Writing A Critique -Patient and nurse accounts of violent incidents in Essay

Writing A Critique -Patient and nurse accounts of violent incidents in Medium Secure units - Essay Example They have researched and presented papers in similar topics before. They have appropriate professional qualifications and clinical experience to conduct a study of this type and magnitude and deliver this paper. There is an abstract included in the paper. It is structured, short and to the point, summarizing the study and the main findings. The abstract gives crisp information about the study undertaken, Ethics Committee permissions, the methodology of study and analyses. However, there is no mention of the outcome of the study. Infact, there is no proper conclusion in the abstract. The introduction clearly presents the background of the study. The authors have clearly elaborated the importance of studying violent incidents in a forensic setting. The purpose of the study is relevant and clearly stated. The latest articles discussing these issues, prior to the commencement of the study were studied and compared with. There is no research question asked in this study. This study is only an account of the violent incidents in a forensic setting. The literature review is up-to-date. It does identify the underlying theoretical frameworks. Literature review supports the objective of the study. It presents a balanced evaluation material supporting the proposal in the study. The objective of the study is to understand the nurses and patients perspective of violent incidents in the medium secure unit. The research questions asked in this study are: 1. "In what ways do patients and nurses describe violent incidents?" 2. What categories of analysis may be observed in their accounts? The methodology section clearly states the research approach to be used. The study design is that of qualitative research. This type of study was chosen to understand the subjective realities and to describe, interpret and understand the

The China-Faced Doll Essay Example for Free

The China-Faced Doll Essay It seemed so harmless, just another one of its kind. Everyone was captivated by its innocent grin and other charming characteristics. If only everyone knew the truth. Everyday I feel the pain of my losses, living the consequences of a crackpots corrupted mind. My story begins nigh on one hundred years ago, when I was unborn but the crackpot was not. Although various stones have been left unturned, my research of the matter has proved fairly successful and has led me to believe many a thing that may seem improbable. The maniac that I speak of is a man, a man with an intention, an unethical intention! For the past century, people have rumoured theories as regards the mans life, his immoralities, and his disturbing suicide. Only now do I understand the reality. The man had a gift for art, and made his wealth and local fame in his unique production of china-faced dolls. During the course of his life he became more and more reserved, keeping himself to himself and his friends far away. These friends, therefore, and all people, lost interest in him and he became somewhat of a loner. Through this deficiency of companions he developed a grudge against mankind, and gradually a hate for all living things. He turned his malevolence to his work, and made a new doll, the One Doll. Into this doll he poured his spite and malice, his decadent mind. To this doll he gave a life. Eventually, loneliness was said to have destroyed him, and as the tax collector was visiting his house one damp morn, he found, to his absolute horror, the doll-maker, knife in hand, throat slit from ear to ear and surrounded by hundreds of china smiles. One of these beaming jaws was particularly wide, the nearest one to the slain and the only one without sleek, jet-black hair. Instead its fiery red curls threw the rooms light off the walls. The lonesome man left no will, and as a result the entire estate was re-collected by the government, and the dolls were sold off to the highest bidding member of the public. All that is except for the red-head who was considered scary and ugly, and was buried along with all the other useless items in a desolate field, which there were plenty of back then. Any events, regarding the man, his death and his dolls materialised after his death still remains a mystery to me. Although I could give an educated guess, I wont as it could be misleading and bring a false dimension to my tale.

A Psychoanalytic Reading of Hedda Gabler :: Hedda Gabler Essays

A Psychoanalytic Reading of Hedda Gabler Attempting a psychoanalytic reading of a given text is a bit like attempting to understand a city by examining its sewer system: helpful, yet limited. There are several reasons for using psychoanalysis as a critical literary theory; the critic might be interested in gleaning some sort of subconscious authorial intent, approaching the text as a "cathartic documentation" (my own term) of the author's psyche; the method might be useful in judging whether characters are well-rendered, whether they are truly three-dimensional and, therefore, worth our while as readers (thus satisfying the pleasure principle); finally, in a larger sense, the psychoanalytic approach can be employed to actually tell us something about our own humanity, by examining the relative continuity (or lack thereof) of basic Freudian theories exemplified in written works over the course of centuries. If we are indeed scouring the text for what I call "cathartic documentation," we must, at the outset, look at the period in which the work was written. Pre-Freudian works, that is to say those poems, plays, short stories, and novels written before the late 19th century, are the major candidates for success with this approach. However, 20th century works, beginning with the modernist authors, pose a problem. How are we to be sure that the writer is not consciously playing with Freud's theories, perhaps even deliberately expanding and distorting them for additional effect? Herein lies the problem with Hedda Gabler: The play was written at roughly the same time that Freud was just beginning to publish his theories. The question is "who influenced whom?" Obviously Freud was taken with Ibsen's realizations of certain fundamental ideas which were to be the foundation of his (Freud's) work: repression, neurosis, paranoia, Oedipal complex, phallic symbols, and so on; all of these factors are present in Hedda Gabler. The question remains, however, whether Ibsen had caught wind of Freud's work and decided to utilize it in the play. Perhaps I am wrong, but having read A Doll's House and An Enemy of the People, both earlier works by some ten years, Hedda Gabler seems to embody Freudian concepts to so much farther an extent that the possibility of a conscious effort to create Freudian neurotic types and set them loose on one another does not seem altogether outside the realm of possibility. Whether consciously or unconsciously, however, Ibsen has created extremely well-developed characters.

Am I Blue?

English 9-2 7 May 2012 Judged The saying, â€Å"do not judge a book by its cover† is a commonly used saying throughout the years. However, what does the saying really mean? Of course an individual should not be choosing the novel they wish to read just based on the cover of the book. Figuratively speaking, the saying means that one should not prejudge the value of someone just by their physical appearance alone. For many people, the root of their anxiety stems from the fear of others judging or evaluating them because of they way they look or act.The short stories â€Å"Am I Blue? † by Bruce Coville and â€Å"Hum† by Naomi Shihab Nye both illustrate the uselessness of judging a book by its cover. In the short story â€Å"Am I Blue? † by Bruce Coville, Vince, the main character, discovers that people are not always what them seem. In this story Vince, who is questioning his sexuality, is the main target for harassment because his classmates think he is gay. When Vince receives his very own fairy godfather, he makes a wish that turns everyone who is gay the color blue.Vince is surprised when he sees that many people turn even the slightest shade of blue. The darker the shade, the more gay they are. Vince’s fairy godfather tells him, â€Å"my friends and I called each other ‘faggot’ and ‘queer’ for the same reason so many black folks call each other ‘nigger’ –to take the words away from the people who want to use them to hurt us† (Coville 10). People who are gay often say words such as, â€Å"faggot† and â€Å"queer† to mask themselves or make those words less hurtful to them.As Vince walks around town, he sees all sorts of people who are all different shades of blue. Vince says that â€Å"it was like seeing the world though new eyes. Most of the people looked just the same as always, of course. But Mr. Alwain, the fat guy at the grocery store, looked like a gian t blueberry—which surprised me, because he was married and had three kids† (Coville 12). When Vince returns home and turns on the television, he is enraged when he sees â€Å"the congressman [on TV was the shade of a spring sky], who happened to be a notorious republican homophobe† (Coville 13).Vince even discovers that the bully picking on him for being gay is also gay himself. People fear others judging or evaluating them because of they way they look or act, so they often put on a facade. How someone acts or looks is not an accurate reflection of who they truly are. In the short story â€Å"Hum† by Naomi Shihab Nye, Sami, the main character discovers what it is like to have others judge him because of the way he looks. Sami and his family move to America from Palestine a few weeks before the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.Sami and his family think their lives are improving. Sami is making friends and adjusting to his new life in America . When 9/11 occurs, it shocks Sami and his family. Sami says that â€Å"his family had always spoken out against the suicide bombings that killed Israeli civilians [in Palestine]. Many Palestinians did. But who could hear them? They were regular people, not politicians. No one quoted them in the news† (Nye 74). Sami knows his people are not murderers. No one says the hijackers are Palestinian.Yet because Sami looked so similar to the terrorists in the attack, everyone blames him and his people for what happened. When he goes to school, â€Å"No one sat with him at lunch now. He tried sitting down next to some boys from his PE class and they stopped speaking and stared at him. ‘I feel very bad about what happened’ Sami said. [†¦] Nobody answered him. They finished eating in silence, exchanging glances with one another, and left the table† (Nye 75). When Sami meets a blind man who is his neighbor, the man tells him that â€Å"some people don’t u se [their inner eyes] enough.They forget about them. But there’re all I have. In some ways, I think I can see better than people who aren’t blind† (Nye 83). Because the man is blind, Sami can become friends with his neighbor without his looks getting in the way. Just because Sami resembles the hijackers from the 9/11 attack does not mean that those are his people. Nor does that mean the Sami himself is responsible for the attack. Both short stories â€Å"Am I Blue? † by Bruce Coville and â€Å"Hum† by Naomi Shihab Nye discuss and illustrate the saying, â€Å"do not judge a book by its cover. In both of the stories, the main characters face others judging them because of the way they act and look. The saying â€Å"do not judge a book by its cover† means that one should not prejudge the worth or the value of someone just by their physical appearance alone. â€Å"Am I Blue† and â€Å"Hum† both demonstrate this common saying. Works Cited Coville, Bruce. â€Å"Am I Blue? † Am I Blue? Coming Out From The Silence. Ed. Marion Dane Bauer. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. 2-16 Nye, Naomi Shihab. â€Å"Hum. † Face Relations. Ed. Marilyn Singer. New York: Simon andSchuster, 2004. 68-88.

