Amazon.com Vision, Mission and Strategy

Amazon.com Vision, Mission and Strategy Introduction Amazon was started by Jeff Bezos as the worlds biggest bookstore but slowly changed from this single-product model to a multi-product enterprise which deals with a wide array of products satisfying an even broader base of consumers. Rosier (2002) concedes that Amazon.com has established itself as a household brand in the USA and is arguably the best-known online brand.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Amazon.com: Vision, Mission and Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since its birth, Amazon.com has moved from solely dealing with books to involving a myriad of other products. Kalakota and Robinson (2001) assert that an organization must continually strive to fulfill customer needs which include; convenience, consistency and reliability. Amazons venturing into different products thus complements the customer’s needs as opposed to sidetracking the original customer by offering them mor e convenience in that they can get not only books but also other products from the same place. Despite its diversification strategy, Amazon.com still engages in strong online branding so as to foster loyalty and a feeling of trust among its consumers (Arvidsson, 2006). In its book section, the company encourages people to write reviews on books thus offering a community-like interaction which generates emotional ties. This move underscores the fact that the company still holds the book section as one of its core entities and care is taken to maintain and increase its consumer base. These qualities and strategies have enabled the company to attain its goals and vision of being the world biggest bookstore and satisfying its client needs. Vision statement According to Hill and Jones (2009), a vision statement is a phrase that describes a desired outcome. The authors state that a vision statement should inspire, energize and help the reader develop a mental picture of the set target. As such, this is the proposed vision statement for Amazon.com: Acts as a foundation from which every aspect of our business is developed. It guides our operations by highlighting what is needed to accomplish our goals and objectives of achieving sustainable and quality growth.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More People: provide a favorable working environment where people are inspired to realize their full potential. Portfolio: bring to the global market a range of online services that foresee and satisfy our client’s needs and desires. Partners: foster a successful network of clients and suppliers with whom quality and enduring value can be created. Planet: influence positive change that will facilitate in building and supporting sustainable communities. Profit: maximize long-term benefits to shareholders, all the while maintaining ethical practices in all our operations. Productivity: be an effective and proactive organization. Mission statement Hill and Jones (2009) define a mission statement as a written affirmation that outlines the core purpose of an organization and its focus. The authors state that in most cases, a mission statement remains unchanged over time. With this in mind, a satisfactory mission statement should be: Our mission is to run the best online bookstore, irrespective of the products and services that we offer. Considering the nature of our business, our ambitions must coincide with the principles that govern the products that exist in our stores. To state that our mission does not depend on the products and services that we offer is to undermine the importance of being an online bookseller. As online booksellers we aim to be the best in this line of business, no matter the size, nature and affiliations of our competitors. We will be at the forefront when it comes to innovating new and better styles and app roaches to bookselling. Our strategy will be in line with the set and evolving aspirations. Above all, we expect to be a benefit to the communities that we cater for, a useful resource to our clients, and an avenue through which different stakeholders can grow and prosper. Not only will we be a listening and caring partner to our clients and booksellers but also promote the idea that we are always at their service. Recommended implementation strategy While offering of † free shipping plans† and express shipping services is expensive and does cut into the profit margin of the company, Amazon.com should continue to offer these services to its clients. Competition in the online retail market is every increasing and as such, a company needs to give itself a competitive advantage over its competitors. These â€Å"super saver shipping† scheme offers one such means since it proposes to offer the consumers value added services thus setting Amazon.com apart from its compet itors. Considering that Amazons marketing strategy is pegged on an increase in customer traffic so as to promote repeat purchases and strengthen the brand name, the free shipping plan appeals to customers thereby leading to an increase in the traffic on the site. Pasiuk (2006) confirms that Amazon considered its free shipping offer as a marketing expense whose primary objective is to attract and retain customers.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Amazon.com: Vision, Mission and Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While there is no doubt as to the increase in cost that Amazon.com incurs due to this schemes thus leading to decreased profitability, the increased traffic leads to increased turnover for the company. This leads to increased profits which compensate for the relative cost incurred in the provision of the services. Membership plans lead to loyalty and a sense of affiliation to the company by the consumers. These plans involve increased customization which entails tailoring of services so as to suit the unique case of the customers (Hill and Jones, 2009). While this does come at the cost of having to offer customized services which lead to rise in cost structure, it enables Amazon to respond to customer demands very quickly to the advantage of both the customer and the company. By upholding these strategies, Amazon.com will be able to meet and fulfill its mission and vision statements all the while maintaining a stable competitive advantage against its aggressive and ever-increasing competitors. References Arvidsson, A. (2006). Brands: Meaning and Value in Media Culture. USA: Routledge, 2006. Hill, C., Jones, G. (2009). Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. New York: Cengage Learning. Kalakota, R., Robinson, M. (2001). E-business 2.0: Roadmap for Success. California: Addison-Wesley.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Pasiuk, L. (2006). Vault Guide to the Top Internet Industry Employers. USA: Vault Inc. Rosie, B. (2000, February). Amazon Leads Race to Expand Web Services. Retrieved from: ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 50804851).

