Assess how national culture impacts on the international business Essay

Evaluate how national culture impacts on the global business condition, giving models - Essay Example Trans-national organizations like Sony, General Motors, convey an unmistakable personality of the way of life they originally worked in regardless of now having overall tasks. Simply the way of life is concentrated as equivalent word of culture. We frequently run over terms like the Japanese culture, the British culture, the Australian culture, or Russian culture. The nations, similar to Canada, US, UK, and India with a wide range of racial, strict, or provincial societies are called multi-social nations. However numerous nations situated in a particular topographical region can be limited by the string of a typical culture. For instance, the Caribbean nations like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Antigua can be alluded to as having a typical culture. It is imperative to depict the word ‘culture’ as it is translated with regards to business the board. A portion of the definitions offer intriguing bits of knowledge into the significance; the ‘national culture’ has for business pioneers, experts, the executives masters and scholastics. Culture is differently characterized (refered to by Fougere, 2007) as ‘that complex entire, which incorporates information, conviction, workmanship, ethics, law, custom, and different abilities procured by man as a citizen (Tylor); the aggregate programming of the psyche, which recognizes the individuals from one human gathering of another (Hofstede); an arrangement of qualities and standards that are shared among a gathering of individuals and that when taken together comprise a plan for living (Hill). In this manner culture is characterized as summation of convictions and abilities (Tylor), an aggregate programming of brain (Hofstede) and an arrangement forever (Hill) (Cited by Fougere, 2007). The social standards hence epitomized in the aggregate awareness of a people are received in day by day life in an obvious actuality way. These come to be reflected in the work ethos of the business substances. Howsoever, various definitions culture are, there is unanimity of supposition in

Summary of Homers Iliad Book XXIII

Rundown of Homer's Iliad Book XXIII Achilles arranges the Myrmidons to drive their chariots in fight development, and they go multiple times around the collection of Patroclus. At that point they have a burial service feast. At the point when Achilles nods off, the apparition of Patroclus instructs him to hustle just a bit and cover him, yet in addition to ensure their bones are buried in a similar urn. The following morning Agamemnon arranges the soldiers to get timber. The Myrmidons spread Patroclus with locks of hair. Achilles cuts one long lock he had been developing for a stream god back home, yet since he will be kicking the bucket soon, he cuts it for Patroclus, rather, and places it in his grasp. After the men have brought the timber, they head out to set up a supper while the main grievers manage the fire cutting piece on fat from relinquished creatures to cover the body. Different creatures, including two of Patroclus canines, and steeds, nectar, oil, and the 12 youthful Trojans are executed and added to the heap. Achilles needs to beg the divine beings for satisfactory breeze for the fire, yet he gets it and the fire doesnt subside until morning. They soak the fire with wine and afterward Achilles chooses Patroclus bones and places them in a brilliant urn, with a defensive layer of fat. Achilles faces the military around and says its time for burial service games. The principal game has the most intricate prizes and is for chariot dashing. Achilles says he won't contend in light of the fact that his ponies are godlike, thus the opposition would not be reasonable. The contenders are Eumelus, Diomedes, Menelaus, Antilochus, and Meriones. Different men make wagers. Diomedes wins, yet there is banter over second spot on the grounds that Antilochus fouled Menelaus. The following occasion is boxing. Epeus and Euryalus battle, with Epeus winning. Wrestling is the third occasion. Genuinely average, the prizes are a tripod worth 12 bulls for first prize, and a lady worth 4 bulls for the washout. Telamons child Ajax and Odysseus battle, however the outcome is an impasse and Achilles advises them to share. The following occasion is a footrace. Oileus child Ajax, Odysseus, and Antilochus battle. Odysseus is behind, yet a fast petition to Athena carries him to initially put, with Antilochus in third. The following challenge is for the reinforcement Patroclus had taken from Sarpedon. The warriors are to be in full fight apparatus and first twisted successes. Telamons child Ajax battles with Diomedes. Once more, there is a draw, despite the fact that Achilles gives Diomedes the long blade. The following challenge is to see who can toss a piece of pig iron the most distant. The prize is sufficient iron to keep going quite a while making weapons and chariot wheels. Polypoetes, Leonteus, Telamons child Ajax, and Epeus toss it. Polypoetes wins. Iron is likewise the prize for a bows and arrows challenge. Teucer and Meriones contend. Teucer neglects to conjure Apollo, so he misses. Meriones makes suitable guarantees and wins. Achilles at that point sets up more prizes for stick tossing. Agamemnon and Meriones stand, yet Achilles advises Agamemnon to plunk down on the grounds that there would be no challenge since nobody is better than he is. He can simply take the primary prize. Agamemnon gives the prize to his envoy. Significant Characters in Book XXIII Achilles: Best warrior and generally chivalrous of the Greeks. After Agamemnon took his war prize, Briseis, Achilles passed on the war until his darling friend Patroclus was murdered. Despite the fact that he realizes his passing is fast approaching, Achilles is resolved to murder however many Trojans as could be allowed, including Hector whom he faults for Patroclus death.Myrmidons: Achilles troops. Their name implies ants and they were called Myrmidons since it is said that they were initially ants.Ajax: The child of Telamon and Periboea, this Ajax is the one the vast majority allude to when discussing Ajax. He was one of the preeminent contenders in the Trojan War.Ajax: Of Locris, child of Oileus. Limited by the Oath of Tyndareus and one of the Argonauts, he was in the stomach of the Trojan Horse.Antilochus: A child of Nestor.Epeus: A child of Panopeus. A victor boxer.Euryalus: A child of King Mecisteus. Under Diomedes and Sthenelus.Odysseus: From Ithaca. One of the pioneers of th e Greeks who will strive with Ajax for the status of generally commendable after Achilles. Patroclus: Loyal companion and partner of Achilles in the Trojan War. The child of Menoetius.Menelaus: Helens Greek spouse. Menelaus isn't viewed as a decent fighter.Meriones: Son of Molus, a Cretan and the charioteer of Idomeneus.Teucer: A stepbrother of Ajax and a child of Telamon.Polypoetes: Son of Pirithous. Co-orders the Lapiths.Sarpedon: King of Lycia, child of Zeus.Agamemnon: Lead lord of the Greek powers, the sibling of Menelaus.

