International Business Incentives

A Cultural Approach essays

A Cultural Approach essays The cultural and developmental aspects of American history in the 17th and 18th centuries are certainly among the most important and influential factors in the shaping of this country's long and storied history. Historiographically speaking, there are undoubtedly thousands upon thousands of different studies and opinions on the most influential cultural strides of early Americans well as the pros and cons that each colonial region developed in shaping America and readying it for the Revolutionary Era. Each of these four studies brings a slightly different and even, at times, conflicting approach to analyzing the cultural and social roots of early America, but each one provides a fresh perspective that enhances the idea that America is a true "melting pot" of ideas, social values, and cultural traits. Zuckerman, in his article, focuses his attention on the middle colonies and the erroneous tendencies of historians to ignore controversial or pertinent historical issues in favor of obvious, harmless social arguments. Historians have focused on New England as the true "birthplace of America" because of its early literature and thought that focused solely on Puritanism, and therefore offered an obvious and easy starting point with which to measure the region's cultural metamorphasis. However, as Zuckerman points out, New England was fairly unrepresentative of the real America, as it was a homogenous society dominated by English Puritans and their inflexible doctrines and unstatic customs and economy. The middle colonies, on the other hand, were made up of people of many different origins, races, and creeds, and their interrelationships are definitely more symbolic of American culture. Like most people's idea of America, the middle colonies developed a commercial culture ba! sed on a balanced economy, and, besides that, showed no real homogenous cultural traits that ran through the region. Indeed, most of th ...

Selection and Training Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Selection and Training Plan - Assignment Example (2). Is the applicant going to be motivated to be successful? (3) Is he going to meet the needs of the organisation? The outline of the plan is as follows: In this case, the structured interviews will be used to choose the right candidate. The advantage of this strategy is that it is comprised of careful and systematic planning and it is often conducted by a skilled interviewer. This type of interview mainly focuses on the requirements of the job and this is the reason why it has been chosen for this particular task. The following questions will be asked in the interview. The new employee training approach required for this post will be technically based. Most training in this case will be directed at improving as well as upgrading the employee’s technical skills in the field of operation. We are operating in an environment that is characterised by technological changes hence the need improve the technical skills of the workers. For instance, the position of Product Review Technician is technically based and it requires constant training. This type of training will be carried out on the job where the employee will constantly improve his knowledge through learning different facets of the work. However, off the job training can also be carried out in the event that there have been major technical changes taking place in a certain type of job. This will enhance the employees to acquire new knowledge from specialists who have knowledge in this particular

Academic Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Academic Response - Essay Example In Rodriguez’s case, when his sibling started communicating to him in English at home in order to help him gain public confidence by learning a bit of English, the whole family underwent changes as the parents and the relatives were no longer at ease with him as marked by the silence spell in the house especially at dinner time. English transforms the entire family therefore limiting the intimacy they had with Spanish. This is a disadvantage to young children as supporters of bilingual education assert that children should first be taught in their first language. Rodriguez also argues that the ability of a bilingual person to speak two languages especially a language spoken by most people in public makes him more comfortable when speaking in public. The use of the first language only impedes social growth as one cannot communicate in English effectively thereby causing alienation from the public. When Rodriguez mastered English, he started viewing himself and his family as part of the American society as he could now fit in the public. He learned that Spanish is something that was not socially acceptable and appropriate in public and he got the feeling that he has the obligation and the right to communicate in English. This made him feel like a complete fully-fledged and worthy member of the American society. He says, "At last†¦I was an American citizen." Rodriguez also implies that speaking a language different than his private language in public makes the person lose a part of his identity. This is because bilingual education requires that the largest part of the first language is neglected thereby intensifying the separation among cultures. Rodriguez asserts that there must be a sacrifice in order to gain the acceptance and worthiness of being an American. His philosophy is that learning English requires that the native language is buried and forgotten in the mind of the students like the way he

Cultural studies of Organization communication Essay Example for Free

