Ideology of Modernism free essay sample

To what extent did the ideology of Modernism reflect new sets of values in architecture and design in the period between 1919 and 1960? Answer this question with examination of works of 3 architects/designers of the time analyzing how Modernism was manifested in their works. ANSWER Bauhaus’ Walter Gropius said in Germany, 1919, â€Å"Today’s artist lives in an era of dissolution without guidance. He stands alone. The old forms are in ruins, the benumbed world is shaken up, the old human spirit is invalidated and in flux towards a new form. We float in space and cannot perceive the new order†. This statement epitomized a Germany suffering shocking economic deprivation from  reparations imposed by The Treaty of Versailles 1918. Across Northern France, Germany and Belgium countryside and villages were devastated. Europe was  bereft and in chaos. People desperately searched a new order to dispel the atrocities of WWI. Gropius’ bewilderment, was symptomatic of people’s disillusionment with a world whose values courted wanton destruction instead of harmony. We will write a custom essay sample on Ideology of Modernism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Modernism evolved from romantic, socialist, utopian aspirations coupled with arts and crafts reforms in the wake of industrialism and war; a loose term used retrospectively to describe the broad movement in art, literature, architecture, design and culture, searching to assuage the pain of WWI. Modernism is easier to understand by referencing what it is not:- historicism, traditional, decorative, rooted in academics. The term encompasses the trend in the early to mid 20th century when designers, artists, architects and others sought innovation, leaning towards the abstract in the search for new ways to express aesthetically their reactionary moral and political ideals. The change in direction from historical reference to forward looking was prompted by new political ideals following the Bolshevik Revolution and rise of Communism in Russia and in Europe, with the weakening of the class system. The quest was Utopia, unattainable perfection being the benchmark of Modernist ideology. Mass production for the war effort filtered into general mass production resulting in Bauhaus in 1923 exhibiting â€Å"Haus am Horn,† viewing a functioning house as a machine to live in. The formulaic ideology of a better world required benefits of machine and function + healthy mind and body + mass market production + the referencing to nature for inspiration and guidance + simplicity = beauty = utopia. The extent to which the foregoing reflected new sets of values in architecture and design is difficult to accurately discern. The Utopian vision was not standardized Utopian values were not static or uniformly adhered to, the only constant; desire for a better world. As ideals changed so did values and aesthetics. The changes were more by degree than paradigm shift. Works by Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Knoll evidence this. Wright and Corbusier lauded reaction and acknowledged the importance of nature. Wright designed with reverence for nature and the ideal of unity and beauty being at one with and following from nature such that ‘form became feeling’. Their often abstract designs were derived from and intertwined with the function and natural geometry of nature. They searched a Utopia in which human everyday life could sit happily in the natural environment. Wright lived in one of his own making at Taliesin and Corbusier in the Charterhouse of Ema in Tuscany. These living communes became ‘the socio-physical model for [their] reinterpretation of Utopian socialist ideals’ and inspired their architecture to remedy the ills of the cities of their day; European cities suffering economic privation post WW1 and Revolution and the U. S. weakened by extreme poverty from 1929 Great Depression. Cities were crowded, filthy and unhealthy, their inhabitants often injured by war, suffering from the Spanish Flu Epidemic or TB, out of work or unemployable. Both saw the rise of socialism as a response to the desperate need for pleasant city housing. They visited Bauhaus for inspiration from the like minded who searched for a way to improve society through beautiful architecture. ‘Architecture was the direct carrier of spiritual forces, the molder of the sensibilities of the general public.   They became dedicated to architecture which would satisfy their individual visions of Utopia. They believed mass production could produce volumes of low cost housing, which would be functional and therefore beautiful. The machine, art, architecture and social advancement were viewed as inseparable. Paradoxically, their interest in mass production was juxtaposed against a desire  for a healthy body and mind. People needed sunl ight and clean air to appreciate beauty. Linked to love of nature and the need for Utopia, good health lay at the core of Wright and Corbusier’s Modernist ideals. They designed light filled buildings with opening windows for fresh air and very simple surfaces that would not accumulate dust. They believed that healthy, well housed people would want to commune with nature and would thus appreciate beauty. It was an ideology of social engineering – better people would make a better world. Healthy people would function as machines and be capable of great productivity. Their large scale city plans pursued Utopia, Its values of health, beauty, nature, simplicity and equality were reflected in the aesthetics implemented. In his Five Points of a New Architecture, Corbusier called for roof gardens and long windows in his city buildings. These satisfied functional requirements through empirical form whilst at the same time abstract elements affected the viewers senses and nourish the intellect of the inhabitants. Corbusier developed his Dom-Ino prototype for housing consisting of cement layers supported by free standing columns in symmetrical arrangement. He saw this design as a prototype capable of inexpensive production in large pre-fabricated quantities for easy erection. DOM-INO The concrete Dom-Ino prototype. Le Corbusier, Towards a New Architecture BN Publishing. net, Great Britain p230. The Dom-Ino progressed to his Villes Pilotis, being homes constructed and raised off the ground on free standing pillars, the latter being further refined to become  Maison Citrohan( Citroen) manifesting, in addition to the foregoing, long rectilinear volumes open at one end for light with double height living space and childrens’ bedrooms on the roof; functional and easy to build being a box. MAISON CITROHAN The reinforced concrete Citrohan Le Corbusier, Towards a New Architecture BN Publishing. et, Great Britain p241 There were 3 million â€Å"boxes† in his 1922 Ville Contemporaine. The Ville was zoned into administration, workers and industry, separated by green belts in a wide open plan layout. The new urban city was designed to maximize sunlight and air whilst easing traffic flow. ‘A city made for speed [was] a city, made for success’. The Ville Contemporaine was mid-ris e, high density living comprising stackable duplexes, up to 6 double floors with a small garden. The homes opened at ground level to green space and recreational facilities for communal use. Corbusier’s â€Å"Utopia â€Å" incorporated his design values of space, light, inexpensive mass production and green. His design lay mid-way between a middle class apartment block and a socialist communal housing estate. VILLE CONTEMPORAINE Picture of Le Corbusier Ville Contemporaine from Frampton, Kenneth Le Corbusier, Thames and Hudson, London 2001, p50. Corbusier’s Villa Savoy 1931, moved away from repeated geometry focusing on rotational movement and variances with weather and light as outline, form and depth became highlighted. A country home for wealthy clients, it was at odds with socialism. Maison Citrohan’s functional cyndrical pilotis provided support but were so placed to allow the house to â€Å" hover†. Darling, Elizabeth, Le Corbusier, Carlton Books, London, p37 The villa is carefully placed, sculptured and hollowed such that the park outside seems to be inside. A smoothly curved staircase leads up to the large main living level surrounded by a courtyard; large glass windows and strip windows capture the view. Interior Villa Savoye showing stripped windows, courtyard and ingressive sun Darling, Elizabeth, Le Corbusier, Carlton Books, London, p39 Internal View of Staircase, Villa Savoye Darling, Elizabeth, Le Corbusier, Carlton Books, London, p39 The house manifests, health by sunlight, green and fresh air. The machine (boat), is evidenced by tubular railings and a layered stack with a pilotis protruding like a funnel. Daily Telegraph, 3rd September 2010: Sir Terence Conran: Modernism’s Shining Knight Earlier works were refined, perfected and whittled to their fundamentals. From these a dynamic new image voiced new possibilities of form and meaning in a hitherto unseen synthesis. The ramp and the car passing under were used in a new arrangement. His previously used strip windows now appeared on all 4 sides of the box not just 1 and the pilotis were used in both interior and exterior design, free of all ornament being images of modern engineering. A Utopian dwelling addressing the needs of an industrial society. Corbusier obsessed that his designs for high density, functional, communal housing were the road to Utopia. Jumping to 1952 post WWII, is his idea of the Ville Radieuse manifest in the Unite d’Habitation in Marseille. Constructed in his favoured reinforced concrete, the slab is high rise, 12 storeys on giant pilotis, comprising