Geometry Flash Cards 2 Essay

Geometry Flash Cards 2 Essay Geometry Flash Cards 2 Essay The Distance Postulate There is a unique positive number corresponding to every pair of points The Ruler Postulate The points on a line are in a one-to-one correspondence with real numbers, so that number differences measure distances. Distance The shortest path in-between two lines How do you measure segments Using rulers, inches, feet, yards, meters.... How do you measure angles? Protractor what does the size of an angle represent The amount of turning you would have to do if you where at the vertex The Angle measure postulate There is a unique number between 0 and 360 corresponding to every angle the protractor postulate There is a one-to-one correspondence between the raysin a half-rotation and the real numbers from 0 to 180 inclusive, so that number differences measure angles. Congruent Segments or angles with the same measure acute angle Measure is greater then 0 degrees and 90 degrees right angle Measure is 90 degrees obtuse angle Measure is greater then 90 degrees and less then 180 degrees straight angle Measure is 180 degrees reflex angle Measure is greater then 180 degrees less then 360 degrees Bisector Any point, segment, ray, line, or plane that contains the midpoint of the segment. Trisect Two point, segments, rays, or lines that divide a segment into three congruent segments. Circle The set of all points in a plane having the same distance/radius from a fixed point/center. polygon union of segments meeting only at endpoint such that 1. No more then two segments meet at one point and 2. Each segment meets exactly two other segments. (closed shape)

Describe major aspects of British colonialism in India and its Essay

Describe major aspects of British colonialism in India and its influence on the Indian population - Essay Example New inventions of the 18th century gave rise to a new production process in the Great Britain – called factory production. It was the beginning of Industrial Revolution in Europe. Industrial revolution (â€Å"The origins of Industrial Revolution in England†) created a need for new markets for sales of the finished product and search for raw material. British quest for a new market was the primary reason for colonizing India. In 1600, a trading company, by the name East India Company (â€Å"South Asian History – Colonial India†) was formed in London with the blessing of Queen Elizabeth I. East India Company’s main activity was trading with India. East India Company made twelve voyages (â€Å"South Asian History – Colonial India†) to India in the year of 1601 – 1613. By that time, other traders from Europe, Dutch, French, Portuguese, were also present in India. Until 1614, the Company was struggling to get the right to trade in In dia along with other European countries. In 1614 (â€Å"Indian History†) British envoy secured approval for trading from the Moghul Emperor Jahangir. Unlike traders from other countries, East India Company was able to penetrate (â€Å"Indian History†) deep inside the India. East India Company set up factories (â€Å"Indian History†) in different cities of India including in Bengal. English settlement rose in Bengal. Later East India Company made Calcutta in Bengal its trading center. During the year 1740 and later, hostility between England and France was on pick. British government heavily backed arming of East India Company. The Company fought several battles with France in those years to establish dominance over Hydrabad and Carnatic regions of India. By mid 18th century, the Company had his own army consisting of British and local people. East India Company fought the first battle in 1757 against the Ruler of Bengal (â€Å"Indian History†) and won the battle. This was the beginning of fall of India under