Cultural studies of Organization communication Essay According to Saran and Kalliny (2009), there are many theories which explain the organizational behavior relative to changes in the structures. Saran and Kalliny (2009, para. 4) continue to explain that there are many variables potentially affecting the implementation process including corporate culture issues, such as formalization, decentralization, functional differentiation, leadership, job satisfaction and job involvement and organizational dynamic issues, such as resources and communication. The review of literature about this topic focuses on these key areas by providing historical and contemporary issues that have been captured within the scope of this research. Communication is one of the most essential things that an organization requires to prosper in any market especially during turbulent business environments. Dubrin (1997) was of the opinion that communication is a very important aspect that unites all systems of the organization. Managers spend most of their time communicating with different stakeholders to create an efficient flow of activities. Knowledge management is very vital to managers since the efficient operation of any organization depends on how information is managed. The long term survival of any organization depends on the ability to manage information and knowledge for the efficient communication. People exchange, process and use information through the system of knowledge management (Bakan et al, n. d. ). Organizational structure defines the various divisions within an organization and establishes a system of coordinating the various resources for the achievement of the goals and objectives. Decision making process follows the structure of the organization to ensure all responsible individuals make the appropriate decisions. The managers create a system of collecting information and ideas from all stakeholders during the process of decision making to ensure all parties are included in the decisions of the organization. All the forces to the organization must be considered during the decision making process, that is, environmental forces, technological forces and the strategies being adopted by the organization. The restructuring process must ensure that the managers create systems which make maximum use of the resources available to the organization. The definition of tasks, allocation of different resources and the arrangement of resources as well as tasks should match the structure, goals and objectives of the organization. Organizational structure provides the systems to be followed during division of labor, when delegating authority and responsibilities, when establishing units of command, and the span of control. The structure of the organization defines the strategies to be adopted when delegating authority and responsibilities (Porter, 1985). The use of technology is encouraged in developing organizational structures which match the needs of an organization. The use of information communication technology has increased as the need for efficiency in both private and public corporations intensifies. Technology helps people learn about the use of better knowledge about improving their systems. Good governance in organization requires the establishment of a clear organizational hierarchy to define the roles of each individual involved in the activities of the organization (Wade, 2002). The use of technology has been encouraged by many organizations to adjust the existing structures to fit new strategies that are required for improved performance. When new technologies are adopted, the management must introduce other structures to ensure their implementation takes place efficiently. The people working in an organization need to be educated and persuaded about the new technologies being adopted by the organization to ensure they utilize them for the benefits of all stakeholders (Evan Black, 1967). The technology must be relevant to the goals and objectives of the organization. The organizational factors must be well studied and analyzed to introduce a better system which is in line with all systems of the organization. Increase in technological innovation has attracted much attention especially due to the existence of scarce resources within the organization. Managers reshuffle the workers in their organization as well as creating other structures to ensure the organization adopts the new technologies being introduced (Rogers, 1995). Saran and Kalliny (2009) are of the opinion that implementing new technologies is complex and involves uncertainty. The uncertainty brings about conflicts between different stakeholders of the organization due to the new structures introduced. The uncertainty may create resistance from the people involved in the activities of the organization. The management must conduct adequate research about the best strategies to implement the technologies to ensure minimum resistance emanates from the individuals working in the organization (Rogers, 1995). However, Gill (2003, pg. 316) identified that many organizations do not conduct adequate research before implementing their new technologies and this has led to â€Å"low success rate, given the importance of the same in a very dynamic and ever changing business environment, where customers not only demand new products and services but also newness in the product offering. † Implementing new technologies requires introducing changes within the structure of the organization and behavior change is essential to ensure all stakeholders readily accept the new ideas. Behavior change is difficult where there is uncertainty about the technologies to be adopted. This may hinder implementation of the innovations. Organizations take a longer period to adapt to new changes compared to individuals. Fariborz (1991) suggested that the revolution in technology being observed today requires organizations to integrate the variables of the organization with implementation strategies. He continued to explain that technologies are the main vehicles of change and that individual, organizational and environmental factors affect the implementation of many technologies and innovations. Accepting change is the basis of introducing new technologies within the organization (Saran Kalliny, 2009). For an organization to adapt to new technologies there is need to link the organization to the appropriate technologies which match the structures within the system. The innovations and technologies adapt to the organizational and industrial structures with time and the management must be patient enough to allow the new systems become incorporated into the processes of the organization (Van De Ven, 1986). There is a learning process involved in the adoption of new strategies. The old systems must be done away with to ensure the people do not revert to them. The culture of the organization should be adjusted to accommodate the new changes. Changing the culture requires changing the attitudes and values of the people involved in the activities of the organization. Changing the culture is not an easy thing and many people will become opposed to these