Unions Recruit New Allies for Obama in Battleground States Case Study

Unions Recruit New Allies for Obama in Battleground States - Case Study Example Unions Recruit New Allies for Obama in Battleground States This article by Steven Greenhouse is very insightful and it gives a general overview and perspective of the role of the trade unions in the 2012 us presidential campaigns. The article gave an account of the role the labor unions have played in this campaign to ensure that Barrack Obama is re-elected the next president of the United States. It gave the opinion of the union leaders and event organizers whom they were very enthusiastic about how the unions are growing stronger and shaping the politics of the United States. The labor unions are more concentrated on the battle ground states of Ohio and Wisconsin. Teachers mainly from Chicago which is the election center for barrack Obama are very enthusiastic about this. The union members are large in number with a figure of 67, 176 knocking at the doors of residence of Wisconsin. Sandy and Elaine were just part of that 67, 176. The unions are trying to reassert themselves after realizing that they couldn’t influence much during 2010 election that were held in some states that include Ohio. This all effort is more of a strategy to regain relevance in the elections that they influence so much especially in 2008. The unions did play a big role in the election of 2008 and eight, when they campaign for election of Barrack Obama. They have seen that the re-election of the same candidate they campaign for in 2008 is not forthcoming so they have to quickly spring into action. They have for the past two years been actively involved in these campaigns mainly in Ohio and Wisconsin.... These have helped them a great deal because they can now reach out to more people. Given that union members account for only 12% of the population of the United States their constituency have now increased tremendously. Unlike in the past where they reach out to few people per hour they can now reach out to huge number of population in just an hour. They have also good strategy whereby they have been able to bring together members from different groups to join them. The republican side is however of different view and that the unions have lost the control it had in 2008. Sara Fagen, who worked under George W. Bush said that the members no longer fully support the union and no longer swayed by the union decision to support a particular candidate because they feel the have been pressed economically by the union who drew from them to run this campaign. The union according to the republicans is funding the campaigns at the expense of the workers. They claim also that Obama have not stood up to them by not actualizing the â€Å"card check† bill that could have helped them a lot. The union members have however fought for the union members especially by seeking the reversal of the law that deprives the employees of their bargaining rights. They were then to suffer another set back after their effort to oust the governor of Wisconsin proves futile. Scott walker the republican retains the seat as the governor of Wisconsin. The union have though rise with 30 unions joining the course. There are though regular setbacks and frustration on daily basis that often face the union members. They most of the times don’t find response from 2/3 of the homes they contacted so they are left with little to do other than to left notes urging the members of

Human Resource Planning On General Motors Commerce Essay

Human Resource Planning On General Motors Commerce Essay This report is based on Human Resource Planning of General Motors. This study includes the brief description regarding the importance of human resource planning that aligns itself with the business strategies to gain competitive advantage. Effects of Environment in General Motors on the staff, recruiting and selecting employees, dismissal and grievance processes and overall organizational culture works with the human resource planning. This planning makes sustainable goals. In short, without human resource planning an organization cannot survive. HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING INTRODUCTION: About Human Resource Planning Human resource planning is a practice by which managers of the organizations ensure that they have right number of competent, proficient and skilled employees working at specific positions at the right time. Through this planning, the organizations can avoid losses and can deal with contingencies which will eventually result in profitability (Robbins and Coulter, 2006). In other words human resource planning helps organization to hire skilled and knowledgeable employees who can meet the needs of the organization in this competitive world. It helps in assessing the current needs of the organization as well as it meets the future needs of the organization (Beauregard and Fitzgerald, 1999). Global overview on Human Resource Planning Human resource planning has enabled human resource department to align with organizations strategic goals and to achieve operational excellence. Now the organizations can also evaluate the employee performance and can deal with the employee performance issues in this dynamic market environment (Winter, 1999). By amalgamation of human resource plan with organizational goals, the organization can have a flexible, customized and integrated approach to deal with its workforce planning needs (Robert, 1997). GENERAL MOTORS Human Resource Planning The organization that has been selected for this assignment is General Motors. It is the largest automaker company in the world. It is a multinational company. It does business in more than 120 countries. GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world because of strategic human resource planning. GM is well aware of the environmental negative impacts so it works with the environment and makes its future plans and projects accordingly (General Motors, 2011). Human resource planning in General Motors is a much emphasized area. They hire 209,000 people in every major region of the world. General Motors hire skilled, optimistic, engaged and competent employees who share innovative