Courts are independent Agrents of social Change Essay

Courts are independent Agrents of social Change - Essay Example There are many sides of the argument when it comes to evaluating the importance of courts as justice institutions. For instance, in as much as they promote justice, equality, and the principles of social justice, there are occasional instances when the established institutions can be taken as being biased. The following discourse is going to delve into the position that the institutions play in social justice. In particular, the analysis seeks to identify whether the courts are systems that bring change as they are supposed to. As legal institutions, courts have been serving their purpose in established and just societies as the setups for offering justice. In addressing the topic under discussion, the paper takes the position that courts are free and independent platforms for introducing change. In addressing the importance of courts in contemporary societies, the discussion is going to refer to the opinions of other authors. For instance, Rahl’s book on democracy is quite relevant in addressing the social justice system amongst humans (1993). In normal democratic systems like in the United States, the system of justice is organised into hierarchies. In the case of America, the ultimate decision when it comes to legal judgements or decisions lies with the Supreme Court. Rahl argues that the court is an institution that should be used to protect the interest of the minorities (1993). This is because the majority can be favoured by established institution policies. In the case of bringing change, courts have been used to protect the interest of the majority. However, this view is also arguable. Change is normally brought through policy formulation. This is normally the jurisdiction of the legislature. However, courts act as legal advisers when it comes to having an interpretation of the constitution. Therefore, even in the interpretation of the constitution, the courts play a role in policy making.

Cultural Diversity in the U.S Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Cultural Diversity in the U.S - Assignment Example The United States experiences racial conflicts, which have given birth to riots, clashes and discriminative attitude and behavior. Human rights activists always persuade to the government as well as law enforcing agencies for treating all individuals on equal foundations by offering them equal education, health, business, recreational, sports and job opportunities, so that future generations could be protected from the bloody clashes because of the unequal distribution of wealth, resources and opportunities imposed and inflicted upon the minority groups by the political, social, educational and economic institutions. Affirmative action has been in vogue in almost all states, cities and institutions of the USA particularly for the last four decades, and laws strictly condemns application of any discrimination on the individuals. â€Å"There are thousands of examples of situations where people of color, white women, and working class women and men of all races who were previously excl uded from jobs or educational opportunities, or were denied opportunities once admitted, have gained access through affirmative action.† (Kivel, 1997: 3) Now, no public or private reject to recruit the black, female or gay candidates to obtain employment because of their complexion, gender or sexual orientation etc. Race-sensitive admissions policies have also been adopted at schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Actually, social discrimination is not confined to employment and job only in the USA. Rather, the same prejudiced behavior could be observed in healthcare services and various educational institutions too. It was particularly the case in past when an overwhelming majority of teachers, staff members and students, belonging to white Anglo Saxon population (WASP) displayed their hatred by teasing the Black students through different ways; even separate water coolers and washrooms

The Marketing Functions Of Walt Disney Tourism Essay

The Marketing Functions Of Walt Disney Tourism Essay The Walt Disneys core business area is Amusement and theme parks. Organization started business in 1955 with an 80-acre Park in California US. Currently they have theme parks in US, Tokyo and France. Euro Disneyland was one of their biggest projects in 1990s; the venture was one of the American efforts to expand their business in foreign countries. Even though Walt Disneys first foreign venture in Tokyo was a success, their next expansion of business in foreign soil Euro Disney became a failure. Objective of this document is to examine marketing management and its role in the business at Euro Disney. Throughout the document it focuses on current marketing function and identifies significant issues which has caused noteworthy drop in the performance of Euro Disney and analyses fundamentals of consumer market behaviour and the use of marketing concept to overcome the situation. Euro Disney Marketing Functions Marketing research   Since Tokyo Disneyland became an instant hit, Walt Disney Company executives believed they learned so much about operating a theme