Discuss How Difficult Would It Be for Hong Kong to Develop

The use of befoul Is not desirable, since It Is not commonly use. It would be difficult for the government to promote because not many people in Hong Kong drive cars and there are other car fuel options, for example LAP. From the economic perspective, developing befoul involves high production cost. Befoul is not the only option to fight against air pollution. The demand of befoul is not very high and the Hong Kong government could spend the budget on other aspects. Or else people who cannot be benefit from the scheme would just protest, which adversely affect social harmony.On the other hand, from the experience and research of other countries, it is know that developing befoul would cause deforestation and loss of habitat. It would be difficult for the government to develop befoul because people may think that spending heavy cost to do so Just couldn't solve the problem in a sustainable way. The support from its people would not be enough. From the safety perspective, , since Hong Kong has no experience in handling befoul, accidents may happen. If befoul exploited on a large scale, it would be very dangerous.Accidents not only happen in plants, but also cars, fuel leak could be one of the possibilities that cause harm to the people using befoul. To conclude there are many difficulties In developing and promote befouls to replace peritoneum as car fuels, the government should do consultation and consider the needs of different people before the Implementation. Discuss How Difficult Would It Be for Hong Kong to Develop and Promote Befouls to Replace Petroleum as Car Fee By caterpillar From geographical perspective, bodiless feedstock available in Hong Kong is waste cooking oil and animal fats.Due to the limited space, it is not possible to build many bodiless production plants in Hong Kong, as a result the supply of befoul would not be enough. Moreover, Hong Kong has heavy use of petroleum, since it is cheaper, more efficient and can be imported easily. The use of befoul is not desirable, since it is not commonly use. It would be difficult for the government to promote because not aspects. Or else people who cannot be benefit from the scheme would Just protest, To conclude there are many difficulties in developing and promote befouls to the needs of different people before the implementation.

How to Make the Most of Facebook Advertising [PODCAST]

How to Make the Most of Facebook Advertising [PODCAST] Facebook: Nearly a quarter of the entire world’s population uses it, and over two-thirds of those users checks in every day. Chances are good that your customers are using the social media giant. Facebook advertising is a great opportunity for you to connect with your audience. Today we’re going to be chatting with ’s own inbound marketer, Rachel Wiinanen, about how to create high-converting ads, how to test your hypotheses, how to organize your behind-the-scenes processes, and how to measure your success. You won’t want to miss it! Information about and what Rachel does here as the inbound marketer. How Rachel approaches her advertising strategy on Facebook. How Rachel gets creative with both the visuals and the text on Facebook ads. Thoughts about A/B testing: how Rachel does it, why it’s important, and some surprises she’s encountered along the way. Key metrics to measure when evaluating the performance of your ads as well as some tools to use. How Rachel works within a budget for her Facebook ads. Rachel’s best tips on staying organized, planning, and keeping track of everything ad-related. Where a newbie to Facebook ads should start if they want to begin using the platform as part of their marketing strategy. Links: Previous episode with Rachel Kissmetrics Google Analytics If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Rachel: â€Å"Facebook is a huge opportunity that a lot of marketers aren’t necessarily taking advantage of to the level that they could.† â€Å"If you have that goal-first mentality, you are setting yourself up for more success. Really, budget shouldn’t be your limitation.† â€Å"With Facebook being such a social platform, it’s all about the individual. Focus on really hitting down who your target persona is. Start there.†

Movements Essay Example

Movements Essay Example Movements Essay Movements Essay Movements Name: Course: Date: Movements The word feminism can be generally defined or used to describe political, economic, cultural or social movement of women or people addressing women issues aimed at ensuring equality of women to men in terms of legal, political, economic and general rights (Tandon, 2008). They focus on gender inequalities on issues revolving around gender politics, sexuality and power relations. Feminism theories are concerned with changing the view that women are inferior beings to their male counterparts. Feminism theory can be considered a tool for social change considering its aims are changing the social norms of subordinating women. Majority of the issues addressed by feminist theory are concerned with social issues such as equal rights to exploit opportunities. In this regard, it aims to change the views of the society, thus making it a tool for social change. Within the social context, women have been considered to be lesser or inferior to men. In many instances, this has rendered them to remain submissive to the men since they lack opportunities that men receive (McCann Kim, 2003). They have to rely on men by submitting. In order to rely on men, women have to be desirable to attract men so that they can get the support they need. Within the working or employment environment, women have received lesser pay than men have as well as lesser intellectual roles. This has made them reliant on men to provide for them both financially and intellectually (McCann Kim, 2003). In the previous ages, women were supposed to remain quiet and without ideas. Any issue arising required women to ask their husbands for ideas on how to tackle the issue. Simply, women were supposed to be servants to their men. In these circumstances, women have suffered a lot since they find it hard to be independent. Feminism aims at changing this social perception to grant women equal rights as their male counterparts. Feminism started many years ago because of women suffering in subordination by men. Women started advocating for equal rights such as rights to vote in America, rights to own property and have their own ideas. It surfaced as a movement that advocated for gender equality where women held campaigns demanding their rights and interests. The feminist movements have managed to change many perspectives within the society within a wide range of area. Some of the areas where feminism has seen changes are culture and law. The feminists have campaigned for legal rights, where they sought to achieve equality in terms of rights to own property, vote and contractual rights (Tandon, 2008). Cultural rights achieved by feministic movements include bodily integrity, rights to autonomy, contraceptive rights, protection from sexual harassment, protection against domestic violence and rape amongst others that have changed the way the society views women. Out of the feminist movements, theories were formed to deal with the wide range of issues to be dealt with. Some of the theories are such as liberation theories seeking to liberate women from oppression, art theories and literal theory amongst others. The aim of the theories is to explain and educate the women on issues revolving around gender inequality, social roles, feminist politics, experiences, education and sociology amongst other fields. Their aim is enlightening people about issues revolving around inequality between men and women within the society. Their praxis or application means changing the status quo that subordinates women. All the theories are based on two beliefs or tenets, which are that they should focus on the conditions of women within the society and on the assumption that women are subordinated in the society. With these tenets, feminist theories find a reason for their existence (McCann Kim, 2003). It is clear that feminism has achieved several changes within the society, qualifying it as a tool for change that focuses on changing the views and treatment of women within the society. The issue has been around for a long time but has received scholarly work several decades ago, mostly during the 1960s and 70s when the movements were heightened. McCann and Kim (2003) in their book Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives have provided a detailed account of issues on a global and domestic perspective. The book provides the reader with good knowledge and sound definitions of feminism movements as well as theories. References McCann, C.R. Kim, S. (2003). Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. New York, N.Y: Routledge. Tandon, N. (2008). Feminism: a paradigm shift. Atlantic Publishers Dist

44 Landlocked Countries That Dont Touch an Ocean

44 Landlocked Countries That Don't Touch an Ocean Approximately one-fifth of the worlds countries are landlocked, meaning they have no access to the oceans. There are 44 landlocked countries that do not have direct access to an ocean or ocean-accessible sea (such as the Mediterranean Sea). Why Is Being Landlocked an Issue? While a country such as Switzerland has thrived despite its lack of access to the worlds oceans, being landlocked has many disadvantages. Some landlocked countries rank among the poorest in the world. Some of the issues of being landlocked include: Lack of access to fishing and oceanic food sourcesHigh transportation and transit costs because of a lack of access to ports and world shipping operationsGeopolitical vulnerabilities from dependence on neighboring countries for access to world markets and natural resourcesMilitary limitations because of the lack of naval options What Continents Have No Landlocked-Countries? North America has no landlocked countries, and Australia is rather obviously not landlocked. Within the United States, over half of the 50 states are landlocked with no direct access to the worlds oceans. Many states, however, do have water access to the oceans via the Hudson Bay, Chesapeake Bay, or Mississippi River. Landlocked Countries in South America South America has just two landlocked countries: Bolivia and Paraguay. Landlocked Countries in Europe Europe has 14 landlocked countries: Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Vatican City. Landlocked Countries in Africa Africa has 16 landlocked countries: Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Lesotho is unusual in that it is landlocked by just one country (South Africa). Landlocked Countries in Asia Asia has 12 landlocked countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Note that several of the countries in western Asia border the landlocked Caspian Sea, a feature that does open some transit and trade opportunities. Disputed Regions that Are Landlocked Four regions that are not fully recognized as independent countries are landlocked: Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria. What Are the Two Doubly-Landlocked Countries? There are two, special, landlocked countries that are known as doubly-landlocked countries, completely surrounded by other landlocked countries. The two doubly-landlocked countries are Uzbekistan (surrounded by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan) and Liechtenstein (surrounded by Austria and Switzerland). What Is the Largest Landlocked Country? Kazakhstan is the worlds ninth largest country but is the worlds largest landlocked country. Its 1.03 million square miles (2.67 million km2) and is bordered by Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the landlocked Caspian Sea. What Are the Most Recently Added Landlocked Countries? The most recent addition to the list of landlocked countries is South Sudan which gained independence in 2011. Serbia is also a recent addition to the list of landlocked countries. The country formerly had access to the Adriatic Sea, but when Montenegro became an independent country in 2006, Serbia lost its ocean access. Edited by Allen Grove.

