Using the data and information from the Why we still love IKEA case Essay

Using the data and information from the Why we still love IKEA case study - Essay Example According to Kwapong (2005), IKEA’s diversification strategy has been characterized by a direction and a scope targeting long term achievement through configuration of resources for manufacturing of the best furniture to fulfill the expectation of the customers. As clarified in the above case study, it is very clear how IKEA has implemented the Bowman’s Strategy Clock model together with the diversification strategy effectively through organizational activities. From an organizational perspective, IKEA Company has diversified into production of varied types of types of furniture stationed at different outlets across the world (Verbeke, 2013; Plunkett, 2008). As such, it has been possible for an organization to charge affordable cost on organizational products while still able to meet the market demand. Using the Bowman’s Strategy Clock, the case study has pointed out that the company communicates the organizational contents while encouraging the customers to adop t the concept of building IKEA’s brands in the market. With the adoption of perceived value characterized by low pricing, IKEA Company has gained popularity in different outlets thus achieving the organizational competitive advantage. As such, it has embraced the Bowman’s strategy clock as a framework for achieving more edge against various competitors in the furniture industry. As mentioned below, IKEA has incorporated varied directions as part of the strategy to ensure that potential customers receive a more affordable pricing in the market clarifies (Thomson, 2009). Based on the In Doyle (2011) clarification, IKEA Company has never chosen to compete in the furniture trade. As such, it has embraced the concept of bargain basement since some of the organizational furniture has not drawn the element of differentiation in Asian countries. However, IKEA has won customers loyalty

Reflective Learning Journal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Reflective Learning Journal - Research Paper Example These businesses are faced with various challenges in marketing and each has adopted a different marketing strategy to succeed in the market. In each marketing strategy, technology has played an important role. Pre-Visit Research and Analysis Mr. Miikka Vaahtera, the CEO and founder of Malja Company, did the first presentation. During his presentation, he emphasized on the importance of agency’s roles. The choice of media as evidenced in the presentation was an important tool for the marketing agencies. For instance, electronic sponsorship such as smartphones and internet were going popularity across the board. In order to gain the market, the company made use of the marketing 4P’s (product, price, promotion, and place) through the agencies. The main problem facing the company was the use of traditional sponsorship (like magazines and radio) which were already going down. Therefore, event marketing became an important tool for the company. The second guest speaker was M r. Noel Mooney, Marketing Manager of UEFA. Football is my passion and was interested to see how it is promoted and expanded in the international scene. The marketing strategy used by UEFA is sponsorship marketing and a big question was how they manage to compete in a world of ambush marketing. The greatest threat in sponsorship marketing is ambush marketing. ... The company has made use of all the forms of media to promote their client’s brands. For the company, successes lies within an integrated campaign, that is, going viral in marketing. Social media has found a big place in the heart of the company because of its popularity and use across all ages and nations. If one wants information to reach as many people as possible within the shortest time, social media is the solution. In any form of marketing, creativity is very crucial and I was intrigued by the fact that the company emphasizes more on creativity from its employees. Without creativity, viral marketing is not possible. On the other hand, the work should not offend the intended audience. The last presentation was from Expedia and the company works with various hotels to promote their products. I am an avid traveler and I was amazed by how the company is able to collect information about and promote it. The company links various hotels and travel destinations around the worl d and the client are able to get all information they need within a click of a button. From the presentation, it was clear that the company has realized the importance of technology in marketing, that is, it has employed powerful marketing. The company also assists the hotels to reach their customers across the world through the same technology. How that is possible, lies within the strength of powerful marketing and the use of technology. Discussion and Analysis Event marketing is simply doing the correct thing and making people understand that you are doing the correct thing. The biggest challenge in this case is knowing what constitutes the

Should We Pay College Athletes Essay Example for Free