park in another country, they began immediately to search for a site for a fourth park. The selection was Paris for many reasons. France had a spectacular transportation network because of its large population. The Walt Disney Company executives believed since Tokyo Disneyland and Paris was located in almost the same latitude and shared a similar cold-weather climate that they would be able operate successfully. Their research was aimed at Europe because Disney films historically have done better there than in the United States. Because of this Disney entertainment was already familiar with western European audiences, (Scimone, 1991). Marketing planning   SWOT Analysis Product development   Development of Euro Disney was mainly focused on not to repeating two mistakes that they did during past ventures, i.e. Allowing other establishments to open hotels in surrounding area of the theme park As happened in Orlando, Florida, where only 14% of the hotels owned by Disney. Allowing another company to own the theme park Where Disney just collects royalties from an immensely profitable attraction (Solomon, 1994) Consequently, Walt Disney bought far more land then it needed in order to eventually build 700,000 square meters of office space, a 750,000 square meter corporate park, 2,500 individual homes, a 95,000 square meter shopping mall, 2,400 apartments and 3,000 time share apartments (de Quillacq, 1994).   Advertisement and sales promotion Euro Disneyland did marketing to emphasize that it is a Complete vacation destination that offers enough to keep family happily occupied for a week(Scimone, 1991, p18). They promoted Euro Disney as a place where French guest could visit and stay for a long duration. Their main strategy of marketing was promoting the theme park by adopting American Style. i.e.Bigness and extravagance (Wentz Crumley, 1993, p. I 23).Furthermore they used little showcase to market what adventures guests could perform and used characters to explain what they could see inside the park. All the sign boards inside the park were themed with Pirates of Caribbean style and trademark was Smile a lot. To achieve more guest attraction into the park, Euro Disney organized events such as Halloween. Law price tickets were sold after 5pm specifically targeting Parisians, another marketing tactic was to give reductions to school groups and people below 25 and over 60. Selling and distribution   The accessibility to the location of euro Disney Land has been made easier by location itself, where its only 20 miles away from center of Paris and also its situated between two international airports of Orly and Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle. Also the site is connected with French railway regional express where its connected with the Paris metro system. On the opening day itself the direct rail link to Great Britain via the English Channel wade the pathway to countless additional potential guests.   Public relations The employees with trilingual capabilities were given more prominence in recruitment of staff, since Disney hoped to attract visitors from all over Europe. These employees were given special human resource training to implant the Have a nice day mentality and to smile the Disney Smile. Employees were also instructed to adhere to the Disney Look to be in line with the Disney culture. Analysis of the fundamentals of consumer behaviour The buying process There are four types of buying behavior: Disney Europe expected a variety seeking buying behavior from the customer, as they offered a variety of products within the theme park. Ranging from theme park rides, interaction with Disney characters, food, beverages, Disney merchandize and many more. Root cause Analysis The strategy that Disney wanted to implement was the same tried and tested model that they had adopted in the Unites states and Tokyo. However the root causes for their failure was also this strategy which failed to factor in the socio cultural differences of the French and Europeans and their over ambitious plans to develop the site plus their financial structure itself. Strategy mismatch at Euro Disney The root cause of the blunder that Disney made in France was that they perceived that their theme park was a monopoly due to its size a monopoly is described in literature is described as a single supplier with no rivals and high barriers to entry.   When comparing Disney to the other theme parks that were in existence at the time its evident that all of them were small and less known than the famous Disney brand. Also it was very difficult for an investor to come up with a park of the same size and quality due to the high cost involved. Therefore Disneys assumption about the monopolistic position could not be faulted. Disney was also focusing on tourists who would spend several days at the park in order to experience the entire park, which would entail revenue from their hotels, food and merchandise;. Euro Disney due to their perception of their park being a monopoly also priced themselves at a premium, which was more expensive even compared to the tickets for their venues in America. It was also discovered that consumers were not behaving in the manner expected for a monopolistic market. However what