Nissan Change Implementation

Nissan Change Implementation In todays rapidly challenging business environment, it is readily acknowledged that it is necessary for organisation to make changes in order to stay competitive. Change management is vital in an organisation as it act as a way to ensure that business is moving in the right decision which indeed requires proper handling as it relates to human involvement. Many researchers argued that implementation is not solely the end point of a process of formulation but rather the interaction of many interactive and discontinuous factors i.e. management decision processes, environmental and business sector characteristics (Wilson, 1992:49). Before implementing a change, a lot of planning is required to ensure all the aspects of a particular problem are properly identified to avoid uncertainties and ambiguities. Thus, in order for management to have positive consequences, it is vital to identify and analyse the overall impact of the change programme i.e. organisation structure, employees attitude, beliefs and behaviours. The aim of this report is to discuss and evaluate the factors affecting the implementation of change in Nissan Motor Company (Nissan). Background of Nissan Due to huge debt, Nissan built alliances with Renault S.A. (Renault) to ensure the survival of the business. The said alliances benefited both parties in terms of market penetration and capabilities. As a result from the said alliance, Renault obtained an equity stake of over 36% in Nissan and its leader, Carlos Ghosn was appointed as the key person in charge for the implementation of the change. During the transition change, Ghosn met will all the employees from different departments to discuss on the current state of Nissan and the way to move forward. Thereafter, a radical or transformational change plan was implemented in order to ensure the success of the business in terms of profitability. Based on Beers model of effective change strategies, Nissan adopted the combined strategy of Theory Economic (E) and Organisation Development (OD) (Beer and Nohria, 2000). This is supported by Eriksson and Sundgren (2005) conclusion that both theory E and OD should coexist as the success for a change relies in the interface between the two strategies. In Nissan, the application of the E strategy is seen from the implementation of aggressive cost-cutting plan through downsizing, lay-offs and restructuring that is related to the its performance while in terms of OD, it involves the change in having English as the medium of communication in the organisation, setting up of the nine cross-functional teams for generation of ideas and culture change within the organisation which mainly touched on the Human Resource practices that overall leads in creating the capability to sustain competitive advantage. With the said changes in place, Nissan has managed to revive its business to compete in the market and at the present moment is one of the leading automakers in the industry. The implementation of change in Nissan Much literate suggest that implementing change is not an easy process. Although the change is foresee as an advantage to the organisation, there will always be mental rejection from the humans included in the process. Therefore, implementation of change needs to be handled sensitively with a structured approach to ensure the success transition from current to future state. In terms of Nissans implementation, it is classified under the blue print change (Hayes, 2010:427) as the final result is known i.e. Nissan to be profitability and be one of the top auto producers in the industry which Ghosn was able to formulate a clear plan of action in achieving the said vision. Factors affecting the implementation of change in Nissan Organisations readiness for change Readiness for change is believed as one of the key factors leading to a successful implementation of change. It was noted that one half of all unsuccessful organisation change efforts failed due to lack of readiness for change (Kotter, 2007). Refreeze Move Unfreeze Figure 1: Lewins three step change process Drawing on Lewins three step stage model of change, it clearly explains the importance of successful implementation of change by unfreezing the current situation followed by adaptation of the current changes which leads to new behaviour and norm (Hayes, 2010:29). The unfreezing stage creates a situation for readiness for change through motivation in terms of the companys clear vision which is seen attainable in the future that consequently increase the employees level of confidence in accepting to the need for change. Once the alliance took place, Nissan minimises barriers to change by maximising the opportunities of a change effort which are accentuated in the unfreezing process. All changes have been well planned in a short span of time. Meanwhile in the moving stage, change has been recognised and acceptance of change has taken place in the workforce. As everyone in Nissan is aware on the urgency for a change, it has automatically built a powerful coalition between management and employees. Beer et al. (1990) highlights the importance of coordination and teamwork especially for companies acting the change process in relation to cost, quality and product development opportunities. Self and Schraeder (2008) conclude that positive perception to a change is due to the visibility of support and commitment while the negative perception is due to visible lack of support or inconsistent behaviours of the management. Due to the positive acceptance in