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The movie “Wages of fear” analysis
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Introduction
The movie “Wages of fear” revolves around four individuals who are stranded in a poverty-ridden town, in a nameless country of Latin America. These four individuals, Jo, Mario, Bimba and Luigi are offered generous amounts of money to carry out a dangerous job. One of the Southern oil Company’s oil field has caught a massive fire, which can only be extinguished using nitroglycerine. In essence, the four individuals are supposed to drive nitroglycerine in two rickety trucks across 300 miles of the treacherous and mountainous country. Jo and Mario ride in the same truck while the other two ride in another. If they come out of the adventure alive, they would be awarded a check of $2000 each. As much as there are various odd against them, their rivalries limit their chances of succeeding even further. Initially, Jo had not been selected but is chosen to replace Smerloff, one of the chosen drivers who does not appear on the appointed date. The other drivers, however, suspect that Jo murdered Smerloff. Separated by 30 minutes, so as to limit casualties, the two trucks head to the oil fields. The drivers have to deal with numerous mental and physical obstacles. Finally, the truck carrying Bimba and Luigi explodes and kills them. Jo and Mario arrive at the place where the truck has exploded, only to find an enormous crater that is filling up with oil coming from a pipeline that has been severed by the blast. Jo exits the vehicle to assist Mario navigate the vehicle via the crater, only to be run over by Mario. Nevertheless, the vehicle ultimately reaches the oil fields, and the two individuals are hailed as heroes. However, Jo dies from the wounds that he got from the accident. Mario collects double the amount he was entitled to and heads back home in the same truck he was driving, from which the dangerous cargo has been offloaded. He refuses the company’s offer and heads to his hometown, where his friends are eagerly awaiting him. However, his reckless driving leads him to take a corner too fast, only to plunge to his death.
Like all French movies, Wages of Fear does not disappoint as far as incorporating a subtext is concerned. It comes with an existential viewpoint in which Fate is seen as a Joker, while death is seen as a force that has no respect for bravery, health, nor morality. It hangs over the heads of the four protagonists in the entire film. The notion that one can only cheat the grim reaper so many times before picking the gauntlet is cemented in the final scene when Mario dies after picking his check, an in a familiar road.
As much as the setup seems to run too long, it comes off as crucial for understanding the string of adventures to action pieces. It is, obviously, impossible to understand the relative positions of Mario and Jo without the foundation or basis of their relationship. Throughout the movie, it seems that Clouzot, the movie director, does not invite the viewers to sympathize with the characters. After all, they are laying down their lives for money, in which case they are courageous for inappropriate reasons. In essence, one could argue that the movie build on the premise that wagering one’s life for money is not only dishonorable but can only be repaid by death especially when the primary motivator is death.
the most recent levels of union density and collective bargaining coverage in the South East of England
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Employee Relations
Executive Summary
Workers should be provided with greater influence on how they can do their work while encouraging their input in making decisions. This is argued to be of greater significance for both the workers and their employers. The involvement of employees in any voice strategy has always been inclined to upward problem solving which includes direct participation on the daily activities of a firm that lead to diagnosis and solving of problems. Therefore, there is need to involve workers in a more strategic decision making mechanism such as that of union representation.
Introduction
This paper will look at the most recent levels of union density and collective bargaining coverage in the South East of England. It will also handle the most recent level of union density in the UK wholesale and retail industry and the median gross hourly pay for all employees in the South East England. This will help in the appreciation of the approaches taken by the BCG Company in regard to its employee relations approach and Employee Voice strategy, as well as the implications for the company.
The most recent levels union density and collective bargaining coverage in the South East of England indicate that the trade union density is 21.0 as shown in figure 1, while the collective bargaining coverage in the South East of England is 29.3.
