The Romantic Comedy Genre

The Romantic Comedy Genre If even half of the projects picked up this year actually get the green light, the first decade of the next millennium may be known as the Romantic Comedy Decade. Sales totals for the genre surged ahead of former rivals Action-Adventure and Science Fiction, landing squarely in the coveted fourth spot [below Comedy, Drama and Thriller]. There was a 50 per cent increase in the number of romantic comedy scripts bought by studios in 1998 compared to the previous year. Examples of films in this period are Four weddings and a Funeral (UK; 1994), My Best Friends Wedding (1997), Shakespeare in Love (UK/US, 1998) and There is Something about Mary (1998). Each year from 1981, the trend is towards a much higher volume of production with especially sustained activity from 1997-9 (Krutnik 2002, p10). Romantic Comedy imports from US also increased from mid-1990s. Films such as the international success Notting Hill (1999) and the Australian-French co-production Green Card (1990) encouraged Hollywood involvement in co-productions. Examples are Sliding Doors (UK/US, 1998) and Bridget Jones Diary (France/UK/US, 2001). Most of the US-British partnership ventures, however, are adaptations of prestige literary or dramatic properties targeted at international audiences (Krunik 2002, p132), including Sense and Sensibility (UK/US; 1995) and Emma (UK/US; 1996). What exactly is Romantic Comedy? How is it defined in order to help people to understand what it actually is? Romantic Comedy: a genre, a family of genres (marriages, manners, screwball), a category of production and marketing, a category of analysis. Definition, even delimitation, is difficult or impossible because all Hollywood films (except some war films) have romance and all have comedy. A workable subset romantic comedy might refer to those films in which romance and comedy are the primary components as crime, war, etc (Krunik 2002, p132) As Handerson said, the word romantic comedy not only is a particular type of a story on two lovers but it also circulates as something of a free-floating signifier that can designate a bewildering array of possible combinations of sex and comedy (Krunik 2002, p 133). Billy Mernit, who is a famous author of romantic comedy, assigns the success of romantic comedy which has continued since the 1980s to its ability to mix with other film genres. Hybridity is by no means a new development within Hollywood genre films, and it is certainly no stranger to romantic comedy (Krunik 2002, p133). Examples are Ball of Fire (1941), in which romantic comedy and elements of the gangster films are combined, I Married a Witch (1942) joins romantic comedy and supernatural fantasy and Too Hot to Handle (1938) combines romantic comedy with aviation adventure. Though there are many exceptions that prove the rule (e.g., the thoroughly old-fashioned Pretty Women), contemporary mainstream audiences seem amenable to movies that mix it up. And this is true of your buyers (the studios); a romantic comedy that promises crossover potential is more likely to pique their interest than a straight-up traditional one (Mernit, B) Pretty Women is a film which is female-centred, pure straight romantic comedy appeals to women whereas the cross-genre film has broader audience. What is more, some of new romances have the elements of sporting backgrounds. For instance, Bull Durham (1998), The Cutting Edge (1992), The American President (1995) and Bulworth (1998). In addition, another trend since 1990s has been the extension of the romantic comedy process to gay relationships (Krunik 2002, p 136). Gay scenarios have been combined within comedies aiming at broader audiences, such as The Next Best Thing (2000), The Object of My Affection (1998) and As Good as It Gets and Chasing Amy (1997). Therefore, it can be said that contemporary romantic has been reconstructed for audiences based on age, ethnicity and sexual preference. In romantic comedies, the real subject is the power of love. Love is not merely the catalyst for action in a romantic comedy, it is the shaper of the story arc. Although many romantic comedies seem to initially set up their protagonists eventual mate as their antagonist, in most cases love itself is the antagonist. Wrestling with love can force a character to grow or to resist growth, but either way, loves effect on the central character is what drives the story. Billy Mernit Heterogeneity and hybridity (Spicer 2001, p184) are the prominent features of masculinity in contemporary British cinema. It means that the range of male forms is much broader than ever before. One of the major ways by which identity is able to be reconstructed is through the mass media as this provides an outlet whereby the expression of alternative identities can be communicated. The media therefore becomes a