strategies since there are gains and losses to many people when new systems are introduced. The culture of an organization defines the values, norms, and attitudes that people have. The management must create structures which match the culture of the organization. The culture determines the best strategies to be adopted by the people working in an organization. The managers have a responsibility to establish a culture which suits the needs of the workers and other stakeholders of the organization (Bridges, 1991). The implementation of innovations and technologies requires a process to ensure all the stakeholders respond to the new systems successfully. The process starts from acquiring knowledge about the new systems, forming attitude about it, adopting or rejecting the new decisions, implementing and confirmation. Until the decisions are implemented, all activities prior to this involve mental processes. The installation of the ideas into real sustainable process is the final stage which determines the success of the management to implement its strategies (Pierce and Delbecq, 1977). Corporate restructuring allows the managers bring changes within the organization to accommodate new and better structures which improve the performance of an organization. The need to globalize domestic markets has forced many organizations to adopt better structures to create new market opportunities, overcome threats from organizations and diffuse models of business that relate to globalization. To improve the costs and revenue structures of the organization, managers have developed variety of objectives to ensure all aspects of management are captured (Jones, 2002). Formalization within the organizational structure provides the procedures to be observed when conducting the various activities by the individuals working in the organization. Organizational hierarchy describes the jobs and the amount of freedom provided to the stakeholders of the organization (Cohn Turyn, 1980). For the effective adoption and implementation of new technologies, the formal structures must be followed when performing duties within the organization. All systems of the organization should be properly coordinated to ensure the implementation of the new ideas is successful (Kim, 1980). Formal procedures are introduced within the organization to reduce stress which may originate from confusion that occurs when systems are not properly coordinated. Formal structures provide the lower level employees of the organization with equal opportunities to avoid discretion in the allocation of duties and rewards. The planning process requires the management to create a properly coordinated system that will bring about successful implementation of new technologies (Zaltman, Duncan Holbek, 1973). The use of communication is expressed in the organizational hierarchy where formal communication procedures are established. All people must adhere to the communication structures that the management has established for effective operation of activities. The organizational chart provides the flow of authority, information and other resources. The managers restructure the organizational structure as need arises and provide new roles to different individuals. Restructuring the organization requires creating a proper system so that all individuals can adjust accordingly (Bakan et al n. d. ; Porter, 1985). The global recession that affected all global economies in the world forced many organizations to adopt new strategies to improve their performance as well as ensure the corporate survival in the global markets. Many organizations have restructured their systems to adapt to the new changes brought about by the effects of the recession. To reduce the increasing costs of production, managers are adopting a downsizing strategy (Harman, 2009). The reduction in sales volume in the global markets provides managers with the decision to create better systems and structures which improve the image of the organization in the global markets (Dewar and Dutton, 1986). Hitt et al (1994) established that over the last two decades, many organizations have carried out extensive re-structuring process to cope with the changing global markets. The media and communications industry has been characterized by increasing competition in both local and global markets. Organizations need to restructure their activities to accommodate the changes in the global markets. Gregory (1999) provides that â€Å"corporate downsizing has been implemented by a large number of American firms in an effort to become more flexible and responsive to increased competition. † The strategy to down size many organizations have not been responsive to the strategy of reducing the costs of production. The impacts of downsizing upon the employees of these companies have been worse. Cases of stress among the remaining employees have been reported by organizations which have used downsizing as a strategy to restructure their systems. Other negative impacts related to downsizing are reduction in career opportunities and reduction in the loyalty to the company by the employees. The loss of very important employees is another risk associated with downsizing organizations (Hitt et al 1994). Decentralization of authority is an important aspect when implementing better hierarchies which ensure the organization is successful in its efforts to create a better structure. Decentralization allows all members of the organization to participate in the decision making process. Employees are able to translate the decisions made by their managers into specific plans of actions. For effective communication, the management should introduce a decentralized system to ensure all members of the organization contribute towards the activities of the organization. Decentralization ensures that all decisions are implemented successfully by establishing different work centers where different individuals can contribute their ideas. Workers are ready to own decisions when they participate in the decision making as well as implementation process (Jones and Jennifer, 2003). Proper leadership strategies within the organization should be adopted when implementing the new technologies. Leadership refers to the ability of the management to influence the subordinates to contribute willingly to the goals of the organization. The managers should have the skills of influencing others to accept the new