transpired was that the French saw it as a day destination which made Disney compete with many other smaller theme parks scattered around France. Euro Disney also miscalculated the per-capita spending of visitors to the park. It was assumed by them that customers would spend as much as Americans and Japanese, however French visitors spent about 12% less than their counterparties. Europeans left the theme parks empty handed whereas this was rarely seen to take place in America and Japan. Cultural Issues Disney failed to identify the existence of cultural differences in Europe resulting in them making the following mistakes; Disney executives thought that Europeans had the same holiday patterns as Americans who spent their money on several short holiday sprees, whereas the Europeans and French were more likely to spread their money and take a few longer breaks. The company also miscalculated the eating habits of the European visitors where they thought they would emulate the Americans by having a quick meal rather than a sit down meal at the appointed time accompanied with wine and liquor. This caused a huge uproar as the French were accustomed to taking a glass of wine with a meal. The employees who were predominantly French were expected to act in a manner that was contradictory to their social customs. The Disney Company expected their employees to adhere to a strict thirteen page guideline which imposed a well scrubbed American look. This did not sit very well with the employees who preferred their individualism. Marketing strategy mismatch The theme park was marketed as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a complete vacation destination that offers enough to keep the family occupied for a week (Scimone, 1991.p.18) this strategy boasts typical American style bigness and extravagance. Where they have completely alienated the emotional aspect of it by neglecting to emphasis on the special memorable experience the family could have. This clearly shows that the company did not consider the views of the Europeans when developing their strategies. Euro Disney also did not see the approaching recession which tumbled the French real estate market which largely negated their strategy of developing property and selling it to potential buyers; it also shrunk the European and French disposable income so that families thought twice before taking a costly vacation at Euro Disney. Operational Strategy Mismatch Euro Disney encountered several operational mismatches during its early existence some of which are still in existence today such as the right level of staffing at the theme park, it was assumed that Monday would be a light day for guests and Friday would be heavy but the reverse was true. They also miscalculated the facilities available for parking, hotel check out positions, poor management of the crowds (Large queues, restaurant seating capacity) Strategic Action Plan for Disney Euro Seven Ps of Euro Disney Product Happiness Place Euro Disney Park Promotion Powerful and widely known brand name The amount of publicity generated by the project Price Determined by benchmarking those of other Disney parks People All the cast members , current and previous customers Physical environment Theme park , hotel , retail complexes and recreational facilities Process The process by which the product happiness and satisfaction is delivered to customers Recommendation and conclusion By analyzing the above facts, there are two main objectives that Euro Disney Co will consider; those are to overcome their high debt incurred along the way of its operations and to fulfil the gap of the cultural mismatch. Euro Disneyland reported $905 million loss for the fiscal year that ended in September 30, 1993(Sterngold, 1994), and by December 31, 1993, Euro Disneyland had amassed cumulative loss of 6.04 Billion French Francs or 1.03 billion US dollars (Grumbel Turner, 1994). Therefore to overcome these debts the following strategies and tactics are recommended; Issuing of shares to the borrowers to set off against the outstanding debts. Rights issue to the existing share holders in order to raise funds to recover the company debts. Downsizing of employees. Reposition the brand to reflect its proximity to Paris. Price deductions on entrance fee and hotel prices on special promotional periods, and on different custom segments such as schools, age and etc. Offer all inclusive packages which include transport, food and accommodation to attract budget tourists. Design special festivals aimed at different seasons of the year such as Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter this will entice visitors to the park several times a year to have a different experience.(Increase Consumption) Introduce activities such as golf, tennis etc to cater to the different segments of visitors. Revamping of the way it was marketed to be a family oriented vacation highlighting the emotional aspect of it. Expand the market to other untapped markets such as the Middle East and Afric A better mechanism to lighten up the current customer service in order to attract more customers to the business. By achieving the plan mentioned above we are confident that the euro Disney operation can be made profitable successful.