focus whereby different expressions of gender identity can be expressed and debated. In recent years, there have been rapid changes in many ways within the politics, society and culture. There are many significant reasons for these changes. As the result of these changes there were crucial impacts on social movements. Feminism is often said to be one of the most well known social movement. The key elements and developments of both feminism and cultural discourses are closely related to each other. Question arises at this point, such as what it means to be a woman and man, how are feminine and masculine identities constructed and what is the nature of femininity, masculinity? Not only to feminists but people such as intellectuals, politicians, artists and of course ordinary women and men is interested in such struggles within the culture and society. Since, those struggle occurs when people characterises their existence by repeating the same routine within peoples daily lives. This section will examine the key elements on sex and gender to elucidate the cultural meaning within the media. Gender is a way in which social practice is ordered. In gender processes, the everyday conduct of life is organized in relation to a reproductive arena, defined by the bodily structures and processes of human reproduction. This arena includes sexual arousal and intercourse, childbirth and infant care, bodily sex difference and similarity (Connell 1995, p71). For Judith Butler, who is an American philosopher and has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy and ethics, the various manifestation of gender in culture are driven by the self-same expressions deemed to be its consequences (Butler, 1990, p25) is accepted as gender is driven by performance, or the very activity of presentation, it is therefore dependent on what and how this is currently expressed by the individual that, ultimately, constitutes the crucial determining factor, and not an all-embracing universal disposition. In this sense, Butler sees gender as a regulatory fiction that is sustained by performative acts. Due to the fact that the choices an individual can potentially make in relation to gender are restricted thanks to ongoing cultural norms and assumptions, a person is therefore presented with a limited choice of possible identities. Individuals are thereby obliged to follow a course that fits the male/female dichotomy through perform ing and conforming to prevailing gender stereotypes. Furthermore, if the gender is socially constructed the relations between sex and gender become more unstable which makes gender independent from sex. As butler puts it in her writing that, gender is free-floating artifice which culturally constructed, indeed perhaps sex was already gender, so that the sex/gender distinction is actually not a distinction at all (Butler, 1990 p7). Butler suggests that it is possible to have a designated female body and not to show traits generally considered feminine, in other words, one may be a masculine female or a feminine male. One way of challenging such assumptions, Butler suggests, is to encourage awareness of these limitations by the creation of alternative gender scenarios that can lead to a more genuine realisation of ones identity. In effect, this provides for greater flexibility and range of options by which a person is able to construct a unique individuality. The fashion world definitely had the great impact on gender identification. It has been the case that distinctions of the gender are made when looking at fashion magazines such as masculine male and feminine female. The stereotypes of the gender role are repeatedly shown in the advertisements, fashion runways. As if it is saying that this how men and women should look like thus it limits our choice. These examples that I am going to give show how some of Butlers ideas have been taken up in a practical manner. Tailored jacket, bow tie and so forth have been socially accepted for mens clothing. However wearing mens clothing item such as oversized tailored jacket or a bow tie become as a fashion trend for womens clothing in recent years. This indicates from my point of view, that there are no such assumptions or rule for the style of gender identity. There are no set of rules for wearing clothes in order to represent certain genders identity. However there are social taboos which limit people to choose their own identity. But by looking images or photographs in magazines gender is not something fixed it is actually transformable as it shifts in style time to time. Thus, it can be explained that it is challenging the male dominance by reducing the assumption of the cultural meaning of the gender and sex to the level of fashion and style. Another example is how the boundary of men and women has been blurred. First example is a skinny male