Rolls Royce in Contemporary Business Environment

Rolls Royce in Contemporary Business Environment This assignment is aimed to critically evaluate a change management towards to the operations at Rolls Royce plc, ascertain a range of reasons for either success or failure to implement a operations management and to propose further improvements for the companys performance. The annual Rolls Royce report was used a primary source of business data. It was found that the firms strategy and operations management conforms to the current trends in the operations, i.e. environmental needs, customised quality of products and flexibility of production, etc.; however, certain risks and global challenges may affect a success of the business, leading to losing a share in the market niche. Introduction Rolls Royce in Contemporary Business Environment Rolls Royce is a global company providing a power product, judging on a basis of customers demand or a niche market position its me, for land, sea and air (Rolls-Royce, 2006). The company has a balanced business portfolio with the leading positions in civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy markets. One of key factors of Rolls-Royces success is continuing expansion of its business globally. In the past five year RR started work on or opened facilities in Europe, the United States and Asia. Company employs over 38,000 employees, 22,700 are in the UK with the balance primarily in the US, Asia, Germany, Scandinavia and Brazil, which represents a global expansion of business operations, human resources for implementation of process and technology, i.e. resources for the status. Rolls Royce is a highly focused power systems business, concentrating on manufacturing and services of power systems, including a gas turbine engine. There are approximately 54,000 Rolls Royce gas turbines in service. With annual sales of around  £4 billion and a forward order book of nearly  £22 billion, its technology is applied over a wide range of products that generate high-value services throughout their operational lives. These operations give a value for the companys business. In response to increased orders from the market due to A380 production will recommence and Boeing787 production begins (Boeing, 2006), the firm implements a strategy towards to the best operations for turbine engine production. Objectives of the Assignment Manufacturing (WCM) is one of the broadest philosophies focusing primarily on production (Lind, 2001). Although Hayes and Wheelwright originally defined the WCM term (B. Flynn, 1997) to describe organizations which achieved a global competitive advantage through use of their manufacturing capabilities as a strategic weapon, there is no consistent definition of WCM (Maskell, 1991). So does Roll_ Royce represents the operations management? In my opinion, the answer is clearly, yes, it does. A world-class organization is an organization that had established itself as the best (RR automotive has been doing it continuously since 1906) becomes the best with new product lines (such as gas turbines) and then sustains itself as the best in its field during a life cycle. It goes beyond TQM (Total Quality Management), which is an adaptive process. It also goes beyond the learning organization by keeping ahead of changes. World-class organizations practice Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) a management philosophy which focuses on improving processes within an organization. Further these principles of the operations will be analysed and discussed. Analysis and Discussion 2.1. Ownership and Finance Roll_ Royce is a Public Limited Company (plc). What are benefits or drawbacks to be a plc for the ? As firm is selling shares on a stock market, the business gets a huge capital injection allowing the company to expand quicker and invest in new products. In RRs case it allows them to use high quality machinery and materials to produce innovative and yet expensive products, entering a niche on the markets. Being on the stock market can have a positive effect on your publicity and suppliers are more willing to offer you a credit as they can see how secure finances are. Plc-type organisation has also drawbacks. Financial information has to be published for shareholders and it also open for competitors. The company on a stock market have to pay its profit out to shareholders (Fig. 1), which reduces a financial security of the business. Also the shareholders may influence a management style, not always in the best way, in running the company. This could lead to a conflict of interests between ownership and management board, leading to decisions taking a long time to be made. In addition such a business may be affected by movements of global markets themselves, i.e. commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates etc. Fig. 1. Total Shareholders Return over five years [Rolls-Royce, 2006] 2.2. Business Strategy Roll_ Royce sets-up their strategy towards to be the best, i.e. and had a restructuring programme after 11 September 2001, increasing