Teenage Life Essay -- essays research papers

People who are nostalgic about childhood, were obviously never children. Few people can remember the truth about adolescence. Their minds "censor" their memories; and have them believe that being a teenager was was one big party, free of cares and responsibilities. Well let me say this, you couldnOt be more wrong if you had a lobotomy. There aren't that many adults around who realise what adolescence was really like. The anguish, the fear, the anxiety, the stress. People don't remember those problems because they want to forget them. The truth of the matter is, is that being a teenager is hard, right from the beginning, and it doesn't get any easier. We are such easy prey for big name companies who advertise using the pressure of popularity, looks and sex to force us to buy their product that, as it turns out, we never wanted or needed in the first place. Our lives are filled with stress. One of the greatest sources of pressure is school. Where we are herded like cattle from room to room, chewing on our cud, while the hay of knowledge is force fed to us as we are trying our hardest to gulp it down as more and more is shovelled in. Another great source of pressure is ourselves. We try our hardest to be accepted among a certain group or circle. Whereas most of the time we are rejected and we become depressed. Depression, another problem, along with ignorance and apathy that thwarts our lives. A wise man when questioned about his view on ignorance and apathy, said &...

Developing yourself as a team leader Essay

1.1 Role of the Team Leader (12) The role of the Deep Reservoir Management team leader is to lead a multi-disciplined subsurface team responsible for reservoir management, identification and development of new reserves, production rate obtainment, and development of enhanced oil recovery process. The Deep RMT leader is responsible for the Kharaib, Arab, Fadhilli oil reservoirs and Khuff gas reservoir. His role is to supervise a multi-discipline staff of reservoir engineers, production engineers, geoscientists, and petrophysicists ensuring their technical and professional development. He also coordinates development, reservoir management and well work with other reservoir management teams. As well as providing business unit leadership to insure that reservoir management team work is coordinated and integrated with other departments, including: drilling, production operation, supply chain, and facilities. 1.2 Responsibilities of the Team Leader (8) Following are the responsibilities of the reservoir management team leader: Reservoir Management Prioritizes and coordinates reservoir surveillance and key data acquisition with Production Engineering Prioritizes and coordinates reservoir surveillance and key data acquisition with Production Engineering Technical Supervision Reviews and provides technical/economic feedback on key geologic and reservoir studies and results. Ensures project timelines are met. Provides engineering support in scale up of geologic description data into comprehensive reservoir earth models to be used for both modeling and analytical efforts Financial Control Approves AFEs and unit transactions within area of responsibility in accordance with approval limits Participates in developing annual budgets and long term plan Leadership Aligns efforts of reservoir engineers, geologists, production engineers for  RMT Ensures performance management of direct reports and development of staff Determines resource needs to complete detailed evaluations and support of operations 1.3 Authority and Accountability Limits of the Team Leader (12) The reservoir management team leader in Tatweer Petroleum is mainly an advisory position with little authority. Deep RMT leader is accountable for controlling deep team operating and capital budget assigned by department manager beginning of each year. He is responsible for identifying team vacancies, and interviewing and recruiting team staff. He is also accountable for appraising team members and recommending raise for them. The following are the only authority limits for Deep RMT leader: Approving workover expenditure requests (WAR) up to $100,000 Approving new well project requests (PAR) up to $500,000 Approving team members expense reports up to $5,000 1.4 Example of Team Leader Referring to Senior Authority (8) A workover program to perform a production logging survey* on one of Deep RMT wells was prepared by the team production engineer and approved by the team leader. The cost for this operation was $150,000, which is above the team leader workover request approval limit. On the other hand, in 2013 Tatweer is following a cost control strategy to minimize operating expenditure budget which this operation is falling under. Therefore, the team leader has to refer this workover operation to the department manager and get his approval. * Production Logging Survey: a diagnostic operation at which reservoir intervals contributing to production is identified. A third party service provider is used to perform such operation. Section 2: Be able to seek feedback on their workplace performance to identify strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement 2.1 Feedback on Own Performance from Different Sources (12) I have used different sources to get feedback on my own performance. First feedback was from ILM group 13 which consists of 8 members in addition to  me. Each of the 8 members and the ILM instructor has been asked to write down one of my strengths and one area of improvement. 