fashion model, what I found interesting in this example is that how assumption of the male body has been changed. Within the fashion industry, where their fashion products should be sold in order to make a profit. Traditional male fashion models in the past showed strong masculine male body to represent their products. Furthermore, second example is a photo shot of male fashion model by PRADAs spring/fall collection. As I explained of skinny male models above, PRADA also chooses skinny male model. But this time the model is wearing a trousers and a skirt at the same time. This also can be explained as it is breaking the traditional gender stereotype. The formula which says that I dont wear a skirt therefore I am male I am male therefore I dont wear a skirt fails in this image. Again it is just the style and fashion which blurs the boundary of fixed gender and sex .These examples above show how some of Butlers ideas have been taken up in a practical rather than passive way to meaningfully challenge how the public view gender to the extent that the younger generation are now coming to accept a more ambivalent attitude towards sex and gender. Moreover, androgynous models seem to becoming more common in the media a further sign that boundaries are becoming permeable. All societies have cultural accounts of gender, but not all have the concept of masculinity. In its modern usage the term assumes that ones behaviour results from the type of person one is. That is to say, an unmasculine person would behave differently: being peaceable rather than violent, conciliatory rather than dominating, hardly able to kick a football, uninterested in sexual conquest, and so forth (Connell 1995, p67). Perhaps we are aware of masculinity than ever before as it has become one of the interests that have been analysed since mid 1980s. Definitions of masculinity have mostly have taken our cultural standpoint for granted, but have followed different strategies to characterise the type of person who is masculine (Connell 1996, p68). Essentialist focuses on the core of masculine and their lives whereas positivist finds out what men actually are. Normative definition is a standard and explains that masculinity is that men should be. Semiotic definition, however, is that masculinity is non-femininity so that the level of personality is limited. Rather than attempting to define masculinity as an object (a natural character type, a behavioural average, a norm), we need to focus on the processes and relationships through which men and women conduct gendered lives. Masculinity, to the extent the term can be briefly defined at all, is simultaneously a place in gender relations, the practices through which men and women engage that place in gender, and the effects of these practices in bodily experience, personality and culture'(Connell 1996, p71). A concern of much early masculinity scholarship was to highlight the range and diversity of male identities that exist both within society as a whole and in specific settings (Crew 2003, p27). It means that there is class difference between men and the power that they have masculinities in working-class and middle-class to different experiences of capitalist working practice (Tolson 1977; Willis 1977). Tolson described masculinity in working-class as characterised by collective recognition and solidarity, physical toughness and presence, bravado, confrontation, anti-authority sentiment, and the avoidance of feelings (Crew 2003, p27). By contrary, masculinity of middle-class was described as moral dignity, emotional restraint, respectability and individualised notions of self-discipline, ambition and competitiveness (Crew 2003, p27). The interweaving of masculinity and class was most clearly illustrated in Paul Willis (1977) ethnography of a group of working-class lads. Most striking was how the lads associated different types of work with different genders such that they valorised their own identities and the futures that awaited them explicitly masculine terms (Crew 2003, p27). For example, it is both shop floor workers and managers in middle-class who construct a masculine hierarchy in which physical labour is at the summit (Roper 1994: 106). Managers find it hard to show their masculine position and masculinity in their work. It was suggested by Collison and Hearn (1996) that similarly, whilst shop floor workers reject the idea of promotion because it would compromise their masculine self-images (Crew 2003, p27), men working in office also are endangered by what they think of their work as unmasculine. What is more, it is important to see the difference here between what men want to be and what they really are. masculine identities are lived out in the flesh but fashioned in the imagination, with cultural representations providing the repertoire of cultural forms upon which