investments in both technology and capabilities to create competitive products. More satisfied customers relations, which can last up to 25 years or more, is also important for the business as it gives more than 50% of revenue from after sales market service. As a result of this strategy RRs mission statement is described as Roll_ Royce offers the best customers business solutions from superior power systems and services (Rolls-Royce, 2006). RRs ambitious and yet timely objective is to help the environment. The company developed a re-engineering program to reduce as much waste as possible. Using the SMART concept Roll_ Royce come up with a consistent strategy: Developing a competitive product portfolio (currently over 50 product programmes and  £350 millions for development and introduction of new products) for four global markets Civil, Defence, Marine and Energy with 40-50% market share in the next 5 years. Reducing operational and unit costs by increasing operations efficacy. Responding to the challenge of climate change.  £100 million annual investment for RD, introducing an Environmental Engine Programme. Capturing aftermarket services opportunity and add value for customers through the provision of product-related services. Environmental issues will dominate in the airline industry as more public issues have been arisen due to climate change, pollutions, noise and air quality (Fig. 2). The Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) has set a range of challenging environmental improvement goals to be achieved by 2020. Globally a rapid growth continued in manufacturing load in 2006 and will increase further for the company. It is also inevitable that turnover will increase within the next years due to a world growth of transportation business and energy demand. As a result one of the key objectives at Roll_ Royce is the environmental issue. The pollution produced by companys factories and produced engines has to be designed, monitored and checked regularly. The Environmentally Friendly Engine (EFE) is the latest demonstrator programme to be launched by Roll_ Royce to enable them to meet these targets: reduced fuel consumption, while lowering emissions and engine noise. In addition RR is d eveloping renewable fuel cell systems that have the potential to be clean, quiet, cost effective and highly fuel efficient. Fig. 2. This is an example of an increasing environmental pressure for aerospace industry both manufacturers and carrier companies. Roll_ Royce aims to produce engines to meet the most stringent noise and emission requirements for future civil aircraft. A company is successful if it has stable growing sales and thus financial resources for further business development towards to the level. 2.3. Sales and Operations Management Roll_ Royce press release shows the group ended 2006 with a net cash balance of  £826million. Underlying aftermarket services revenues grew by 13% in 2006 and represented 53% of total sales and is expected to grow up to 63% further. Any threat to security of aftermarket revenues through a failure to provide an operational service which meets customers expectations, would threaten a RRs level of profitability. Therefore Roll_ Royce is focused on providing a high standard of service to all its customers, investing in capabilities such as its recently established Operations Centres, which monitor engine operations in real time, co-ordinating and integrating data to enable Roll_ Royce to provide better predictive information and operational performance. A corporate report shows how well after-sale revenue has increased (Table 1). *Reconciliation of underlying results is provided in notes 2 and 7 of the consolidated financial statements. **Underlying revenues reflect actual US dollar exchange rates on settled derivative contracts. A Roll_ Royce presentation (Rolls-Royce, 2006) contains a statement from each area referring to how well they have done in the previous year: Civil Aerospace = Growing services/improving business mix Defence = Well positioned on new programme Marine = Continuing strong order intake Energy = Introduced new products These four sentences sum up how the business has done in relation to their strategies mentioned previously. But the markets in which company operates are highly competitive that is another challenge faced at Rolls-Royces strategy mix to be the world-class. As Roll_ Royce does not offer products that can be sold over a till but more order based products over long periods, it is risky to have lots of pre-ordered products and therefore important to offer a good stock price to encourage potential investors. Majority of Rolls-Royces programmes are long-term in nature and access to the key platforms is critical to a business success. Although there is clearly a positive feeling to these four statements it is hard to measure these long-term objectives. One mentioned objective is that there is no reference to in their annual report is whether harmful waste has been disposed, protecting the environment, or it has resulted to