Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Market Position of Pret a Manger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Market Position of Pret a Manger - Essay Example Prà ªt is the highly admired brand in the UK, and it understands well the main loyalty drivers for its target market, as well as has developed the marketing strategies required to keep it at the top position and have the competitive advantage   From this, we realize that Pret generates twice more revenue from every store compared to Eat and Starbucks. This may be because it gives more food offers as compared to EAT.It also speeds up its sales as shown, compared with Starbucks, the customer's services are somehow low so they can even wait for more than ten minutes before they are served   Prà ªt targets the town centers since its shops are in the urban centers, this targets the middle and upper-class clients. Those who come from the offices and the towers, as well as the businesspersons. Such group demand quality, and variety of goods and products, that Prà ªt is able to deliver instantly. Currently, there are many opportunities for Pret at the city center, where it receives the wealthy tycoons as the target customers.   The case study indicates that the products are tangible and identifiable. Every product can be identified by the description. Therefore, Prà ªt has the unique products that are full of baguettes, coffee, soup, and salad. It also prepares desserts, and Muffins, which are part of the American variety. They also produce noodles and sushi. They also have the options for vegetarians such as roasted vegetables, hummus wraps among others. In the marketing, it produces the foods that are fresh that consist of natural ingredients. They keep their food fresh on the day of selling in the shops. Their packing is also attractive in that the foods cannot be contaminated or be affected.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

How the organisation can effectively manage staff performance Essay

How the organisation can effectively manage staff performance - Essay Example Effective management of staff performance is very important to any organisation if it is to achieve its goals. The first step in ensuring managing employee performance is recruiting qualified personnel. Key competencies expected of new employees need be outlined in advance before the recruitment process begins (Dickens, 2012). Having a qualified workforce will ensure that tasks are performed effectively, and organizational goals are met (Storey 2007). Accomplishments and Contributions that employees perform give the human resources possibility to appraise the most notable employees and give feedback to their work and thus discover new resources for ideas and innovation (Thompson, 2012). My model organisation will be the Swiss company, â€Å"Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬ . It is the world’s number one Food Business with its long record of creating the best food for people. The company states that its main assets are not the numerous office buildings or factories, but the nationalities, religions and ethnic groups who consume Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s products and services. Unity and among employees enable the company to operate harmoniously in all its activities creating a single corporate culture (Revill, 2013). The company has developed a program that ensures Nestlà © attracts the most talented people/staff. The company is also making efforts to ensure good employees are retained (Revill, 2013). The company contributes actively to the quality of HRM by proposing policies and by constantly applying and implementing them to members of Nestlà © community. HRM assists in the execution of planning and creating awareness towards the required adaptability to unexpected situations. The expectations of the workers are to be clearly set and clarified by the management. There is need for an all-inclusive process between the management and the staff that helps to set what is expected of the employees and continuously spell out their functions. Every staff is from time to

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Concept of Servant Leadership Overview and Analysis

Concept of Servant Leadership Overview and Analysis A new moral principle is emerging which holds that the only authority deserving ones allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader. Those who choose to follow this principle will not casually accept the authority of existing institutions. Rather, they will freely respond only to Individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted servants. To the extent that this principle prevails in the future, the only truly viable institutions will be those that are predominantly servant-led. ~ Robert K. Greenleaf Introduction In the current environment, confidence has been shaken in business leadership (i.e Enron,Worldcom Anglo), such that interest has been increasing in the development of leaders who set aside self-interest for the betterment of their followers and organisations (Goleman et al, 2005). Bennis (2002, p. 105) stresses that leaders must generate trust while others (Fayol, 1949; Ciulla, 1998) emphasise that leaders must practice management that does not violate moral principles. There are many concepts of leadership in the literature such as transformational, transactional, leader-member exchange (LMX), psychodynamic and servant leadership. These are just concepts and it is important to quickly discuss the differences and similarities of some of the more popular concepts from the point of view of servant leadership. Paterson Russell (2004) juxtaposed transformational and servant leadership and found that while there are many similarities between the two, it is the moral grounding of servant leadership which makes it distinctive. Conger (1990) argued that there can be a dark side to leadership. For example, leaders who are driven to accomplish their visions may ignore problems and misrepresent the realism of their visions. Clements and Washbush (1999) specifically assailed transformational leadership models for having overlooked potentially negative issues in leader-follower dynamics. Similarly, Kets de Vries (1993) cited personality problems that can lead to poor leader-follower relationships. For example, some leaders have narcissistic tendencies they thrive on power and enjoy manipulation. Some followers have dependent dispositions and form strong connections to leaders who satisfy their dependency needs (Kets de Vries, 1989). Such imperfect human tendencies can lead to problems among charismatic leaders and their followers. History is replete with examples of political, religious, business, and other charismatic leaders who have manipulated their followers. Charisma may have allowed them to ascend to leadership positions, but they ultimately used their charisma in oppressive ways. Of