undercroft, roof terrace and 23 styles of double height apartments with balconies. The apartments, united by spinal corridors are factory produced units slotting into the overall lattice of the building’s structural framework. The aesthetic is one of unity, maintained by proportion, rhythm, human scale and sculptural control. The building is a single whole high rise city in itself including all amenities required by its inhabitants. The roof terrace houses a gym, a school, a creche, pool and running track. Its internal corridors form streets with shops, a hotel, restaurants, services etc. In his Unite, Corbusier sought high density without foregoing the pleasures of light, space and greenery but without the need for the space of the Ville Contemporaine. To enable this, each apartment had a 2 to 1 ratio. Spacious living rooms looked out over habitable balconies. Kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms were half previous sizes. The Unite was the Citrohan rethought. The communal aspects were crucial so to maximize space the apartments were stacked, jigsaw style. Corbusier lifted the Unite in the air, for shade under and to allow traffic and greenery to co-exist. It was a ‘house machine’ (boat) evidenced by mimicry of an ocean liner with decks, public and private places; a functioning communal living. Darling, Elizabeth; Le Corbusier, Carlton Books, London, p152 to p159 Darling, Elizabeth; Le Corbusier, Carlton Frampton, Kenneth; Le Corbusier, Thames and Hudson Books, London, pictures taken from p152 to p160London, 2001, p162. Corbusier strove for the Unite’ to be at one with the rocky outcrops of its adjoining countryside seeing reinforced concrete as a natural material comparable to the local stone. Cement was ‘a finish appropriate to the ethos of the second machine age, the era of harmony in which a new contract could be formed between man and nature’. With his Unite Corbusier moved away from horizontal grid geometry to verticality thus embracing the values of the late 1940s and 50s; less abstract more organic, neighbourhood, association and cluster. Wright also believed that society would improve if its members understood beauty. Whereas Corbusier’s passion was the inner city, Wright’s passion was regionalization. He wrote a scathing critique of Corbusier’s Ville Radieuse for reducing the individual to an anonymous cog in an urban machine. Wright saw Utopian architecture as ‘in the service of humanity that would provide the background and framework of civilisation’. He worked to mould American culture through architecture into an intellectual democratic culture of which to be proud, unfolding American democracy into architectural form. Decentralization was the answer to town planning. He took the Modernist creed of the need for air, sun, light and breathing space a step further by requiring people to be land owners and not renters. Wright ‘s Broadacre although envisaging the integration of cultural and commercial space, situated the home on an acre of land removed from the inner city. A grid of 4, square mile units would be a complete community, nourishing local identity through electronic communication. The land, the home and the economy were to be in harmony inspired by nature. Broadacre would be safe, with spacious landscaped highways coming over and under pedestrian passage ways thus eliminating all crosswalks and by-passing living areas. No telegraph, telephone poles and wires and no bill boards. Theatres, co-operatives and community centres would be in the fields. Nature, health and beauty were paramount. Wright insisted that Broadacre was neither ‘backward looking, nor escapist, but an intelligent response to excess urbanization combining the best of scientific culture with new free forms’ McCarter, Robert On and by Frank Lloyd Wright, A Primer of Architectural Principles. Phaidon Press Ltd, London 2005, p188 and p189. Broadacre used Wright’s ‘Usonian’ prototype. The Usonian (Utopian) dealt with the social and economic poverties of the Great Depression. Totally practical, it was built from a kit comprising reinforced concrete slab foundations floating on a drained bed of cinders and sand with hot water pipes running beneath. Walls were pre-fabricated from tar and board. An insulated and ventilated roof slab overhung the houses to shelter, protect rom glare and provide a horizontal relating to the earth’s plane. The kit allowed mass production by machine, ergo, the house would function efficiently and be beautiful. That there was no space for servants acknowledged poverty and rejected pre-war formal American life. The Usonian with its exterior deck and free plan interior was totally appropriate for the burgeoning suburban middle class. Broadac re manifested Wright’s reflection on the problem of unifying an ideal state with individual liberty in a mechanized society. It was rural democracy as opposed to centralized urban capitalism. McCarter, Robert on and by Frank Lloyd Wright, a primer of architectural principles. Phaidon Press Ltd, London 2005, p186 and p187. Finally, Knoll sold Modernist furniture, created Modernist offices and domestic interior design. Modernist designs were Knoll’s road to design success from  1948. Knoll manifested clarity of form, honesty of materials, the creative elevation of industrial production and Gropuis’ union of art and technology. Modernist architects created functional, exciting buildings but without furniture. Knoll pounced on this market niche. German in origin, Knoll took off in New York post WWII when money started to be plentiful and American architects wanted access to European Modernist furniture. During WWII it was impossible to import from Germany. Knoll needed to manufacture locally. At this time Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames of the Cranbrook Academy of Fine Arts won a design award for their  chairs. Working with Michigan manufacturers, they produced proto-types of compound moulded plywood shell chairs that allowed the shape of the chair to be its primary component of comfort. Unlike other chairs, these new designs showed a form dictated by use not decorative effect’. Moulded Ply Chair, Eames amp; Saarinen Knoll acquired the rights to sell these. They were so successful that the look of both domestic and corporate interiors still harks back to this change in artistic expression. Knoll hired Cranbrook graduate Florence Schust. She learnt her design skills from Eliel Saarinen, head of Cranbook and his Finnish friend, Alvar Aalto, from Gropius and Van Der Rohe (moved to US following Nazi closure of Bauhaus)    Florence said ‘The most important essage I got from Van Der Rohe was the clarification of an idea, bringing things down to the bare bones and working with just the clearest form of design’. Florence elevated interiors to the same level as architecture. The US economy was booming. Knoll’s Planning Unit work proliferated due to the efficiency of Florence’s planning methodology and her strict adherence to Modernist design aesthetics. ‘Good design is good business’. Relying on industrial materials,  honesty, simplicity and function was paramount. Knoll became synonymous with efficiency, best displayed to the public in the company’s showrooms;  free plan, with furnishings placed according to function as if in a domestic or corporate setting, set off by rugs, plants and art work. Florence redesigned Hans’ office at Knoll H. Q. placing storage behind his desk within easy access and placing the desk parallel to the wall, not at right angles as in other offices. This slight but revolutionary rearrangement is still current in office planning. Han Knoll’s Office Designed by Florence, archives of the Metropolitan Museum, New York Florence’s interiors coupled with furniture like Saarenen’s Womb Chair, Eames pedestal collection of 1958, his chair and foot stool, Bertoia’s wire sculptured chairs and Van Der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair ensured Knoll’s Modernist values were becoming part of the fabric of American design due to unswerving dedication to the ideal of function and its ensuing aesthetic of simplicity. Saarinen’s Pedestal Tulip Chair Saarinen’s Womb ChairBertoia’s wire sculptured chairs and Table Van der Rohe’s, Barcelona ChairAlvaar Alto’s Moulded Plywood Chair Images taken from Vitra Furniture Catalogue and New York Metropolitan Museum Archive. In conclusion, the Utopian ideology of Modernism displayed in the work of Corbusier, Wright and Knoll from 1919 to  1960 can be witnessed in new values particularly  the need for unity and harmony with nature, rejection of clutter and applied ornament, strict adherence to function as a means of attaining beauty and a deep rooted understanding that beauty of design could lead the world to be a better place. These values combined with social and political beliefs were cosmopolitan and international in outlook and practice due to political persecution of Modernist proponents in their home lands and their subsequent global relocation. The extent to which Modernist ideology reflected new sets of values in the artistic works of the time was profound. Its legacy can be seen in every modern city today. As Van Der Rohe so aptly said, their work ‘was not just a phenomenon of our time and country but rather part of a movement that is emerging across the whole worl.The Modernists hoped to create a new world, free from the disasters they had witnessed in WWI and WWII, the Spanish Civil War, the Russian Revolution and the Great Depression. ‘In their exhilaration, their striving for physical and emotional liberation, The Modernists sent a shock wave through Europe and America which no designers have since come near to recreating.