Social Sciences Major Influences Of Power - 1100 Words

Social Sciences: Major Influences Of Power (Research Paper Sample) Content: NameFacilitator Course DateSources of PowerPower refers to the legal or the official authority in influencing people or controlling capacity of individuals. The major influences of power include the physical might, political influence, control and the mental or moral efficacy. It manifests in the several forms of the mobilization of the society forces and organization of the people to take actions. The different types of power in the world of leadership include the following;Legitimate PowerThe legal power that gives the leader the authority to command actions is used in different sections of leadership especially in the management sector. However, the power by the head, in this case, is obtained from within the group under the management. The type of authority structure is experienced in the business organization set-up by the chief executive officers. Despite the source of power in the legal structure of power, the leader gives the overall direction and resource uti lization.An example of the legitimate power practiced by a majority of the CEOs in the working environment. The power also involves different forms of gaining which include elections, selection, and appointment to the authority position. An example of legitimate power includes the election of President Obama by the citizens of America through the election process. Through the constitution, the president manages the resources of different states. The cultural and structural structure of the American presidency gets maintained through guidance by the constitution (Lunenburg, 6). The president acquires the position through an election that is conducted by the citizens will hence making the process legitimate.Reward power The power gained through the right of tangible social, spiritual and emotional rewards give the advantage of leadership in this form of power. The type of reward determines the importance of the power gained. It offers both active and negative power in this case hence affecting the reward recipient differently (Lunenburg, 4). People are expected to adhere to the request of the leader to gain the rewards rather he rejects them.Examples of reward power in the society include awarding of athletes in the Olympics for their exemplary performance. The athletes are motivated by the medal awarded to them in showcasing their considerable talents. The social motivation of participating in the games and sports brings the world together hence through the recognition the athletes gain power in the field of athletics among other social events.Reward power, however, may be expressed differently through the negative impact that includes rewards such as fines and disciplinary fee for the wrong actions. The invoking of President Harding due to his political scandals negatively impact his personality hence the negative form of reward power.Coercive PowerThe type of power that involves the impacting of fear among the people for adherence uses threats of punishment t o gain power. The punishment and use of force are the sources of authority in this case (Kastlunger et al, 37). The power gets used in situations of imminent danger to solve the situation through the psychological control of the subjects involved. An example involved the use of punishment in the social background of raising children through different forms of exercising punishment. The children dread the punishment attracted by committing bad behavior.In history, the coercive power was exercised by John Locke in the 17th century in the enlighten of treaties on the government inspired by the constitution. The leader had a belief that only the coercive power would work in the liberation. The combination of supreme authority and legitimate power results to internal management of the organization in a company (Riasi, Arash, Nasrin Asadzadeh, 148). The use of coercive power gets associated with the traditional forms of political leadership such as that of Adolf Hitler in the history of Russians.Referent Power The type of power that acquires support from the social relationships and affiliations require attachments towards different groups and associations in the society. The power practiced commonly in the political affiliations bring both glory and guilt depending on the society (Johnson, Stern, 299). Examples of the referent power include the appointments of Mrs. Hillary Clinton, the wife of the president of United States in different positions in politics. She has gained political capital in the United States due to her relationship with her husband as the former president. In this case, the political affiliation has brought glory to Mrs. Hillary in the United States politics.Expert PowerThe power based on the intellectual, talent, ex...

Are Visual Effects Dramatically Improving Film or Mistakenly Damaging Film - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4836 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Cinematographic Art Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Did you like this example? Are Visual Effects Dramatically Improving Film or Mistakenly Damaging Film? Introduction From the very inception of film visual effects have been employed by numerous photographers and film makers to enhance, to realise and create new meaning. The very early days of film took great advantage of ‘visual magic to create illusions and trickery which have impressed countless audiences. Over a century ago when photography was emerging as an art form some unscrupulous commercial photographers would capture portrait shots using an ordinary exposure but then as soon as the subject was removed from the studio a collaborator would be positioned within the same setting, a quick exposure would be taken so as to leave a faint image trace on the film. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Are Visual Effects Dramatically Improving Film or Mistakenly Damaging Film" essay for you Create order The unsuspecting customer would then be handed a positive copy of their image with what appeared to be a ghostly figure in shot. A more subtle variation involved the customer being placed with numerous props around him or her, the props would be removed for the second exposure of the ghost character, so as they wouldnt appear too deliberately double exposed. The ghost character would usually be wearing black clothing as film does not ‘see black due to the chemical process in the emulsion of film which identifies light only, therefore only the ghost would appear in the second image. And herein began the industry of special effects. This ghost trick was the starting point for what is now known as the matte process where unrequired objects are removed from the exposure by masking them so they do not register on the film. One of the first uses of this process in a moving image sequence was witnessed in Alexander Kordas Things To Come (1936) in which the upper levels of a futuristic underground city have been double exposed above footage of live actors, matte masks prevented one image showing on the other image. This film provides one of the earliest examples of special effects being adopted to positively improve the aesthetics of a film. Of course since films early experiments with visual effects the industry has today developed into a very sophisticated, digitally driven and technically ultra-advanced visual medium. Computers have taken special effects to an entirely new level and as computers continue to update and improve their spec so too will the film industry develop around these advances; quite simply computers and digital technology have enabled films to be produced which otherwise would not have been. However despite the often profound visual success of special effects in certain cases some people argue that film is now placing an over reliance on special effects, they argue that visual effects in some films are counter productive as they come acr oss as ineffective and some times unnecessary. Some also question the performance of the actors if all they are doing in a film is running in front of a green screen shouting at an imagined ‘alien clutching an imagined prop. Others raise concerns regarding the films quality and the processes of putting a film together where much of it is CGI constituted. So is it really the case that films being produced now would be better received by audiences if they did not make so much use of visual effects? Or is it that some studios and directors simply cant adjust effectively to modern day film making? And who is to blame for this? Man or machine? As visual effects artist Piers