Should We Pay College Athletes Essay Should we pay college athletes? That is a big topic in NCAA sports right now. People think that college athletes work hard and that they deserve to get paid. Michael Wilbon is one of these people. At first he was against paying college athletes, but now he is all for it. He says that he is interested in seeing the people that make revenue share a little piece of it. Then you have people like a reporter from the Daily Evergreen. He is against paying the athletes. He states that when you are a student athlete it is student first and athlete second, and that if you start paying college athletes it will put being an athlete first. I strongly think that college athletes shouldn’t be paid for playing sports in college. Paying players to play sports in college can cause players to ruin their career, cause the NCAA to be one sided, and would take away scholarships. The first problem with paying college athletes is that it could ruin a college athlete’s future career. For example, what happens when you give a little kid money? They spend it on junk that they don’t need. So the same thing would happen with most young college athletes. Think about it, you’re giving a teenager straight out of high schools a bunch of money to come a play sports at your school. Teenagers are not responsible with money. A prime example of this happening is Josh Hamilton. Hamilton is a professional baseball player in the Major Leagues. He got drafted out of high school and signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Rays for nearly 4 million dollars. He got hooked up with the wrong people and ended up blowing all his money on drugs and tattoos. He even got kicked out of Major League baseball for a while. I think that this would happen to a lot of player in college if they got paid. Another problem with paying college athletes is that it will cause the NCAA to become one sided. It will make college sports just like professional sports. The colleges with the most money will have the best teams and the colleges with the least money will have the worst teams. The competition would disintegrate. Take a look at professional baseball for example. The highest paid team in the Majors is the New York Yankees, and they are also the best. The lowest paid team is the Kansas City Royals, and they are the worst team in baseball. New York has money to buy the best players out there, while the Royals don’t. They can’t get good players because of their budget. This is exactly what would happen if college athletes got paid. The college with the highest budget would get the best players in the country, while the college with the worst budget wouldn’t be able to get good players. This will make the same teams good and the same teams bad year in and year out. It would take all the competition away. The third and final reason that paying college athletes is a bad choice is that it would take away scholarships. Think about it, you are already paying college athletes to play by giving them scholarships. Why would you need to pay them more to play if they have a scholarship already? You wouldn’t. Which means that scholarships would be gone all together and that’s not fair to everyone else? What about the people that are non-athletes? They wouldn’t be able to get scholarships because they don’t play sports. This would cause the student population to decrease. Lots of people can’t afford to go to the colleges they go to. The only reason they can go is because scholarships allow them to. It’s not right to take away the opportunity for less fortunate people. So I think that paying college athletes is a bad idea. It could ruin a players career giving them a lot of money at a young age, like it almost did to Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. It would also cause the NCAA to be uncompetitive and become exactly like the professional leagues. And lastly it would get rid of scholarships, which would take away opportunities of a lot of college students that are non-athletes Works Cited Chait, Jonathan. â€Å"Fixing College Sports: Why Paying Student Athletes Won’t Work† New York Magazine Mar.2012. Web. 29 Mar.2012 Hamilton, Josh, and Tim Keown â€Å"Beyond Belief† New York: Hamilton, 2008 â€Å"College Athletes Should Not Get Paid To Play† The Daily Evergreen Aug. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2012

Impact of the Cold War On Vietnam Economy

Impact of the Cold War On Vietnam Economy After two protracted wars with the French colonial empire, followed by a thirty year conflict with the US superpower, Vietnam was economically devastated. However, during the following forty years Vietnam has developed a vibrant and progressive economy and gradually achieved recognition as a major economic power within the South East Asian region. Since the unification in 1975, economic growth was identified as the most important factor in the strategic development of Vietnam. However, the first decade following the end of the war with the US was one in which the Cold War had a significant impact upon the Vietnam economy. Vietnam was lead by the Communist party and aligned its political and economic policies to strict socialist principles that mirrored the Soviet model and based decision-making on strict Communist criteria; (i) State or collective ownership of production means; (ii) Government administered supply of physical input and output; (iii) Lack of business autonomy, absence of factor markets, highly regulated goods and services markets; and (iv) A bias toward heavy industry in investments. (Vo Tri Thanh and Nguyen Thu Anh, (2006) Eaber Working Paper series: Paper No.8 Institutional changes for private sector development in Vietnam. p.3) The government policy meant that Vietnam was limited to trade mainly with other Communist countries and the outcome was a dramatic decline in the Vietnam economy and increasing poverty amongst the vast majority of the population. Further conflicts with China in 1979 and Cambodia in 1978 placed Vietnam in a position of further weakness and rather than concentrate on economic recovery, the improvement of labour skills, and agricultural and consumer goods production the Government focused on the building up of heavy industry. This period of Sovietisation brought even further problems for the Vietnam economy and the virtual decade of stagnation only began to end in 1986 with the introduction of Doi Moi.