable for the future of the company. The way he has utilised to lead the company towards success was truly inspirational. In fact, reviewing his life journey, it is ensured that he has faced much difficult times, which proved to be the most energetic influence for his life. He faced all such difficulties to set the string motto of life. Accordingly, he provided his most efforts to fulfil his determinations. He took every possible risks that one efficient leader would take to reach at the peak of success. While other leaders think of the benefits, he undertook every odds and aggressive business expansion process. It was noted that the first preferences provided to the customer and employee s needs. Such set of priorities led him towards immense success. He started recognised as the most appreciable and inspirational leaders in todays date. Conclusion The study has been focusing on the leadership journey of Howard Schultz, the owner of Starbucks. He belonged to a very poor family and he was completely aware of the difficulties. Struggling with several hardships and obstacles, he started continuing his life journey. He started working in different stores and dealt with many difficulties. Finally, when he ended up working in the cafe of Starbucks, he started thinking of generating new ideas for the business growth. When each of his proposals was rejected by the owner, he opened a new cafe all by himself. Soon he started developing his business in a significant way. He proved to be the most efficient and inspirational leader in todays world. His democratic leadership attributes provided enormous supports to the employees. Moreover, he set his priorities to give importance to the customers preferences. With the supports of the employees, he could manage generating more profitability for strengthening the organisational position. In fa ct, it was noted when he resigned from his post, it was quite difficult for the management to cope with the crisis situation. When he returned back to his post after eight years, the company started mending the loss. Hence, he is proved to be the most inspirational and successful leader in this competitive world. References Aiello, G., Dickinson, G. (2014). Beyond authenticity: a visual-material analysis of locality in the global redesign of Starbucks stores.Visual Communication,13(3), 303-321. Bookman, S., Martens, C. (2013). Responsibilization and governmentality in brand-led social partnerships.Social Partnerships and Responsible Business: A Research Handbook. London: Routledge, 288-305. Cornett, M. M., Erhemjamts, O., Tehranian, H. (2015). Greed or Good Deeds: An Examination of the Relation between Corporate Social Responsibility and the Financial Performance of US Commercial Banks around the Financial Crisis.Available at SSRN 2333878. Daft, R. L. (2014).The leadership experience. Cengage Learning. Day, G., Moorman, C. (2013). Regaining customer relevance: the outside-in turnaround.Strategy Leadership,41(4), 17-23. Di Giuli, A., Kostovetsky, L. (2014). Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility.Journal of Financial Economics,111(1), 158-180. Doerr, K. H., Gue, K. R. (2013). A Performance Metric and Goal?Setting Procedure for Deadline?Oriented Processes.Production and Operations Management,22(3), 726-738. Dutton, K., Kleiner, B. (2015). Strategies For Improving Individual Performance In The Workplace.Franklin Business Law Journal,2015(2). Eisner, S. (2016). The" In-Factor": Signature Traits Of Innovation's Leaders.Journal of Applied Business Research,32(1), 185. Flamholtz, E., Kannan-Narasimhan, R. (2013). Examining the Leadership Molecule: An Empirical Study of Key Leadership Roles in Rapidly Growing Entrepreneurial Businesses.International Review of Entrepreneurship,11(2). Gallo, C. (2016). Inspiring storytellers transform employees into crusaders.Leader to Leader,2016(82), 35-39. George, B. (2015).Discover your true north(Expanded and updated edition. ed.). Hoboken,vNew Jersey: Wiley. Hellriegel, D., Slocum, J. W. (2011).Organizational behavior(13th ed.) Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Henson, R. (2016). Building an Organizational Global Mindset Culture: Implications for Practice. InSuccessful Global Leadership(pp. 261-283). Palgrave Macmillan US. Hunter, A. (2012). Leadership and the Challenges for Organisational Sustainability. Hutt, R. W. (2016). Reputation on the line: the Starbucks cases.Journal of Business Strategy,37(1), 19-26. Leavy, B. (2016). Effective leadership todaycharacter not just competence.Strategy Leadership,44(1), 20-29. Leavy, B. Leavy Effective leadership todaycharacter not just competence.Strategy Leadership,44(1), 20-29. Lemus, E., Von Feigenblatt, O. F., Orta, M., Rivero, O. (2015). Starbucks Corporation: Leading Innovation in the 21st Century.Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences,7(1), 23-38. Lephart, T. S., Kleiner, B. (2015). Excellence In Team Leadership.Journal of International Diversity,2015(4). Martins, L. L., Rindova, V. P., Greenbaum, B. E. (2015). Unlocking the hidden value of concepts: a cognitive approach to business model innovation.Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal,9(1), 99-117. Mathias, B. D., Smith, A. D. (2016). Autobiographies in Organizational Research Using Leaders Life Stories in a Triangulated Research Design.Organizational Research Methods,19(2), 204-230. McQueen, M. (2014). Monitoring your silent pulse.Company Director,30(8), 47. Neac?u, N. A., B?rbulescu, O. (2015). Quality Strategies Used by Market Leader in the Competitive Coffee Industry.Ovidius University Annals, Series Economic Sciences,15(2). Northouse, P. G. (2016).Leadership: Theory and practice(7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Pangarkar, N. (2015). Performance implications of strategic changes: An integrative framework.Business horizons,58(3), 295-304. . Perera, L. C. J., Lenk, H. U., de Souza Corra, M., Yoshikawa, A. N., Silva, A. A. G. D., Arasaki, R. K. (2012). EFFECTS OF THE 2007 FINANCIAL CRISIS ON STARBUCKS.Journal of International Business Strategy,12(1). Pollitt, D. (2014). Starbucks puts a degree on the menu for 135,000 employees [Electronic version].Human Resource Management International Digest,22(6), 21-23. doi:10.1108/HRMID-08-2014-0117 Prabhakar, A. M., Harvey, H. B., Wicky, S., Hirsch, J. A., Thrall, J. H., Oklu, R. (2013). What's Brewing: How Interventional Radiologists Can Learn From the Reinvention of Starbucks.Journal of the American College of Radiology,10(8), 559-561. Rowe, W. G. (2014). Is Nonprofit Leadership Different from Business or Government Leadership?.The Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership,4(2). Rubin, E. N. (2013). Assessing your leadership style to achieve organizational objectives.Global Business and Organizational Excellence,32(6), 55-66. Schiffrin, A. (2015). The Press and the Financial Crisis: A Review of the Literature.Sociology Compass,9(8), 639-653. Schultz, H., Gordon, J. (2011).Onward: How starbucks fought for its life without losing its soul. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale. Sendjaya, S. (2015). Servant Leadership Development. InPersonal and Organizational Excellence through Servant Leadership(pp. 117-130). Springer International Publishing. Shefsky, L. E. (2014).Invent Reinvent Thrive: The Key to Success for Any Start-up Entreprenuer, Or Family Business. McGraw-Hill Education. Stead, J. G., Stead, W. E. (2016). Spiritual Capabilities: Keys to Successful Sustainable Strategic Management. InSpirituality and Sustainability(pp. 89-103). Springer International Publishing. Weinzimmer, L. G., Esken, C. A. (2016). Risky business: Taking a stand on social issues.Business Horizons,59(3), 331-337.