fantasies are cast (Dawson 1991: 118). Masculine heterosexuality somewhat in line with the laddish personalities they were ascribed in the press (Crewe 2003, p 128). They are certainly not macho, overbearing or aggressive: nor did they exhibit the emotionally inhibited toughness of Ropers (1994) organisational men (Crew 2003, p 128). There are two social practices that reinforce oppressive, discriminatory forms of heterosexuality are homophobia and the sexual objectification of women (Pease 2000, p76). The term homophobia is created by The Gay Liberation Movement to identify the fear of homosexuality. According to Kirk and Madsen (1989:26-7), hetero sexual men dislike gays because they believe that homosexuality is caused by sinfulness, mental illness or recruitment (Pease 2000, p 76). It means that homosexuality is a distortion: gay men are evil and corrupted. Most heterosexuals have this misidentification and misconception as they have a negative image of the gay world. Sedgwick (1985:1) used the term homosocial to describe the non-sexual social bonds between men and to analyse how these social bonds keep men in power (Pease 2000, p77). The inability to recognise any homosexual impulses in oneself causes men to project all homosexuality desires outward on to gay men (Kupers, 1993:49) (Pease 2000, p77). Therefore, homophobia is seen as caused by hidden homosexuality. Many men are not aware of flaws or suspects of their heterosexuality. So if heterosexual men regard themselves as normal, homosexual men become abnormal. Heterosexual men try to avoid doing anything that other men might interpret as effeminate or unmanly. Men fear that any intimacy between men may sully their sexual identity (Pease 2000, p 78). Most heterosexual men are attracted by womens bodies and this objectification is the process by which men sees the woman as a thing or an object and fixation to the process of focusing on parts of the female body (Buchbinder, 1987:65-6) (Pease 2000, p84). Heterosexual men are aware of sexism and they often feel torn between their sexual desire and their awareness that their expressed fantasies about women can be experienced as oppressive by women (Horowitz and Kaufman, 1987:81) (Pease 2000, p84). Objectification is one of the key processes in mens sexual relationships with women, in which often a part of the women is seen to represent the whole (Kaufman, 1993: 124) (Pease 2000, p84). Heterosexual men have not done any reflective writings about their sexual desires: Rich (1983:66) has also challenged men to say why they like pornography, whilst gay men have challenged heterosexual men to be up front about their sexuality (Stoltenberg, 1991: 8) (Pease 2000, p85). In part these changes reflect the present state of British film-making which has become decentred and eclectic, lacking studio infrastructure or dominant producers of the earlier period (Spicer 2001, p184). Since 1970s, British film production has recovered and a new generation of film producers has become known that grips a more commercial cinema. The arrival of the multiplexes encouraged revival in cinema-going (Spicer 2001, p184) in all UK. Most of cinema-goers are young people, but ABC1 is the major audience who frequently do cinema-going. The balance between men and women is equal. However, cinema-going will never return to its former importance as a leisure pursuit, but film viewing continues to be a significant part of popular culture with the majority of films watched on television or on video (Spicer 2001, p185). The use of DVD and internet help to increase consumption of film viewing and it eventually makes cinema remain a popular and influential medium, among all classes and age groups and representation of masculinity (Spicer 2001, p185). It has developed from successful British films put in to a national image culture. This section will look at various complex types of masculinity in contemporary British Cinema and give examples for each type. James Bond has been the most enduring post-war British film hero in twenty films spanning thirty-eight years (Spicer 2001, p185). Films that represent Bonds heroic masculinity are A View to a Kill (1987) where Roger Moore re-created Bond as an old-style debonair hero, more polished and sophisticated (Spicer 2001, p185) and The World is Not Enough (1999). He continues to be a hero who keeps the masculinity of traditional male adventurer. There is a new man concept which emerged within commercial culture, in particular, within retailing, advertising, and the early formation of the UK mens magazine market (Crew 2003, p27) and it was in many ways driven by the discovery of a new market (Seidler 1997, p8). The formation of new man imagery has developments in and associated with menswear play an important role. Together with the reshaping of the mens toiletries and grooming