Speed-the-Plow Plot Summary and Study Guide

Speed-the-Plow is a play written by David Mamet. It is comprised of three lengthy scenes involving the corporate dreams and strategies of Hollywood executives. The original Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow opened on May 3rd, 1988. It starred Joe Mantegna as Bobby Gould, Ron Silver as Charlie Fox, and (making her Broadway debut) pop-icon Madonna as Karen. What does the title Speed-the-Plow mean? The title is derived from a phrase in a 15th-century work-song, God speed the plough. It was a prayer for prosperity and productivity. Plot Summary of Act One: Speed-the-Plow begins with the introduction of Bobby Gould, a recently promoted Hollywood executive. Charlie Fox is a business colleague (ranking below Gould) who brings in a movie script that is connected to a hit-making director. During the first scene, the two men gush about how successful they will become, all thanks to the script option. (The screenplay is a stereotypically violent prison/action movie.) Gould makes a call to his boss. The boss is out of town but will be back the next morning and Gould guarantees that the deal will be approved and that Fox and Gould will get a producer credit. While they discuss the mutual hardships of their early days together, they also mingle with Karen, a temporary receptionist. When Karen is out of the office, Fox wagers that Gould wont be able to seduce Karen. Gould takes the challenge, offended by the idea that Karen would be attracted to his position at the studio, but incapable of loving him as a person. After Fox leaves the office, Gould encourages Karen to become more goal-oriented. He gives her a book to read and asks her to stop by his house and provide a review. The book is titled The Bridge or, Radiation and the Half-Life of Society. Gould has only glanced at it, but he already knows that it is a pretentious attempt at intellectual art, unsuitable for a movie, especially a movie at his studio. Karen agrees to meet him later in the evening, and the scene ends with Gould convinced that he will win his bet with Fox. Plot Summary of Act Two: The second act of Speed-the-Plow takes place entirely in Goulds apartment. It opens with Karen passionately reading from the Radiation book. She claims that the book is profound and important; it has changed her life and taken away all fear. Gould tries to explain how the book would fail as a film. He explains that his job is not to create art but to create a marketable product. Karen continues to persuade, however, as her conversation becomes more personal. She states that Gould does not have to be afraid anymore; he does not have to lie about his intentions. In her scene-closing monolog, Karen says: KAREN: You asked me to read the book. I read the book. Do you know what it says? It says that you were put here to make stories people need to see. To make them less afraid. It says in spite of our transgressions - that we could do something. Which would bring us alive. So that we neednt feel ashamed. By the end of her monolog, it is apparent that Gould has fallen for her, and that she spends the night with him. Plot Summary of Act Three: The final act of Speed-the-Plow returns to Goulds office. Its the morning after. Fox enters and begins to scheme about their upcoming meeting with the boss. Gould calmly states that he will not be green-lighting the prison script. Instead, he plans to make the Radiation book. Fox does not take him seriously at first, but when he finally realizes that Gould is serious, Fox becomes furious. Fox argues that Gould has gone insane and that the source of his madness is Karen. It seems that during the previous evening (before, after or during love-making) Karen has convinced Gould that the book is a beautiful work of art that must be adapted into a film. Gould believes that green-lighting the Radiation book is the right thing to do. Fox becomes so angry that he punches Gould twice. He demands that Gould tells the story of the book in one sentence, but because the book is so complex (or so convoluted) Gould is unable to explain the story. Then, when Karen enters, he demands that she answers a question: FOX: My question: you answer me frankly, as I know you will: you came to his house with the preconception, you wanted him to greenlight the book. KAREN: Yes. FOX: If he had said no, would you have gone to bed with him? When Karen admits that she would not have had sex with Gould if he did not agree to produce the book, Gould is flung into despair. He feels lost, as though everyone wants a piece of him, everyone wants to leech off of his success. When Karen tries to persuade him by saying Bob, we have a meeting, Gould realizes that she has been manipulating him. Karen doesnt even care about the book; she just wanted a chance to quickly move up the Hollywood food chain. Gould exits to his washroom, leaving Fox to promptly fire her. In fact, he does more than fire her, he threatens: You ever come on the lot again, Im going to have you killed. As she exits, he throws the Radiation book after her. When Gould re-enters the scene, he is glum. Fox tries to cheer him up, talking about the future and the movie that they will soon be producing. The last lines of the play: FOX: Well, so we learn a lesson. But we arent here to pine, Bob, we arent here to mope. What are we here to do (pause) Bob? After everything is said and done. What are we put on earth to do? GOULD: Were here to make a movie. FOX: Whose name goes above the title? GOULD: Fox and Gould. FOX: Then how bad can life be? And so, Speed-the-Plow ends with Gould realizing that most, perhaps all, people will desire him for his power. Some, like Fox, will do it openly and blatantly. Others, like Karen, will try to deceive him. Foxs final line asks Gould to look on the bright side, but since their movie products seem shallow and overtly commercial, it seems that there is little satisfaction to Goulds successful career.