increased emission tax, reducing a financial outcome. However the Managing Director of Roll_ Royce said that 2006 is developing, overall, in line with our expectations. Particular emphasis is being made on the most profitable engine market for long-haul aircrafts (Fig. 3, table 2). With more orders for new Trent engines to date is exceed 200 aircrafts valued  £6billions with the major clients in Asia and Europe (Table 1, 2 in appendix) shown for coming new A380. This delivery is a real challenge to maintain the status at Roll_ Royce as a series of delays with the aircr aft official launch showed this year. How this does affected the quality management will be discussed next. Sources: Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Airbus Figure 3: Delivered aircraft value and units (2006-2025) Table 2: Long-haul large capacity aircrafts and turbine engine types Aircraft passenger capacity Output (to date) Engine Unit cost Changes and benefits Boeing 747-8 (400-500 passengers) 747 deliveries, 60% civil, 40% cargo. 747-8 to be launched in 2009 4 ц¦ GEnx-2B67 US$ 240 millions Reduced NOx emission, noise dB and better fuel efficiency. Boeing 767-400 (245-375 seats) 767 deliveries, most companies have favoured B 777 instead of B767-400. 2 ц¦ PW40xx or Rolls Royce RB 211 with reduced noise and emission Boeing 777 (300 pass) 791 ordered, 509 delivered. 2x PW 40xx RR Trent 8xx or GE 90-94B US$ 220-240 millions with reduced noise and emission Boeing 787 (220-300 seats) 482 (452 firm, 30*** pending). The sales will continue till 2014. 2 ц¦ GEnx or Trent 1000 US$ 140-188 millions 137 orders for Trent 1000, 170 orders for GNex Airbus 380 (pass 555-853) To date 166 orders from 15 customers. Expected sales of 750 jets A380s over the next 20 years at 420 jets for breakeven. 4 ц¦ GE/PW GP72xx or 4 x RR Trent 9xx US$ 296 316 millions 86 orders for RR Trent, 80 for GE72xx. Fuel consumption of 2.9 litres per passenger km the current industry average is 5 litres per passenger km. Airbus 350 (pass 270-350 seats) Planned from 2013. 2 ц¦ GE/PW GP72xx or CEnx or 2 x Trent XWB US$ 200-240 millions Engines will have a thrust of 75000-95000 lb Sources: Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Airbus. Trent is Roll_ Royce trademark for aeroengines. http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-aircraft-engines Another challenge is to reduce operations and unit costs. Cost of kerosene, which is main aircraft fuel, and other energy resources is continued growing within the industry, although it has achieved almost 50% improvements in fuel use in the last 20 years [1]. Advanced machinery and production tools offer further reduction of energy use to manufacture an aeroengine. If in the short term Roll_ Royce could invest in faster machinery or more productive workforce it could cut down the forward orders and thus optimise the production. In the long run, however, it would mean larger wage bills and higher risk of depreciation on the automated machinery. Cutting staff to reduce the costs by making people redundant is only really necessary if there is a major financial worry, which is the case for many airlines but not yet widely applicable for Rolls-Royce, who is moving production to more labour-effective countries. Therefore companys strategy, to increase quality and reduce waste products, seems to give the results. The production method itself will rely on quality of the product. Roll_ Royce at its current level of business operations has a high quality product, which needs to be maintained and improved continuously. In the long run it would be better but forward orders (Table 2, Appendix) could also decrease due to energy crisis. It would also lead to staff working longer hours and as a result staff morale decreases. Note that many airlines has either cut a number of flights or increased a fuel charge per passenger. This will affect new production orders from Rolls-Royce. One objective that could change for Roll_ Royce is to continue establishing themselves as a leading supplier in the four growing markets. Since the company has positioned itself in the key markets, it has substantial customers to get orders. If one market slows down, e.g. a civil aerospace department after the delay of A380 launch, it can fall back on the other three markets maintaining the business. A disadvantage of this strategy is the significant resources spent for employing experienced workers and management staff to keep the operations in these four markets. It is there Roll_ Royce would need to realign the core objectives to the global challenges to maintain the world-class operations and attract new shareholders. 