Disability In Sport Adverse Health And Social Care Essay

Disability In Sport Adverse Health And Social Care Essay The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a considerable and long- term adverse effect on their ability to perform every day tasks. (DDA, 2005). Access and inclusion into sport and physical activity is difficult for many people with a disabiltiy therefor changes must be made to ensure that every person wishing to take part can do so. This could be changing the facilities so that access is better for disabled people as well as modifying equipment and training programs so that everybody can access the facilities. There are many schemes in place to help give disabled people the opportunity to participate in sporting activities. The Federation of Disability Sport Wales (FDSW) is a pan-disability National Governing Body of Sport. The aim of the FDSW project is to expand and enforce excellent sporting opportunities for people with disabilities (Disability Sports Wales, 2004). Many studies have been carried out in an increased effort to find connections between disability and physical activity but despite this increased effort problems still remain. Many young disabled people would like to be included in sporting activities and in a study the majority of people surveyed expressed a preference to participate in a sporting environment if it was organised within a disability sports. (EFDS, 2005). Sports for the disabled still remain an understudied area and should be improved greatly if it is to develop. A development for disability in sport is needed because there are people who cannot participate in sport because of reasons beyond their own control. For most disabled people, their disability is not the barrier and therefore more should be done to overcome barriers that could be easily eradicated (Barton, 1989) Many health and social benefits have been linked with a physical lifestyle. This is also true for those individuals who have a disability or long term health condition. Physical activity can not only decrease the danger of secondary health problems but can also improve all levels of functioning (Hidde et al. 2004). The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a considerable and long- term adverse effect on their ability to perform every day tasks. (DDA, 2005). For people with a disability, accessing sporting activities can be difficult as there may not be many facilities to provide for them. Also the sports that they are able to access may not be suitable for them to be included therefore adaptations must be made to the sports to give them the opportunity to participate (Jette, 2003). This should include participation with able bodied participants also. There are schemes which run to organize safe and enjoyable sporting activities for disable people, as well as schemes that look to give access, inclusion and participation in sport for disabled and able bodied people alike (Finch et al, 2001). The Federation of Disability Sport Wales (FDSW) is a pan-disability National Governing Body of Sport. The aim of the FDSW project is to expand and enforce excellent sporting opportunities for disabled people (Disability Sports Wales, 2004) This scheme is set in Wales but there are other schemes that work towards promoting and developing disability sport throughout the UK. This report will look at disability in sport. The main issues that will be looked at are access to take part in sports as well as the inclusion for disability in the sports. With these factors being identified, participation levels for disability in sport will be examined to see what areas of the UK are working towards giving equal opportunities for disabled children and adults. Rimmer et al, (2006) reported that an investigation was carried out into the accessibility of health clubs and leisure centre for disable people. The investigation studied thirty-five health clubs and fitness services in a nationalized field test in which a new piece of equipment was used. The Accessibility Instruments Measuring Fitness and Recreation Environments (AIMFREE), was used for measuring the ease of access of fitness amenities in the built environment, the available equipment and swimming pools. In addition the information available to the service users was measured along with the facility guidelines, and the professional behaviour of the staff working within the facilities. All the facilities that the test was carried out on confirmed low to moderate levels of accessibility. Some of the deficiencies showed a cause for concern with the Disability Act guidelines regarding the built setting; other problems related to parts of the facility such as the equipment, information, p olicies, and professional staff (Davies, 2002). Many studies have been carried out in an increased effort to find connections between disability and physical activity but despite this increased effort problems still remain (Fitzgerald, 2008). Hezkiah (2005) stated that young disabled people demonstrated low levels of physical activity and perceptual motor difficulties compared to young people without a disability. This low level of activity and motor learning affects their ability to learn. Major barriers to young disabled people include language conception which is vital for following commands, and physical disabilities, which have an effect on their capability to carry out motor skills (Gatward and Burrell, 2002; Gordon and Williams, 2003). These limits can have an effect on their motivation and add to restricted opportunities for regular involvement in movement, physical activity and sports, which consecutively affects their capability to develop and progress in life. Finch et al (2001) set out to perceive the consequences of the barriers linked with disability and how it affects their levels of exercise. During the study many questions were asked to the participants were and asked to answer for a range of information, and were then asked to specify which physical activities they participate in. The subjects were asked to provide the reasons preventing their contribution to exercise. No clear inclusion or exclusion instructions were given therefore the reasons would be their own personal feelings. Findings of the study have shown that 20% of the participants acknowledged that their disability was one of the barriers preventing them from additional physical activity, with half of the participants expressing it as the most important grounds as to why they do not take part in more physical activities. Current injury or disability was a barrier to physical activity in older people more often than younger participants. Injury or disability was the main difficulty to participate in physical activity for people who are overweight or obese based upon their body mass index (BMI). This reason was stated more frequently than for those who were underweight or standard weight. Another finding during the study suggested that current injury or disability was a major barrier for people who were inactive compared to people with high levels of physical activity. The findings suggested the importance to target the support of physical activity available to overweight and older adults particularly to get them active by giving them access to facilities along with the inclusion to the activities. They go on to identify the problems that can occur with disability. They state that a person would stop exercising because of a disability rather than just becoming overweight and not exercise because of the weight problem. Rimmer et al (2004) recognized a variety of barriers and facilitators that were associated with participation levels in health and leisure programs and amenities amongst persons with disabilities. The results showed that the participants reported 178 barriers and 130 facilitators. The problems identified were barriers and facilitators connected to the built and natural environment along with economic issues. Emotional and psychological barriers were also identified as a problem. The amount of involvement in activities among disabled people is a problem due to a set of barriers and facilitators. Future research could utilize information conducted by Rimmer et al (2004) to develop participation schemes that have a superior probability of accomplishment. A report from the EFDS, (2005) showed that whilst young disabled people valued sport and recreation opportunities, they do not access their chances for physical activity on a regular basis. Disability is not a barrier to participation in sport and leisure. Regardless of rising guidelines and legislation encouraging improved participation in sports and physical exercise by young disabled people, only a restricted quantity of young disabled people do take part in physical activity. Only a small number of young disabled people can access sporting activities and opportunities outside the activities obtainable inside curricular time which includes after-school clubs, community opportunities, and general play. The persons impairment was the most significant factor to be found to have an effect on physical activity involvement. Those with multiple impairments were far less probable to take part than those with a single impairment (Maloney et al, 1993). The most frequent curriculum sports linked with disability and exercise was Athletics, Ball Games, Boccia, Cricket, Football and Swimming. There are many barriers to participation which included access to facilities and equipment. Improvements in facilities and access to equipment would improve access to sports and recreation opportunities (Williams, 2005) In studies, young disabled people have expressed a fondness for taking part in physical activity when participating in a sporting environment particularly if it was organised within a sports club specifically for other people with comparable disabilities. With consideration to the type of activity, results showed that young disabled people would like to join in physical activities that young disabled people already participating in (EFDS, 2005). There are many initiatives set up to give disabled people a chance to take part in sport and physical actvity (Norwich, 2007). The Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) is a proposal that supports