Tibetan Buddhism free essay sample

Tibetan Buddhism has been called Vajrayana Buddhism, because it is part of the tantric Buddhist current, within Mayahana Buddhism. The word Vajra can be explained as thunderbolt or Diamond like. It stands for the clear constancy of the mind of the enlightened meditator. ‘Vajrayana’ is then the path of meditation, specifically visualization meditation. all Tibetan Buddhists does not meditate but most that do respect their spiritual leader. [pic] There are four schools The Nyingma Tradition The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin to the Indian adept, Guru Padmasambhava, who came to Tibet in 817 C.E. at the invitation of King Trisong Deutsan (742-797) in order to subdue the evil forces then impeding the spread of Buddhism. all evil spirits by oath and transformed them into forces compatible with the spread of Buddhism. The Sakya Tradition The Sakya tradition is closely bound up with the Khon ancestral lineage, which derived from celestial beings. We will write a custom essay sample on Tibetan Buddhism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The lineage has descended intact up to the present time from Khon Konchok Gyelpo(1034-l 102), founder of the Sakya tradition through hereditary lamas. Gelugpa traditionDrepung Monastery The Kadampa tradition founded by Atisha was the direct source of inspiration for the development of the Gelug tradition founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419). Kagyu tradition The Kagyu lineage, sometimes referred to as the oral lineage of Tibet, originated with the great yogi Tilopa, who lived in Northern India around the 10th century A. D. He is considered the founder of the lineage and, in addition, he received four special transmissions (Tib: bka-babs-bzhi) for which he became the lineage holder. The fourteenth Dalai Lama is the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion and is presently leader of one branch of Tibetan Buddhism The Way of Virtue (Gelugpa). Is a Tantaric school of Buddhism the Kadampa tradition is widely viewed as Mahayanic. He the leader of Tibetan Buddhism while the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama is being sought. The Bodhisattva Vow In all forms of Mahayana Buddhism, including Vajrayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva Vow plays an enormously important part. The idea of staving off salvation (Nirvana) till all sentient beings have been saved is inspiring after all.

This Paper Essay Example For Students

This Paper Essay Animal Farm As A Social Criticism Writers often use social criticism in their books to show corruptness or weak points of a group in society. One way of doing this is allegory which is a story in which figures and actions are symbols of general truths. George Orwell is an example of an author who uses allegory to show a social criticism effectively. As in his novel Animal Farm, Orwell makes a parody of Soviet Communism as demonstrated by Animal Farms brutal totalitarian rule, manipulated and exploited working class, and the pigs evolution into the capitalists they initially opposed. Totalitarianism is a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of life. It was used by Stalin and the Bolsheviks in Russia during the 1920s and 30s and is parodied in Animal Farm by Napoleon, the almighty leader, and his fellow pigs and their ridiculous propaganda and rigorous rule. In the book, Napoleon is deified and made superior to all oth er animals on the farm, for example he is called emperor or leader while everyone else was referred to as a comrade, and all the pigs were given higher authority then the rest of the animals. An inequality between the pigs and rest of the farm was that the pigs lived in the farm house while the other majority had to sleep in pastures. A certain pig Squealer who could turn black into white was in charge of propaganda, and he would often change the commandments of the farm so that they would fit the actions of Napoleon or the upper class of the farm which was supposedly classless. For example, at one time a commandment read No animal shall drink alcohol(P. 75), but soon after Napoleon drank an abundance and almost died the commandment was changed to No animal shall drink to excess. which made it seem as though Napoleon was within the rules. Another instance where Napoleon showed severe rule was when everyone on the farm who had either pledged for or showed support at one time for Snow ball, the exiled former leader, was executed on the spot. This act was a humorous resemblance of The Great Purge in Russia where all opposition was killed off. The governing system of the Animal Farm was truly corrupt, but it did not stop with the propaganda and executions. At first on the Animal Farm, it was promised to the majority of the animals who were neither Napoleon or a pig, or the so-called working class, that from each according to his ability to each according to his needs, no more, no less. In other words, if all the animals worked to their capabilities they would get the work back in rations. This system worked for a while, but stopped when Napoleon and his Totalitarian government took over, and the system was manipulated. Napoleon and his fellow pigs gave the animals unfair hours of labor and unfair rations for their work which corrupted the system. Napoleon attempted to keep the animals intact by inspiring them with slogans, Napoleon is always right. and I will work harder.(P.40) This seemed to work because no animal would refuse to do their job because of the fear of their food supply being cut as a penalty. As an example, Napoleon announced that all animals would have to work voluntary Sunday afternoons, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his ration reduced by half(P. 42). Napoleon gave the animals long, many hour days so that the farm could move toward industrialization with the building of a windmill, much like The Five Year Plan of Russia. This act was made comical because much like in Russia the plan kept on failing, but the government proceeded in actions anyway. The so-called working class of the Animal Farm which at first had a bright future was turned into more of a slave class. Animal Farm started with a dream, a dream of old Majors which was for the animals of England specifically the Manor Farm to rebel against the humans, take over the farm, and live at peace amongst themselves. This dream soon became a reality for the animals of the Manor Farm as they defeated their master, Mr. Jones, in the Battle of Cowshed with their battle cry Four legs good, two legs bad, and took over the farm which they renamed Animal Farm. The first leader was Snowball who ruled along with his fellow pigs and kept Majors dream alive, only to be expelled from the farm soon after he took over. The next leader was Napoleon, who brought a whole new type of Totalitarianist government to the Animal Farm. The farm which was supposed to be equal and free of class had a distinct governing body or upper class with the pigs and a distinct working class or majority which was everyone, but the pigs. The working class was manipulated and old Majors dream was going away. Eventually, the seven commandments which were set forth at the beginning were changed in to one commandment that read All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. Indeed, the pigs had become like their worst, most hated enemy, the human, a nd Majors dream and the hard work of the majority of the animals on the farm had been wiped away much like Lenins dreams for Russia were. In fact, Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution were alike in many ways. Both started with bright ideas for a future and ended with a corrupt government taking over only to turn the colony into what it initially opposed. The setting of a farm with animals to represent revolutionary figures in an extreme country seems outrageous, but the idea can be perceived very well in this novel. Orwell combines some great humor into this symbolic story to give a bad effect on Russia in the time of its Revolution, making a mockery of Totalitarian rule, the working class, and idealization for the future. Word Count: 1007 .