2.4. Quality Management Within the factories Roll_ Royce manages complex production programmes with demanding technical requirements against stringent customer schedules and a capital intensive form of production, which allows products such as turbine engines to be made fast and all of the same quality. Failure to achieve sustainable quality goal would have significant financial implications for the Group. Car production facilities at Roll_ Royce have labour intensive operations due to handmade cars, causing it to be a far slower and more expensive process. Thus RR cars made by orders have an upper price and a market niche. When producing a product such as a jet engine Roll_ Royce employs a batch production method, which tends to be highly customised. It took several years for the company to change productions to lean system and receive an ISO certification. Quality at Roll_ Royce is intangible because of its world-renowned reputation for many years. The company employs three methods of quality testing. Firstly, Quality Control involves checking of the project at the end of production. But there is a drawback to this form of checking. If errors identified results in a waste being produced, this adds extra costs to operations. Another technique Quality Assurance is also employed at the production; however because there is more time taken on producing a product the cost of originally implementing the product although short term could be significant. As quality needs to be assured it means regular inspections need to be undertaken to ensure quality is achieved. Overall this is a better form of quality testing than quality control as changes can be made to product as it goes through production to increase quality. Final form of quality testing is Total Quality Management (TQM). It involves Building Quality In. All three of these methods of quality testing contribute to the overall quality produced by Rolls-Royce, which manufactures approximately 30 per cent by value of its gas turbine products and some 70 per cent is provided through external supply chains. Any quality failure happened in the supply chain would present a risk to the RRs ability to meet customer requirements and to achieve its financial goals. If quality is not met it could mean lack of sales due to reasons such as loss of reputation. It is not just Roll_ Royce that has to deal with quality. All businesses have to ensure they are producing quality goods otherwise people wont buy their products. A supporting infrastructure for quality management, a key element of world-class manufacturing, is an important element (Flynn, 1999). Roll_ Royce has an impressive investment plan totalling to more than  £3billion for advanced technology, capability and infrastructure, offering improved performance and better energy efficiency of products, environmentally friendly operations and long-term competitiveness.  £30million is spent annually on training and some  £250million is directed annually on capital projects. 2.5. Leadership Style and Management Culture Roll_ Royce has Democratic paternalistic style of management. Although the company has department it also has a management board, making all the decisions and having centralised power over company. An extreme management style is an authoritarian style, which would be noted in a military organisation such as Rolls-Royces military division. Another extreme in management style is a lasses-faire style that gives almost 100% control of a company to workers. Roll_ Royce is though none of the extreme management as it has CEO and a chairman who overlook all decisions. Styles of management are summed up in McGregors Theory Y and X. Another form of measuring management styles is through the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum (Dawson, 2005). None of these theories has been fully taken at the company but it seems to be more towards the McGregor X theory of management, which has an important role of mangers and therefore it is further to the left (Fig. 4). It is thought that manger sells technique where people at the top make the decision but invite people questions. Degree of Workers Authority Degree of Manager Authority Rolls Royce Manager Manager Tells Delegates Allows people to function independently Makes a decision and announces it Fig. 4. Management style at Roll_ Royce Power culture dominates in the company because of its top-mangers. This type of culture is normally linked with an autocratic or authoritarian style of management. It is not solely a power culture as it has many leaders at the top where a position does play a role. However RR has many departments run by leaders that work under one brand name for one goal. A person-type culture can also be found inside Roll_ Royce as skilled employees are able to make their own decisions; however, it does not change much to the overall culture. This links to a hierarchy organisation that is a tall structure but it has a certain degree of openness between CEO and regular employee. 