Failure in successful organizations Marconi - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3032 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Masterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Dissertation Proposal The Case Study of Marconi The following dissertation proposal previews and scouts ahead the major issues and themes involved in an exploratory study of the management failure of successful companies: in particular, the company Marconi. The central investigation of the proposal is this: how can a multi-billion pound companies like Marconi (similarly Enron, Parmalat, Bearings Bank etc.,) collapse so spectacularly and catastrophically. To what extent, and in what ways, did the management team of Marconi contribute to the collapse of the company? Which factors were decisive for failure: leadership, strategic errors, technological incompetence, public image mishandling? The proposal suggests a possible methodology according to which to a detailed investigation of the failures of Marconi may be explored; this methodology centres upon interviews and questionnaires undertaken with former Marconi staff and other managem ent professionals. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Failure in successful organizations: Marconi" essay for you Create order Further, the dissertation proposal reviews and suggests the key literature that should form the base of this exploratory investigation. Moreover, the literature review delimits the major theoretical and practical principals of management that emerge from the literature and asks how these might be applied most usefully to an understanding of the management failures of Marconi. A provisional bibliography is supplied as the basis for the full dissertation and investigation. The dissertation proposal suggests that results from these investigations should be analysed using PSS data analysis, graphs, charts, data-sheets and a variety of other forms of representation. Finally, the dissertation proposal suggests a conclusion section in which will be discussed possible implications of this Marconi investigation and the avenues for future research that it might open up. CONTENTS PAGE  ® Abstract  ® Contents Page  ® Section 1: Marconi Introduction  ® Section 2: Research Question  ® Section 3: Research Aims Objectives  ® Section 4: Methodology  ® Section 5: Literature Review  ® Section 6: Discussion Analysis  ® Section 7: Bibliography  ® Section 8: Conclusion Section 1: Marconi Introduction In 2001, at the height of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"internet boomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, Marconi was worth  £34 billion, its shares  £12.5 each, and it employed more than 90,000 staff; one year later the company was worth less than  £50 million, its shares 3.6p each, and it employed less than 3,000 staff (Brody Dunstan, 2004). The obvious question: what engendered the calamitous collapse of one of Britainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s most respected and successful companies? To what extent were the management of Marconi responsible for the plummet of the company share-price? What was the role of leadership of the company, headed by Lord Simpson, in the free-fall of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value? What were the key strategic errors that brought about the collapse? Did Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s handling of the crisis à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  particularly the handling of its public image à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ worsen the crisisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ seriousness? Was Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s management guilty of a nave and too rapid transition into the telecommunications sector? Each of these questions are fascinating for the management student; and the pursuit of answers to these questions promises to uncover much valuable information about the causes and consequences of management failures in multi-billion pound companies. Although this dissertation shall focus on Marconi, it will be useful and enlightening to compare the management failures of Marconi with those of other spectacularly failed companies such as Enron, Parmalat, WorldCom, Bearings and so on. This comparison allows an analysis of whether Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s failures were endemic, or whether they were typical failures of companies of such a size. Section 2: Research Questions The general title for this dissertation proposal is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"An exploratory study of failure in successful organizations: the case study of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. From this broad title, a more specific and refined research question is put forward, namely: Was the spectacular failure of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s management due more to individual error, to strategic mistakes, to technological incompetence or to mismanagement of public image? Phrasing the research question in this way gives the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"exploratory studyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ four clear areas of investigation whilst leaving open exploration of further unnamed factors. The dissertation itself can treat each of these areas à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  individual error, strategy, technology, publicity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  equally, or it can undertake an in-depth investigation of a single factor . Preliminary Discussion Statement of Facts Turning to consider in turn each of these causes of failure at Marconi. Individual Error. Before 1997, under Lord Weinstockà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s leadership, Marconi had a celebrated reputation as one of the most financially prudent, conservative and reliable companies on the London stock-exchange. Lord Weinstock had concentrated Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s business around its defence contracts, and this approach had led to a gathering of cash reserves of  £2.6 billion and the future health and prosperity