(Bui That Thang, (2001)After the war: 25 years of Economic Development in Vietnam, NIRA Review , p21-22). With consumption regularly greater than national income and numerous periods of famine relieved only by foreign aid, the decade from 1976 to 1986 marked a period of economic collapse i n Vietnam, and was only ended with the introduction of Doi Moi as the point marking when Vietnam switched from the Soviet model to a drive towards a free market economy. The renovation (Doi Moi) in 1986 brought about a dramatic change for post war Vietnam, as described by Thanh and Ha ( social inequality.., chap2 p63) who declare it a real turning point in the history of Vietnams economic development . It was shifted from a centrally planned economy to a new system of a market oriented economy. An important factor to note is that the decision to move towards a free market and thus, politically and ideologically change the basis of the Vietnam economy was made prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Vietnamese Government realised that the Soviet model was failing and that Vietnam faced a major economic crisis, with acute shortages of food, basic consumer goods, and inputs to agriculture and industry, and a growing external debt.(Thanh and Anh, 2006, p.3). It was decided to establish synchronous institutions of a market economy by socialism orientation (Ibid, p.2). The end of Cold War in 1991 followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union was a new challenge to Vietnam. Fortunately, Vietnam was already reforming its political and economic sectors by the time the collapse of the Soviet Union had ended and economic growth, policies to reduce macroeconomic instability and to introduce a multi-ownership structure were already in place. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union still meant that Vietnam faced a new future without the ideologically committed support of a Super Power, isolating Vietnam from much of the international community, a problems exasperated by the continued control of the country by the Communist Party. However, this essay will argue that although the major factor that impacted on many of the Eastern European countries for example, was the decline and fall of Communist administrations, in the case of Vietnam, the Communist Party remained in power, and provided the stability and security that provided the right conditions for imp ressive levels of continuous economic growth that has made Vietnam one of the tiger economies of South East Asia. It will also argue that the political and economic future of Vietnam is dependent on Vietnam remaining one of the most politically and security stable countries in South east Asia, and that stability is borne from the Communist party remaining in control of the country. This contrasts with the former Soviet Union countries who have made their economic futures dependent on the political system rejecting all the tenets of Communism and moving not only from a centrally controlled economy but also rejecting the idea of a one- party system. However, Vietnam has remained true to its political identity as a socialist republic while allowing reforms in politics and economics that has finally brought it recognition as a truly open and free market economy that has recently been rewarded with membership of the World Trade Organisation. The essay will follow the path through this process of reform and demonstrate how the economy has managed to develop to international recognition as one of the fastest growing economies in the World and still remained Communist. The end of the Cold War was universally seen as the end of Communism, and yet, like China, the Vietnam economy has been transformed whilst not drastically reforming the political system, which has remained true to the thoughts of Ho Chi Minh and commiserate with Marxist Leninism. The Communist Party still remains in power in Vietnam and its economic success is likely to re-enforce the belief that it will retain political control over the nation for decades to come. This essay will show how the Communist Party has managed to transform its economy and remain socialist. Prior to 1980s, Vietnam was still a backward agricultural country. In addition, as a socialist country, Vietnams economy was controlled and developed by a centrally planned system modelled on the Soviet Union. The Government played the dominant role in almost all activities and people who worked for government were paid by the system of budget subsidies. And all the trading actions were dominated by large State owned Enterprises that had collectivised almost all areas of economic activity, while private business was virtually non-existent (Pham, 2005,p4). Unfortunately, because of the mismatch between the management and the actual practices of the government, the economy of Vietnam didnt achieve any of their economic targets laid down in subsequent four year plans. The leaders then realised that centrally planned system was not a good structure for Vietnams development and whilst the Soviet Union was dramatically moving towards political collapse for the same reasons, Vietnams Commun ist Party believed that its ideological control over the country through one-party rule would actually have a positive impact on economic reform by providing an environment of stability and security, whilst establish an economy based upon capitalist principles, free markets and an open door set of policies. The Communist Party