course, such leaders whose standards are poor really function outside the genre of the ideal transformational leadership paradigm. Since servant leaders do not rely on charisma, the risk of manipulation in this form of leadership comes from a different source. Servant leaders rely upon service, and in so doing, they endear the followers to the leaders in reciprocal relationships. Cialdini (2001) identified reciprocation as a primary means by which to influence people. According to the principle of reciprocation, when you do something for another person they are psychologically obliged to return the favour. Optimally, servant leaders have motives that have the best interest of others in mind. Therefore, they should develop a positive form of reciprocation whereby they encourage followers to respond not by serving the leader but by serving others. Of course, this law of reciprocity can potentially be used negatively. Persons, who seek to be servant leaders, but have poor motives, can take advantage of others by inducing them to return acts of service. Such self-centred service can rapidly degenerate into a form of manipulation that can be more subtly coercive than overt exploitive behaviour. However, those who use service for manipulative purposes abdicate the real responsibility of genuine servant leadership. Clearly, both transformational leadership and servant leadership, like other leadership models, have potentially negative aspects. Yet the benefits of the two concepts far outweigh their negative side (Patterson Russell, 2004). Servant leaders, however, derive influence from service itself. They develop relationships where followers are encouraged to follow their lead of service. Paterson et al, (2003) notes that servant-power is a category of influence outside the traditional kinds of power. Real servant hood is a leadership style that relies upon the influence of self-giving without self-glory. Some empirical evidence supports the distinctiveness of servant leadership from related leadership theories. For example, Ehrhart (2004) reported that servant leadership significantly predicted an additional 5% of the variance in employee commitment, 7% of the variance in satisfaction with supervisor, 4% of the variance in perceived supervisor support, and 8% of the variance in procedural justice above and beyond that of both leader-member exchange and transformational leadership. Similarly, Liden et al. (2008) reported that servant leadership behaviour explained variance in citizenship behaviour and in-role performance beyond that predicted by leader-member exchange and transformational leadership Liden et al (2008) evaluated the leadership style servant leadership which is based on the premise that to bring out the best in their followers, leaders rely on one-on-one communication to understand the abilities, needs, desires, goals, and potential of those individuals. With knowledge of each followers unique characteristics and interests, leaders then assist followers in achieving their potential. Servant leadership differs from traditional approaches to leadership in that it stresses personal integrity and focuses on forming strong long-term relationships with employees. It also is unique in that it extends outside the organization-servant leaders serve multiple stakeholders, including their communities and society as a whole (Graham, 1991) Neubert et al (2008) looked at the effects of servant leadership as a variable in the amount of regulatory focus the employee has. Their results supported the theory that servant leadership significantly induces promotion-orientated regulatory focus. Regulatory focus theory (RFT) stems from the notion that people are motivated to minimize discrepancies between actual and desired end states (i.e., seek pleasure) and maximize the discrepancy between actual and undesired end states (i.e., avoid pain) (Meyer, Becker, Vandeberghe, 2004, p. 996). The orientation toward seeking pleasure is considered a promotion focus, whereas the orientation toward avoiding pain is considered a prevention focus (Higgins, 1997). Compared with prevention-focused individuals, promotion-focused individuals are more likely to focus attention on (a) nurturance needs rather than security needs (Higgins et al., 1994), (b) hopes and aspirations rather than rules and responsibilities (Higgins et al., 1994), and (c) gains rather than losses (Shah, Higgins, Friedman, 1998). Paterson, Parolinni Winston (2003) have developed a working theory of servant leadership that creates a platform for more specific research by defining the values on which servant leadership is based values she calls the component constructs of leadership. In Pattersons view, popular leadership theories such as transformational leadership have not adequately explained the values for example, altruism that are sometimes demonstrated by leaders. According to Patterson and Russell (2004), Transformational leadership shows leaders focused on the organization, and is insufficient to explain behaviour that is altruistic in nature, or follower-focused; thus servant leadership theory, which is follower focused, explains such behaviour(p. 353). These virtues or morals are qualitative characteristics that are part of ones character, something that is internal, almost spiritual (Whetstone, 2001). Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990) is credited with initiating the servant leadership concept among modern organizational theorists. In Greenleafs (1977) opinion, leadership must primarily meet the needs of others. The focus of servant leadership is on others rather than upon self and on understanding of the role of the leader as a servant (Greenleaf, 1977). Self-interest should not motivate servant leadership; rather, it should ascend to a higher plane of motivation (Greenleaf, 1977). The servant leaders primary objective is to serve and meet the needs of others, which optimally should be the prime motivation for leadership (Russell and Stone, 2002). Servant leaders provide vision, gain credibility and trust from followers, and influence others (Farling et al., 1999). James Dittmar (2006) interviewed Larry Spears, the president CEO for the Greenleaf centre for servant leadership and concluded that Robert Greenleafs writings incorporated ten major attributes of servant leadership. These included: Listening; Empathy; Healing; Awareness; Persuasion; Conceptualization; Foresight; Stewardship; Commitment to the growth of people; and Building community. As you will see in the next section, certain dimensions of servant leadership can be observed in the workplace and has some have some academic grounding. Walumbwa et al (2010) conducted a detailed investigation of servant leadership, procedural justice climate, service climate and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Their research looked at the extent to which servant leaders recognise their moral responsibility