the fitness production to develop into a more inclusive plan that can cater for the needs of both disabled and non-disabled people alike. Through a variety of developments, the initiative has maintained facilities across England to produce a comprehensive service which results in increasing participation levels by disabled people. Parasport is a combined proposal set up in a joint initiative invloving the British Paralympic Association (BPA) and the services services firm Deloitte. Their aim is to amplify participation levels in competitive sporting events. Parasport aims to improve the identification of sports people and aims to support them at a community level. They set out to provide bursaries to assist talented and potentially top class athletes through a joint venture with SportsAid. Parasport is ran by the BPA. The BPA is the body responsible for the elite side of disability sport, although the Parasport scheme is availiable for all abilities to take part. Another initiative in place is The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS). This scheme is set up in England and aims to help young athletes committed to improving their potenital by sport and education. Currently there are 50 sports eligible for TASS, of which 16 are disability sports. This scheme is open to people aged between 16 and 25, with an upper age limit of 35 for people with a disablity. The scheme can provide a package of sporting activities to athletes and give them the ability to access high quality training facilities. An athletics initiative has been launched in by the Sports Council Wales to encourage more children with disabilities to participate in sport. Combined with the Federation of Disability Sport Wales, athletics sessions have been introduced where children can join in with fun sessions delivered by skilled volunteers from Welsh Athletics. The Disability Sport Wales National Community Development Programme is an initiative set up in conjunction with the Sports Council for Wales, the Federation of Disability Sport Wales and 22 local authorities across Wales. The proposal aims to develop excellent community based sporting and leisure opportunities for disabled people throughout Wales (Hughes, 2009) Arthur and Finch (1999) said that people with a disability might recognise the physical and social benefits resulting from participating in physical activity generally. However, a failure to recognise specific guidelines on the necessary frequency and extent of physical activity in order to achieve such benefits, particularly amongst older people, contributes to low participation levels. External barriers that have resulted in a lack of opportunity to contribute in physical activity among people with a disability have been widely discussed in literature (Arthur and Finch, 1999;; Doll-Tepper, 1999; DePauw and Gavron, 2005). Research has shown a range of issues, which include a lack of confidence. With the opportunity to participate, the confidence would grow and give the people a chance to be active. A Lack of physical and emotional support was also a factor that caused people with a disability not to take part in sport and physical activity. Not having someone to go with to the gym or sporting facility is another barrier (DePauw and Gavron, 2005). According to Arthur and Finch (1999), this poses a greater problem for those people with a disability who need some kind of physical, oral or visual assistance or moral support. Lack of information was a big factor in reasons to why they did not participate in sport. Arthur and Finch (1999) found that a lack of information held by people with a disability led to low awareness of the sorts of possible sporting activities and appropriate sport facilities. According to the English Federation of disability sport (2000), the lack of access to information has worsened. Lockwood and Lockwood (1997) and Doll-Tepper (1999) both said that the subsistence of poorly trained service providers, unsuitable activities and inflexible programmes as areas of particular concern. Both Arthur and Finch (1999) and DePauw and Gavron (1995) raise the issue of a lack of available facilities and say that the blame for this is due to cuts in funding. Arthur and Finch (1999) found that poor physical access at existing facilities could present a barrier to the participation of people with a disability in sporting activities, in terms of the inappropriate design of buildings, lack of aids and adaptations to equipment. Negative attitudes towards disability include those of other facility users. DePauw and Gavron (1995) found that college students held negative and stereotypical attitudes towards the inclusion of individuals with a disability in physical education and sport. Arthur and Finch (1999) found a correlation between the negative and conventional attitudes of other sport centre users. This then produced a lack of confidence and motivation for people with a disability. National statistics show the lowest participation rates for disabled people. They produced a Taking part and active people survey which showed that 8.8 9.5% disabled adults participated in regular moderate activity (Sport England, 2006; DCMS, 2007). It also found that 44% of disabled young people did not take part in regular physical activity (Sport England, 2001) Research has shown that disabled young people do participate in sport both in and out of school (Finch et al, 2001). However, both the overall rate of participation and the frequency with which disabled young people take part in sport is lower than for young people in general. There are also important differences between participation in school compared with out of school participation. In school young disabled people participated in sport more frequently than they did out of school. However, this pattern was the reverse for all young people (Corneliben and Pfeifer, 2007) An initiative set up in Ireland is called Disability Sport Donegal. This scheme aims to give children an opportunity to participate in sporting activities. They aim to offer a wide range of activities that include Boccia and martial arts. They develop the programme for inclusion into sports for disabled people. They also look to form a relationship with local schools to include children in sporting activities. With the inclusion within schools they can then develop programmes out side of school and give opportunities to disabled children and adults to take part in sports clubs that provide the safe, fun environment and facilities that are needed to give a wider range of activities to disabled people (Donegal Sports 2007) Research has shown that many people with a disability do not take part in sport because they dont have access to the facilities or equipment they needed (Paciorek and Jones, 2001). In addition travel was shown to be a barrier as they were unable to get to and from any accessible venues. Lack of information was a problem for the many of the participants and parents because they were unaware of facilities or clubs offering activities for disability. Organisations were identified during the questioning, including Viva project and RCT Tigers. Viva is a registered Charity that was established in November 1992 to work with young people with a disability aged between 11 and 25 with who live in Rhondda Cynon Taff. The ethos of the Viva project is to facilitate and support all the youth service members to become fully involved in community activities. Viva believes that this ethos can encourage young people to develop better liberty and make more choices for themselves. The main aim of Viva is to challenge their service members to raise their ambitions while they broaden their experiences and abilities. They try to give confidence to the members to develop greater independence and make more knowledgeable choices for themselves. At the same time they aim to elevate community awareness in accepting disabled people as valued members of the community (Sports Council Wales, 2006) Vivas aim is to create equal and respected relationships between disabled young people and their non disabled peers. They look for disabled young people to participate in active community amenities, which they may have been conventionally excluded from because of the stigma and separation that is related with disability. Viva believe that by giving young people the same chances as their peers, people can learn and work together to meet the challenges we face in life. RCT Tigers FC is a pan disability football club for young children in the Rhondda Cynon Taff Area which was set up in January 2008. It was founded to improve opportunities for disability sports in Rhondda Cynon Taff. With these organisations set up it is important that extra work is conducted to make them successful. It is imperative because without these organisations people with a disability would not be able to take part in any sport or physical activity. It is also important to develop new initiatives as well as making the existing organisations more accessible by better information and promotion. With the development of initiatives, disability in sport can develop and give opportunity to people where participation would be difficult and inaccessible (Yuen et al, 2007). In conclusion I feel that physical activity and sports participation can improve a disabled persons health and well-being. Regular exercise and inclusion in sports by disabled people is as important as it is for their active counterparts. Professionals working with people with disabilities should enthusiastically encourage participation in sports and recreation activities. The relationship of sports for the disabled is difficult. Sports are a rehabilitating tool for integration into society and a way for them to remain active. In addition, sports and disability as portrayed by the media often still broadcast existing stereotypes that erect social barriers for the disabled, in the area of social perception (Barton, 2001) Sports for the disabled still remain an understudied area and should be improved greatly if it is to develop. A development for disability in sport is needed because there are people who cannot participate in sport because of reasons beyond their own control. For most disabled people, their disability is not the barrier and therefore more should be done to overcome barriers that could be easily eradicated (Barton, 1989)