structures for the success of the organization. Managing change within the organization requires proper leadership skills so that the managers can influence their followers about developing new behaviors to adapt to the new systems of the organization (Robbins, 1998). To ensure the employees accept the new technologies, the management should ensure the employees are satisfied in the jobs assigned to them. Job satisfaction creates the willingness to perform duties without being forced and motivates the employees to improve their performance (Herzberg, Mausner and Synderman, 1959). Functional differentiation allows the management to introduce better systems within the organization. Kimberly and Evansisko (1981, pg. 693) define functional differentiation as a process which represents the extent to which an organization is divided into different units, normally measured by the different number of units under the top management. The extent to which an organization differentiations its structures determines the success in implementing technologies. The communication process is made efficient by a high differentiation of the processes. The top management has the role of ensuring all employees comply with the established rules for the efficient operation of the differentiated units of the organization (Baldridge and Burnham, 1975). To ensure employees are satisfied by the various duties assigned to them, the management should differentiate the organizations units and allocate jobs according to the skills and experience of the individual employees. The use of technology in different units should ensure that the subordinates are allocated the appropriate units to avoid conflicts (Ahls, 2001). Bibliography Ahls, B. , 2001. Organizational behavior: A model for cultural change. Ind. Manage. , 43: 6-9. Bakan, I. , Tasliyan, M, Buyukbese, T. , Eraslan, I. H Coskun, M (n. d. ). Organizational communications: the role of information technology (it). Retrieved 5 June 2010 from; http://www. iamot. org/conference/index. php/ocs/4/paper/view/624/127. Baldridge, J. and R. Burnham, (1975). Organizational innovation: Individual, organizational and environmental impacts. Admin. Sci. Q. , 20: 165-176. Bridges, W. , 1991. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. 1st Edn. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc. , Massachusetts. Cohn, S. F. and R. M. Turyn, (1980). The structure of a firm and the adoption of process innovations. IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage. , 27: 98-102. Dewar, R. D. and J. E. Dutton, (1986). The adoption of radical and incremental innovations: An empirical analysis. Manage. Sci. , 32: 1422-1433. Dubrin, A. J. (1997). Essentials of management, South-Western College Publishing, Ohio. Evan, W. M. and G. Black, (1967). Innovation in business organizations: Some factors associated with success or failure of staff proposals. J. Business, 40: 516-530. Fariborz, D. , (1991). Organizational innovation: A meta-analysis of effects of determinants and moderators. Acad. Manage. J. , 34: 555-590. Gill, R. , (2003). Change management-or change leadership? J. Change Manage. , 3: 307-318. Harman, Chris Zombie (2009). Capitalism: Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx / London: Bookmarks Publications. ISBN 9781905192533 Herzberg, F. , B. Mausner and B. B. Synderman, (1959). The Motivation to Work. 1st Edn Wiley, New York. Hitt, Michael A. , Barbara W. Keats, Herbert F. Harback, and Robert D. Nixon (1994). Rightsizing: Building and Maintaining Strategic Leadership and Long-Term Competitiveness, Organizational Dynamics, 23:2, 18-32 Gregory, Jannifer (1999). â€Å"Encouraging Organizational Learning Through Pay after a Corporate Downsizing†. [emailprotected]@gement, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 163-181. Jones, Marc T. (17 Apr 2002). Globalization and organizational restructuring: A strategic perspective. Thunderbird International Business Review, Volume 44, Issue 3 (p 325-351). Jones, R. G. and M. G. Jennifer, 2003. Contemporary Management. 1st Edn. McGraw-Hill, Irwin, California. Kim, L. , 1980. Organizational innovation and structure. J. Business Res. , 8: 225-245. Kimberly, J. R. and M. J. Evansisko, (1981). Organizational innovation: The influence of individual, organizational and contextual factors on hospital adoption of technological and administrative innovations. Acad. Manage. J. , 24: 689-713. Pierce, J. L. and A. L. Delbecq, (1977). Organization structure individual attitudes and innovation. Acad. Manage. Rev. , 2: 27-37. Porter, M. E. , 1985. Competitive Advantage. 1st Edn. Free Press, New York. Robbins, S. P. , 1998. Organizational Behavior. 1st Edn, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Rogers, E. M. , 1995. Diffusion of Innovations. 3rd Edn. , Free Press, New York. Saran, A. , L. Serviere M. Kalliny, (2009). Corporate culture, organizational dynamics and

Counting the minority vote Essay -- essays research papers

Counting the Minority Voter This election year the presidential candidates are courting the minority voters like never before in history. States like Arizona, Florida, New Mexico and Ohio are considered swing states or battleground states. In many states voter registration drives have significantly increased the number of minority registered voters, particularly Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians. The candidates are well aware of this and are campaigning issues relevant to minority voters because they are prominent players in the political arena in the upcoming presidential election (Kamman). According to the "Current Population Reports," a report put out by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2002, there are 25.1 million Hispanics in the United States. Of these 25.1 million, 15 million are U.S. citizens, of those 8.1 million are registered voters, of those 4.7 million reportedly voted. In percentages it relates in the following way: 52.5% of Hispanics are U.S. citizens, 30% of those Hispanics are registered to vote. Of the 30% that are registered to vote 57.9% reported to have voted. Hispanics have traditionally voted Democratic but in recent history a few more are swaying to the Republican Party. According to a poll analyzed by Steve Sailer 20 % of the Latino voters identifies themselves as Republican with the percentage of Latino voters voting Republican being slightly higher in Texas (the President's hom...

