The Ugly Duckling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Ugly Duckling - Essay Example The collection of plots was chosen because the picturesque version extremely makes children not only listen to the story but also try to read and understand the picture and make up the conversation. The background of images gives special meaning to the text and helps to integrate words and meaning into the image. Children can express the known text content of books through their observation. The history of the ugly duckling gives a mixed message. While parents can encourage children to become like an ugly duckling who continues to optimistically seek out his true identity and refuses to become like others. Like an ugly duckling, children are taught to sit and learn to get up and not be influenced by the opinions of others. More importantly, parents and teachers can use this story as an important tool for developing critical thinking among children and encourage them to use their imagination when they are in their places. This is an interesting way to teach them to have a broader pers pective. Children also learn that everything they love should be pursued, as they help children understand their potential. The book also tends to send a negative message about the development of an inferiority complex among children, and this ugliness is bad. This is not so, so parents must confront this problem by reporting that it was not ugly, but different. Therefore, people look at people and form impressions that may be wrong, as in the case of the ugly duckling who was called ugly simply because he was not like others.

Excel Igcse Computer Studies Glossary Essay Example for Free

Excel Igcse Computer Studies Glossary Essay Actuator – It is a device that can be operated by signals from a computer or control system causing physical movement. (E.g. devices for opening windows in a computer controlled ventilation system) Algorithm – It is a sequence of instructions designed to perform a particular task and it is independent of any programming language. It includes precise details about the operations to be performed and in what order. (E.g. pseudo-code or program flow chart) Batch processing – It is a processing that doesn’t start until all the data are collected without any needs of human interaction. It uses computer during overnight. (E.g. payroll system, billing, cheque processing) CAD (Computer Aided Design) – It is the use of computer system that allows engineers and architects to design new projects by producing drawings. (E.g. designing new cars) Command-line interface – It is a set of commands instructed by the user in order to communicate with the computer and get the requirements sorted out. Compiler – It is a program that converts high-level language into machine language and converts whole program before execution. Cookies – It is a text which the user receives when in access to the internet website and gets automatically downloaded onto the user’s computer and further develops to infect a computer. (E.g. it can be blocked when the user rejects it by setting its restriction on the web page) Data integrity – It refers to the accuracy of data. Data-logging – It is an automatic capturing and storing of data readings from sensors over a period of time. (E.g. weather forecasting) De-skilling – It is replacing a semi-skilled labour with a micro-processing control system. Dry run – It is working through a program or a section of a program manually. This is useful for locating errors, particularly run time errors. E-commerce – It is an electronic commerce that allows buying and selling goods and services through the internet/computer networks. Either B2B or B2C, they still serve their products. (E.g. on-line shopping, Internet/online banking) H.J.Hong Encryption – It is a way of preventing data files that contain sensitive  information from being used if they’re stolen. Expert system – It is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) to a particular area of activity where traditional human expert knowledge and experience are made available through a computer package. (E.g. medical diagnosis) Generic software – It is a type of software that can perform many different related tasks. Intranet – It is a communication system, providing similar services to the internet solely within a particular company or organization. It makes it possible to share documents, databases and applications, using the same protocol as the internet. (E.g. more secure data) Logic gates – They are the components used in making logic circuits. Each gate has 1 or more inputs and produces a single output that depends upon the input(s). Simulation – It is a study of the behaviour of a system by using a model. (E.g. flight simulator) Structure diagram – It is a means of representing the design of a program or system and it demonstrates what happens at a program level Top-down design – It is the technic of breaking down a problem into subtasks that are sufficiently simple enough to be written as a self-contained module or procedure. (E.g. allows several programmers to work on the same large task, each module can be tested/debugged separately) Validation – It is a check on the data input and detects any data that is unreasonable and unacceptable. Video-conferencing – It is a form of an electronic communication through Internet for people who are geographically separated to transmit audio and video data. (E.g. meetings held at different locations) Virtual reality – It is a computer simulation that uses special interactive devices such as data gloves to create an artificial environment. (E.g. viewing newly constructed houses/pilot training) Virus – It is a program which replicates itself and damages files or data. (E.g. it alters the data on the infected computer without the user knowing it)

In the Bedroom, A Modern Bourgeois Melodrama :: Movies Film Films Essays

In the Bedroom, A Modern Bourgeois Melodrama Works Cited Missing Studies in melodrama usually hover around the works of a few significant directors, all of whom were at the top of their craft in Hollywood during the 1950s. Douglas Sirk, Vincente Minnelli, and Nicholas Ray were just a few of the directors who worked at that time, and all helped to shape the conventions of melodrama to which audiences and critics alike have become so accustomed. However, recent melodramas have been unable to reach the popularity that the films of the 1950s achieved, and most current audiences would dismiss the na†¢ve and artificial world that those films presented as rather trite. But Thomas Schatz raises an interesting point in his article "The Family Melodrama." He claims that "those who look more closely at [the films of the 50s] may see through the facile naivetà © to an altogether bleaker reflection" (152). And, even though melodramas are not as widely seen as they were in the past, the ones that are still strive to portray the "[paradoxical] view of Amer ica, at once celebrating and severely questioning the basic values and attitudes of the mass audience" (Schatz 150). Todd Field's 2001 film, In the Bedroom, is a perfect example of such a film. It is a bourgeois melodrama that reflects the sensibilities of melodramas of the 1950s, but also one that refashions the aesthetics of the genre to accommodate the interests of modern audiences. The film tells the story of a middle-aged couple, Ruth and Matt Fowler (Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson), as they try to cope with the murder of their adolescent son, Frank (Nick Stahl). When the film opens, Frank is romantically involved with Natalie Strout (Marisa Tomei), a divorced mother. The Fowlers do not approve of this relationship, but allow it because of the happiness it brings Frank. When Natalie's ex- husband, Richard Strout (William Mapother), kills Frank in a fit of jealousy, the Fowlers must find a way to continue on with their lives in the wake of this catastrophe. Field, who also co-wrote the screenplay, creates an intriguing modern-day melodrama that both reflects the narrative principles of the film s that preceded it and adapts the genre to meet the aesthetic expectations of contemporary audiences. Narrative choices in melodramas have become so commonplace that, like any genre, they have grown into a part of the genre's language. In the Bedroom, A Modern Bourgeois Melodrama :: Movies Film Films Essays In the Bedroom, A Modern Bourgeois Melodrama Works Cited Missing Studies in melodrama usually hover around the works of a few significant directors, all of whom were at the top of their craft in Hollywood during the 1950s. Douglas Sirk, Vincente Minnelli, and Nicholas Ray were just a few of the directors who worked at that time, and all helped to shape the conventions of melodrama to which audiences and critics alike have become so accustomed. However, recent melodramas have been unable to reach the popularity that the films of the 1950s achieved, and most current audiences would dismiss the na†¢ve and artificial world that those films presented as rather trite. But Thomas Schatz raises an interesting point in his article "The Family Melodrama." He claims that "those who look more closely at [the films of the 50s] may see through the facile naivetà © to an altogether bleaker reflection" (152). And, even though melodramas are not as widely seen as they were in the past, the ones that are still strive to portray the "[paradoxical] view of Amer ica, at once celebrating and severely questioning the basic values and attitudes of the mass audience" (Schatz 150). Todd Field's 2001 film, In the Bedroom, is a perfect example of such a film. It is a bourgeois melodrama that reflects the sensibilities of melodramas of the 1950s, but also one that refashions the aesthetics of the genre to accommodate the interests of modern audiences. The film tells the story of a middle-aged couple, Ruth and Matt Fowler (Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson), as they try to cope with the murder of their adolescent son, Frank (Nick Stahl). When the film opens, Frank is romantically involved with Natalie Strout (Marisa Tomei), a divorced mother. The Fowlers do not approve of this relationship, but allow it because of the happiness it brings Frank. When Natalie's ex- husband, Richard Strout (William Mapother), kills Frank in a fit of jealousy, the Fowlers must find a way to continue on with their lives in the wake of this catastrophe. Field, who also co-wrote the screenplay, creates an intriguing modern-day melodrama that both reflects the narrative principles of the film s that preceded it and adapts the genre to meet the aesthetic expectations of contemporary audiences. Narrative choices in melodramas have become so commonplace that, like any genre, they have grown into a part of the genre's language.