Use of Lexical Choices and How They Would Affect the Discursive Power Essay

Use of Lexical Choices and How They Would Affect the Discursive Power of Media - Essay Example People seek to reach their aims and goals by using power. In defining power attention must be paid to the fact that it is not something you can simply possess. It is rather a relationship between people. Power is always related to situations. Using power means having the power to persuade and impress through verbal communication. Pekonen (1991, 46) states that modern politics can be explained as a symbolic power struggle: the winner is a party whose language, words, terms and symbolic expressions are dominant once reality and the context have been defined. (Chilton, P. & Ilyin M. p 4) Presidential speeches are very important to society. According to Denton and Hahn (1986), the presidency is a rhetorical institution. Through speeches, a president leads his country and seeks to persuade the nation and society. Presidential power is the power to persuade. The rhetorical style of a presidential speech can directly affect the political speaker's aims and success. Han (1998) believes that the significance of presidential rhetorical skills has increased over the last 50 years and in part because of the media. This conceals some problems: when the style is emphasized, content may have only a secondary role. The images may be stronger than the message, and credibility may be more important than information. In this study, attention is paid to the (d) Meanings Aristoteles le of presidential power and per-suasion especially from the rhetorical point of view. (Aristoteles) Kress (1990) has introduced theoretical criteria characterizing work in the CDA paradigm which distinguishes it from other politically engaged discourse analysis work. (a) Language is first and foremost a type of social practice. (b) Texts are the result of the actions of socially situated speakers and writers. (c) The relations of the participants in the production of texts are generally unequal. (d) Meanings are the result of the (inter)action of readers and hearers with texts and with the speaker/writers of texts. They are always subject to more or less closely enforced normative rules, and to the relations of power obtaining in this interaction. (e) Linguistic features at any level are the result of social processes. Linguistic features are never arbitrary conjuncts of form and meaning. (f) Linguistic features in their occurrence in texts are always characterized by opacity. (g) Users of language have a particular stance towards the set of codes which make up a language. (h) A system of language is highly problematic in CDA. (i) History has to be taken into account. (j) CDA must be based on rather precise analyses and descriptions of the materiality of language on a close linguistic description. (Kress, p 84) CDA begins from the assumption that systematic asymmetries of power and resources between participants - speakers and listeners, readers and writers - can be linked to their unequal access to linguistic and social resources. The important unit of analysis is the text. Texts are taken to be social uses of spoken and written language. Critical discourse analysis focuses on a genre as well as on sentences and word-level analysis. The study of subject positions may clarify traditional values, ideologies and representations. When analyzing the cultural assumptions expressed in a text, one way to do it is to study the lexical choices or grammatical representations of agency and action.     