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb , .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .postImageUrl , .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb , .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb:hover , .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb:visited , .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb:active { border:0!important; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb:active , .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u64289548046b44682081aaadfe6849bb:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Through A Narrow Chink: An Ethical Dilemma Essay We will write a custom essay on This Paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This Paper Essay Example For Students This Paper Essay Animal Farm As A Social Criticism Writers often use social criticism in their books to show corruptness or weak points of a group in society. One way of doing this is allegory which is a story in which figures and actions are symbols of general truths. George Orwell is an example of an author who uses allegory to show a social criticism effectively. As in his novel Animal Farm, Orwell makes a parody of Soviet Communism as demonstrated by Animal Farms brutal totalitarian rule, manipulated and exploited working class, and the pigs evolution into the capitalists they initially opposed. Totalitarianism is a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of life. It was used by Stalin and the Bolsheviks in Russia during the 1920s and 30s and is parodied in Animal Farm by Napoleon, the almighty leader, and his fellow pigs and their ridiculous propaganda and rigorous rule. In the book, Napoleon is deified and made superior to all oth er animals on the farm, for example he is called emperor or leader while everyone else was referred to as a comrade, and all the pigs were given higher authority then the rest of the animals. An inequality between the pigs and rest of the farm was that the pigs lived in the farm house while the other majority had to sleep in pastures. A certain pig Squealer who could turn black into white was in charge of propaganda, and he would often change the commandments of the farm so that they would fit the actions of Napoleon or the upper class of the farm which was supposedly classless. For example, at one time a commandment read No animal shall drink alcohol(P. 75), but soon after Napoleon drank an abundance and almost died the commandment was changed to No animal shall drink to excess. which made it seem as though Napoleon was within the rules. Another instance where Napoleon showed severe rule was when everyone on the farm who had either pledged for or showed support at one time for Snow ball, the exiled former leader, was executed on the spot. This act was a humorous resemblance of The Great Purge in Russia where all opposition was killed off. The governing system of the Animal Farm was truly corrupt, but it did not stop with the propaganda and executions. At first on the Animal Farm, it was promised to the majority of the animals who were neither Napoleon or a pig, or the so-called working class, that from each according to his ability to each according to his needs, no more, no less. In other words, if all the animals worked to their capabilities they would get the work back in rations. This system worked for a while, but stopped when Napoleon and his Totalitarian government took over, and the system was manipulated. Napoleon and his fellow pigs gave the animals unfair hours of labor and unfair rations for their work which corrupted the system. Napoleon attempted to keep the animals intact by inspiring them with slogans, Napoleon is always right. and I will work harder.(P.40) This seemed to work because no animal would refuse to do their job because of the fear of their food supply being cut as a penalty. As an example, Napoleon announced that all animals would have to work voluntary Sunday afternoons, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his ration reduced by half(P. 42). Napoleon gave the animals long, many hour days so that the farm could move toward industrialization with the building of a windmill, much like The Five Year Plan of Russia. This act was made comical because much like in Russia the plan kept on failing, but the government proceeded in actions anyway. The so-called working class of the Animal Farm which at first had a bright future was turned into more of a slave class. Animal Farm started with a dream, a dream of old Majors which was for the animals of England specifically the Manor Farm to rebel against the humans, take over the farm, and live at peace amongst themselves. This dream soon became a reality for the animals of the Manor Farm as they defeated their master, Mr. Jones, in the Battle of Cowshed with their battle cry Four legs good, two legs bad, and took over the farm which they renamed Animal Farm. The first leader was Snowball who ruled along with his fellow pigs and kept Majors dream alive, only to be expelled from the farm soon after he took over. The next leader was Napoleon, who brought a whole new type of Totalitarianist government to the Animal Farm. The farm which was supposed to be equal and free of class had a distinct governing body or upper class with the pigs and a distinct working class or majority which was everyone, but the pigs. The working class was manipulated and old Majors dream was going away. Eventually, the seven commandments which were set forth at the beginning were changed in to one commandment that read All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. Indeed, the pigs had become like their worst, most hated enemy, the human, a nd Majors dream and the hard work of the majority of the animals on the farm had been wiped away much like Lenins dreams for Russia were. In fact, Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution were alike in many ways. Both started with bright ideas for a future and ended with a corrupt government taking over only to turn the colony into what it initially opposed. The setting of a farm with animals to represent revolutionary figures in an extreme country seems outrageous, but the idea can be perceived very well in this novel. Orwell combines some great humor into this symbolic story to give a bad effect on Russia in the time of its Revolution, making a mockery of Totalitarian rule, the working class, and idealization for the future. Word Count: 1007 Words/ Pages : 1,012 / 24 .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda , .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .postImageUrl , .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda , .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda:hover , .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda:visited , .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda:active { border:0!important; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda:active , .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u7eb8d687c64838bdb206fdf0ea503bda:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Congressmen And Their Influences Essay We will write a custom essay on This Paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now

Sports and Religion