Los Angeles in the movies

Los Angeles in the Movies: Banham ‘s or Davis' vision of the metropolis?Los Angeles has ever been represented by the media in really opposite ways, from the propaganda images in the 1920s advertisement Los Angeles as a Eden, to the noir novels of the 1940s, seeking to shatter that portraiture. Urban Planners and historiographers besides portion this split position. Reyner Banham ‘s The Architecture of Four Ecologies ( 1971 ) is like a court to the metropolis, researching everything that makes Los Angeles the manner it is ; from the expressway right down to surfboard design, Banham has an undeniable love for the metropolis. Mike Davis, in contrast pigments a really black portrayal of the metropolis in City of Quartz ( 1990 ) , concentrating on the corruptness, development and organized crime demographics that have made Los Angeles what it is today. In The Ecology of Fear ( 1998 ) , he concludes that the metropolis should ne'er hold been built due to the frequence and inevi tableness of natural catastrophes. These contrasting positions of Los Angeles have been represented infinite times through Hollywood films. The bulk of the clip, when a movie is set in Los Angeles, it is either important to the narrative, or at least has some function to play. One of the grounds why the metropolis is so popular with managers and film writers is because of this love-hate relationship. Which side of Los Angeles the manager depicts depends mostly on the narrative itself. In this essay I will look at an array of movies, analysing whether they portray Banham ‘s optimistic Los Angeles, or Davis ‘s black reading. I will concentrate on three movies in item ; L.A. Story, Volcano and ( 500 ) Days of Summer. Los Angeles has been a subject of argument throughout its life-time. Different parties have repeatedly tried to picture their version of Los Angeles, either for personal addition, or to merely state a good narrative. As Michael Sorkin comments, ‘L.A. Is likely the most mediated town in America, about unviewable save through the assumed scrim of its mythologizers ‘ . ( 1 ) Morrow Mayo describes Los Angeles since 1988 as a ‘commodity ; something to be advertised and sold to the people of the United States ‘ . This image created by authors, antiquaries, and publicizers which Davis refers to as the ‘Arroyo Set ‘ at the bend of the 20th century ‘created a comprehensive fiction of Southern California ‘ . ‘Their imagination, motives, values and fables were in bend infinitely reproduced by Hollywood, while go oning to be incorporated into the substitute landscape of suburban Southern California ‘ . As the Depression hit, it shattered the dream-addicted Los Angeles and created a settlement of authors intent on exposing the rough worlds of L.A. life. ‘These Depression-crazed center categories of Southern California became, in one manner or another, the original supporters of that great anti-myth normally known as noir†¦ .a sequence of through-the-glass-darkly novels†¦ repainted the image of Los Angeles as a deracinated urban snake pit ‘ Davis calls Banham ‘s ‘The Architecture of Four Ecolgies ‘ ‘the first serious jubilation of the metropolis since the supporter yearss of the 1920s ‘ . Banham went against traditional critics and declared ‘I love the topographic point with a passion that goes beyond sense or ground ‘ , he found virtuousness in about everything, including the car, hillside places and even surfboards. The Architecture of Four Ecologies became a ‘turning point in the rating of the metropolis by the international clerisy ‘ . Since so it has become acceptable and platitude to portray Los Angeles favorably, without seeking to sell it as a trade name. Mike Davis, amongst many others, does non portion Banham ‘s position. In City of Quartz and The Ecology of Fear he uses historical grounds to foreground the the societal dysfunction, economic disparity and menace from natural catastrophe, painitng an about tragic image of Los Angeles. This contrast has resulted in legion movies about Los Angeles being produced, each one with a clear message portraying the metropolis as either Banham ‘s glorious reading, or Davis ‘ black calamity.L.A Story ( 1991 )L.A. Story is a romantic comedy about a weather forecaster who finds love with the assistance of a speaking freeway mark. It is described as a ‘celebration of life and L.A Culture ‘ , and would decidedly be considered to be portraying Banham ‘s L.A. The rubric sequence shows many facets of Los Angeles in a positive and entertaining manor, such as a street of people all roll uping their newspapers in unison or a pool full of people beckoning at a winging hot dog publicity. Similarly to Banham, the movie does n't shy away from demoing the negative facets of Los Angles, instead it foreground them in a amusing manner. One illustration would be the chief character avoiding the gridlock traffic by driving on the pavement and through Parkss, or the humourous manner in which a minor temblor effects a eating house. Banham sees the ‘automobile as a work of art and the expressway as a suited gallery in which to expose it ‘ . During the title sequence of L.A. Story we are shown many illustrations of customized autos. There is besides an aged twosome sauntering along with walking