identified eight major policies of reform that would be used to bring about a complete transition of the economy and these were: Almost complete price liberalization; Large devaluation and unification of the exchange rate; Increases in interest rates to positive levels in real terms; Substantial reduction in subsidies to the SOE sector; Agricultural reforms through replacement of cooperatives by households as the basic decision-making unit in production and security of tenure for farm families; Encouragement of the domestic private sector and foreign direct investment (FDI); Removal of domestic trade barriers and creation of a more open economy. (Thanh and Anh, p.6). The main point here is that these are all significant movements towards policies found in the capitalist West and were only possible in the former Soviet client states such as Poland and East Germany by also moving the political systems towards the Western democracy model. However, the Sixth Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party-1986 believed that reform could follow the basic practical policies of the Western democracies but remain true to Communism by actually increasing state control and management and macro regulation. Communism would allow stability to remain in the political arena and the economic policies would themselves be directed towards maintaining socialist targets. This mix of socialist and capitalist policies to retain some level of equity amongst the general society is one now being discussed by many of the mainland European Union members who now identify a full Communist regime as still unacceptable, but the monetarist free market economy as equally at fault in the wake of the major financial crisis at the end of 2008. However, the main contention is that Vietnam remains a one party system, but there is very little evidence of any deep protest or wish to change this system by the vast majority of the Vietnamese population. Although we are examining here the performance of Vietnam since the Cold War it is thus essential to understand that unlike Russia and the former members of the USSR, Vietnam was able to transform its economy without major political regime change. (Thang, 2001, p.3). in the following paragraphs we look at how this was possible. Up to 1990 the Doi Moi reforms did bring about a number of improvements in the economy. From 1989 onwards, Vietnam was on the way to becoming one of the three main big rice exporters in the world, many state subsidies were disappearing and SOEs were constantly warned to reform and restructure, but not immediately encouraged to denationalize. Over these years the growth rate hovered around the 4.5% mark and the reforms were only slowly impacting upon Vietnams overall economic performance. Doi Moi involved a commitment to dismantling cooperatives and shifting production away from a household economy to the private sector, whilst also restructuring the state-owned sector to be more competitive. However, the real impact of policies changes did not really take effect until post-1990.The outcome was significant development with the GDP growth averaging 8.5% from 1990 to 1997 and averaging 6.5% from 1998 to 2003. Average foreign trade and Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) improved to nearly $18 billion USD by 2007 and agricultural production doubled from 1990 to 2005, while exports reached $49 billion USD per year by 2007. The per capita income rose from $220 USD in 1994 to $832 by 2007 and industrial production went from 27.3% of GDP in 1985 to 41.6% in 2007. Many industries reached impressive rates of growth, such as in the production of oil which went from 40,000 tons in 1986 to 7.6 million tons in 1990 and 12.5 million tons in 1998 (Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Thang (2007) For eign Direct Investment in Vietnam: an overview and analysis. MPRA Archive Paper No1921). In the final part of this essay we concentrate on how FDI has been example of how the Communist Party, its policies of reform and the growth of the economy have become interlinked in bringing about a successful basis for even greater levels of development in the future. The levels of development are impressive with a reduction in the inflation rate from a nightmarish 774% in 1986 to a manageable 7.5% in 2006, while also achieving a poverty reduction level of 22% in 2005 from the 58.1% recorded in 1993. By 2007 there were 7067 FDI projects with a capital of $63.5billion US. This dramatic success was as a result of the following factors: Strategic location Stable economic and political environment Large natural mineral resources A young and well-educated workforce The ability to be an export platform for US and EU markets Liberal investment environment and a commitment by the Government to economic reform. In Vietnam it is the changing attitudes of the Communist Party and the Government towards the foreign economic sector as an important step towards economic growth that has significantly assisted the improvement of the economy. Alongside this have been the increasing levels of economic competition from other countries in the region and advances in international commitments helped by a changing political and ideological approach to participating in global economic trade (2006, 180). A significant factor in encouraging this change in attitudes has been the realization that FDI has a vital role to play in the mobilization of capital, technology, organizational and managerial skills (21). The radical change in the Communist Party attitude towards FDI was the institutionalization of FDI as a separate economic sector and recognition that FDI was a vital driving forced towards the