Introduction
The changes endured by Coastline occurred in the very specific context of privatisation. In this perspective, clashes of paradigms are common, in particular in the way knowledge is viewed and exercised as well as between the past and present goals of companies engaged in such process. As described by Grey and Mitev (quoted in Wilson, 1995, p.59): “If ‘post-industrial society’ does offer the possibility of decentralization of work and industrial structures, as well as an increase in the quantity of information and/or knowledge, it is important to remember that these changes have emerged in particular circumstances, that is, the countervailing tendencies towards (re)centralization of overall control; an increasing privatization and commercialization of social life; a commodification of information and knowledge; and an extension of surveillance and control”.
In the Coastline Electric case, this tensions result in a radical change of the place of engineers in the company, and how their knowledge is being recaptured by other staff while engineers embark on totally different day-to-day tasks. Described by Bowen and Lawler (1992) as “a means to enable employees to make decisions” (quoted by Erstad, 1997), this question addresses the wider issue of knowledge distribution as well as the issue of the amount of power legitimated by this knowledge as demonstrated by Burns (2000) in a post-modern view of power as a constructed reality which allows the dominant groups to impose their will on others. The authors adopt a post-modern approach to the case, where numerous references to the way the reality is constructed, is observed throughout language and different points of view, and where engineers – as object of the change rather than actors of the change - are given “a voice”. Overall, the case study examines the steps of the process by which engineers were actually and gradually marginalized in their own field and dispossessed of their former power, and how senior management eventually achieve its goals of deprofessionalisation within a few years after the privatisation by constructing a new corporate reality.
Empowerment as a vector of deprofessionalisation
It sounds like a paradox that empowering people, that is, according to Erstad, 1997, “a change strategy with the objective of improving both the individual’s and the organization’s ability to act” ma...
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Night is a memoir written by Elie Wiesel. This autobiography of Wiesel’s life manages to reach the perfect balance between an in-depth story and simplistic writing. The novel tells of a young Elie’s journey from the invasion of his tight knit Jewish community in Sighet to the numerous concentration camps he was taken to. One camp was Auschwitz, where his mother and younger sister Tzipora were separated from him and his father. Later on, Elie and his father were taken to Camp Buna, a sub-camp of Auschwitz. Finally, Elie was taken to his third and last camp, Buchenwald. Buchenwald is where Elie’s father ultimately died of dysentery, only days before the American troops came to release them. In Night, Elie Wiesel uses the title night to symbolize the darkness of these events and the lifelessness of faith.
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It is no doubt that Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, defies the conventional style of classic Hollywood films. Introducing a variety of new techniques and cinematography that was unheard of at that time, the advanced camera work, different lighting techniques and use of mise-en-scene, helped fortify several very definitive themes in the film. Being removed from his secure, comfortable childhood home at a young age, it is no secret that Charles Foster Kane carried the unresolved feelings with him as he continued to grow up, seeing as he had to deal with being taken from his own mother and father, and learn how to cope with having been stripped of the family love and assurance he had always longed for. Rather than having the guaranteed
In one of the opening scenes, the fluctuating emotions of the heated dialogue between Ismene and Antigone takes place. The two sisters take turns evoking passion and subjectiveness on their role as people in this world, but more specifically as civilians of Greece. Antigone has the mentality that she owes her duty of being an obedient family member (Johnson 370). Likewise, Ismene fears for her sister’s life and tries to persuade her that her allegiance may lay too strongly in the wrong place. Both women ultimately value family, however, they are split between whom they are most considerate to and immediately cause the audience to take sides.
"A value determines what a person thinks he ought to do, which may or may not be the same as he wants to do, or what is in his interest to, or what in fact he actually does. Values in this sense give rise to general standards and ideal by which we judge our own and others conduct; they also give rise to specific obligations” (CCETSW,
Orson Welles ' introduced innovating editing and sound design in the 1940s with Citizen Kane (1941). Welles uses editing and sound to show the audience the passing of time, this is seen the breakfast montage. Welles uses sound bridges during the transitional wipes of fast moving images which fade into the next shot. The sound bridges act as links between the two scenes and make the time difference apparent to the audience. At the beginning of the montage Welles uses a slow zoom combined with romantic music to show the love between Kane and Emily. Both characters appear in the frame together with deep focus and slow paced editing which shows the closeness of the couple in the early years. This is juxtaposed by the end of the montage showing
Nowadays, organizational change has a serious implication for the survival of an organization (Furst & Cable, 2008). Change is critical, necessary, and has becomes a key factor to win the game.
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Revenge almost always has the makings of an intriguing and tragic story. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a perfect example of how revenge unfolds and what it unveils. The play tells the story of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark. Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, marries his mother soon after his father’s death. Hamlet greatly disapproves of the hasty marriage and suspects foul play. His suspicions are confirmed when the ghost of his father appears and tells him that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet’s father asks him to take revenge upon Claudius, and soon everything takes a drastic change. The courses of revenge throughout Hamlet surround each character with corruption, obsession, and fatality.
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Change is a fundamental element of individuals, groups and all sorts of organizations. As it is the case for individuals, groups and societies, where change is a continuous process, composed of an indefinite amount of smaller sub-changes that vary in effect and length, and is affected by all sorts of aspects and events, many of which cyclic are anticipated ones. It is also the case for organizations, where change occurs repeatedly during the life cycle of organizations. Yet change in organizations is not as anticipated nor as predictable, with unexpected internal and external variables and political forces that can further complicate the management of change (Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson, 2009), which is by itself, the focus of many scholars in their pursuit to shed light on and facilitate the change process (Kotter 1996; Levin 1947; et al).