AIDSs, who so acquire into a Ferrari and speed off, reminiscent of Banham ‘s mention to ‘Aunt Nabby ‘ driving her ‘chrome xanthous Volkswagen with reversed wheels and a voom-voom fumes. ‘ For Banham, the expressway system is ‘one of the greater plants of adult male ‘ , he sees it as an built-in portion of Los Angeles, non merely in the manner it transports its occupants but besides in the manner it makes us read Los Angeles, through ‘movement, non monument ‘ . He describes the Santa Monica/San Diego intersection as ‘a work or art, both as a form on the map, as a memorial against the sky, and as a kinetic experience as one sweeps through it ‘ . Davis, contrary to Banham, sees the expressway system merely as the devastation of the natural landscape. ‘The car besides devoured extortionate measures of premier land. By 1970 more than 1/3 of the surface country of the Los Angeles part was dedicated to the auto. What coevalss of tourers and migrators had one time admired as a existent life garden of Eden was now buried under an estimated 3 billion dozenss of concrete. ‘ Many films have depicted the expressway system in a positive manor, and L.A. Story is no exclusion, with it ‘s beautiful dark clip shootings of the busy expresswaies, or by following a individual auto down a coastal route, L.A. Story goes beyond that of many other movies by giving the expressway system ( and arguably Los Angeles itself ) a personality. A freeway mark starts pass oning with the chief character, stating ‘Los Angeles wants to assist you ‘ . The fact that a expressway mark was chosen as the method of communicating with the chief character shows what an of import function the expressway system plays in this film, and besides within Los Angeles itself. If Banham had to give Los Angles a method of communicating with a occupant, I think it would be the expressway ‘For the expressway, rather every bit much as the beach, is where the Angeleno is most himself, most integrally identified with his great metropolis ‘ . L.A. Story besides picks up on the thought that fledglings to the metropolis are a batch more likely to fall for its appeal and temptingness than people raised at that place. The British journalist acknowledges this when she compares her position to that of Rolland ‘s ; a Born and bred Angeleno. ‘Rolland thinks L.A. Is a topographic point for the brain-dead, he says if you turn off the sprinklers the topographic point would turn into a desert but I think, I do n't cognize, I think it ‘s a topographic point where they ‘ve taken a desert and turned it into their dreams. ‘ This is an thought that is really relevant in the instance of Davis and Banham. Davis was born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles, and so has a really in deepness cognition of the workings of the metropolis and uses this to an advantage in his book. Banham on the contrary, moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s and instantly fell in love with the topographic point. As Davis quotes in the first page of City of Quartz, ‘The superficial incentive, the alien, the picturesque has an consequence merely on the alien†¦ ‘ Walter Benjamin.Volcano ( 1997 )The gap scenes to Volcano look to be that of peaceable expectancy for the twenty-four hours in front, porters can be seen puting out fresh towels around pools, store forepart are being polished, Canis familiariss are being walked. Radio snippings are played over the top of the images to make an feeling of what an mundane forenoon in Los Angeles consists of. ‘It ‘s 9am, temperature is 72 grades†¦ a backup on the 10 westbound on Hoover due to patrol activity on the offramp, seemingly there was a driveby hiting†¦ eyelid surgery, organic structure surgery, citric acid Peels, whatever it takes to make a whole new you†¦ a male child of 15 is sentenced to 10 old ages for armed robbery†¦ trial thrust a mercedes from your local trader†¦ ‘ At first glimpse it seems as though the movie is seeking to portray the sunny, Eden that is used to pull foreigners though coupled with what you are hearing on the wireless you realize that this Los Angleles is one of disenchantment. The manager is subtly foregrounding the metropolis ‘s jobs, such as the offense, the traffic jobs, the shallow decorative nature, whilst demoing occupants traveling about their day-to-day lives in their created Eden without concern for these factors. To foreground this point farther, the camera keeps cutting off to the volcanic activity beneath the metropolis, whilst the occupants are blissfully incognizant of the at hand catastrophe. The mode in which the series of images flicks through ‘all thing L.A ‘ is similar to that of Banham and the subjects discussed in his book, such as far-out commercial architecture, the Angeleo and his active life style, publicizing on measure boards every bit good as portion of edifices. Even so, the message here is clearly that of Davis ‘s position. That this superficial Eden has come at an tremendous cost and those that can non see it, are merely taking non to see it. Volcano plays on the fact that Los Angeles is built on top of mistake lines, whilst traveling beyond the usual temblor scenario. There is nil new about the secret plan of the movie, the thought that Los Angleles suffers a natural