Nissan, Ghosn has managed to restore and reinforce th e new changes in the company in the refreezing step. Based on Kotters 8 step change model, the success of the transformational effort depends on the right action at each stage. Establishing a sense of urgency is very important step as it defines the current state of the company. It was argued that the need for change will only occur until a clear and present danger is recognise which need something to be done in ensuring the viability of the company (Self and Schraeder, 2008). Not only management demonstrate the need for change but must also provide indication that the requirement of a change is the right decision made for the company (Self and Schraeder, 2008). Readiness of change is a key to ensure a successful implementation process of change as when the level of readiness is high, employees are likely to initiate change with greater effort by displaying more cooperative behaviour that will result to more effective implementation. Nissan was in bad shape before the alliance exercise due to its financial position and needed a solid strategy to ensure the viability of the business. Hence, the sense of urgency has been established at the highest priority with the support from the management. Kotter (2007) indicate that to ensure the success of the change, it is important to obtain 75% of the companys management in supporting the change effort or otherwise the transformation process could not succeed and the long term future of the company is in jeopardy. As there is a sense of urgency for change, a leader must promote change by creating vision (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). Kotter (2007) highlights the importance of a clear vision as it is needed in guiding people through a major change which leads to a reduction of error rate that determine the success or failure of the implementation. It is argued that vision is not based on originality but on how well it serve the interest of important constituencies such as employees and stakeholder (Kotter, 2001). Therefore, a vision needs to be clearly defined with development of strategies in order to direct the change effort. The said vision will assist employees to understand the reason for the change. According to Kotter (2001), aligning people to a shared vision by communicating the new direction will help in creating coalitions which consequently draw the importance of the vision by committing to achievement. Kotter (2007) indicate that by not having a sensible vision, it will dissolve t he transformation effort as it creates confusion that leads the company moving in a wrong direction. This is supported by Kotters (2007) finding that most companies have sense of direction but it is to complication to be useful and consequently result to a failure in managing change. For Nissan, the main vision for the alliance exercise is to turnaround the company from a loss to profitable business while maintaining the companys identity and self esteem of its employees (Ghosn, 2002). The vision is clearly stated which is align with Kotters (2007) suggestion on the important of a vision. Organisation culture Many researchers highlight that culture is one of the important key aspects to be considered for the implementation of change. According to Smith (2003), culture in an organisation is not only related on how things are done but the set of values, beliefs, customs and systems that are build uniquely in the organisation which differentiate one with another. To change the culture in an organisation is not an easy tasks as usually employees are comfortable with the job and organisation and as a result they are resistant to change. Burnes (1992:291) suggests that in approaching cultural change, a more considered and organisation specific approach should be adopted. For a company to implement a change, comparison between strategic significance (the importance of the companys future) of the cultural resistance needed to be analyse to ensure the success of the implementation change process (Schwartz and Davis, 1981). The process relies heavily on managerial judgment as decision are made with degree of certainty whether to ignore, manage and maintain the existing culture to fit he change environment. Hence, steps are taken to identify the degree of cultural risk involved in the change process that overall has an impact to the companys culture and vice versa. Nissan is a company based in Japan with strong build culture in the organisation. It was difficult for the employees to accept the changes particularly in reward and progression system i.e. from seniority to performance based. It is the culture of Nissan to ensure that all employees have a lifelong career in the company which certainly create the culture of complacency that impacted Nissans competitiveness. Meanwhile, another culture problem faced was the organisations inability to accept responsibilities of which having a culture of blame. Ghosn has observed that all the said factors have contributed to Nissans performance which requires a radical change process. It is noted that Nissan adopted Schwartz and Davis suggestion as mention above wherein the companys culture was change ultimately to ensure the success of the change implementation. During the change process, employees were given a period of one year to change their attitude and to adapt to the changes accordingly. The chan ges implemented have affected the employees work orientation in terms of resistance to change as it was foresee that their particular job was at risk. The impact of resistance to