Figure 1 Recent Levels Union Density in South East England
The most recent level of union density in the UK Wholesale and Retail industry is 11.1, while that of the Transportation & Storage industries is 39.8. South East England was at 21 in 2012 plus UK Wholesale and Retail industry. Repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 11.1 with its curve that moves to 32.2 plus the Transportation & Storage industries is 39.8 its curve moves to 72 as the final sum density as shown in Figure 2 below:
Figure 2: Union Density in the UK
Median gross hourly pay for all employees in South East England in 2012 is 8.05 while for those working in the Wholesale & Retail industry, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles is 6.81. That of the Transportation & Storage industry is 9.72 as shown in Figure 3 below:
Figure 3 Median hourly pay per empoyee in 2012
The type of theoretical employee relations approach that BCG is adopting is a Unitarism approach. This is a paternalistic type of approach where the company founder and CEO, Aaron Brown, frequently expressed the view that employees are privileged to work for his company and they should give “200 percent” in their jobs. Consequently, there is no room for employee influence, conflict, or unions. This is because the prerogative of the management comes first (Lloyd 317).
The disadvantage of this approach is that employees’ rights can be bypassed, for instance, workers at BCG were expected to work overtime in the summer and spring in a response to increased customer demand in these seasons. It perceives the company as inclined towards unified loyalty structures and authority, for instance, BCG is dominated by the vision of its CEO Aaron Brown. Trade unionism is thus disallowed. Even though the workers are given a better pension scheme than that provided by the government, they are still paying for it through overtime (Simms and Charlwood 140).
However, it is advantageous in that this theoretical approach invests in employee training and techniques that can facilitate flexibility, commitment, and quality. For instance, the company is slated to operate a suggestion scheme for the improvement of its operations and business where workers with the most successful suggestions will be awarded prizes (Lloyd 320).
The conflict approach would have been the best theoretical employee relations approach since it recognizes employee trade unions as legal entities, thereby, giving them a voice in management. Since the employees have different aspirations and values, it is inevitable that they would be in conflict. However, this is usually solved amicably through collective bargaining.
BCG is adopting a direct Employee Voice Strategy, which is consultative in nature. This is because it involves the soliciting of suggestion from workers on issues that are critical to the performance of the company. As much as their suggestions are collected, they are not involved in solving problems or implementation of the suggestions. In light of the HR policies being adopted and the statistics outline about companies and employees in South East England, the proposed employee voice policies and mechanisms are not likely to be effective for BCG. This is because the employees are not substantively involved in the suggestions. They are merely in a participative arrangement (Purcell and Hall Web).
If BCG wants its employees voice strategy to be effective in producing long-lasting and considerable increase in production, it should involve them in decisions that have an impact on daily activities. Apart from that, the employees’ involvement should not be consultative, but they should be given more influence by being substantive, for instance, through their trade unions (Lashley 803).
Works Cited
Lashley, C. ‘Empowerment through involvement: a case study of TGI Friday’s restaurants’, Personnel Review, 29 (6). (2000): 791-811. Print.
Lloyd, C. ‘What do Employee Councils do? The impact of non-union forms of representation on trade union organization,’ Industrial Relations Journal, 32 (4): (2001): 313-327. Print.
Purcell, J. and Hall, M. ‘Voice and Participation in the Modern Workplace: challenges and prospects’, ACAS Future of Workplace Relations Discussion Paper Series, March, London: (2012): Web. Retrieve from: <http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3544> [Accessed: 29/11/2013]
Simms, M. and Charlwood, A. ‘Trade Unions: Power and Influence in a Changed Context (2010): 125-148. Print.
The Modern Period- Rationalism through Dialect
The Modern Period- Rationalism through Dialect
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The modern period lasted from 1500 to around 1800 often 1815. This period was characterized by change in writing and content creation that was mainly based on critical and rational thinking. The writers in this Rationalism was used as the basis for integral and creative thinking that is bound to the use of ideas and ideology to make decisions. One of the main aspects of modern period is the ideology and analogy that formed the foundation of thinking and decision making. Rational thinking that was originally founded on the integral aspiration of the induced positivity helped in the formation of the right decisions. To ensure that the ideas founded on this analogy were straight, the thinkers used the basis for basic use of rational thinking. The modern period was therefore grounded on the value for the complete bond between critical ideas and the formation of the right norms and positive thinking. To make sure that the ideas formed in this line were compound, the modern period integrated both critical thinking and use of rational ideas.