Urban Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Urban Health - Essay Example It is tabulated that about two-thirds of Europeans lives in towns and cities (WHO, 2010, p. 1). It is estimated that, by 2050, 70% of the people will migrate and live in cities. Urban health is known to depend on factors such as governance, characteristics of the population, food security, social and economic developments (Which, 2010, p. 2). This paper deals with TB as an urban health hazard in Newham, London boroughs. We will discuss how determinants of health contribute to TB infection. Moreover, the infection and transmission mechanisms of the diseases will be discussed under various sections of urban life. Finally, strategies and recommendations in control of the disease will be highlighted. According to Centre for Disease Control, TB is an airborne disease that is caused by bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (CDC, 2013, p. 2). The disease was declared a global disaster in 1993 with a campaign plan against it being scheduled in 2006 to save about 14 million victims by the year 2015 (WHO. 2011, p. 23).The pathogen specifically attacks the lungs, but other parts such as spine, kidney and brain are attacked. Extra pulmonary TB occurs outside the lungs. On the other hand, pulmonary TB occurs in the lung. However, the two types can co-exist. Improper treatment of the disease is fatal and may lead to death. Its spread through the air makes it transmittable through coughs, sneeze and other respiratory droplets. It is recorded that in every ten case of TB, half the number that is left untreated leads to 50% deaths (WHO, 2011, p. 3). A third of the whole world’s population is assumed to be affected by M. tuberculosis. Approximations of 1% of new infections are known to occur each year (WHO, 2002, p. 4). In 2007, 13.7million cases of active chronic infections were reported globally. However, in 2010, the number reduced to 8.8 million cases with an approximation of about 1.5 million global deaths. Most of the cases

Analyze formation of Canada's trade policy or environmental policies Essay

Analyze formation of Canada's trade policy or environmental policies with respect to domestic political and economic forces. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages - Essay Example The main advantage of environment regulation through command-and-control intervention is political support despite its inefficient features. It has high symbolic value for public that identifies prohibition with higher efficiency than taxing pollution discharge. It favors existing industries with political leverage and acts a barrier for new firms. Most importantly it identifies it as cost effective measures that would not pose charges directly to the public. It gives discretionary powers to the bureaucracy which is politically motivated. The exemptions from strict laws are used as tools for negotiation for political gains. The major disadvantage of the command-and-control measure is that it promotes inequality and inefficiency in the garb of perceived costs. It is also a short term policy that deters new firms to be innovative in effluent discharge. From the economists’ perspectives, effluent charges would remove disparity and would act as discouragement for high discharge of pollutants by industries at large. Its results could only be seen on long term basis, hence, it is not favored by political forces. (words:

Reflection paper about the annishnaabe people Research - 1

Reflection about the annishnaabe people - Research Paper Example Clearly, the residential schools system had a massive effect on the culture of the Anishinabe. While the white Christian faithful saw the system as a way of assimilating them and promoting peaceful coexistence, the school stream eroded the culture of the Anishinabe. The federal policy of residential schools made the engaged Anishinabe unacceptable in their society. They were detached from their system while the federal system did not fully accept them. The federal policy did more harm than good. It was wrong for people who claimed to follow the Christian guidelines to put Anishinabe children forcefully in residential schools and force them to disown their language and cultural practices. The white community of the time showed double standards as they advocated autonomy in their society. In God is Red, Vine Deloria condemns the hypocritical nature of the white people in the society and the government. More so, Deloria sees the religious imposition on the Anishinabe as hypocritical (43 ). These claims are very accurate. It is regrettable that the white people in the residential schools mistreated the Anishinabe children, degraded them and eventually made them lose their cultural identity. Basically, the white people used religion hypocritically to pursue their agenda of dominion over the native people in the region. The Anishinabe’s resistance to residential school was justified. After all, the residential schools only made them lose their identity, face physical and sexual abuse and become physiologically crippled. Though they were overwhelmed due to the superiority of the white Christian settlers, their cause was worthwhile. They could not have experienced relief later on such as the right to conduct their traditional rites if they did not rise against the residential schools. Benton-Banai writes, the clan system of the Anishinabe was instrumental in directing resistance. As a governing body, their actions were entirely

Organisation behaviour--business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organisation behaviour--business - Essay Example Emotional intelligence is such factor; emotional intelligence (EI) can be characterized as a quite complex framework, incorporating many different elements, as indicatively presented in Graph 1, Appendix. The relation between the EI and the employee performance is critically discussed in this paper. The theories and the empirical studies that have been developed in the specific field have been used in order to explore whether EI is related and at what level to the employee performance. It is revealed that EI has a key role in the increase of employee performance, but this role is likely to be perceived differently in organizations with different structure and culture. In any case, EI and employee performance are closely related being depended on one another using different paths and methods of interaction, as explained in the studies presented below. 2. Emotional intelligence and employee performance – presentation and analysis of their relation In accordance with Sala, Druska t and Mount (2006) emotional intelligence (EI) can directly affect the employee performance in the following way: employees are expected to interpret differently their leader’s decisions. ... The above problem becomes more critical because of the following fact: employee intelligence of employees cannot be controlled by the leader of the organization; on the contrary, employee intelligence is related to the background, knowledge and personal experiences reflecting the freedom of employees to develop their own views as members of the organization. In other words, the control of employee intelligence within a particular organization would be in opposition to morals and ethics. Moreover, the actual views of employees on one or more organizational issues are quite difficult to be retrieved; from this point of view, employee intelligence in the organization cannot be controlled because of its nature, being involved in personal thoughts, cognitive capabilities and emotions. The above conditions do not affect the importance of EI in the workplace. In fact, EI is closely related to job performance, as noted by many theorists who studied the particular field. At a first level,â₠¬â„¢ a positive relation has been identified between the job performance and the emotion recognition accuracy’ (Elfenbein, Marsh and Ambady 2002, in Sala, Druskat and Mount, 2006, 168). Another aspect of emotional intelligence is presented in the emotional intelligence model of Tao de Haas (2005, see Graph 2, Appendix). In the specific model it is made clear that EI is based on empathy – the ability to identify/understand the feelings of others; it is on this psychological characteristic that the responses of the employee in the workplace are based; in any case, a high level of EI would require an excellent ability to understand and manage the personal

English Composition 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

English Composition 1 - Essay Example Skateboarding is a very simple game and it must remain the same in the coming times. The people who are against it must understand that it is a sport which brings fun and excitement to the lives of the skateboarders and that too in an abundant capacity. Skateboarding is indeed an extreme sport and it can hurt the athlete immensely but the fun and frolic that comes as part and parcel with the game is something to write home about. Getting hurt makes one tougher in life. (Conniff, 1998) It also makes the individual to learn from his mistakes and avoid those very mistakes that he has already committed in the game. This is equally true for a person’s life where he encounters different mistakes, looks at the alternatives and goes about correcting the very same. Skateboarding teaches the athlete to do just that. It is a sad fact that the skateboarders are not recognized nor are they given the much needed respect that they deserve. They are looked upon with an eye of skepticism where everything is negative right from the onset. I, for one, am a firm believer of the fact that skateboarders deserve respect, acclaim and recognition since they stand shoulder to shoulder with other sportsmen and women and must be given enough funds and fees so that they could create new records and win laurels for their clubs, teams, countries and so

Organisation behaviour--business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organisation behaviour--business - Essay Example Emotional intelligence is such factor; emotional intelligence (EI) can be characterized as a quite complex framework, incorporating many different elements, as indicatively presented in Graph 1, Appendix. The relation between the EI and the employee performance is critically discussed in this paper. The theories and the empirical studies that have been developed in the specific field have been used in order to explore whether EI is related and at what level to the employee performance. It is revealed that EI has a key role in the increase of employee performance, but this role is likely to be perceived differently in organizations with different structure and culture. In any case, EI and employee performance are closely related being depended on one another using different paths and methods of interaction, as explained in the studies presented below. 2. Emotional intelligence and employee performance – presentation and analysis of their relation In accordance with Sala, Druska t and Mount (2006) emotional intelligence (EI) can directly affect the employee performance in the following way: employees are expected to interpret differently their leader’s decisions. ... The above problem becomes more critical because of the following fact: employee intelligence of employees cannot be controlled by the leader of the organization; on the contrary, employee intelligence is related to the background, knowledge and personal experiences reflecting the freedom of employees to develop their own views as members of the organization. In other words, the control of employee intelligence within a particular organization would be in opposition to morals and ethics. Moreover, the actual views of employees on one or more organizational issues are quite difficult to be retrieved; from this point of view, employee intelligence in the organization cannot be controlled because of its nature, being involved in personal thoughts, cognitive capabilities and emotions. The above conditions do not affect the importance of EI in the workplace. In fact, EI is closely related to job performance, as noted by many theorists who studied the particular field. At a first level,â₠¬â„¢ a positive relation has been identified between the job performance and the emotion recognition accuracy’ (Elfenbein, Marsh and Ambady 2002, in Sala, Druskat and Mount, 2006, 168). Another aspect of emotional intelligence is presented in the emotional intelligence model of Tao de Haas (2005, see Graph 2, Appendix). In the specific model it is made clear that EI is based on empathy – the ability to identify/understand the feelings of others; it is on this psychological characteristic that the responses of the employee in the workplace are based; in any case, a high level of EI would require an excellent ability to understand and manage the personal

A Relevant Factor in Drama and Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Relevant Factor in Drama and Poetry - Essay Example What makes poetry and drama different to other literary works is that these are delivered through performance. For these to be appreciated by the audience, people who recite the poems or who act in the drama must deliver the words according to the essential points raised by the author. It must be noted, however, that while other literary works read are subject to the interpretation of the reader, drama and poetry tend to be performed according to the elucidation of the actors and directors. As pointed out by Clugston, â€Å"drama is mimetic art† (2010, 13.1). This means that that the performers or actors make it a point to imitate life. Because of this, there is always the tendency to deliver the lines in a realistic or natural conversational manner. However, this may not always be the case as in the versions of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Definitely, in the first production in which Shakespeare himself oversaw, the actors stuck to the lines just as the playwright created it. Roman Polanski’s 1971 film, particularly in the first part, Witches’ Opening, remained loyal to the original script. The lines â€Å"when shall we meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain† were delivered in the same manner that actual Shakespearean actors do (Shakespeare, Act I, Scene I). Although its setting is exactly the same as described by the playwright, it does seem unnatural for the film audience, people who have become accustomed to the listening to script being delivered in normal conversational manner. The TV adaptation produced by the BBC did not use the original script in verbatim. Instead, they developed a script that is more attuned to the tastes of the modern audience.