ideas and produce best vehicles. Due to human resource planning it keeps assessing and evaluating the employee performance and give growth opportunities to talented employees. General Motors gives extra benefits to its employees like medical plans and investment options because it knows how to decrease the turnover ratio and keep accelerating the employees for better performance in a competitive and dynamic environment. It knows that they have right number and kind of skilled and competent employees working at right positions at right time (General Motors, 2011). Structure This assignment is divided into five parts from A to F. Section A would discuss the brief introduction of human resource planning and its global overview, section B would discuss that how human resource plan of General Motors supports organization strategic objectives, section C would define the General Motors staffing process that what should be the legal frameworks for hiring the employees, section D is about the effects of General Motors organizational environment on staff, section E would define the General Motors grievance, dismissal and discipline process and lastly section F would discuss the conclusion and final impressions based on the analysis. HR PLANS OF GENERAL MOTORS SUPPORTS ITS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES Because of new technology and strategies the environment is becoming more competitive so the General Motors have adopted different approach from traditional human resource practices to meet the strategic goals of the organization by selling human resource services to outside clients hence generating an additional income for the organization (Phillips, 1999). (B.1) STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE OF CURRENT, FUTURE AND EXPECTED HR REQUIREMENTS General Motors strategic capability General Motors is one of the growing and profitable organizations in the world; its main tool for achieving long term goals is reward system that is giving incentives or bonuses to the employees. It gives growth opportunities to all the talented employees. The main business strategy for long term profitability is the development of senior executive talent. General Motors does not offer jobs, they offer career. These all human resource strategies have a major effect on individual performance and on long term profitability of an organization (Tichy, Fombrun and Devanna, 1981). Its mission is to hire the competent, skilled and empowered employees who have a clear vision and ground-breaking ideas and who remain committed to work. Employees have a career in General Motors with valuable benefits (General Motors, 2011). Putting together an HR strategy General Motors collaborate with its competitors. Collaboration is a business strategy of GM to gain competitive advantage. This cooperation is a low cost method for new companies to gain knowledge about the market and technology. Because of collaboration the companies get win-win situation. General Motors make purchases of cars and components from Koreas Daewoo. For the success of collaboration both the companies should have some valuable asset to share like development skills, basic research and so on (Hamel, Doz and Prahalad, 1988). Fuel Efficiency is another business strategy of General Motors; General Motors is trying to enhance fuel efficiency capabilities through its flex fueled cars (Norton, 2010). Cost Cutting is another business strategy of General Motors, as they are reducing its brands so it will save cost which will close the dealership and will ultimately result in cost reduction (Norton, 2010). The collaboration business strategy is followed by human resource off shoring strategy. The occurrence of off shoring, supporting benefits and joint venture agreements are associated with how investors view a company in the profitability criteria. General Motors have turned to China and India as sources of employment to supplement their full time employees in the United States. Before going for competitive collaboration with other companies the organization must have an off shoring strategy (David, 2009). The fuel efficiency strategy is followed by High Performance Work System strategy of human resource department. The main focus of High Performance Work System is on the organizing work so that all the employees can participate effectively in decision making which affects on the daily operations of the organization (Azrul, 2011). The workers can make their own decisions to accomplish their goal, which is the basic par of High Performance Work System the use of technology is another component of High Performance Work System (Azrul, 2011). For cost cutting business strategy the human resource department following strategy is redundancy. If a manager of the company feels that cutback of an employee is necessary so he will straight away contact human resource department (Charles, 2001). General Motors used to have 22 layers of management but later on they learned to reduce the hierarchy levels of management and started promoting team work. Hiring and sourcing decisions are made by teams and the classification of jobs of GM has been reduced from 18 to 7 and workers are responsible for their own training (Swart, Mann and Price, 2005). Strategic importance of HR requirements Current HR requirements of General Motors are to reduce the dealerships because it has too large dealership network that is causing obstacles in its viability. In this way GM will be able to retain higher sales and service staff. GM present goals are as follows, To enable the automakers and subsidies to develop competitive business that can decrease the adverse effects on the environment. To increase the capability of the auto makers and subsidies to use efficient, aggressive and updated technology for producing vehicles. To reshape and resize the dealership network. To recruit the best talent. To staff employees who can participate in product development and in increasing market share by using their competent skill (Barofsky, 2010). Future HR requirements of General Motors are to stimulate sales by the use of diversified workers who can incorporate new technology, skills and ideas in this competitive world. General motors have always