to the success of the organisation as well as the success of their subordinates, the organisations customers and other stakeholders. Their hypothesis that Servant leadership positively relates to organizational citizenship behaviour was supported as servant leadership significantly predicted OCB While servant leadership is an increasingly popular concept, throughout much of its history the concept has been systematically undefined and lacking in empirical support (Farling et al., 1999). In an attempt to give cohesion to the development of a theory, Russell and Stone (2002) established a practical model for servant leadership. They also identified functional and accompanying attributes of servant leadership Servant leadership dimensions According to Russell and Stone (2002) the servant leadership literature offers an inconsistent set of dimensions that define this construct and as a consequence, their exhaustive research was designed to define and validate the dimensions that constitute servant leadership as a construct. Based on their interpretation of servant leadership as well as existing taxonomies of servant they identified nine dimensions: Emotional healing-the act of showing sensitivity to others personal concerns Creating value for the community-a conscious, genuine concern for helping the community Conceptual skills-possessing the knowledge of the organization and tasks at hand so as to be in a position to effectively support and assist others, especially immediate followers Empowering-encouraging and facilitating others, especially immediate followers, in identifying and solving problems, as well as determining when and how to complete work tasks Helping subordinates grow and succeed-demonstrating genuine concern for others career growth and development by providing support and mentoring Putting subordinates first-using actions and words to make it clear to others (especially immediate followers) that satisfying their work needs is a priority Behaving ethically-interacting openly, fairly, and honestly with others Relationships-the act of making a genuine effort to know, understand, and support others in the organization, with an emphasis on building long-term relationships with immediate followers Servant hood-a way of being marked by ones self-categorization and desire to be characterized by others as someone who serves others first, even when self-sacrifice is required Their scale delivered a Cronbachs alpha = .8. Constructs of servant leadership According to Russell and Stone (2002) the following construct of servant leadership by Patterson (2003), were central to their servant leader dimension creation: Agapao love; a love derived from the virtues of their religious beliefs Acts with humility; Is altruistic; Is visionary for the followers; Is trusting; Is serving; and Empowers followers. Leadership in the African context Issah Huseini is Ghanaian in birth and has been living in Ireland for the last 12 years. A devote Muslim, his moral beliefs have been leveraged through his religious teachings. These unique characteristics will be discussed later however it is important to discuss leadership in the African and cultural context. To date, servant leadership has been discussed and described almost entirely in the American context (Farling et al., 1999). Unfortunately, there have been few efforts to examine the extent to which followers in the USA actually report having experienced servant leadership while working in a leader-follower relationship. Hale Fields (2007) explored the concept of servant leadership in a Ghanaian context and found that while there are many aspects of servant leadership that are similar to leader attributes that may be endorsed across cultures such as motive arousing, confidence building, team building and foresight, some differences among cultures may limit the extent to which the servant leadership approach is viewed as effective. For example, servant leadership often focuses on follower development with the intention of increasing follower capacity to exercise creative approaches and take on greater responsibilities at work. However, these efforts may be viewed as effective primarily in settings where the ability and willingness of followers to exercise initiative and direct their own activities is viewed as desirable (Fields et al., 2006; Hofstede, 2001). In more individualistic and lower power distance cultures such as the USA, leaders who help equip followers to take initiative and undertake cre ative solutions on their own tend to be viewed very positively (Hale Fields 2007). However, in higher power distance cultures, leaders whose followers take initiative on their own without waiting for explicit direction may be seen as weak leaders (Hofstede, 2001). In cultures which are more collective, followers may be not feel comfortable with leaders who emphasize follower individual initiative and creativity because these are viewed as being best accomplished through group discussion and decisions. Given the rich diversity of Sub-Saharan Africa, one must approach any generalization of cultural expressions with caution. However, some African scholars maintain that there are identifiable Sub-Saharan African cultural characteristics (Lassiter, 2000). Through his survey of numerous African thinkers, Lassiter (2000) organized these cultural characteristics into five broad categories: psychological characteristics society and the individual family and community worldview Response to foreign influences. Traditional Sub-Saharan African leadership centres on the concept of kingship. Masango (2003) points out that the hierarchy in African society is well defined, with the king at the top of the structure. However, kingship in pre-colonial times was not the autocratic dictatorship that appeared in the colonial and post colonial periods (Masango, 2003; Williams, 2003). Rather, in earlier periods, followers expected the king to function as a servant to the clan, tribe or community (Williams, 2003). In essence, the kingdom was more important than the king. Historical examples document the removal of kings who became a detriment to the kingdom (Williams, 2003). The king used influence to build consensus (Masango, 2003). Finally, the king was the religious leader and guardian of the kingdoms religious heritage (Williams, 2003). Leadership Trust in the not-for profit sector While the notion of trust is not exclusively attached to servant leadership and may be considered a key element in all leadership models, servant leadership has been particularly considered as strongly associated with trust (De Pree, 1997; Joseph and Winston, 2005; Russell, 2001), that is through servant leader exhibit and translate their personal integrity into organizational fidelity (De Pree, 1997, p. 127). Greenleaf (1977) maintained that trust is a building block for servant leaders, who in turn foster environments of trust. In their study of