The Creature in the light of this argument Essay Example for Free

The Creature in the light of this argument Essay When I reflected that they had spurned and deserted me, anger returned, a rage of anger. Shelley had very open religious beliefs, and it is notable that alienation happens in society because of religion. At the time the novel was written Catholicism was a very oppressive faith, and Shelley was very strongly opposed to the idea. I think that Shelley is making an important point about oppressive faiths: Victor plays God, and as a result, his people (the creature) are miserable and unfortunate. Also, as ideas such as the principle of life were arising at the time, Shelley is voicing a remarkable argument: Because technology was fast approaching before humans had developed enough to know how use it, it was extremely worrying that any faith or religion which survives the mechanization of the world, provides no moral code for science. The creature is isolated by his behaviour. He is alone in the world and lives like primitive man. He eats berries from the trees and seeks shelter from trees and caves, and other natural forms. He later realises that the embers he discovers produce fire, which in turn provides him with the three necessities of life: light, heat and food. It is essential for the sustenance of life on earth. Before this discovery, the daemon was isolated by his means of living and his primitive behaviour. In this instance, he is like the elderly today. They are uneducated, or not well enough informed of new techniques that improve the standard of living. Many dont have anybody to help them or to explain new concepts and discoveries, just as the creature doesnt have a parental figure for guidance. I think Shelley is informing us of the ongoing problem of alienation in any society, whatever age. The creature has no nurturing and no teacher, but above all, Frankenstein fashioned him repellently different from all humans so he is solitary in his appearance. Blindly, Frankenstein introduces an unsightly being into a discriminative world. On reflection of the creation of the daemon, Frankenstein says: I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! When confronted by his reflection, the creature says: I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions; but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! Alas, I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this deformity. The fact that individuals are alienated by their looks is timeless. Discrimination is apparent in all time periods. This element in the novel of the creatures isolation is unchanging and significant to all who read it. By incorporating this narrative, Shelley is successfully portraying the ageless theme of alienation, and touching upon the discrimination always found in the world. I believe that this strong sense of loss exemplified in the creature portrays Mary Shelleys own losses throughout her life. Growing up motherless, at the age of sixteen she ran away to live with the twenty-one year old Percy Shelley, the unhappily married heir to a wealthy baronetcy. She was cast out of society, even by her father. Shelley also lost her sister to suicide, as well as losing three of her own children to miscarriage and early childhood deaths. In 1822 her husband drowned in the Gulf of Spezzia, and she was left, twenty-five years old, with only one remaining son. She remained unmarried and died in London in 1851. The creature is also a victim of alienation due to social class. This is also a common problem today; however his is much worse, as he has no place in society whatsoever: Was I then, a monster, a blot upon the earth? He is solitary in looks, stature, and endurance. He is stronger than man, and more agile: When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. This is utterly devastating to the daemon, who longs for companionship. Yet another of todays causes of alienation is a difference in learning abilities. The family in the cottage teach him civilisation what his father should have taught him he masters the science of words alone, by watching, listening and learning the things a new born child does for a long time before he eventually speaks. The creatures development is very rapid, yet he is cut off from society whilst learning this difficult task: I easily perceived that, although I eagerly longed to discover myself to the cottagers, I ought not to make the attempt until I had first become master of their language. He realises that he must be able to communicate with the family fluently for him to have a chance of describing his feelings, and this urges him to push on with his learning. I agree that Mary Shelleys Frankenstein is indeed a study of alienation; the concept is reflected in all characters and with all problems described in the book. I think the gothic typicality in the novel made her aim acceptable at the time: it fitted in with the literary requirements. The gothic descriptions also compliment the real fear of alienation it makes Shelleys point more terrifyingly real. I think Frankenstein is a very moralistic novel. Shelley has made her point very clear and we must be more aware that no matter how scientifically advanced society gets, there will always be those who are left behind and alienated from the rest because of the ignorance of others; whether because of social class, religion, behaviour, learning abilities or looks some things will never change.

