Nothing Much Has Changed - Days of Glory, Days of Indignity - Essay Example

? Management Table of Contents Introduction 3 "Nothing much has changed: Days of Glory, Days of indignity" 3 Introduction ‘Days of Glory’ is a reflection of the events occurring in the Second World War. It also demonstrates through the eyes of the brave and loyal colonial Algeria, who remain unrewarded in liberating France from Germany. It is the Arab’s fight against the Nazis to liberate their motherland. It not only brings forth examples of the horrors at wars such as the numerous killings and maiming of people but also highlights on the extreme injustice that are inflicted upon the people or the young men who fight the wars for their countries. It brings out some of the horrifying examples and demonstration of such events confronted by people, the consequences they faced and how they handled them. Every character shown in the film is well-known archetypes of the typical war movies; however, each of the characters possesses the required skills and efficiencies to fit into their characters completely and act as complete realistic and believable people. The movie presents some intense, honest emotions, desires, feelings and fears (IMDB, 2006). "Nothing much has changed: Days of Glory, Days of indignity" Although it is a war story, it still is depiction of character study which emphasizes on the Muslims soldiers when they maneuver through the rocky terrain towards the field of war. Despite their consistent efforts to relieve their motherland they are subjected to immense injustice, racial discrimination and cruelty in their own camp. When they are completely dedicated and prepared to confront with enemies at the war field to rescue their motherland, the African soldiers find themselves amidst tremendous confusion regarding the racist character demonstrated by their sergeants. This kind of racism gets reflected in some of the US organizations in the healthcare sector. The American health care system does not provide equal care and service towards all its clients. The quality of treatment differs considerably between people from different races and backgrounds. These differences are primarily seemed to arise because of the contemporary and historical social inequalities. They got affected through a variety of sources which includes prejudice, stereotyping on the providers of health care. They remain unexplained by unethical or racial differences in the treatment refusal rates. The foundation of which the film is created can be compared with the social theory presented by Karl Marx, which is known as the conflicts theory. Marx has put forth the fact that competition between groups and individuals for the attainment of power and wealth is considered to be fundamental in shaping of the social structure. Some of the basic questions that the conflicts theory seeks to answer are who gets what and why. The theory is based on the belief that in the long run conflicts between groups’ results in the creation and development of democracy, autonomy, equality and individuality. The main motivation by the Algerian troop was because of the long term slaughter by the Frenchmen, every time in an effort to attain control of a position held by the Germans. The Algerian soldiers are confronted with immense humiliation and unjust treatment and forced to endure prejudicial treatment. In one of the scenes in the movie the Algerian soldiers were denied to eat fresh tomatoes at dinner because of the fact that the Frenchmen in the kitchen felt that they were not worthy enough. This created a big riot which consequently resulted in equal treatment of soldiers and it was mandatory that these soldiers too would be provided with fresh vegetables (Rummel, n.d.). Because of the great many issues which follows from diversities in today’s’ organizations they have been particularly resorting to implement anti-discriminatory measures within the rules and regulations of the organizations. Racial discrimination is particularly over rules for such aspects as compensation, benefits, recognition, promotions etc. With globalization and technological advancement, the world has seen a gradual emergence of numerous multinational companies which are located across different parts of the world. However, in order to attain equal performance level from them and keep employees committed towards the organization irrespective of which part of the world they belonged to, organizations have been keen to follow standard organizations regulations and policies which are applicable for all. Severe punishments are inflicted upon those who indulge in discriminatory activities irrespective of their position or powers. The horrifying fact that Algerian soldiers were not allowed fresh vegetables for dinner and the consequent settlement that all soldiers would be allowed the same kind of food are a mirror reflection of the present organizational attempts and initiatives to resolve discrimination in society and the world at large (Kaplan vs. Kaplan, n.d.). The film reflects a great deal of tragedy and disaster faced by the three Algerian brothers. The family is seen to completely tear apart and scattered in different locations. The Director of the film, Rashid Bouchareb seeks to bring forth the various ways in which injustice can dealt with. One of them is rebellion. The experiences encountered by the three brothers are completely different from one another and different approaches to the event. All three of them keep fighting for justice in their own way which they think is best suited for the situation and circumstance. They differ in their ways on confronting with the problems and to win freedom. It is not that all of them become resistant fighters. The film focuses on the point that each of them chose the life they want or the desires to have. The purpose of making the film also gets reflected through the above fact. They central point of the film is that there does not exist one best way of dealing with injustice. There can be several different ways and it is up to the individual to decide which way is best suited for him or her. Human tragedies are not the same for all and thus human beings do not react in the same way in any situation at all. They differ in their approaches and all of them can be right in their approaches (IMDB, 2006). The depiction of racism which confronted the Arab North African who came up with their bravery in order to defend France from the invasion of the Nazis is heartbreaking. Moreover such incidents as soldiers being refused fresh vegetables and their consequent revolt on the situation are extremely painful from the viewer’s perspective. Moreover the leadership skills shown at that point lack strength and courage. The film brings out a contrast between the bloodshed and chaos which surrounds the colonists completely