aligned its business strategies with the human resource strategies in order to be competent in this dynamic environment (Brockbank, 1999). In addition GM also focus on compensation strategy to motivate the workers and it will increase it sales by hiring competent workers (Muczyk, 1988). (B.2) HR PLANNING IMPACTS ON STRATEFIC PLANS General Motors business plan GM plan is to make innovation style vehicle with top quality and fuel efficiency features. They carry out environmental friendly practices. GM by reconstructing and strengthening wants to expand in order to share their new and better General Motors not only in U.S but throughout the world (Norton, 2010). General Motors HR planning process Demand forecasting in General Motors works for product diversity and design efficiency which leads it to hold a strong position in market. It works in cooperation according to the demand of the people (Norton, 1997). Supply forecasting is very important. General Motors may also hold back by its suppliers. In 1194 General Motors lost almost two months production of Buick Roadmaster because of late supply of doors and ashtrays (Cachon and Lariviere, 2001). For Internal movements the managers of General Motors must recruit, hire, train, motivate and organize employees, and in the same way they should acquire and organize material resources for the manufacture of its cars and trucks. General Motors must beat back its competitors by marketing its vehicles. GM increases productivity by giving rewards to the workers (Simons, 1981). General Motors components of HR plan Training plans are provided by General Motors to their employees to boost their career and make them able to meet international flexibility (General Motors, 2011). Growth plans at GM for talented, competent and skilled workers are as wide as the world.  It gives the career exposure to the employees and takes them to next gear (General Motors, 2011). Rewarding plans are on high scale in GM, along with the salary the employees will also get medical facilities as well as investment options (General Motors, 2011). Promotional plans at GM includes disability benefits, life insurance of employees, it offers paid holidays annually, GM employees and their direct family members can purchase GM vehicles at a significant discount (General Motors, 2011). Employee utilization plan at GM gives employees more responsibility and authority to make decisions and accomplish their goals accordingly and then hold them responsible (General Motors, 2011). Impact of HR plan on strategic plan High performance work system is a flexible and team based system, General Motors have work teams and performance based wages system (Rouse, 2000). By recruiting the talented and operative employees the General Motors can boost its productivity and profitability and can achieve its long term goals (Azrul, 2011). The compensation strategy that is giving rewards to the employees based on their job performance also helps organization to achieve long term goals (Muczyk, 1988). ORGANIZATIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF STAFF (C.1) CURRENT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS INFUENCING HR PLAN Fairness in recruitment and hiring General Motors recruits on the basis of an employees own self interest area. At GM they are interested in an individual abilities and skills. They assess in a fair and accurate way each and every quality of an applicant in relation with the demands of the post. General Motors follows a behavioral based interview process, they evaluate the personal and professional competencies that individual possess which can be the success factor the open position (General Motors, 2011). Fairness and protection during employment GM is committed to creating a diverse workplace. They have a policy on equal employment opportunity and harassment. Harassment based on age factor, cast, ethnicity, color, gender, disability, gender identity/expression is a violation of this policy. Harassment is an offensive act which is strictly prohibited (General Motors, 2011). Leaving the organization In 2009, General Motors needed to re size the organization therefore dismissed the employees and decided to eliminate 10,000 salaried employees. It employed 243,000 salaried and hourly workers at the end of 2008 but in 2009 it plans to cut about 47,000 salaried and hourly jobs worldwide (LaReau, 2009). (C.2) RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF NEW STAFF Legal and organizational requirements Organizations must hire right ones and reject wrong ones. As employees are the asset so you must choose asset rather than liability (Hacker, 1997). The organizations must have proper procedures for attracting the employees. Recruitment is about future predictions so while recruiting the company should hire a person whose interest and goals can be aligned with organization goals (Bach, 2005). Recruitment process Planning how to find and attract candidates- recruitment is the process of hiring those people who can contribute to the organizational goals. First review of a company is necessary then analyzes the requirements. It is necessary for choosing the assets and differentiating the right fit and wrong fit. Attract candidates by giving job requirements plus benefits (Bach, 2005). Defining requirements- it is necessary to define the requirements for job that what skills, knowledge, abilities, input, desired output and job context is needed (Bach, 2005). Job description, person specifications and competencies- the next stage is job description which defines what is the job, purpose of job, what tasks are to be done, standards, duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships. It is all about the job itself. Then next stage is to examine a person specification that is the worker psychological characteristics (Bach, 2005). Advertising the vacancy- the next step is to advertise the vacancy, this is a very creative task and needs lot of skills therefore many companies do outsourcing (give advertising work to advertise agencies). Newspaper, radio, television and e-advertising are the common sources (Bach, 2005). General Motors uses its own website for recruitment (General Motors, 2011). Reviewing the effectiveness of