overall development of the Vietnam economy (ibid). The improvement in investment in Vietnam has been assisted by a commitment throughout business, government and society to improve the image and identity of Vietnam, not least being in its international participation in political and economic forums. (Pham Thi Huyen 2009 The Nationality Factor in Assessing Hanoi Investment Environment in Business Environment and Policies in Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam) A further example of well the Vietnam economy has developed under the guidance of the Communist Party is the increasing participation of Vietnam in international forums and the successful entry into international forums such as the World Trade Organisation. Viet Nam joined the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995, and committed to AFTA prior to the Enterprise Law reform period. Viet Nam also joined APEC in 1998.Vietnam has been an official member of WTO since 2007. Before that, there had been an increasingly strong public policy commitment to joining the WTO in recent years, and references were made to the need to reform to join the WTO in the policy debate on private sector development during the 2nd half of the 1990s. The enterprise reforms have been consistent with efforts to join the WTO, and the desire to join WTO has strengthened the hand of those pushing for improvements in the regulatory environment for business during the reform of the Enterprise Law . How ever, it is difficult to assess the extent to which the desire to join the WTO provided impetus for the Enterprise Law reforms Results, Challenges and Prospects, Vietnams Socio-Economic Development: A Social Science Review, No.31, Autumn Doanh, Le Dang, (2002), Foreign Direct Investment in Viet Nam: While it is difficult to identify connections between aspirations to join regional and international bodies and the Enterprise Law reforms, contacts with regional and international bodies have almost certainly helped the reform process. The economic performance of other ASEAN members and China are important benchmarks with which Viet Nams policy makers often compare their own performance. Even prior to joining ASEAN, Vietnamese officials went on study tours to ASEAN member countries to study issues related to improving the enabling environment for business development. A crucial development in the reform of the economy of Vietnam was the new Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between Viet Nam and the USA, which was signed in December 2001, well after the major Enterprise Law reforms had been implemented. The private sector reforms implemented during the 2nd half of the 1990s almost certainly helped the process of reaching agreement on the BTA. This new agreement marked an important watershed in the relations not only between Vietnam and the US, but also the rest of the world. The signing of the agreement between Vietnam and its former enemy signified a leap forwards in the status of Vietnam and officially marked the end of most political and economic hostilities between the two former enemies. However, its signing was predicated on the absolute commitment of Vietnam to continue economic reform and also suggested that political reform; especially in democratization of Vietnam was almost certainly on the cards for the future (Ibid). Thus, Vietnam is a special case to examine in the study of the impact of the end of the Cold War upon Communist and former Communist states. In the case of Vietnam, not only have they remained under the one party rule of the Communist Party, they have also successfully reformed their economy, with the Communist Government able to provide the right levels of stability and security to continue to develop in the future. Thus, it is also a case of how the ideology of a country and its economic reform are linked, but the case of Vietnam it is an example of a country being ruled consistently under the socialist thought of Ho Chi Minh, maintaining one party rule but was also able to transform an economy from state central control to a free market. It is also known as a peaceful, secure and safe environment in the centre of a South East Asian region. A region that is more often now identified with the increasing problems of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, such as in Thailand and Malays ia. While economic growth continues, the levels of extreme poverty are continually being lowered and the wealth of the economic success is to some extent spread down the masses through policies based on socialist principles, the one party rule of the Communist Party in Vietnam is likely to continue Ref. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Thang (2007) Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam: an overview and analysis. MPRA Archive Paper No1921) Le Dang, (2002), Results, Challenges and Prospects, Vietnams Socio-Economic Development: A Social Science Review, No.31, Autumn Doanh, Foreign Direct Investment in Viet Nam: Le The Gioi (2004), Moi truong dau tu tai Viet Nam qua goc nhin cua nha dau tu nuoc ngoai, Le The Gioi, Journal of Economics and Forecast, vol 1, 2004. Pham Thi Huyen (2009) The Nationality Factor in Assessing Hanoi Investment Environment in Business Environment and Policies in Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Thang (2007) Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam: an overview and analysis. MPRA Archive Paper No1921 Bui That Thang, (2001)After the war: 25 years of Economic Development in Vietnam, NIRA Review , p21-22). Vo Tri Thanh and Nguyen Thu Anh, (2006) Eaber Working Paper series: Paper No.8 Institutional changes for private sector development in Vietnam.