Diversity Management and Cultural Intelligence - 1260 Words

CARROLL 1 Shavasia K. Carroll Current Issues in OB Final Diversity Management and Cultural Intelligence Diversity Management and cultural intelligence is the crucial keys in today’s workforce to successfully compete in a global marketplace. Corporations can no longer use lack of cultural intelligence as an excuse. Organizations pursuing global success must embrace diversity in their thoughts, actions, and innovations. Diversity doesn’t just focus on making the numbers, but how the organization’s business model is rooted authentically with its people. More and more leaders are realizing that they just don’t connect naturally with the changing face of global consumers. In today’s global workplace, diversity management and cultural†¦show more content†¦It shows gains in the diversity of the workforce and implements resources groups and structured mentoring programs (Mor-Barak, 2011). Using tools such as the Seven Dimensions of Culture, Hofstede s Cultural Dimensions, and Wibbeke s Geoleadership Model to understand what makes employees’ cultures different. The organization shows a competitive advantage with talent by reaching a wide range of customers and clients. These initiatives have senior management support, accountability, backing of an overarching corporate philosophy, multiple measures of success and that allow for changes in the corporate culture that improve the diversity climate are more likely to be more effective than initiatives that lacks these key ingredients (Bernardi, 2009). Once you are aware and able to plan in light of your cultural understanding. A cultural intelligence strategy for an organization is to implement a metrics-driven accountability for its diversity management effects (Llopis, 2011). 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Marketing Management Sony Corporation

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Management for Sony Corporation. Answer: Introduction: The digital camera from Sony Corporation is popular only because of its quality and high-resolution features, which has made a revolution in the photography industry. The research and development team of Sony Corporation has decided to launch a new range of digital camera, which is effective enough to provide perfect exposure compensation, picture effects, manual focus and aperture control than the other competitor companies fail to manufacture. The team has decided to launch these new ranges of digital camera will be launched in famous location of Australia such as, Brisbane, South Wales, Melbourne and Canberra. The young adult, who has passion in the new trend of photography are the targeted customers of Sony Corporation (Benner and Tripsas 2012). As these digital cameras possess with innovative and creative features such as shutter priority and shutter speed control, therefore it is more attracted than the other available digital cameras in the market of Australia. However, the Se nior Management Team of Sony Corporation is not so much overwhelmed with the launching of the new camera range in Australia and they have provided the responsibility of investigating about the adequate steps and actions before launching the new product in market. I have gone through the market strategies and the offered products from the competitor companies of Sony Corporation in Australia such as Canon and Nikon (Bogue 2013). These competitor companies fail to offer the customers extra high speed shooting capability, which is the innovative and unique feature of the digital camera of Sony. Although the Senior Management Team is very much sure about the success of the newly launched product in the market, still I have provided some effective options of promoting and advertising the product. El Kaoutit et al. (2013) have mentioned that the Senior Management Team of an organisation generally decides the international strategies in order to develop the brand value. I suggested them as every individual has account on social media, therefore, it will be best for our company to promote the digital cameras on various social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and official website of the company in order to attract the new-edge clients of Australia. Our new product is capable enough to reflect that nothing is impossible in this highly technologically advanced world and nothing is beyond reach. Figure 1: Market share of Sony with other competitor companies in Australia (Source: Hutchinson and Williams 2014) The image sensor of new digital cameras of Sony Corporation is incredibly convenient as it helps to capture captivating movies and still photographs from every perspective. The CMOS sensor is capable to make the subjects to be stand out in beautiful manner in those situations when the taken shot is in extreme close up. The new range of digital camera from Sony Corporation features blazing speed and extended zoom capacity, which will give the photographers a completely new experience (Lee and Lee 2013). The new range of digital cameras consists of RX10 III, Cyber-shot DSC-WX500B and Dsc-HX90V. I have suggested the Senior Management Team of my company to provide promotional sales and discounts to the first 100 customers and a headphone, which is featured with noise-cancellation. Even if the customer order this new digital camera through online and using net banking process, then they will be rewarded with payback points and online redemption for next shopping of electronic products fro m Sony Corporation. The digital cameras of Sony Corporation are tangible, perishable and variable. The managers of this company focus on the perception and behaviour of the consumers. Every digital camera is manufactured only after analysing the basic marketing strategies, which includes high volume, brand differentiation and brand identity. As there are a large number of competitor companies available in the Australian market, therefore, the research and development team has made less expensive digital camera with modern technology. Before launching the new digital cameras in the market, the research team forecast the business success of the new products with the process of repositioning, line extension, and bass and pre-test market models. I have thoroughly analysed the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the new digital cameras of Sony Corporation with appropriate comparison with Nikon and Canon. Porters Five Forces help me to understand the necessity of the bargaining power of the customers and suppliers for launching a new product in the market. According to Bister et al. (2014), SWOT analysis and Porters Give Forces Analysis is suitable to understand the external and internal environment of an organisation. Both the theoretical analysis of market positioning, targeting and segmentation pay an important role during my thorough and detailed investigation of the market. All the challenges and benefits of the newly launched digital cameras are evaluated and assessed in order to understand in critical manner the actual demand of the clients from Sony Corporation. The framework of the organisation of Sony Corporation allows the employees to share own suggestion to the management regarding the new product. T he innovation of this camera involves the compatibility and observability, which its competitor companies fail to offer. Product Life Cycle (PLC) involves the market introduction, market growth, market maturity and sales decline after analysing the total industry sales and profit. However, the research and development team of this particular organisation is always busy to leverage on the modern technologies for creating innovative, unique, high quality and interesting products in order to increase the level of sales revenue (Hutchinson and Williams 2014). The holistic approach of Sony Corporation is appropriate to mitigate the risk factors in effective manner. References Benner, M.J. and Tripsas, M., 2012. The influence of prior industry affiliation on framing in nascent industries: the evolution of digital cameras.Strategic Management Journal,33(3), pp.277-302. Bister, D., Mordarai, F. and Aveling, R.M., 2014. Comparison of 10 digital SLR cameras for orthodontic photography.Journal of orthodontics. Bogue, R., 2013. Recent developments in MEMS sensors: A review of applications, markets and technologies.Sensor Review,33(4), pp.300-304. El Kaoutit, H., Estvez, P., Garca, F.C., Serna, F. and Garca, J.M., 2013. Sub-ppm quantification of Hg (II) in aqueous media using both the naked eye and digital information from pictures of a colorimetric sensory polymer membrane taken with the digital camera of a conventional mobile phone.Analytical Methods,5(1), pp.54-58. Hutchinson, I. and Williams, P., 2014. Digital cameras.British journal of orthodontics. Lee, K.J. and Lee, B.W., 2013. Estimation of rice growth and nitrogen nutrition status using color digital camera image analysis.European Journal of Agronomy,48, pp.57-65.