Bizony points out: One of the greatest misconceptions about modern movies is that visual effects are generated by computers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Human inventiveness is the most important ingredient and it always will be. Computers offer amazing new possibilities, but the underlying challe nges of movie illusions are the same today as they were nearly a century ago when the industry was young . Chapter 1: The Profound Benefits of Using Visual Effects in Film Digital effects have significantly impacted on mainstream films, indeed digital technology is now synonymous with exceptional visual effects. Michael Baileys sci-fi film Armageddon (1999) provides a good example of a director engaging with digital visual effects which achieves an impressive and hugely successful end product. The disaster film depicts the efforts to prevent Earth being destroyed by a huge meteorite on a collision course with it. Teams of ‘heroes are sent into orbit in an attempt to blow the meteorite up and save the world. The film is saturated with digital effects some of which are the result of a very complex process. These computer generated sequences include the entire orbit scenes, the meteorite shots and the films climax. The evolutionary process by which the visual effects product is accomplished can be an awe inspiring process in itself; take for example the asteroid in Armageddon which began life as a small sketch on a napkin, the image was then refin ed and digitized, then colour was added to it in Photoshop. After this a physical model of the asteroid was constructed out of foam. Numerous shots were then taken and fed back into a computer so that other effects could be added such as gasses and rocks. A second and larger model was then built and using an intricate technological process wired the model so that a computer could read every single three-dimensional detail of it. The final product we see in the film is an image which is the result of multiple digital imagery layers with many of the films scenes comprising of between fifty and a hundred layers. It is an astounding feat of modern visual trickery. If the film had been made several years before hand it would have had to employ the more conventional optical printing cinematographic process. However this would have left green lines visible on the subjects and depreciated the overall aesthetic qualities of the film, today computers can remove these lines thereby rendering t he composite process invisible to the viewer. Contemporary modern visual effects engender a film culture based on a production process that in actual fact is less ‘physical. As academics and authors Peter Lehman and William Luhr observe: As a movie like Armageddon makes clear, much of what we now see in Hollywood films never existed in front of the camera and this has had a profound effect upon how we think about movies. The quality of the visual effects necessarily impacts on the believability of the film for the viewer and most Hollywood films strive to hide any signs of the film making methods used with the aim of providing the spectator with a ‘real experience. Some label this style of Hollywood film making a ‘the invisible style and digital visual effects in many instances now makes this film making approach even more attainable, and more easier to produce as costs are cut. Films like Cecil B. De Milles The Ten Commandments (1956) used to be a rare event in Hollywood because of the costs involved in creating the special visual effects, but now thanks to modern visual effects financial barriers have been removed and we now see Hollywood increasing their output of more visually daring films. Michael Baileys follow-up to Armageddon was the hugely successful blockbuster Pearl Harbour (2002) which again repeated the success of his previous film as regards the use of visual effects and went on to generate worldwide box office sales of just under  £300,000,000. When Ridley Scotts historical action drama Gladiator (2000) was released there was wide media coverage focusing on many of the visual effects the film had employed . In the film many of the scenes occur in the Roman coliseum and we are treated to plenty of shots of an entire coliseum where hoards of spectators occupy it observing the macabre event taking place below. However the spectacle was in actual fact constructed from multiple digital layers and is another example of vis ual effects making an invaluable contribution to the film industry. It is only through digital technology that we can enjoy with such visual fluidity the epic structure of the coliseum, the gladiators engaging in their fierce battle and the jeering spectators all in one shot. James Cameron is a Canadian director with numerous titles to his name and is well known for his use of cutting edge visual effects technology. His first blockbuster foray into the visual effects arena was with his groundbreaking sci-fi The Terminator (1984) in which we witness a director pushing the boundaries of special effects capabilities. The film epitomises a trend of the time in which Hollywood was experimenting with new means of visual effects through the production of films which fused the genres of science fiction and horror including Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Robocop (1987) and Predator (1987), a breed of films which author Mark Jancovich describes as films which: Contain strong female leads; an interest in the family; concerns about scientific-technical rationality and the military; killing machines which lack conscious motivation; and forms of body/horror . Within Camerons Terminator film we can glean an overpowering sense of directorial creativity which, for all of the films impressive and successful visual effects, is still somehow constrained not by the mind of the director but by the technology available to him. The film was low budget costing around  £4m to make but due to its huge popularity generated  £30m in box office sales in America alone. The Terminator bred a franchise and to date four films have been made although only the first two were under Camerons direction. In Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) Cameron teams up with George Lucass Industrial Light and Magic visual effects house and three other special effects houses. Cameron builds on his rendered water tentacle he created for The Abyss (1989); he was encouraged by some of the concepts used for The Abyss and in Terminator 2 created a Terminator constructed of liquid metal – the T–1000. On screen we witness T-1000, a polymorphic assassin, shape-shifting into anyone it touches. To achieve many of the films visual effects Cameron fused two elements of computer generated graphics with a film composite to create blue prints which were heavily used with astounding success. Between Cameron and the four visual effects houses the film boasts three hundred optical and mechanical shots incorporating state of the art computer produced imagery as well as more conventional optical trickeries and process photography. Each of the four effects companies provided the film with their own unique contributions. For example visual effects company ‘Video Image produced the twelve TerrorVision shots from the Arnold Schwarzenegger T-800 characters infra-red point of view. This was achieved by scanning into a computer live footage and manipulating the colour scheme t hen overlaying it with flashing graphics. ‘Fantasy Film II effects company had the task of producing the opening ‘future war sequence by improving it with intricate optical enhancements, they also created optical lighting and lasers for the shots of the arrival of the Terminator. It was ‘4Ward Production which created the nuclear blast scenes in which Los Angeles is devastated by a nuclear bomb. The sequence was partly electronically created by using a big layered painting of the city which included a blast dome and by using the Apple Mac programme Electric Image very effectively simulated the destruction of buildings to capture the blasts destructive effects. However it was Industrial Light and Magic and Stan Winston Studios working in collaboration who were presented with the challenge of making the T-1000 which would turn out to be a combination of mechanical prosthetics, moving puppets and complex processes of computer generated digital imagery. Camerons Tit anic (1997) was until very recently the worlds most successful box office film. The film made great use of visual effects as well as employing some more traditional special effects processes. Cameron constructed an entire Titanic replica which was able to be flooded and broken apart for the sinking sequences. Most of