An Overview Of Employee Suggestion Schemes Commerce Essay

An Overview Of Employee Suggestion Schemes Commerce Essay Innovations are becoming increasingly important for organizations to remain competitive in the dynamic business environment. Employee Suggestions Systems plays a key role for organizations wishing to become more innovative. It is a useful tool used in the organization to elicit employees creative ideas. Over the past decades, suggestion schemes have been studied from many perspectives. The objective of this paper is to present the history and evolution of suggestion schemes, from their early beginnings to sophisticated computer based systems that are widely popular in many countries. We start by discussing the origins of suggestion systems, followed by discussing how they have evolved over the years, and understand a typical process involved in suggestion system. We would like to discuss the future model of suggestion system that can sustain and contribute significantly towards the success of the organizations. Through a literature review, we describe the existing research on suggest ion schemes to understand the critical drivers and barriers for the success of the suggestion schemes. This paper also cites and illustrates the well-known suggestion systems used by UAE organizations and their benefits. The literature, while extolling the many virtues of suggestion programs makes it clear that achieving the expected results from the programs is quite challenging as it involves organizational as well individual level factors and needs to focus on creativity and as well transformation of the creativity into innovations. The paper provides the list of driver and barriers to suggestion schemes mainly stemming from creativity, innovation and suggestion system literatures. The suggestion making and suggestion implementation are two crucial stages and both are equally important for the success of the scheme and are influenced by a number of factors. Organizations must therefore identify these critical factors to nurture both these stages. The schemes can be applied in any sector to elicit employee creative ideas but must have a formal mechanism to action this. Managers need to be aware critical success factors that are essential for the success of the schemes. It is clear that suggestion schemes will not yield results without the active involvement of everyone in the organization, and the required resources and support from top management. The future of suggestion scheme is bright as a tool for fueling innovation. Organizations need to recognize and evaluate their schemes to yield its potential benefits. There need to be sustainability in suggestion schemes. Organizations need to assess their schemes to recognize if right conditions exist for their sche mes to flourish. This paper should be of value to practitioners of suggestion schemes and to academics who are interested in knowing how this program has evolved, and where it is today and what future it holds. Although much research has been conducted on identifying these critical success factors to the authors knowledge, little focus has been directed towards sustenance of the suggestion system. This paper makes the contribution for identifying the research gap in the suggestion schemes and has assimilated the existing knowledge on suggestion systems to provide a quick run through to the field and has extended the search for drivers and barriers to suggestion scheme from creativity and innovation literature. Key Words: Employee, Suggestion System, Creativity, Innovation, Employee Involvement, Ideas Management Introduction An Employee Suggestion Scheme (ESS) is described as a formalized mechanism that encourages employees to contribute constructive ideas for improving the organization in which they work (Milner et al., 1995). Another elaborate definition explains suggestion schemes elicit suggestions from employees, classify them, and dispatch them to experts for evaluation (Cooley et al., 2001). After this, the suggestion might be adopted, in which case the suggestion maker will be rewarded. But even if a suggestion is rejected, the suggestion maker may still be rewarded with a token gift. So the managers or dedicated committees evaluate the suggestions and implement the one that works (Chaneski, 2006). The reward may range from a certificate to a reward commensurate with the savings generated by the suggestion. Researchers in this area explain that the suggestion scheme is a mechanism or a tool that fosters creativity, elicits untapped reservoirs of ideas and fuels both product or process innovations , triggers a work place improvement, improves process effectiveness, saves money or helps generate new revenue and increases organizational commitment and accountability among employees (Carrier,1998; Buech et al., 2010; Fairbank and William,2001; 96. Townsend,2009;Islam, 2007;Arthur et al., 2010 Lloyd,1996). Thus they are structured to have many goals and purposes (Kanna et al., 2005). There are others who view suggestion systems as mechanism to improve quality as well (Islam, 2007; Kanna et al., 2005). It is a known fact that no one would know the job, its specific processes( Darragh -Jeromos, 2005) better than the employees themselves as they are on the shop floor and are experiencing the advantages of what they are doing(Du plessis et al., 2008). Therefore, the suggestion scheme can be an advantageous way to gather suggestions in the work place by fostering this concept and taping into all employee creativity (Darragh-Jeromo, 2005). Over the past decades, suggestion schemes have been studied from many perspectives. In this paper, our objective is to present the history and evolution of suggestion schemes, from their early beginnings to sophisticated computer based systems that are widely popular in many countries. We start by discussing the origins of the suggestion system, followed by how it has evolved over the years, and understand a typical process involved in the suggestion system. Through a literature review, we describe the existing research on suggestion schemes in order to understand the critical drivers and barriers for the success of suggestion schemes. This paper also identifies future research opportunities in this field. The History and Evolution of the Suggestion Schemes In 1721, Yoshimune Tokugawa, the 8th Shogun, placed a box called Meyasubako at the entrance of the Edo Castle for written suggestions from his subjects (Arif et al., 2010). Although this is the most basic system known, an industrialized suggestion systems origin traces back to the 19th century. In 1880, William Denny, a Scottish shipbuilder asked his employees to offer suggestions in order to build ships in better ways (Islam 2007). Following this, the Kodak company became pioneer in this endeavor with its program being introduced in 1896 (Carrier, 1998). Industry associations, such as the Employee Involvement Association (EIA), then came into existence and they have contributed greatly to the increased formalization, objectivity, and professionalism of suggestion programs (Townsend,2009). Formerly, the National Association of Suggestion Systems, the EIA has instituted educational, statistical, and professional development programs to raise the bar of best practices in the encouragem ent, evaluation, development, and implementation of ideas that add value to their organizations. The IdeasUK, UKs foremost association for the promotion of employee involvement programmes was founded in 1987, its prime purpose being to assist organizations in both the public and private sector, an organization with more than 100 members worldwide. On the other hand in Japan the program was well known as the Kaizan Program. While Kaizen-oriented suggestion systems are primarily interested in generating many small improvements, western suggestion systems encourage the pursuit of innovation (Ohly et al., 2006). Simultaneously, suggestion schemes also became popular in many countries and they have a considerable history that includes USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East (Cooley et al., 2001). The well-known suggestion schemes have been in existence for over 60 years and companies like Japans Toyotas and Indias Tata Steel Mill represent a usage of these historic systems. Around the 1990s suggestion schemes became increasingly popular. In 1994, one employee suggestion alone saved British Gas  £4.4 million. The research around 1996 reported that the world class suggestion systems are exceeding 40 ideas per person annually, with greater than 80 percent implementation rates and high levels of participation (Savageau, 1996). The ETA 2004 annual suggestion program provided statistics from 41 of its member organizations in the United States. From this limited sample, a total of more than $811 million in savings and other benefits were realized as a result of employee suggestion programs (Townsend,2009). The latest 2009 Annual Survey of IdeasUK highlighted the following benefits amongst their membership organizations such as Boots, HSBC, Ministry of Defence and Dubai Aluminum. Cost savings of over  £100m with the average implemented idea worth  £1,400.00. Return on Investment of at least 5:1. Employee involvement increased with average participation rates of 28% The trend of cost savings due to employee suggestions continues till today. The Existing Research on Suggestion Systems An illustration of a formal process involved in the suggestion schemes Suggestions systems have come a long way (Arif et al., 2010) transiting from anonymous postboxes (Crail, 2006) or suggestion box to a sophisticated computer based electronic suggestion system (Fairbank and William 2001; Ahmed, 2009). The suggestion system is a process of two or more stages comprising mainly the suggestion making, the evaluation and implementation of the idea (Van and Ende, 2002; Prathur and Turrel, 2002; Lipponen et al., 2008; Bakker et al., 2006; Marx, 1995;Griffiths et al., 2006). There has been a negligence of research on the initial ideas generation phase that precedes the innovation, mainly because one major group of researchers who consider organizational creativity is fostered through the personal characteristics and motivations of creative individuals turned its attention to context and organizational factors(Carrier,1998). However the common process involved in the suggestion management system is depicted in fig 1: Description: http://www.apo-tokyo.org/productivity/pmtt_004b.jpg In recent times the suggestion schemes have also been known as Idea Capture Systems or Idea Management Systems. Leach (2006) claims that the Idea capture system can fall into four categories: Centralized suggestion schemes, De-centralized suggestion schemes, Work based systems Informal systems. Literature shows that the subject of suggestion schemes is multidisciplinary. Broadly the theoretical base for suggestion schemes emerges from the literature on creativity and innovation. This is mainly because the researchers describe suggestion systems as tools that stimulate creativity or innovation (Carrier,1998). Innovation begins with creative ideas (Amabile et al., 1996) and thus creativity and innovation are interlinked and the process in the suggestion system is mainly focused on eliciting the employees creative ideas and implementing them to fuel innovations. The main focus of the research then goes to the factors that trigger creativity and innovation. Researchers have examined these factors from three points of views (Buech et al.,2010) The first considers work environment. A second stream of research, focusing on the features of suggestion systems, weighs the influence of feedback about suggestions, management support of the system and rewards for successful suggestions, the third deals with the characteristics of the individuals. The creativity and innovation literature also highlights these contextual, organizational and individual factors that foster creativity and innovation but it is also evident that the contextual factors that foster creativity and innovation would also foster the suggestion making as well (Ohly et al.,2006). The factors cited to be drivers to creativity, suggestion system and innovation are identified below. Factors fostering Suggestion Making, Creativity and Innovation A good suggestion scheme should play a vital role in improving communication and promoting and enhancing the sense of common purpose (McConville, 1990). People need social, informational, and economic support to be able to create something new (Majdar, 2005). The creativity in an organizational context emerges from a process of sharing information with other people within the organization (Bakker et al., 2006). Although the social networking alone cannot be considered as an important source of information for innovation(Bigliardi et al., 2009), the high quality social exchange relationships (Kudisch, 2006), social influences(Klijn et al., 2010),collaboration(Bjà ¶rklund,2010; Fairbank et al.,2001), and diverse group exchanges(Shalley et al.,2004) can stimulate employee creativity. Even in a field where innovation is essential, most of the acute challenges do not concern innovation skills, but rather the organizational context of innovation the work communities culture, habits, and practices (Bjà ¶rklund, 2010). Creativity and innovation will only be sporadic occurrences and will not thrive without a supportive environment and culture (Malaviya Wadhwa, 2005;Amabile et al.,1996). Every organization has its own culture and needs and its suggestion system should be molded around that (Marx, 1995). The organization structure often hinders tacit knowledge sharing by establishing wrong authorities (Alwis et al., 2008). Several studies have shown how certain organizational structures facilitate the creation of new products and processes, especially in relation to fast changing environments (Lam,2010). Organization structures have to be modified in different industries so that the organizational structure of a company or a department supports transfer and transmission of tacit knowledge in the best way (Alwis et al., 2008). Management practices of the organization play a role in the success of the suggestion programs (Carrier, 1998). Management has a responsibility to satisfy the need for employee participation and they are required to create a culture which is supportive of employee involvement in the decisions which affect their work (Reychav et al., 2010). Senior management ought to demonstrate their faith in the scheme, promote and support it and encourage all managers to view it as a positive force for continuous improvement (McConville, 1990). Management must get actively involved by creating the opportunities for employees to submit their ideas, get those ideas properly evaluated, give recognition when it is due and implement them as soon as possible (Du plessis, 2008). Converting managers, particularly those in the middle is crucial (McConville,1990). Undoubtly, people will produce creative work when they perceive for example that the management is required to encourage (Amabile et al., 1996). T herefore a visible commitment from top management can encourage employee active participation in the scheme. Studies have shown that a traditional, autocratic management style results in low levels of employee engagement and motivation (Hayward, 2010). Empowering leadership has the capacity to positively influence employee psychological empowerment -an element of importance in affecting creative outcome (Zhang, 2010). On the other hand leadership styles that include threats, intimidation, and coercive tactics appear to universally discourage creative behavior on the part of employees (Anderson et al., 2008). The coworker support (Madjar,2008;Majdar 