Sports and Religion Religion is an efficacious element of society since it forms a basis for various systems of meaning, that are of great assistance to people in handling the reality of ultimate issues and questions. These systems of meaning are informative on ideas that concern movement, the body, physical activities, and sports. They also inform on people’s thoughts about the world, and influence social relationships and social life organization.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sports and Religion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Religion helps individuals to justify and define the relationship they have with God, or gods (Stark, 1999 cited in Coakley, 2004, p. 528). There are so many confusing and contradicting discussions regarding sports. Various similarities and differences have been pointed out by various scholars. This paper aims at giving insight into these similarities and differences, as well as on how Overman’ s seven key virtues have been reflected in modern sports. Similarities Sports are considered to be a new form of religion. This is attributed to the stronger and more relevant forms of religious beliefs and meanings that are apparent in sports. Both sports and religion share several characteristics as indicated by Hoffman (1992). One, sports and religion have their communal gatherings and special events held in structured places and/or buildings. These buildings are adorned with relevant decorations and statues that relate to the event. Secondly, both disciplines are controlled by structured forms of authority, that are hierarchical in nature, and which ensure that all events or activities going on in these places are carried out in a dignified manner. Thirdly, sports and religion have the same quest, to get perfection of the mind, body and soul. In both disciplines, one’s physical discipline is required if good results such as excellent performance in sports, and spiritual p urification in religion are to be achieved. A lot of commitment and preparation to ensure personal betterment are apparent in both. This includes practices and time-outs in sports, and retreats and prayers in religion. These elements leading to personal development are very essential in as far as obtaining perfection and satisfaction of the body, mind and soul, seen through substantial achievement and success, is concerned. Fourthly, both religion and sports are unifying factors. Religion brings people of different races, nationalities and statuses together with the common goal of worshipping a common Deity. Sports are also seen to unify people with different cultural backgrounds, in support of a particular team.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another similarity is that there are historic heroes and legends involved in both disciplines. In sports, heroes are elected to halls of fame. Religious heroes are also elected to high statures like sainthood. Stories on these heroes transcend generations where sports’ heroic stories are propagated through newspapers, or told over and over again by the sports’ coaches, journalists, and/or fans. Stories on religious heroes are also narrated over and over again by religious followers, writers, and religious ministers (Coakley, 2004, p. 530-533). Differences There are also differences involved between sports and religion. To start with, human actions in religion are based on beliefs, events, meanings and rituals that are mystical and based on sacred and supernatural realms whereas the beliefs, meanings, events and rituals defining human action in sports are distinct and not governed by divine nature. Whereas religion is supernatural, sports are not because they make use of concrete and tangible events, which are not grounded in supernatural beings. In addition, spiritual goals are evident in re ligion whereas in sports, material goals are sought. Secondly, religion relies on faith while sports are basically rooted in distinct, clear-cut rules and relationships. In religion, one’s faith is what determines his/her commitment and attachment to religion. In sports on the other hand, the ability to abide by the rules and liaise well with other players governs the commitment and success to be achieved. There is a lot of cooperation in religion because all the followers seek a common goal, which is spiritual nourishment and is not associated with any form of material reward. Sports on the other hand entail competition between opponents, in search for material reward. It is therefore apparent that, in sports, athletes seek success grounded in human nature, whereas the success derived in religion is grounded in divine inspiration. Overman’s Seven Key Virtues and how they are reflected in Modern Sports Overman has argued that the seven virtues based on Protestant ethic are related to the entire organization or spirit that defines sports. One of the key values as indicated by Overman is worldly asceticism. Based on a religious standpoint, this entails enduring pain and suffering with the goal of getting spiritual reward. For example, in order for one to have goodness within their selves, self-denial and disdain for self-indulgence has got to be achieved. In comparison to religion, one has got to work very hard, and have diligence in order to win in any game/sport (Bryant McElroy, 1997, p. 55).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sports and Religion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Rationalization is a second virtue as indicated by Overman in relation to Protestant ethic. Based on this virtue, the world is rationally organized and it is possible to discover religious truth through human reason. This virtue is measured in terms of concrete success. In the same way that religion seeks o rganization in order to achieve success, modern sports rely on rational organization of players in the field in order to realize success. Another virtue is goal directedness. Goal directedness is related to a focus on salvation from a religious point of view. In the light of salvation, human action is judged by its results, where an action is deemed good if it yields to substantial achievement. Worthless or evil action does not bring about success. This is reflected in modern sports by the mere fact that prudent actions are associated with success, while untactful ones are associated with failure. Salvation is one’s own individual initiative, responsibility and choice. An individual’s conscience plays a very important role in determining one’s virtue, and their personal relationship with God/Christ. In modern sports, the reflection of this third virtue of individualism is reflected through one’s own initiative to become part of a certain team, and powerfu lly working towards ensuring its success. In religion, success is attributed to goodness and salvation; while on the other hand, failure is attributed to sin and damnation. The status that one achieves whether in religion or modern sports is determined by one’s input. With this notion in mind therefore, it only means that worldly success is basically not a sign that one is predestinated to be saved, rather it is a mere means of earning salvation. In modern sports, one’s input determines the outcome, as seen in religion. Work, is a vocation and is seen to be a calling from God. The virtue behind work is working very hard, and building on God’s given potential. Sports are synonymous to work and therefore, require a lot of hard work and sacrifice since they are a calling from God, and require athletes to be the mighty best despite the fact that they may entail domination over other athletes. Time is a valuable asset with a moral quality. It should not be wasted bec ause moral judgment depends on one’s prudence and efficiency in utilizing time (Overman, 1997). As seen in modern sports, time is very essential factor. Each second on the playfield means a lot to the players because; time is a governing factor in any sports competition. It is obvious that sports and religion are important elements of people’s culture in different parts of the world including America. This paper has explicitly discussed these two disciplines, showing how they relate to and differ from each other. It is obvious that the similarities between the two are more than the differences, indicating that the relationship between sports and religion is significant.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Bryant, J. E., McElroy, M. (1997). Sociological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise. Englewood, CO: Morton Publishing Company. Coakley, J. (2004). Sports in Society: Issues and Controversy. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill. Hoffman, S. J. (1992). Sport and Religion. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Overman, S. J. (1997). The Influence of the Protestant Ethic on Sport and Recreation. Brookfield, VT: Avebury.