the visual effects were supplied by Camerons own company Digital Domain which made use of both CG and miniature models to recreate the journey and eventual fate of the ship. Digital Domain also generated hundreds of digital passengers, digital water and numerous digital matte paintings and also created particle effects which simulated smoke. Other visual effects work on the film was carried out by VIFX who composited icy breaths onto some of the characters to ensure maximum authenticity for outside scenes. A number of other collaborators include POP Film who created some very clever digital face replacements and complex matte paintings. And CIS Hollywood made blue sky s ubstitutes and bluescreen composites. The whole collaboration ensured the final product did what it was supposed to do. The films visual effects are an overwhelming credit to a Hollywood narrative film which, in true Hollywood style, hopes to ensure its audiences beliefs are suspended so the journey is as real as it can get, there can be no doubt that the visual effects in this film was a key ingredient in helping the audience achieve that belief suspension. On the 29th August 2009 the Daily Mail ran an article with the title ‘How James Camerons 3D Film Could Change Cinema Forever. The story previewed James Camerons latest sci-fi adventure film Avatar (2009) and the articles author claimed: A movie revolution will take place at the end of the year potentially offering as big a leap in our viewing experience as the change from black-and-white television to colour. The remark was perhaps a little over zealous but nonetheless captured the sentiment of the huge visual su ccess celebrated by the release of Avatar. The film had been a concept in Camerons mind since the mid 1990s but due to the deficit in technological capabilities the film remained unmade. In actual fact Cameron didnt completely wait for the technology to catch up he made technology catch up by creating specialist cameras and equipment required to make the 3D film a reality. The imagery in Avatar constitutes 60% CGI and most of the CG character animation sequences are filmed using live actors with groundbreaking new motion-capture processes. The other 40% of the film comprises of live action imagery and relies on more conventional special effects. In bringing Camerons CG characters to life he has essentially created a whole new method for filming motion capture; he makes his actors wear special body suits with a standard definition camera attached to a head ring which will repeatedly take photographs of their faces. Then the data is sent to another camera which creates a real-time ima ge of the ‘live actor in costume. Of the processes used to create his visual effects in Avatar Cameron stated: Its this amazing ability to quickly conjure scenes and images and great fantasy scapes that is very visual†¦When you are doing performance capture, creatively its very daunting. Its very hard to imagine what it will look like. But if you can see it, if you can have a virtual image of what is it going to be like, then you are there . Avatar adopts further new motion capture processes with its Facial Performance Replacement (FPR) technique which allowed Cameron to reshape the facial movements of the actors. So where dialogue is altered after principal photography on a scene it is still capable of being perfectly integrated into the final scene thereby avoiding actors having to re-shoot another take with their body suits and head rigs on again. Its as though Cameron is constantly merging the boundaries of CGI and live action imagery but appears to have created the desired result although at cost. Whilst the film was in production James Cameron said in an interview on Canadian television that: Were in CG hell. Were trying to create a world from scratch. Its like trench warfare. Were working with computer-generated characters that are photo-realistic. Thats tough. We set the bar high. Were just now getting confidence that its going to work . Its the type of remark that embodies the drive behind an artists creative intelligence and reveals his determination as well as frustration of a project which ultimately will be successful, James Cameron must be sitting comfortably with the knowledge that he broke his own previous record. Avatar is now the biggest box office success in cinema history. Chapter 2: When Do Visual Effects Damage Film? It is incontrovertible that visual effects have augmented many film experiences and that todays modern technological advances have created a film industry capable of exceeding audiences expectations. However despite the immense success of these visual effects there is a growing feeling among many people and film makers alike that digital effects are eroding the quality of some films. CGI used to be a hugely expensive process so much so that George Lucass Star Wars (1977) only contained a ninety second CGI sequence which took three months to complete. However almost twenty years later and the cost of CGI has significantly reduced which enables Pixar Animated Studios to profitably produce an entirely computer generated film – Toy Story (1995). Just another six years later and Sony manages to remove the difference between cartoon and ‘real life with its production of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001). Today CGI is an integral ingredient for many filmmakers who empl oy its use for most of Hollywoods big action sequences. Despite the affordability of CGI it still remains an expensive process and is very time consuming and this is precisely why it is often contracted out of Hollywood to specialist visual effects companies. As we have seen above Avatar had at least four different visual effects companies work on it, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) had eleven outside companies produce the visual effects. Herein lies one of the key areas of concern regarding the use of visual effects in contemporary film making. So that this type of digital outsourcing can be facilitated the film is essentially divided into two separate productions: firstly the studio or location based live action scenes and secondly the CGI element which is made on computers. During the live action filming the actor will quite often be working on whats called a ‘limbo set in which there will be few physicalities to the scene, instead the actor will be require d to simulate particular actions and even mouth certain words of dialogue, all the omissions will then be filled in at a later stage on computer when engaging the CGI stage of the production. It will paint bold background imagery, place elaborate costumes on characters, implant certain objects into the actors hands and create sounds and dialogue befitting of the scenario. When the live footage has to be completed and even the editing of the live film the divide between the live and the CGI work becomes more distinct and problematic as quite often directors havent seen any of the CGI imagery at that stage. One classic example of this situation was during the filming of Jonathan Mostows Terminator 3. The film began shooting in July 2002 and Warner Brothers required the film to be submitted within twelve months for its release. However the sub-contracted CGI element of the production would take eight months for the subcontractors to complete, and so due to the time restriction this mea nt that Mostow had no choice other than to provide storyboards to the CGI teams so they could begin work and so were not working from the live footage which Mostow had yet to film. The split nature of this method of film making is epitomised, almost bizarrely, in the film itself in the face of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The right side of his face has ordinary make-up on it, the left side is green this is because the digital animation supervisor San Rafael directed the CGI which would become Schwarzeneggers right side of his face, whereas Mostow directed the left side of his face in Los Angeles. Once the CGI had been completed there was simply no time to facilitate a re-do. Mostow stated at the time: For a filmmaker that is the worst thing you can imagine. In the regular rhythm of making movies you shoot, you edit, you hone the editing, and then you add the finishing touches. Computer graphics turns the normal procedures of filmmaking upside down . This method of filmmaking was als o witnessed in the production processes of Avatar which outsourced the digital effects work to a number of different companies. One of those companies was London based Framestore and some of the work they had to carry out vividly illustrates the production issues of films which employ heavy