leaders in for-profit and not-for profit organizations in America and West Indies, Joseph and Winston (2005) reported positive correlation between employees perceived level of organizational servant leadership and leader trust, and between their perceived level of servant leadership and organizational trust. Relationships built on trust and services are the basis for the influence of servant leadership (Joseph and Winston, 2005). Greenleaf (1977) advanced that trust was central to servant leadership since leadership legitimacy begins with trust. He noted that the only sound basis for trust is for people to have the solid experience of being served by their institutions (p. 83). He asserted further that in servant leadership, leadership is bestowed upon persons who are trusted because of their stature as servants (p. 24). Servant leaders are trusted because they empathize with and fully accept followers (p. 35), because of their dependability, which results from their exceptional intuitive insight (p. 56), and because they lead by example (p. 342). Trust and respect are highest in circumstances where a community is created through service in which the liability of each for the other and all for one is unlimited (p. 52). Greenleaf (1977) posited that institutional trust is created when the ir trustees (leaders) reach distinction as servants who understand the institution and care for all the persons touched by it (p. 100). Greenleaf (1977) stated that leaders hold the responsibility for the level and type of institutional performance that would merit trust (p. 127-8). Therefore, from Greenleafs perspective, servant leadership is both a product and an antecedent of leader and organizational trust. This may be due to the fact that servant leadership increases perceptions of leader trustworthiness, which has a reciprocal relationship to leader trust. Interview Issah Huseini is CEO and one of the founding members of the grassroots charity the new communities partnership (NCP); an independent national network of 116 ethnic minority led groups comprising of 75 nationalities with offices in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. The mission of NCP is to be an effective network, representing and empowering ethnic minority-led groups, at all levels, in order to influence positive change in policies that impact on their lives. The flat structure of NCP is comprised in a flat manner which links in with ethnic led minority organizations (ELMO) communities such as the Afghan and Cameroon communities to provide support and training. There are now over 120 ELMO communities under the auspicious of the NCP (appendix B) which is supported by Russell Stones (2002) argument that building relationships is an important characteristic of servant leadership. One of NCPs mission statements is empowerment where We believe in our capacity to define our own needs, articulate our hopes and fears and represent ourselves locally, regionally and nationally (retrieved from http://www.newcommunities.ie/about/mission.html on January 5, 2011). I began by asking Mr. Huseini why he decided part company with Cairde and set up his own company the NCP. Mr. Huseini described that the reason was twofold. Firstly the degree of freedom and range of services were limited and they felt that they were not providing enough services to their ELMOs. This idea is supported by supported by Russell Stones (2002) assumption that creating value for the community by having a conscious, genuine concern for helping the community is a significant dimension of servant leadership. Secondly he illustrated the underlying worries that their clients held because as he put it: some of the people we work with are some of the most disadvantaged in society. Some of them are illegal and shouldnt even be here. We found that these people didnt trust us as they believed we were agents of the government. Certain constructs of servant leadership would support this statement as Patterson (2003) describes acting with humility, is trusting and is altruistic, whil e meeting the needs of others (Greenleaf, 1977). As a follow up question I asked what kind of services he expected to deliver and what he actually was giving to his clients. He began by explaining the power politics involved in working with such an institution (Cairde) was very frustrating. There were certain governmental regulations that narrowed the scope to which Cairde could deliver services. For example, they were very limited in how much involvement we could have in regards to immigration, visas, green cards etc and felt that they were not satisfying the needs of ELMOs. Again this fits in with various researchers positions that a core responsibility of servant leaders is to act and behave ethically (Russell Stone, 2002; Greenleaf 1977; Dittmar, 2006; Fayol, 1949). Continuing on from this Mr. Huseini explained the following services the NCP provides: capacity building in terms of forums, workshop, seminars and community cafes, training support for ELMOs both in terms of leadership training and media and training, secondary lobbying governments on issues of concern, conducting scholarly and legal research on topics of educations and law reform, advocacy services and many more day to day services that cannot be categorized. Paterson et als (2003) statement that: that servant-power is a category of influence outside the traditional kinds of power. Real servant hood is a leadership style that relies upon the influence of Self-giving without self-glory. (p. 280) would support this kind of multi-faceted support system. Moving away from the external stakeholders, questioning then focused on the internal dynamics of the organisation. In particular (after clarifying the meaning of regulatory focus) i asked him if he saw his employees tendencies to seek promotion was as a result of his leadership style or whether there was a degree of commitment in general to the organisation. Mr. Huseini contemplated this and explained that many of the employees were hired through employment schemes which were generally unpaid such as FAS and the Dublin city council. While at the same time he indicated that the office is so small that there was no opportunity for advancement although he did highlight that he thought he employees were generally committed to the cause. Therefore Neubert et als (2008) assertion employees promotion-orientated regulatory focus is because of the servant leadership nature of the organisation is not supported however the marginal declaration that his employees are committed to the company is supported by Ehrharts (2004) findings. Finally I wanted to establish if there was a spiritual or religiously underpinning to his leadership style. Mr Huseini concurred as he described how he started out as a taxi driver in Dublin and although he witnessed many activities he disapproved of he still maintained a level of honesty and integrity (Patterson Russell, 2004). He went on to describe how Islam has kept my head on my shoulders insisting that the laws of Muhammad have guided me through some difficult times. This statement is supported by Whetonsone (2001) as he describes these characteristics that are part of ones character, as something that is internal, almost spiritual. While Patterson concurs that Agapao love a love derived from the virtues of their religious beliefs are a construct of servant leadership.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Putting A Price On Life Essays -- essays research papers