History of football Essay

Football as well as rugby and soccer are believed to have descended from the ancient Greek game of harpaston. Harpaston is mentioned frequently in classical literature. where it is often referred to as a very rough and brutal game. The rules of this ancient sport were quite simple: Points were awarded when a player would cross a goal line by either kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player. The other team’s objective was simply to stop them by any means possible. There was no specific field length, no side line boundaries, no specified number of players per team, only a glaring lack of rules. Most modern versions of football are believed to have originated from England in the twelfth century. The game became so popular in England that the kings of that time (Henry II and Henry IV) actually banned football. They believed that football was taking away interest from the traditional sports of England, such as fencing and archery. Walter Camp Walter Camp was born April 17, 1859, in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended Yale from 1876 to 1882, where he studied medicine and business. Walter Camp was an author, athletic director, chairman of the board of the New Haven Clock Company, and director of the Peck Brothers Company. He was general athletic director and head advisory football coach at Yale University from 1888-1914, and chairman of the Yale football committee from 1888-1912. Camp played footba ll at Yale and helped evolve the rules of the game away from Rugby and Soccer rules into the rules of American Football as we know them today. One precursor to Walter Camp’s influence was William Ebb Ellis, a student at the Rugby School in England. In 1823, Ellis was the first person noted for picking up the ball during the soccer game and running with it, thereby breaking and changing the rules. In 1876, at the Massosoit convention, the the first attempts at writing down the rules of American football were made. Walter Camp edited every American Football rulebook until his death in 1925. Walter Camp contributed the following changes from Rugby and Soccer to American football one side retained undisputed possession of the ball, until that side gives up the ball as a result of its own violations the line of scrimmage 11 on a team instead of 15 created the quarter-back and center positions forward pass standardized the scoring system, numerical scoring created the safety, interference penalties, and the neutral zone tackling as low as the knee was permitted – 1888 a touchdown increased in value to six points and field goals went down to three points – 1912. The NFL or the National Football League, was formed in 1920 soccor/football Soccer is one of the most popular sports in Europe and the Americas. It has a vivid and interesting history in the world of sports. Early evidence of soccer being played as a sport finds occurrence in China during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. In China, it was during the Han dynasty that people dribbled leather balls by kicking it into a small net. Recorded facts also support the fact that Romans and Greeks used to play ball for fun and frolic. Some facts point to Kyoto in Japan where kicking of ball was a popular sport. It is said that early growth of the modern soccer started in England. Some amusing facts even mention that the first ball used was the head of some Danish brigand. It is said that during medieval times, the old form of soccer used to allow many ill practices like kicking, punching, biting and gouging. The main aim was to carry the ball to a target spot. People grew so fond of the game that they would throng the field all day long. Sometimes the competition grew fierce and masses got so wild that there were frequent incidents of violence during the game. It is also said that soldiers admired the game so much that they missed archery practice to watch it King Edward III banned soccer in 1365 owing to the growing incidents of violence and military indulgence in the sport. In 1424 King James I of Scotland also proclaimed in the Parliament— â€Å"Na man play at the Fute-ball No man shall play football When and where exactly did soccer start is a question that has no precise answer to it. You can easily say that this popular game has been played for more than three thousand years. The nativity of modern-day soccer must be credited to Britain. It was also known as the association football, with Scotland and England being the co-founders of the systematic game of soccer. Modern History of Soccer: 18th Century onwards In 1815, a major development took place that made soccer popular in Universities, Colleges and Schools. The popular English School and Eton College came forth with a set of rules, known as the Cambridge Rules. Football was segregated into two groups; some colleges and schools opted for Rugby rules that allowed tripping, shin kicking and also carrying the ball. These rules were exclusively prohibited as per the Cambridge rules. The history of modern-day soccer was established in 1863. In October 1863, eleven representatives from London clubs and schools met at the Freemason’s Tavern to set up common fundamental rules to control the matches amongst themselves. The outcome of this meeting was the formation of the Football Association. In December 1863, the Rugby Football and Association football finally split as the supporters of the Rugby School rules walked out. Firmly establishing the foundation of soccer in 1869, the Football Association strictly banned any kind of handling of the ball. Soccer’s popularity spread rapidly during the 1800s as British sailors, traders and soldiers introduced the sport to different parts of the globe. Italians, Austrians and Germans drew to Europe, while Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil adopted the sport in South America. FIFA was established in the year 1904 and by early 1930s, different leagues were operating from various countries. FIFA is credited with organizing the first world cup in Uruguay. The history of soccer is rich with events, development and its growing craze all over the world. You will find yourself amazed as you learn about different times of this wonderful sport that has held our awe and admiration for over 3000 years. why is soccer called football The game that the rest of the world calls football or â€Å"the beautiful game† goes by a different name in the United States and Canada soccer. Americans adopted the name soccer after almost 100 years of playing this game under the name football. The game’s history and development provides important clues about the use of the word soccer to identify the game in the countries that do not call it football.

Irobot – Technology Taking over Humanity

Robot – Technology Taking over Humanity â€Å"Technology Is taking over humanity. This phrase Is being proven more and more as technology develops and the years go by. It is more deeply shown through the movie, Robot. The main message of this movie is to show how our society can change to be completely dependent on technology if we keep on improving it in many different ways such as robotic body parts, robotic systems and robots to do everyday work for humans. The advances In technology are amazing to some extent and are completely changing owe we humans live and really, are saving lives.Many years ago, you didn't hear many people getting metal hip replacements, or any other body part replaced by some man made machine or object. It's becoming a common thing to have to give up on the body and rely on machine. As this progresses, eventually humans will continue to be able to replace body parts and essentially, extend the lifetime of a human being and could be considered robots. Humans currently rely on deferent robotic parts to fix up parts of their bodies which are not working to the right potential.To fix the different senses such as hearing, doctors surgically implant an electric device that provides a sense of sound to a person which is profoundly deaf. A visual prosthesis is a visual device intended to restore functional vision in those suffering from partial or total blindness. Robotics are used to transplant living cells, tissues or organs from human to human or human to animal or vice versa. Many concerns may come with this such as the transferring different diseases or possibly the failure of transplanting. Diseases are ore common In semitransparent.Semitransparent Is the transplanting of body parts from animal to human or vice verses. Alternations is less risky as it is the transplanting of body parts to and from the same species. Organ farming or harvesting refers to the removal, preservation and use of human organs or tissues from the recently deceased to the living. This way of saving people's lives has become very common especially in the past few years. Even though all these replacements of body parts and systems are available to all people, the prices are ere costly therefore it is out of reach for many people who do not have the money for It.It may be saving people's lives but not for all. If we think about it, the only part of our bodies that would be very hard to imitate and create as a machine would be the brain. It is also the last piece of our bodies separating humans from being completely a robot. As technology progresses, it will be possible to create something that Is close to the way a brain operates. All this Is present In the movie of Robot. We can clearly see that robots have taken 1 OFF ever the humans lives in the movie and that we soon eventually will become like that without help.The relationship between our life and the Robot life is shown through the way robots have been made adapted to our every n eed. With the robots existing we are able to take their functions and make them our own, to help us when we are in need. Piece by piece, soon the human body completely will become machine functioned. The advantages to having these robotic replacements are that humans will have a longer life expectancy. This is also a downside as it is playing with the way life is opposed to be.Another advantage is that it would save lives. There are so many people out there waiting for transplants but if technology eventually got to a point where body parts and vital organs were being made we would be blessed with a longer life. The downsides of robotic replacements are that computers are easily hacked. If humans become partially robotic or even fully robotic we may be hacked, taking over our bodies and mind, controlling every move. Also, humans weren't made to improve upon the bodies that we were given.Overall technology has helped humans so far by saving lives with robotic replacement or transplan ting of cells, tissues or organs. Where it goes from here may change the world drastically. This is why the phrase â€Å"Technology is taking over humanity' is becoming real. Soon we will become a robotic world where all we do is through robotics whether it is to help us repair or improve our bodies or help us in day to day activities, where we all are partially if not fully robotic and where we have completely lost our humanity through machine and technology development.