2005;Shalley et al.,2004;Arif et al., 2010) is another important element that can trigger employees to make suggestions. Tatter (1975) notes, the best way to kill a system are to let an idea remain in limbo for four, five or six months. The goal should be to completely process a suggestion in about 30 days and in no more than 60 days. To handle employee creativity effectively, it is important to organize the process of idea extraction to idea fo llow-up properly, otherwise employees will not be motivated to put their ideas forward and many ideas will be lost (Van Ende, 2002). The knowledge possessed by individual employees can only lead to a firm competitive advantage if employees have the motivation and opportunity to share and utilize their individual knowledge in ways that benefit the organization (Arthur et al., 2005). Therefore the development of an infrastructure (Marx 1995) with simple methods (Hultgren, 2008) for submitting suggestions (McConville, 1990) is a key aspect of the suggestion scheme. The companies lack of action on suggestions provided by non-managerial employees can de-motivate employees from participating in employee relation programs (Cho and Erdum 2006). Fairbank (2003) argues the formal Employee suggestion Management systems(ESMS)s are superior to the stereotypical suggestion box because they make it easier for employees to submit ideas that will eventually be implemented, provide a transparent pro cess for evaluating the suggestions, and generate timely feedback regarding the fate of the suggestions and any rewards they earn. Such a system can help to monitor the progress of the scheme on a regular basis (Hultgren, 2008). The more comfortable employees are with the format, the more suggestions will be received, and the more money will be saved (Mishra, 1994). Good ideas can come from anyone, at any level, any place, anytime (McConville, 1990; Majdar ,2005). Therefore a suggestion scheme should make all its employees at all levels eligible to participate (McConville, 1990; Lloyd, 1996). The involvement can be increased if employees develop a sense of belonging to the organization (Cruz et al., 2009). Empowerment is necessary so that the workers evaluate their own ideas before making a suggestion, as suggesting many ideas do not necessarily mean greater cost reduction and at the same time, it would be an added cost to process and may cause delays (Wynder, 2008). The biggest obstacles in the suggestion cycle lie in the area of review, evaluation and guidance. Insensitive comments of proposal reviewers can sometime kill an employees improvement initiative (Neagoe et al., 2009). When the review, evaluation and guidance aspect of the system functions properly, it can be a great motivating force that will attract many excellent proposals (Neagoe et al., 2009). If ideas are made public, these ideas, good and bad, could have started other creative ideas elsewhere in the organization (Stenmark, 2000). A modern well-managed suggestion scheme lies not in the immediate financial returns, but in the contribution made to achieving greater involvement and team- work (McConville,1990). Creative ideas are more often the product of social interaction and influence than of periods of thinking in isolation (Majdar, 2005) The cash rewards and recognition alone will not make a suggestion system successful (Strane,2000). Employee morale should be boosted by creating success stories and measuring the success of the scheme through the implementation of ideas (Marx, 1995; Hultgren, 2008; Lloyd, 1996; Cho Erdem 2006). A suggestion system is clearly a money saver in an organization (Mishra, 1994). There needs to be various strategies in place to avoid employee boredom and to consider the life cycle of the system, employees must be rewarded not only with tangible but also intangible benefits (Ahmed 2009). Incentives are important for employees to feel that submission of their useable ideas will be rewarded (Du plessis et al., 2008). It was also found that the volume of employee suggestions over time will be positively related to the amount of payout (Arthur et al., 2010). Depending on the attention given to advertising the schemes and how participation is rewarded, organizations could improve the return on the idea capture system (Leach et al., 2006). Individuals have the greatest possible number of characteristics that positively influence their creative performance (Muà ±oz-Doyague, 2008). Keeping workers intrinsically motivated is the key part for improving creativity and performance. No doubt, intrinsic motivation is a universally important and substantial factor (Suh et al.,2008). Sending individuals to state-of- the-art seminars, training programs, and conferences as a reward for their creativity might increase the positive impact (Griffiths-hemans et al., 2006). This will be the energy of renewal and the drive to a successful future. The Barriers to suggestion systems Research also reports on barriers that could hinder the success of the suggestion scheme. They are mainly cited as work load pressure, task reutilization, task standardization, unsupportive climate, aversive leadership, co-worker mistrust, coworker incompetence, budget problems, impractical idea, technical issues, competition, delay in assessment, controlled supervision, lack of support, fear of evaluation, free riding, lack of self confidence, low commitment to organization and system, rigid rules,self-interest, challenge of the work and resistance from middle managers(Alwis Hartmann 2008;Amabile et al.,1996;Anderson Veillette 2008;Bakker et al., 2006;Carreir 1998; Oldham and Cummings 1996;Lyold 1999;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Toubia,2006;Sadi,2008;Wong Pang Finally, the existing research also evidences that although the interest and practice in Continuous Improvement (CI) are widespread in many organizations, many of them have major problems in sustaining success in their CI programs (Rapp and Eklund, 2007),). Many organizations are faced with problems associated with both the implementation and sustainability of their CI programs. There is no study which gives account of the design features for frequency of feedback or extent to publicity (Leach,2006).Despite the increasing popularity of the gain sharing plans, evidence for their effectiveness has remained mixed(Arthur et al., 2010). Suggestion systems should not exist primarily as a means to recognize employees only (Darragh Jeromos 2005) but to utilize the scheme to its fullest extent. So a well designed system will accomplish both these goals resulting in tangible as well as intangible benefits (Ahmed, 2009). Overall suggestion system is a great mechanism that involves individual a nd teams in improving the organization performance (Crail, 2006) and they have a strong and significant effect on both process and product innovation (Townsend, 2009). It perfectly matches todays market need to deal with knowledge based workers who expect their involvement to be recognized and utilization of their skills to its fullest (Kesting et al., 2010). # Indicators Source 1 Supervisory encouragement Mclean 2005;Marx 1995;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Frese et al 1999;Lloyd 1996;Ohly et al 2006;Arif et al 2010;Hardin 1964 2 Co worker support Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Shalley Gilson 2004;Arif et al 2010 3 Top Mgt Support Huang Farh 2009.;Amabile et al 2004;Carreir 1998;Egan 2005;Jong Hartog 2007;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Du plessis 2008;Ahmed 2009;Mishara 1994;Powell 2008;Prather Turrell;Rice 2009;Zhang 2010;Khairuzzaman;Bell 1997 ;Unsworth 2005;Hayward 2010. 4 organizational Encouragement Fairbank and Williams 2001;Alves et al 2007;Ahmed 1998;Alwis Hartmann 2008 Amabile et al 1996;Arthur Kim 2005;Bjà ¶rklund 2010;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Ellonen et al., 2008;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Janssen, O., 2004;Klijn Tomic 2010;Kudisch 2006;Neagoe Klein 2009;Mclean 2005;Malaviya, P., 2005;McConville 1990;Powell 2008;Prather Turrell; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Rietzschel 2008;Zhou George(2001);Stranne 1964;Van Ende 2002;Bell 1997 ;Khairuzzaman;Bigliardi Dormio 2009 5 Communication Alves et al 2007;Aoki 2008;Arthur et al 2010.;Binnewies et al 2007;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.Klijn Tomic 2010;Kudisch 2006;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;McConville 1990;Ahmed 2009; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Khairuzzaman;Monge ;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Clark 2009;Fairbank and Williams 2001;Stranne 1964 6 Evaluation Egan 2005; Rietzschel 2008;Neagoe Klein 2009;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Ahmed 2009;Powell 2008;Tatter 1975;Van Ende 2002;Hultgren 2008;Lloyd 1996;Winter 2009;Sarri et al ,2010;Fairbank and Williams 2001. 7 Publicity Reuter 1976;Mishara 1994;Tatter 1975;Fairbank and Williams 2001. Kudisch 2006;Neagoe Klein 2009;Leach et al 2006;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Prather Turrell;Lloyd 1996;Winter 2009;Crail 2007 8 Resources   Alves et al 2007;Amabile et al 1996;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Klijn Tomic 2010;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Shalley Gilson 2004;Van Ende 2002;Lloyd 1996;Bigliardi Dormio 2009;Clark 2009 9 Rewards Lloyd 1996; Klijn Tomic 2010;Arthur Kim 2005;Arthur et al 2010. ;Bartol Srivastava 2002;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Neagoe Klein 2009;Leach et al 2006;Lloyd.1999;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Du plessis 2008;Ahmed 2009;Mishara 1994;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Rice 2009;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Teglborg-Lefevre, a.C., 2010;Van Ende 2002;Arif et al 2010;Bell 1997 ;Frese et al 1999;Winter 2009;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Baird Wang 2010;Bartol Srivastava 2002;Clark 2009;Crail 2007;Rietzschel(2008);Suh Shin 2008. ;Lyold 1999 10 Training Paulus 2008;Tatter 1975;Baird Wang 2010;Stranne 1964;Birdi 2005 11 Effective simple System Reuter 1976;Lloyd 1996 Arthur Kim 2005;Lloyd 1999;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Fairbank 2003;Mishara 1994;Prather Turrell;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Tatter1975;Van Ende 2002;Arif et al 2010;Frese et al 1999;Hultgren 2008; Winter 2009;Bigliardi Dormio 2009;Clark 2009;Fairbank and Williams 2001;Lyold 1999;Bassadur 1992;Hultgren 2008 12 feedback Cho Erdem 2006 ;Bakker et al 2006 ;Buech et al 2010;Leach et al 2006;Mishara 1994;Powell 2008;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Arif et al 2010;Hultgren 2008;Fairbank and Williams 2001. ;Stranne 1964;Bassadur 1992;Van Ende 2002;Du plessis 2008 13 Implementation of suggestion Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Hultgren 2008;Lloyd 1996;Cho Erdem 2006 14 Job factors Amabile et al 1996;Anderson Veillette 2008. ;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.;Buech et al 2010;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Hirst 2009;Powell 2008;Rego et al 2009;Shalley Gilson 2004;Shalley Gilson 2004;Frese et al 1999;Axtell et al 2000;Muà ±oz-Doyague et al( 2008);Unsworth 2005;Cruz et al 2009;de Jong den Hartog 2010. 15 Empowerment Recht Wildero ,1998;Lipponen et al 2008;Mclean 2005;Powell 2008;Axtell et al 2000;de Jong den Hartog 2010; Unsworth 2005 16 Expertise Bantel Jackson 1989;Bjà ¶rklund 2010;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Klijn Tomic 2010;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Verworn 2009;Bigliardi Dormio 2009 17 Individual attributes and self efficacy Huang Farh 2009.;Egan 2005;Lipponen et al 2008;Verworn 2009;Frese et al 1999;Axtell et al 2000;Aoki 2008.; Lipponen et al 2008;Binnewies et al 2007;Bjà ¶rklund 2010. ;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006 ;Klijn Tomic 2010 ;Lipponen et al 2008;Litchfield 2008;Malaviya, P., 2005;Powell 2008; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Verworn 2009;Janssen 2004;Litchfield 2008;Cruz et al 2009;Huang Farh 2009.;Aoki 2008.;Arthur et al 2010. ;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Egan 2005;Muà ±oz-Doyague 2008 18 job control Anderson Veillette(2008);Mclean, L.D., 2005;Sadi (2008);Anderson Veillette(2008) Wong Pang (2003);Neagoe, L.N. Klein, V.M., 2009;McConville(1990) 19 Organizational impediments Stenmark(2000);Alwis Hartmann(2008). Anderson, T.a. Veillette, a., 2008;Wong Pang (2003);Toubia 2005;Bakker, H., Boersma, K. Oreel, S., 2006);Amabile et al (1996);Lyold (1999);Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003.Du Plessis, AJ, Marx, AE Wilson, G 2008 Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003. Carrier C., 1998;Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003;Du Plessis, AJ, Marx, AE Wilson, G 2008;.BaMcConville(1990);Mostaf El-Masry( 2009) 20 Team work Rapp and Eklund 2007; Amabile et al 1996;Aoki 2008;Carreir 1998;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Shalley Gilson 2004;Baird Wang 2010;Egan 2005;Pissarra Jesuino 2005;Fairbank and Williams 2001. 21 Competition Bakker, H., Boersma, K. Oreel, S., 2006) 22 Support for innovation Lipponen et al 2008;Hultgren 2008 23 employee participation Alves et al 2007;McConville 1990;Lloyd 1996;Fairbank and Williams 2001. ;Cruz et al 2009; Neagoe, L.N. Klein, V.M., 2009 Discussion Suggestion systems have evolved from a traditional suggestion box to sophisticated electronic systems aiming to encourage all employees to take part in suggestion schemes and to rapidly process the ideas received from the employees and put to practical use. Large organizations are focusing on achieving bigger goals at company level as well as at employee level to accrue the tangible as well as intangible benefits. However companys need to carefully implement the program as every organization has its own culture, it needs to tailor the program to meet their organization needs and what they expect from this system must be clearly known. While suggestion schemes have evolved over the decades, the main underlying factor driving this engine is to pursue workplace improvements, process or product innovations. Research in this field has been mainly focused on features of suggestion schemes, guidelines for implementation and critical success factors and critical barriers encompassing the organizational as well as the individual contexts. Research also evidences its contribution as to how organizations have utilized the tool to obtain small workplace improvements through to good sized innovation and if implemented they contribute in building organizations innovation capability. The suggestion making and suggestion implementation are two crucial stages and both are equally important for the success of the scheme and are influenced by a number of factors. Organizations must therefore identify these critical factors to nurture both these stages. The schemes can be applied in any sector to elicit employee creative ideas but must have a formal mechanism to action this. Managers need to be aware of critical success factors that are essential for the success of the schemes. It is clear that suggestion schemes will not yield results without the active involvement of everyone in the organization, and the required resources and support from top management. The suggestion schemes are here to stay mainly because they are the vehicle for innovations. Today we live in a knowledge economy where innovation is not only significant but a key corner stone for an organizations growth and sustainability. The future of the suggestion scheme is bright as a tool for fueling innova tion. Organizations need to recognize and evaluate their schemes to yield its potential benefits. There needs to be sustainabil