Putting A Price On Life (The Health Care Crises) Putting A Price On Life Lately, there has been quite a debate over health care and who should pay for it. Some say that the general public should pay for it. Others say it should be shared between employer & employee. And still others say it should be socialized. Of these three, socialized medicine seems to be the most controversial if not the most misunderstood. Let's look at the dictionary definition of socialized medicine. According to Funk & Wagnall; socialized medicine is "A system proposing to supply the public with medical care at nominal cost, by regulating services and fees, by government subsidies to physicians, etc". The common misperception is that health care will become substandard. If that is true; then mans humanity to man is determined by the almighty dollar. Doctors have taken the Hippocratic Oath to treat their patients equally and ethically. Most people fear that they will be forced into long lines or on waiting lists for medical attention. But that cannot be proven. Besides; most people now have to make appointments to see a doctor, and are accepted on a priority basis in hospitals. There is also the fear that doctors in the U.S. will leave to practice medicine in other countries. If so; they will have a difficult time as most of the industrialized nations have systems of socialized medicine including Canada. And let's be honest; how many of us are go... Putting A Price On Life Essays -- essays research papers Putting A Price On Life (The Health Care Crises) Putting A Price On Life Lately, there has been quite a debate over health care and who should pay for it. Some say that the general public should pay for it. Others say it should be shared between employer & employee. And still others say it should be socialized. Of these three, socialized medicine seems to be the most controversial if not the most misunderstood. Let's look at the dictionary definition of socialized medicine. According to Funk & Wagnall; socialized medicine is "A system proposing to supply the public with medical care at nominal cost, by regulating services and fees, by government subsidies to physicians, etc". The common misperception is that health care will become substandard. If that is true; then mans humanity to man is determined by the almighty dollar. Doctors have taken the Hippocratic Oath to treat their patients equally and ethically. Most people fear that they will be forced into long lines or on waiting lists for medical attention. But that cannot be proven. Besides; most people now have to make appointments to see a doctor, and are accepted on a priority basis in hospitals. There is also the fear that doctors in the U.S. will leave to practice medicine in other countries. If so; they will have a difficult time as most of the industrialized nations have systems of socialized medicine including Canada. And let's be honest; how many of us are go...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Creation of a pop video or short film lasting approximately 5 minutes

Our brief this year was to create a pop video or short film lasting approximately 5 minutes. The AS brief was to create billboards or posters about health. They differ in that one concentrates on moving image where the other concentrates on print. However they both require strong visual images that provoke thought. New skills I have developed in creating a pop video are, how to create a storyboard and shooting scripts as well as how to use the cameras and editing equipment more efficiently. (Our treatment describes our A2 brief in more detail.) I decided I wanted to create a music video, as audio is 50% of the media experience, so teamed up with others who also wanted to make a music video. We then decided on which song we wished to create the video for. We did this by brainstorming ideas (in our creative journals) and then choosing a song that we all liked and the creative ideas we wished to include in the video (type of shots, characters etc). At first we were producing a video for Jackson Five ‘I want you back' but this proved to be harder than we originally thought and in addition it had already been created. So this is when we decided to change the genre of music from Pop to Indie and chose to create a video for Feeder's ‘Yesterday went too soon.' This song has never had a video created for it and therefore our audience would not have any prior expectations of what the video should look like and include. The only major issue we had with creating a pop video for this song is that we could not conform to all conventions of a music video; in this case we could not include the band Feeder, as we do not have access to them. We looked at various indie videos before we began to storyboard. This was done to get ideas for our own video and to make sure it fitted in with the genre. There are two things that I believe influenced our film to a great extent, one is a video by Cold Play that uses reversing within the video like we do and the other is not a music video but a film, Sliding Doors. The element we took from this video was what if one minor event did/or didn't happen how would the story turn out? This creates interest as the audience is left wondering for a while what is going to happen next? What will change? (why might these ‘themes' be more appropriate for an indie music video?) To organize ourselves, the time we had and the equipment we needed to use; we each decided on roles depending on what our strengths and weaknesses were. Jess was Director, James was Producer, Beth was Camerawoman and I was Location Researcher and Editor. However because we worked as a team these roles were not as defined and we helped each other with the tasks we found difficult. To organize our selves and get the best out of the time we had with the equipment we planned each day thoroughly. We created shooting scripts, storyboards and treatments (all of which are in our appendix) to enable us to get each shot correct virtually first time as in industry we would not have unlimited, free access to the props, actors and equipment. We learnt about scripting, shooting schedules and treatments by looking at other peoples work for inspiration and to see what worked for them. We then adapted what we found out to suit us and created our own video. To create the storyboard we took the best