catastrophe and is destroyed ( or about destroyed ) has been a frequent Hollywood happening, with no less than 183 films about the devastation of the metropolis. Volcano sees the Office of Emergency Management ( O.E.M ) conflict an belowground volcanic eruption, that showers the metropolis in deathly fire bombs and an eternal tide of lava from the Brea Tar cavities, down Wiltshire Boulevard and through the tube ruddy line. In The Ecology of Fear Mike Davis begins by naming the legion everyday catastrophes L.A. experiences, from temblors, inundations and wildfire to hurricanes, cyclones and snowstorms. He talks about how Angeleos have become ‘genuinely panicky of their environment ‘ . â€Å" The destructive February 1992, January 1993, and January 1995 inundations ( $ 500 million in harm ) were mere brackets around the April 1992 rebellion ( $ 1 billion ) , the October-November 1993 firestorms ( $ 1 billion ) and the January 1994 temblor ( $ 42 billion ) . † He looks in great item at the catastrophes that have effected Los Angeles from the early 1900 ‘s to the late 1990 ‘s and utilizing informations of the country right back to the mediaeval period, concludes that L.A. was really built during a ‘mild ‘ period and in fact ‘nature may merely be waking up after a long sleep ‘ . Therefore the catastrophe films created are non rather every bit fictional as they seem, harmonizing to Davis ‘ research. Davis uses legion illustrations to do his instance a really strong one. ‘Market-driven urbanisation has transgressed environmental common sense. Historic wildfire corridors have been turned into view-lot suburbs, wetland liquefaction zones into marinas, and floodplains into industrial territories and lodging piece of lands ‘ . His position is that Los Angeles has been ‘putting itself in injuries manner for coevalss ‘ , Volcano portions this position that the catastrophes abundant in L.A. are at least in portion, caused by over development. The first minor eruption of the vent was caused by the building of a subway extension. The geologist who first suspects a vent comments ‘This metropolis is eventually paying for its haughtiness, constructing a metro on a metropolis that ‘s seismically active ‘ to which the caput of the O.E.M answers ‘it was a foolish adult male that built his house upon the sand, Matthew 7.26 ‘ . Volcano depicts Davis ‘s version of Los Angeles wholly, from the whole thought of this immense graduated table natural catastrophe, to the manner it was represented on screen. It even has a clear message about the racism nowadays in Los Angeles. The crew manage finally to deviate the lava to the sea, therefore avoiding the devastation of 1000s of places, even so, the vent caused one million millions of harm and killed 100s. A message comes up on screen at the terminal calling the vent as ‘Mount Whilshire – position: ACTIVE ‘ screening that this minor triumph is non a lasting one and Los Angles occupants are still under menace.( 500 ) Days of Summer ( 2009 )( 500 ) Days of Summer has been described as ‘some kind of love missive to Downtown Los Angeles ( and Ikea ) ‘ . It is the narrative of how Tom meets Summer, their relationship, and eventual break-up, presented in a non-chronological format, each scene being introduced by which of the 500 yearss it is. Initially this may look rather difficult to put as neither Banham nor Davis spoke favorably of Downtown. Davis ‘s description of business district is improbably black, a blunt contrast to the Downtown depicted in the movie. ‘Downtown is normally shrouded in pungent xanthous smog while heat moving ridges billow down Wilshire Boulevard. Amid 100s of estates of liquefied asphalt and concrete there is barely a weed, much less a lawn or tree. ‘ Banham does non needfully knock Downtown, but states that it is non peculiarly relevant in a metropolis such as Los Angeles, who has no demand for a conventional ‘centre ‘ . Downtown is given a note ‘because that is all downtown Los Angeles deserves ‘ . He explains that because the metropolis has had no regular centrifugal growing, ‘other countries in the fields, foothills and seashore had begun to develop before the Pueblo could mutate convincingly into an important business district ‘ . With its glamour shootings of old business district edifice outsides and landmarks like the Bradbury edifice, ( 500 ) Days of Summer clearly is n't Banham ‘s Downtown, although it is Banham ‘s Los Angeles. Tom see ‘s Downtown in a manner which most people do n't, he see ‘s the beauty in the metropolis and Teachs Summer to see it excessively. Similarly to how Banham see ‘s the beauty in Los Angeles along with her ugliness. Whilst indicating out the edifices along the L.A. Skyline, Tom explains to Summer ‘that ‘s a parking batch†¦ that ‘s besides a parking batch†¦ there ‘s a batch of beautiful material here excessively though, I wish people would detect it more ‘ . The manner Tom see ‘s Downtown is represented by his religion in love. There ‘s a polar scene in which Tom goes to a party at Summer ‘s flat anticipating to hold a romantic reunion but in world she is now with person else. The scene is split into two screens ; world and outlook. As he leaves, sad and dejected, the street and the downtown skyline turns into Tom ‘s hand-sketched version