8 out of 9 have given their feedback which is shown in Figure-1 and the rewritten version is shown in Table-1 below. 2.2 Feedback Interpretation and Areas of Improvement (20) ILM Group-13 Feedback: The members of the ILM Group-13 consent that I am technically strong, hard worker, confident, good communicator and listener, and have good delegation skill. On the other hand, the group has agreed on several areas of improvement. First one is a personal skill that I need to be decisive about my target and goal and the steps to get there. Second one is an organizational skill that I need to make sure objectives are clear and be focused to achieve it. Third one is and interpersonal skill that I have to accept other opinion. Leadership Skills Survey: Leadership skills survey showed that overall I am quite good in the 8 areas with average score of (4.4/5) in communication and social skills, (4.4/5) in goal setting, (4.4/5) in managing myself, (3.8/5) in motivating people, (4.1/5) in being creative in problem solving, (4.5/5) in inspiring trust and respect, (4/5) in being interested in and valuing team members, and finally (4.2/5) in developing the skills of my team. The survey did not show much to improve and therefore, I have conducted a self-assessment using the same survey and compared it with the survey result (Figure-2). Self-assessment survey is shown Appendix 3. The result of my self-assessment showed good agreement with the survey result in 3 areas; managing myself (4 versus 4.4), being creative in problem solving (4.3 versus 4.1) and inspiring trust and  respect (4.3 versus 4.5). However, my self-assessment showed I need to improve in developing the skills of my team (scored 2.7/5) and specifically coaching team members (scored 2/5). I also need to improve communication and social skills (scored 3/5) and specifically asking questions and listening to answers (scored 2/5). And finally I need to improve being interested in and valuing team members (scored 3.5/5) and specifically wanting to know about team members’ attitudes and values, feelings and emotions (scored 2/5). Figure-2: Leadership self-assessment versus survey 2.3 Action Plan (28) Based on the above feedback interpretation, the following are the area of improvements I need to work on and develop: Be decisive about what I want to and steps to get there Setting clear objectives and focusing on achieving it Coaching team members Asking question and listening to answers Accept other opinion Wanting to know about team members’ attitude and values, feelings and emotions To develop the above weaknesses I came up with an action plan and a target date and summarize it in the below table. Area to develop How will I achieve it When will I do it by Who will help me What is my measure Tick when done Be decisive about what I want to and steps to get there Read books and articles about how to be decisive and make better decision at work 1-Feb-14 Internet Specify my next development target in Tatweer as part of my succession planning Setting clear objectives and focusing on achieving it Attend ILM level 2 course 1-Feb-14 RMT Leader Beside team objectives, set my own SMART objectives for 2014 Put a timeline to achieve assigned objectives for 2014 Coaching team members Attend coaching training session Practice coaching 31-Dec-14 RMT Leader Be responsible for coaching at least 1 engineering trainee Asking question and listening to answers Read about how to improve asking questions and listening skills 31-Dec-13 Internet Positive feedback from work colleagues Accepting other opinion Practice listening to others 31-Dec-13 Internet Myself Positive feedback from work colleagues Wanting to know about team members’ attitude and values, feelings and emotions Practice by change my behavior and start talking to team members to explore their attitude and values, feelings and emotions 31-Dec-13 Myself Positive feedback from work colleagues Delegate Name Training Course Training Venue

The Progression of the American Musical