Essay Sample on Child Welfare and Protective Services

Essay Sample on Child Welfare and Protective Services Child protective services is an integral piece of the puzzle of today’s healthy society. In recent times, a concerned eye has been turned to the way policies and practices are used in areas of child protection and in the treatment and support of the families and child’s welfare. The lack of support for the families involved in child abuse from child protective services takes away from the intended effectiveness of the program. This lack of support would be easily rebuilt if a holistic approach for treating the complete abuse and neglect situation were implemented. The absence of government funding has plundered any efforts to turn this desperate situation around. This leads me to a conclusion that child protective services is in dire need of reform. Some of possible avenues of improving this nation’s child welfare system are increasing the allocated annual funding amount from the federal government to provide more sufficient wages and to enabling the hiring of mo re qualified social workers. Also, incorporating a holistic approach, including more community-based programs to combat the growing number of cases of child abuse neglect in the United States would be advantageous. Child protective services is a complex system of assessments, investigations and conclusions. A simple understandable overview of these services comes from a United States Department of Health and Human Services manual discussing child protection services: Child Protective Services (CPS) is the central agency in each community’s child abuse and neglect service delivery system; it is responsible for ensuring that preventive, investigative and treatment services are available to children and families endangered by child abuse and neglect. As a result, child protective workers must perform a variety of functions when responding to situations of child maltreatment and, such as, play a variety of roles throughout their involvement with child protective clients. Reporting a suspected case of child maltreatment to the local child protective service agency (or a family member’s own request for help with the problem) initiates the CPS response process. Once the intake and invest igative processes and the initial assessment and service planning processes are completed, the stage is set for implementation of ongoing services. (1) This description of the process of child protective services (For the remainder of the paper child protective services will be referred to as CPS) sounds acceptable and workable. However, an increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases have presented themselves in recent years (Waldfogel). As Jane Waldfogel writer for Child Welfare, points out, â€Å"About three million children were reported to the CPS in 1997, a more than fourfold increase over the number reported just 20 years earlier.† In our society today, with increased violence and agitation the number has risen dramatically again. As Bagley and Mallick, renowned social psychologists and intellects, point out to support this theory, â€Å"Caseloads of child protection workers increased dramatically in response to widespread concerns about CSA (child sexual abuse)† (30). In consensus with Bagley and Mallick, a U.S. Newswire via Comtex states that, â€Å"The number of children coming into the child welfare s ystem remain at unacceptably high levels because of substance abuse, poverty, joblessness, housing, and other social problems.† This increasingly high number of reports turning into caseloads for social workers has combated the effectiveness of the above CPS process. The high number of caseloads per social worker ratio is driving down the original intended purpose of CPS. A reform to the initial program is in order to accommodate the new dilemmas. As Jane Waldfogel agrees, â€Å"Children at risk are not being adequately protected, and they and their families are not receiving the services that they need.† She goes on to discuss a meeting of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administration in 1988. During this meeting, child welfare professionals concurred that the CPS system needed immense change. Two avenues that were presented were, â€Å"An expanded voluntary/preventive family support system, and an adequately funded child well-being system† (Wa ldfogel). The services that are in need more often than not get overlooked and not accomplished. For example, here is a fictitious scenario of the more and more prevalent situations occurring daily in CPS. A report has been issued by someone outside or inside the family and an investigation ensues. The social worker put on the case has his or her hands already completely tied with an overload of cases as proved prior in this paper. Even though the CPS has a system to supposedly prevent this from occurring called the specialization of roles, the outcome seems to still be non-productive (United States 2). The specialization of roles is a breakdown of duties with in a CPS agency where a social worker will only be assigned one duty such as investigating, case managing or ongoing services. This separation or specialization of roles is supposed to, â€Å"improve the quality of service provided, increase job satisfaction, and reduce worker burnout† (United States 2). This specialization of rol e technique has failed because of a system growing out of its boundaries. To continue, the caseworker of a CPS agency is responsible to respond to all allegations. If upon investigation, there is evidence of abuse and neglect the case gets registered and remains open for long or longer-term CPS care. If upon investigation, there is not enough evidence towards accepting the case or the evidence is not entirely grotesque or obvious, the child’s report of abuse and neglect will be tossed aside and disposed of. A big reason on why these seemingly less aggressive case accusations get disposed of or overlooked is because the child welfare system is overloaded. As L. Davies, et al. authors for Social Work Education, points out, â€Å"In the sphere of the formal child welfare system, attention is increasingly focused on assessing only the most extreme and obvious cases of abuse and neglect to ensure the protection of children at greatest risk† (623 – 624). Formal child welfare, in more recent times, has become more narrowed in its’ approach to child protection from the reason that was discussed earlier in this paper, an influx of child abuse and neglect accusations. This higher caseload situation is then compounded with reduced resources and a lack of support for both families and workers (Davies, et al. 623). This cycle is seemingly vicious and detrimental to the children and families involved, as can be envisioned. To reinforce the above statements, Jane Waldfogel cites a study by Kamerman and Kahn concluding that, â€Å"the states were so overwhelmed by their child protective responsibilities that they were unable to provide either quality child protection or child welfare services.† Another reason accusations of child abuse and neglect are seemingly more and more dismissed, other than the fact of high caseload average is â€Å"the often inexperienced front-line workers† (Davies, et al. 624). This inexperience is also compounded with a â€Å"near total disappearance of supervision and support† (624). These two factors feed off each other to each detriment and both gnaw on the lack of resources. Again, it is this vicious no-end cycle. To keep in discussion with the above, social workers can also flat out ignore accusations of child abuse and neglect. As discussed by Bagley and Mallick, â€Å"Another way for social workers to cope is to ignore many referrals, only accepting those which fit perceptions of what is an important or deserving case. In the U.S. today some 40 per cent of allegations of child sexual abuse made to social workers are not investigated further† (31). These selections of the most grotesque cases should not be the way CPS operates. Reform for this selection problem needs to be solved from the beginning, the government allocation situation. The increase in funding would in turn provide more social workers, more training for the social workers, and better and more community-based services that would unify the child welfare system. These changes, beginning with more government money would provide for a smoother running productive CPS machine. To concur with the issues at hand facing CPS from the above paragraphs some of the same troubling issues arose at a council of intellectuals with knowledge and experience in the child welfare system. They came to discuss issues about CPS and how it is in need of reform. This council of intellects was called the Executive Session on Child Protective Services and convened at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1994 (Waldfogel). One of the observations that was made that correlates with CPS social workers overlooking cases is overinclusion. This means that, â€Å"Some families that are currently in the system should not be. Inappropriately included lower-risk families receive an unnecessary adversarial response from the child welfare system, while children who are at serious risk get less attention than they deserve and are therefore not adequately protected† (Waldfogel). Another observation that goes hand in hand with overinclusion is underinclusion. This simply means that some families that should receive CPS don’t. â€Å"These include some families that are missed by reporters, some that are known to reporters but are not referred for help (or that would accept help on a voluntary basis) but do not receive help because they have not yet crossed the line into serious abuse and neglect† (Waldfogel). Another conclusion that was agreed upon was the problem of capacity. The number of cases has far outgrown the capacity of CPS social workers to serve them appropriately. This is apparently not a new problem but, â€Å"an increasingly severe one.