products markets, development in menswear markets set some of the big terms for the emergence of the new man imagery (Nixon 1996, p31). The new man concept is the creation of imagery that represented men in ways that were more narcissistic, self-conscious, emotionally expressive, domesticated and feminine than conventional iconography of patriarchal authority, action and machismo (Brannon 1976; Goffman 1979; Wenick 1987) (Crew 2003, p 31). Nixon said the new man imagery was most important in that it represented a loosening of the binary opposition between gay and straight-identified men and extended the space available within the representational regimes of popular consumption for an ambivalent masculine identity (Nixon 1996: 202) (Crew 2003, p 31). The New Man was an alternative image to the macho tough guy, embracing female roles and qualities, a vulnerable nurturer in touch with his emotions, but also rather narcissistic (Spicer 2001, p 187). Hugh Grant in two romantic comedy films embodied the New Man: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Notting Hill (1999). Both films show the gentle, low-rent Man About Town, lovably awkward, tongue-tied, endlessly self-deprecating and sexually naà ¯ve (Spicer 2001, p 187). The independence and the power of women in films like Four Weddings and Notting Hill made Grant show more feminine sides. This is manifested in his insecurity and compliance, his lack of ambition and his desire for stability and heterosexual union, thereby fulfilling his supportive New Man credentials (Spicer 2001, p187). The type of the damaged man appears so frequently in recent British cinema and it has become the most representative image (Spicer 2001, p195). Shallow Grave (1994), Jude (1996) and Heart( 1998) are the performances of Christopher Eccleston who showed the figure of the damaged man with his gaunt features and suffering eyes (Spicer 2001, p 195). Mike Leighs Naked (1993) shows that the underclass male is often irreparably damaged by social disintegration and the film deepened this paradigm into an existentialist nightmare (Spicer 2001, p196). Mark Renton in Trainspotting is perhaps the most representative contemporary male: young, alienated, but also a chameleon, neither hero, villain, conformist or rebel. He is the product of a culture that is decentred and heterogeneous, no longer recognising clear national, ethical or sexual boundaries, where forms of masculinity are becoming increasingly hybrid and audiences delight in the knowingness and self-referentiality of popular culture (Spicer 2001, p 204). Contemporary British cinema has capability to produce positive forms. In Affairs to Remember, Bruce Babington and Peter Evans define romantic comedy as a genre that centres on the couple, celebrating the passionate but hopefully companionate love that brings them together, and typically ending at the moment of passage into the responsibilities of marriage (Babington and Evans 1989:234). (Spicer 2004, p78). In Britain, successful romantic comedy films since the revival are If Only (Maris Ripoll, 1998), Fanny Elvis (Kay Mellor, 1998), Sliding Doors (Peter Howitt, 1997) and Hugh Grant films. Hugh Grant is arguably the most successful current British star, famous throughout the world, able to sell a film on the strength of his name alone (Spicer 2004, p77). The revival of British romantic comedy is linked with popularity that Grant has. Grants films such as Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999), Four Weddings and a Funeral (Mike Newell, 1994), Bridget Jones Diary (Sharon McGuire, 2001) and About a Boy (Chris and Paul Weitz, 2002) share a central characteristic: the reluctance to commit, and yet the need to find love meaningful and central to well-being and happiness (Spicer 2004, p77). In Bridget Jones Diary, Grant was No More Mr Nice Guy (Spicer 2004, p83), and his bare-chested in tight leather trousers was photographed in womens magazines to show his new and more muscular body. Hugh Grant plays Renee Zellweggers boss at the publishing company, Daniel Cleaver, sophisticated, sexy professional with long, flowing dark locks and rakish hair (Spicer 2004, p 83). Cleaver is another familiar archetype, the Byronic anti-hero. The essence of the type is its fascinating eroticism (Spicer 2004, p83). The scene where he is undressing Bridget and he says, Silly little boots, silly little dress and these fuck me absolutely enormous pants. Dont apologise, I like them. Hello Mummy! Thats all him. Id have written What the fuck are those knickers? or something similar. He fooled around a lot on Bridget because it was in line with his own style of naughtiness. (Curtis in Raphael 2002s:13) (Spicer 2004, p 83). Some judged that he, like many Byronic males, was more attractive than tedious virtue (Spicer, p84), Daniel is has more charisma than dull Darcy.