The World Two great writers of American musical theatre, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, had one common idea. They wanted to present to the American public a new, revolutionary musical that would stand out among the rest. They wanted to make an impact on the societies of the era. They wanted to be creative and do something that was considered rebellious. When they finally combined their ideas together they created an American masterpiece: Oklahoma!.This was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, starting the most successful creative artnership in the history of American musical theatre. In the years before Oklahoma! was created, Broadway was dying. New and refreshing musicals were a rare occasion and when an artist tried to create something that he hoped his audience would like, he was sadly disappointed. Broadway was suffering from a lack of what it was revered for: astounding plays and musicals. Its time of glamour and glitz was almost forgotten, and was in need of being saved.That is why Oklahoma! is considered a rebirth of the American musical theatre at the time. It brought Broadway back to life, filling theatre seats with nthusiastic audiences who embraced the changes of this new theatre musical with open arms and made it a legend. Oklahoma! set new standards for classic American theatre by introducing new techniques of presenting the musical to the audience, introducing a new genre of music into the theatre, and strayed away from the usual classic form and structure of a musical that audiences had grown used to.It was a time of change, a time of excitement, and a time of setting standards for the future. Almost from the first performance at the St. James Theatre on March 31, 1943, Oklahoma! has been recognized as a new kind of musical play that denied its Broadway audiences many of their most treasured traditions, says David Ewen in American Musical Theatre: â€Å"There was no opening chorus line, no chorus until midway through the f irst act, in fact. There was rather a serious ballet and other serious overtones, including a killing in act two.The story, which was so simple, seemed to engage the audience in more than mere evening diversion† (248). These changes, far from disappointing to viewers, were upheld by a success that had never been seen in the history of musical theatre. He continued to say that with their first collaboration, Rodgers and Hammerstein shered in a new era for the musical theatre This beautiful folk play realized fully that which the earlier Rodgers and Hart musicals had been striving to obtain: a synchronization of all the elements of the musical theatre into a single entity.At best Oklahoma! could lay legitimate claim to have carefully woven a new element, dance, into the artful fabric of the modern musical. No longer would singers sing and then Dance was not a new element in the theatre realm. It had been used for years as a way of interpretation of feelings of a character that t he writer or director wanted the audience to feel visually. Through movement, expression of those feelings was portrayed and helped the audience to somewhat experience that single emotion of fear, hate, love, or guilt right along with the character on stage.But what was usual was that it was never brought together with the music and singing. The song was usually followed by the decorative dance. A song followed by a dance would usually lost the audience's attention, or even if the dance was too long or did not correspond to the song or story line what so ever. Rodgers and Hammerstein set a standard that incorporated the two elements (music/song and dance) so that the audience would ind more logic in the dance. It would have a meaning and a purpose in the play and heighten the excitement in the musical.And in many instances, it would further the plot or at best help the audience to fully understand the individual character's feelings at that point in the musical. David Ewen uses the example of Agnes de Mille's (choreographer of Oklahoma! ) ballet, which brought to life the heroine's dream and provided her motive for refusing the hero's invitation to a box special. It was part of the story. (248) According to Gerald Bordman, the author of American Musical Comedy, the idea hat integration, something new and desperately needed, took hold of Broadway's thinking.In fact, it became so fashionable to integrate dance into the musical, that it was sometimes injected when it served no dramatic purpose, and sometimes even when it hindered the unfolding of the story. (160) After awhile dance became overused, which seemed to ruin what Rodgers and Hammerstein had set out to do (the incorporation of dance to heighten the meaning of the musical). Other writers or choreographers who inserted dance were not adding it when it would help the musical. Directors came to believe that dance was a necessity in a musical, for it was ne of the key reasons why Oklahoma! as so successful. So the additions were made, but were not really thought about their purpose when they were added. What was forgotten was the obvious need for the dance at all. Dance was thought to be a want of the audience, not taking into consideration if the musical even required the dance at all. So, this problem developed into a frenzy, adding dance Just for the mere spectacle of it. But in Oklahoma! , everything fit into its place. For the first time, not only were the songs and story inseparable, but also the dances heightened the drama by revealing he fears and desires of the leading characters.According to Bordman, Richard Rodgers once said, â€Å"when a show works perfectly, it's because all the individual