WHAT IS ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WHAT IS ART - Essay Example We have creative art, conceptual art, abstract art, virtual art, representation, and other diverse forms of art. Conceptual Art is where the idea or concept is more important than the image. On the other hand, abstract art  is a form of art that represents nothing. Most significantly, visual arts  are a form of art where an artist uses MEDIA and the available technology to communicate about the self to the entire world or audience. It is the most diverse form of art as it reflects the society. As such, art has a number of purposes that include communication, entertainment, healing purposes, expression of imagination, propaganda among others. Art has various elements some of which are visual (Canley Davinci Group Web). There are numerous virtual elements of art that include color, form, line, texture, motion and time, shape, mass, volume, light, space, and value. Color  as a visual element of art has three properties that include the name of the color, intensity or  the purity and strength of the color, value, or the lightness or darkness of the color.  Form on the other hand is a three-dimensional and encloses volume. In addition, time and motion are also visual elements of art. Motion subdivides to actual motion that is live movement, which displays actual motion when we see it in person and implied motion and time is a non-moving image that shows movement through the attributes present in the image. Consequently, the illusion of motion is what we experience when we see a movie or series of shapes that note a passage of time (Larmann Web).  A line  is an element of art, which refers to the continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. A line has measure, which is the length, and width of a line and expressive qualities of line  that define the individual character of a line. A line can be two dimensional, three dimensional, or implied. Shape, Volume and Mass

Web Development for Information Management Coursework

Web Development for Information Management - Coursework Example System†,â€Å"Boston Pizza†, â€Å"Zuppler Online Ordering Menus†, â€Å"Funny Cow Fast Food†, â€Å"Hoagies & Wings, LA†), it was observed that there is an underlying trend that is generally followed while designing food delivery websites. Usually, a food provider hosts a website with a URL that depicts the food company’s name or some memorable association to it; a name that the customers can easily remember. On the homepage of the website is displayed the logo of the company, contact details and a detailed menu of the company’s food items with pricing, the delivery time, availability and cost for all the items. The customer is given the option to select food items from the menu displayed on the homepage. Whatever item the customer selects, it is added to an item’s cart that displays the total accumulated billing of the order so far along with the items selected. Once the customer is done selecting the items, he/she selects the check-out option from menu. In case, the customer is new, he/she provides some personal information (i.e. contact detail and delivery address) to register to the site and place the order. This information is stored within a database maintained by the food providers. In case, the customer is not new, he/she can use the login details from the past orders. The personal information will be retrieved automatically based on these details and the order will be placed automatically. The payment is done either online by provide credit card details or by hand on delivery. Once the order is placed, a notification is sent to the food provider regarding the placement of an order. This could be through sms, fax or a notification on the system running at the provider’s work area. The orders can be grouped into ‘completed’, ‘active’ and ‘pending’. Once the provider accepts an order, a confirmation is sent to the customer, either through an email or sms. The staff starts preparing the ordered food. Once the food is prepared, it is

Police High Speed Pursuits and Responses Research Paper

Police High Speed Pursuits and Responses - Research Paper Example 3). Latest court rulings, including a United States Supreme Court ruling given five years back, put off it to the enforcing officer to take the decision in high speed pursuits. As a plaintiff’s responsibility of providing evidence may be higher, such cases still carry the risk. It proves the need of a well established policy over police pursuit. A well written high-speed pursuit policy stipulates guidelines explaining what elements are critical and what are ignorable. Rules are given in written form in pursuit policies to help chasing officers to organize or quit the chase by adhering to the rules (AMIC 2-3). Recurrent fatalities in road accidents from police vehicles form the biggest single entity of deaths resulting from police action, thus, a major number of cases are referred to the IPCC in the UK. Although there has been much discussion among the surrounding communities and the police over chase incidents but level of awareness is still low to arouse debate on the issue. An analysis of the cases referred to IPCC has helped in rectifying the mistakes at policy and practice level (IPCC 1). Civilian fatalities following police related road traffic incidents - England & Wales Financial Year Pursuit related ?Emergency response 'Other incidents' ? Total fatalities ? ?2004/05 ?23 ?6 ?15 ?44 ?2005/06 ?32 ?4 ?12 ?48 ?2006/07 ?19 ?3 ?14 ?36 ?2007/08 ?17 ?2 ?5 ?24 ?2008/09 ?22 ?6 ?12 ?40 ?2009/10 ?19 3 7 29 ?2010/11 ?13 ?4 ?9 ?26 Source: Statistics for England and Wales annual reports At higher administrative level, need to revise the driver training parameters have been felt to bring down the number of road hits and injuries from accidents. Comparing the number of accidents by the public and the policemen in Britain, nothing can be said for sure, as the data in the above table indicates but subsequent improvement in controlling pursuit related accidents has been accomplished but the number of injuries to the policemen while on the roads can be critically deci sive to their performance. Adequate training to the police drivers can further control the rise in accidents, as after-effects on the health of police officers themselves could be harsh in physical terms (Fletcher 1). The aim of this research is to prove whether it is advisable to take the risks of high-speed police pursuits relatively to the rewards from them. Such pursuits are dangerous and life threatening for all concerned, and even not-aware citizens becoming sudden victims. Policies are required to be changed to control possible pursuits and the parameters employed to decide or terminate such pursuits (Player 2). High Speed Pursuit Policy The high-speed pursuit policy should help policemen in decision-making while considering various elements, such as: (a) the category of the offense; (b) the strategy of the offender's running; (c) the limit of recognizing the offender; (d) prior hints of the offender's lead direction; (e) the current expertise of other officers to nab the off ender; (f) idea of past activities of the offender; (g) the possibility that the offender is carrying weapons or may use force to escape; (h) the possibility of material loss to individuals or property caused from the pursuit; (i) the fitness of the police vehicle; consideration of the

Theory of Economics in the Film Industry

Theory of Economics in the Film Industry Introduction In this essay I shall examine the theory of economics within the film industry and how it contributes to the production and distribution of mainstream Hollywood films. For the purposes of this essay I shall be researching and commenting solely upon Hollywood productions. My research will include an examination of different theories that investigate and explain how economics shape the way that film is stripped down to its bare essentials so that the business of making movies can begin in earnest. Throughout this essay I shall investigate the importance of budget, audience, genre, stars and guidance ratings in relation to the success of a movie. With the collation of this data I shall explore how these economic factors sculpt what is recognised as mainstream Hollywood cinema; investigating how important they are in shaping the strengths and limitations of what is exhibited onto cinema screens across the world. Using this information I shall argue the pros and cons of how a rigidly structured industry can produce works of art, passion and brilliance whilst being presided over by a business-orientated mentality that should, in theory, stifle any creative development. In my conclusion I aim to explain how this is possible and what may lie ahead in the future. Economics of Film The way that economics work in film is complex. There are a great number or variables that need to be taken into consideration from the outset when preparing any kind of financial package to put a film project into production. This ‘green lighting’ analysis seems to have become an exact science over the years in Hollywood; it has had to be as the average budget to make and market an-MPAA accredited major film in 2005 was $96.2 million (this includes $60 million in negative costs and $36.2 million in marketing costs).