Ideologies of Management

Ideologies of Management The extent of complexity in the organisational management processes requires many questions to be raised in the pursuit of effective strategy for management HRM and employees relation. For managers, what important is the know-how, what, why and how to take the right decisions and how to release these decisions to employees. For them, the challenge is how to use the information gathered and also know how to ignore it. Also, their challenge focuses on how to mix being competitors and being evolver, how to face this complex and non-linear dynamics of the business environment and stay lean and agile. The dilemma is to keep the relation to employees in a good state such that motivation and satisfaction are the status quo, meanwhile the common good for the business is realised. This is why, tangible and intangible have been mixed, and this is why many call for human factor and conscious to play a role. This is difficult, but not impossible, the evidence is produced by Brown and Eisenhardt (1998) quoting companies such as Nike, Microsoft, Virgin and others. Industrial relations are very much connected to the trade and workers unions history. At the beginning of the last century there was a leaning towards mass labour and their unions. Trade Unions moved from strength to strength until it started to collapse due to many unworthy tactics and unwelcome strikes which brought many industries to standstill situations. Governments, including the British government, started to attack militancy in trade unions. Industrial relation started to take new forms. Nowadays, many changes have occurred in industrial relations. Silva (1998) stated changes in industrial relations practices (rather than in institutions and systems) such as increased collective bargaining at enterprise level, flexibility in relation to forms of employment as well as in relation to working time and job functions have occurred as a result of such factors as heightened competition, rapid changes in products and processes and the increasing importance of skills, quality and prod uctivity. Management of todays organisations have the conviction that taking unilateral decision is in their own rights, and that it should not be challenged by employees, or even stakeholders. They consider that this is their duty to manage. The conviction follows the ideology of Unitarism. In this work, this notion of management will be discussed in the light of three ideologies which are Unitarism, Pluralism, and Marxism. However, I will start by looking at the concept of job regulation, which some see as the core of industrial relation. Then, the other parts of the question will be discussed within this context. The concept of job regulations in some authors views represents the core of industrial relations. Flanders (1965) stipulated that study of industrial relations should be limited to the institutions of job regulation. In this approach, (Oram, 1984) indicated that the human relations variable was given a relatively insignificant role in the explanation of behaviour in industrial relations. Although personal, or unstructured, relationships were acknowledged as being important, they were considered by Flanders to be outside the scope of industrial relations. Flanders (1965) made a distinction between internal and external job regulations. Internal job regulations are those rules and regulation that can be changed internally by management and subordinates without any outside authorisation. This internal regulation could be achieved unilaterally by the management or bilaterally through negotiation with employees. On the other hand external job regulations are those being imposed on the org anisation from outside agencies where they could be any third parties, state regulation or any outside stakeholders. Hence, it can be said that job regulations as such may forge the industrial relations and external job regulation may allow different forms of unions. As mentioned previously there are three perspectives on employment relations and these are Unitarism, Pluralism, and Marxism. Unitarism by definition has a set of characteristics. In Unitarism, the organization is considered as one unit that is working towards a single goal. It represents the happy family picture. It also follows that all members of the family, i.e. the organisation, are loyal. Unitalirsts do not believe in conflicts or disputes and they do not expect or accept it. Trade unions have no role to play in unitarism, no negotiations and no collective bargaining. Any of these issues would be considered a disruptive influence to the path of the organisation towards its goal. Management in Unitarism considers making unilateral decisions is the norm and any opposition to this is illogic and irrational. Unitarism has a paternalistic approach where it demands loyalty of all employees. Atkinson and Curtis (2004, p. 492) stated paternalistic approach to employee relations in many small companies was found to be largely still intact. The governments intention of developing partnerships in the employment relationship in order to promote greater fairness in the workplace has, to a significant extent, failed. Small companies may not be granting their employees all their statutory rights. The statement quoted indicates that in this approach there is a sense of unfairness in such ideology of unitarism, at least in the view of the author. Other authors such as Rodriguez and Rios (2007) see that paternalism is counterproductive to productivity. Rodriguez and Rios (2007, p. 356) stated Given this historical account, paternalism has been closely related to the traditional personalized social bond between a boss and his employees. The association also implies that paternalism and productivity are not compatible. In this paper we argue that some of the new modern labour bonds that are being established rise from the paternalistic womb. New fully modern bonds non paternalistic are present as well. Both are related to productivity under the condition that organizations act consistently with the premises under which the contracts are made. By consistent we mean non hypocritical relationships that realistically and sincerely take into account those premises to decide upon Human Resources management policies and practices. On the other hand, authors such as Lewis (1989) see that unitarism approach is what is required in the midst of recession. Lewis (1989) referred to Cressey and Mclnnes (1985) argue that the effect of the recession has been to downgrade the role of consultation. In the companies in which they reviewed the process of consultation, it was trivial and bland. Any lifeboat democracy, as they term it, brought about by the desire to improve co-operation in order to cope with the recession, is extremely fragile and will come to grief on the rocks of managerial prerogative. Moreover, some authors consider that unitarism is normal and required, for example Wilkinson, et al (1991) stated unitarism is an underlying theme which remains unquestioned. Implementation is se en as a matter of motivation, with the correct attitudes being instilled by simple training programmes. Black and Ackers (1998) termed the context of unitarism as looked upon in this investigation as macho management or direct control as a management style. The authors then referred to what they termed as new unitarism and indicated that there is now a shift towards such ideology. Black and Ackers (1998) suggest that management is shifting its emphasis, within the strategy of responsible autonomy, away from the shop stewards organisation towards the shop-floor worker. This involves a shift of issues from collective bargaining to consultation and an attempt to supplement or replace the workplace corporatism of the post-war period, with a greater stress on direct communications with and involvement of the shop floor. The new unitarism attempts to circumvent unions and restrict their scope rather than smashing them. In support of this Gunnigle (1992) views neo-unitarism as a unitarist perspective involving a range of HRM policies designed to eliminate employee need for collective representation. In this sense neo-unitarism is a diluted version of the old unitarism that is investigated here. The second perspective that will be discussed within the context of unilateral managerial decisions is pluralism. Keenoy and Anthony (1992) indicated that the 1970s debate about pluralism was centred on the appropriateness of pluralistic methods to the achievement of social justice; an ethical controversy regarding how the business organizations should be managed. Chigara (1995) indicated that Pluralism holds that employers and employees interests are diametrically opposed to each other, and that they are held in the balance by the common need of keeping the enterprise alive. For pluralists, the trade union is a welcome vehicle for communication. Oram (1984, p. 23) added to the above that Pluralists see trade unionism as merely one more example of a competitive pressure group which Western democratic society accommodates as a matter of course. Pluralists also see that within legal limits, trade union aspirations can be fulfilled sometimes by imposing their wishes in ways which manage ment may see as arbitrary. Trade unions are seen as presenting legitimate challenges to managerial rule with one outcome being in the form of agreed rules, regulating terms and conditions of employment. Dobson (1982) indicated that in the pluralist approach, it is implicit to industrial relations a great belief in the virtues of collective bargaining since it is the method which is used to resolve conflicts. Dobson (1982) stated that other forms of job regulation-especially unilateral regulation by employer, trade union and workgroup-are usually condemned, since they over-ride the interests of other groups. The author then aired the views of the critics to pluralism as stipulating that the legitimacy of collective bargaining is based on certain assumptions, most notably the assumption that all interest groups possess approximate equality of power, so that the eventual