parts complement each other and fit together†¦ in a great musical, the orchestrations sound the way the costumes look. That's what made Oklahoma! work†¦ it was a work created by many that gave the impression of having been created by one† (160). collaboration. Joseph Swa in adds that much was made at the time of the hero's killing the villain on stage in Oklahoma!. This too was not new. But while the claim to originality was once again exaggerated, Oklahoma! virtue of its huge popularity, a popularity in no way reduced by an unpleasant scene, did open doors. (74) Oklahoma! was in the genre of Musical Comedy, and many critics felt that villains and murder were not elements that should appear in a comedy. It was thought that such items would turn audiences away from Oklahoma! , having the idea of going to see a comedy and leaving feeling like they had seen a murder mystery, and not laughing at all was not the main objective of comedy theatre. But once again, these elements were a key part of the musical. David Ewen pointed out in The Story of America'sMusical Theatre that the original play had both villains and a murder, and Rodgers and Hammerstein had no intention of removing them from their musical. Ewen quotes Hammerstein saying, â€Å"We realized that such a course was experimental, amounting almost to the breach of an implied contract with the musical-comedy audience. I cannot say truthfully that we were worried by the risk. Once we had made the decision everything seemed to work right and we had the inner confidence people feel when they have adopted the right and honest approach to a problem† (180).But once the doors opened and tickets began to sell and shows eventually became old out, Rodgers and Hammerstein really did not have anything to fear. Their show soon showed itself to be a success, even with a villain and a murder. The audiences were at first disturbed to see these elements in a comedy, but soon came into agreement with these new additions and liked its originality and creativeness. Also if these two elements had been removed, it would have disturbed the synchronization and union of all the other elements of song, dance and plot in the musical, which was what the writers were trying to avoid at all costs .Along with dance and villains, Rodgers and Hammerstein also took on a new pproach to forming the music that they included in the musical. In Gerald Bordman's second book American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle, he stated that long before they wrote their first lyric to â€Å"Oh What A Beautiful Mornin'†, Rodgers and Hammerstein had arrived at an all-important decision. The â€Å"flotsam and Jetsam† of musical comedy would have to be abandoned in translating a sensitive, poetic folk play for the musical theatre. Musical comedies traditionally opened with a big, crowded stage scene. Oklahoma! ould begin simply: a single character would be seen on the stage (a woman churning butter), and from off-stage would come the trains of the first song. Musical comedies usually started with a dazzling line of chorus girls from the stage aprons early in the production, but Rodgers and Hammerstein decided to delay its appearance until halfway through the first act (535). bring a certai n magical and triumphant beginning to a musical, starting with excitement and volume. This was also criticized; many feeling an audience would not stand for their most treasured attributes of a play being taken away.But Rodgers and Hammerstein once again took another risk, and it proved to be a risk that was not too bad to take. Audiences were at first disappointed with the deletion of the opening chorus, but eventually excused it, for they fell in love with the style of musical that Rodgers and Hammerstein were presenting to them. The play grew from a simple opening to a grand finale, which built the excitement of the audience and kept them stimulated and interested in the unfolding of the musical until the final chorus line and curtain call.It built suspense and a burning for more. Rodgers and Hammerstein obviously knew what they were doing, even if the critics thought they did not. Bordman also noted that the show's musical director, Jay Blackton, appreciating he work's nature, d iscarded the common musical comedy practice of having the entire chorus sing only songs' melodies. Instead, he reverted to the tradition of operetta and comic opera by dividing his singers and assigning them various parts, not always the principal melodic line (535).Once again, Oklahoma! was making breakthrough innovations in the musical theatre world. A denial of basic characteristics of the original musical comedy could have upset the audience, and push Oklahoma! into an area of outcast musicals that all writers fear. But Rodgers and Hammerstein's ideas were undeniably refreshing to the American audiences. Rodgers's music also marked a new direction for the writer in Oklahoma!. He reinvented his style of music from what he knew was popular to the audience to a rugged flatness.Davis Ewen also states in his book The Story of