Redundancy Hrm Essays

Redundancy Hrm Essays Redundancy Hrm Essay Redundancy Hrm Essay Abstract Downsizing has been a common cost-cutting activity for organisations in the last 25 years. Literature in this area has focused mainly on the effects that redundancy may have on people leaving the organisation. However, some research has investigated the effect it may have on the employees who were not made redundant, and from this the concept of Survivor Syndrome was created. It has been established that redundancy processes result in negative emotions being felt by survivors, such as less job satisfaction, mistrust in the organisation, less pride in the organisation and they feel that the organisation is not supporting them as much. These are just a few of the symptoms that have been associated with the syndrome. However, some research has suggested that Survivor syndrome is a myth, or can be prevented. This study presents the findings of a company-based study, in which employees opinions and emotions were investigated prior to and post-redundancies. It argues that symptoms of survivor syndrome are present in employees after the downsizing process has occurred, and that it is more prominent in non-managerial employees than in managers within the organisation. The study suggests that the way in which the organisation rolls out the process of redundancies, and the way in which employees are treated, both those remaining within the company and those leaving, can result in these negative emotions being felt. This suggests that effective management of employees during the process and after can decrease the likelihood that survivor syndrome will be present within the organisation, and Corus and other organisations going through similar situations should utilise methods that are recommended in order to help avoid the syndrome occurring. 1 1. Introduction There has been an increasing amount of research in recent years examining the effect of downsizing and redundancies on those employees who remain within the organisations after redundancies have taken place. Downsizing is defined as a deliberate organisational decision to reduce the workforce size and to change working practices, in order to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation (Freeman Cameron, 1993), and has been described as probably the most pervasive yet understudied phenomenon in the business world (Cameron, 1994). This is a particularly relevant subject due to the current economic climate, and the large number of organisations that have had to partake in downsizing due to the recession. The number of organisations and jobs affected by redundancy in Britain is staggering according to Campbell, Worrall and Cooper (2000), and this figure will have only increased since the start of the recession, as evidenced by the 22 million people in Europe who were unemployed in July 2009, 5 million more than the year before and it is highly likely that the full force of the recession has yet to fully impact on the labour market (Hurley et al, 2009). The statistics that are available are behind the situation slightly, due to the time it takes to collect the data, and the fact that the situation is constantly changing. A Quality of Working Life Survey conducted by UMIST and the Institute of Management measured the extent of organisational change occurring in the UK over three years, and it found that there had been a 8% increase in organisational change, and a 3% rise in redundancy because of this (Campbell, Worrall and Cooper, 2000). An increase in redundancies can also be due to the constant technological advances (Rifkin, 1999). Britain was found to suffer more job losses than any other country in the EU in 2008, according to Eurofound (Hurley et al, 2009). In a study of 1000 human resource and finance professionals conducted by Mercer in 2008, it was found that 35% of the organisations were expecting to make large-scale cuts in their workforce (Pitcher, 2008). Pitcher (2008) found evidence showing that the production and manufacturing sector were the hardest hit by downsizing, with 48% of the organisations who said they would be making 2 redundancies being in that sector. The Labour Force Survey (2001) found that the rate of redundancies per 1000 employees was highest in the manufacturing sector (16 per 1000 employees). A study conducted by Eurostat intimates that employment in the metal industry went from 2. 8% between 2007 and 2008 to -4. 2% between 2008 and 2009 in the UK. A pattern that has been identified is that the majority of those people being made redundant are skilled, semi-skilled and low skilled manual workers. Possibly because of this, there have been a much higher number of men identified as being made redundant compared to women in this recession (Eurostat, 2009, as cited in Hurley et al, 2009). Wolfsmith et al (cited in Farias Johnson, 2000) estimate that the success rate of large-scale change interventions average 50%, suggesting that downsizing may not have the positive effects for an organisation like they may have hoped. A large amount of research has found redundancy causes a number of negative effects for the organisation, such as loss of skills, and it can result in victims of redundancy feeling emotions such as anger and frustration (Sahdev, 2003; Reynolds-Fisher White, 2000). However, there has not been as much of a focus aimed at the survivors of redundancy, those employees who remain at an organisation after downsizing has occurred. This may be because people make an assumption that the survivors of redundancy feel relief, happiness and security. Literature that has looked at this topic has resulted in some interesting findings that put into question the above. Since the theory of the Survivor Syndrome was founded, the amount of research into this topic has grown, and researchers have attempted to investigate the affect that organisational downsizing has had on survivors in terms of their emotions and their performance using a range of methodologies. The term Survivor Syndrome in general describes a set of shared reactions and behaviours of people who have survived an adverse event (Baruch Hind, 2000). This term has then been borrowed by Brockner (1992) and put in to a management context, in order to give a picture of the impact of redundancies on survivors, which are those who remain within an organisation after significant downsizing of the workforce. The theory of survivor syndrome within organisations that have undergone downsizing occurred over 20 years ago. Schweiger Ivancevich (1985) discovered that the way redundancies are conducted affect the wellbeing and health of survivors. Similarly Sutton et al (1986) found that in a computer game manufacturing company 3 here large scale redundancies were poorly executed, many of the survivors quit a short time after the downsizing occurred. However, there has also been studies conducted that have found that survivor syndrome has not occurred within a recently downsized organisation (Baruch Hind, 2000; Latack Dozier, 1986). The debate about whether survivor syndrome actually exists is still ongoing, and there are results to support both sides of the argument. In a way to explain the difference of opinion, some researchers believe that redundancies have different effects on survivors, depending on a number of demographics. For instance, the age of the employee can affect their response (Baruch Hind, 2000). In the last two decades, since these results were founded the amount of research exploring the idea of survivor syndrome, and examination of the emotions and attitudes of employees remaining at organisations once redundancies have taken place has increased dramatically, and it has become a key focal point in redundancy research. This is especially true in the current economic climate, where downsizing is more prominent. Conducting a study to examine if survivor syndrome is existent within an organisation that has had to partake in large scale downsizing in the past is an extremely topical and interesting subject at any time, but even more so due to the current recession and the fact that the redundancies have occurred fairly recently, within the last two to three years. This piece of writing aims to identify the presence of Survivor Syndrome within a large manufacturing company, by identifying specific symptoms, in order to give some insight into the argument of whether survivor syndrome exists, or of it is a myth. If the syndrome is found to be in existence, then the study will be extended to discover which employees tend to be more affected by the syndrome, and explanations for this. Whether the analysis shows that Survivor Syndrome is or is not present within the organisation, this study will look in-depth at the methods used by the manufacturing company when conducting the downsizing programme, in order to see if the programme put in place is the reason for the presence / lack of presence of survivor syndrome in employees remaining with the company post-downsizing. 2. Literature Review Research into the effects of downsizing has increased in prominence since the increase in redundancies in the last two decades. As previously mentioned, the research has focused on the people who have been made redundant, and the outcomes for them. However, early research has mentioned briefly the effects that downsizing has on employees remaining within the company. Astrachan (1995) state that employees rema ining within an organisation experience adverse effects of change as profoundly as those ho have left the company, and there has been growing popularity in research looking at this theory of survivor syndrome, dating back to the 1980s. This literature review will look at redundancies in the UK, redundancies specifically within the manufacturing industry, why survivor syndrome occurs, and then look more in depth at specific symptoms that have been identified and investigated. 2. 1 Redundancies Since the mid-1990s the number of people being made redundant has remained at a low and fairly stable level. But with the economy experiencing what is at best expected to be the sharpest economic downturn since the recession of the 1990s, redundancy is again on the rise (CIPD, 2009). The table below shows the pattern of redundancies prior to and straight after the beginning of the recession, according to the Labour Force Survey from the Office of National Statistics (2008). As can be seen from figure 1 above, the redundancy figures were low from 2005 to quarter 3 in 2008. However, the number of redundancies more than doubled between quarter 2 and quarter 4 in 2008, going from 126,000 people to 263,000 people in less than 6 months. This coincided with the announcement of the UK recession in October 2008. The table shows that redundancy figures have reduced towards the end of 2009 and during 2010, but between quarter 4 of 2008 and quarter 3 of 2009, redundancy figures were very high. 2. 1. 1 Overview of redundancies within the Steel Industry With regards to the manufacturing industry, the ONS Labour Force Survey shows that it suffered from the highest percentage of redundancies in 2008 and 2009, 5 although this has decreased slightly. In 2008, quarter 4, 22. 1% of redundancies were accounted for by the manufacturing industry. Figure 1. Table showing Redundancy levels and rates Year 2005 Quarter Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Level of People (000s) 131 132 163 145 138 140 144 133 141 121 136 110 106 126 164 263 284 272 213 168 161 155 Rate of people 5. 3 5. 3 6. 5 5. 8 5. 5 5. 6 5. 7 5. 3 5. 6 4. 8 5. 4 4. 3 4. 2 5. 0 6. 4 10. 3 11. 2 10. 8 8. 6 6. 8 6. 5 6. 3 2006 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2007 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2008 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2009 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2010 Q1 Q2 Source: ONS Labour Force Survey According to Stuart (2005), this sector has been subject to ongoing periods of restructuring over the last 30 years, due to the forces of increased competition and technological advancement. During this time period, the number of people employed within this sector has declined significantly, and it is thought this pattern will continue to be seen in future years (Stuart, 2005). 6 2. 1. 