compromise reflects equal concessions by all the parties. Even the commonly used definition of collective bargaining of joint job regulation, seems to suggest equality between the parties. Dobson (1982) added that Critics of pluralism have argued that power is very rarely distributed equally, and since in the long run the employer can move his production and investment elsewhere, power is predominantly concentrated in the hands of the employer. For the very same reasons other researchers such as Gunnigle (1992) pointed out to the rise of Neo-pluralism. Gunnigle (1992) stated that Neo-pluralism presented a second type of HRM which involves moves towards greater consensualism and commitment in unionized companies. It is characterized by what might be termed a dualist approach, involving the use of HRM techniques such as direct communications with employees and performance related pay systems alongside established collective bargaining procedures. Pluralism then seem to think that organisation conflicts does exist and that employers and employees interests may be different, however, having accepted this they also accepted that these conflicts are resolvable and that trade unions and the process of collective bargaining are more than capable of attaining a resolution. This assumes that power is equally distributed between employers, employees and unions. Hence, collective bargaining works efficiently. However, researchers also doubt this assumption. Dobson (1982) disputed this unrealistic balance of power and stated A more realistic view of collective bargaining, which takes account of the varying power balances between employers and workers, would see collective bargaining straddling the continuum between unilateral worker regulation on the one hand and unilateral employer regulation on the other. Such an approach would bring into question the pluralist assumption that collective bargaining is necessarily good per se, for at the extremes of the continuum the substantive content of a collective agreement may be identical to that of a unilateral decision. Dobson as such dismisse d the application of collective bargaining as equal to unilateral decision within the imbalance of power that exists in reality. Ackers (1994) agrees with Dobsons view and stated Today, the narrow, institutional version of pluralism is unsustainable. Any view of industrial relations as simply collective bargaining would confine it to a minority activity in a declining sector of the economy. The third perspective on employment relationship is that of Marxism. Hyman (1975) is considered as the authority on Marxism in relation to industrial relations, albeit that he was criticized for being too theoretical in his approach. Wood (1976) referred to Davis criticising the work of Hyman as so abstract and general as to be almost worthless, in either theoretical or practical terms. Still, Hyman explain that worker grievances could only be expressed through collective bargaining and industrial actions. Barbash (2005) indicated that the Marxist model assumes the existence of class conflicts and it is built on the assumption of coalition formation. Marxism stipulates that coalition formation is based on classes that form from out of groups that are in the same authority position in the organisation. Marxism also assumes that classes are able to regulate conflicts and can bring change through negotiations. Marxists acknowledge unions but see the faults in them when in the interest o f workers they seek economic improvement rather than embarking on a revolutionary change and they accuse some unions and their members are subject to false consciousness and that they need to work towards their Leninist destiny. Marxists believes that capitalism creates and endorses monopolies and that capitalism has a powerful luring to the workers when they acquire some powers. Therefore the Marxism approach is to make a goal of overthrowing capitalism. It supports the notion that industrial relations are made by those that are involve in the production and gives the first importance to workers and their affair. It holds true that workers for capitalism are considered a burden on profit making. Marxists also held the view that workers contracts are imposed upon them and they do not enter to it freely and that makes them weak as individual and their strength is therefore lies in their coalition. Marxism sees conflict of interest between capital and workers and employment relations are formed through this conflict. Marxism also uphold the view that trade unions presents optimal solution for such conflicts and ironically Marxists views that institutions of joint regulation would enhance rather than limit managements position as they presume the continuation of capitalism rather than challenge it. From the above a conclusion can be drawn regarding the conviction of management that they have the right to unilateral decision making over human resource issues and that this right is legitimate and rational. It is obvious to many that the trade unions power has been in the last two decades in a decline state. Also, the power of collective bargaining has been in decline, especially after the rise of capitalism in Eastern Europe. The pluralistic approach was seen to be restrictive to the flair and individualistic behaviour of entrepreneurial organisations. Pluralism, whilst acknowledging the conflicts in employers and employees interests, it upholds the idea that survival of the organisation is the derived force to keep it going. Pluralists see trade unions are as presenting legitimate challenges to managerial rule and that it leads to a satisfactory outcome. In fact, each one of the two perspective unitarism and pluralism has its critics. For example, in unitarism there is no obviou s reason as why managers have the only say, and whether this is sensible. It can be argued against unitarism that it gives organisation values to managers and not to groups. If it is a fact of life that conflicts exist in organisations, unitarism does not seem to appreciate this. The same also could be said about pluralism, where it is based on assuming a balance of power that seldom exists in organisations. It also assumes that all conflicts are resolvable and that all those involved have no hidden agendas apart from the common good. It also assumes the full trust in each party; therefore it is unreal and impractical. In regard to Marxism, it was found, in my view, as a mere attack on capitalism and rejection of all of its principles based on naive attempt to show its drawbacks. Marxism hence, relay on giving power to unionists leaders and support the use of extreme measures to resolve conflicts. The concept of job regulations seems to be taken by many researchers as the centre for employment relations and that this relation is formed by both internal and external means. As such this concept may encapsulate all three perspectives in one as it contain unilateral, bilateral and collective as well as state efforts in forming the employment relation. In regard to the subject in question which discusses the unilateral decisions by managements over human resource issues and whether it is legitimate or not. I am of the opinion that it is unrealistic to think that management would allow such decisions to be made collectively. Even if on the face of it, they pretend that it is so. I found myself entirely agree with Lewis (1989) who stated The industrial relations debate about the reasons why management promote employee participation in decision making has run for many years. Much of the literature emphasises the theory that participation in the U.K. is more imagined than real. It gives employees the illusion of a say in organisational decision making whereas the reality is that management use the illusion as a mechanism for control of employees. In fact, this illusion is carried out everywhere and seems ingrained in any organisation. REFERENCES Ackers, P. (1994) Back to Basics? Industrial Relations and the Enterprise Culture. Employee Relations, 16(8), 32 47. Atkinson, C. And Curtis, S. (2004) The impact of Employment Regulation on The Employment Relationship in SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 11(4), 486 494. Black, J. and Ackers, P. (1998)The Japanisation of British Industry? A Case Study of Quality Circles in the Carpet Industry. Employee Relations, 10(6), 9-16. Barbash, K. (2005) Theories and Concepts in Comparative Industrial Relations. Blackwell. Brown, S. and Eisenhardt, K. (1998) Competing on The Edge. Harvard Business School Pr; ISBN: 0875847544. Chigara, B. (1995) Article 2 of Convention No.87: Precepts And Their Application A Global Assessment. Managerial Law, 37(6), 1-20. Cressey, P. and McInnes, J. (1985) The Recession and Industrial Relations. ESRC conference, University of Warwick, March 1985. Dobson, J. (1982) What is Good Industrial Relations? Employee Relations, 4(2), 5-10. Flanders, A. (1965) Industrial relations: what is wrong with the system? London: Faber. Gunnigle, P. (1992) Human Resource Management in Ireland. Employee Relations, 14(5), 5-22. 1 Hyman, R. (1975) Industrial Relations, a Marxist Introduction. Macmillan, 220. 2- Keenoy, T., Anthony, P. (1992) HRM: Metaphor, Meaning and Morality, in Blyton, P., Turnbull, P. (Eds), Reassessing Human Resource Management, London: Sage. 3- Lewis, P. (1989) Employee Participation in a Japanese-Owned British Electronics Factory: Reality or Symbolism? Employee Relations, 11(1), 3-9. 4- Oram, S. (1984) Industrial Relations and Ideology-An Alternative Approach. Employee Relations, 6(2), 22 26. 5- Rodriguez, D. And Rios, R. (2007) Latent premises of labor contracts: paternalism and productivity: Two cases from the banking industry in Chile. International Journal of Manpower, 28(5), 354 368. 6- Silva, S. (1998) Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations and Achieving Management Objectives. International Labour Organisation, ACT/EMP Publications. Available from: http://www.ilo.org. [Accessed: 24th October 2009]. 7- Wilkinson, A., Allen, P., and Snape, E. (1991) TQM and the Management of Labour. International Journal of Manpower, 12(6), 35-42. 8- Wood , S. (1976) The Radicalisation of Industrial Relations Theor. Personnel Review, 5(3), 52 57.