2.6. Communications Management Roll_ Royce is very process focused firm and it continues to reduce operating costs through standardisation but as ever IT, with investments to be at around 2.5% of sales, has been playing a significant role in Rolls-Royces growth, with strong project management and very aggressive timescales being the norm at the company. Roll_ Royce aims to implement a Global Supply Chain management structure at Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems which will allow them to consolidate commodity management and increase US dollar based proportion of a purchase bill. The ERP convergence programme has 18,000 SAP users and is allowing us to open up our capacity and improve effectiveness. A substantial CAD/CAM product lifecycle project was to cut design and development times on the back of technology and monitor a process change down to the second phase. The next stage of Rolls-Royces IT strategy will be nine major teams looking at pushing forward a global supply chain and engineering level. Increased globalisation of the business and advances in technology has resulted in more data being transmitted across global communication links, posing an increased security risk. This puts higher responsibility and risk for being attacked by competitors (The Times, December 3, 2007). Therefore, the company has a corporate IT department and the latest security technology responsible for data management at the company as well as communication specialists at each department. A global company may have certain language and cultural barriers if using a phone is the only way to contact a client. The company uses IT for e-mails. As aforementioned e-mails can have attachments, which makes sending images or documents far quicker and easier than by post. Other electronic devices such as telephones are used to record voicemail and a factory wide public address system to notify staff. However this form of communication is open, as it is not used for restricted information such as redundancies. Externally RRs business uses e-mail to place orders or inquire about business. However it isnt entirely fool proof if a company urgently needs to contact supplier e-mail, although may take a few days before it is read and replied too. Apart from contacting suppliers or customers Roll_ Royce has the website. It provides an alternative way of selling products and giving information away to the public such as potential buyers and shareholders. Dramatically increased IT and operations costs due to market growth and disruption caused by shortages of raw materials could diminish the RRs aims towards to operating and unit cost reduction at UK factories. 3. Conclusion The Roll_ Royce achievements indicated that WCM practices were related to competitive performance, and that the addition of new manufacturing and management practices has resulted in further improvements in competitive performance such as gas turbines assembly line replicated for four key markets and after-sales services, including training. The WCM implementation was recognized as having been an economic success by the company itself and by partner-businesses. Being a world-class company gives to Roll_ Royce a certain advantage on a stock market, where so-called alpha and beta investors do prefer using rather a traditional approach (quality of management and production) to analyse a financial performance of a company, than quantitative approach to investment analysis. Thus more investors do believe in RR, especially after a series of financial crunches on the world markets. Roll_ Royce aeroengines aims to maintain the no. 1 market position by offering industry leading technology at the best environmental and operational performance, minimising airline costs throughout a total product lifecycle, and innovative technical and business solutions maximising customer value. Combination of the technology and after-sales support has created the growing demand at stable price for the new engines. In my opinion, further improvements towards to the world-class require four components: Vision, Active Leadership Involvement, Hierarchy of Trained People, and Constancy of Improvement Activity. (3468 words excluding references) Bibliography Roll_ Royce and Shell has been attacked by Chinese Spies. The Times, December 3, 2007 Boeing Marketing Outlook, 2006. www.boeing.com Dawson, M. (2005). The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing in American Life. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07264-2. General Electrics. GEnx engine. www.geae.com/engines/ assessed on 10.06.2008 Ohno T., Toyota Production System, Productivity Press, Cambridge, MA, 1988. Roll_ Royce Aerospace Market Outlook, 2006. www.rolls-royce.com B. Flynn, R. S. (1997). World-class manufacturing project: overview and selected results. International Journal of Operations Production Management, 17 (7) , 671-685. Flynn, R. S. (1999). manufacturing: an investigation of Hayes and Wheelwrights foundation. Journal of Operations Management 17 , 249-269. Jonsson, P. (2001). Towards an holistic understanding of disruptions in Operations Management. Journal of Operations Management 18 , 701-718. Lind, J. (2001). Control in manufacturing A longitudinal case study. Management Accounting Research, 12 , 41-74. Maskell, B. (1991). Performance Measurement for Manufacturing-A Model for American Companies. Cambridge: Productivity Press. Testore, R. (1998). manufacturing demands suppiers . European Journal of Purchasing Supply Management 4 , 3-5.