of the company seemed assured. But in 1997 Lord Weinstock was succeeded by Lord Simpson; a manager with a radically different style and interpretation of the future direction that Marconi should take. Five years later Marconi shares were worth 3.6p and the company had debts of  £4 billion. Strategic Mistakes. Once at the helm, Lord Simpson immediately began a rapid and expansive re-orientation of Marconi towards the telecommunications sector, where he envisaged Marconi as a specialist supplier of telecommunications equipment and services. Lord Simpson sold much of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s defence subsidiaries to BAe for  £6 billion so as to acquire telecommunications businesses. Lord Simpson bought Reltec for $2.1 billion, Fore Systems for $4.5 billion, and six further companies totalling  £265 million. Initially, during the internet boom, this decision led to a flourishing of the company, and in 2001 Marconi was worth an all-time high of  £34 billion. Nonetheless, when the miraculous conditions of the high-tech years began to wane, and when sales were slipping and customers buying Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s products more hesitantly, the wisdom of this transit to telecommunications began to look much more dubious. This decision finally proved disastrous. On July 5th 2001, Marconi suspended its shares for an entire day à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  a highly unusual move for a major FTSE company. The next day, Lord Simpson announced that Marconi profits would be 50% lower than in 2000; extremely angry investors panicked and began to sell their shares immediately, causing a 54% drop in the share-price of the company. Technological Incompetence. After a few weeks of the crisis, the Marconi board finally realised that it must consolidate financial affairs for all of its companies; though it realised at the same time that doing this would be an extremely complicated and difficult matter. Desperately, in April 2001, thirty days before releasing its annual results, Marconi announced a restructuring plan that would be orchestrated by John Mayo. The central task of this restructuring was to be the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ elimination of duplicate information systems through the implementation of a single company-wide systems platformà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Brody Dunston, 2004: p68). John Mayo announced a $250 million deal with Oracle to provide this system; Oracl e was chosen because à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" . . . of the vision and understanding of our integrated business requirements, combined with the ability to implement them very fastà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Brody Dunstan, 2004: p.69). Nonetheless, the incompatibility of Oracle technology with Marconi businesses and Oracleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lack of experience in this field led to an unsatisfactory system implementation and to the stalling of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s revovery. Publicity Mismanagement. Until the very eve of the crisis, Lord Simpson personally assured both Marconi share-holders and the stock-market that all was financially well with the company. Moreover, while other CEOs sensed the slowing of the market and took defensive measures accordingly, Lord Simpson continued an expensive acquisition of further communications companies. Further, the Marconi management insisted on restructuring and protecting their bonuses at a time when the company was losing billions. Section 3: Resear ch Aims Objectives The research aims and objectives of this dissertation will be as follows. (1) To set-down empirically testable hypotheses that will allow the corroboration or refutation of the dissertation research question. (2) To gather data à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  interviews, questionnaires, literature etc., à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  about the management failures that led to the collapse of Marconi. (3) To analyze the extant academic literature to see how theoretical principles and practical examples can be usefully applied to the Marconi case-study. (4) To analyze the results of the dissertation by a variety of PSS analysis graphs, charts, data-sheets and other forms of representation. (5) To present an authoritative and lucid discussion of the principal results of this investigation. (6) To elucidate the possible future investigations of management failure that might be undertaken on the basis of this dissertation. Section 4: Methodolo gy The following methodology will be employed to gain answers to the questions posed by this dissertation proposal. As far as possible, the writer will arrange interviews with present and former members of staff at Marconi. These interviews will provide an invaluable first-hand source of information. In addition to interviews, questionnaires will be sent to other Marconi employees à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  thus widening the possible numbers of responses and so first-hand information. First-hand information will be supplemented by the management literature listed in the Bibliography section of this dissertation proposal. Management theory and practical applications relevant to the Marconi case-study will be derived from the academic books and journal articles discussed here, and these sources will allow for an interpretation of the causes and consequences of failure at Marconi. Gathered data will be analysed using PSS analysis, graphs, tables, pie-charts and other means of represen tation. The discussion of results will be undertaken in by essay analysis according to the four main aspects of the research question listed above: individual error, strategic mistakes, technological incompetence, and mismanagement of public image. The future consequences of these results will be put forth in the Conclusion section of the dissertation. Section 5: Literature Review In Section 7 of this dissertation proposal a provisional bibliography has been given as the basis for the full dissertation; this reading least will be supplemented by additional books and