† â€Å"The number of child abuse and neglect reports has grown tremendously over the past 20 years; the reported cases also have become tougher† (Waldfogel). Yet, another conclusion of CPS issues by the Executive Session is one of service delivery. This means that families and the children involved are not getting the right type of service in a timely manner. â€Å"Se rvice delivery tends to be uneven across communities.† As well as, â€Å"Families often have multiple and overlapping problems, but services for them tend to be fragmented and delivered in separate locations by different professionals† (Waldfogel). This problem reinforces the suggestion of creating a more holistic approach to CPS by incorporating more and better community-based programs to better completely serve the families and the children involved in abuse and neglect cases. One final conclusion the board of CPS professionals came up with is the issue of service orientation. â€Å"The basic orientation of the CPS system may not be right for some families in the system. CPS’ dual mandate-to protect children and to preserve families-has led to tensions within the system about which goal is and should be preeminent. CPS has had trouble finding the right balance between these competing goals, and has tended to adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, w hich ill serves families whose needs may vary and change over time† (Waldfogel). This too reinforces the notion that a more holistic approach is needed to ‘rebalance’ the CPS system and to curb the increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases. From what was discussed above, the CPS system is in dire need of more community-based systems. As Waldfogel points out, â€Å"Instead of CPS acting alone to address problems of child protection, CPS would develop partnerships with a broad range of community agencies, such as police, schools, and public and private agencies, and informal sources of help, such as neighborhood associations, congregations, and families themselves.† This idea of integrating many sources to provide a complete holistic treatment plan seems to be the most proactive avenue. Jane Waldfogel goes on to say that the way to incorporate these systems depends on the, â€Å"seriousness of the family’s case, the need for authoritative state intervention to protect the children, and the need for other types of interventions to protect the children and promote their well-being.† Community support can alleviate many stressors on families and improve the waning formal child protective services. An example of a community-based program that is currently running and promoting excellent services to families and children is the Albany Teen Center (Davies et al. 626). This center offers a large selection of services including â€Å"a school program, a nursery, health promotion including a nurse on staff, individual counseling, discussion and support groups, housing assistance, collective meal preparation, clothing and equipment exchange, emergency supplies of food, formula, diapers, bus tickets as well as respite childcare† (626). This center is an exceptional but tangible example of other avenues to incorporate into the CPS realm of support. All of the above services are carried out in a loving nurturing environment with practical assistance compliant to the families and children’s needs. The staff members do not appear as professional as CPS social w orkers but are all very qualified having many years experience and expertise in social service issues. This appearance also benefits the relationship between the client and the employee by bridging the gap and yearning for a more family atmosphere. Another great aspect of this center is that it is voluntary. The families or mothers, and their children are not required by law to seek help there so by going on their own volition, the Albany Teen Center has a high success rate of reestablished healthy families. The Albany Teen Center is a key unifying institution that helps to balance child protective services and the social workers case loads. When the need arises to contact CPS because of an abuse and neglect issue, it happens in an already established positive atmosphere that has trust between the client and employee. As one Albany Teen Center staff member illustrates: One of the advantages we have over CAS (Children’s Aid Society) is that people are in their natural humor when they come here; they are relaxed and comfortable, and they get into groups that talk about relationships issues; they get into the nursery and we see them interact with their kids. And once they come in more regularly and feel comfortable, they establish relationships and talk about stuff. (627). The Children’s Aid Society is the formal CPS facility in that area and the two work productively hand-in-hand. As one Albany staff member reiterates, â€Å"We do the documentation for CAS. [†¦] But we also offer a lot here. [†¦] There are things that bind us together with CAS and these families† (629). Saying that, the Albany Teen Center plays an important role in the system of child protection. A disturbing issue that seems to be the number one deterrent on why CPS is not propelling forward out of the black hole that it is in is the lack of federal money. The lack of federal funds is also why community-based programs have a hard time prospering and growing. As Mark E. Courtney, Ph.D. and an affiliate at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin, states that, â€Å"Federal funding for child protection investigations, prevention programs, and treatment services is more limited, and expenditures have not risen apace with reports of maltreatment† (88). This sad but true story depicts the broken cycle of the federal government’s budget allocation system. This broken cycle also reflects the government’s unwillingness to care for the nations population and their welfare. For example, in fiscal year 2002, the total federal government budget allocation for child welfare services which encompasses community-based centers, education, tra ining, and administration expenses was 75, 571 million dollars (United States, 2004 325). Relatively speaking, the military budget for the year 2002 according to Howard Zinn, a renowned historian and social activist, was 300 to 400 billion dollars (682). To help put into perspective how much money this really is, Howard Zinn goes on to say, â€Å"It was estimated by the World Health Organization that a small portion of the American military budget, if given to the treatment of tuberculosis in the world, could save millions of lives† (682). A portion of that money could also save millions of abused and neglected children’s lives as well. Obviously, there needs to be some fundamental changes in how our federal government perceives the value of lives for anything to radically shift in a positive direction. As a U.S., Newswire points out, â€Å"As we ensure security in our homeland, we must also ensure that our homes and communities are safe from abuse and neglect† (Comtex). This comment is absolutely agreeable and if complied with, changes in the future will occur and the downward spiral of CPS will end. The horror stories of children falling through the cracks because of a lack of support and cooperative functioning between CPS and community-based programs as well as the lack of federal government money are common . The stories of these kids are phenomenally terrifying. For example, a boy named David. David was 22 months old. â€Å"He weighed 13 pounds, 4 ounces and when found, he was covered with bruises, had months-old fractures and at least 22 bite marks.† (Miller, et al.). He died on February 21, 2000. â€Å"Natalie Gomez-Perez, 2, of Kissimmee, Florida was beaten by her mother’s boyfriend, her spleen ‘hit so hard that blood was forced out’† (Miller, et al.). Tony Bragg Jr., just 9 months old, died of a blow that tore his heart. His father threw him into a utility closet and left him to die† (Miller, et al.). These cases, though severe are not rare by any means. These are simply the effects of, â€Å"bureaucratic failure† (Miller, et al.). The United States of America is one nation under god, indivisible, under liberty and has justice for all. Those words are said in institutions all over the United States with confidence and truthfulness. That phrase, under liberty and justice for all, is it true? From research and history, the truthfulness of liberty and justice seem to be waning. Child protective services is a wonderful system and it dueled up with community-based programs is a double success. However, the only feasible way to incorporate the two are by money. The largest company in America with money is the federal government and the budget allocation for the child welfare system as far as Washington is concerned, is minimal to the child welfare systems reported needs. The only way I can foresee to change this monumental problem is to get the word out. People need to be aware of this situation so the federal government will become aware of this problem. The child protective services will ultimately implode and be wiped out if financial help is not applied. The only true factor holding productive reform work up is money. Money is the key to child protective services and community-based programs uniting. Money is the only element holding back the hiring of more social workers that are qualified. Money is the single deterrent to why there is a huge problem in overloaded caseworkers. Child protective services needs financial aid to be able to spread the work load amongst numerous employees to resist further negative reports of abuse and neglect and to climb out of this black hole they’ve been put in by the federal government. It is a tragedy that the United States government refuses to acknowledge this problem and continues the practice of turning the other cheek. To comply with what was stated above, the purpose of this essay was to get the word out to the population and hopefully sooner than later, get the attention of the United States federal government. You can also order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on child welfare from our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with high-quality custom written papers at an affordable cost.