Love Of Life :: essays research papers

Summary for Love of Life:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Love of life started out on a trail with two men being the characters. In the beginning they started out as tired and weak. Each man had a rifle. They came upon a some boulders and the man in back slipped over one and sprained his ankle. Bill staggered on through the milky waters. Bill was gone now. He looked at his watch and could not tell if it was in the end of July or beginning of August. He was still laying in the stream that lead to the Coppermine River. The man got up and started to proceed towards his destiny. He winced with pain and through the pack over his left shoulder to take the pressure off his injured ankle. He picked his way through muskeg to muskeg, and followed the other footsteps along and across the rocky ledges. He thought he was hilucinating when he saw a ship, and the ocean. Every once and a while he would stop. On his journey he came across some bones, bones that looked as if they were chewed up. His hunger pangs did seem as exquisite anym ore. He saw four newly hatched chicks, and he ate them ravenously, thrusting them alive in his mouth. The chase led him across a swampy ground in the bottom valley and he came across some footsteps, they must be Bill's he thought. He began to feel the hallucinations again when he thought he saw a horse, but what was really a bear. He thought to himself here is meat in front of me, I will throw my knife and kill it. But he went on with a new type of fear, not a fear that he would die from starvation but be violently destroyed. Now and again wolves passed along his path, but sheered clear of him. He came across some bones, the wolves had must of made a kill. Next thing he was squatting in moss, sucking at the shreds of life. In the afternoon of the next couple days he found a track of a man not walkin but dragging on all fours.

Humanities - The Heart of Liberal Education Essay -- Education Philoso

I justify the humanities by sketching four views of knowledge in which the idea of an academy or an integration of disciplines might be understood. I assume that every system of higher education inevitably appeals to concepts of knowledge. Such concepts cannot be isolated from political and civic dimensions of life as well as from personal cultivation and character. Nonetheless, older views based on these aspects are open to serious criticism. The four views considered are Aristotelian-Thomistic, Cartesian-positivist, Kantian, and "traditionalist" (in a liberal and hermeneutic sense). The paper describes key elements in each of these views and notes several objections, with a marked preference for Kantian and "traditionalist" views. Kant provides for rehabilitation of the humanities, especially ethics and literature (the moral and aesthetic), within a framework in which modern science displaces ancient teleological nature. "Tradition" is justified on practical grounds--by the need to appropriate for oneself the knowledge and experience of past generations (without which human life loses continuity and meaning). Further, the humanities save the great texts from oblivion to which "progress" would otherwise consign them. The humanities counteract the tendency of science to undermine the conditions of its own possibility, as well as the discipline, knowledge, and virtue required for its own origin. Two questions are urgently posed to the modern academy: what is the justification for congregating all the disciplines of modern knowledge under one roof as if they belonged integrally together—if, that is, there is one? For perhaps it is merely a convenience. And secondly, what is the justification—if there is any—for insisting upon th... ...ndered unnecessary by its existence. Technology makes perpetual adolescents of us, because of the ease with which it puts great power in our hands; its power diminishes our desire (and thus our capacity) for responsibility. In the face of this fact of modern life, the traditionalist view of education seeks to reverse this effect, without denying the legitimacy of science. It cultivates liberal virtues by keeping the classics and all the great texts alive, including the classics of science itself (physical and human), abandoned by later science. Traditional stances like those of (1), (2), and (3), may be suspicious of it because it declines the attempt to found education upon the dogma of a metaphysics or an epistemology. But it may well be the most practical way pedagogically that the aims and content of those approaches can be sustained within a modern environment.