[1] With the average budget totalling almost $100 million the stakes are high, and the pressure to recoup the costs and go on to make the film an official success are immense. Unlike low budget films where the emphasis is to produce the film for as little money as possible, Hollywood aims high and expects high returns. It is this importance of making money in Hollywood that has led to widespread criticism of its methodology of producing films. How can art be held at ransom to the demands of cash flow forecasts and daily target sales? In his book, Hollywood Cinema, Richard Maltby questioned this paradox: For the vulgar Romantic in us all, Hollywood is not Art because it is commercial. For the vulgar Marxist in us all, Hollywoods enslavement to the profit system means that all its products can do is blindly reproduce the dominant ideology of bourgeois capitalism.[2] In its simplest form it is possible to split Hollywood into two significant camps; the business of making movies and the production of film. Obviously this is an extreme simplification, but for the basis of this essay it can be used to identify how the images we see on the silver screen on a Friday night begin life as a list of figures and calculations on an economist’s laptop. The fact that Hollywood is a multi-billion dollar industry guarantees its survival. It deserves to be viewed upon as a completely different entity to any other artistic medium such as photography , painting or sculpture. The reality is that the audience actually sees an identical copy (a reproduction), but this does not take away anything from the original work. It is not like going to a museum and looking at a reproduction print of a work of art instead of the actual brushstrokes of the artist. As such there is no real loss in value because of this. Richard Maltby writes that: The economics of Hollywood rely expressly upon this technical possibility, since any number of prints can be struck from an original master negative and exhibited simultaneously.[3] There have been many different models that have been introduced to analyse the process of how economics work in Hollywood. The common denominator of these theories is that the most effective way of studying the medium of film is to study it on its own merits and not as a broad comparison to other media. This focused view of film in the field of economics has been labelled as ‘micro-economic research’: Given the interesting characteristics of movies as ideal examples of differentiated products and of the institutional arrangements governing their production and distribution, such increased data availability would make this an exceptionally attractive area for applied micro-economic research.[4] In the late 1970s, American economist Thomas Guback wrote his essay Are We Looking at the Right Things in Film? in which he argued that the study of cinema seemed to ignore the ‘analysis of cinema as an economic institution and as a medium of communication’[5]. Nearly thirty years on Guback’s concerns are still relevant in that a lot more attention is given to the understanding of a film’s economics. Another economist, Professor Robert Picard, explained the importance of audience consumption in 1989 when he stated that: Media economics is concerned with how media operators meet the informational and entertainment wants and needs of audiences, advertisers and society with available resources. It deals with the factors influencing production of media goods and services and the allocation of those products for consumption.[6] When Picard speaks of the wants and needs of the audience he is introducing a wide range of attributes that need to be addressed when contemplating how a film must be produced to subjectively please its audience, and therefore returning its costs. This concern is highlighted in the industrial organisation model created by Douglas Gomery. In it he describes how the analyst must focus on the objective description o f the organisation (in this case the film production) and not the subjective response (how the audience reacts): The industrial organization model of structure, conduct, and performance provides a powerful and useful analytical framework for economic analysis. Using it, the analyst seeks to define the size and scope of the structure of an industry and then go on to examine its economic behaviour. Both of these steps require analyzing the status and operations of the industry, not as the analyst wishes it were. Evaluation of its performance is the final step, a careful weighing of what is versus what ought to be.[7] What these theorists introduce to the equation is that there are many problems that need to be addressed before embarking on the goal of putting a film into production. This uncertainty is readdressed by Arthur de Vany in his book, Hollywood Economics. In it de Vany explains the uniqueness of each individual project and how its life as a commercial product in the theatrical market is hazardous. He introduces the idea that films exist in a battling arena, a box-office tournament, fighting against one another for the public’s attention: Motion pictures live and die in the box-office tournament as they are challenged during their run by a randomly evolving cast of new competitors. The challengers come from films previously released and from newly released films. The contending films are ranked by filmgoers and those with high rank survive and are carried over to the next week. Low ranked films fail and are replaced by new contenders.[8] This colourful analogy of films as knights in shining armour jousting for the acceptance of the audience is a perfect example of how weaker films (financially rather than artistically in most Hollywood films) are often tossed aside by bigger and stronger productions. He continues to say that: The leading products command a disproportionate share of the market and they have longer runs. Even then, a films rank in the tournament is ephemeral and its life unpredictable.[9] Using de Vany’s theory it becomes apparent that certain actions by the parties responsible for production prove vitally important to the success of the project. These actions are described by Albert Moran in his study of film policy: â€Å"Policy is a series of practice engaged in by an agency – whether government, private, or commercial – to achieve a particular set of outcomes.†[10] These outcomes, in this particular case the target being that of a successful movie release, rely on many attributes and the policy exists in a â₠¬Å"complex field affected by factors such as constitutional and legislative arrangements, general economic conditions, the prevailing culture, social awareness, and technological capacities, as well as such human agencies as politicians, business entrepreneurs, white- and blue-collar labour, bureaucrats, and cultural and social workers.†[11] It is easy to be bogged down by so many different economic models and theories when analysing how the Hollywood system works. With so many factors influencing the results the process becomes a minefield of potential disasters waiting to happen. How can anyone truly predict what is going to be a successful film? Writer Harold Vogel highlights this quandary when he points out that: â€Å"Of any 10 major theatrical films produced, on the average 6 or 7 are unprofitable, and 1 will break even.[12] If we were to surmise that this list of ten films were produced by the same studio in one year then the models as used by Picard, Gomery, et al really do not ease the pressure faced by the film executives. The cold, hard facts point at only a 20-30% success rate in their annual production slate recouping their costs. It is all very well studying the market, assessing the competition and second-guessing the audiences’ preferences, but the fact is that 60-70% of the studio’s produc t will lose money. If we reintroduce the MPAA’s statistic that the average major release in 2005 cost around $100 million, it would mean that the studio understands that only two movies from their annual releases must do enough business at the box office to recoup their own costs as well as the costs of the $700 million from the other eight films. According to the MPAA in the full calendar year of 2005, only eight films grossed over $200 million, twelve films grossed $100 $199 million and 36 films grossed $50 – $99 million.[13] Economic models can only interpret the market to a certain point; blind faith takes over after that. Vogel breaks away from the other theorists by boldly stating that: There are no formulas for success in Hollywood. We find that much conventional Hollywood wisdom is not valid. By making strategic choices in booking screens, budgeting and hiring producers, directors and actors with marquee value, a studio can position a movie to improve its chan ces of success. But, after a movie opens, the audience decides its fate. The exchange of information among a large number of individuals interacting personally unleashes a dynamic that is complex and unpredictable.