The Difference a Movie Paradise Now Makes to Regular Americans Review

The Difference a Paradise Now Makes to Regular Americans - Movie Review Example In Said and Khaled’s televised manifestos, in which they effectively say â€Å"goodbye† to their loved ones, while explaining why they are doing what they are doing, Khaled explains that the Israelis have refused compromise and view allowing Palestinians dignity and respect would be tantamount to the suicide of the Jewish state. Khaled talks about how the Israelis have patently refused even the hint of there being two states on the land, which would seem, to a reasonable person, to be a reasonable compromise. When viewing this particular film, it becomes increasingly obvious that the United States, in always supporting Israel, is operating with a tunnel vision, probably because the Israelis are considered to be a friend to the United States, and the United States has a heavy Jewish population. What is actually right and wrong about the conflict apparently does not factor into the United States policy regarding the Israeli homeland. And, with such a powerful ally as the United States on the side of the Israelis in the Palestine-Israeli conflict, the Palestinians do not have a voice. This is why the suicide bombers, and the other terrorist acts, are occurring – it is because of this sense of desperation about their plight. From the way that the movie portrays the conflict, it would be as if Jim Crow were still the law of the United States’ land, and the treatment of the blacks in Jim Crow were countenanced and approved of by the rest of the world, and the rest of the world was constantly taking the side of the United States government in oppressing the black American. I would imagine if that were the case, the United States would have the kind of long-running, violent conflict, without end, that is seen in Israel. With good reason. Of course, only one side is being presented in this movie, which is fine – the movie does not have to be even-handed, nor should it be. It advocates a certain position, and this is the lens through wh ich the audience views the overall conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That I came away from the movie impassioned about the shabby treatment of the Palestinians at the hand of the Israelis, and angry about how the United States is reflexively pro-Israel, which serves to only further oppress the Palestinians, means that the filmmaker has done his job. Intellectually, I understand that the conflict is much more complex than the movie shows, more complex than I would ever be able to grasp. However, this movie was very effective in portraying the side that it needs to. This is probably the reason why the film won so many accolades, such as an Oscar and a Golden Globe. One of the techniques that the filmmaker uses to make the film’s message compelling is that he uses the story of two ordinary Palestinians, and gives them a backstory. The filmmaker shows them, early on, relaxing with a hookah between them, after getting off of work at the automobile junkyard. We se e that Said has a potential girlfriend, and we also see Said’s family at home – his mother, his younger brother, etc. We know that Said and Khaled are flesh and blood, which gives them a sense of pathos.

Write a 700-800 word advocacy statement (integrating literature) for Essay

Write a 700-800 word advocacy statement (integrating literature) for the arts ( advocate for the four arts disciplines )in early childhood education - Essay Example Wright (2012) advocates teachers to â€Å"raise public consciousness by clearly and passionately articulating the unique and highly important role that the arts play in perception and cognition, and why this is significant for the education of children and the future of society† (p. 202). In recognition of this, the arts should be given more significance in preschools and early childhood centres because of the benefits children can derive from it. The arts should not only be used as ‘fillers’ after the main academic components of the curriculum have been completed, but it merits its own schedule specifically for children to indulge in it. Epstein (2001) echoes that inclusion of art in the early childhood curriculum would enhance other areas of children’s development, specifically in perception, cognition, fine motor skills, language and social interaction. Activities such as drawing, painting, moulding with clay are very rewarding for them. Wright (2012) contends that children can easily manipulate markers, pencils, crayons, etc. With these, they can easily explain things with precision and detail. Since they may not be adept in writing yet, drawing becomes a way to concretize their thoughts on paper. McArdle (2008) explains that in this way, art can serve as a window to the child because what one sees in his art work may be a reflection of his ideas or feelings. Children delight in musical experiences. With music, they engage in listening, moving, singing and playing/creating (Haines & Gerber, 2000; Wright, 2012; Ministry of Education, 1993). They are easily captivated by musical sounds and sometimes allow their bodies to feel the rhythm and they just move to the beat. It does not take special skills and competencies to enjoy music, and everyone, regardless of ability can participate in music experiences, as they are stimulating to the senses,

Delegation Survey Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Delegation Survey Analysis - Case Study Example Even then, there are still various challenges with the compliance of these rules. Summary of Survey Response Because of the current demands in nursing care that cannot be satisfied by the number of registered nurses (RNs), both the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) suggest delegation of tasks to nursing assistants to provide efficient healthcare service to patients. Despite allowing others of specific tasks, it does not free RNs from the responsibility toward their patients. This implies that I delegate only the ones that are allowed to be passed onto unlicensed practitioners, such as basic nursing tasks not needing the use of judgment, I should be aware of the competencies and abilities of the person to whom the task is delegated in order to determine whether or not he or she is capable of doing the task, and I am still accountable as to the outcome of the delegated task. Because the outcome is by law still my responsibilit y, I should be available to supervise, and intervene once the task is not done properly. Another important aspect of delegation aside from the communication and supervision of the task is evaluation of the performance of the delegated task. This makes way for learning and adjustment from both the RN and assistant, so that any mistakes or inefficiencies can be corrected in the future. As always, an open communication is necessary to be able to conduct an optimal evaluation (Gallagher, 2009; Ohio Administrative Code ch. 4723,  § 13; Yoder-Wise, 2011; â€Å"Joint Statement of Delegation†, n.p.; ). Analysis of Response Because of the many responsibilities and potential liabilities concerning delegation of nursing tasks, I most of the time find it easier for me to do things on my own instead of carefully contemplating whether or not 1) the task can be delegated, and 2) the assistant is capable of doing the task properly. I also find it more efficient to do the task myself, inste ad of taking time to explain the procedure in order to delegate. Thus, it is only in dire cases when I delegate tasks. I thus end up overworked, exhausted and unhappy sometimes. I hope the state or the hospital considers establishing a committee or a particular group of nurses that will be tasked to delegate activities to assistants and monitoring the outcomes of delegated procedures, especially when it will be found through a study that delegated procedures are done sub-optimally or delegating RNs tend to do tasks themselves even if they have to attend to many patients. This should allow the lightening of nursing load to cut across all nurses, instead of the amount of nursing load being indirectly proportional to the nurse’s proficiency in delegation. Improvement of Delegation Skills I recognize that delegation skills is something that every RN should develop, in order to provide health services as fast as possible, without compromising the quality of the care being given (J ohnson, 1996). Until the demand for RNs are met, nursing assistants are an important part of efficient health service. I also recognize that delegation skills can only be improved through constant practice of the steps entailed for good delegation. What is important is to make the assistant and the patient feel that you are always present to look at every step taken by the assistant. Importantly, the delegating RN should know both the patient and the assistant doing the procedure (Currie, 2008). This

Why Did Euro Disney Fail But Disneyland Successed History Essay

Why Did Euro Disney Fail But Disneyland Successed History Essay Many of Businesses in America make detailed assumptions about the potential of expand their business to other countries and structural models of organizing which can be easily failed to consider the cultural differences. One of the examples of the outcome to intercultural business is Disney Corporations European venture. Due to lack of cultural information of France as well as Europe, further on their inability to forecast problems, Disney acquired a huge debt. False assumptions led to a great loss of time, money and even reputation for corporation itself. Instead of analyzing and learning from its potential visitors, Disney chose to make assumptions about the preference of Europeans, which turned out that most of those assumptions were wrong. 2 CASE DESCRIPTIONS Until 1992, the Walt Disney Company had experienced nothing but success in the theme park business. Its first park, Disneyland, opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Its theme song, Its a Small World After All, promoted an idealized vision of America spiced with reassuring glimpses of exotic cultures all calculated to promote heartwarming feelings about living together as one happy family. There were dark tunnels and bumpy rides to scare the children a little but none of the terrors of the real world . . . The Disney characters that everyone knew from the cartoons and comic books were on hand to shepherd the guests and to direct them to the Mickey Mouse watches and Little Mermaid records. The Anaheim park was an instant success. In the 1970s, the triumph was repeated in Florida, and in 1983, Disney proved the Japanese also have an affinity for Mickey Mouse with the successful opening of Tokyo Disneyland. Having wooed the Japanese, Disney executives in 1986 turned their attention to France and, more specifically, to Paris, the self-proclaimed capital of European high culture and style. Why did they pick France? many asked. When word first got out that Disney wanted to build another international theme park, officials from more than 200 locations all over the world descended on Disney with pleas and cash inducements to work the Disney magic in their hometowns. But Paris was chosen because of demographics and subsidies. About 17 million Europeans live less than a two-hour drive from Paris. Another 310 million can fly there in the same time or less. Also, the French government was so eager to attract Disney that it offered the company more than $1 billion in various incentives, all in the expectation that the project would create 30,000 French jobs. From the beginning, cultural gaffes by Disney set the tone for the project. By late 1986, Disney was deep in negotiations with the French government. To the exasperation of the Disney team, headed by Joe Shapiro, the talks were taking far longer than expected. Jean-Rene Bernard, the chief French negotiator, said he was astonished when Mr. Shapiro, his patience depleted, ran to the door of the