2 Corus The organisation that is being investigated in this study is Corus Distribution UK Ireland. Corus, as a whole, are the second largest steel producer in Europe, and became a subsidiary of Tata Steel Group, one of the worlds top 10 steel producers, in April 2007. Previous to this acquisition, the origins of Corus began in 1999, when British Steel and Dutch based company Koninklijke Hoogovens merged, creating a much larger company, operating all over Europe, and employing about 37,000 people. When announcing the merger, Corus stated that the basis for the merger is to provide a platform for growth, not retrenchment and that the hope was to minimise job losses (Corus, 1999). However, this merger was the start of a number of redundancy programmes run by Corus. The area of the company being looked at in this study, Corus Distribution UK I, announced a downsizing programme in November 2008, which involved a number of redundancies throughout the organisation. Further redundancies were then announced in January 2009, as the organisation had taken the decision to close a number of sites, and reduce the number of employees at nearly all other sites as well. The time period where these redundancies occurred coincide with the period of time in figure 1 that had the largest amount of redundancies. Within Corus Distribution UK Ireland, 400 employees were expected to be made redundant. However, by the end of the downsizing process, this figure had been reduced to 380 redundancies being made in total. The redundancies were announced a few months prior to the actual job cuts, and were announced via the local manager or director of that area of the business, depending on how many redundancies were being made within that business area. The communication during the process was both verbal and via formal letters, and this was the same when telling the employees that they were being made redundant. Corus offered support to those employees being made redundant, including redeployment support and help and advice from outside organisations such as Job Centre and PACE. However, there was no formal programme put into place to aide those employees who were not being made redundant. Instead, the Employee Assistance Programme was advertised as a helpline, and communication between managers and employees was encouraged y senior management. 7 2. 2 Survivor Syndrome an overview – Schweiger Ivancevich (1985) discovered that the way redundancies are conducted affect the wellbeing and health of survivors. This may have been the basis of further research into this topic, along with research conducted by Sutton et al (1986) that investigated the large scale downsizing of a computer game manufacturer, and found that it was poo rly executed, resulting in many of the survivors leaving the company only a short while later. Brockner leads the way in research on survivor syndrome. In one early experiment, students participated in a layoff simulation, and were then asked to fill in a questionnaire. The experiment found survivors to feel increased remorse and negative attitudes to their co-workers (Brockner, 1985). These results helped to encourage the theory of survivor syndrome, but the responses were immediate, and so it was questioned if this experiment actually represented real feelings when facing job loss, and what the long-term effects were. In order to respond to these criticisms, Brockner (1986) followed up this research with a field study, where the results served to emphasise his earlier findings, and found common emotions suffered by survivors were anger, anxiety, guilt and relief. In further research conducted by Brockner (1988), he went on to discover that stress results in changes in survivors work attitudes and behaviours, for example less commitment to the organisation they work for, decreased job satisfaction and a higher turnover at the organisation. Noer (1993) also conducted research into emotions common amongst those employees remaining within an organisation after downsizing has occurred. He found symptoms of survivor sickness prominent in his subjects, including fear, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, risk aversive and defensive. He found that these symptoms were influenced by the level of injustice perceived in the redundancy process, and the extent to which the survivors psychological contracts are changing. Noer (1993) created the Emotional Clusters of Redundancy Survivors, shown in figure 2. 8 From figure 2, the common negative emotions felt by survivors of redundancy can be identified, and this has been supported by research conducted in the more recent past (Doherty, Bank Vinnicombe, 1996; Bordia et al, 2004). Another reaction that has been identified is that employees tend to become more loyal to their own careers than to the organisation (Reilly, Brett Stroh, 1993). It has also been shown that survivors who have not experienced redundancy before exhibit more negative reactions than those who have been a part of the process previously (Armstongstassen, 1993). When analysing previous research looking at the effects of redundancy on survivors, similar symptoms have been noted. Tait (2010) investigated a plethora of research and found the most common symptoms of the syndrome include lower motivation and morale, reduced loyalty to the organisation, higher stress levels, lower trust, increased scepticism about the organisation, feelings of guilt about surviving the cutbacks and sometimes even jealousy of those who have been made redundant, perhaps because of the redundancy packages they have received. Campbell, Worrall Cooper (2000) conducted research that involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and supported this by following up with a questionnaire, looking at variables including loyalty, commitment and stress. The most frequent emotions identified from the interviews included unfairness, mistrust, shock, low morale, worry, stress, and feeling overworked and unmotivated amongst others. The questionnaire included 15 different emotions measuring the levels of threat, challenge, harm and benefit, with responses measured on a likert scale. The results of the questionnaire supported the findings from the interviews, finding the most popular feelings were tiredness, stress, anger, worry and disappointment. These results are evidence that Survivor syndrome is in existence. Organisations need to be aware of these symptoms, and should attempt to avoid, or reduce the prevalence of symptoms of survivor syndrome, as it can have detrimental effects on the organisation in question. A firms post-layoff success is contingent upon the reactions of the people in its surviving workforce (Shah, 2000) and so it is crucial that survivors are looked after, in order for an organisation to perform successfully in the aftermath of the downsizing programme. 9 Figure 2: Noers (1993) Emotional Clusters of Redundancy Survivors Job Insecurity Depression, Stress Fatigue Unfairness Risk aversion and reduced motivation Survivor Syndrome Emotions / Concerns Lack of management credibility Distrust and betrayal Lack of Strategic Direction Dissatisfaction with planning and communication Lack of reciprocal commitment Anger over redundancy progress If this sickness is present within an organisation, lower productivity, higher absenteeism and higher turnover can be observed (Clarke, 2010). Travaglione Cross (2006) state that the emotional after-effects of fear, anger, frustration, anxiety and mistrust pose a real threat to performance and productivity and this is thought to be in part down to the increase in workload that employees will face due to there being a smaller workforce, according to Mirabel De Young (2005). A general outlook on this subject states; It is commonly asserted that so-called survivor syndrome has a negative effect on workplace productivity and thus increases the cost to employers of redundancy. A reduction in employee engagement might also result in a higher rate of voluntary labour turnover (CIPD, 2009). 10 This basic explanation clarifies that organisations will suffer from lower productivity if survivor syndrome is present within the company. Therefore it is crucial to understand why some employees may feel these negative emotions, and how this can be avoided. . 3 Theories offering explanations for the existence of Survivor Syndrome Theories have been developed to explain different reactions, for instance Side-bet theory (Becker, 1960) and Identity theory (Burke, 1991). These theories offer different explanations for why employees may feel some negative emotions subsequent to the redundancy process. 2. 3. 1 Side-bet theory Side-bet theory was created by Becker (1960) and is a calculative approach, focusing on structural relationships. It is where over time, the cost of leaving increases, and becomes more than the cost of moving to another organisation, and this is thought to result in negative job attitudes. If Side-bet theory is to be relied upon, middle aged survivors feel more severe negative effects, and see the downsizing in general as a violation of their psychological contract. Younger employees are better equipped to struggle through the restructuring, as they have a new psychological contract. . 3. 2 Identity Theory Identity theory is more of a moral approach and is focused on role identity in an organisation for self-identification (Burke, 1991). The more important the job role is to a persons self-identification, the stronger the impact of job stressors on the employees wellbeing and job attitudes will be. Based on this theory, the most affected by the downsizing are older employees, who feel that they have invested time and effort and are being betrayed. The least affected, according to identity theory, are middle aged employees, as they believe that because they have survived, they are recognised as a contributor (Baruch Hind, 2000), and therefore they have better attitudes and enhanced performance once downsizing has occurred. In terms of younger workers, they will not have formed organisational commitment or an 11 identity and therefore their involvement with the organisation will decrease significantly due to the threat they perceive. 2. 3. 3 Equity Theory Equity theory, created by Adams (1963) can be used to explore survivors guilt. The general overview of the theory suggests that a fair balance must be reached between an employees inputs, such as enthusiasm and hard work, and an employees outputs, for example pay and benefits, and how these compare to the colleagues around them (Fowler, 2006). If an employee believes that a colleague has worked equally as hard as them, and yet that colleague has been made redundant, then the employee is likely to feel negative emotions associated with survivor syndrome, including guilt. 2. 3. Justice Theory Brockner Greenberg (1990) developed the Organisation Justice Theory, which is the theory that some feelings will only be present in survivors if the redundancy programme is not a fair process. For instance, if random lay-offs occur, then survivors are more likely to feel guilty than if the redundancies are merit-based. If survivors have remained within the organisation based on their performance, they are less likely to feel guilt towards the people made redundant as they w ill understand that they have performed better than those who are leaving the organisation. This can also result in survivors feeling more confident. Another outcome of merit-based redundancies is that productivity increases (Brockner et al, 1985). The level of compensation, and the presence of clear explanations as to why redundancies are occurring, and why some people are being laid off and others are not will result in less damaging effects for survivors, according to the justice theory. Campbell (1999) conducted research to look at how organisational justice theory is a means to understand the potential effects on survivors of redundancy (Campbell, 1999). 12 2. Differences in Survivors reactions to Redundancy Research into survivor syndrome has exhibited similar results in general, finding similar symptoms being expressed by the employees within organisations that have had to make redundancies. It has also been found that redundancies and downsizing affect different people in different ways. For example, for some people, they observe the fact that they are still within the company as the start of enhanced career development (Latack Dozier, 1986) whereas for others it results in stress and they view it as a crisis (Cooper Payne, 1990). Some research has shown that the negative emotions that have been identified in previous research could be mainly felt by the managerial staff, as they may realise once the redundancies have occurred that the best staff have been let go, and organisational performance is poor (Mirvis, 1997). However, little research into this specific topic has been conducted, and so this study intends to investigate this very theory, and identify if managers feel more negative emotions than other employees remaining within he organisation. The Survivor Syndrome is not a universal concept, and does not necessarily affect all business situations or industry sectors (Wolfe, 2004). The negative effects associated with survivors of redundancy can be in part attributed to the mafia model of downsizing (Stebbins, 1989), which is defined as the desire to have done with the redundancy quickly and then forget about it, which generally leads to ignoring even the most basic human resources practices (Fay and Lu hrmann, 2004). 