articles as they emerge from initial reading for the research questions. It is necessary here to discuss and speculate upon several issues raised by the literature material for this dissertation. Firstly, there is a paucity of academic books dealing specifically with the causes of the management failures of Marconi; there are many books which tackle the question at a general level. The dissertation will need the refore to rely heavily upon these general books, inferring appropriate management theories and examples to apply to the particular case study of Marconi. Further, it will be advantageous to make use of texts that discuss the collapse of other formerly highly successful but now defunct companies: for example, Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat and so on. Here, Brody and Dunstanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s The Great Telecoms Swindle: How The Collapse Of Worldcom Finally Exposed The Technology Myth may be of particular use. The book categorizes the typical and characteristic reasons for the failure of huge multi-national corporations; from this analysis it is possible to infer how similar Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s were to the general model of failure. Of the general books, the following may be particularly illuminating for the Marconi case study. For a discussion of the stagnation of the telecommunications market in the early 2000à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s three books are recommended. For a general over view of the subject: A. Doldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2002) The Essential Guide to Telecommunications charts the history of the telecommunications industry and its oscillating fortunes in the 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and early 2000à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. Waltersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (2004) Spectacular Collapses: A History of Corporate Fraud and Fiascos and Jamesonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2003). Ecstasy to Despair: Stagnation in the Telecommunications Industry both give excellent analyses of the unrealistic expectations placed by senior managements on the telecommunication companies, and then of the responses of various companies to this stagnation. The strategic errors and theoretical misapplications made by Marconi are explained at the general level by two seminal texts: Geshonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2001). Telecommunications Management: Industry Structures and Planning Strategies and Silvermanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2002) Technological Restructuring and the Logic of Corporate Diversity. Geshonà ¢Ã¢ ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s book introduces the subject of telecommunications management, its special features, its dangers, and the variety of management strategies that are most successful within the telecommunications sector. In the late 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Lord Simpson presided over Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s transition from a defence manufacturer to a telecommunications specialist; Silvermanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s work highlights the logic behind such a transition, and explains the technical difficulties and pitfalls encountered when restructuring a company around a technological base. From this analysis, it is possible to highlight the strategic errors of the Marconi management team. Excellent accounts of the extent to which individual ambition, negligence and error can precipitate the failure of once successful companies are given in: G.R. Griffinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1991) Machiavelli on Management: Playing and Winning the Corporate Power Game and M.P. Spencerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1995). Corporate Misconduct: The Legal, Societal and Management Issues. Both Griffin and Spencer examine the huge managerial freedoms given to company chairmen and CEOs and the consequences for companies when such colossal figures make disastrous errors of judgement. Such considerations are particularly relevant to Marconi, where its corporate leadership was safe and secure under Lord Weinstock, but then degenerated and faced a total loss of financial respectability under Lord Simpson. On the question of the management of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s public image during the crisis, S.M. Oliverà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2004) A Handbook of Corporate Communication and Public Relations: Pure and Applied is perhaps the best work of its kind. Oliver cites ten à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"golden principlesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ of management of public image, ranging from à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Rule 1: Do not excel credibility. Be honestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Rule 6: Create and draw from a reservoir of good will à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, and the application of these rules to Marconi shows that its management ignored or abused nearly every one of these rules. For instance, Lord Simpson publicly reassured investors of the financial soundness of the Marconi until the very last minute; thus Maroni far excelled its credibility and Lord Simpson was far from honest. The dissertation will use books like Oliverà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to show how the mismanagement of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s public and media image exasperated and compounded the individual and strategic errors of Marconià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s management team. It will explain how the tarnishing of public à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"perceptionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ of Marconi led to investors abandoning their shares in the company and their refusal to reinvest when the crisis was palliated by emergency measures. Finally, there are innumerable internet articles, spread over the past four years, which discuss the reasons