UNFORGIVEN Essay -- essays research papers fc

Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As human beings we constantly struggle with ourselves on whether our actions are virtuous or vice. Some of us choose to act in an ethical way when presented with a certain situation, while others choose to act on their desires and therefore act unjustly. This was the struggle that the character, William Munny, faced in the movie â€Å"Unforgiven.† He was unable to control his desires, which resulted in his unethical actions. His actions support Socrates and Plato’s theory that if we let our desires or our emotions drive us we will act unethically when faced with circumstances. In this paper I will show how Socrates and Plato’s philosophy regarding our emotions and desires, explains William Munny’s actions throughout the movie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Plato’s philosophy in order for human beings to have a healthy â€Å"soul,† our view of the world should not be distorted by fears, insecurities, irrational anxieties, or overpowering desires. He also explains that our judgment should not be blinded by greed or self-interest. Having a healthy â€Å"soul† means having a clear mind and seeing things for what they actually are; this â€Å"soul† is the core of our personality. A person with a healthy †soul† will live a virtuous life by making ethical choices and controlling his or her desires.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Munny was not that type of person, because his mind was clouded by desire and his â€Å"soul† was unhe... UNFORGIVEN Essay -- essays research papers fc Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As human beings we constantly struggle with ourselves on whether our actions are virtuous or vice. Some of us choose to act in an ethical way when presented with a certain situation, while others choose to act on their desires and therefore act unjustly. This was the struggle that the character, William Munny, faced in the movie â€Å"Unforgiven.† He was unable to control his desires, which resulted in his unethical actions. His actions support Socrates and Plato’s theory that if we let our desires or our emotions drive us we will act unethically when faced with circumstances. In this paper I will show how Socrates and Plato’s philosophy regarding our emotions and desires, explains William Munny’s actions throughout the movie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Plato’s philosophy in order for human beings to have a healthy â€Å"soul,† our view of the world should not be distorted by fears, insecurities, irrational anxieties, or overpowering desires. He also explains that our judgment should not be blinded by greed or self-interest. Having a healthy â€Å"soul† means having a clear mind and seeing things for what they actually are; this â€Å"soul† is the core of our personality. A person with a healthy †soul† will live a virtuous life by making ethical choices and controlling his or her desires.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Munny was not that type of person, because his mind was clouded by desire and his â€Å"soul† was unhe...

Philosophy as a Contributor to Well-Being :: Paideia Philosophers Essays

Philosophy as a Contributor to Well-Being ABSTRACT: In this essay, I sketch five complementary arenas of concern are set forth as candidates for a cogent contemporary theory of paideia. First, a searching, goal setting form of reflection is central to paideia today even as it was in Hellenistic times. A second contributor to paideia is critical reflection. But, third, reasoning is also connected to embodied activity through feeling. Thus, sensitivity to existential meaning helps people determine what they really want and believe, and it also joins them to the persons, things, and events that matter most to them. Fourth, use of the moral point of view safeguards individuals against wallowing in mere self-indulgence heedless of the welfare of others or of the world as a whole. Finally, only by being open to the complex challenges of the world can a person be receptive to the mysterious dimension of life and discern ultimate priorities. I claim that persons guiding themselves by the five-leveled notion of paideia articulated he re will again experience the power of philosophy to confer well-being upon themselves and the world. The main theme of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, "Paideia: Philosophy Educating Humanity," challenges philosophers to assess what impact philosophy is having and should be having in the world today. The use in the title of the classical term paideia suggests that conference organizers believe that philosophy should have both an beneficial and a broad impact. For implicit in the notion of paideia is the idea that philosophy is a boon bestowing enterprise; in enlightening persons, it improves their well-being. The breadth of impact is suggested by this definition of paideia from Webster's Third New International Dictionary: "The training of the physical and mental faculties in such a way as to produce a broad enlightened mature outlook harmoniously combined with maximum cultural development." I submit that this classical notion remains a worthy ideal expressive of the gifts philosophy can bring humanity. Paideia is cognate to notions of education found in Asian philosophy. Philosophy practiced in the spirit of paideia can indeed be a contributor to human well-being. However, the world today is a vastly different place than the classical world in which the notion of paideia took root. A challenge facing any interpreter of paideia now is to locate considerations which have arisen in the course of philosophical history which deserve to be incorporated into a contemporary theory of paideia.

Implication for the Retail Industry Essay example -- essays research p

Thomas, Ryan, â€Å"The Right Mix: Brands versus Private Labels,† Apparel, Feb’04, p. 30-33 Overview of Article   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Department stores that may want to develop or expand private labels to replace lagging national brands should be aware of the downfalls as well as the benefits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Private labels increase margins from 6-10% higher than national brands. They also allow for fashion garments to be reproduced the following season if they are still in demand. However, department stores risk opposition from national brands if such private labels create too much competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If private labels are to be expanded, they should be of higher quality than the norm. They should also be offered in a wide range of categories, to decrease advertising costs. Article Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Department stores have traditionally used private labels on the selling floor as a way to provide a low-cost alternative to consumers. However, they may be expanding and developing more private labels to replace those national brands that have been falling behind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Private labels are helpful to department stores because they increase margins. On average, private label margins are 6-10% higher than national brands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another benefit of private labels is one not offered by brand manufacturers. If a fashionable garment sells out fast in any particular season, ...