[14] Vogel’s theory on the exchange of information from the public audience unleashing a complex and unpredictable dynamic typifies the world in which the Hollywood film is now being made. It is now, more than ever, that the success of a film in the box office is paramount to how Hollywood works. He describes the essence of the movie business as this: â€Å"The mean of box-office revenue is dominated by a few blockbuster movies and the probability distribution of box-office outcomes has infinite variance! The distribution of box-office revenues is a member of the class of probability distributions known as Là ¨vy stable distributions. These distributions are the limiting distributions of sums of random variables and are appropriate for modelling the box-office rev enues that motion pictures earn during their theatrical runs†¦ Movie projects are, in reality, probability distributions and a proper assessment of their prospects requires one to do a risk analysis of the probabilities of extreme outcomes.[15] What I believe Vogel is saying is that the importance of ticket sales from the box office shapes the type of movie that the studio will produce. A blockbuster film that boasts a line up of A-list stars will fare significantly better than a film that has no stars attached; the fact that the blockbuster might be an artistically inferior film has no real relation to its success. In turn, the ‘bigger’ the picture the more people go to see it. The more people go to see it, the longer it runs at the cinemas. The longer it runs at the cinemas, the more revenue the studio gets back. This means that a studio is more likely to release a major film, perhaps one of its 20% profit-movies, with big stars attached; this acts as insurance t hat it should, theoretically, be widely accepted by the audience. Vogel adds that: The complex dynamics of personal interaction between viewers and potential viewers overwhelm the initial conditions. The difficulties of predicting outcomes for individual movies is more sensible than the current practice of greenlighting individual movie projects.[16] Therefore the studios can have a clearer idea of how the movie is going to fare if there is a star attached. This is a Hollywood trait that has been successful since the 1920s and the Hollywood Star System. If you were to ask an average cinema goer what the most important ingredient of a Hollywood blockbuster was the answer, more often than not, would be that of an A-list star in the leading role. This is not a modern phenomenon in Hollywood. The star system was first professionally handled with the introduction of United Artists, a talent management company formed by D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart and Mary Pickford in 1919. Nearly ninety years later the importance of the agent in Hollywood can determine the success of an entire studio; it is their client that attracts a vast number of the public to the cinemas. If it wasn’t for the love affair that the viewing public has for celebrity then Hollywood would be a different place, yet the power of Hollywood as the market leader in film is unassailable; even from competitive new film nations such as India’s Bollywood productions. The ‘Big Six’ (Warner Bros., Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Sony, Disney, and Universal) and the Hollywood stars still ‘front’ the production. As Douglas Gomery writes: The Big Six studios retained a growing appetite for hot new talents. By the late-1990s newcomers Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck, as well as proven box-office winners like Jim Carrey and Tom Cruise, could command $20 million a picture.†[17] He argues that the current climate of Hollywood movie production is more akin to the Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. He believes that nothing much has changed in this time as the Big Six still have a dominant control over production and distribution: â€Å"†¦the end of the 20th century was the era when the Big Six in Hollywood achieved its greatest power and profitability.[18] Another believer in the power that stars have over a film’s performance at the box office is S. Abraham Ravid who was analysed the impact of well-known and well-loved acting talent on individual productions: Profitabil ity studies have been closely related to the study of stars. Stars have always been a puzzling phenomenon. Some stars seem to have vastly superior talents, whereas many others do not seem very different in looks or any other observable characteristics from many other talented performers. Yet, they receive vastly more attention, money, and recognition than anybody else.[19] Another important factor in understanding the economics of Hollywood is by analysing the demographics involved in worldwide releases. According to the figures from the MPAA, in 2005 the total domestic box office receipts in the United States remained near $9 billion and global box office receipts came in at over $23 billion. Admissions in US cinemas decreased 8.7% in 2005 to 1.4 billion.[20] The importance of understanding how the audience reacts to certain types of films is paramount in determining what projects are most likely to recoup their production budgets. One way of assessing this information is by identifying what genre of film is most successful at the box office. I shall examine the importance of genre in Hollywood later in the essay, but for the time being I shall focus on the importance of the film’s appointed rating. In the UK the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) uses a scale of ratings to ‘give the public information that empowers them to make appropriate viewing decisions for themselves and those in their care.’[21] In the United States the classification system is similar yet it is not fully enforceable as it is here in the UK. The MPAA ratings range from G (General Audiences; similar to our U), PG (Parental Guidance), PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned; similar to our 15), R (Restricted; similar to our 18) and NC-17 (Over 18 Only). Using the statistics supplied by the MPAA it is apparent that, ‘consistent with past years, PG-13 films comprised the majority of top grossers for the industry, with PG and PG-13 films accounting for 85% of 2005’s top 20 films’[22] In closer inspection the top 20 grossing films were made up of 5% G-rated, 25% PG-rated, 60% PG-13-rated and 10% R-rated. It is also interesting to note that since 1968, nine of the top ten grossing films have been PG and PG-13-rated (the other is R-rated); this is even though only 33% of films released since 1968 are PG or PG-13-rated co mpared to 58% of R-rated movies. [23] In his studies, Arthur de Vany examined a ten year period of Hollywood production and found some interesting facts: From 1985 to 1996, inclusive, Hollywood made 1,057 R-rated movies; just 60 G-rated movies were made during that same period R-rated movies accounted for 52 percent of the 1,689 movies that did not feature a star and they accounted for 57 percent of the movies that did feature a star. The 100 stars of the A-list appear in, produce or direct more often in R-rated movies than in any other rating.[24] Using the same research data it is interesting to note that less than three per cent of low budget R-rated movies included a star compared with ten per cent of medium budget and 45 per cent of high budget productions: Success rates are a more representative measure of revenue earning power than is the number of high grossing films. The success rate for R-rated movies is just 6 percent, whereas 13 percent of G- and PG-rated movies are hits and 10 percent of PG-13 movies are hits. The box-office success rates for all non-R-rated movies (G, PG and PG13) are twice the rate for R-rated movies.[25] Mainstream Hollywood To summarise all the information I have analysed above, it would seem that the best possible way for a Hollywood executive to decide whether to green light a project would be to make sure that the film was directed by a known director, starred two A-list actors and had a PG-13 rating. Also to be taken into consideration would be adaptations of popular books or remakes of previous films. True to form, Hollywood’s Big Six released the following last year: Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (Fox); Harry Potter (Warner Bros.); The Chronicles of Narnia (Buena Vista); War of the Worlds (Paramount); King Kong (Universal); and Hitch (Sony). It is no coincidence that these six films from the Big Six represent six of the top eleven grossing films, with a combined gross box office total of almost $1.6 billion.[26] However, as previously mentioned it is the R-rated movie that is the most popular release in Hollywood. This is mainly due the subject matter of the story that classifies it as such. This subject matter is defined by genre. Film is a medium that can be divided, and subdivided, into different categories. These categories allow the filmmaker to choose what style the script will be filmed with. The resulting production will then attract an audience that appreciates that specific type of film. These categories and sub-categories are referred to as genres and sub-genres. The idea of genre caters mainly for the mass-produced studio films, most notably those of Hollywood. In his book ‘Genre and Hollywood’, author Steve Neale iterates this by stating that: The definition and discussion of genre and genres in the cinema has tended to focus on mainstream, commercial films in general and Hollywood films in particular.