2. Avoiding Survivor Syndrome Baruch Hind (2000) conducted research that concluded that survivor syndrome may not actually exist, or that there may be a personality-driven predisposition to survivor syndrome. The study involved analysis of employee opinion surveys over 3 years, during which large scale redundancies took place. The results of the analysis were expected to show deterioration in the scores of feelings of satisfaction, trust and morale for instance. However, this was not what was observed, rather the opposite was discovered. Employees perceptions of the companys openness, job satisfaction and morale all improved over the years. The theoretical models of identity theory and side-bet theory do not provide a clear 13 rationalisation for the finding (Baruch Hind, 2000). Further investigation was done in order to explain the lack of survivor syndrome, by conducting in-depth interviews, and then a questionnaire, asking open questions about their feelings following the redundancy programme. The results of the interviews showed that the company was conscious of preventing fear and anxiety, and so ensured that there was open communication with both employees and their representatives, such as trade unions, and a fair selection process, which was conducted quickly and as openly as possible. Managers had also received training on how to deliver the news, to make them more able to cope with the situation. The organisation also offered support to leavers in finding a new job. The way in which the company conducted the redundancy programme has been shown to be one of the main explanations for the non-existence of survivor syndrome within this organisation. These findings are supported by previous research that shows that how fair the redundancy process is effects the survivors emotions (Brockner, Wiesenfeld Martin, 1995; Brockner et al, 1993). The theory that the way in which a redundancy process takes place can affect mployees feelings may be extremely relevant in the case of Corus, and the methods used by Corus to implement the redundancies should be looked at in-depth in order to understand the emotions that will have been found to be present in Corus employees. Another explanation suggested by Baruch Hind (2000) is that throughout the 1990s, people became more accepting of redundancy, compared to in the 1980s when it was a new phenomenon, and people felt betrayed by the organisation. In more recent years, people view it as the new way of working life. This could be especially true of Corus employees, as it is a company that has gone through a number of downsizing processes. It is also suggested that survivors see themselves as the chosen ones, and felt appreciated, which helped create a positive attitude (Baruch Hind, 2000). The general conclusion to take from this study and from other studies that have found similar results (Brockner et al, 1992) is that if downsizing is managed effectively, and through using good practice, negative effects on survivors can be controlled and minimised, avoiding the existence of survivor syndrome, and therefore it cannot be assumed that survivors of redundancy within an organisation will suffer from 14 survivor syndrome. Cross Travaglione (2004) found that downsizing can be successful if the least valuable employees leave the organisation. In a study conducted by Sahdev (2003), a manufacturing company, similar to that of Corus was investigated. The company has a history of downsizing but maybe surprisingly the survivor issues found were positive overall, having a sense of pride, drive to enhance the companys profitability, job security, and trust in the organisation. This could be because the reasons for downsizing were proactive, in order to maintain their competitive edge, and that the survivors gained from the restructuring via training enhancing their skills levels. There wasnt evidence of survivor syndrome because of the methods the manufacturing company used during the downsizing. The process was seen as fair and open, and so survivors did not feel negative emotions after. In the same experiment, Sahdev also looked at Barclaycard and Bedfordshire City Council. The study showed employees from both Barclaycard and BCC suffered the effects of survivor syndrome, feeling emotions such as low morale, a lack of trust, decreased commitment to the company and job insecurity. Barclaycard had not had a downsizing exercise prior to this, and although BCC had been downsizing for a decade prior to this, this had not been via redundancies only. BCC were downsizing as a reaction to the government agenda, but at a high frequency, which is thought to result in increased cynicism and low trust (Sahdev, 2003), whereas Barclaycard were downsizing to be proactive in enhancing competitiveness, but this was a rare occurrence, and so it is expected that there will be a mixture of emotions, such as anger at the violation of the psychological contract, and excitement at the opportunities to develop that will occur due to the downsizing. Therefore this evidences that the reasons for redundancies and history of downsizing within the specific organisation are other factors affecting the outbreak of survivor syndrome. Other research conducted looking into this subject has found that interactional justice is crucial for survivor syndrome to be prevented. According to Campbell (1999), survivors reactions depend on the amount of interpersonal communication between the employee and the line manager, as this can effect organisational commitment, job satisfaction and job insecurity. The study also found that the work environment and work colleagues can affect survivors emotions, and if 15 the atmosphere at work is negative, or colleagues are negative, this can result in surviving employees suffering from negative emotions. Leana Feldman (1994) discovered that if an organisation made their employees aware that redundancies would be taking place early, there would be no / limited negative outcomes for the organisation. This is thought to be related to the level of trust in the organisation, due to being well-advised. Evidence in support of this also comes from Applebaum Donia (2001), who have found that the main factors affecting survivors responses to downsizing include the knowledge and understanding the employees have about the situation occurring, the fairness of the decision making process, the fair treatment of the employees being made redundant, and feeling that the managers are aware of the problems that may arise due to the redundancies. Some organisations create help groups which tend to lower the prevalence of survivor syndrome, as does the involvement of trade unions, as this reemphasises the fair treatment of employees and the fairness of the process. Continued communication between the management team and survivors helps avoid negative emotions, as does consideration from management to employees for the changes in their day-to-day jobs, such as increased workload. If management show appreciation towards the survivors for their commitment and effort throughout the difficult periods, this will help the employees feel more valued and respected, and so they will feel less negative emotions associated with survivor syndrome. The final factor that is thought to lead to the presence of survivor syndrome is if a company uses redundancies as a first resort in difficult times, rather than attempting other methods of cost reduction or to improve productivity (CIPD, 2010). Some organisations attempt to save money by introducing flexible working, such as only working 4 day weeks, and taking the equivalent pay cut, or banning overtime. By introducing one of these methods first, an organisation may find that they could even avoid redundancies, but if not, employees will be able to see that the company tried other methods first, before having to resort to redundancies. By observing the attempt to avoid redundancies, employees will feel more positive towards the organisation. These findings suggest that survivor syndrome is avoidable within an organisation conducting large scale redundancies, and the incidence of survivor 16 syndrome is dependent on the actions of the organisation in how they conduct the redundancies, how they treat the employees leaving the organisation and how they treat the survivors remaining within the organisation. Therefore, for an organisation to have the desired outcomes from making redundancies, such as increased productivity and effort, an organisation must put into place a realistic downsizing preview (Applebaum Donia, 2001), that includes some of the methods mentioned above. . 6 Reasons for conducting research into Survivor Syndrome Research into this topic is beneficial for organisations undertaking similar downsizing programmes, as finding symptoms of survivor syndrome in employees, and discussing why these negative emotions may be present will aide future redundancy programmes, as organisations will be able to avoid certa in behaviours and prevent survivor syndrome occurring within their workplace. By preventing this syndrome becoming a pandemic within the organisation, the organisation will find that the levels of productivity and performance are affected less negatively, as employees will be feeling more positive towards the company, and so will not let their work-ethic become less emphatic. Research investigating Survivor Syndrome is also crucial in order to identify what the symptoms, if there are any symptoms, of survivor syndrome actually are. 2. 7 Hypotheses After in-depth research into previous research, and considering the information and resources available, two hypotheses have been developed. Hypothesis 1: A decrease in pride in the organisation, trust in the organisation, perceived organisational support and job satisfaction will occur for those employees that remain in the organisation after downsizing. Hypothesis 2: A lower amount of pride in the organisation, trust in the organisation, perceived organisational support and job satisfaction will be identified in managerial survivors of redundancy than non -managerial survivors. The aim of this study is to investigate and attempt to prove or disprove these hypotheses, by conducting analysis of case-specific data, and making generalisations from the results of this analysis. 7 3. Methodology 3. 1 Organisation Setting As the main focus of the research was to investigate the prevalence of Survivor syndrome, a case-based study seemed to be the most appropriate method. Corus, a major private sector manufacturing organisation was chosen for this study. This organisation produces steel for a range of different sectors, and is a large, decentralised organisation that has undergone organisational restructuring a number of times throughout its relatively short history, mainly because of the volatile industry it belongs to. It is important to note that a number of the employees taking part in this study were part of the organisation throughout the previous redundancy programmes, as well as the most recent downsizing that occurred. 3. 2 Procedure Corus conduct Employee Opinion Surveys annually, in order to analyse the attitudes of employees to a range of aspects of the business. This study will analyse the results of the employee opinion surveys completed in 2007, prior to the redundancy programme, and the employee opinion survey results from 2009, conducted a few months after the redundancies took place. The surveys were designed by two different companies, and so are not identical, although they are very similar, and the majority of the questions are repeated and worded the same. Some of the questions in the surveys are not relevant to the subject matter being discussed in this report and so only certain questions from the surveys will be analysed. The decision for which of the questions in the two surveys should be analysed was based on how relevant they were to certain emotions associated with Survivor Syndrome. For instance, in both surveys there was the statement I feel proud to work for Corus. This is strongly associated with pride, which has been shown to be affected in survivors after largescale redundancies, and so will be included in the analysis. The statement Overall, I am satisfied with my job is directly related to job satisfaction, which again has been shown to negatively affect survivors after redundancies, and so that statement will also be included in the analysis. There are some questions within the surveys that are not as obviously linked to an emotion related to Survivor Syndrome, and so the decision to include or exclude questions from the survey for analysis included looking at other research focusing on these specific emotions, for example, emotion 18 specific questionnaires were analysed to see if any of the questions were similar to those within the Corus employee opinion surveys, and if so, they could be included in the analysis. For example, a number of the items in the employee opinion surveys were similar to or the same as the questions used on a survey conducted by Bordia et al (2004), such as I am satisfied with my job and My business keeps me informed. Some of the items in the surveys were included on a purely subjective basis, as they seemed to be associated to a specific Survivor Syndrome emotion. An example of this is My immediate supervisor helps me do my work well which seems to relate to Perceived Organisational Support as a measure. 