images of gender in the media Essay -- essays research papers

Finding a simple or concrete definition of gender maybe near impossible. Gender roles are what men and woman learn and internalize as the way they are supposed to act. These roles are commonly thought of as natural rather than a construction of culture. Gender is thought to flow from sex, rather then being a matter of what the culture does with sex. This theory is widely and exhaustively debated, according to Wood â€Å"Sex is based on biology; Gender is socially and psychologically constructed† (Wood 19). This statement suggests that culture’s discourses and ideologies form the complexities of gender and gender roles. It is easy to say that girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice and boy are made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails, but we are actually more intricate then that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To understand gender, it is necessary to understand the distinction between sex and gender. Sex is defined by the physical body and is characterized by the initial biological structure from birth. The characteristics of each male or female body maybe different but the make ups are the same. Gender on the other hand according to Wood is unstable; it is a category or a means by which we understand the body. The cultures ideologies and discourses surrounding us make sense of the body and determine our gender in multiple ways. It gives us a social, political, symbolic, and economic understanding of our bodies and how they are similar and dissimilar from other bodies. Because culture is a living entity and is always advancing it allows gender roles the ability to change with the culture. The idea of what a woman should be and how and what she can do has changed. Women are now able to do things such as vote and support their own families in our modern culture when in th e past it was thought to be inconsistent with the expected behaviors of the gender. Culture also varies greatly from one to another and there for so does the idea of gender throughout the world. Considering the evolution of what is considered acceptable gender behavior throughout cultures it stands as a reasonable conclusion that gender is neither based on or found in nature, but is rather constructed by its inhabitants. We are surrounded by ideologies and discursive examples that suggest how men and women should act and how they should look like in comparison to one another. Thes... ...ure is so used to seeing woman on display is what makes this ad so subversive. When you realize that the person on the screen is a man you are surprised at such image so far from the norm. The culture is not normally put in the position to view a man in a sexual way. When someone is viewed in a sexual way is it can give a sense of power to the viewer, as if the person being viewed is just a piece of meat. Seeing Joe Namath posing with pantyhose on switches the power roles, now he is on display in a sexual manner rather then a woman. The Namath ad relies on the deeply entrenched and prescribed values associated with each gender, and without the near universal understanding of masculine and feminine roles the ad would cease to make sense. The poignancy of the ad is made by displacement of character, gender, biological sex. When the ad starts at the toes of Namath (the model) the scenario is set for another image enhancing commercial for a woman’s product, but when Namath’s face appears on camera as the main and only spokesperson for the product there is an initial sense of shock and surprise that makes the message of the ad and the cognitions of the viewer converge and coalesce.