at the battle ground and the Frenchmen who keeps looking at them through binoculars from the safe side. They do not show any kind of courage to confront the situation or the strength to handle it with boldness. Such incidents are seen to occur and reoccur in the incidents shown in the film (IMDB, 2006). Characters portrayed in the film demonstrate aspects of unity and diversity in organizations. They are depicted by small events in the movie and also through the film dialogues. One character Yassir is asked by his brother as to why they have enlisted. The brother replies by saying that they have enlisted in order to have money so that they can marry him off. That gives us a lot of insight into his motives about everything that he does in the movie. His motivations become clear in whatever he does. Motivation dictates all that he does in the film. This enlightens us on grim reflection of the present situation in organizations today. It is not always true to say that unity exists between the similar and conflicts prevail among differences. Rather organizations have been trying to encourage diversity on grounds that they prompt sharing of ideas, concepts among different people. Rather people coming from diverse backgrounds are said to enrich the culture of the corporate with the wide diversity of ideas, information, thoughts etc in the organization. However organizations seek to ensure that such diverse workforce is not treated on unequal platforms which would be de-motivating for some and encouraging for others. However, everyone must be treated on equal basis and terms and must be made equally liable for every benefit that the organizations have to offer (Daniels & Macdonald, 2005, p.1). The movie has several implications in the context of the present organizations. There has been the emergence of a number of multinational organizations lately. This has been primarily because of the technological advancement of nations coupled with globalization. Therefore the chances of one organization having a diverse workforce comprising of people from different countries have also increased. It is possible that the people from the economically advanced nations might have a tendency to exploit people from the economically poor nations. This also has high chances of damaging the culture of the organization resulting into constant conflict and clashes with members in the organization (Pinchot & Pinchot, 1996, p.233). This is primarily implied by the conflicting scenes in the movie depicting the sufferings of the Algerians in their own camp in their attempt to free France from the hands of the Germans. Thus the importance of equal treatment of all people no matter from backgrounds they hail from becomes important and crucial. This is also widely followed in organizations today. It has got particular significance in the human resource management practices in organizations. It is applicable for such aspects as recruitment and selection of candidates. It is crucial that the criteria for selecting candidates must be free from any kind of biasness and must not have any preference towards certain classes in society or certain backgrounds. Also the system of appraisal within the organization must also be equal for all. It is crucial to realize that appraisals must be in accordance to the sole performance of employees and not according to the nation or the class of society he belongs to. Discrepancies in such aspects can be harmful not only for the employees but also for the organization at large. It might lead to organizational conflicts with some employees enjoying the benefits and exploiting them while some others are not getting the same. Moreover, employees enjoying the benefits might have the feeling that they would be not be inflicted any kind of punishments even for low performance or non performance. This can be extremely harmful for the organization. Poor performance of individual employees gets reflected through the productivity ad performance of the organization at large also. The film also relates to some of my personal experience in college where there was a clear distinction in selection criteria of candidates coming from the minorities’ background. Certain percentages of seats were allocated for them even though they did not have the requisite percentage or the qualifying marks. This had a severe implication within the college as it led to conflicts among students on grounds that they had not been treated on the same ground or platform. Also the candidates who had been selected from the minorities and had low marks eventually performed below standards which harmed the overall performance of the class and brought down the standard of the department. This was later on rectified with the rule being made mandatory that all applicants and candidates would be evaluated and admitted in college on the same conditions and there would be no allocation of seats for the minorities. This resulted in lesser organizational conflicts and clashes between students and brought about peace in the premises. Additionally the performance standards of the departments were also resumed and the overall performance of the college among other academic institutions was also retained (Cornelius, 2002, p.178). The overall implication of the movie on organizational life is that there is need for diversity in organization and that it must be utilized to the organization’s advantage. However, that does not mean treating diverse people as unequal. It must ensure diversity does not result in conflicts and can be handled effectively. There is need to maintain standards of equality in order to benefit from the wide diverse ideas, thoughts and concepts generating from different diverse candidates in the organization. This is the reason why recent organizations have been focusing greatly on equality and diversity issues and their implications on the performance of organizations. Reference Cornelius, N. (2002). Building workplace equality: ethics, diversity and inclusion. Cengage Learning EMEA. Daniels, K. & Macdonald, L. (2005). Equality, diversity and discrimination: a student text. CIPD Publishing. IMDB. (2006). Plot Summary for Days of Glory. [Online]. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444182/plotsummary. [Accessed on February 11, 2012]. Kaplan vs Kaplan. (No Date). Our Review. [Online]. Available at: http://www.kaplanvskaplan.com/review.php?id=792. [Accessed on February 11, 2012]. Pinchot, G. & Pinchot, E. (1996). The intelligent organization: engaging the talent & initiative of everyone in the workplace. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Rummel, R.J. (No Date). Understanding conflict and war: vol. 3: conflict in perspective. [Online]. Available at: http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/CIP.CHAP5.HTM. [Accessed on February 11, 2012]. Read More