for the management failures of Marconi. Th is abundance of internet sources is both an opportunity and a danger; the opportunity is that of gathering specific information about Marconi from analysts and commentators from the time of the collapse itself; the danger is the usual one associated with internet sources: their reliability. The profusion of articles on the internet, and the extreme ease with which they can be posted, often raises serious questions about the reliability and authoritativeness of these sources. Such sources must be used with some caution, and a greater margin of error acknowledged in their use. By using the above sources and others listed in the bibliography section of this dissertation proposal, the management student would have a sufficient and ample body of theory and practical examples upon which to construct his own case study into the management failures of Marconi. Section 6: Discussion Analysis Results from interviews and questionnaires will be analysed quantitatively and qualitative ly, using a variety of graphs, charts, diagrams, data-sheets and other means of representation. Interview and questionnaire sheets will be placed in appendices at the end of the dissertation. The discussion of these results will centre upon the four central causes of management failure in Marconi hypothesised in the Research Question section of this dissertation proposal: individual error, strategy mistakes, technological incompetence, and public image mismanagement. These hypotheses will be discussed in separate sections, where the individual literature relevant to that hypothesis will be brought to bear. A Literature Review section will highlight particular issues and special characteristics associated with the literature of the case study of Marconi; it will further discuss questions of source reliability, origin and so on. The final implications of these results will be determined and set in fresh relief in the Conclusion section of the dissertation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  possibl e further future investigations that might be carried out on the back of this dissertation will also be discussed in the conclusion. Section 7: Suggested Bibliography Academic Books, Journals Articles à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Dewig, A.S. (1914). Corporate Promotions and Reorganizations. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Brody, K Dunstan, S. (2004). The Great Telecoms Swindle: How The Collapse Of Worldcom Finally Exposed The Technology Myth. Oxford University Press, Oxford. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Callaway, R.L. (1999). The Realities of Management: A View From the Trenches. Oxford University Press, Oxford. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Dold, A. (2002). The Essential Guide to Telecommunications. Javelin Press, New York. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Drucker, P.F. (1954). The Practice of Management. Harper Row, New York. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Geshon, R.L. (2001). Telecommunications Management: Industry Structures and Planning Strategies. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New York. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Gratton, L. (1999). Strategic Human Resource Management: Corporate Rhetoric and Human Reality. Oxford University Press, Oxford. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Griffin, G.R. (1991). Machiave lli on Management: Playing and Winning the Corporate Power Game. Praeger Press, London. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Grunig, J.E. (1992). Excellence in Public Relations and Communications Management. Clarendon Press, Oxford. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Jameson, J. (2003). Ecstasy to Despair: Stagnation in the Telecommunications Industry. Clivedon Press, Dublin. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Klein, J.I. (2000). Corporate Failure by Design: Why Organizations Are Built to Fail. Quorum Books, London. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Mace, M.L. (1961). Management Problems of Corporate Acquisition. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  McChahery, J. (1994). Corporate Control and Accountability. Clarendon Press, Oxford. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Oden, H.W. (1997). Managing Corporate Culture: Innovation and Intrapreneurship. Quorum Books, London. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Oliver, S.M. (2004). A Handbook of Corporate Communication and Public Relations: Pure and Applied. Routledge, London. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â ‚¬  Silverman, B.S. (2002). Technological Restructuring and the Logic of Corporate Diversity. Routledge, London. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Spencer, M.P. (1995). Corporate Misconduct: The Legal, Societal and Management Issues. Quorum Books, London. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  Walters, B. (2004). Spectacular Collapses: A History of Corporate Fraud and Fiascos. Pneumbra Books, New York. Section 8: Conclusion The aforementioned dissertation proposal, by focusing in-depth on a single company, Marconi, promises to uncover much valuable information about the causes and the types of management failures that can lead to the collapse of vast multi-billion pound and once highly successful companies like Marconi, Enron, WorldCom and others. As is evident from the drastic job losses forced upon Marconi, the collapse of multi-billion-pound companies has profound consequences for their employees, for the companies themselves and for stock-markets and economies generally. Understanding the causes of s uch management failures is therefore vital for educating and training future managers to avoid repeating these hugely costly errors. The present dissertation proposal intends to examine four principal causes for the meltdown at Marconi, and by doing this discover which factor was of the singular greatest importance in bringing about the downfall of Marconi. It is further hoped that the results of this dissertation investigation will become a spring-board for other similar investigations into the failures of other companies similar to Marconi.