3. 3 Participants The Corus Employee Opinion Survey is sent out to all employees in the UK. However, not everyone responds. The survey from 2007 had 1580 responses, and the 2009 survey had 1075 responses. The employee opinion surveys do not include demographic variables, and so there is little information on the age or gender of the participants. Because the respondents from the two employee opinion surveys are employees at Corus, although the participants may not be exactly the same, as there is a larger sample size in 2007 than 2009, this study is a within groups analysis. 3. 4 Questionnaire Measures The survey contained scales measuring specific variables seen as important to Corus. However, as explained above, some easures are hidden within the questions, and so have been found subjectively or via other research, in order to identify whether certain negative emotions associated with Survivor Syndrome are present within employees who completed the employee opinion surveys. The measures being investigated in this study have been decided upon through analysis of previous r esearch. By identifying the key emotions that have been recognized in other survivor syndrome research, and conducting thorough examination of the employee opinion surveys to see what emotions the questions relate to, a list of measures has 9 been decided upon. Below are the measures being analysed from the employee opinion surveys: Job Satisfaction- the Employee Opinion Survey asks specific questions relating to job satisfaction, including Overall, I am satisfied with my current job, Considering my responsibilities and the work I do, I am paid well, I believe I am rewarded well for my work compared with others outside our organisation and I am sufficiently trained to do my job well. There are also some items within the questionnaire that are less obviously specific to job satisfaction, but are linked to this measure. For instance I have opportunities to achieve my potential, There is cooperation within my team and I am involved in decisions related to my business. Overall there are 11 items focusing on job satisfaction. Organisational Pride- There are 2 items measuring employees pride at working for the organisation, and these are I feel proud to work for Corus and I would recommend CDUK Ireland as an employer. Perceived Organisational Support- This measure is represented by a number of items on the employee opinion survey, including I receive timely thanks for work well done, My immediate supervisor gives me enough attention, My immediate supervisor helps me to do my work well and I often find the pressure of work too much. The items being used to analyse this measure are spread over a number of the different sections in the employee opinion survey. These sections are Work environment, Quality of Leadership, Learning and Growth and Reward and Recognition. This measure is represented by 13 items in the employee opinion surveys. Trust within the organisation This is a measure that has been prominent in – previous research, and so it was important to ensure that it was included in this study. From the employee opinion survey, 2 items can be used to measure employees trust in the organisation and their colleagues, including I have faith in the managers in my business and I have faith in the management team of CDUK Ireland. All of the items on the questionnaire were measured using a 5-point likert scale, except for the first question, Do you hold a management position, which is a 20 es / no question. This item will be used after the first analysis has been done, in order to investigate the data and identify any differences in the emotions of managers and non-managers. This is in order to see if survivor syndrome is more prominent in those with a managerial position, who are more involved in conducting the redundancies, or more prominent in employees who have a non-managerial position, such as the factor y workers, who see members of their team leaving the organisation during downsizing. The first statistical analysis will compare 2007 survey results and 2009 survey results, to see if the emotions have changed significantly between preredundancies and post-redundancies. 21 4. Analysis 4. 1 Analysis of data Before redundancies vs After redundancies – Table 1 provides the means and standard deviations, computed from both the 2009 employee opinion survey results and the 2007 employee opinion survey results, for all of the items representing each variable being measured. Table 1. Means and standard deviations for 2007 / 2009 Employee surveys Employee opinion survey question 2009 Survey Mean 1. 37 1. 48 1. 55 0. 97 1. 23 1. 64 1. 37 1. 99 1. 85 1. 88 1. 87 2. 49 2. 31 2. 03 1. 13 1. 41 1. 47 1. 77 1. 85 2. 07 1. 78 1. 58 1. 45 1. 56 1. 67 1. 4 1. 5 1. 13 1. 41 Std Deviation 0. 847 0. 912 1. 063 0. 664 0. 916 1. 035 0. 821 1. 201 1. 188 1. 166 1. 064 1. 028 1. 011 1. 014 0. 858 0. 991 0. 994 1. 071 1. 079 1. 147 1. 06 1. 049 0. 966 1. 07 0. 57 0. 995 1. 003 0. 912 0. 863 2007 Survey Mean 1. 17 1. 38 1. 37 0. 95 1. 25 1. 53 1. 35 1. 86 1. 83 1. 98 1. 71 2. 41 2. 39 1. 56 1. 1 1. 53 1. 34 1. 3 1. 24 1. 5 1. 65 1. 46 1. 36 1. 48 1. 47 1. 41 1. 16 1. 31 1. 29 Std Deviation 0. 886 0. 912 1. 049 0. 75 1 0. 944 1. 039 0. 826 1. 193 1. 013 1. 061 0. 973 1. 057 1. 068 0. 661 0. 867 1. 045 0. 929 0. 971 0. 889 1. 054 1. 029 0. 953 0. 877 0. 979 0. 974 0. 95 0. 83 0. 881 0. 99 Do you feel proud to work for Corus? I am satisfied with my current job The surroundings in which I carry out my work are pleasant I know what is expected from me at work My work gives me an opportunity to use my skills and training At work my opinion is taken seriously My colleagues value me In the last 6 months I have had training to help me do my job I have sufficient development opportunities within my business There is sufficient attention for my personal development There are opportunities for me to achieve my potential Considering my responsibilities and the work I do, I am paid well I believe I am rewarded well for my work compared with others outside our organisation I often find the pressure of work too much I am sufficiently trained to do my job well I am involved in decisions relating to my work My supervisor gives me enough attention My supervisor is a good leader My supervisor tells me how I am performing I receive timely thanks for work well done My supervisor organises sufficient job appraisals and asses sments for me My immediate supervisor helps me to do my work well My business keeps me adequately informed of key issues I have faith in the managers in my area I have faith in the managment team of CDUK I I feel involved in my business What the company wants to achieve with the has been communicated to me There is cooperation within my team I would recommend my organisation as an employer 22 As can be seen from the table, the mean for each question is higher in 2009 than in 2007 for the majority of items. The responses included in the employee opinion survey were strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree/dont know, disagree and strongly disagree. For the analysis, these responses were converted into numbers e. g. 0 = strongly agree up to 4 = strongly disagree. The standard deviation, representing the spread of the results around the mean, is quite low for all items, showing that the majority of the results are close to the mean. The means for 2009 are generally slightly higher than 2007, which denotes that more people disagreed and strongly disagreed with items in the surveys in 2009 than in 2007. For instance, when analysing the results for the variable Pride, the item Do you feel proud to work for Corus has a mean of 1. 7 (SD = 0. 886) in the 2007 survey, showing that most people agree with the statement. In 2009, the mean increased to 1. 37 (SD = 0. 847), and although this still means the average answer was agree, it also means that more people responded with neither, disag ree or strongly disagree than in 2007, showing that employees opinions of how proud they are to work for Corus have changed between the two surveys being conducted. The same pattern has been found with the other item representing Pride, I would recommend my organisation to others. The mean answer in 2007 was 1. 29 (SD = 0. 99), and in 2009 it was found to have increased to 1. 41 (SD = 0. 63), again showing that in 2009 more people gave the responses neither, disagree and strongly disagree. This pattern is persistent in most of the items. For the variable Job Satisfaction, the first item to be investigated was I am satisfied with my current job. The mean answer increased by 0. 1 between 2007 (m = 1. 38, SD = 0. 912) and 2009 (m = 1. 48, SD = 0. 9 12), which signifies that more people gave negative responses in 2009 than they did in 2007. Another item representing the job satisfaction variable is Considering my responsibilities and the work I do, I am paid well, and a similar differen ce in means for 2007 (m = 2. 41, SD = 1. 057) and 2009 (m = 2. 49, SD = 1. 028) was found for this. Perceived organisational support in the organisation is a variable being analysed through a number of items in the employee opinion survey. The item My supervisor is a good leader shows a disparity of 0. 47 between 2007 (m = 1. 3, SD = 0. 971) and 2009 (m = 1. 77, SD = 1. 071). Another large difference between means was found for the item I receive timely thanks for work well done, as in 2007 the mean answer was 1. 5 (SD = 1. 054), and in 2009 it increased to 2. 07 (SD = 1. 147). 23 There were some anomalies, where the difference in means between years diverged away from this pattern. The items My work gives me an opportunity to use my skills and training, There is sufficient attention for my personal development, I believe I am rewarded well for my work compared to ther organisations, I am involved in decisions relating to my work, I feel involved in my business, and There is cooperation within my team all have means that are higher in 2007 than in 2009, which indicates more positiv e responses were recorded in 2009. In order to identify if the differences between means are significant, a statistical test called the Mann-Whitney U test has been conducted, to investigate if the null hypothesis for each question i. e. the item is the same across both years of the employee opinion survey. Table 2 shows the results of this statistical analysis. From Table 2 below, it can be seen which of the items had significantly different responses between 2007 and 2009. The items have been split into the different measures they represent. By rejecting the null hypothesis, this means that the distribution of responses for a specific item in 2007 is significantly different to the distribution of answers for the same item in the 2009 survey results. For instance, Considering my responsibilities and the work I do, I am paid well was shown to have a significance level of 0. 000, and therefore it can be said that the difference between the responses in 2007 and 2009 are significant (p 0. 05). When looking at the means for the two years for this item, it can be seen that in 2007 the mean was 2. 41, and in 2009 the mean was 2. 49, this means more people responded with a negative answer such as disagree or strongly disagree, and the increase in these negative responses was significant. This means that in 2009 significantly more people felt that they were not paid well for the work that they did. Another example of this is for the item My immediate supervisor helps me do my work well. The significance value for this item is 0. 003 (p 0. 