ideas from everyone and the most influential ideas from music videos. (you could say a bit more about specific music videos that you used for inspiration, and also on how you defined the generic conventions of indie music video in particular) The storyboard was created while we listened to the song so that we could match the visuals to the sound. I believe our treatment and storyboard are good as we can understand them and if we were to give them to another group to create I believe they would be able to produce the pop video, as we want it. We developed them by first deciding on the major points we wanted to include and then showing them to our teacher and changing and adapting them accordingly. Section Two – Analysis of finished product Music videos are primarily used to promote the song of a band. (although they can be a bit like adverts, indie music videos in particular are also often trying to reinforce a particular image of the band) The benefit with a music video over say live performance is that it can reach parts of the world that the band may not be able to. Music videos can generally be split into three categories; Narrative videos (ones which tell a story), Performance clip (ones that focus on band performance) and (non)Narrative video (ones that concentrate on the rhythms and moods of the song). We chose to concentrate on a narrative based video as it fits with the genre we had decided upon. (Why?) The genre of our music video is Indie. It was important when making our music video that we best matched the editing of our film with our chosen song. This is to make the video easy and comfortable to watch and to create a professional finish. Typical conventions of this style of music video include a storyline and maybe some band members featuring within the video. (you need to say more about this, and how these elements help to develop an image of the band) We conformed to as many conventions as we could without making the video looking artificial or amateur. We especially conformed to the convention of editing being faster with shorter shots than normal. We did this to keep up with the pace of song and to keep the viewer from getting bored. To make sure that the video flowed smoothly we used straight cuts most of the time with dissolves and fades where we felt appropriate. (Why?) Indie music does not have the bright upbeat cheer as a pop video does but it is not dark and sinister either so to convey realism we used natural light so that the video doesn't look like an over dramatic piece of work. Music videos are often playful, experimental and usually about stretching the boundaries of ‘realist(ic)' style. In a way we have done this by using the rewinding shots and the slowing down of the falling orange juice glass. The narrative of our video is about a guy who has a regular, mundane routine of waking up, getting dressed and going to catch his bus, we look at what would happen should this vicious circle break and as it turns out his life become better because of it (He meets up with the love of his life). This is parallel to the music as the song is of similar content where its lyrics can be interpreted in many ways. For this video to work we needed to capture the audience's attention to do this we used another convention of music video which is the visual hook. This is where a close up of the band is used to keep the audience's attention. In our case we used the extreme close up of the guy's eyes right at the beginning of the video. It goes on longer than a normal video clip would to establish the fact that he had just woken up and so essentially throws the audience right into the video. (Do we see him again? How does this develop image?) A variety of styles ranging from realism to symbolism have been used within our film, for example when the glass breaks. This is a key moment in the video as the glass breaking symbolises the vicious circle of daily routine breaking. This dramatic event is emphasized by the image being slowed down making the audience notice the importance of it. Another example of symbolism is the routine as a whole being shown then re-wound back to be re-shown again, this emphasises the unexciting, everyday life that the guy leads. The ideology of our video is that something so small can change the route in life you take forever; i.e. because of the glass breaking he has met up with his old girlfriend and is now happy. (It is fairly conventional heterosexually romantic – how does this relate to target audience, and the image you are trying to create of the band? How do you want male and female audiences to feel about them? You can cover that in the next section) Section three – Institutions and Audiences Our music video has been created for the mainstream audience and therefore hopefully appeals to most people, however we understand that not everybody likes the indie style of music and therefore will not appeal to all. Our target audience is for young teenagers, but as our song is a ballad we could expect some older listeners. We have tried to aim the video at all genders as the music industry is now strongly supported by both. We have also aimed the video at all social classes but predominantly middle – working class people (that's quite a diverse range†¦.) as they make up the larger proportion of our population. We have enforced this by not using any obvious branded clothing or objects. We tried to aim the video at all races but did not have access to them to use within our video, so instead tried to produce a video that would not offend anybody. (anyway indie music has a predominately white audience) I believe an independent record company or the band itself would fund the making of this video, as that is how it is generally done in industry. Music videos are created to promote a song and to create awareness of the artist so the best place for them to be seen would be on 24hr music channels like MTV or on music shows like Top of the Pops or CD:UK, by putting the video on these sorts of programs people who are interested in music will purposefully watch them and tell friends about the songs and so forth so that by the time the single comes out everyone knows about them and the band should get good record sales. Our music video reflects generic conventions through the use of narrative and visual hooks. From the movie sliding doors we have taken the theme of something so little can change your life forever and we have shown how it can go either way. We have also taken influence from Cold Play's recent music video; from this we used the use of rewinding to keep the audience interested. (why is Coldplay a good reference point?) To find out if our video had achieved its aims we asked a focus group to watch the video and then answer some questions on it to see how they would respond to the text. When asked about the genre of this piece the entire group got that it was an indie music video. Therefore fulfilling