recruitment- at the end the HR department evaluates the effectiveness of recruitment method by the response of individuals (Bach, 2005). Selection process Sifting candidates- after recruitment the employer will filter the candidates who best matches with the job requirement (Bach, 2005). Short-listing candidates- in this step employer choose the candidates who are reliable and competent (Bach, 2005). Selection, interviewing and testing- many candidates are selected on the basis of their CVs, their past experiences and achievements (Wingrove et al., 1984). Interviewing is done which is not a reliable method because some time the interviewer and interviewee views regarding jobs may differ (Bach, 2005). Contract of employment- this contract is made between an organization and candidate. It includes job specifications, salary, benefits, time duration, working hours and other details (Bach, 2005). Inducting new employees- the final step is of introducing the new worker to the organization (Bach, 2005). GM ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT ON STAFF (D.1) GM CULTURAL EFFECTS ON RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF STAFF Organizational culture The concept of organization culture is becoming common everywhere and its gaining attention from the practitioners and intellectual bodies (Schein and H., 1990) Effect of organization culture on recruitment General Motors culture is innovative and while recruiting innovation attracts people. At GM employees are encouraged to experiment and rewarded for experimenting new products in the market place (Rao, 2010). Effect of organization culture on retention In 1950 general Motors was operating plant in Fremont, California where Chevrolet car was assembled. At that time General Motors declared to leave the United Auto Workers in the upper Middle West and it will not be dealing with them by moving to west. This statement caused the conflicts in the corporation, thus in 1982 the plant was running at disastrous low level, 5000 complaints were filled every year, 21 daily and more than 2000 complaints were unresolved. Due to poor productivity GM collaborated with Toyota and in 1985 they opened plant again and this time due to change in organizational culture only 2 complaints were filled and resolved. The plant was generating profits because of quality, efficiency, productivity, team work and employees decision making authority and none employee left the job (Cameron and Quinn, 1999). (D.2) ASSESSMENT OF WORK LIFE BALANCES ISSUES AND THE CHANGING PATERNS OF WORK BEHAVIOUR Work life balance issues Flexible workers report low levels of stress and thus increase productivity (Eaton, 2003). Workers who take family tension along with work do not perform well and in the case of downsizing they are demoralized (Vries and Balazs, 1997). Changing work practices Firms that are flexible and allow the employees working from home have good work life balance. The firms that are family friendly who allows employees to take time off for children are highly productive. The companies should be friendly practiced, should give time off for the children, job switching should not be an issue and should give time to relax (Bloom, Reenan and Kretschmer, 2009). GRIEVANCE, DISCIPLINE AND DISMISSAL PROCESS (E.1) PROCESS FOLLOWED IN GRIEVANCE SITUATION Employee informs grievance- complain is regarding work place problems and neglected staff. Informal discussion- the employees is called for the meeting with the manager and manager asks questions what went wrong, what is the matter. In case of harassment the form is filled and sent to the vice chancellor. Investigating the grievance- company investigates what went wrong and ask the employees. Making a decision-if the vice chancellor identifies that the objection is frolicsome or out of time so he will stop further process. Normally review is made before 2 months. Offering the right to appeal- the complainant may appeal. ( Thomas, 2001) (E.2) STAGES OF DISCIPLINE ISSUES RESULT IN DISMISSAL Dismissal- the employer dismisses the employees for bad conduct, improper work and inefficiency. Investigation- the investigation is carried out by HR department that what went wrong, ask questions from other employees. Meeting- a meeting is settled where employee has to answer. Decision- the decision is taken whether to fire or not. Right to appeal- the employee can appeal for the right decision (Thomas, 2001). (E.3) ROLE OF ACAS Role of ACAS in grievance, discipline and dismissal process ACAS provides practical guidance to employers, workers and their representatives on: requirements relating to disciplinary and grievance issues; what constitutes reasonable behavior when dealing with disciplinary and grievance issues; Producing and using disciplinary and grievance procedures; and A workers right to bring an attendant to grievance and disciplinary hearings (ACAS R, 2006). Role of employment tribunals in grievance, discipline and dismissal process In 2001, the government launched the consultation document Routes to Resolution its goal were a high skills and high productive economy, the fundamental principles of access to justice, fair and competent tribunals and a modern, user-friendly public service. It talks about the right of the individual and resolves dispute between employer and employee (ACAS, 2006). Role of other external agencies in grievance, discipline and dismissal process The Equality and Human Rights Commission works with organizations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to diminish discrimination and promote equal opportunities for all employees, customers and the users of services. Healthy and safety executive concerned with the employees safe conditions at work. CONCLUSION This research defines the human resource planning and the processes involved in it. General Motors is a multinational company which is ranked among 10 profitable countries. Human resource planning is essential because it deals with the business strategies and helps companies to attain long term goals. Through human resource planning General Motors can align its business strategies with human resource strategies. It gives complete structure of staffing and hiring and issues related to jobs.