room and, in a very un-Gallic gesture, began kicking it repeatedly, shouting, Get me something to break! There was also snipping from Parisian intellectuals who attacked the transplantation of Disneys dream world as an assault on French culture; a cultural Chernobyl, one prominent intellectual called it. The minister of culture announced he would boycott the opening, proclaiming it to be an unwelcome symbol of American clichà ©s and a consumer society. Unperturbed, Disney pushed ahead with the planned summer 1992 opening of the $5 billion park. Shortly after Euro-Disneyland opened, French farmers drove their tractors to the entrance and blocked it. This globally televised act of protest was aimed not at Disney but at the US government, which had been demanding that French agricultural subsidies be cut. Sti ll, it focused world attention upon the loveless marriage of Disney and Paris. Then there were the operational errors. Disneys policy of serving no alcohol in the park, since reversed caused astonishment in a country where a glass of wine for lunch is a given. Disney thought that Monday would be a light day for visitors and Friday a heavy one and allocated staff accordingly, but the reality was the reverse. Another unpleasant surprise was the hotel breakfast debacle. We were told that Europeans dont take breakfast, so we downsized the restaurants, recalled one Disney executive. And guess what? Everybody showed up for breakfast. We were trying to serve 2,500 breakfasts in a 350-seat restaurant at some of the hotels. The lines were horrendous. Moreover, they didnt want the typical French breakfast of croissants and coffee, which was our assumption. They wanted bacon and eggs. Lunch turned out to be another problem. Everybody wanted lunch at 12:30. The crowds were huge. Our smiling cast members had to calm down surly patrons and engage in some behavior modification to teach them that they could eat lunch at 11:00 AM or 2:00 PM. There were major staffing problems too. Disney tried to use the same teamwork model with its staff that had worked so well in America and Japan, but it ran into trouble in France. In the first nine weeks of Euro-Disneylands operation, roughly 1,000 employees, 10 percent of the total, left. One former employee was a 22-yearold medical student from a nearby town who signed up for a weekend job. After two days of brainwashing, as he called Disneys training, he left following a dispute with his supervisor over the timing of his lunch hour. Another former employee noted, I dont think that they realize what Europeans are like . . . that we ask questions and dont think all the same way. One of the biggest problems, however, was that Europeans didnt stay at the park as long as Disney expected. While Disney succeeded in getting close to 9 million visitors a year through the park gates, in line with its plans, most stayed only a day or two. Few stayed the four to five days that Disney had hoped for. It seems that most Europeans regard theme parks as places for day excursions. A theme park is just not seen as a destination for an extended vacation. This was a big shock for Disney. The company had invested billions in building luxury hotels next to the park-hotels that the day-trippers didnt need and that stood half empty most of the time. To make matters worse, the French didnt show up in the expected numbers. In 1994, only 40 percent of the parks visitors were French. One puzzled executive noted that many visitors were Americans living in Europe or, stranger still, Japanese on a European vacation! As a result, by the end of 1994 Euro-Disneyland had cumulative losses of $2 billion. At this point, Euro-Disney changed its strategy. First, the company changed the name to Disneyland Paris in an attempt to strengthen the parks identity. Second, food and fashion offerings changed. To quote one manager, We opened with restaurants providing French-style food service, but we found that customers wanted self service like in the US parks. Similarly, products in the boutiques were initially toned down for the French market, but since then the range has changed to give it a more definite Disney image. Third, the prices for day tickets and hotel rooms were cut by one-third. The result was an attendance of 11.7 million in 1996, up from a low of 8.8 million in 1994. 3 ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS 3.1 Problems and underlying cultural differences The Case of Euro Disneyland can represent a lack of cultural focus and awareness of concept which was a globalization of the Disney Corporation. Difficulties that Disney Corporation met are typical for a multinational corporation which has not implemented cross cultural management and strategies. In fact, Disney Corporation failed to adapt to the French environment and to foresee the influences of foreign and domestic factors. Organization and management relied mostly on American cultures, experiences, and understanding. By not identifying certain cultural differences, Euro Disneyland created an environment that was not acceptable by the European culture itself. Cultural differences between the US and France has been ignored by Disney. One of the themes of Euro-Disneyland was American. Like other Disneyland in other places, Disney followed one of its two major traditions of not serving wine, despite the attitude among the French that alcohol was a fundamental right. And also restaurants were all American foods. The only exception is Fantasyland which re-created European fables. The recipes in American restaurants were also indistinctly adapted for European tastes. As a consequence, different regional American food was introduced to Americanize the Disneyland in Europe. Intention of Euro Disneyland was to continue Disneys traditional design in that it shared the many features and attractions of other Disneyland. Wide spread market research was conducted and also the cultural adaptation was expressed in such things as designs for park, standards for employees, and habits for eating. In the research, Disneyland was among the top three tourist spots for Europeans when they want to travel U.S., Euro Disney emphasized on making the Disneyland extremely American to visitors. The hotels, rides, and themes of the Disneyland were mostly named in a way of an American flavor, appealing to the European appetite for an American experience. However, the Euro Disneyland received many complaints from the visitors that Euro Disneyland is too Americanized. Some of the associations and the media in France have expressed cruel criticisms condemning the risk of cultural imperialism by Euro Disney. Appearance of Americanized Disneyland in Europe would encourage damaging American brand of consumerism. For some others, Euro Disney became the symbol of America and even of anti-American parties. Disney was tried to hire employees of different nationalities proportional to expected visitor as 45% of French, 30% of other Europeans, 15% of outside of Europe, but most of the visitors were from France. Disneylands employees were trained by managers and supervisors to ensure high quality of services and reliable managerial practices. While European managers were trained at other theme parks, foreign managers were also sent to Euro Disney to work. Although Euro Disney mainly hired Europeans to work in the park, most of the top managerial places were held by the hands of American experts. Standards of judgment for the jobs in Disneyland were criticized by applicants, and the press. The argument revolved around Disneys grooming requirements. Euro Disney insisted on a strict dress code which was much stricter than other jobs such as a ban on facial hair and colored stockings, standards for neat hair and fingernails, and even a policy of appropriate undergarments. So applicants felt that requirements were unnecessary for a job like cast member of theme park. One of the challenges that Disney faced was convincing the French cast members to break their cultural hatred of smiling and of impoliteness to visitors. While Euro Disney successfully trained cast members, but more than 1,000 employees left their jobs within the first nine weeks of opening of Euro Disneyland. Main reason why they left was long working hours at the park. And managers couldnt understand the European habits and ethics of work, and the working style was not the Europeans were used to in the past.    3.2 Solutions and recommendations Euro Disney needs to take controls of the management resolution and analyzation of their problems and concerns based on their own practice in other places. Thus, there is also the essential need of understanding and appropriate plans for the gap of cultural differences such as acknowledging the characteristics and attitudes of the national Europeans in terms of the business knowing what can work on mutually both sides and accomplishing good marketing strategies which can work for Euro Disneyland. Euro Disney should incorporate with some customary European aspects in order to accommodate the preferences of European visitors and French. Euro Disney already brought out the foods from the world. Many restaurants fortunately were custom-made to the European of less spicy food. Only one of the parks which called Fantasy land carried European dishes out, which have a variety of origins such as Germany, Spain and so forth. It seems the visitors are waiting long lines for rides or food since there was no regulations and no tolerance of such practices in France or even in Europe. So this matter also caused weak attendance. The financial and business plan must undertake concrete evaluation and perhaps Euro Disney can use some other plans and strategies which can help changing the structure of the park, framework of the planning process into a modernized one and convincing visitors to choose Euro Disney over any other parks by having some special events such as discounts and gifts. 3.3 Lessons learned Until such time that problem faced Euro Disney by false assumptions and wrong plans, Disney seemed to perfect theme park as it never did a mistake or such a failure. In case, some mistakes were obviously shown in the result. We can learn several lessons from this Euro Disneyland case. As we plan, we should always have concrete business planning before deciding on the actual process of the project, applying all the potential needs and understanding cultural differences. Also, value of the financing control is also a lesson and that in every aspect of business function, integrated assumptions concerning to financial problems should be improved and value of managing menaces has to be accurately reviewed and to be trained with positive thoughts and motivation in order to solve problems and concerns in every business environment.   5 CONCLUSIONS The business performance of Euro Disneyland was not that great and stable. It couldnt have right assumptions on the European market and there has been cruel European recession such as increase in interest rates and French currency value. The preliminary plan was not ample and accurate in providing resolutions to Disney problems and concerns that arisen. A major criticism on Euro Disneyland was that it is neither international nor French in nature, and it failed to satisfy Europeans at all. Many of the visitors could not figure it out the theme of Euro Disneyland that whether it is going to be a European park, an American park, or a French park. In the meantime, the cost for Euro Disneyland was also an issue for some visitors. Many of the French visitors had been discouraged from coming because of the cost such as housing cost, souvenirs, admission cost and so forth. Attendance was kept on decreasing and the company of course, had great financial loss. Euro Disney gave people who couldnt afford to go to America an identical experience as same as in America. However, the Euro Disney was failed to please French visitors, even European visitors but made them to complain about the long lines, and poor service.