change has been aversely discussed and many researchers highlight that it is the most significant threat to the success of implementation to change (Lines, 2004; Self and Schraeder, 2009). The expectancy theory clearly indicates that individual consciously choose course of action based upon perceptions, attitudes and belief which result to desires in enhancing pleasure and avoiding pain (Hayes, 2010:195). In order to avoid this to happen, awareness for changes need to be communicated to the employees through a clear vision and well defined strategy to ensure the effectiveness of the implementation process. Kavanagh and Ashkanasy (2006) suggest that particularly for culture change, active engagement of the top management is required to ensure the effectiveness of the change. Management plays a vital role in supporting the change as they set as a leader whereby employees will adhere to the changes faster. This can be effectively done by showing the implication of the change to the organisation in terms of profits, productivity or quality work life. For the case of Nissan, a clear focus on the companys priorities and plan and successfully executed accordingly with the backup of a good leader. Transparency was built as a new culture in the organisation as it allows others to provide ideas rather than only top management. This as a result leads to a consistency between how the organisation operates in thinking and doing its daily operations. Level of communication Another important aspect in implementation change is communication as it has an important impact to the success or failure of a change programme. It plays a vital role in the change process as it allows leaders to create a shared sense of direction, establish priorities, reduce disorder and uncertainty as well as facilitating learning (Hayes, 2010:177). In having a good communication, leaders need to ensure that all communication channels will provide information sharing that allows accurate absorption of relevant information by employees. Employees need to be constantly aware on the changes as they contribute to the success of the implementation of change. Meanwhile leaders on the other hand should continuously collect feedback by interacting with employees as well. As a result, organisation will look forward for a successful outcome in the change implementation. Clampitt et al. (2000) indicate that communication strategy has a huge impact on how events will be remembered which in turn shapes employees response. The environment for communication should be open and supportive to enable employees in sharing their concerns, frustration and need without fear of revenge which will lead in building the credibility of the company for a better implementation process (Self and Schraeder, 2008). Meanwhile Abrahamson (2000) suggest that dynamic stability plays a vital role in communicating change implementation as it suggest carrying change by involving elements within an organisation by engaging employees gradually. It aligns the overall concept of change as employees are aware on the proposed changes while management collects feedback by interacting with employees. The application of dynamic stability will allow organisation for a successful outcome in change implementation. When the change process took place, Nissan adopted underscore and explore communication strategy wherein the message was conveyed to all level of employees all across the company in order to get employees aligned with companys goals. This is supported by Clampitt (2000) findings which indicate underscore and explore is the most effective communication wherein it combines two strategies together i.e. tell and sell strategy; and identify and reply that allows managers to shape the change outline and allow reaction from the concerns of employees. Ghosn reiterate that the success of the company relies on the employees and as a team all employees should work hard in aiming to achieve the targeted goals. Despite pouring all the information, Nissan listens to the employees concerns and in fact created a new way of communicating through email. The said method reduces ambiguity and provides a clear picture on how the change will develop a better future for Nissan. Employees are likely to acce pt the pain of change if it clearly shows how their contribution affects the future gains. It is a norm that people expect something in return for the sacrifices made in the foreseeable future. Moreover, Kotter (2007) points out the effect of communication both in words and behaviour are the most powerful form which nothing undermines change more than behaviour by individuals that in consistent with their words. Role of leadership Kotter (2007) indicate that by definition, change requires creating a new system which sequentially always demands leadership. The role of leadership in change management includes creating a vision, aligning relationship around the vision and inspiring others to achieve the vision (Hayes, 2009: 117). In implementing change, a leader plays a key role in shaping the success of the change process which is in line with Beer et al. (1990) suggestion on the role of a leader in mobilising the initial commitment as a step to begin for the change process. Evidence from literature indicates leaders role in the change process wherein it have an impact to the success of change through the linkage between both leader and follower behaviour (Higgs and Rowland, 2005). Ghosn is considered as a transformational leader as he brought changes in the company and the effect of the changes is sustained under his