America's Musical Theatre, that most musical comedies expected the music to be written before the lyrics, since the lyrics were something functional tacked on t o the melody. But the writers were so determined to make each word an essential part of the text that they agreed at once for Hammerstein to write the lyrics first, and Rodgers would write the music from the lyrics (180). Bordman reiterates that it is sometimes hard to realize that â€Å"Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' † is a waltz. The melody of â€Å"The Surry With The Fringe On Top† captures the clippety-clop of a horse pulling the vehicle.Rodgers' long-sustained opening note of his title song coupled with the driving melody that follows was of the freshest inventions of the sort and the impeccable blending of words and music in â€Å"People Will Say We're In Love† Justifiably made it the most popular of the year. Much proclaiming ensued over how well the songs and plot were integrated (535). This coordination of musical rhythm and words was amazing. They were able to catch simple sounds of the actions on stage and incorporate them into the song, as if the lives of the characters could only survive with the music.This combination of audience must be made to believe that the character's life is a song. It is essential that the character make the audience feel like the music is not Just a silly addition to the developing plot, but an existing item that has and will always exist at that point in time. The audience must be pulled into the world of the musical, not Just simply entertained. And once again, Rodgers and Hammerstein had achieved that goal. They ere well on their way to creating a musical that was so seamless that extracting one minor detail of it would throw the whole work of art off.It was a work of complete union and an accomplishment that was in no way easy to create in the first place. One factor in the success of Oklahoma! that cannot be overlooked was the attitude of the American people at the time it was presented. In The World of Musical Comedy, Stanley Green adds that World War II was more than a year old when the musical opened, and those who remained at home were becoming increasingly aware of the heritage they enjoyed as a free people. Seeing the happier, sunnier days that were so much a part of this heritage gave audiences both an escape from daily headlines and a feeling of optimism for the future (212).In American Musical Comedy, Bordman believed that Oklahoma! ‘s importance lay elsewhere. The show made the American musical theatre look at America's own heritage for inspiration (160). Playwrights were beginning to recognize the vast amount of inspiration the American country could provide for the new revolution of musicals. During the time of and after World War II, pride in America was gaining strength and so was the nterest of writing plays and musicals that showed that pride of how great America was. Oklahoma! n turn brought more than Just new innovations of song, music, and dance to the stage, but a love for musicals that showed how beautiful older American culture was. Oklahoma! was a musical of America's expansion into the western front and the western culture. In more ways that one, Oklahoma! was a way for city dwellers in New York City who sat in the audience to find their way to the west without ever leaving the city. Rodgers and Hammerstein had experienced achievement when they could tell a story through song and dance and transport the udience into the setting of the musical.Playgoers would leave the theatre feeling like they had Just returned from an adventure out west, which is a playwright's exclusive objective when creating a play. The audience must be made to believe that they are experiencing the plot right along with the actors on stage. Thus is the main objective of theatre in general: to capture the audience and bring them to a different place and time where the plot of the play is the only struggle in the world at the time. Bordman writes in American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle that what started in 927 was perfected in 1943 when Oklahoma! premi ered.It is considered by many to be the first musical comedy to have a plot, musical score and dances that were necessary ingredients to advance the story line (536). It is only fair to agree with him. Rodgers and Hammerstein added the exact â€Å"ingredients† to create a magical and over the world to this day. Although Oklahoma! premiered 70 years ago, and its style of music and dance have grown old with the passing of time, it still demands respect for its combination and imaginative ideas that revolutionized the musical industry at the time. Rodgers and Hammerstein were the dominant force in musical comedy in the 1940's and 50's.Even their flops had notable songs. Several of their shows became successful films. Oklahoma! ‘s importance in opening a new era in the American Musical Theatre will never be challenged. It has become an American classic that society will forever treasure for its beautiful integration of song and dance.