Knowledge Management: PETRONAS

Introduction Today, oil and gas companies around the world are not just professional organizations who specialize in mechanical drilling and extraction processes. Increased oil demands and the need for improved productivity have forced these organizations into new methods and knowledge intensive approaches. For instance information technology has now become very much an integral part of the oil exploration and oil extraction business. The collaboration between multi disciplinary teams has become a norm. Real-time information communication from remote reservoirs, and processing of such data in a collaborative environment that involves multiple teams and vendor locations has become an essential part of the business decision making process. In other words, a knowledge based approach underlies the critical business decisions in oil majors. (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz, 2009, pg 284). As an oil and gas extraction company of the world, with presence in more than 30 countries across the world, PETRONAS is one of the Oil Majors. Being an increasingly competitive sector, skilled staff are always on demand in the Oil and Gas industry. This implies that organizations have to defend against attrition and be armed with effective knowledge management practices that manage vital information about processes, best practices and information about field experts and tacit knowledge about the entire operational processes. Effective knowledge management process is at the heart of business competitiveness and success. Knowledge Management Knowledge is a multidimensional and heterogeneous entity. Proper storage, classification and retrieval of knowledge is critical for innovation, cost control and hence the competitiveness of any industry. Particularly, for knowledge intensive firms such as PETRONAS, where high skilled engineering processes are involved, there is a need for ‘integrated operations’ between various knowledge areas. Ultimately, improving the production optimization process is at the heart of all knowledge management practices in PETRONAS. One of the important areas that lack coordination in the Oil and gas sector in general is the working of the reservoir engineers, the production engineers and the process engineers at the facilities. This implies that operation decisions are not always made in consultation with the onshore engineers. In other words this leads to what is known as the fragmented approach. (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz) 2009, pg 285 Integrated Operations (Process facility and reservoir sensors and Collaboration among vendors and operators) (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz, 2009, pg 285) Information technology has now penetrated every area of the production and process control aspects of the Oil and Gas companies. However, most of these IT tools are specialized and lack the integration that makes it difficult to access relevant data for purposes of production analysis and optimization. It is necessary that all the three major divisions (reservoir management, production management and process management) exchange real-time data. A shared information space might be the answer to the problems as it promotes better access to real-time data and integration of the various processes, which is the key to achieving production optimization. (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz, 2009, pg 284) Knowledge Management in PETRONAS Knowledge management practices are very recent at PETRONAS. As the Knowledge Management manager, Miss Murni Shariff, disclosed in a recent interview, only in 2006 the company seriously focused on KM practices. Prior to that KM was mostly restricted to content and information management. (KMTalk, 2009) There are two types of knowledge namely tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge, as the name suggests, refers to knowledge that could be easily documented. This type of knowledge is gained by reading, observation and discussion. For instance, documented guides about a program or the operational features of a product are examples of explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is more implicit and it is not easy to document it and consequently much harder to share. Tacit knowledge is developed over a period of time when an individual gains insights and details about the various functions in the organization. (MMU, 2006) Currently, PETRONAS is focusing on all efforts towards transferring this tacit knowledge of its staff and making it accessible for future reference and for new workers. Achieving this tacit knowledge sharing pertaining to the various complex processes within the organizations is crucial for the company to reduce costs and become competitive. As Stephen Birell, marketing director of Vardus, a KM company focusing on the Oil and gas sector states, â€Å"The way the industry can drive down cost is by attacking the areas of huge cost which are facilities and drilling. And if everyone follows best practice and shares their learning, you won’t have people making the same mistakes twice. And that ultimately saves money.† (Chowdury, 2006) Three issues are the main motivating factors for the implementation of KM practices across the organization. These are 1) aging workforce- With more than three and half decades since its institution many of the technical staff members at PETRONAS are nearing their retirement age and this mass retirement would drastically impact upon the performance unless swift knowledge management policies are in place to capture the tacit knowledge of these experienced older workforce. 