leadership style. Studies have indicated that transformational leaders are able to realign the employees values and norms by promoting both personal and organisational changes which indeed enhance employees ability to accept change (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). Ghosn leadership is not based on the Japanese style but rather applying the multicultural experience that enables him to embrace culture differences and building on them. This is considered one best way to manage change as studies have found that a flexible, loosely applied culture based on some diversity and possibly involving the existence of number of subcultures is prove more effective (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). For a change to take place, leaders need to convince people on the necessary of the change which usually need a strong leadership and visible support from the management. Kotter (2007) indicate that managing the change is not enough, as leaders have to lead the direction in ensuring the implementation of the change. One of the changes made from the alliance exercise was the implementation of a new management style by setting up a nine cross functional team which the main objective is to achieve the goal for Nissan Revival Plan and business commitments. With the new management style, teams are given three months to review their operations and come up with recommendations for profitability and growth. As a result, it brought employees into a new organisation context through new roles and responsibilities that consequently create a situation that forces new attitudes and behaviour on employees in accepting the need for change which is supported by Beer et al. (1990) as the most efficient way in changing behaviour. Based on findings, it is noted that most successful cases in change relies on powerful coalition in the company (Kotter, 2007) as it is influence by the nature of work environment and organisational culture of which leaders could affect the employees attitudes in working towards change and motivation (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). The new functional team have allowed employees to think in a different perspective which leads to the mechanism in explaining the necessity for change across the entire company. Ghosn as a leader incorporate the values of team work in Nissan to ensure all employees are dedicated to the shared vision in building urgency and momentum around the need for change. The requirement of more coordination and teamwork between functions and business units is identified as one of the key factors in implementing a change which is supported by research findings where there is linkage between leadership behaviours to the activities involved in implementing change (Higgs and Rowland, 2005). Proper planning and coordination for the change Literature indicates that successful implementation of change is a difficult goal (Higgs and Rowland, 2005) and often flounders because of improperly framed by management. Finding from a survey with organisations indicate that 66% has agreed that one contributing factor for the implementation problems is ineffective coordination of implementation activities (Alexander, 1985). Leaders have a very important role in the selection and planning of a suitable management approaches as proper planning needs to be carefully identified to ensure a strong foundation which leads to an easier process of implementing change. Goodman and Rousseau (2004) indicate that time is key factor in organisational change but it is always neglected due to performance driven results. It takes time for ensuring a success of change as rushing and expecting too many outcomes will lead to failure. It is agreed that organisation is more effective when components such as structure, technology, systems and people are aligned with each other and when there is a good fit between the organisation and the environment (Hayes, 2010:305). In implementing change, action taken for the change should be identified to determine the flow of changes to ensure the outcome of the change process. Goodman and Rousseau (2004) suggest that it will help organisation to understand the lag between change and results by paying attention to feedback cycles which allows identification on mistakes as well as recommendation action for improvement. Planning should not only include the aspect of the results but to also determine the obstacles for the change to materialise. Goodman and Rousseau (2004) suggest that change intervention allows the increase of knowledge sharing for a better result performance where it reduces time for a given engagement that will result to faster outcome on the result. It is noted that knowledge system is widely used due to its beneficial functions such as positive feedback on a change as it improves in performance. However, it is argued that knowledge exist in the organisation but is not properly used that affects the coordination of the implementation process. For Nissan, the company has indentified the main problem of the company and tried to apply a new set of actions in a different manner which in line with the double loop learning process. Argyris (2002) indicate that double loop learning take place when errors are corrected through exploring the possibility in doing things differently. Information sharing will increase the knowledge of the employees which can be adapted through a learning process that allows a collective ability to act more effectively in an organisation (Hayes:2010: 322). Moreover, creating a new learning experience will allow