that part of the requirements. We then asked about more complicated issues like the Ideology of our video. Ours being based on the theory that can something so small change your life forever and if it can is there such a thing called fate? Again everybody understood this with a main answer being ‘How little things can change the fate of a day, love as well,' and ‘how easily it can be changed.' To see if our video fitted in with conventions of music videos in general and in particular indie music videos we asked our focus group about them. A major point that came up was the fact music videos usually include the band, which in our case was not possible because we did not have access to them. However on a brighter note our mise-en-scene and lighting was suitable and appropriate for the video and created the realism need to fit in with the conventions of the genre. A key point to making a good pop video is the length of shot and how well the video has been edited. So to see if we had taken these points into enough consideration we asked the focus group about them to see if they matched our own views on various elements in the video. For example the length of the rewinding shots, most people found it got tiring after watching it twice through and so felt that the rewinding shots could have stop at where the orange juice was being poured. Also they felt that they liked the repetitive effect, but it could have been a bit faster, as not to drag on. We next wanted to see if people could see where our influences had come from. Although no one in the focus group figured it out they came up with their own they we felt were just as appropriate. Some of them include the film; Run Lola Run and Craig David's single 7 Days. Another point we could not agree on as a group was whether or not to have more shots of the girl in the video to establish her character and the focus group it seems had mixed views as well. Some said there should be more of her to enable the viewer to understand the narrative more yet others said that the video worked well just concentrating on the one character, so that issue is left unresolved. In addition to the above problem our group could not decided whether to leave the sound effects (that appeared by accident) or to cut them out so we decided to leave them in and see what our audience thought of them. Most thought that they should have been left out because they didn't really fit in and I am inclined to agree. (Also they take away the focus from the music) To finish off the feedback session we asked for people's general opinions on our video. For example whether they liked it or not and why they did or did not like it. Most found the idea interesting and original with a play on the essentially simple narrative.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Aeneas and Beowulf

Aeneas was the son of Anchises out of Venus (Hamilton 208), prince of Troy, a vagabond exile who became consort to a Queen and father of Rome. No other hero of antiquity had the piety so treasured by the Roman people. For his part, Beowulf was the son of Ecgbeow, exiled for his father's crimes, Grendel's bane, Dragon Slayer, and King of Geats. His deeds of valour are sung by Saxons and Norsemen alike. Separated by a great span of time and distance, Aeneas and Beowulf shared similarities in that both were all but fearless and are eternally remembered for their pious valor and the mighty deeds they wrought. Aeneas of the â€Å"Iliad† was a Trojan prince. Valiant in his own right, though not as forthcoming in arms as his kinsman Hector, he labored mightily to protect his native Troy from the wrath of the Greeks (Camps 23). In the end, he failed and the realm fell to its enemies. He alone of the Trojan lords survived the rape of Troy and leads the survivors into exile. Thus does Homer conclude his tale of Aeneas, Aphrodite’s son. In his quest to forge the founding epic of Rome, wise Virgil conceived the â€Å"Aeneid†, the saga of an exile who would become the true founder of Rome (Hamilton 220). Continuing where Homer left off, Virgil had Aeneas take the remnant of his people away from the land of their sorrows. He bore with him the statues of the household gods of Troy. a pious symbolism of taking all that remained of Troy with him (Aeneid Book I).   Daring the perils of the Mediterranean, he sailed about in a Greek lake. Every land he passed posed peril from Greeks, if not Cyclops, Harpies or other fell beasts. Yet for all his perils Aeneas held his course, he quailed not and only the charms of Queen Dido could stay the Trojans for long. Beowulf, on the other hand, had no divine parentage. The true author of this saga cannot now be known. Tradition (Wikipedia) places the author as an Anglo-Saxon from the 7th century A.D. Unlike Aeneas, whose deeds were spun by the fruitful mind of Virgil, Beowulf may very well have been an actual King Geats sometime in the 5th century A.D. However, his heroic deeds have placed him high in the pantheon of Anglo-Saxon heroes. Beowulf’s father Ecgbeow murdered Heaà °olaf, a Wulfing noble. Unable to pay the were gild to compensate for killing Heaà °olaf, Ecgbeow went into exile among the Danes. The Danish King Hroà °gar paid the wereguild in his behalf and asked him to swear an oath. Ecgbeow then entered the service of the Geatish king Hreà °el and marries his daughter. Their issue is Beowulf.   Save for the banishment of his father, Beowulf origins were uneventful, a sharp contrast with the tale of Aeneas. But soon enough, Beowulf was called to arms. Hroà °gar and his court in Zealand are besieged by a demon named Grendel (Heaney 15). In payment for his father’s debt, Beowulf traveled from Geatland, essaying to slay Grendel if he might despite the knowledge that the no mortal weapons could harm the Grendel. So began the first of his three great battles. Grendel bore the mark of Cain and was feared by all save Beowulf only. In a mighty duel, Beowulf wrestled with Grendel and mastered him, tearing off his arm and sending Grendel scrambling home to die (Heaney 37). Beowulf then reaped great honor from King Hroà °gar but earned ire of a new enemy; Grendel’s mother. The second great battle of Beowulf was with no less than Grendel’s mother who also bore the dread mark of Cain (Heaney 88). Seeking vengeance for her dead son, she entered Hroà °gar’s hall and slew Æschere, his most trusted warrior. As an aside, under the Germanic law of that day, death must be avenged with death or payment called a were gild. Thus Grendel’s mother conceived that she was merely upholding the law of vengeance (Heaney 101). But since Hroà °gar saw himself wronged once again, he essayed to slay Grendel’s mother. Again Beowulf played the heroes’ part. He dove right into the swamp and slew her with a sword that only he could wield. For the second time, he earns great honor for his deed. Here a Christian theme is played out. Thought to be dead, Beowulf returns