use of CGI, Jonathan Fawkner of Framestore said: So what we got from the production was literally an actor in a green background, and we were required to put everything else, including set material props and people . Hollywood studios often believe that digital effects are worth their price, even if it is just to enjoy the profit margin from the spin off sales of merchandise of toys and computer games. However if CGI can not sustain audience interest because it lacks other fundamental film elements such as narrative then no groundbreaking computer generated graphics will compensate for an audience dissatisfied with the story of a film. This was illuminated when Sony had to learn a bitter le sson after it released the sci-fi digital effects imbued Stealth (2005) which performed abysmally at the box office. DreamWorks also had a bloody nose in the same year with the release of The Island (2005) which again generated disappointing box office sales. As journalist and author Edward Epstein states: If this new economy of illusion allows the CGI side of a production to overwhelm the directors ability to tell a coherent story in his live-action side, digital effects may prove to be the ruination of movies . Another aspect of film erosion some argue is occurring when film requires the use of stunts to increase the action to higher levels of intensity. When American actor, writer, producer and director Douglas Fairbanks in the 1924 film version of the fantasy Thief of Baghdad impressively jumps from one huge pot to another with all the anticipation captured beautifully in the film he does so himself, with two unseen trampolines used to support the actor as he performs the stunt. The action sequence is thoroughly effective because it is real. Martial arts actor and director Jackie Chan brings to us films which are highly charged with plenty of karate sequences, this is for many part of the appeal of his films. The fighting scenes always use trained martial arts experts to bring the audience closer to the fighting action so they dont just see and hear it they feel it. However CGI threatens this authenticity by injecting scenes of action which are physically impossible for the human being. The reality is that sadly with the continuing development of CGI there will be less impressive live stunts in film to enjoy. Another argument which criticises digital visual effects concerns the relationship with the aesthetics and the deeper meaning of what the aesthetics are depicting. If we look at a much older film such as the The Thief of Baghdad (1940) we observe a film which makes very effective use of visual effects for its time. It is obvious watching the film that the visual effects are easily identified as visual augmentations but in those aesthetics they actually capture a large degree of reality. Clearly the audience knows that horses and carpets are not capable of flying by themselves yet in the film that is precisely what we see and a visual treat it is despite its lack of visual sophistication. If those scenes were filmed today they would be produced through CGI processes which would load the scenes with fast paced shots of the horses imagined responses if it could fly which would be generated with intricate detail and seamless visual flow, we would see overview shots of the landscapes beneath and we might even see an eagle or two because the whole sequence would be so busy that the audience just doesnt have time to appreciate the whole point of the scene that someone is flying through the air on a horse or carpet! And this is the problem when visual effects take over the scene it reduces the significance of what it portrays. Digital visual effects also seem to engender a type of laziness amongst some film makers. However in the film X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) attention was focused away from digital support in favour of more traditional effects, the audience is aware that theyre not always seeing real bodies or real severed body parts but the effects were impressive and no CGI was used, the film makers instead employed model making efforts to realise the visual characteristics of the film. US scriptwriter and film critic Roger Ebert says: I have nothing against digital technology. It tricks the eye just as matte paintings and miniatures did. What Im concerned about is that filmmakers take it for granted. When youre not dealing with something physical, like a matte, youre tempted to go for broke, and then your ‘real life movie feels like a cartoon. The best effects are those that are entirely story-driven and character-driven. In many peoples view CGI is simply becoming overused. Steve Becks horror Ghost Ship (2002) received strong censure from critics and spectators for its digitally constructed scenes and lack of attention to narrative. The unreal look which comes with CGI can often destroy credibility for the audience. Special effects co-ordinator Randy Cabral believes that CGI has a damaging effect on some films, he says: I go to the movies often and Im taken out of the moment completely when you see something and its so unreal, so unbelievable and it just screams CGI that it completely ruins the film for me. Conclusion Looking at the top ten most successful films of all time, commercially speaking, every single one of them has employed CGI to a significant extent . From Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (2001) to The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) through to Toy Story 3 (2010) and of course Avatar (2009) between them these films have thrilled worldwide audiences and rewarded them with a visual feast. There can be no denying the merits of digital effects and the overwhelming contribution it has made to cinema. The success in sales figures both at the box office and in DVD and Blu-ray profits matches the success of what CGI has achieved on screen. The advantages to the film industry are plenty as is evident from above, but what some directors and film makers some times overlook are the negative aspects of this technology. CGI can not replace a good story or substitute an intelligent script with meaningful dialogue and whilst it can indeed create stunning three dimensional charac ters it can not produce the depth of character which audiences can relate to if the character has no characteristics or depth of expression. It seems that some directors and the Hollywood system have not learnt these lessons fully yet. The recent sci-fi film Skyline (2010) relied heavily on digital effects, some which were quite clearly weak in parts, and lacked depth of narrative. The film attempted to ride on the back of recent successes in the genre like War of the Worlds (2005), Cloverfield (2007) and District 9 (2009) but failed to match their achievements. Skyline unfortunately is a modern example which demonstrates that Hollywood continues to ignore fundamental film constituents in favour of computer generated sequences to realise a film, perhaps after the box office failure of Skyline Hollywood may begin to effectively address this issue. Even directors like Tim Burton who have strong views on digital effects and resisted using them extensively for his remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) still dont appreciate the damage CGI can do, as the film still featured many scenes that were not enhanced by the visual effects but were in fact weakened by them. Having considered many of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of visual effects within the film industry there are clearly two opposing perspectives. Some advocate the continuing and indeed increasing use of CGI as a key method for the production of major film projects and to realise the creativity of the human mind whilst others prefer a more moderate approach to the use of digital effects. James Cameron when being interviewed by Charlie Rose said: I threw everything I had at making it a great piece of entertainment and that was the 3-D, the CGI and creating the world and every trick I knew to get people to come to a theatre, and then every trick I knew as a filmmaker to engage them in terms of the story and the actors and so on . It is probably fair to suggest the most efficaci ous means of producing films should incorporate a balance, and ensure the right calculation between using digital technologies to realise the film and the other essential ingredients which makes the film successful. If the film industry chooses to ignore the genuine complaints of digital effects use then it may well find itself producing more films which do not connect with audiences, and thus runs the risk of damage not only their profits but their credibility also.