companies to build its competencies as it is related to detection and correction of errors (Argyris, 2002) which is associated with continuous improvement. Hayes (2010:308) indicated that most literature in organisational learning focuses on the acquisition of knowledge, the recognition of its potential and its application to improve organisational performance. Based on Nissan case, it is summarise that the key to implementing change is a continuous improvement built in terms of information between people and processes, combination both business and human dimension towards shared objectives. Despite identifying the need of organisational learning, it is feasible for companies to plan a systematic training approach within the organisation as change is related to individual change. Change will need employees to think and behave in a different way and it is vital for organisation to provide the knowledge and skills to ensure the success of the change. Hayes (2010:350) indicates that training and development enables company to align between competencies of the employees and leaders as well as the task and structure of the system. Conclusion Managing change successfully has never been an easy task and can neither be problem free. Buchanan et al. (2005) summarised the related factors influencing the nature and outcome of change are such as individual, group, organisational, social and political. Therefore before any change takes place, it is important for a leader to properly analyse the implementation of the organisational change in order to determine the extent for the change that will benefit both organisational performance and employees. From the Nissan case, it was observed that one of the main lessons learn from the implementation of change process is the clear focus set by Ghosn wherein a clear plan is executed based on priorities. Ghosn brought in clear vision by altering the core organisational process with the nine cross functional team. Moreover, factors such as having a high urgency level for the need to change and a strong guiding and powerful coalition has managed Nissan to motivate the employees while creating an environment that accept change and subsequently sustaining the companys competitiveness. Based on the Nissan performance after the alliance exercise, it is concluded that the company is able to sustain its change due to these aspects of organisational readiness; fit with the competitive strategy, managerial values and internal power distribution and the values and power of key stakeholders (Buchanan et al., 2005).

Analysis of “Raise the Red Lantern” Essay

Yi-Mou Zhang’s Raise the Red Lantern, is a beautiful and brilliantly made film in its own right. If, however, the team of Orson Welles and Greg Toland had produced the same film it would take on an entirely different look and feel. The film would reflect Wells love for creating physical representations of thematic metaphors and the long take and Toland’s brilliant use of deep space photography and mobile framing. Under the direction of the Wells-Toland team, the film would take on subtle, yet significant differences from the very beginning. In the opening scene, with Songolian and her stepmother, the focus of the camera would still be a medium close up of Songolian; but, the previously unseen mother would now be seen in the extreme background and edges of the frame. Using deep focus and choreographing her movements the mother’s character would still remain faceless, but would seem more tangible and the feeling of distance between the mother and her stepdaughter could be re- enforced. The next major difference would be seen in the sequences involving Songolian’s entrance into the house itself. In Zhang’s original version, Songolian enters the frame with the inscription on the back wall shown briefly. The W-T revision would begin the entrance sequence with a medium close up of the inscription itself, slowly panning from left to right, just slowly enough to recognize the characters but fast enough to not allow the audience to actually read the inscription. The significance of the inscription on the wall has been explained as being not in the inscription, but in the characters themselves: in the oldest Chinese societies the written characters were created with arbitrary meaning assigned to them, only scholars and the aristocracy had the time and means to learn the meanings of the thousands of different characters used. The characters on the wall are alluding to a society which was dominated by male figures who arbitrarily created meaning and tradition. Zhang filmed the movement through the house in a series of shots usually cutting from the entrance into a archway or gate, to the exit on the other side from the same. This style creates a feeling of disorientation and the layout of the house is never really established for the audience. The W-T  duo would probably have filmed the various movements through the ground levels of the house in a series of long-takes with tracking shots. The shots, starting from approximately rooftop level, would then track forward and down to follow the movement of a character through the complex, rising up and ‘crawling’ over arches and entrance ways and then dropping down again. Instead of placing an emphasis on the feeling of the palace’s physical ‘discontinuity’ created by Zhang’s shots, this change would emphasize the magnitude of the structure itself, reenforcing the feeling of a well established and developed tradition and the insignificance of one small w oman. The other type of movement followed in the story