of the same position, so acquire ‘s erased. As Tom ‘s dream miss disappears, so does his dream metropolis. The morale of the narrative is non one of desperation though, by the terminal of the movie, both Summer and Tom believe in his thought of love, and see the metropolis for it ‘s beauty, merely as Banham saw Los Angeles ‘ beauty when other intellectuals were speedy to knock it. Originally the secret plan was to be set in San Fransico but that did n't accommodate the thought of Tom seeing the beauty in things a batch of other people miss. In an interview about the movie, the two authors discuss the pick of metropolis. Scott Neustadter: [ Tom ] romanticizes everything ; we had non seen L.A. as a romanticized metropolis in the manner that you see Rome in a Fellini film or New York in a Woody Allen†¦ Michael Weber: Or San Francisco, excessively. It likely worked out better because we know San Francisco is beautiful. For me being a New Yorker, I did n't cognize. I ‘d ne'er seen that side of L.A. Although the topic of Downtown is non as Banham would hold described, it is deserving observing that Banham was looking at a 1970s Downtown and could non hold forseen it ‘s present twenty-four hours transmutation. Even so, ( 500 ) Days of Summer remains a Banham-esque expression at Los Angeles non because of the peculiar part depicted but because of the manor in which they both make the audience expression past the normally held negative position to happen something beautiful. By and large, a blithe movie, such as a comedy normally portrays Banham ‘s version of Los Angeles whereas a more serious, tense movie, perchance a thriller, would utilize Davis ‘ theoretical account. Film noir ( including modern twenty-four hours versions ) and catastrophe films are two genres that entirely depict Davis ‘ woebegone reading. Chinatown ( 1974 ) , along with many other private oculus movies, explores the corruptness, confederacy and misrepresentation nowadays in Los Angeles. The movie unravels an intricate dirt affecting L.A ‘s fresh H2O supply, where husbandmans are being forced to sell their land because of drouth, after which a new dike would airt H2O at that place greatly increasing the real-estate value. The movie was based on a existent dirt that took topographic point at the beginning of the century. Davis goes into item about the procedure in which developers took control of the land through corruptness and as a consequence, land which should hold been a legal impossibleness to construct on was approved. Both Chinatown and Davis ‘ books remind us of how the selfish uses of rich and powerful business communities has left the land waste and abused. The many movies about the baleful side of Hollywood basically represent Davis ‘ Los Angeles. Sunset Boulevard ( 1950 ) trades with what becomes of yesterdays stars when they are cast aside. Norma Desmond refuses to believe that her stardom has passed and becomes more and more crazed as she lives out her fantasy universe in the privacy of her deteriorating sign of the zodiac. The manner in which the house is described as ‘like the adult female in great outlook, Mrs Haversham, decomposing in her nuptials frock ‘ creates a tragic image of L.A ‘s private life every bit good as the architecture. As Davis quotes from John Rechy ; ‘You can decompose here without experiencing it ‘ . The Italian Job ( 2003 ) would be an illustration of Banham ‘s L.A. Although they deliberately produce the worst traffic jam in Los Anegeles ‘ history, they whole thing is done with a sense of hyperbole and sleekness reminiscent of Los Angeles itself. The concrete river defence that Davis hated so much, is used as a agency to playfully prove out the auto ‘s public presentation during a chase scene. Banham describes some of the edifices in Los Angeles as ‘lovably pathetic ‘ , which would be a perfect manner to sum up The Italian occupation. The same can be said for Pulp Fiction ( 1994 ) , although there is a big sum of force within the movie, the frequent Pop-references create a Los Angeles that would non experience out of topographic point within Banham ‘s ‘Architecture antic ‘ chapter. The scenes in ‘Jack Rabbit Slims ‘ eating house every bit good as Jules and Vincent ‘s celebrated ‘Royale with cheese ‘ du ologue would be illustrations of this. In decision, Los Angeles is a favorite subject among managers and film writers and has been the set of infinite movies. The huge bulk of these representations of Los Angeles can suit neatly into opposite corners of the spectrum ; Banham ‘s glorious metropolis, where even the ugliness is portion of a larger beauty, or Davis ‘s clip bomb metropolis that should ne'er hold been built in the first topographic point. I believe that the ground why so many movies feature Los Angeles as a outstanding function is because of these contrasting attitudes. Few metropoliss can tout such utmost representations of the same subject. Most movies are out to either glorify something, or reprobate it, and Los Angeles provides the perfect background for that undertaking. ‘Los Angeles seems infinitely held between these extremes: of visible radiation and dark – of surface and deepness. Of the promise, in brief, of a significance ever vibrating on the border of significance ‘ Grahame Clarke