The Impact Of Communication On Project Performance

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of study Communication is an essential key that will manipulate the organization operation by transfer of information. The research study about the impact of communication on project performance. This research will explore the communication method used and the effective communication method of construction industry in Kuantan. An introduction of what is the overall content of this research are shown in Chapter 1. This chapter will include background of study, problem statement, objective of study, research questions, significance of study, scope of study, research framework and expected result. The second chapter outlines the most important part that shall address the answer to research questions. That is literature review is consists of an introduction of communication management, and understanding where communication is take place, what is project performance, how construction industry relate to these variables and research gap. This chapter will discuss about the independent and dependent variables. In chapter 3, the research is going to study on the methodologies which explained more about research method that are used in this study. Fourth chapter comprising all findings and research analysis. And the last chapter illustrates how the researcher would like to conclude and outlined some recommendations to next research related to this topic. In general, this research explores for communication method in the constructionShow MoreRelatedImpact Of Communication On Project Performance Construction Industry Essay1417 Words   |  6 PagesDECLARATION I declare that this thesis entitled â€Å"The Impact of Communication on Project Performance in Construction Industry† is the result of my own research except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature of any degree. 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Innovation Diffusion of Successive Generations †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Innovation Diffusion of Successive Generations. Answer: Introduction The report focuses on the supply chain management of the Nike. It explains that how the company is using key flows of supply chain management to meet long-term objectives and goals within the organization. It describes production planning process and MRP system of the Nike. Further, it also explains the significance of the demand planning and forecasting to maintain a proper stock in near future (Qrunfleh Tarafdar, 2014). Nike Inc. is an American multinational company which is engaged in the development, design, manufacturing of footwear, equipment, accessories, apparel, and services. Its headquartered is located in Washington, Oregon United States. It is one of the biggest suppliers of the apparel and athletic shoes and largest manufacturer of sports equipment. The company is increasing and enhancing its revenue and profit day by day. There are approx 62,600 employees employed in the company. The firm was founded on 25 January 1964. The main aim of the Nike is to achieve the long-term mission and vision of the firm by using effective and unique marketing strategies within the organization. The other objective of the firm is to increase and enhance the profit of the shareholders around the world. Nike is one of the biggest and well-known brands in the world (Swink, Melnyk, Cooper and Hartley, 2014). A supply chain is a system of the people, organization, information, activities, and resources involved in moving a product, goods, and service from supplier to customer in the global market. Supply chain management helps to improve the customer relationship in the universal market. Through effective and unique supply chain management, the firm is able to gain the competitive advantages in the global market. There are various key flows of the supply chain management which have been described as below (Parmigiani, Klassen Russo, 2011). The product flow of the Nike is very good and unique. The production flow also includes the packaging and sample services. The product flow includes the movement and transfer of goods and products from suppliers to the customers. The product flow also includes the rejection and returns of the flow within the organization. The suppliers, distributors, wholesaler, manufacturer, consumers, and retailers include in the production flow. Nike Inc. is a growth company which looks for team members to explore and expand the business activities globally. The company has committed to employing a diverse labor force in the organization. A typical production flow system is used by the company to provide various athletic and sports products to the customers around the world. Along with this, it uses effective and unique strategies to reach its target audience globally. In addition, it focuses on the supply strategies to reduce the prices of the products and it can also help to provide the products at appropriate prices. In addition, the firm uses cross docking techniques and methods in production flow to increase the revenue in the global market (Ross, 2013). The management information system is used by the Nike to provide several kinds of information to the customers in the market. The company uses various types of software to analyze and evaluate the data. The main aim of the information flow is to resolve the problems and queries of the customers. The company provides useful and appropriate information and knowledge by using of information system within the organization. Further, information system helps to collect and gather the feedback and reviews from the customers related to the Nike products and services around the world. Along with this, Nike uses effective technologies to maintain proper coordination and cooperation with customers in the world. Therefore, information flow plays a vital and integral role to attain the long-term success and growth within the organization (Tang, Musa, 2011). The company also maintains adequate and appropriate cash flow within the organization. To manage the cash flow, the company focuses on the cash payables and cash receivables effectively and wisely. Along with this, the firm also collects money from customers. The company is trying to increase the sale of the athletic products and apparel to attain the long-term vision and mission of the firm. It will also help to increase the cash flow of the Nike. Before buying the products of the Nike, the customer checks and evaluates the prices and quality of the products. Further, the firm has also extended the payment cycle period of the Nike. Gradually, the cash flow of the Nike is reducing day by day (Seuring, 2013). Return flow is used by the Nike to reduce the risks and challenges of the market. The company uses return and reverse logistic technologies and methods to manage and control the return flow of the Nike products in the world. When the company is not able to produce the products as per the requirement and expectations of the consumers then the company have to return the products to the producer and stores. Further, the firm returns damage and defective products to the stores. In this way, the company shows loyalty and faith at the workplace to increase the number of customers globally (Swink, Melnyk, Cooper Hartley, 2014). It has been recommended that Nike should improve the key flows supply chain management system to manage