Pornography and Prostitution :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Pornography and Prostitution The topic that I have been researching for the past few weeks has been prostitution. It has been very interesting so far. The studies have shown just exactly what the problems with prostitution are. In some of the older books I read, historians were interested mainly in discussing the attitudes toward prostitution but in more recent work the focus has been on prostitutes themselves including their range of alternatives, their conditions of work, their health and life spans, their careers-and interaction between prostitutes and others, such as reformers, clients, or bosses. Studies about men and women, boys, and girls who have been involved in prostitution and/or pornography have revealed a lot. They are the hardest patients to treat. They say they want help, but nothing thatà ¾s done to help them out works. They run back. They just donà ¾t seem to want to change. Women who have been subjected to continuous abuse and victimization over which they have no control or understanding have developed a sense of psychological paralysis that prohibits their ability to do anything positive about further victimization. They believe they are unable to change their destructive behavior. They become entrapped in helplessness and hopelessness. They feel themselves to be out of control of their lives. Essentially, they have developed a chronic disorder as a result of their victimization and an inability to separate themselves from the sexual exploitation in order to make a better life for themselves.    In a recent study based on an analysis of 200 women street prostitutes, 78% reported starting prostitution as juveniles; and 68% were 16 or younger when they started prostitution. A majority of the juvenile prostitutes described family structures with the outward appearances of stability. Over three-fourths reported having a religious upbringing. Forty percent were raised by both mother and father. The younger the prostitute, the more educated the family. Yet, despite the religious, financial, and other appearances of success, the study revealed a number of problems occurring within the family. More than half the prostitutes had parents involved in excessive drinking. In over half the families the child saw the father hit the mother violently and 62% of the subjects were themselves beaten while growing up. Only in a few cases was the beating related to something the subject did. The most damaging psychologically are those cases in which the victims could not figure out why they were being beaten or those in which they were being beaten for no special reason.

Analysis of “Music and Lyrics” Essay

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

Biological And Social Effects On Sexual Orientation

The Biological and Social Effects on Sexual Orientation The origin and cause of human sexual orientation have been highly debated topics between sociologist and biologists. Most scientists believe sexual orientation is biologically determined while sociologists argue that it is socially constructed. There is a third belief that human sexual orientation is not solely biologically determined or socially constructed. From this belief come theories that combine both arguments, where human sexual orientation contains a biological component and a social component. One of the conjoint theories is that humans are born with a propensity for certain sexual tendencies which are determined biologically, and these tendencies are developed into a complex sexual identity as an adult. This development of sexual tendencies into a sexual identity is influenced by society, and therefore, sexual orientation depends on biological influences as well as society and social influences. There is various evidence and arguments for biological determination and soc ial construction of sexual orientation, as well as a few conjoint theories of sexual orientation, but there are also criticisms of each theory and the validity of these arguments will be explored. Biological determinism of sexual orientation is also known as the evolutionary psychologist’s view of sexual orientation. Evolutionary psychologists believe that the human mind has developed according to evolutionary methods, such as naturalShow MoreRelatedDoes Homosexuality Change the Brain or the Brain Results in Homosexuality?1039 Words   |  5 Pagesproduct of biology because according to research, the hormones of the females are stronger. Dr. Hamer states that sexual orientation, male homosexuality is genetically influenced. This is passed down through their mothers to the hormone of their offspring. 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The concept of â€Å"stratification is defined as the structural ranking of an entire group of people that maintains unequal economic benefits and power within society.† This system allows individuals opportunities only based on the tier that they occupy. â€Å"There are four major systems of stratification which are slavery, caste, estate and class.† â€Å"The current stratificationRead MoreThe Effects Of Prenatal Hormones On The Developing Fetus1510 Wo rds   |  7 Pagesstudy stated that there is a 50 percent chance that if one identical twin is homosexual or bisexual, the other twin is too. Similar findings lead that some researchers estimate that sexual orientation is 30 to 70 percent genetic (Mustanski, Chivers, Bailey, 2002). Another research suggests that sexual orientation is impacted by a gene or genes found on the X chromosome. Though genetic tendencies for homosexuality may be passed from mothers to their children (Rahman Wilson, 2003). During humanRead MoreHomosexuality : Genetic Or A Choice?1724 Words   |  7 Pagesthat is primarily biological; we simply just turn out that way (Shaffer, 277).† According to the article, A Scientific Examination of Homosexuality and the â€Å"Gay Gene†, â€Å"The NHSLS found that 2.8% of the male population, and 1.4% of the female population identify themselves as gay, lesbian, and or bisexual† (Harrub, 1). So the real question here is, is having a homosexual orientation genetic or is it just a choice that we make? Is being gay in our DNA? Studies of sexual orientation that were focused