to his fellows at ‘non’ that is, the 9th hour of day or 3:00 P.M., the same hour that Christ is said to have died (Tolkien 265). Beowulf mastered the Cursed Spawn of Cain, the first murderer. They were demons that no lesser man could slay. Aeneas for his part was Cursed by Juno queen of the gods. But for Aeneas a lesser foe would be unworthy. Motivated by Paris’ rejection, Juno’s wrath for Troy (Hamilton 233) extended to Aeneas. Juno’s hate is worsened by her foreknowledge that from the loins of Aeneas would come forth the race of high men who would lay low her own favored city of Carthage (Aeneid Book I). She causes a great storm to be cast upon the exiles’ fleet in a vain effort to annihilate them. The storm is so terrible that Aeneas’ fleet is driven off course and they end up on the shores of Carthage. Dido, queen of Carthage, would find shipwrecked Aeneas and offer him Kingship of Carthage if only he would stay and love her (Hamilton 235). It is at this point that Aeneas’ piety is stirred anew for Mercury is sent to upbraid him. Shamed for straying from his destiny, Aeneas secretly leaves Carthage with all his folk, thus rekindling hope for the destiny of Rome but also earning the eternal ire of Dido’s heirs. Aeneas held funeral games in honor of his dead father and shows his piety to his ancestor. (Hamilton 237). With Sibyl, he descended to the depths of Hades to hold converse with those who would become mighty among the Romans (Hamilton 240). His wavering faith is strengthened and ere long Aeneas leads his followers to the shores of Latinium. At last their wanderings are over, they can now rebuild their homes or so they hoped. Beowulf too proves to be a pious man of high doom. His king Hygelac died in a raid.   As the son of a Geatish princess Beowulf was offered the throne. He humbly declined in favor of prince Heardred his kinsman. Headred later harbored the Swedish princes Eadgil and Eanmund who fled Onela the usurper. Eager to put an end to his foes, Onela invades Geatland and killed Headred. Beowulf was proclaimed King in his place and under the custom of were gild swore revenge against Onela (Heaney 165). The primary Beowulf text speaks little of this but Swedish sources speak of a counter invasion by Beowulf and Eadgil to restore Eadgil to the throne and avenge Headred (Olson). A hero is best remembered for his greatest achievements, For a Roman hero it is his prowess for war. Juno stirred all of Latinium to war against Aeneas but this time he could resist her devices because the Trojans had become mighty in war (Camp 47). Outnumbered in a hostile land, Aeneas and the Trojans fought with desperate valor though they saw little hope. Aeneas left camp to seek aid among his other neighbors first among his new allies is the boy Pallas. (Aeneid Book IX). Ere his gates were mastered, Aeneas returns with the valiant Etruscans. Many deeds worthy of song were forged in that war. Not the least was Aeneas’ pursuit of an Italian craven who allowed his son to die while he fled. When the war reached an impasse, single combat was proposed between the captains (Aeneid Book XII). On the one hand was Aeneas, prince of Troy, and on the other Turnus, King of the Rutuli. Both coveted Lavinia, heiress of Latinium. Turnus was valiant in his own right but his foe was no mere mortal. In that duel Turnus fought valiantly but with no hope. Virgil portrays Aeneas as a demigod who quickly mastered Turnus. The latter’s pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears when Aeneas saw that Turnus was wearing the armor of Pallas(Hamilton 245). A ‘true’ Roman, Aeneas accordingly slew his fallen foe in vengeance for fallen Pallas (Camps 35). Memorable too was the final battle of Beowulf king of the Geats for 50 years. In his last days, his realm is plagued by a dragon. Despite his old age he tried to slay the Dragon in open battle but failed. Instead, he enters the Dragon’s lair accompanied only by Wiglaf his Swedish relative (Heaney 175). They succeeded in killing the Dragon but Beowulf was mortally wounded (Chance 53). According to Swedish scholar Birger Nerman, Beowulf lies in Skalunda Hà ¶g in West Geatland. In the time of Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons and the other Germanic peoples were not yet Christianized. However, the saga tells of Germanic moral codes such as â€Å"were gild† and revenge for the slain overlaid with references to Christian Faith (Chance 47). For example, the mark of Cain, the hour of Non and Beowulf’s prayers to a â€Å"Father Almighty†, to name a few. So much so that Allen Cabaniss (101) proposed that the Beowulf was written precisely to parallel the Bible and present a Christian hero to the Anglo-Saxons. By comparison, Aeneas was valiant and honorable, as most heroes are. He had a destiny to fulfill and a people to lead to safety. Son of a goddess, his chief foe was no less than the Queen of the gods (Camps 106). Though the saga was written by a Pagan hand, Aeneas shows â€Å"Christian† virtue as the Romans of Virgil’s time defined it. He was â€Å"pious† to friends and family, to his gods and most of all to his destiny (Camps 93). Many a time he was tempted to remain in comfort and ease in another land. Yet he ultimately resisted and would remain faithful continuing on his path to found Rome. To conclude, Aeneas and Beowulf are valiant and brave as is fitting of true heroes. But to set them apart from the likes of Achilles, they are men who act not out of vanity and pride. Instead, they act out of service and a â€Å"pious† desire to fulfill what they believe is good. Works Cited Wilson, Frank R. The Hand: How Its Use Shapes the Brain. New York: Pantheon, 1998. Cabaniss, A. â€Å"Liturgy and Literature†.   University of Alabama Press, 1970. Camps W.A.   Introduction to Virgils Aeneid.   Oxford University Press 1969. Chambers R.W. Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem, 3rd edn Cambridge Press 1959. Chance, Jane. Tolkien’s Art a Mythology for England, University Press of Kentucky, 2001. Fulk R.D. Interpretations of Beowulf: A Critical Anthology, Midland Book 1991. Hamilton Edith: Mythology a timeless tale of gods and heroes, Warner books 1999. Heaney Seamus, Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Bilingual Edition) Norton Press 2000. Tolkien, J.R.R. ‘Beowulf: the monsters and the critics', Proceedings of the British Academy, 22 1936. The Project Gutenberg Etext of Vergil's Aeneid in English available at http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext95/anide10.txt (last accessed 14 Nov 07) Olson, Oscar Ludvig, The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf A Contribution To The History Of Saga Development In England And The Scandinavian Countries available at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14878 (last accessed 21 Nov 2007) Beowulf   available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf#_note-valibrary (last accessed 14 Nov 2007)