Normative Leadership Style

In this article have analyzed Normative Leadership theory, a theory that is theoretically elegant and characteristically practical. Even in today’s increasingly changing global business scenarios, this robust theory enables Leader to select one of the five leadership styles namely decide, consult individually, consult group, facilitate and delegate by using the model’s time-driven and development-driven decision tree. Trait and Behavioural Theory Timeline: In the 1930s leadership theories were based on leaders’ traits. Two dimensional behavioral theory (autocratic versus democratic) was published at University of Iowa in 1939.In 1940s University of Michigan published Job centered versus employee centered theories and in mid 1950s University of Ohio published considerations versus structure theories. In 1960s Fredrick came out with two factor theory maintenance or extrinsic factor versus motivators or intrinsic factors. In 1967 McGregor suggested leadership behavi ors based on different assumptions on employee motivations in describing his â€Å"Theory X† and â€Å"Theory Y†. Birth of Contingency Leadership Theory: In 1970s, it became evident that no single leadership style is best for all situations; leaders need to change their leadership style to suit situation.Researchers then started working on situational and contingency factors which led to the development of contingency theories such as Fiedler theory (1967), Leadership continuum theory (Tannenbaum & Schmidt, 1973), Path goal theory (House & Mitchell, 1974) and Normative theory (Vroom & Yetton, 1973; Vroom & Jago, 1988, 1995). While Fiedler theory recommends changing the situation rather than changing leadership style, rest of the contingency theories recommend using right style at right situation to deliver effective leadership.Normative Leadership Theory: In 1973 Vroom and Yetton developed a contingency model based on the leader’s choice of autocratic versus par ticipative responses to decision making situations. Extensive validation research of the model resulted in the development of Vroom-Jago model in 1988 (again updated in 1995). The research aimed to develop taxonomy for describing leadership situations, which could be used in a normative model linking situations to the leadership styles.A set of seven situational variables were used (Vroom & Yetton, 1973) to predict which among the five leadership styles would be the most effective to deal with the situation. Vroom conducted extensive empirical studies to investigate how leader’s behavior is affected by situation faced by leader keep. The studies were conducted with a focus on the leadership role and on how differences in the challenges that leader face would affect leader’s behavior. The five leadership styles are (1) Decide: The leader makes the decision and announces it or sells it to the followers.Leader may gather information from others within the group and outsid e the group without specifying the problem, (2) Consult Individually: The leader explains follower individually about the problem, gathers information and suggestions and then makes the decision, (3) Consult Group: The leader holds a group meeting, explains followers the problems, gathers information and suggestions and then makes the decision, (4) Facilitate: The leader holds a group meeting and acts as a facilitator to define the problem and the limits within which a decision must be made.The leader seeks participation and concurrence on the decision without pushing his or her ideas and (5) Delegate: The leader lets the group diagnose the problem and make the decision within stated limits. The role of the leader is to answer questions, provide encouragement and resources. Originally seven situational variables were identified to answer the questions with high (H) or low (L) score. These are (1) Decision significance: How important is the decision to the success of the project or o rganization high or low? 2) Importance of Commitment: How important is the follower commitment to implement the decision high or low? (3) Leader Expertise: How much knowledge and expertise does the leader have with this specific decision high or low? (4) Likelihood of commitment: If the leader were to make the decision alone, is the certainty that the followers would be committed to the decision high or low? (5) Group support for objectives: Do followers have high or low support for the team or organizational goals to be attained in solving the problems? 6) Group Expertise: How much knowledge and expertise do the individual followers have with this specific decision high or low? and (7) Team Competence: Is the ability of the individuals to work together as a team to solve the problem high or low? Not all seven variables/ questions above are relevant to all decisions. A minimum of two and maximum of seven questions are needed to select the most appropriate leadership style in a given situation.During year 2000, Vroom revised the model with eleven variables. Each of these eleven is a moderator variables linking leadership style with components of decision effectiveness. Most of these eleven variables have also been used in empirical studies to investigate how leader behavior is affected by the situation faced by the leader. Both Time-Driven Model and Development-Driven Model using seven variables are presented in Appendix 1 along-with instruction how to use the model.Vroom’s theory has also been criticized by many raising questions such as (1) whether small set of seven or eleven factors really determines how one should use the answers (2) will answers depend on the quality of the person who is answering (3) will answer vary from person to person and time to time and (4) will use of tacit knowledge in evaluating a situation; weaken the outcome of the model? These criticisms have resulted in further research and deliberation on the model.All parties (both followers and critics) agreed on the importance of matching of personal qualities and situational requirement towards delivering effective leadership in an Organization. They also agreed that leadership effectiveness will depend on the use of realistic scenarios describing actual situations confronting a leader in an organization. Conclusion: The powerful model which Vroom and his colleagues at Yale University developed after interacting with more than 100,000 managers making decisions has proved to be a robust and useful model even in today’s dynamic business context.The model has identified the following three distinct roles that situational variables play in the leadership process. 1. Leadership effectiveness leading to Organizational effectiveness is affected by situational factors not under leader’s control 2. Situations shape how leaders behave and 3. Situations influence the consequences of leader behavior. Appendix 1 Instruction how to use the model: 1. Select one of the two models based on whether the situation is driven by importance of time or development of followers, i. e. short term or long term. 2. Define problem statement. 3.Answer the question from left to right skipping question not appropriate to the situation and avoiding crossing any horizontal line. The last column will prescribe the appropriate leadership participation decision-making style for the situation. Normative Leadership Time-Driven Model | Decision Significance? | Importance of Commitment? | Leader Expertise? | Likelihood of Commitment? | Group Support? | Group Expertise? | Team Competence? | | PROBLEMSTATEMENT| H| H| H| H| -| -| -| Decide| LEADERSHIPSTYLE| | | | | L| H| H| H| Delegate| | | | | | | | | L| Consult (Group)| | | | | | | | L| -| | | | | | | L| -| -| | | | | | L| H| H| H| H| Facilitate| | | | | | | | | L| Consult (Individually)| | | | | | | | L| -| | | | | | | | L| -| -| | | | | | | L| H| H| H| Facilitate| | | | | | | | | L| Consult (Group)| | | | | | | | L| -| | | | | | | | L| -| -| | | | | L| H| -| -| -| -| Decide| | | | | L| -| H| H| H| Facilitate| | | | | | | | | L| Consult (Individually)| | | | | | | | L| -| | | | | | | | L| -| -| | | | L| H| -| H| | -| -| Decide| | | | | | L| -| -| H| Delegate| | | | | | | | | L| Facilitate| | | | L| -| -| -| -| -| Decide| | Normative Leadership Development-Driven Model | Decision Significance? Importance of Commitment? | Leader Expertise? | Likelihood of Commitment? | Group Support? | Group Expertise? | Team Competence? | | PROBLEMSTATEMENT| H| H| -| H| H| H| H| Delegate| LEADERSHIPSTYLE| | | | | | | | L| Facilitate| | | | | | | | L| -| Consult (Group)| | | | | | | L| -| -| | | | | | | L| H| H| H| Delegate| | | | | | | | | L| Facilitate| | | | | | | | L| -| | | | | | | | L| -| -| Consult (Group)| | | | L| -| -| H| H| H| Delegate| | | | | | | | | L| Facilitate| | | | | | | | L| -| Consult (Group)| | | | | | | L| -| -| | | | L| H| -| H| -| -| -| Decide| | | | | | L| -| -| -| Delegate| | | L| -| -| -| -| -| Decide| | References: Achua, Christopher F and Lussier, Robert N. : Effective Leadership, 4th Edition, South- Western Cengage Learning Chan, Patrick Dr. , Class Lecture Notes Palanski, Michael E. and Yammarino, Francis J. : Integrity and Leadership: A multi-level conceptual framework: The Leadership Quarterly 20 (2009) 405-420 Vroom, Victor H, Yale University and Jago, Arthur G, University of Missouri. Situation Effects and Levels of Analysis in the Study of Leader Participation: Leadership Quarterly Vol. 6 No. 2 1995 Vroom, Victor H. Research: A New Look at Managerial Decision Making

Modern Theatrical Practices Essay