How I Would Direct Act 5 Scene 1 From Macbeth Essay

Introduction If I were to direct a new version of Scene 1 of Act 5 in Macbeth I would make it a modernised version. The characters would wear modern clothes and live in modern surroundings and the story would have to be slightly altered to fit this modern setting. I think that I could still let the characters use archaic language as in the original Macbeth script. The scene would be less formal as it seems to be in the RSC version, it would be a lot more relaxed. I would try to make the scene more interesting for younger people and the target audience would be around 12-18. The film would not be a comedy or an action film it would be a tragedy film. To make the scene interesting for this audience I would have to change many parts of the scene like the camera angles, colours and costumes. Casting I would like Lady Macbeth to be a small person who seems defenceless but has a strong mind rather like Sarah Siddons who first played the part of Lady Macbeth in 1785. Lady Macbeth would be a very harsh person who deteriorates throughout the film and in this particular scene is very weak, defenceless and also very stressed. She would not be as old as the Lady Macbeth from the RSC version and would be a lot more like that of the Polanski version. She will also look very pale as she is worried about what she is going to do and she will also have make-up on so she looks tired with â€Å"bags† under her eyes. Also in this scene would be the Gentlewoman who, in my version would be like a Maid in a large modern houshold. She would be quite large (but not too big) and she would be a very friendly and comforting person who was very lively and hyperactive. The Maid would be a very sure and decisive person who would be confident in her own decisions. Also the Maid would be very reliable and a trustworthy person. She would talk a lot in the scene and would be very loyal to Lady Macbeth. She would be very shocked by Lady Macbeth’s unusual behaviour just like the Gentlewoman in the RSC version. You would be able to see her concern for Lady Macbeth in the actors eyes. The Maid would probably not be English as many Maids in modern times are from foreign countries. The last person to be cast in this scene would be the Doctor. In my version the Doctor would be a very sympathetic man who cares for his patients he would reassure the maid and would be very informed and helpful for Lady Macbeth. As with the maid the doctor would be very shocked and would be worried by Lady Macbeth’s behaviour unlike the doctor in the Polanski version. The doctors would look very professional but also very caring. The doctor would also be a quite an old man. Costume The costumes in my scene would be quite light and modern and would not be too dark as I thought the costumes used in the RSC version were (or was that because it was in black and white?). I think that Lady Macbeth would wear a night-gown or something similar and would have long hair, probably blonde unlike the RSC version as I did not think that short brown hair would fit with my scene or settings. Lady Macbeth would be quite small also, giving the impression of a defenceless person. The Maid would be wearing the typical maid clothes, probably a dress that was white and blue or black She would be holding a tray of some sort with drinks on. The Doctor would probably be wearing a Hugo Boss suit and have grey hair. He would also wear small glasses that he would wear on the end on his nose which is always shown as a sign of intelligence. He would enter the room with a black suitcase and would have a professional image. I would also like the Doctor to have a small beard aswell. Movement I’m my scene the Maid and the Doctor would enter the bedroom of Lady Macbeths house quickly and as they were walking the would be talking. Then Lady Macbeth would enter rubbing her hands in a jerky way and very quickly like the Polanski version. Lady Macbeth would be shivering while the Doctor and Maid were looking on at her. Then Lady Macbeth would go to bed – talking in her sleep. After this the concerned Doctor would exit and the scene ends. Language And Performance I’m my scene Lady Macbeth would have a quiet tone of voice and would whisper some of her lines. She would not cry out as loud as in the RSC version as I think that it was a bit too exaggerated in that interpretation of the scene. The tone of her voice would be horrified and frightened and would be very alarming to watch. Her voice would be as if it was on the edge and she was about to snap and go completely mad. She needs to show fear aswell when she says â€Å"Hell is murky† because this is showing her fear of death and going to hell for what she has done. The Doctor in this scene would be calm on the outside but he would feel