is the movement above roof level. The W-T team would handle this in a much different fashion than Zhang. The movement above roof level represents freedom of various kinds and ultimately, escape. Welles would want the camera movement in the roof scenes to reflect this, consequently, the movement of a character on the roof would be filmed in a continuous take. The shot would probably be a tracking shot that changed angle and distance continuously, possibly even violating the 180 degree rule, in order to give the camera a bird like point of view. The other type of shot used above the roof level would be the fixed frame shots involving two or more characters at a distance; Toland would again use this opportunity to utilize his mastery of deep focus, keeping both of the characters in focus while displaying the distance between the two. In the next scene Songolian, enters her house for the first time. Zhang used a long shot to show her standing in the middle of the room, surveying her new accommodations. The W-T team would have used a longer shot, possibly even an extremely long shot in this instance. As the lanterns are being lit, the central chandelier above the bed would probably be shot from a bird’s eye perspective as it was being lowered and then a floor shot as it was being raised. The change in distance would make Songolian seem even smaller in the huge room, a tiny woman surrounded buy countless, huge red lanterns signifying the family traditions. When the husband is finally introduced into the film, the W-T team would  shoot the husband as a faceless character, just as Zhang had done. The technical difference, however would be that W-T, would use a shot/reverse-shot sequence with the husband in order to better display the distance between himself and Songolian. This would be a perfect opportunity for Toland’s mastery of the use of deep space. Shooting close to the husband from below shoulder level toward Songolian would create a better physical metaphor for the emotional distance between the two. Frequently in the film there are shots of the inner court-areas of the houses of various wives, shown with the red lanterns burning against the darkness of the night. Zhang, in his version, shoots these from a high angle and the camera is fixed in the inner courtyard. W-T would shoot this as a tracking shot, moving from a high angle shot of at least one of the dark inner courts and then pulling back to pan across the darkened compound, then moving to another high angle shot of the court with the lit lanterns. There are frequently points in the story where the husband leaves the house during the night to go to another house. The W-T team would shoot this from a high angle shot of the lit inner-court as the lanterns are extinguished and then use a tracking shot to ‘crawl’ along the compound to the house where the lanterns being lit, then the camera would pan back in the direction it had come to reveal the dark compound. The dining room is a central point in Zhang’s version of the film and would also be pivotal in the W-T version. Songolian is shown the dining room when she is given her tour of the house. The W-T version of this scene would closely resemble the Zhang version with one key difference. The W-T camera would raise to the faces of the portraits of the ancestors, move to a close up and then pan around the room giving us a shot representative of Songolian’s perspective. In the first dining scene the establishing shot would be the same shot that was originally used. The long shot that was used to establish the parameters of the room and provide a subtle suggestion of the thematic implication of the scene would take on new meaning under the direction of the Wells-Toland team. The Spartan room, surrounded on three sides by portraits of past patriarchs of the family was visible in the establishing shot, but the presence of the ‘family men’ is only alluded to;  with T oland’s use of deep focus the portraits of the patriarchs could be brought into clear perspective, bringing the idea of the influence of the ancestors more securely into the scene. As the scene progresses Zhang’s original sequence of shot, reverse-shot wold still be used, and the camera’s height would remain above the table level; the important difference between the Zhang’s shots and the W-T shots would be the camera’s angle. W-T would lower the camera slightly and drastically increase the angle in order to include the faces of the long deceased patriarchs in the same frames with the wives in the close-ups and medium close-ups. This change, in conjunction with deep focus, would alter the thematic implications of these scenes by introducing the faces of these nameless men directly into the world of the wives, they would be literally, looking over their shoulders. The most significant change in the film would come during the scene when Meishan is hung. Wells would want to convey Songolian’s feeling of fear and confusion and Toland would accomplish this by using a long take beginning when Songolian first sees the lanterns coming through the archway. The camera would then shift to a P.O.V. shot representing Songolian following the men up to the rooftop. Reaching the rooftop level the camera would rush forward to reveal a medium long shot of the men taking Meishan into the room, then turn on its axis and rush back toward Songolian to display the revelation on her face and her fear. Finally, the camera would circle behind Songolian in a very long reverse shot and Toland’s masterful deep focus would display the men leaving the room upon completion of the act.