The play ‘Macbethà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ was written by William Shakespeare in 1606 and is thought to have been written for King James I. The play was found by Shakespeare in ‘The History of Scotland’ and in there it was suggested that Banquo had helped Macbeth in the killing of Duncan but Shakespeare cleverly left this out as King James I was an ancestor of Banquo and the thought of regicide in his family would have killed Shakespeare’s career and most probably, he would have been killed himself. For maximum effect, I believe the best stage for this play would be a proscenium arch. This is so the actors will always be facing the audience and when the apparitions happen, the audience will not be able to see being the gauze and alter which would spoil the effect given. Also the audience’s seat will not go that high up for the same reason. Originally, the audience should react normally to the acting going on, then when Macbeth enters with thunder booming about, and I feel like this should scare the audience to show that something bad is going to happen. Throughout the Apparitions I think the audience should feel a small bit of fear but I expect them to really understand what is happening on stage so the fear cannot be too strong. I believe fear is an important feeling as it symbolizes that something evil is happening on stage. At the same time I want the audience to be excited and on the edge of their seat, wondering what is going to happen next. In this scene Macbeth again visits the witches who he thinks are helping him. The Witches are of course evil characters and don’t have his good at heart. This is a fault of Macbethà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s, as he doesn’t realize the Witches are evil an thinks he is unbeatable until it is too late and Macduff, with the help of Malcolm, has rallied support to overthrow him. The first time Macbeth meets the Witches they predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, King of Scotland and that the children of Banquo will also become kings. These predictions lead to the murders of Duncan and Banquo. This meeting tells Macbeth to ‘Beware Macduffà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (IV, i, 70) and leads to the murders of Lady Macduff, her children and the majority of the Macduff castle servants. The witches also lull Macbeth into a false sense of security by telling him that â€Å"†¦for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth† (lines 79-80). Macduff was born by Caesarean section and so ‘isn’tà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ born of woman. Macbethà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s security is also lowered when he is told that he is safe until ‘Great Burnham Wood to High Dunsinane Hill† (line 92). Macbeth believes this to e impossible so sees himself as indestructible but this prophecy comes true when the English soldiers carry branches up to the hill to disguise how many of them there actually are. These two lapses in security will lead to the eventual downfall of Macbeth. The scene is described as a ‘miserable place near Forresà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (The royal castle of Scotland); Thunder is also described as happening. I think that it is vital to get across the fact that this place is barren and contaminated by immorality due to the company of the witches. I would set this scene in the hours of darkness, there will be fire-torches stuck in the ground providing some dim light to show that it is an isolated area and not a common rest ground for people. Light bulbs will be used, not actual fire as fire may cause a safety hazard. Also Lighting will be coming from behind a gauze, which is hanging towards the back of the stage. This will enhance the effect that the place is evil. The torches on the floor will give the audience the impression of a medieval setting. They will be randomly arranged around the stage to show a mild, or delicate case of the chaos that is linked with the Witches. The gauze will be hung towards the back and no light will be shone behind it until the apparitions, this is so the apparitions can come from behind the gauze so the audience cannot see them coming out of a cauldron for example. Seeing something rising from a cauldron cannot be made to look good in a theatre and may come off as looking tacky. The actual stage itself will be decorated to look like a cave, mould and dirt should be on the stage floor and small boulders scattered over the ground. I think that an actual cauldron would be a bit odd looking seen as nothing will be rising out of it and also a cauldron is slightly pantomime. So instead of a cauldron I think that a large, stone alter, with a large bowl shaped crevice carved into it will be well received. There will be a light bulb in the base of the bowl crevice, which will shine up into the witch’s faces as they move around it. This would create strange shadows; which would make the Witches look physically evil. My Witches don’t actually look evil, only ragged and dirty. This would make more sense to portray them as this as Macbeth does not see the witches as evil so if the looked normal, this could show why Macbeth is tricked by them. The audience would be able to see the evilness of the Witches as well as feel it in their actions. The rock effect would be more natural looking and a fire isn’t necessarily needed as the evil ingredients generate their own heat. The natural look would also mean that it doesn’t have to disappear in a puff of smoke like an iron cauldron would. The three Witches are moving around the rock whilst describing the evil ingredients they are throwing in. They will speak gently, but not essentially evilly. The voices used should be enough to tell the audience that these people are not pure and good. I think that although the witches are fundamentally evil and therefore don’t really need a reason to hate Macbeth it would be original to give them a reason. Macbeth will be wearing his feudal colours when he finds the witches. Two of the witches will be wearing ragged clothing but it will be obvious to the audience that some of this clothing bears the colours of Macbeth, suggesting that these too were once loyal servants to him but due to Macbeth committing an evil act against them, or by an evil such as the one that is corrupting Macbeth now, they have turned. Two of my Witches will be men, enhancing the idea that they were maybe soldiers of Macbeth who were punished by their master and so have decided to oppose him. The third will be wearing clothes that were once very expensive, a dress of a noble lady of the period, torn and ripped by time. She may have been an old love of Macbeth who was dropped by the man and is now bitter. The clothing of the witches will strengthen the atmosphere of evil that is opposing Macbeth; but that it is his own fault that evil has picked him out to be converted. The Witches won’t have evil cackling voices but instead keep normal human voices; showing that there is still some humanity left in them at the same time as showing that humanity can be so easily converted to evil. Once the spell is completed Hecate, the Queen of Witchcraft enters. Expanding the idea that the witches were once subjects of Macbeth I think that Hecate could also be an ex-subject. I however like that idea that Hecate is a ghost like figure of an old woman, maybe an ex queen or his mother, dressed out in normal clothes. She will not be raggedly dressed but instead his clothes will be fresh and clean. I believe she could be his mother and ghost like o show that it could all be his sub-conscience, screening that he really isn’t evil and feels bad about what he did. The three ‘witchesà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ who accompany her will also be cleanly dressed, wearing the Armour and colours of their lord (they will be men-at-arms, footmen etc†¦). Hecate’s lines are often spoken in a cackling way but this won’t be very appropriate for my Hecate. As she speaks her lines the lord (Hecate) will slowly walk back and forth in front of the Witches. When this small speech is finished a song and dance is described as occurring. Instead of this my three main Witches will get down on one knee and bow to the lord. They will remain like this for several seconds until the lord (Hecate) and his entourage has exited the stage. When Macbeth enters there will be a loud clap of thunder issued in a surround sound bomb followed by the light behind the gauze flashing for a few seconds to simulate lightning. Macbeth will have a faint spotlight of white light will shine on him. The light will not be too strong to show that the good that is left in Macbeth is waning and it will take little persuasion from an evil force to drive him all the way to eternal damnation. The thunder and lighting will alert the audience that something important is happening. When Macbeth speaks he will have a deep, booming voice. Clearly belonging to the higher orders although now and again in his dialogue his voice will wobble and break into that of an underling, like the Stereotypical voice of the witches. His voice will do this when he speaks of murder or of other foul acts he has committed. This means that it will happen mainly after Lennox has informed him of Macduff’s flight to England. This will show the audience that Macbeth would be a strong (Psychologically) man if he could stand up to the handling and dishonesty of the Witches. When the witches speak to Macbeth they will not do so in a dissident manner as they will consider themselves to be his equal, as they know they have power over him. Shakespeare also reveals something by making them speak in blank verse, the manner usually reserved for upper class characters. Possibly the witches really are upper class characters? This is why I have decided to portray the witches as possible subjects of Macbeth. Shortly before the first apparition appears the 3 witches all speak together. I think this (Come high or low: Thyself