The Chicago Fire Of 1871 Essay -- essays research papers

The Chicago Fire of 1871 The summer of 1871 had been an unusually dry one in Chicago. Between July and October, only 5 inches of rain fell. In addition to twenty-seven fires in the first week of October, on Saturday night, October 7, a blaze broke out in a planning mill on the West Side and destroyed almost every building in a four block area before it was brought under control Sunday morning. They lost a hose and other fire-fighting equipment, including one of seventeen steam fire engines and a hose cart. Nearly half of Chicago's 185 firemen fought this fire and many were on duty all day, so they were already exhausted when the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 struck. Some people think that the fire was started by Mrs. O'leary's cow kicking over a lantern. Others have different theories, but one thing is for sure,on the Sunday evening of October 8, 1871 a blaze started in Mrs. O' leary's barn. Daniel sullivan sat on the wooden sidewalk when he saw a flame in Mrs. O'leary's barn. He managed to save a half grown calf. By now everyone in the neighborhood woke up, including the sleeping O'learys. The "America" hose cart was the first to reach the scene. They were soon joined by the "Little Giant" engine company. A neighbor ran to a drug store to turn on an alarm but the alarm failed to work. The court house watchman had given wrong directions but later tried to correct his mistake, but the alarm operato... The Chicago Fire Of 1871 Essay -- essays research papers The Chicago Fire of 1871 The summer of 1871 had been an unusually dry one in Chicago. Between July and October, only 5 inches of rain fell. In addition to twenty-seven fires in the first week of October, on Saturday night, October 7, a blaze broke out in a planning mill on the West Side and destroyed almost every building in a four block area before it was brought under control Sunday morning. They lost a hose and other fire-fighting equipment, including one of seventeen steam fire engines and a hose cart. Nearly half of Chicago's 185 firemen fought this fire and many were on duty all day, so they were already exhausted when the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 struck. Some people think that the fire was started by Mrs. O'leary's cow kicking over a lantern. Others have different theories, but one thing is for sure,on the Sunday evening of October 8, 1871 a blaze started in Mrs. O' leary's barn. Daniel sullivan sat on the wooden sidewalk when he saw a flame in Mrs. O'leary's barn. He managed to save a half grown calf. By now everyone in the neighborhood woke up, including the sleeping O'learys. The "America" hose cart was the first to reach the scene. They were soon joined by the "Little Giant" engine company. A neighbor ran to a drug store to turn on an alarm but the alarm failed to work. The court house watchman had given wrong directions but later tried to correct his mistake, but the alarm operato...