Why Did Euro Disney Fail But Disneyland Successed History Essay

Why Did Euro Disney Fail But Disneyland Successed History Essay Many of Businesses in America make detailed assumptions about the potential of expand their business to other countries and structural models of organizing which can be easily failed to consider the cultural differences. One of the examples of the outcome to intercultural business is Disney Corporations European venture. Due to lack of cultural information of France as well as Europe, further on their inability to forecast problems, Disney acquired a huge debt. False assumptions led to a great loss of time, money and even reputation for corporation itself. Instead of analyzing and learning from its potential visitors, Disney chose to make assumptions about the preference of Europeans, which turned out that most of those assumptions were wrong. 2 CASE DESCRIPTIONS Until 1992, the Walt Disney Company had experienced nothing but success in the theme park business. Its first park, Disneyland, opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Its theme song, Its a Small World After All, promoted an idealized vision of America spiced with reassuring glimpses of exotic cultures all calculated to promote heartwarming feelings about living together as one happy family. There were dark tunnels and bumpy rides to scare the children a little but none of the terrors of the real world . . . The Disney characters that everyone knew from the cartoons and comic books were on hand to shepherd the guests and to direct them to the Mickey Mouse watches and Little Mermaid records. The Anaheim park was an instant success. In the 1970s, the triumph was repeated in Florida, and in 1983, Disney proved the Japanese also have an affinity for Mickey Mouse with the successful opening of Tokyo Disneyland. Having wooed the Japanese, Disney executives in 1986 turned their attention to France and, more specifically, to Paris, the self-proclaimed capital of European high culture and style. Why did they pick France? many asked. When word first got out that Disney wanted to build another international theme park, officials from more than 200 locations all over the world descended on Disney with pleas and cash inducements to work the Disney magic in their hometowns. But Paris was chosen because of demographics and subsidies. About 17 million Europeans live less than a two-hour drive from Paris. Another 310 million can fly there in the same time or less. Also, the French government was so eager to attract Disney that it offered the company more than $1 billion in various incentives, all in the expectation that the project would create 30,000 French jobs. From the beginning, cultural gaffes by Disney set the tone for the project. By late 1986, Disney was deep in negotiations with the French government. To the exasperation of the Disney team, headed by Joe Shapiro, the talks were taking far longer than expected. Jean-Rene Bernard, the chief French negotiator, said he was astonished when Mr. Shapiro, his patience depleted, ran to the door of the room and, in a very un-Gallic gesture, began kicking it repeatedly, shouting, Get me something to break! There was also snipping from Parisian intellectuals who attacked the transplantation of Disneys dream world as an assault on French culture; a cultural Chernobyl, one prominent intellectual called it. The minister of culture announced he would boycott the opening, proclaiming it to be an unwelcome symbol of American clichà ©s and a consumer society. Unperturbed, Disney pushed ahead with the planned summer 1992 opening of the $5 billion park. Shortly after Euro-Disneyland opened, French farmers drove their tractors to the entrance and blocked it. This globally televised act of protest was aimed not at Disney but at the US government, which had been demanding that French agricultural subsidies be cut. Sti ll, it focused world attention upon the loveless marriage of Disney and Paris. Then there were the operational errors. Disneys policy of serving no alcohol in the park, since reversed caused astonishment in a country where a glass of wine for lunch is a given. Disney thought that Monday would be a light day for visitors and Friday a heavy one and allocated staff accordingly, but the reality was the reverse. Another unpleasant surprise was the hotel breakfast debacle. We were told that Europeans dont take breakfast, so we downsized the restaurants, recalled one Disney executive. And guess what? Everybody showed up for breakfast. We were trying to serve 2,500 breakfasts in a 350-seat restaurant at some of the hotels. The lines were horrendous. Moreover, they didnt want the typical French breakfast of croissants and coffee, which was our assumption. They wanted bacon and eggs. Lunch turned out to be another problem. Everybody wanted lunch at 12:30. The crowds were huge. Our smiling cast members had to calm down surly patrons and engage in some behavior modification to teach them that they could eat lunch at 11:00 AM or 2:00 PM. There were major staffing problems too. Disney tried to use the same teamwork model with its staff that had worked so well in America and Japan, but it ran into trouble in France. In the first nine weeks of Euro-Disneylands operation, roughly 1,000 employees, 10 percent of the total, left. One former employee was a 22-yearold medical student from a nearby town who signed up for a weekend job. After two days of brainwashing, as he called Disneys training, he left following a dispute with his supervisor over the timing of his lunch hour. Another former employee noted, I dont think that they realize what Europeans are like . . . that we ask questions and dont think all the same way. One of the biggest problems, however, was that Europeans didnt stay at the park as long as Disney expected. While Disney succeeded in getting close to 9 million visitors a year through the park gates, in line with its plans, most stayed only a day or two. Few stayed the four to five days that Disney had hoped for. It seems that most Europeans regard theme parks as places for day excursions. A theme park is just not seen as a destination for an extended vacation. This was a big shock for Disney. The company had invested billions in building luxury hotels next to the park-hotels that the day-trippers didnt need and that stood half empty most of the time. To make matters worse, the French didnt show up in the expected numbers. In 1994, only 40 percent of the parks visitors were French. One puzzled executive noted that many visitors were Americans living in Europe or, stranger still, Japanese on a European vacation! As a result, by the end of 1994 Euro-Disneyland had cumulative losses of $2 billion. At this point, Euro-Disney changed its strategy. First, the company changed the name to Disneyland Paris in an attempt to strengthen the parks identity. Second, food and fashion offerings changed. To quote one manager, We opened with restaurants providing French-style food service, but we found that customers wanted self service like in the US parks. Similarly, products in the boutiques were initially toned down for the French market, but since then the range has changed to give it a more definite Disney image. Third, the prices for day tickets and hotel rooms were cut by one-third. The result was an attendance of 11.7 million in 1996, up from a low of 8.8 million in 1994. 3 ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS 3.1 Problems and underlying cultural differences The Case of Euro Disneyland can represent a lack of cultural focus and awareness of concept which was a globalization of the Disney Corporation. Difficulties that Disney Corporation met are typical for a multinational corporation which has not implemented cross cultural management and strategies. In fact, Disney Corporation failed to adapt to the French environment and to foresee the influences of foreign and domestic factors. Organization and management relied mostly on American cultures, experiences, and understanding. By not identifying certain cultural differences, Euro Disneyland created an environment that was not acceptable by the European culture itself. Cultural differences between the US and France has been ignored by Disney. One of the themes of Euro-Disneyland was American. Like other Disneyland in other places, Disney followed one of its two major traditions of not serving wine, despite the attitude among the French that alcohol was a fundamental right. And also restaurants were all American foods. The only exception is Fantasyland which re-created European fables. The recipes in American restaurants were also indistinctly adapted for European tastes. As a consequence, different regional American food was introduced to Americanize the Disneyland in Europe. Intention of Euro Disneyland was to continue Disneys traditional design in that it shared the many features