2) The global oil industry is very competitive placing a high premium for the experienced and knowledgeable workforce. High attrition rate at PETRONAS is one big problem as competitors are luring skilled staff. In this context the issue of Trust becomes foremost. The following 5 C’s are recognized as trust factors among knowledge intensive workers. These are a) Competence, b) Commitment, c) Conflict, d) Communication and e) Caring. Of these commitment is foremost and it is the responsibility of the team leade r or the manager to ensure that commitment to the organization and its values are developed naturally as a response to the motivation and example shown by the leader. (Ralston, 2007) Finally, increasing international operations also implies international competition and in this scenario an effective KM plan is indispensible for the organization to smoothly manage and coordinate the international operations. KM makes it possible to simply follow the ‘PETRONAS way’ of transferring knowledge across the different organizations. (KMtalk, 2009) Initially, the main focus was on technology and in removing the hindrances in sharing knowledge stored in varied database formats. However, more than the technical problems it is the problem associated with human acceptance that is currently a pressing issue. In other words, promoting effective change management is the key to implementing KM practices. At PETRONAS new initiatives were implemented to promote better change management. Communities of Practice A new, ‘Communities of practice’ (CoP) initiative was implemented with the idea of starting an effective KM program across the entire organization to better facilitate transfer of information between the various divisions in a swift and effective manner. Currently, there are over 50 CoP’s with each Cop having 30 members. A leader or a champion is chosen among each CoP team based on their performance criteria. The CoP’s were provided with a basic structural framework with which they can implement KM solutions and promote group-wide collaborative values. Regular monitoring of the CoP operations and impact of the same are undertaken. These leaders are also encouraged to share success stories on online CoP newsletter. To encourage enthusiastic participation from the staff, the Knowledge management team is also currently promoting a rewards system wherein the reports from the various Cop’s would be reviewed and the best performing team recognized and awarded (Murni Shariff, 2008) This CoP approach at PETRONAS has shown significant positive results so far with effective information exchange between various operating units already visible across the organization. This would also significantly improve the training for younger generation staff as they fast replace the retiring older generation. A simple online tool that was designed to evaluate the penetration of the CoP based KM practices has confirmed these positive improvements. ( Murni Shariff, 2008) Conclusion Knowledge management practices are critical to the continued competitive growth of any organization. In simple terms it facilitates effective reuse of organizational resources which is tantamount to considerable cost savings. Particularly, in a knowledge intensive and high-tech organization such as PETRONAS, KM practices help to promote better collaboration between multidisciplinary teams. This could help avoid millions of dollars in costs by helping workers avoid unnecessary delays and repetitive mistakes. The current KM practices involving Communities of practice concepts are showing good acceptance among the staff which is important for effective change management. As more and more staff members are encouraged to participate in KM activities, more intensive KM practices and collaborative platforms could be established. This would help in realizing organization wide process integration and overall business alignment. However, regular knowledge auditing is the key to understand the flow of knowledge within the organization and to ascertain areas where improvements could be effected by increasing knowledge sharing. Continued management support is the key as even a small amount of time and resources spent on good KM practices would definitely translate to considerable productivity gains in the longer run. References Dariusz Jemielniak & Jerzy Kociatkievicz, (2009), Handbook of research on Knowledge intensive organizations, Pub by Information Science Reference. Faith Ralston, (2007), How to manage four types of Knowledge Workers- Play Your Best Hand, Adams Media. U.S.A KMtalk, (2009) Knowledge Management in PETRONAS : Interview with Murni Shariff, viewed Jan 23rd 2012, Murni Shariff, (2008), PETRONAS : Engaging Knowledge Worker Communities to Stimulate Innovation and Build Corporate Capability, Viewed Jan 23rd 2012, Naguib Chowdhury, (2006), Knowledge Management Implementation in PETRONAS: A Case Study, Viewed Jan 23rd 2012, Manchester Metropolitan University, (2006) Introduction to Knowledge Management, viewed Jan 24th 2012,

What the Pros Are Not Saying About Lgbt Essay Topics and What This Means For You

What the Pros Are Not Saying About Lgbt Essay Topics and What This Means For You Begin a list of questions which you'd love to have answered. They don't know how to make certain that their points are persuasive enough. Refuse to understand that, actually. How to Choose Lgbt Essay Topics To come across argumentative essay topics easy on various platforms, you will need to comprehend about the argumentative essay. You have to have skills to compose a fantastic essay. If you're in a college and wish to compose an argumentative essay, you should select a subject of high importance. The essay that range from spongebob. Argumentative essay is about arguing and debating on a subject, which is debatable. Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatableand it's essential to at all times be critically contemplating the world around us. How to begin my colleg essay. How to compose an argue essay. Different essay types need various questions. Consequently, they are confronted with an alternative that is rarely a positive one. How to compose an important approach essay. Writing prompts are among the best strategies to create confident writers who take pleasure in the practice. Test essay questions will be contingent on the topic, needless to say. Reading example essays works the exact same way! Writing an essay utilizing software reviews. There are a few great topics to think about when deciding on a topic for your argumentative essay. To choose which subject you're likely to discuss, it's essential to see the complete collection of good persuasive speech topics from the specific area of study. Another good idea is to receive some completely free essay examples of different kinds and on various subjects to find a general idea of the way in which a thriving debatable paper looks. You always intuitively understand once an intriguing essay idea is really the ideal idea for you. New Questions About Lgbt Essay Topics Judging someone due to their sexual orientation is the same from judging someone due to their color and all of us know that's wrong. Possessing a unique sexual preference than that which is deemed ordinary can be a really tricky point to admit, even to yourself. LGBT issues are extremely sensitive ones. Another reason is to observe how well students argue on various views and demonstrate understanding o f the studied subject. But if my readers obtain half of the valuable information I have obtained, I understand that I've accomplished my task. The reader needs to be impressed by how you defend your ideas. The Lgbt Essay Topics Cover Up Homosexuals are simply ordinary individuals who happen to love the identical sex. Homosexuality has been a subject of much concern for debaters all around the world. Thus, it is a very natural thing and it should not be restricted as it is in many places and homosexual marriages should be allowed. The alternatives they face may incorporate depression, substance abuse, violence, and sometimes even suicide. Among the social groups that experience various problems as an immediate outcome of their identity is the homosexual community. In the duration of the twentieth century, society started to talk about the subject of homosexuality after the contemporary gay rights movement began in 1969. This significant change and increased acceptance is due to the evolution of LGBT equality. Nevertheless, it seems that most the discrimination against LGBT youths emanates from the schools they attend. Hate crimes against LGBT individuals continue to be shockingly prevalent across the nation. Discrimination's been around for centuries and even though there have been a number of improvements in how society deals with discrimination, we still have an extremely long thing to do. LGBT discrimination is a significant concern once it concerns the pursuing of equality.

Essay The Commodification of Volleyball - 800 Words

The popularity of Volleyball has increased dramatically over past years. This is a result of commodification. Commodification is the process of turning something into a commodity that can be bought and sold. Over the past 20 years, Volleyball has evolved from a simple, fun and recreational sport to a more appealing, more sexualized version, beach volleyball. As a result of this evolution, beach volleyball has received a vast improvement in popularity, especially amongst a male audience. The intent of this essay is to examine the sport of beach volleyball and explain why the individuals, and the sport itself, have evolved throughout the years. Volleyball’s transformation into beach volleyball is a positive step forward for the sport in†¦show more content†¦This is exactly what has happened to the sport. Males are the largest consumers of sport and are therefore the target audience. It is doubted that the stereotypical male watches women’s beach volleyball for t he sport itself, they prefer to ‘watch the players’. Women’s beach volleyball has attracted a great deal of male interest purely because of the fact the women are wearing revealing clothes. The media coverage that beach volleyball has achieved detracts from the main spectacle and focuses on the sexual aspect of the game. This can also be a positive point as it has overthrown the male hegemonic dominance within the sport. The sexual nature of women’s beach volleyball has ceased the male hegemonic dominance of the sport. Now that the ‘sex-ploited’ version of volleyball has grabbed a greater audience, it is mainly focussed on the female players. The male competition is does not draw as much attention as the female one. As much as the uniforms appeal to a greater audience, beach volleyball glorifies a more sexually attractive body, in both males and females, than one that is ‘not’. Beach volleyball requires its players to have a symbolically glorified body type, usually that of an attractive build, in order for them to participate in the sport, this however posses a problem for the women and men that are considered unattractive or do not align with the symbolic body image. Beach volleyball glorifies an attractive body to participate in the game. The aimShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Social Status On Sports And Physical Activity1362 Words   |  6 Pagesthat women are able to now have the opportunity to be involved in sports, but on the other hand there are new added pressures and stereotypes that are applied to female athletes that must be faced on a daily basis especially in the sport of beach volleyball. As female sports increases in recognition, large organizations have begun marketing female athletes in a more provocative manner. Some advertisement firms believe that any media attention a female athlete can get will benefit the sport overall