05) and therefore it can be said that there is a significant difference in the distribution of answers to this item between 2007 and 2009. The null hypothesis is therefore Table 2. Mann-Whitney U results for Hypotheses relating to year of survey Null Hypothesis PRIDE Sig. Decision 24 The distribution of *I feel proud to work for Corus is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I would recommend CDUK Ireland as an employer is the same for all categories of *year of EOS SATISFACTION The distribution of *I am satisfied with CD UK Ireland as a place of work is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *Considering responsibilities the work, I am paid well is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I am rewarded well compared to Employment packages from other organisations is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I feel involved with my business is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I am involved in two-way communication with my manager is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I am sufficiently trained to do my job well is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *My current job gives me the opportunity to use my skills training is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *There are opportunities for me to achieve my potential is the same for all categories of *year of EOS Th e distribution of *My colleagues value me is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *There is co-operation teamwork in my area is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I am involved in decisions relating to my area of work is the same for all categories of *year of EOS PERCEIVED ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT The distribution of *At work my opinion is taken seriously is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *My business keeps me adequately informed about key issues is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *CDUK Irelands Vision has been clearly communicated is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *In last 6 months I have had training that helped me to do my job better is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *There is someone at work who encourages my development is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *The su rroundings in which I work are pleasant is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I often find the pressure of work too much is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I know what is expected of me at work is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *My immediate supervisor gives me enough attention is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *My immediate supervisor helps me do my work well is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *Supervisor organises sufficient appraisal assessments is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *Supervisor regularly tells me how they believe I am performing is the same for all categories of *year of EOS The distribution of *I receive timely thanks for work well done is the same for all categories of *year of EOS TRUST The distribution of *I have faith in the managers in my area is the same for all catego ries of *year of EOS The distribution of *I have faith in the management team of CDUK Ireland is the same for all categories of *year of EOS .000 . 000 Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Reject Null Hypothesis Accept Null Hypothesis .000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 003 . 757 . 007 . 070 . 053 . 221 . 008 .124 . 901 . 411 . 005 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 003 . 035 . 073 . 000 .000 . 639 rejected. The mean answer in 2007 was 1. 46, and in 2009 it was 1. 58, and therefore the Mann-Whitney U analysis indicates that there is a significant increase in the amount of employees giving more negative responses in 2009 from 2007, in relation 25 to the sample size. This therefore connotes that significantly more people are not of the opinion that their supervisor helps them to work well after redundancies in 2009, than before the redundancy programme took place, in the 2007 survey. From Table 2 above, it can be seen which of the items had significantly different responses between 2007 and 2009. The items have been split into the different measures they represent. By rejecting the null hypothesis, this means that the distribution of responses for a specific item in 2007 is significantly different to the distribution of answers for the same item in the 2009 survey results. For instance, Considering my responsibilities and the work I do, I am paid well was shown to have a significance level of 0. 000, and therefore it can be said that the difference between the responses in 2007 and 2009 are significant (p ; 0. 05). When looking at the means for the two years for this item, it can be seen that in 2007 the mean was 2. 41, and in 2009 the mean was 2. 49, this means more people responded with a negative answer such as disagree or strongly disagree, and the increase in these negative responses was significant. This means that in 2009 significantly more people felt that they were not paid well for the work that they did. Another example of this is for the item My immediate supervisor helps me do my work well. The significance value for this item is 0. 003 (p ; 0. 05) and therefore it can be said that there is a significant difference in the distribution of answers to this item between 2007 and 2009. The null hypothesis is therefore rejected. The mean answer in 2007 was 1. 46, and in 2009 it was 1. 58, and therefore the Mann-Whitney U analysis indicates that there is a significant increase in the amount of employees giving more negative responses in 2009 from 2007, in relation to the sample size. This therefore connotes that significantly more people are not of the opinion that their supervisor helps them to work well after redundancies in 2009, than before the redundancy programme took place, in the 2007 survey. It can also be seen from the table that some of the null hypotheses can be accepted. This means that even if a difference in the means has been found, it has not been shown to be a significant difference, and therefore the distribution of answers for an item can be taken to be the same over both 2007 and 2009. The nine items on 26 the survey that are shown to not be significant and the null hypotheses accepted are represented on Table 2 with lilac shading. Taking each measure eparately, the results of the items can be investigated in order to find evidence that that particular measure has been found to have been affected since redundancies have taken place. For Pride, the two items, Do you feel proud to work for Corus and I would recommend CDUK Ireland as an employe r, were both found to have significant differences between the responses from 2007 and the responses from 2009. The mean answers for both items were higher for 2009 than 2007, and so this means significantly more respondents answered these items negatively. Therefore it can be said that employees of Corus were less proud of the organisation in 2009 than in 2007. Job Satisfaction has been measured through 11 items on the survey. From Table 2, it can be observed that the null hypotheses of seven of the items were rejected. Six of these items were shown to have higher mean responses in 2009 than in 2007, which signifies that the responses became significantly more negative after redundancies took place. However, there is one item where the opposite has been detected. When analysing the item I believe I am rewarded well compared to employment packages from other organisations the significance value computed via the Mann Whitney U test was 0. 000 (p ; 0. 05). However, the mean response for 2009 was 2. 31, and in 2007 it was 2. 39. This means that in 2009 there were more positive responses (e. g. agree / strongly agree) in relation to sample size than in 2007. From these results it can be denoted that employees were more satisfied with their employment package in 2009 than in 2007. The responses for four of the items under the Job Satisfaction measure were not significant in terms of the dispersion of the answers in 2009 and 2007. This means that the responses for all four items have not varied between before the redundancy programme took place in 2007, and after it took place, in 2009. When looking at the overall results from the analysis for Job satisfaction, it is difficult to say whether or not employees are less satisfied with their job and the organisation since redundancies took place, as there are mixed results. What can be deducted from the results is that from the general, and possibly most representative of the satisfaction measure, item I am satisfied with CD UK Ireland as a place of work it 27 an be seen that levels of satisfaction have decreased between 2007, before redundancies, (m = 1. 38, SD = 0. 912) and 2009, after redundancies, (m = 1. 48, SD = 0. 9 12), as the significance value is . 000 (p ; 0. 05). Nine of the items measuring Perceived O rganisational Support were shown to have significant differences in the survey responses from both years. Again, the general pattern was shown to be that employees responses were found to be more negative in 2009 than in 2007. There were four items where the responses were not found to be significantly different. For example, the item There is cooperation and teamwork in my area has a Mann-Whitney U significance value of 0. 221 (p ; 0. 5) and so it cannot be said that there is a significant difference between the two surveys, but rather the responses were more or less the same. The mean for 2007 was actually higher than 2009 (1. 31 and 1. 13 respectively), which would indicate that responses became more positive in 2009. This result would have been unexpected, but since it has not been found to have been a significant difference, it is irrelevant. The majority of the items indicate that employees opinions of perceived organisational support are more negative in 2009 than in 2007. Th e final measure was trust, and the statistical analysis found that of the two items measuring employees trust in the organisation, only one was found to have changed significantly since the 2007 survey. The item I have faith in the managers in my area had statistical significance of . 000 (p ; 0. 05). The mean response had become more negative in 2009, and therefore this means that a larger proportion of the employees disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement in 2009. Interestingly, the responses to the statement I have faith in the management team of CD UK Ireland did not change significantly between the two surveys. 4. 2 Analysis of data Managers vs Non-managers in 2009 – Table 3 provides information of the means and standard deviations for managers and non-managers who responded to the 2009 employee opinion survey, after the downsizing programme had taken place. This analysis was conducted in order to see if there was a significant difference in the emotions felt by managers and the emotions felt by non-managerial employees, such as factory workers. Table 4 contains the Mann-Whitney U results, that identify if any differences in the mean 28 answers are significant. Table 4 is split into the different measures being investigated. The tables below show that that for all items except two, there was a significant difference between the responses given by managers and the responses given by non-managers. In all cases except three, the mean response from the nonmanagers was higher that then mean response from managers, which insinuates that employees with a non-managerial position have more negative opinions than managers. This is because of the scale the answers are given on (e. g. = strongly agree, 4 = strongly disagree), and so the higher the number representing the response, the more strongly the statement is being disagreed with. For instance , under the Trust heading in table 4 is the item I have faith in the management team of CDUK Ireland, which is shown to have a significance value of . 000 (p ; 0. 05). The mean answer for non-managers can be seen from Table 3 to be 2. 67 (SD = 9. 448) and the mean answer for managers was 1. 8 (SD = 6. 947). The mean for the non-managers is significantly higher than the mean response from managers and so this means that that non-managers had significantly more negative responses in relation to the sample size. For the Pride measure, both items can be seen to have higher mean scores for nonmanagers than managers. This means that managers gave more positive responses to the items than non-managers did. For the item I am proud to work for Corus the mean for non managers was 2. 01 (SD = 7. 188) and the mean for managers was 1. 43 (SD = 6. 962), and the Mann Whitney U test showed this to be a significant difference (p ; 0. 05). A similar difference in means was observed for the item I would recommend Corus as an employer and this also had the same signif

The Longest Day (1962) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) Essays