very shocked and he would be asking the Maid questions very quietly – almost whispering. The Maid’s tone of voice would also be shocked and she would almost scream from seeing the distressed Lady Macbeth. She would look away and would seem to be suffering pain from Lady Macbeth’s suffering. Her voice would show this. I think my version of this scene would be more emotional that the Polanski version but less emotional than the RSC version, it would be a balance between the two. Even though it would be set in modern times the language would remain the same as the original Macbeth script and no parts would be edited from the scenes except for censorship. I would direct some parts of the scene to be how I want them to be shown. At the start of the scene when the Doctor says â€Å"What have you heard her say† the Maid must look extremely worried about what she might tell the doctor. As Lady Macbeth walks out the doctor and Maid will talk in a whisper so that they do not disturb her. Lady Macbeth must look alone and have a blank look on her face. When she says â€Å"Yet here’s a spot† referring to the blood which cannot seem to be removed from her hands she must seem angry and frustrated but also sorry for herself. It should seem as though Lady Macbeth is announcing her troubles. The Maid must seem very forgiving and concerned at this point. As the speech of Lady Macbeth goes on she needs to get more and more built up before crying at the end (but not too loud as in RSC). Camera Angles My version of this scene would have a long shot of the Macbeth household at the start of the scene and then would have close up’s of the characters faces as in both the Polanski version and the RSC version. This way you can see the characters faces close up so you can almost see what they are thinking. I could also have a Lady Macbeth camera where there is a camera that seems as if it its inside Lady Macbeth’s head, showing what she sees and hears, this would let the audience know what Lady Macbeth was thinking and seeing and would involve them more in the film. For example when she is trying to wash the blood off her hand but in her dreams she cannot, I could switch to the Lady Macbeth camera to show her saying â€Å"Out, damned spot!† And showing the camera pointing at her hand with the blood on it. Then I could switch back to the bemused Doctor and Maid wondering what is going on. I think this would be a good way of showing the scene. Relationships With Other Characters Lady Macbeth in my cut of the scene would be very close to her Maid and they would care for each other. The Maid would care for Lady Macbeth a lot more than Lady Macbeth would care for the Maid because Lady Macbeth is in my version a very harsh person who does not care much for anyone except for her husband Macbeth. The Maid would be exceptionally loyal to Lady Macbeth and follow all of her orders. The Doctor would also be very caring for both characters and he would trust the Maid although he would be slightly confused as to what is going on and he would rely on the Maid to inform him. Staging, Setting and Lighting I would set the scene in the Macbeth household which would be in the Scottish Highlands. As the setting is so modern the story before this scene would have had to be altered slightly – for example instead of killing the King, Macbeth could have killed his boss and become the Manager of a company. The house would be very large and modern and the scene would be mainly set inside Lady Macbeth’s bedroom. The furniture would be very expensive and modern and the room would be quite light but would have red curtains which the sun would shine through making the whole room seem the colour of blood which would symbolise danger and insecurity. The bed would be a very ornate but modern four poster bed. The Macbeths would be a very upmarket family. This setting would be very different to the setting of the RSC version which seemed to be set on a stage with not much scenery. My version will be alike the Polanski version in that it would be in a proper film set. I would also have a good soundtrack that was one of the things (I think) was missing from both versions of the scene that we saw. The music would be included in the scenes to create more atmosphere but it would be good music that would add atmosphere without really being noticed. General Impression The general impression hopefully made from my scene would be that the audience feels sympathetic towards Lady Macbeth. They should be drawn in so that they end up feeling sorry for her when earlier on in the play they thought she was a deceitful and cold blooded person. It should show people that you can’t hide murder – or at least she couldn’t. I would also keep ideas of blood, sleep and water in the play as these devices add to the drama of the film.