and attractions of other Disneyland. Wide spread market research was conducted and also the cultural adaptation was expressed in such things as designs for park, standards for employees, and habits for eating. In the research, Disneyland was among the top three tourist spots for Europeans when they want to travel U.S., Euro Disney emphasized on making the Disneyland extremely American to visitors. The hotels, rides, and themes of the Disneyland were mostly named in a way of an American flavor, appealing to the European appetite for an American experience. However, the Euro Disneyland received many complaints from the visitors that Euro Disneyland is too Americanized. Some of the associations and the media in France have expressed cruel criticisms condemning the risk of cultural imperialism by Euro Disney. Appearance of Americanized Disneyland in Europe would encourage damaging American brand of consumerism. For some others, Euro Disney became the symbol of America and even of anti-American parties. Disney was tried to hire employees of different nationalities proportional to expected visitor as 45% of French, 30% of other Europeans, 15% of outside of Europe, but most of the visitors were from France. Disneylands employees were trained by managers and supervisors to ensure high quality of services and reliable managerial practices. While European managers were trained at other theme parks, foreign managers were also sent to Euro Disney to work. Although Euro Disney mainly hired Europeans to work in the park, most of the top managerial places were held by the hands of American experts. Standards of judgment for the jobs in Disneyland were criticized by applicants, and the press. The argument revolved around Disneys grooming requirements. Euro Disney insisted on a strict dress code which was much stricter than other jobs such as a ban on facial hair and colored stockings, standards for neat hair and fingernails, and even a policy of appropriate undergarments. So applicants felt that requirements were unnecessary for a job like cast member of theme park. One of the challenges that Disney faced was convincing the French cast members to break their cultural hatred of smiling and of impoliteness to visitors. While Euro Disney successfully trained cast members, but more than 1,000 employees left their jobs within the first nine weeks of opening of Euro Disneyland. Main reason why they left was long working hours at the park. And managers couldnt understand the European habits and ethics of work, and the working style was not the Europeans were used to in the past.    3.2 Solutions and recommendations Euro Disney needs to take controls of the management resolution and analyzation of their problems and concerns based on their own practice in other places. Thus, there is also the essential need of understanding and appropriate plans for the gap of cultural differences such as acknowledging the characteristics and attitudes of the national Europeans in terms of the business knowing what can work on mutually both sides and accomplishing good marketing strategies which can work for Euro Disneyland. Euro Disney should incorporate with some customary European aspects in order to accommodate the preferences of European visitors and French. Euro Disney already brought out the foods from the world. Many restaurants fortunately were custom-made to the European of less spicy food. Only one of the parks which called Fantasy land carried European dishes out, which have a variety of origins such as Germany, Spain and so forth. It seems the visitors are waiting long lines for rides or food since there was no regulations and no tolerance of such practices in France or even in Europe. So this matter also caused weak attendance. The financial and business plan must undertake concrete evaluation and perhaps Euro Disney can use some other plans and strategies which can help changing the structure of the park, framework of the planning process into a modernized one and convincing visitors to choose Euro Disney over any other parks by having some special events such as discounts and gifts. 3.3 Lessons learned Until such time that problem faced Euro Disney by false assumptions and wrong plans, Disney seemed to perfect theme park as it never did a mistake or such a failure. In case, some mistakes were obviously shown in the result. We can learn several lessons from this Euro Disneyland case. As we plan, we should always have concrete business planning before deciding on the actual process of the project, applying all the potential needs and understanding cultural differences. Also, value of the financing control is also a lesson and that in every aspect of business function, integrated assumptions concerning to financial problems should be improved and value of managing menaces has to be accurately reviewed and to be trained with positive thoughts and motivation in order to solve problems and concerns in every business environment.   5 CONCLUSIONS The business performance of Euro Disneyland was not that great and stable. It couldnt have right assumptions on the European market and there has been cruel European recession such as increase in interest rates and French currency value. The preliminary plan was not ample and accurate in providing resolutions to Disney problems and concerns that arisen. A major criticism on Euro Disneyland was that it is neither international nor French in nature, and it failed to satisfy Europeans at all. Many of the visitors could not figure it out the theme of Euro Disneyland that whether it is going to be a European park, an American park, or a French park. In the meantime, the cost for Euro Disneyland was also an issue for some visitors. Many of the French visitors had been discouraged from coming because of the cost such as housing cost, souvenirs, admission cost and so forth. Attendance was kept on decreasing and the company of course, had great financial loss. Euro Disney gave people who couldnt afford to go to America an identical experience as same as in America. However, the Euro Disney was failed to please French visitors, even European visitors but made them to complain about the long lines, and poor service.

Wireless Technology Essays -- Internet Computers Essays

Wireless Technology Wireless technology is an industry that has seen much growth and progress in the years following the inception of the internet and cell phones. Our society has progressed to the point to where we can no longer function without this technology. Business, travel, and everyday life now are dependant on wireless technology. Wireless technology is just what its name implies, communicating or computing without wires and phone lines. Wireless technology uses a variety of different devices such as desktop and laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDA’s), cell phones, and many others. The major benefit of wireless technology to users is the immediate access it offers to resources. Whether it is providing access to your office, the Internet, your business, or just making a phone call while walking down the street, wireless technology provides millions of users with a degree of flexibility that used to be limited by wires. In general, wireless technology works a lot like wired technology. The user inputs data onto device, connection software translates the data into a format for transmission, and transmission protocols determine the method and route the data into a format for transmission. The method and route the data will take is determined by transmission protocols. Once more, connection software re-translates the data into a format that the new user can perceive. Wireless technology is important to business because it makes communication and integration of e-business easier to achieve. Virtualization brings computing power to the consumer when they need it. Grid technology lets us share and manage collections of resources as if they were a large virtualiz... ...s many wireless technologies as possible. In the end, the wireless technologies that will survive will rely on ease of use and affordability. Bibliography Woods, Arthur and Chiu, Charles, (Sept/Oct 2003). Response to Technology in College Classrooms. Retrieved October 25, 2004 from http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1045 New to Wireless Technology (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2004 from http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/wireless/newto/ Introduction to Wireless Networking (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2004 from http://www.dnjonline.com/articles/mobility/nov02_wireless_networks.asp Bluetooth Wireless Technology (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2004 from http://www.palmos.com/dev/tech/bluetooth/ Wireless LAN (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2004 from http://www.wirelessdictionary.com/#WLAN