and control the various activities effectively and wisely. The company must promote information communication and technology system to maintain reciprocal cooperation with customers in the market. Along with this, return flow and cash flow must be managed and evaluated by the Nike to maximize the profit of the firm (Soosay, Fearne Varsei, 2014). Production planning process The company manufactures its products in more than 600 factories with an effective and unique workforce in approx 46 countries. Nike follows vertically integrated model for producing the apparel and footwear. Along with this, transformation process can be used by the company. In addition, the company uses effective production planning strategy to do effective and efficient planning for producing new products in the market. In production planning process, the company needs to focus on the material, stocks, location and period of production etc. The company makes effective plans to understand and evaluate the future outcomes and results (Ranganathan, Teo Dhaliwal, 2011). The main aim of the production planning process is to predict the types of resources which are required in an organization for manufacturing the products worldwide. The four major activities involved in production planning processes such as sequencing, loading, scheduling, control, and monitoring. Along with this, the company needs to look after the machines, and material to gain and maximize the profit of the Nike. Apart from this, the company also focuses on the marketing mix strategy to overcome on the competitors around the world. Furthermore, the production planning process also includes packaging and annual sales and operation process of the Nike. Through effective and unique production planning process, the company is able to produce a variety of the shoe with different color and designs to attain long-term goals and targets of the company. During production planning process, Nike focuses on the needs and requirements of the childrens and women (Kreng Wang, 2013). The material requirement planning system and process play a vital role in Nike. It provides various types of information about the manufacturing needs and requirements as well as information about the inventory level. Mainly, material requirement planning process focuses on the utilizing inventory. MRP is the scheduling, planning and inventory control system to manage and control the manufacturing process and procedure within the organization. MRP is the computer-based system which is used by the Nike to coordinate and communicate manufacturing, purchasing, and delivery within the organization. Apart from this, the company uses bills of material in the material requirement planning process to produce the specific goods and products at reasonable prices in the organization. A bill of material includes the data and information related to the raw material and suppliers in the market (Christopher, Christopher, Holweg Holweg, 2017). Although effective material requirement planning process is used by the company still some improvements are needed within the organization to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Nike. The company should maintain effective ERP system within the organization. Effective communication and collaboration must be maintained by the firm to expand and explore the business activities globally. Furthermore, the firm should improve the production process and MRP system to maintain a good image in the world. The firm must also an effective advertisement and promotional strategies to promote the athletic products globally. In this way, the company can improve and enhance the level of satisfaction of the consumers (Chen Notteboom, 2012). The supply chain forecasting helps to maintain a balance between supply and demand of customers within the organization. Nike uses supply chain forecasting technique to estimate the demand and supply of the athletic products and apparel globally (Boldt, Vinayagamoorthy, Winder, Schnittger, Ekran, Mukkamala Vatrapu, 2016). Demand planning and forecasting Demand planning and demand forecasting are the important concepts of the supply chain management. Technology plays an integral role to develop and enhance the supply chain within the organization. The company uses the effective information system to gather the information related to the stores and shops to sell the products of the Nike. Further, the company uses various methods to evaluate and analyze the demand of the customers such as survey methods, Delphi methods, and market experiment method. Along with this qualitative and quantitative approaches are used by the company to determine the demand of the customers within the organization. In addition, data warehousing model is implemented by the company to estimate the demand and behavior of the consumers. Nike also uses the forecasting evaluation and accuracy techniques and methods to analyze and evaluate the future demand of the customers and to find out the accuracy of the records which have been maintained by the company. Furth ermore, it uses mean squared error, mean deviation and absolute mean deviation methods to identify and evaluate the demand of the consumers. In this way, the company is able to identify and evaluate the demand of the target market in the world. The company makes effective planning and forecasting to measure the demand and requirements of the customers. The employees focus on the feedbacks which are received from the customers to improve the quality and design of the products (Sabbaghi Sabbaghi, 2011). Recommendations Now it recommended that the Nike must use the CPFR (collaborative, planning, forecasting, and replenishment) policies and strategies to meet the long-term targets worldwide. Along with this, the company must use the ERP system and MRP system within the organization to ensure the maximum utilization of resources in the organization. Apart from this, the company should maintain a good and reciprocal relationship with suppliers, vendors, customers, and manufacturer etc to enhance and increase the growth and success of the company. Furthermore, Nike should motivate and encourage employees to do work effectively and efficiently for increasing the productivity and revenue of the company. The company must use effective inventory management to maintain an appropriate inventory level within the organization (Kang, 2015). Conclusion On the above discussion, it has been evaluated that Nike plays a vital and significant role in order to attain the long-term success and growth within the organization. Furthermore, the company uses effective supply chain management and ERP system to fulfill the requirements and desires of the customers in the organization. In addition, effective and successful production planning process and MRP system are used by the company in order to beat the competitors and to maintain sustainability within the organization. Apart from this, the company is also improving its demand forecasting model to increase the sales of the customers within the organization. Nike uses various key flows of the supply chain management to manage and handle the activities of the business. Nike must improve its strategies, plans, and policies to gain competitive advantages in the global market (Acar Gardner, 2012). References Acar, Y., Gardner, E. S. (2012). Forecasting method selection in a global supply chain.International Journal of Forecasting,28(4), 842-848. Boldt, L. C., Vinayagamoorthy, V., Winder, F., Schnittger, M., Ekran, M., Mukkamala, R. R., ... Vatrapu, R. (2016, December). Forecasting Nike's sales using Facebook data. InBig Data (Big Data), 2016 IEEE International Conference on(pp. 2447-2456). IEEE. Chen, L., Notteboom, T. (2012). Determinants for assigning value-added logistics services to logistics centers within a supply chain configuration.Journal of International Logistics and Trade,10(1), 3. Christopher, M., Christopher, M., Holweg, M., Holweg, M. (2017). Supply chain 2.0 revisited: a framework for managing volatility-induced risk in the supply chain.