Rational thinking and the combination of ideology and critical thinking were the foundation of modern period philosophy. To create the right outlook, the modern period derives from the notion that critical and rational thinking helped early philosophers (Święczkowska & Piecychna, 2016). The approach helped create the basic norms in communication both at personal and intellectual level. Modernism is a period in literary history which started around the early 1900s and continued until the early 1940s. Modernist writers in general rebelled against clear-cut storytelling and formulaic verse from the 19th century. The foundations of language and communication in the modern period thus created an avenue where the writers and content creators were able to build intellect and creative ideas (Charalampous, 2015). The post-classical era that is also defined as the moment that defined and enriched the modern period created an avenue for deeper can more liberal way of communicating and writing. To broaden this view, the modern period brought a new structure and sound to dialects (Greenblatt, 2016). The approach formed new forms of communication and writings that are believed to the foundation of most of the today’s languages.
The value of modern period was thus built around inclusive values in both analogy and rational thinking that formed the foundation of this period (Greenblatt, 2016). Another outlook of the modern period is the correlation between rational knowledge and critical thinking that was the foundation of many ideas and languages. To develop the right tone, language structure, and dialect, the modern period included more than one writing approaches. The period brought in more than a dozen approaches to language and tone formation that even today has an impact on the dialects around the world (Święczkowska & Piecychna, 2016). The rationality of dialect formation and the aspect of communication in the modern period therefore takes many shapes when looking at the language and word development. One of the underlying factors in the rationalism and the dialect formation is the core meaning and sound that every word and language carried. One thing to remember is that it is during this period that writing and intellect knowledge creation gained pace in the contemporal philosophy (Greenblatt, 2016).
Rationalism distinguishes between empirical knowledge, and one that arises through experience, and a prior knowledge, that is knowledge that is prior to experience and that arises through reason (Charalampous, 2015). Rationalism through dialects shaped a new period that created an age of intellect and rational thinking. The ideas that rose during this period were put into writing and formed a great part of the modern philosophy. The other key defining moment was the use of dialect to shape how people communicated, developed ideas, and even shared knowledge (Święczkowska & Piecychna, 2016). The vibrant knowledge and idea sharing that was enshrined through rational thinking grew fast through different dialects.
The other defining element in the rationalism through dialect is the combination of different words that carried different meanings but with the same sound. The formation of synonyms in the English language is believed to have its origin in the dialect breakdown that began in the modern period (Święczkowska & Piecychna, 2016). Radical rationalism that is a key aspect of knowledge and decision-making is also a derived element of the dialect and communication. The modern period did not only lay foundation for the creation of dialects but also expanded the way the language and rational ideas were generated. The other outlook is the co-relation between the rationalism through dialect and the integrated language bonds that followed this period (Charalampous, 2015). One of the underlying factors is the inclusion of the diverse and elaborate tones and the whole idea of rationalism.
The dialect and rationalism are co-related elements that shaped the modern period mainly in the 1700s. The period created an aspect of language and communication approaches that brought a new way of idea formation and even decisions making. The period created what is now referred to as the foundations of knowledge and intellect that paved way for the rational thinking and dialect diversity. Key figures in the modern period in the rationalism like Plato and Rene Descarte contributed immense concepts that have far reaching impacts even in today’s dialect and rational thinking and writing.
References
Charalampous, C. (2015). Rethinking the mind-body relationship in early modern literature, philosophy, and medicine: the Renaissance of the body. Routledge.
Greenblatt, R. L. (2016). Building the Past: Historical Writing on the Jews of the Bohemian Crown Lands in the Early Modern Period. Studia Judaica, 19(37), 11-40.
Święczkowska, H., & Piecychna, B. (2016). Language Acquisition in the Light of Rationalist Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Language. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, 48(1), 303-315.