Obasan By Joy Kogawa Essay Example For Students

Obasan By Joy Kogawa Essay Today, society has become a boisterous world of communication. From telephone conversations to live Internet chat and e-mail, the world has never before been quite so in touch. In the novel Obasan, by Joy Kogawa, Naomi Nakane does not have technology to communicate. Instead, she faces the dilemma of communicating at all. From her family, Naomi is shown the many faceted truths of speech and communication. From strong, silent Obasan, to stubborn, resolute Aunt Emily, Naomi finds that one can correspond with others through silence as well as through speech. As a child, Naomi spends much of her life in non-communicative silence, only to help further the distance between herself and her mother. As Naomi grows into womanhood and beyond, she discovers that in speech lays understanding and, unfortunately, pain and sorrow. Joy Kogawa’s tale of Naomi Nakane shows how one young girl can live a tortured life and find peace living life in between silence speech. Naomi’s relationship with Obasan is an influential one, molded from love, respect, and understanding. Naomi describes Obasan’s way of communication best when she say declares, â€Å"The language of her grief is silence. She has learned it well, its idioms its nuances. Over the years the silence with her small body has grown large and powerful†(Obasan 17). Obasan’s silent stance provides a firm starting point for Naomi to return to when she needs to find her bearings. Obasan provides Naomi only positive reinforcement when it comes down to determining the right and wrongs of silence. Obasan used her silence to protect the children from the many faceted horror known as truth. The truth behind Naomi’s mother was requested to be kept from Naomi and her brother, but it was also potentially damaging to them as well. â€Å"The memories were drowned in a whirlpool of protective silence†¦ For the sake of the children, calmness was maintained†(Obas an 26). Aunt Emily believes that the only way to live at peace in the present, you must live in peace with your past. Emily gets this across to Naomi when she goes on a rant and says â€Å"You have to remember. You are your history. If you cut any of it off you’re an amputee. Don’t deny the past. Remember everything. If you’re bitter, be bitter. Cry it out! Scream! Denial is gangrene. Look at you, Naomi, shuffling back and forth between Cecil and Granton, unable to go or stay in the world with even a semblance of grace or ease†(Obasan 60). Unfortunately, for the quiet Naomi, Emily also believes that in order to be at peace with your past you must stand up and yell at those at fault for reconciliation. Emily shows that her beliefs remain contingent upon facts, and that everyone needs to be on the same page before healing can begin. â€Å"’It matters to get the facts straight†¦Reconciliation can’t begin without mutual recognition of the facts,’ she said. ‘Facts?’ ‘Yes, facts. What’s right is right. What’s wrong is wrong. Health starts somewhere.’† (Obasan 219)Naomi cannot comprehend the angle with which her aunt approaches life. While Naomi may believe reconciliation is in order, she is only discouraged when she looks to see where speech has placed her Aunt Emily. â€Å"If Aunt Emily with her billions of letters and articles and speeches, her tears and her rage, her friends and her committees—if all that couldn’t bring contentment, what was the point† (Obasan 50). Naomi becomes more and more frustrated when she sees the futile efforts of her Aunt. Albeit, she does believe that what her Aunt is doing is important for her Aunt, she cannot see the use if the results of such hard laborious tasks go for naught. The Tell Tale Heart EssayWhen Aunt Emily finally discloses the story of Naomi and Stephen’s mother, Naomi takes the news very stoically. She is happy to finally know what happened, confused because she does not understand why she was not told sooner, and saddened, because she would have liked to see her mother, disfigurement and all. Now that her mother is dead, she does not get the chance relinquish the great weight of Mr. Gower from her soul, and continues to live, disfigured in her own way. Her mother was the only one that could have helped her and now, â€Å"Dead hands can no longer touch our outstretched hands or move to heal†(Obasan 294). Naomi had suffered wounds so psychologically damaging that only her mother could heal. While Ojisan remains like a stone and Emily remains ever vocal, Naomi’s brother Stephen goes off on his own tangent. Stephen denies his Japanese heritage because of the discrimination he has faced from others. Stephen does not want to be Japanese and instead puts forth all his efforts to be white. He takes upon himself the habit of eating only ‘white’ food, like hamburgers and sandwiches, and wearing white clothing. Stephen does not talk because those who talk draw attention, which is precisely what Stephen does not want to do. Instead of speech or writing, Stephen uses music as his voice. Worst of all, Stephen distances himself from the family, moves away and attempts to rid himself of all Japanese ties, only calling home once a year. As Naomi’s last immediate family member, Stephen only hampers the healing process, which Naomi must attend to. Naomi’s childhood, a terrible and brutal struggle for such a young delicate flower, yields to a blossoming adulthood of understanding and compassion. Although her wounds will never fully heal, Naomi has come to terms with her mother’s absence and her family’s silence. While Stephen does not adapt at all, and instead runs from his problems, Naomi allows herself to become immersed in the flood of her problems. Naomi Nakane spends the early years of her life trying to determine where in the confusion she will take her stand in the battle between verbal communication and silent acceptance, only to find that she has no choice and fate has decided that she will remain silent, longing to speak. BibliographyObasan by Joy KogawaBook Reports