History Isu: Juno Beach Essay

Some of the greatest battles in Canadian history took place during the course of World War II. Most would argue it to have been Stalingrad, The Battle of the Atlantic, or even the Battle of Scheldt. The Battle at Juno Beach was a defining moment in Canadian history that led to the rise of a great nation. On June 6, 1944, after having prepared for more than four years, Canadian troops in Britain took place in an invasion that would become the greatest turning point in Canadian history. â€Å"†¦ early in the morning of June 6th, 1944 under cover of a massive air and naval bombardment, ships started ferrying 150 000 American, British, and Canadian troops across the channel of Normandy.† After courageous fighting and tremendous struggles, the Canadian, American, and British troops managed to get the farthest inland to secure a position against allied invaders. â€Å"†¦the German defences at Juno Beach had been shattered and Canada had established the beachhead.† Because Canadian troops were able to secure the beach, â€Å"Operation Overlord† led to great victories amongst the Allied Troops. Juno was the largest amphibious battle to have taken place in history. â€Å"155,000 soldiers, 5,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles and 11,000 planes were massed for the greatest seaborne invasion in history.† Canadian troops, being the only commonwealth nation, were assigned 1 out of the 5 beaches at Normandy to secure. First, Canada was to create a beachhead on Juno beach. The American, Canadian and British troops task was to capture and seize all sea towns ashore of the beach and get further inland after breaking through enemy lines. Also, their objective was to secure the Carpiquet airport and create a link that would be able to attach the British beachheads on the other two beaches, Sword and Gold beach, and also to secure the Caen-Bayeux highway. â€Å"The challenge facing the Canadians was to overcome the coastal defences and capture ground positions that could be defended against German counter attacks.† The task the Canadians were given was one that would take a lot of courage and self-determination to push through. â€Å"†¦ Germans had turned the coastline into a continuous fortress of guns, pillboxes, wire, mines and beach obstacles.† Although the Germans had displayed strong thresholds, the allied troops managed to keep pushing their way through German defences. With the lead of Major General R.F.L Keller, the 3rd Canadian Infantry along with many men, tanks, and vehicles helped to secure and take over Juno Beach. â€Å"The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division supported by the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade would land on Juno beach in brigade groups. Two brigades would land in the initial assault followed later by the reserve brigade which would pass through the lead brigades on to the divisional objectives . More than 20,000 men, 200 tanks and hundreds of other vehicles were under the command of Major-General Keller.† The allied troops were successful in securing the position on Juno beach. â€Å"†¦in the face of heavy shelling and deadly machine gun fire, the Canadians fought their way past the German defences.† The troops were able to penetrate farther inland then all other allied forces could. Securing Juno beach was a huge success and as a result, has helped Canada to become a greater nation. Since Juno Beach, the troops that were involved with the invasion are greatly recognized and forever appreciated. Securing Juno Beach may have been one of the best things to have happened. After having done so, many great victories came along. They extended their beachhead further inland, and continued to move northwestward. They were able to liberate several French channel ports, which included Dieppe, which was a great success, because a number of Canadians had lost their lives at such place two years back. Also, because of such a great achievement at Juno Beach, the liberation of Europe took place, along with the defeat of Nazi-Germany, which lead up to the end of World War 2. The defeat of Nazi-Germany became a very proud accomplishment for many. â€Å"Allied to serve the common cause of freedom and democracy, Canada, Great Britain, the United States, the countries of the British Commonwealth and free nations suffering under Nazi occupation counter-attacked.