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management,47(1), 2-17. Kang, J. H. (2015).Inventory optimization model for NIKE's long lifecycle highly seasonal replenishment products(Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Kreng, V. B., Wang, B. J. (2013). An innovation diffusion of successive generations by system dynamicsAn empirical study of Nike Golf Company.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,80(1), 77-87. Parmigiani, A., Klassen, R. D., Russo, M. V. (2011). Efficiency meets accountability: Performance implications of supply chain configuration, control, and capabilities.Journal of Operations Management,29(3), 212-223. Qrunfleh, S., Tarafdar, M. (2014). Supply chain information systems strategy: Impacts on supply chain performance and firm performance.International Journal of Production Economics,147, 340-350. Ranganathan, C., Teo, T. S., Dhaliwal, J. (2011). Web-enabled supply chain management: Key antecedents and performance impacts.International Journal of Information Management,31(6), 533-545. Ross, D. F. (2013).Competing through supply chain management: creating market-winning strategies through supply chain partnerships. Springer Science Business Media. Sabbaghi, A., Sabbaghi, N. (2011). Global supply-chain strategy and global competitiveness.International Business Economics Research Journal (IBER),3(7). Seuring, S. (2013). A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management.Decision support systems,54(4), 1513-1520. Soosay, C., Fearne, A., Varsei, M. (2014). Extending sustainable practices beyond organizations to supply chains. InLinking Local and Global Sustainability(pp. 71-90). Springer Netherlands. Swink, M., Melnyk, S.A., Cooper, M.B. Hartley, J.L. (2014). Managing operations across the supply chain(pp. 248-249), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Swink, M., Melnyk, S.A., Cooper, M.B. and Hartley, J.L. (2014). Managing operations across the supply chain (pp. 248-249), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Tang, O., Musa, S. N. (2011). Identifying risk issues and research advancements in supply chain risk management.International journal of production economics,133(1), 25-34.

Submarine Warfare Essays - Submarines, Submarine Warfare, U-boat

Submarine Warfare Submarine Warfare The First "World War," also known as the Great War, took place after the turn of the century from 1914 to 1918, and was named this because it was the first conflict of global proportions. The war resulted in the loss of military lives and the near destruction of Europe. The massive destruction of the war was largely a result of the use of technology in warfare. The use of technology in warfare was a result of the industrial revolution at the end of the nineteenth century which brought mechanization and mass production to society. This brought the use of things never used or heard of into the war and included airplanes, submarines, and tanks, as well as radio communications, machine guns, and poison gas. The use of submarines played a major part in getting the U.S. to join the war. With the launching of the Dreadnought, the first battle ship to concentrate all artillery power to massive twelve inch guns and break the twenty knot speed barrier, the worlds navies became obsolete overnight. The world powers were rushing to build a new class of war ships to replace the older out dated ones. Germany and England soon became entrapped in a naval arms race, with each trying keep pace with the other's building program. When the War arrived in 1914, both Germany and England had navies made up of heavily armed capital ships, which were large heavily armed and thickly armored battle ships such as Destroyers. The world waited for the clash of Germany's high seas fleet and England's Grand fleet. The Great War ships only had a few encounters such as in the battle at Jutland and Dogger while the underestimated and largely overlooked submarine would play a revolutionary part. In the War's second month Germany's tiny U-boat fleet made up of only twenty six submarines and ranking fifth in size among the war's combatants demonstrated the tremendous offensive potential of the "Underseeboot". On September 5th, 1914 commanding officer on the U-21 Korvettenkapitan Otto Hersing found the British light cruiser Pathfinder moving toward his position, submerging the U-boat had only to wait till the Pathfinder was within his range. He fired a single torpedo and hit the Pathfinder accurately and the ship went down in under four minutes with heavy loss of life. The true eye opener came merely seventeen days later when the U-9, under the command of Kapitanleutnant otto Weddigen, sank three 10,000 ton British armored cruisers, Aboukir, Houge, and Cressy in the course of only one hour using five torpedoes. Approximately one thousand four hundred British sailors lost their lives in the attack and the loss of three capital ships was embarrassing to the British Navy. Naval establishments around the world sat up and took notice at that point. The sinking of the British cruisers had proven the submarine's worth to the military as an offensive weapon but its use against merchant shipping brought the weapon its own place in the military world. On February 4, 1915 angered by the British blockade of the North Sea, Germany declared the water around the British Isles a war zone. Germany now would sink all merchant vessels found in those waters without warning. This was the first time the world had seen a form of unrestricted submarine warfare on merchant shipping. As result England was receiving no goods from the outside world which was very nearly starving out England because of the unmerciful nature of the German attacks. The United States, long a neutral spectator to the war, found herself slowly being drawn into the conflict. Before her entry in 1917 a warning was sent by Germany that American waters would not be immune to the U-boat threat. Germans sent two voyages to the town of Newport, Rhode Island in that same year. After the United states entered the war on April 6, 1917 they waited for a reappearance of the submarines for months before seeing another U-boat. When they finally did it was for the sinking of the American ship S.S. Carolina. The S.S. Carolina was a five thousand ton passenger liner transporting over 217 passengers from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to New York City. When a message was intercepted by a wireless operator that the Isabel B. Wiley was sunk by a German U-boat, no more that fifteen miles away, the message was instantly sent to the S.S. Carolina. Captain Barbour then put his ship in a defensive zig zag pattern to make the ship a less easy target but it was too late. The U-boat had already fired shells in to