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Analysis of Japanese Horror Genre Essay Conventions and Achievements of the Japanese Horror Genre Analysis Japanese society is rarely valued as a compassionate society, willing to alleviate suffering of others as oppose to other societies and cultures. The high suicide rate in this country justifies this. The lack of empathy can be portrayed in the media in the form of movies. Japanese horror has become increasingly popular throughout the years and has gained many loyal fans. Many people prefer Japanese horror to Hollywood horror as Japanese horror tends to have a tenser atmosphere. They are different to the typical horror movie and have an edge to them. This is not necessarily because there is more blood or gore; purely because they have a realistic value as well as the chill factor. People often watch horror movies because they are in need of a good thrill; its a safe, entertaining way to get the blood pumping. Over the last centaury horror movies have progressed rapidly. In the 1930s, Frankenstein became notably popular. Its distinct storyline had movie fans captivated in the latest movie phenomenon. Frankenstein is about the consequence of man playing God with nature. Its born of the scientific discoveries of the time such as electricity. Many people felt they were blasphemies and would lead to abominations like Frankensteins monster; people were powerfully influenced by movies. Decades passed and it seemed as though inhuman creatures such as Frankensteins monster and Dracula were not enough to captivate audiences for much longer. Nor were the aliens and creatures from unknown planets which were undoubtedly popular in the 1950s. Even the tender, prime youths trapped in Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer were becoming more and more predictable and prosaic. A new breed of horror movies soon became sought after; Japanese horror. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Japanese Horror Genre specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Japanese Horror Genre specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Japanese Horror Genre specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Japanese horror catered the needs of movie addicts with a whole new dimension of bloodcurdling, eerie, and spine-chilling happenings. Their storylines unique, as oppose to the typical American horror movie. With authentic characters and chilling spirits the Japanese directors achieved something American movie makers couldnt achieve; a heartfelt, sincere display, whilst sustaining the terror and tension. In a world which is indeed our world, the one we know, a world without devils, sylphides, or vampires, there occurs an event, which cannot be explained by the laws of this same, familiar world. These are the words of Tzvetan Todorov. He said that in our minds we believe that there is no such thing as supernatural beings such as vampires and sylphides but there is always a chance that they may be present, always that small chance that they might in fact be existant. Todorov is asserting that we do question our intuition and sometimes we do let our imaginations run loose. Reputable examples of the Japanese horror: Ju-On and Dark Water In Ju-On a curse is present as conscious if immaterial being. The curse conceived of a grudge, is brought to life by a man who brutally murders his wife in her attic. Consequently, the house remains occupied with a phantasm, Kayako, which will not tolerate anyone entering the house. She seeks her vengeance by eradicating anyone entering the house in the same way her husband did to her; dragging them into her attic and murdering them. Kayakos son, Toshio, whose death was elusive, appears as a motif. He is the most obtrusive hint that danger is close by. He appears on his own which symbolises family breakdown and reveals a sense of discomfort and concern. Dark Water Movie Overview In Dark Water a mother, Yoshimi, is under a great deal of stress; she is fighting to keep custody of her daughter, Ikuko, battling a divorce case and is trying to get her life back on track by getting a new job and moving into a new apartment. After moving into the new apartment, subtle hints reveal that in fact the place is homing something supernatural. The movies share similar conventions. In Dark Water and Ju-On the faces of the supernatural beings are hidden. By doing this, the audience do not connect with the character and the character is portrayed as mysterious and dark. The audience are less likely to feel empathy towards something they cannot see. It makes the audience feel that the character has something to hide, that in fact they are pure evil. Additionally, the usage of light is eminently effective in both of the movies. Ju-On Movie Overview In Ju-On the lighting is divine in the sense that it entrances the audience into believing the whole home is infected with a ghostly spirit. This is achieved by the dark spells and filtered blue lights. It makes it the perfect setting for a supernatural being to be lurking around. In Dark Water the lighting also worked equally as well. The dark, shadowy scenes always alerted the audience to be aware. The use of primary colours worked well too, the yellow coat and the recurring red bag. Primary colours work well because they are dominant and important; these signs were dominant and important. Both of the movies start with an establishing shot focusing on home. There is a sense of irony here as home is supposed to be somewhere people feel safe and secure but not in these movies. The home seems to create more problems. Dark Water starts with a mother and daughter rushing off home trying escape the pouring rain falling down on them. As they reach their apartment the rain seems to have followed them inside, water is leaking and they seem incapable of escaping from the water. The establishing shot is of a mother and daughter looking up to a building. The building is presented as a tall, towering construction leaning over the helpless victims entering it. Immediately, the building has an unpleasant stigma attached to it. This building is revealed to be a future home. The building seems to dismiss the true values of a home; its not