Critique of Sartre’s Concept of “Existence Precedes Essence” Essay

Existentialism evolved as an attempt to come up with an authentic response to the existential angst of modern man in search of his identity and place in existence. Perhaps the very first existentialist thinker and philosopher in history, Socrates, put fundamental stress on the enquiry of the question â€Å"Who am I? † On the other hand, the twentieth century philosopher with whom the movement of existentialism is most commonly associated with, Sartre, says that with man, existence precedes essence. That is to say, there is no essence as such which man can discover inside his being. He has to create it, as it were, from nothing, through his efforts and choices. This is the central tenet of Sartre’s brand of existentialism. In a way, it sounds very pessimistic, but at the same time, such an observation can lead us to realize the freedom of man’s being, inspiring us to attain greater meaning in our lives. Sartre’s stance seems to be very heroic, and his attitude can fill us with new energy to act and create. However, as we shall see, considered purely on a logical and philosophical basis, his theory rings completely hollow, indeed as hollow as the â€Å"nothingness† he talks about. In his essay â€Å"Existentialism as Humanism† Sartre most eloquently sets out to clarify what exactly is meant by existentialism in the proper sense of the word. This he does with amazing simplicity, putting the essence of the philosophical system of which he is one of foremost proponents just in three words: existence precedes essence. If God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept, and that this being is man, or, as Heidegger says, human reality. (p. 349) Sartre proceeds to explain us the meaning of these two concepts essence and existence and the two view points based on them, namely â€Å"essence precedes existence† and â€Å"existence precedes essence,† in a very lucid style. Sartre gives the example of a simple object, a paper cutter, to illustrate how in the case of this object essence precedes existence, and how it is the other way around in humans. To enter into a â€Å"conversation† with Sartre, however, I would like to provide the example of a simple machine here, a typewriter, to illustrate the same point. Like a paper cutter, a typewriter too is mass-produced, according to a predetermined model. Therefore, a typewriter is clearly an instance of essence preceding existence. Now let us take a very high power computer. This computer is as much mass-produced and made according to a preexisting model as a simple typewriter, here too essence precedes existence. However, whereas a typewriter can do only one thing in a fairly rigid manner, a computer can do a million things in an absolutely flexible style. A typewriter is like an animal, a one-dimensional creature. A powerful computer, on the other hand, is more like a human being, a multidimensional entity. An existentialist like Sartre could easily make a claim that in the case of typewriter, essence precedes existence, and in the case of the computer, existence precedes essence. But this is patently wrong. A computer is also made on a pre-existing model, as much as a typewriter is. The existence of a computer is also based on the premise of essence preceding existence as much as that of any manufactured object. Only, the specific nature of tasks it is going to perform depends on the software loaded unto it, and other ways it is programmed. The computer cannot just do absolutely anything, it has its limitations. Human beings too have their limitations, but within these limitations they have an immense choice and freedom to determine what they are going to do and what they are going to be. The statement that â€Å"Man is nothing but what he makes of himself† may sound very good in pep talk, campaign speech or inspirational poetry. But it could be plain absurd, when we consider its philosophical implications. Man has a given â€Å"nature† – his freedom, limitations and identity are defined by it. For instance, what can man think, achieve, or create without the enormous intelligence endowed to him. Man is intelligent, by nature – there is nothing man has done about it. He can further sharpen his intelligence and use it to the best of his ability, or stop using it and become stupid — only this much freedom and scope exists with man. Simply because such scope and freedom exists, one cannot claim that in human beings existence precedes essence. Existence preceding essence would imply that humans are nothing by themselves, that whatever they want to make of themselves they have to strive to become that. Sartre and other existentialists seem to be completely unfamiliar with any basic concepts of psychology. In fact if existentialism were true, there cannot exist any subject called human psychology. Because, according to Sartre, there is nothing like pre-existing human nature. Thus, there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills and as he conceives himself after already existing – as he wills to be after that leap towards existence. Man is nothing else but that which he makes himself. That is the first principle of existentialism. And this is what people call its â€Å"subjectivity† using the word as a reproach against us. (p. 349) The assertion that â€Å"Man simply is† is simply delusional. I would not call this viewpoint by the term ‘subjectivity’, whatever it means. I would call it plain nonsense. If there is no human nature, then what are all psychologists studying and exploring? In fact, by the time of Sartre, there already was a William James, a Freud, and a Jung – not to speak of Pavlov, Watson and other behaviorists who equate man to an animal; the study of human psychology was very much diversified and in a rather mature stage. Yet, here comes Sartre and declares that man is free, that he can make absolutely anything out of himself just as he wills – almost magically, as it were!