The Longest Day (1962) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) Essays The Longest Day (1962) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) Paper The Longest Day (1962) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) Paper Essay Topic: Film Both these scenes are representing different directors interpretations of the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach. Darryl F. Zanuck directed The Longest Day in 1962. The film was made only seventeen years after the end of the Second World War, and so Zanuck had to keep in mind that some peoples memories of the war were still very vivid. He hired forty-eight international stars, twenty thousand extras and took two years to make this three-hour film. The Longest Day won two Oscars in cinematography and special effects. Steven Spielberg directed Saving Private Ryan in 1998. This film was made decades after the war had ended. Historic evidence was more widely known and so Spielberg could make a realistic war film. Many more special effects were available and with a budget of ninety million dollars, Spielberg won awards at the Oscars, BAFTAs and the Golden Globe. The first thing that I think you have to take into account when comparing these scenes is where in the film the clips are taken. The clip from The Longest Day is taken from the middle of the film. Many of the main characters have already been introduced and the audience has had a build up to the D-Day landings. On the other hand, Saving Private Ryan has the D-Day landings at the beginning of the film. Spielberg uses the scene as an introduction to the war and so a great effort has been made to captivate the audience. The Longest Day is shot in black and white throughout the film. It is hard to distinguish different objects. This is mainly because our generation are used to seeing things in colour, and when The Longest Day was released people were used to watching in black and white so it made no difference to them. Saving Private Ryan is in bleached colour. This is a technical term meaning that the colours have been faded. The red of the blood though, is strongly visible and has been enhanced to make the blood stand out from the water. The beginning of the scene from The Longest Day starts with a subtitle in front of a view of Omaha Beach telling the audience where the battleships are landing. In the background we hear very patriotic music giving the sense of pride to all the war veterans that may be watching. I think that the music is there to make the whole battle seem grander than it really was, unlike Saving Private Ryan where the first thing we hear is the lapping of the tide. The swirling sea shows a great contrast from the peace and calm before the battle, to the noise and unrest of war. This is not a gentle scene though. Giant tetrahedrae are positioned in the sea, their job to rip the bottoms off the boats. The image set is a sinister scene. In The Longest Day we next see a shot of the landing craft with a hazy background and an overview of the soldiers. Limited camera lenses provide us with mainly medium shots that are normally static, a much steadier camera than in Saving Private Ryan. As a viewer you feel as though you are looking in on the action, more objective, and so you feel like you are watching the battle, not really involved. When focusing on General N Cota (played by Robert Mitchum), the camera is angled slightly upwards, giving the general an air of power and the impression of authority. A centred shot is shown of the general standing casually on the ship. The men around him are seemingly unconcerned about what awaits them. Long shots are occasionally shown. They establish a background and help to set the scene. Not many close ups are shown; the director has chosen to have most scenes taken with a medium shot. This makes it feel as though you are watching, not participating in what is going on. This in turn leads to a lack of urgency throughout this clip because the camera is shooting from far away and the camera remains static nearly all the time. We are then shown the German headquarters. To make this scene as realistic as possible, Zanuck decided to have the actors speaking in German. This means that subtitles had to be used to explain to the audience what was being said. We have changed from watching an organised army (the Allies) to watching a frenzied, frantic, unorganised German one. The officers are seen rushing about ordering the nervous German soldiers to position themselves behind beach banks and barbed wire. The director has shown both sides and points of view of the same event. It puts the message across to the audience that the Nazis were only human after all. They were portrayed as human beings, doing what they thought was right, not just villainous bad guys. It can also show slight propaganda, even after the war. The audience likes to see the Germans panicking and worried, there was still hatred of the Nazis decades years after the war. We then come back to the American side. The troops do not seem to be very afraid. We see a fearless Robert Mitchum urging his men forwards as we hear cheering men. The cheering shows unity between the soldiers, again being highly patriotic. There are a limited variety of sound effects. The firing all seems to stop when the General speaks, the camera again giving an upward view of Robert Mitchum, reinforcing his importance and showing his confidence. Considering the amount of gunfire, there is little effect on the actors. The result is a shock free clip with the audience shown little gore or carnage. The men run up onto the beach, escaping almost every explosion by rolling around on the floor, getting up and running again. The men almost look like theyve been choreographed to run up the beach. Robert Mitchum is so in control that he calmly jogs up the beach, making this short scene seem very tame. I think the director has done this because the audience did not come to watch the film to see blood, quite the opposite, they were watching it to feel proud of their country and feel a sense of pride. They wanted to see heroism and many viewers would not want to see how their sons, fathers and friends were killed in action. Once at the top of the beach, we see Cota as a caring man when the famous Hollywood actor talks to a young boy. There is a pointless dialogue section where General N. Cota tells the young boy to go back onto the dangerous beach to get his rifle back. The young boy obediently runs off to try and find his gun. The sequence finishes in full flow with a shot of the Americans and Germans in a full combat. In Saving Private Ryan after the subtitles, we see the Higgins landing craft battling against the sea. Spielberg shot the scene on an overcast day (like the real battle) to make everything seem as realistic as possible. It works well because as a viewer you can feel that it is cold as you hear powerful waves hit the edge of the boats. There are a variety of shots used in this clip; far, medium and close up. We have changes of focus and clear close-ups and there are several shots that have been filmed using slow motion. All of this is mainly due to different filming techniques that have been introduced after The Longest Day. A handheld camera is used for this section of the film making you feel part of the action, making the audience more subjective. We are shown a clear close up of Captain Miller (played by Tom Hanks). We see him petrified, his hand shaking drinking from a water bottle. Tom Hanks then holds up his head showing us his scared face. You can feel the tension between the men. We see men saying their prayers with religious signs. The nerves are shown by seeing men being sick on the ship and seeing their scared faces. We get an impression of them being real people with feelings and thoughts. This instantly gives the viewers more of an insight to each character, than in The Longest Day. Captain Millers last words on the boat are Ill see you on the beach. These words are followed by silence, so the words are left ringing in your ear. We see and hear the wheel turning as the door goes down. As a viewer you are totally unprepared for what happens next, to me it came as a shock. Again with the handheld camera, we turn round and see lots of men being shot down, many not even making it off the ship. There is a lot of blood and gore shown. Next we are shown the viewpoint of the Germans. We see guns looking out onto where we have just seen. Actual German characters are not shown we just see the guns. This is a contrast between The Longest Day. In The Longest Day we are shown the Nazi side of the war, but in Saving Private Ryan the director has been more concerned with the American aspect of the D-Day landings. Instead of a full dialogue between German captains, we simply have an over-the-shoulder view of what is happening on the beach. Then we are back amongst the men. Spielberg uses an underwater camera for the next scene. We go underwater with the men falling off the edge of the boat. The sound becomes muted, with an indistinct sound of the soldiers underwater. As the camera bobs in and out of the water the sound from above becomes clearer and you remember everything that is going on out of the water. The harsh sounds from above the water contrast with the underwater sounds. We hear fizzing sounds of the bullets underwater. We see that people are not even safe under the water. People get shot and drown due to the heavy load they are carrying. Above the water we see chaos and panic and some horrific sights of war. Again we get a view from the Nazi side. This time there are not many soldiers in sight, they are all hiding from the guns firing at them from behind the German pillboxes. This is another contrast with The Longest Day. In The Longest Day, people were just running up the beach, not bothering to hide from the shots being fired at them. Also in Saving Private Ryan we do not have focus on the main character (Tom Hanks) the whole time, we get an overview of everything that is going on. In The Longest Day the camera follows Robert Mitchum for nearly the whole time, not giving the audience a real idea of what is going on. We then are back on the beach again. We see many remnants of dead people, bodies lying about the beach and more blood. The blood has been kept potent, but the rest of the colour desaturated by 60 per cent. This makes the blood really stand out, adding to the dramatic views we see. Tom Hanks stands up out of the water, he is wet and his face looks scared. He does not represent a hero. He is in the action, amongst dying bodies and other soldiers. The camera is angled slightly down on him. Instead of the camera shooting up at him (like Zanuck), Spielberg decided to have the viewers look down on him. This enhances our feelings towards the Tom Hanks, and shows us that the battle was not grand, instead it was an awful traumatic experience. Hanks fear in this scene comes through quite clearly. To help show this experience Miller looks round the beach, surveying the carnage that surrounds him. The sound is lowered so that it is a muted din. He watches flames engulf some soldiers, and the image of a soldier searching for his severed arm sticks out in your memory. Blood sprays in his face. Instead of the flames roaring loudly, they sound like they are a million miles away. This creates the impression of shellshock, needing an explosion of a shell to bring the captain back to the present time. He comes around when his younger comrade asks for his orders. This is the end of the scene. Both of these films have good qualities. Older people that I have asked have told me that they preferred The Longest Day. The Longest Day is a very nostalgic film, and relies heavily on the era in which it was first shown (several years after the Second World War). People that went to see it were interested in seeing big Hollywood stars, they were not really concerned about the quality of the acting. It was even rumoured that because there were so many famous actors, they complained that there was not enough screen time focusing on each of them. Another reason why The Longest Day is more popular with the elder generation is that there has been a great advance in technology since the film was made, making me, the younger generation, used to films with more special effects. Although it lacks realism, the showing of blood and guts, the spirit of the war is vividly represented. The heroism of the soldiers is celebrated and leaves you feeling very patriotic. However my favourite scene was from Saving Private Ryan. In many ways I think that this is my favoured film because it appeals to my generation. We do not want to see a film that has not got realistic scenes, and Saving Private Ryan shows us how Spielberg imagines the battle to have been like. Spielberg uses lots of new machinery and introduces special effects to get his ideas across. He has consulted war veterans, and historians to create as best as possible an accurate account of the battles. Also the film made me think about what my grandparents must have been through and shows acknowledgement and thanks to the older men that fought for us. In this essay I have pointed out the different uses of technology in the films and compared the action fully. It is interesting that both scenes leave the audience feeling a strong sense of patriotism and pride in their country.