a warm, inviting dwelling but a dark, eerie place. This scene is accompanied by non-harmonious, discordant and non-diagetic music. The murmur of deep sounds builds up tension in the atmosphere. The sound is unsettling and unnatural; it is subliminally pushing the connotation of supernaturalism. This effect was created to build up suspense and make the audience feel as though they know something out of the ordinary is going to happen. Mitsukos presence is displayed in many forms by the movie maker Hideo Nakata throughout the movie before her appearance. The signifiers of Mitsuko are effective because the audience are left in suspense waiting for the mystery to unravel and are constantly captivated by the reoccurring motifs. One of the most lucid motifs of Mitsukos existence is the yellow coat. Amongst the dark, eerie atmosphere this bright coat portrays change and importance. Also, the reoccurring red bag that keeps appearing every time Yoshimi tried to get rid of it shows that Mitsuko is persistent; she wont give up. Other signifiers which arent as apparent include footsteps, shadows and posters. The prime motif was the presence of water. Whenever the water is present the music accompanying the scene is discordant and non-diagetic implying that evil is present or close by. These sounds add to the tension creating an unearthly feel. M R James wrote, Two ingredients most valuable in the concocting of a ghost story are, to me, the atmosphere and the nicely managed crescendo. He believed that building up to the climax slowly and effectively then revealing the mystery is a very important quality in a horror movie. Dark Water follows this model as the build up is slow and unobtrusive at first with the motifs and when we do reach a climax it is apparent as the music changes and the whole atmosphere becomes tenser. The build up is most successful in Dark Water in the bathroom scene. Ikuko moves towards the sink and turns the tap. She sees hair in the sink. The reaction shot captures her reaction as she drops the glass and moves back quickly. The tap continues to run. Elsewhere, Yoshimi is near the water tank. It is indented, the result of which seems incapable of creation by any mere human. A high angle shot of Yoshimi shows she is being watched. Meanwhile, back in the bathroom Ikuko is watching the bath fill with dirty water, she tries to turn the tap but it seems to be stuck. The bath overflows with dirty water and bubbles appear. A high angle shot is in place when Ikuko is grabbed by the head and forcefully pushed under water. This shows that something was watching her. A low angle shot captures her struggling. Throughout this scene the music plays an effective role; as the build up to the crescendo occurs the music gets louder and faster showing that something extreme was taking place, placing great emphasis on the importance of this scene. Using the reaction shot the audience managed to sense Ikukos fear. By using the high angle shot the audience were aware of the eerie presence which loomed through the scenes. The audiences response to this would be that they would feel tension as the build up reached the crescendo and they would feel sorry for Ikuko witnessing such a situation. Also, they will feel shocked as they probably didnt think that Ikuko would get pulled into the water. Hideo Nakata placed great emphasis on the tension in this movie as he probably had the same beliefs as M. R James, that building up the tension then revealing the threat was an effective way to keep the audience drawn to the movie. Both Ju-On and Dark water end with the death of the central characters, this is not what audiences would usually expect. This is because in most movies its always the good character that defeats the bad character. Yoshimi dies in Dark Water because she realises she would have to sacrifice her own life in aid of Ikuko having a chance of survival; she knew Mitsuko would not give in. Throughout the movie it seems as though bad luck seems to follow Yoshimi; first her divorce, then her custody battle and settling into a strange apartment. Throughout the movie it seems as though she is being followed by an undying spirit, the high angle camera shots represent this. Yoshimis death is consistent with the language of the movie. One of the most heartfelt scenes was the final scene in which Ikuko desperately wanted her mother but her mother, Yoshimi, was with Mitsuko. The imagery of water surrounding Ikuko displayed one of the movies main motifs, badness being present. In this case was the fact that Ikukos mother was hugging this freak of a girl rather then her own daughter. Although the reasonings behind this were sincere, the audience felt a great deal of sympathy towards the little girl. Dark Water is showing the bad side of Japan which is often sheltered. It indicates the common problems which are often hidden. They are often hidden because Japanese society is strict and orderly. It is now becoming very modern and urban, a paradox as there are many old suspicious beliefs in place, although, Japan it self is quite modern, there is a clash. Honour and respect are key points in Japanese society. There is a worry that younger generations will dismiss these values and the older generations will look down upon this. Dark Water presents to us that although Japan seems to come across as an almost perfect society it experiences problems like any other society such as child abuse, neglection, divorce and adultery. In conclusion, I found this movie successful in sustaining the mystery and the build up was good too. This movie was a change to the typical movie in which the evil character is defeated and the good character lives on as a hero. This excited the viewer as they did not know what was coming next. Also, the lack of clarity is effective. Going back to the words of Tzvetan Todorov, there is an uncertainty and the audience do think twice on the happenings of this movie. Hideo Nakata achieved portraying the breakdown of Japanese culture effectivly in the form of child neglection and divorce. This would schock conventional veiwers. All in all, the movie captivates veiwers, keeps them glued to their seats and gives them a whole new insight on Japanese society with a unique twist.