[27] This is supported by another writer of genre, Barry Keith Grant, when he identifies that genre movies are those commercial feature films which, through repetition and variation, tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familia r situations.[28] The most popular genres such as action, comedy, gangster and war films are almost always classified as an R-rating; this is why such a large percentage of Hollywood production falls into this category. So why is it that Hollywood still gambles on making films that, according to models, theories and past experience will not go on to make the studios rich? At the start of this essay I simplified the Hollywood process by splitting it between the business and the art. The business of Hollywood is to make money by getting audiences to watch their product, however, it is not as simple as that (thankfully). Even though it may seem that Hollywood is run by men in suits, there is still a lot of power held by the artists. These artists are in turn respected by the business men because they make them money. This money is made by investing in their ideas and vision. This vision is what eventually makes it onto the big screen. There are hugely identifiable strengths weaknesses in the Hollywood system; this is best demonstrated using the first film from the list I have just mentioned. Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith grossed $380 million and is a blockbuster science-fiction film. When the orig inal Star Wars was released in 1977 there was nothing to compare it to, it created a new style of filmmaking that was light years away from the B-movie science-fiction films previously. Admittedly, the hype of the film and its predecessors certainly helped its success at the box office but it is still a movie that exemplifies the Hollywood experience; pure escapism. It can be labelled as ‘painting by numbers’ in so much that it has a popular director (George Lucas), a couple of A-list stars (Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson) and a PG-13 rating. However, these attributes are just that; minor factors that make up the whole. Twenty years ago when Hollywood was in its darkest hour, such a major project would probably never have been given the infamous green light. The early 1980’s saw a dramatic drop in box office receipts. The beginning of the decade saw a 9% drop in tickets sold nationwide in American cinemas when only 1.02 billion were sold. This figure got worse in 1986 when just over 1.01 billion tickets were sold[29] (compared to over 4.5 billion ticket sales in 1930). The home video market had certainly dented theatrical sales but Hollywood would always recoup somehow. The immediate problem was the cost of keeping cinemas open; a similar situation to the post Depression period of the 1930’s. Another financial reshuffle was in order. The Big Six were now part of conglomerates. Gulf Western (Paramounts parent company) also owned Madison Square Gardens, Desilu, Simon and Schuster, and Paramount Pictures Television. Yet, only 11% of Gulf Western’s revenues were derived from entertainment industry holdings and just 4% from Paramount Pictures in 1981. That same year, United Artists was bringing only 12% of the revenues in for Transamerica, Universal represented 22% of MCAs income, and Warner Bros. accounted for 24% of Warner Communications revenue.[30] However, by 1989, the entertainment division of Gulf Western, led by Paramo unt Pictures, accounted for over 50% of Gulf Western’s yearly income during a year in which Paramount had only fourteen releases and a 13.8% share of the market thanks to the success of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($197 million domestic box office),[31] demonstrating again just how important a single film had become by the end of the 1980’s. These blockbusters were to save Hollywood and allow it to grow stronger, and in 2002 ticket sales were over the 1.52 billion mark which was the highest figure for over twenty years, and the blockbuster continues to support the film industry to this day. Without the blockbuster there would not be the same number of people visiting the cinema. Without these audiences cinemas would close. Without the cinemas there would not be the same number of films released; and only the blockbuster would survive. In typical Hollywood irony it is the blockbuster that is keeping world cinema and low budget cinema alive. Conclusion Hollywood is more than just a location on the map. Hollywood is a business, a factory, a production line, a pool of talent, a byword for escapism and a place where dreams come true. Over one hundred years ago when Edwin S. Porter’s 1903 movie The Great Train Robbery introduced complex narrative structure in its editing techniques, and a decade later D.W. Griffith’s 1915 feature The Birth of a Nation grossed $10 million at the box office, it was evident that Hollywood had firmly grasped the concept of making movies. One hundred years later it is still producing films that make enough money to keep the business running. In conclusion to my research I have found that Hollywood operates on the basis that economics contribute considerably to the end product of the films produced. Without an in depth knowledge of how the market works the system would come crashing down. It would seem that this dependence on economic structure and theory would stagnate the film industry; only allowing the studios to release films that were targeted to a specific audience with restricted themes that would guarantee a return on profits. However, the statistics do not back this theory up. Hollywood does release blockbuster films that are almost generic in the way that they play, but the vast majority of films released are not going to return the costs involved. This is where the artistic side of Hollywood shines through. The fact that Hollywood is run as a business does not stop it producing the occasional work of art. There are not many businesses or industries that operate on the basis that around 70% of its product will make a financial loss. This is where the strengths and weaknesses of mainstream Hollywood are most visible. The 20% of film releases that go on to make a profit are all around us; advertising, marketing, merchandising, et al. Sometimes it is hard to get away from the Hollywood publicity machine that pumps its information out to the public, but this is the only way that it can get a return on its investments. It is the blockbuster that keeps the industry running, and as such we have to be prepared that for every Harry Potter there is a Brokeback Mountain and a Capote. Bibliography Burton, Graeme (2002) More than Meets the Eye (Third Edition) Arnold Publishing Curran, James (2000) Mass Media and Society Arnold Publishing de Vany, Arthur S. (2003) Hollywood Economics: How Extreme Uncertainty Shapes the Film Industry Routledge Gomery, Douglas (1989) Media Economics: Terms of Analysis Critical Studies in Mass Communication (Volume 6, Number 1) Gomery, Douglas (2003) The Economics of Hollywood: Money and Media in Alexander, Alison et al [ed.] (2003) Media Economics :Theory and Practice Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Grant, Barry Keith (1986) Film Genre Reader University of Texas Press: Austin Lewis, Jon (1996) Trust and Anti-Trust in the New Hollywood Michigan Quarterly Review Volume 35:1 Maltby, Richard (2003) Hollywood Cinema Blackwell Publishing Moran, Albert (1998) Film Policy: Hollywood and Beyond in Hill, John Church Gibson, Pamela [eds.] (1998) The Oxford Guide to Film Studies Oxford University Press Neale, Steve (1999) Genre and Hollywood Routledge: London Picard, Robert (1989) Media Economics: Concepts and Issues Sage Publications Ravid, S. Abraham (2005) Film Production in the Digital Age – What Do We Know about the Past and the Future? in Moul, Charles C. (2005) A Concise Handbook of Movie Industry Economics Cambridge University Press Smith, Sharon P. Smith, Kerry V. (1986) Successful Movies: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis Applied Economics (issue 18:5) Vogel, Harold L. (1990) Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis Cambridge University Press Wasko, Janet (2003) How Hollywood Works Sage Publications US Theatrical Market 2005 Statistics Leaflet Motion Picture Association of America British Board of Film Classification website www.bbfc.co.uk Box Office Mojo website www.boxofficemojo.com The Numbers website www.the-numbers.com 1 Footnotes [1] Statistic taken from the US Theatrical Market 2005 Statistics Motion Picture Association (p14) [2] Maltby, Richard (2003) Hollywood Cinema Blackwell Publishing (p45) [3] Maltby, Richard (2003) Hollywood Cinema Blackwell Publishing (p45) [4] Smith, Sharon P. Smith, Kerry V. (1986) Successful Movies: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis Applied Economics (issue 18:5) (p506) [5] Wasko, Janet (2003) How Hollywood Works Sage Publications (p6) [6] Picard, Robert (1989) Media Economics: Concepts and Issues Sage Publications (p7) [7] Gomery, Douglas (1989) Media Economics: Terms of Analysis Critical Studies in Mass Communication (Volume 6, Number 1) (p58) [8] de Vany, Arthur S. (2003) Hollywood Economics: How Extrem