† Due to Canada being able to accomplish many victories, they proved that coming together as a nation could lead to great victories and successes. Also, it helped make and build the independence of Canada. It showed that Canada is a powerful country, and doesn’t need to hold hands with Britain per se, but still work together. â€Å"So many different roads to Victory, conquered through determination and courage and at the price of many human lives.† Although â€Å"Operation Overlord† took the lives of many brave soldiers, it was one step closer to the complete defeat of Nazi-Germany. With great success comes a price, and although the capture of Juno Beach was accomplished, many soldiers were wounded, killed, or captured. â€Å"Fourteen thousand Canadians landed in Normandy on D-Day and to ensure the victory 340 Canadians had given their lives. Another 574 had been wounded and 47 taken prisoner. The casualties were less than expected, but heavy nonetheless.† Despite the many loses Canada suffered, soldiers were still encouraged to move forward and keep on fighting. The Canadian troops relied heavily on goods and services that were being shipped to them. The government greatly supported the troops, providing them with the many necessities needed to be successful. â€Å"Canadian troops relied on a tight organization and on a wide range of services that provided food, shelter, medical care, intelligence, communications and more. They also relied on ships, aircrafts, tanks and weapons needed to face the enemy.† Funding for the invasion was very costly, but in conclusion, led to great victory for the allied troops. Canada at the Battle of Normandy had a great impact on war. It changed the way many thought of the word â€Å"impossible.† After what was done, and how much was conquered, anything is possible. Being able to get further inland than any other before and securing a position that later on led to the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazi-Germany isn’t just a small accomplishment, it’s something that has changed the way war is seen and the way troops continue to fight. Without the necessary goods and services being sent over to the allied troops, not much would have been possible. Many brave troops stood against German defences and took their lives so the rest of their brothers could continue on and make Canada proud. â€Å"Many would die there but, for the Canadian forces, D-Day was a triumph that is still honoured at home and on the beach they called Juno.† It is with great success that Canada as a nation, is able to say proudly that they fought strongly to secure Juno beach on June 6, 1944, and because such a great event took place, the rise of a nation began. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Jill Coyler, Jack Cecillon, Graham Draper and Margaret Hoogeveen, Creating Canada A History- 1914 to present ( McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2010) , 239 [ 2 ]. CBC News, D-Day: The allied invasion of Normandy, 1944, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/06/02/f-dday-history.html, June 5, 2009 [ 3 ]. CBC News, D-Day: The allied invasion of Normandy, 1944, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/06/02/f-dday-history.html, June 5, 2009 [ 4 ]. Lane, D.W. â€Å"Juno Beach – The Canadians On D-Day†1944, http://members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-2.htm, Operation Overlord – Plans and Preparation [ 5 ]. Lane, D.W. â€Å"Juno Beach – The Canadians On D-Day†1944, http://members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-2.htm, Operation Overlord – Plans and Preparation [ 6 ]. Lane, D.W. â€Å"Juno Beach – The Canadians On D-Day†1944, http://members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-2.htm, Operation Overlord – Plans and Preparation [ 7 ]. Jill Coyler, Jack Cecillon, Graham Draper and Margaret Hoogeveen, Creating Canada A History- 1914 to present ( McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2010) , 239 [ 8 ]. Juno Beach Centre, â€Å"Canada in WWII†, http://www.junobeach.org/e/2/can-eve-rod-e.htm, Roads to Victory [ 9 ]. Juno Beach Centre, â€Å"Canada in WWII†, http://www.junobeach.org/e/2/can-eve-rod-e.htm, Roads to Victory [ 10 ]. Lane, D.W. â€Å"Juno Beach – The Canadians On D-Day†1944, http://members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-2.htm, Operation Overlord – Conclusion [ 11 ]. Juno Beach Centre, â€Å"Canada in WWII† http://www.junobeach.o rg/e/4/can-tac-e.htm Arms & Weapons [ 12 ]. CBC News, D-day: Canadians Target Juno Beach 1944, http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/topics/1317/ 2003

6th Grade Science Quiz - Online Test