and office deftly show.) should be spoken softly, inviting Macbeth to ‘follow’ them in the abyss. Then I shall have the stone alter to make an exploding sound and a bolt of lightning should fill the stage up with light. Then I would establish the gauze to its bursting effect. The whole area in front of the gauze would be blacked out apart from the dim spotlight still on Macbeth, as it is he who is being shown the apparition. The light behind the gauze will be a dreary grey/white glow and will appear rather dusty. Then as if from nowhere the first apparition will appear. Really the suit of armor will slowly rise from the ground, the actor get up from the floor, but due to the rock alter obstructing the audiences view, it will look as if it is rising from the altar. The apparition is an armored head. This doesn’t mean that it’s a head with arms. That would be stupid. It is in fact a head with a helmet on. I think that it is hard to actually portray a floating head on stage without special camera effects like in a film. Therefore I will make the ‘armed headà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ into an actual armored warrior. The helmet will be one that encloses the bearer’s head fully, so hiding the face inside. All the lights in front of the gauze will go out apart from the one in the alter and the light on Macbeth. The helmet may cause the voice of the ‘headà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to be muffled so I believe a pre recorded speech by the actor would be better to use in this case, and also it would have a surround sound effect to frighten the crowd maybe. This is to show that what the Witches are doing is evil. I would make my armored warrior wear exactly the same clothes as Macbeth, but he will not notice this. The identical clothing will act as a testament that is Macbeth himself who is causing him to fall from grace. The warrior will chant the word Macbeth louder and louder as he walks around. He will do this once until reaching the point from which he appeared. He will appear to leave but will turn around at the last moment and say, in a deep, booming voice, ‘beware Macduffà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. He will then go on with ‘Beware the Thane of Fifeà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (Macduff’s title) before ordering Macbeth ‘Dismiss me, enough!’ He will be one of the only characters in the play who will speak to Macbeth in such a way and not cause Macbeth to become angry. I think that the strong contrast of the long loud chants and the short booming ‘beware Macduffà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ will enhance the fact that Macduff is a major enemy of Macbeth and will end up killing him. The contrasting way that the apparition speaks to Macbeth will show the audience that it is Macbeth who is insulting or degrading himself, as the apparition will appear to be Macbeth himself. All the original lights in front of the gauze will come on again and the behind gauze light will slowly fade as the apparition disappears. The second apparition to appear to Macbeth is a bloody child, supposedly coming from a caesarean operation. This will be a difficult apparition to show as I think a baby is a hard member to work with and using an actual baby may be an infringement of human rights. Due to this I think that a child of maybe four or five years will be used. Once again, all the relevant lights will dim and this time a beam of light, hinted with red shall shine on the child who again rises behind the gauze. The high voice of this apparition (a pre-pubescent child) will contrast sharply with the mighty voice of Macbeth and again should be pre recorded, as a really young child cannot be expected to perform in front of that large a crowd. The child should be with his mother on stage and be cuddling the woman. This is so Macbeth has reason to think that no one is of woman born and he is indestructible. The audience should notice that the power of the Witches has caused Macbeth to focus all of his attention on a small child. After Macbeth has heard that ‘none of woman bornà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ can harm him Macbeth becomes happy as he thinks that he can defeat Macduff and is indestructible. He will turn away from the apparition towards the audience and smile and nod to himself. When the light comes on after this apparition as left the beam on Macbeth will be noticeably dimmer than before, showing that Macbeth has taken another step to eternity in the presence of Beelzebub. Macbeth has decided that Macduff must go, but he hasn’t decided on a time yet. The change in strength of the beam should be subtle but noticeable so that the audience will clearly notice, so only an alert member of the audience will realise the rapid fall of Macbeth. Finally the third apparition appears, for this I would have a projector behind the gauze, which has an animation of the apparition on. I shall have the apparition portrayed as a forest moving over the hills towards Macbethà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s castle. Amidst the moving forest an army should be able to be just seen, barley noticeable unless you are an alert member of the audience, this is to show that the apparition is actually looking into the future and this is exactly what will happen, and those with previous knowledge of the play should realize this. The apparition will then be spoken, also in a pre recorded voice, but this one should be spoken in Macbethà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s voice, This will indicate to the audience that it is Macbeth himself who is causing all the corruption and unrest. Macbeth is very happy at what the apparitions have said and fails to notice the many hidden symbols that they bear such as the identical clothing worn by the first apparition and the voice of Macbeth in the third. Only one thing troubles Macbeth now, the idea that it may be the offspring of Banquo who rule the kingdom instead of his own. Macbeth therefore orders the Witches to tell him about this. After he has made the question â€Å"†¦shall Banquo’s issue ever reign in this kingdom?† There will be a pause of about 3 seconds; long enough to alert the audience that something important is about to happen. Thee Witches will turn away from Macbeth and look to the floor before saying â€Å"Seek to know no more†; they know that the images that they must now show Macbeth will not please him, but he has demanded it and although the Witches have infinitely more power than Macbeth they will show him this apparition as they have shown him the apparitions that have pleased him. All of the lights will go out so that the stage is completely dark. Again the projector will be used for this apparition and a bright light will shine on the screen to make the vision stand out. Within the first few seconds of this apparition showing, a King, slightly resembling Banquo will appear on the screen. Then after about ten seconds a sound effect, similar to a camera click effect, will sound and the King will disappear and another King, resembling Banquo a little less will appear, then again the sound effect will sound and another King, resembling less of Banquo but similar to the previous King, to show the audience that they are indeed from the same family, will appear. And so on and so forth until all eight Kings have appeared on the projector. Then a loud boom of thunder in surround sound will echo around the theatre in addition to a lightning flash filling up the stage. The screen will then have all eight kings showing and then a computer character of Banquo will appear in the center of the screen, covering the Kings behind him to enhance the effect of him being there, will start laughing and mocking Macbeth, this will go on for about half a minute then the apparition will disappear. The Witches will now begin to smile and look pleased with their work. They will begin to mock Macbeth with the song they will sing and the first Witch praises Macbeth as a ‘great kingà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in a voice of mock worship. Once more the audience will realise that Macbeth has no power over the Witches and how they are the real evil in the play. The Witches dance and vanish (the lights will go out again). When the lights come back on they will be noticeably brighter due to the departure of the Witches, showing that the Witches were really evil. Macbeth will be shouting out his lines while on his knees about how the Witches have abandoned him when Lennox enters accompanied by a messenger who will be muddy and look tired. In his hand he will be carrying a large leather bag. This man will be the messenger that Lennox will inform Macbeth about. Macbeth will still have his dim spotlight on him but Lennox will have a bright light, his uniform/armor will be clean and shining, showing that Lennox has not fallen from grace as Macbeth has. Lennox will inform Macbeth of Macduff who has fled to England to bring back an army. This will lead to Macbethà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s final soliloquy of this scene. During this Macbeth will speak of his plans to murder Macduff. He will pace around the front stage whilst Lennox walks towards the back of the stage to talk with the messenger so it doesn’t look like that Lennox can actually hear what Macbeth is saying. Macbeth should look flustered and angry, he should look as if he has lost all sanity and means of rational thought, showing the audience that in this one scene Macbeth has gone from a murderer to a madman and is still plummeting to worse things. The spotlight over Macbeth will start to fade until it eventually is put out permanently. This is to show there is no way back for Macbeth now.