Strategic Management Study Guide

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT TEST 2 (Chapters 3, 4, and 6): STUDY GUIDE †¢Know definitions and be able to recognize examples of concepts †¢Test will be multiple choice, 45-50 items †¢Bring scantron sheet and #2 pencil Additional free student study resources available including an interactive quiz from the publisher at: http://highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/0078029317/student_view0/chapter1/chapter_quiz. html Chapter 3: Assessing the Internal Environment †¢What is value chain analysis? How is it useful for understanding competitive advantages?Strategic analysis of an organization that uses value-creating activities. It is useful for understanding the building blocks of competitive advantages. †¢In the value chain, what are the 5 primary activities? Which 4 activities are support activities? Primary- inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. Support- general admininistration, human resource management, technology development , and procurement. †¢Relating to primary activities, what specific activities are associated with inbound logistics? Operations? Outbound logistics?Marketing and sales? Service? Inbound logistics- receiving, storing, and distributing inputs of a product. Operations- all activities associated with transforming inputs into the final product form. Outbound logistics- collecting, storing, and distributing the product or service to buyers. Marketing and sales- activities associated with purchases of products and services by end users and the inducements used to get them to make purchases. Service- actions associated with providing service to enhance or maintain the value of the product. †¢What is a Just-in-time inventory system? were designed to achieve efficient inbound logistics. Parts and deliveries arrive only hours before they are needed. †¢Relating to support activities, what specific activities are associated with procurement? Technology development? HR management? General administration? Procurement- purchasing inputs used in the firm’s value chain, including raw materials, supplies, and other consumable items as well as assets such as machinery, laboratory equipment, office equipment, and buildings. Technology development- development of new knowledge that is applied to the firm’s operations.HR management- activities involved in the recruiting, hiring, training, development, and compensation of all types of personnel. General administration- general management, planning, finance, accounting, legal and government affairs, quality management, and information systems: activities that support the entire value chain and not individual activities. †¢How has Walgreen’s used information systems to be a sources of competitive advantage? Introduction of a computer based prescription management system- automates telephone refills, store to store prescription transfers, and drug reordering.Also provides information on drug inte ractions and frees up pharmacists from administrative tasks to devote more time to patient counseling. †¢What are the two levels of interrelationships among value-chain activities? 1. Interrelationships among activities within the firm 2. Interrelationships among activities within the firm and other stakeholders. †¢What is resource-based view of the firm? Perceptions that firms’ competitive advantages are due to their endowment of strategic resources that are valuable, rare, costly to imitate, and costly to substitute. What are the 3 types of firm resources? Tangible, Intangible, and Organizational Capabilities. †¢What are the 4 kinds of tangible resources? Financial, physical, technological, and organizational. †¢What are the 3 kinds of intangible resources, Human, Innovation and Creativity, and Reputation. †¢What examples of organizational capabilities? Ex. Outstanding customer service. Excellent product development capabilities, innovativeness of p roducts and services. Ability to hire, motivate, and retain human capital. What are the four criteria that a firm’s resources must possess to maintain a sustainable advantage? 1. Resource must be valuable in the sense that it exploits opportunities and/or neutralizes threats in the firm’s environment. 2. It must be rare among the firm’s current and potential competitors. 3. It must be difficult to imitate. 4. Must have no strategically equivalent substitutes. †¢How can the following four resource characteristics help sustain a competitive advantage based on inimitability: physical uniqueness, path dependency, causal ambiguity, and social complexity? 1.Inherently difficult to copy. 2. Resources are scarce because they were acquired through a unique series of events. 3. Costly to imitate because competitor cannot determine what the resource is and/or how it can be re-created. 4. Costly to imitate because the social engineering required is beyond the capabilit y of competitors, including interpersonal relations among managers, organizational culture, and reputation with suppliers and customers. †¢Substitutability can take which two forms? 1. Substitute a similar resource that enables it to develop and implement the same strategy. . Very different firm resources can become strategic substitutes. †¢ See exhibit 3. 7 – what are the implications for competitiveness based on differing characteristics of a resource or capability? The less valuable, less rare, easier to imitate, more substitutes, the less competitive advantage. †¢What are the four factors that help explain the extent to which employees will be able to obtain a proportionally high level of a firm’s profits? 1. Employee bargaining power. 2. Employee replacement costs. 3. Employee exit costs. 4. Manager Bargaining Power. What are the two approaches to use when evaluating a firm’s performance? Financial ration analysis and taking a broad stakehold er view. †¢What is financial ratio analysis? How can historical comparisons, industry norm comparisons, and competitor comparisons each serve as useful reference points? 1. Technique for measuring the performance of a firm according to its balance sheet, income statement, and market valuation. 2. Provides a means of evaluating trends. 3. Assesses relative performance. 4. Gain valuable insights into a firm’s financial and competitive position. What is the balanced scorecard? Why is it useful? a method of evaluating a firm’s performance using performance measures from the customers, internal innovation, and learning, and financial perspectives. Provides managers with a fast, but comprehensive review of the business (operations measures that drive the future financial performance). †¢What are the four key perspectives of the balanced scorecard? 1. Customer perspective- measures of firm performance that indicate how well firms are satisfying customer’s exp ectations. 2.Internal business perspective- measures of firm performance that indicate how well firms internal processes, decisions, and actions are contributing to customer satisfaction. 3. Innovation and learning perspective- measures of a firm performance that indicate how well firms are changing their product and service offerings to adapt to changes in the internal and external environments. 4. Financial perspective- measure of firm’s financial performance that indicate how well strategy, implementation and execution are contributing bottom-line improvement. †¢What are the limitations of the balanced scorecard?Lack of a clear strategy, limited or ineffective executive sponsorship, too much emphasis on financial measures rather than nonfinancial measures, poor data on actual performance, inappropriate links of scorecard measures to compensation, inconsistent or inappropriate terminology. Chapter 4: Recognizing a Firm’s Intellectual Assets: Moving Beyond a Firm ’s Tangible Resources †¢What is the knowledge economy? An economy where wealth is created through the effective management of knowledge workers instead of by the efficient control of physical and financial assets. How has the emphasis shifted between intangible and tangible resources as a result of changes in the competitive environment? Shifted from tangible resources such as land, equipment, and money. Efforts were more directed toward the efficient allocation of labor and capital. Now intellectual and information processes create most of the value for firms in large service industries. †¢What is the market value of a firm? What is the book value of a firm? What does the difference between the two values represent? In what types of firms does this difference tend to be the greatest?Market value- the value of a share of its common stock times the number of shares outstanding. Book value- is primarily a measure of the value of its tangible resources: total assets- t otal liabilities. The difference between the two represents the firm’s intellectual capital ( a measure of the firm’s intangible assets). In firms where knowledge and the management of knowledge workers are relatively important contributors to developing products and services and physical resources are less critical, the ratio of market to book value tends to be much higher. †¢What is intellectual capital and how can it be increased?Intellectual capital= market value of firm-book value of the firm. To increase: attract and leverage human capital effectively through mechanisms that create products and services of value over time. †¢What is human capital? Social capital? Explicit knowledge? Tacit knowledge? Human capital- the individual capabilities, knowledge, skills, and experience of a company’s employees and managers. Social capital- the network of friendships between talented people both inside and outside the organization. Explicit knowledge- knowl edge that is codified, documented, easily reproduced, and widely distributed.Tacit knowledge- knowledge that is in the minds of employees and is based on their experiences and backgrounds. †¢How is new knowledge created? Through the continual interaction of explicit and tacit knowledge. †¢How has employee loyalty to the company changed relative to loyalty to the profession? Knowledge workers place professional development and personal enrichment above company loyalty. †¢What is a first critical step in the process of of building intellectual capital? What are the other processes organizations use to build human capital?Hiring talented individuals, developing them to fulfill their full potential to maximize their joint contributions. Retain the best and brightest. †¢Why do many companies use employee referrals for new hires? Incentive bonuses paid to the referrers are cheaper than what they would have to pay headhunters to find candidates, plus the current employe es would find good candidates because they are putting their reputation on the line for them. †¢What strategies are used to develop human capital? Encouraging widespread involvement, Transferring knowledge, monitoring progress and development, and evaluating human capital. How as the importance of evaluating human capital changed in recent years? Collaboration and interdependence are vital to organizational success. Individuals must work collectively. Traditional past systems evaluate performance from a single perspective. †¢What is 360 degree feedback? Superiors, direct reports, colleagues, and even external and internal customers rate a person’s performance. †¢What are the 6 benefits of diversity in a firm’s workforce? 1. Cost argument- firms with more effective management in diversity will have a cost advantage over those that are not. 2.Resource acquisition argument- firms with excellent reputations as prospective employers for minorities will have a n advantage in the competition for top talent. 3. Marketing argument- for multinational firms this will be useful. 4. Creativity argument- less emphasis on conformity to norms of the past and diversity of perspectives will improve the level of creativity. 5. Problem solving argument- people with different perspectives have a better shot at solving complex problems than those who all think alike. 6. Organizational flexibility argument- greater flexibility leads means better reactions to environmental changes. What is network analysis? Closure relationships? Bridging relationships? Analysis of the pattern of social interactions among individuals. †¢How can effective social networks be advantageous to an individual’s career? Private information now available. Access to diverse skill sets. Power. †¢What is groupthink? – tendency in an organization for individuals not to question shared beliefts. †¢What are intellectual property rights? What actions can be ta ken to manage intellectual property? Intangible property owned by a firm in the forms of patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets. What are dynamic capabilities? The ability to sense and seize new opportunities, generates new knowledge, and reconfigure existing assets and capabilities. Chapter 6: Corporate-Level Strategy: Creating Value Through Diversification †¢What is corporate-level strategy? What two related issues does it address? a strategy that focuses on gaining long-term revenue, profits, and market value through managing operations in multiple businesses. Acquisitions and mergers. †¢How is related diversification different than unrelated diversification? What are the potential benefits of each?Related diversification- a firm entering a different business in which it can benefit from leveraging core competencies, sharing activities, or building market power. Unrelated diversification- a firm entering a different business that has little horizontal interac tion with other businesses of a firm. †¢Be familiar with the classifications of Exhibit 6. 2 3M was using exorbitant rebates to retailers, which pushed them into a â€Å"monopolistic position† and courts ordered 3M to pay 68. 5 million dollars to another tape company. †¢In related diversification, what is meant by economies of scope?Cost savings from leveraging core competencies, sharing activities, or building market power. †¢What is a core competency? What are the three criteria for assessing if a core competency creates value? Firm’s strategic resources that reflect the collective learning in the organization. 1. Must enhance competitive advantage by creating superior customer value. 2. Different businesses in the corporation must be similar in at least one important way related to the core competence. 3. Must be difficult for competitors to imitate or find substitutes for. †¢What are sharing activities?What are the two payoffs associated with sh aring activities. -Having activities of two or more businesses value chains done by one of the businesses. -1. Cost savings -2. Revenue enhancement †¢In related diversification, what is market power? Firm’s ability to profit through restricting or controlling supply to a market or coordinating with other firms to reduce investment. †¢What is pooled negotiating power? the improvement in bargaining position relative to customers and suppliers. †¢What is vertical integration, in its associated risks and benefits? an xpansion or extension of the firm by integrating preceding or successive production processes (occurs when a firm becomes its own supplier or distributer). Pros- secure supply of raw materials or distribution channels. Protection and control over assests and services required to produce and deliver. Access to new business opportunities and new forms of technology. Eliminating the need to deal with a wide variety of suppliers and distributors. Cons- cos ts and expenses associated with increased overhead and capital expenditures. Loss of flexibility resulting from large investments.Problems associated with unbalanced capacities along the value chain. Additional administrative costs associated with managing a more complex set of activities. †¢What 5 issues should be considered in making vertical integration decisions? 1. Is the company satisfied with the quality of the value that its present suppliers and distributors are providing? 2. Are there activities in the industry value chain presently being outsourced or performed independently by others that are a viable source of future profits? 3. Is there a high level of stability in the demand for the organization’s products? . Does the company have the necessary competencies to execute the vertical integration strategies? 5. Will the vertical integration initiative have potential negative impacts on the firm’s stakeholders? †¢What is the transaction cost perspec tive? A perspective that the choice of a transaction’s governance structure such as vertical integration or market transaction, is influenced by transaction costs, including, search, negotiating, contracting, monitoring, and enforcement costs, associated with each choice. †¢What is unrelated diversification? What is a parenting advantage?A firm entering a different business that has little horizontal interaction with other businesses of a firm. Parenting advantage- the positive contributions of the corporate office to a new business as a result of expertise and support provided and not as a result of substantial changes in assets, capital structure, or management. †¢What is restructuring? What are the three types of restructuring? The intervention of the corporate office in a new business that substantially changes assets, capital structure and management. 1. Asset restructuring 2. Capital restructuring 3. Management restructuring What is portfolio management?Method of assessing the competitive position of a portfolio of businesses within a corporation, suggesting strategic alternatives for each business, and identifying priorities for the allocation of resources across the businesses. †¢What is the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) growth/share matrix? What are the 4 quadrants in the matrix? What are the suggested strategies associated with each of the quadrants? What are the limitations of the BCG matrix? Each of the firm’s strategic business units is plotted on a two-dimensional grid in which the axes are relevant market share and industry growth rate. 1.Stars-competing in high growth industries with high market shares, long term growth potential and should continue to receive substantial investment funding. 2. Question marks- competing in high growth industries with but have weak market share, resources should be invested to enhance their competitive positions. 3. Cash cows- have high market shares in low growth industries . Have limited long run potential, but represent a source of current cash flows to fund investments into starts and question marks. 4. Dogs- have weak market shares in low growth industries, weak positions and limited potential.Most recommend they become divested. Limitations of BCG matrix- 1. the only compare based on two dimensions. 2. View them as a stand-alone entity, ignoring common business practices and value creating activities that may hold promise for synergies across business units. 3. The process becomes largely mechanical, substituting an overly simplified graphical model for the important contributions of the CEO or other managers experience. †¢What are the three primary means by which a firm can diversify? 1. Through acquisitions or mergers 2.Pool the resources of other companies with their resource base, commonly known as a joint-venture or strategic alliance. 3. Diversify into new products, markets, and technologies through internal development. †¢What are the benefits and potential of mergers and acquisitions? 1. A means of obtaining valuable resources that can help an organization expand its product offerings and services 2. Can provide the opportunity for firms to attain the three bases of synergy—leveraging core competencies, sharing activities, and building market power. 3. Can lead to consolidation within an industry and can force other players to merge.Cons- competing firms can often imitate any advantages realized from the M&A. there can be cultural issues that may doom the intended benefits from the endeavors. †¢What is a divestment? The exit of a business from a firm’s portfolio. †¢What is a strategic alliance? Joint venture? How do they differ? What are their potential advantages and downsides? Strategic alliance- a cooperative relationship between two or more firms. Joint venture- new entities formed within a strategic alliance in which two or more firms, the parents, contribute equity to form the new legal entity.A strategic alliance is a cooperative relationship. A joint venture is a special case of alliances where both firms contribute equity to form a new legal entity. Pros- Reducing manufacturing or other costs in the value chain. Developing and diffusing new technologies. Cons- many fail to meet expectations. Without proper partner, a firm should never consider it. Little attention is often given to nurturing the close working relationships and interpersonal connections that bring together the partnering organizations. †¢What is internal development?What are its potential downsides? -Entering a new business through investment in new facilities, often called corporate entrepreneurship and new venture development. -It may be time consuming, firms may forfeit the benefits of speed that growth through mergers and acquisitions can provide. †¢How can managerial motives erode value creation? They may often act in their own self-interests (CEOS). â€Å"growth for gro wth’s sake†, excessive egotism, and the creation of a wide variety of antitakeover tactics. †¢What is meant by growth for growth’s sake? Egotism? Manager’s actions to grow the size of their firms not to increase long-term profitability, but to sever managerial self-interest. -Manager’s actions to shape their firm’s strategies to serve their selfish interests rather than to maximize long-term shareholder value. †¢What are the antitakeover tactics of greenmail, the golden parachute, and poison pill? Greenmail- a payment by a firm to a hostile party for the firm’s stock at a premium, made when the firm’s management feels that the hostile party is about to make a tender offer. (sort of like a bribe)