O and Othello Comparison Essay

‘Othello is one of the brilliant plays written by William Shakespeare. It is the story of man named Othello and how his mind was twisted and manipulated by a man named Iago and how Iago made Othello think that his wife Desdemona was cheating on him with his lieutenant Michael Cassio, which results in many deaths. Tim Blake Nelson has creatively restructured ‘Othello’ into a film to appeal to a teenage audience. It still contains the same central ideas which are racism, jealousy and deception which will be analysed on how they are portrayed in ‘Othello’ and are creatively reshaped in ‘O’. Jealously is one of the main central ideas and is shown through many character but mainly Iago and Hugo and Othello and O. In act 4, scene 5 Othello goes into an eplileplsy fit after hearing the news that Cassio slept with Othello’s wife Desdemona and Othello has lost nearly all control of himself to his jealousy in the play. Nelson has recreated this scene into a Slam Dunk competition where Odin is high on cocaine and Hugo (Iago) has given him the misinformation that Desi (Desdemona) and Michael (Cassio) have been sleeping together. In the novel ‘Othello’, Othello strikes Desdemona in the company of Lodovico, a Venetian nobleman. This very action implies that Othello is so engrossed in his emotion that he simply does not care that other people can see his anger and subsequent violence towards his wife. In â€Å"O,† this concept has been magnified where Odin’s violent actions do not occur in front of one person, but instead in front of an entire crowd of people. Also when Lodovico’s see’s this he is surprised and Othello has to fix his actions â€Å"My lord, this would not be believed in Venice, / Though I should swear I saw’t. `Tis very much; / Make her amends – she weeps† (4. 1. 36) During â€Å"O,† when Odin destroys the backboard and pushes the ball boy down, the crowd simply boos at him. Both responses are appropriate to the contexts they take place in, but both express displeasure at Othello’s actions. To further prove the point that Othello holds no regard for anyone else’s opinion at this point, he ignores the responses in both contexts and continues harboring his jealously. In Shakespeare’s script, Othello continues to rant about how evil he believes Desdemona is: â€Å"If that the earth could teem with woman’s tears, / Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile† (IV. 1. 39-240), whereas in â€Å"O,† Odin remains silent and simply struts around the basketball court with his arms outstretched while the crowd boos him. Both actions hint at the more selfish aspect of Othello’s emotions; by ignoring his surroundings and clinging to his beliefs, he proves that he is thinking more about himself at this point than anything else. In ‘O’ when Odin shatters the backboard it is a visual metaphor for destroying Desi as basketball is something that defines Odin so therefore basketball could be interpreted as a symbol for the things Odin loves and enjoys in his life such asDesi. By having Odin destroy the backboard of the basketball hoop, Nelson illustrates the path that Odin and Othello decided to take, a path that will destroy everything they love, and ultimately themselves. Therefore the image foreshadows their death. Racism is also largely seen in both texts, Shakespeare makes it clear that Othello’s colour has a lot to do with Iago’s problems with him. â€Å"The term ‘Moor’ used to describe Othello at various points in the play. The term ‘Moor’ was widely used as a synonym for ‘Negro’ When Shakespeare describes the elopement of Desdemona and Othello, he makes it appear to be unnatural. He goes so far as to relate their elopement to bestiality. There can be no doubt that Othello’s blackness is a significant part of the play. In ‘Othello’ Desdemona call him the ‘Moor’ and she is his loving and faithful wife whereas when Iago says it, it is offensive. In the film ‘O’ there is a lot of racism, Odin and Desi jokingly discuss their different races. When she disapproves of his use of â€Å"nigga,† he tells her that he is allowed to say it but she cannot even think it. Despite his apparently shallow answer, Odin is â€Å"haunted†¦by a profound self-consciousness about his own blackness†. When Hugo tells Odin that Desi and Mike called him â€Å"the nigga,† This is extremely offensive to and he begins to act out his rage and self-loathing. In ‘Othello the word ‘Moor’ has been replaced by with a the word ‘nigga’ to appeal to younger audiences. Deception can also be seen throughout both texts and especially when Iago sets Cassio up to make Othello hear the Cassio has been sleeping with Desdemona. In ‘Othello’ this scene is set in a jail area whereas in ‘O’ it is set in Iago’s bedroom and Othello is hiding outside the room listening in on the conversation. Nelson has creatively reshaped this scene from early times to the 20th century. During this scene in ‘O’ Cassio talks about Desi as a floosy and talks badly of Odin calling the name Nigga, this in use of language from Michael is the language that teenagers use which is another way Nelson has creatively reshaped Othello. Overall, Nelson has creatively reshaped the central ideas jealousy, racism and deception into the modern film but still keeping the story line. In ‘O’ he has successfully done this by setting it in a high school and making Odin the star basketball player.