Canadian economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Canadian economics - Essay Example During the first half of 2003, a rapidly appreciating currency cut deeply into net exports in most Canadian traded goods industries. The auto industry was among the hardest-hit sectors. Automotive products have traditionally generated an important trade surplus for Canada, offsetting continuing large trade deficits in most other high-value and high technology manufacturing products. Already, however, the appreciating dollar has reduced Canada's automotive trade surplus by 50 percent (compared to the first half of 2002). Short-run impacts of a higher dollar include both reduced real shipments and shrinkage in the domestic value of Canadian exports (most automotive exports are priced in U.S. dollar terms). Even more important longer-run impacts could include the relocation of new investment to alternative jurisdictions, as Canada's relative cost competitiveness is eroded. If the exchange rate stays at current levels or higher on a longer-run basis, Canada could feasibly become a net im porter of automotive products within 5 years. On average, hourly labor productivity in Canada's manufacturing sector is approximately 15 percent lower than in U.S. industry. Given the current differential in nominal hourly compensation costs between the two countries (hourly total compensation costs in Canadian manufacturing average just over $25 Cdn., whereas total hourly compensation costs in U.S. manufacturing are about $21.50 U.S.), this creates a nominal unit labor cost disadvantage (measured in national currencies) that must be offset by the exchange rate between the two currencies. When the Canadian dollar trades at approximately 72 cents U.S., average manufacturing unit labor costs in the two countries are equalized. If the dollar is above that level, therefore, Canadian manufacturing (on average) faces a unit cost disadvantage that will spark the long-run outward migration of investment and employment (the opposite of what occurred in the late 1990s when the Canadian dollar traded for less than 72 cents U.S.). The Rising Canadian Dollar and its Impact on the Canadian Auto Industry, Testimony of Jim Stanford Economist, Canadian Auto Workers Before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senate of Canada, October 8, 2003 http://www.caw.ca/visual&printlibrary/speeches&briefs/briefs/senatetestimonyonthedollar.pdf Is Canada now at risk of catching the Dutch disease What is the evidence When it gains ground against the U.S. dollar, for example, Canadian exporters lose ground because their products become more expensive for U.S. buyers. It's simply harder to compete. Since 2002, Statistics Canada says 189,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared in Canada. The agency places the blame squarely on the soaring loonie. But some economists say the difficulties of adjusting to a higher loonie will help exporters in the long run, because they've had to take measures to improve efficiency. The days of relying on a cheap loonie to help them sell in the U.S. are long gone. Cheaper U.S. dollars also provide Canadian companies with an opportunity to invest in U.S.-made tools that make them more competitive. Much of the software and machinery Canadian companies

Traditional Concepts To Modern Knowledge Intensive Concepts Management Essay

Traditional Concepts To Modern Knowledge Intensive Concepts Management Essay Introduction: Innovation and Change are 2 of the most used buzz words in the modern corporate era. Some industries are entirely based on innovation. The survivability of companies operating in such industries are, to a large extent, based on their ability to innovate. The electronic consumer goods industry is a great example. The frequency in which firms like Apple and Google scrap their penultimate design and go for the new one is just alarming. On the other hand, Change is another equally important concept for companies in the modern era. Change becomes inevitable for firms operating in volatile industries as they have to respond quickly to the ripples in the market and adjust their own internal processes as a reaction. This necessitates effective change management every time an organization undergoes a change initiative. As Kotter(XXXX) observed rightly; The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades. Through this piece of work, I would like to look at knowledge theory and how the concepts of innovation and change have evolved from traditional linear model to the modern knowledge intensive forms. The essay would be focusing mainly on information technology functions of firms and how they manage their innovation and change process. We would also explore the practical implications of widely used academic terms like knowledge management, knowledge workers, boundary objects, stickiness of knowledge etc with the help of some examples from the technology front. Knowledge theory: For the scope of this essay, we shall use the term Knowledge theory as the one which refers to the concepts of knowledge management and the appreciation of intellectual capital as an integral part of an organisations asset. As a broad term, this also includes the various terms frequently used in knowledge work like knowledge boundaries, boundary objects etc. During the industrial revolution, labour and capital were considered as the major resources to build an organisation. Management emphasis was on effectively handling these resources and the role of managers was limited largely to financial management and human resource management. However, with the advent of the information age, we have seen managers being increasingly aware of another major resource knowledge. This increasing importance of knowledge management is reflected in the works of several academics as well. Bell (1973) suggested that knowledge would be a central feature of post-industrial societies. The concept of knowledge management mainly revolves around 2 popular views on knowledge, the knowledge as possession view and the epistemology of practice. Knowledge as a possession considers knowledge as something that an individual/organisation can possess, and pass on to others seamlessly across different situations and contexts. However, the practice view of knowledge takes into account the importance of tacit knowledge and argues that knowledge is intrinsic to specific contexts and is created and negotiated through social interactions (Newell et al., 2009). Thus knowledge work could be defined as any work that deals with knowledge. However, for a specific spectrum of analysis, we shall limit our analysis only to the so called knowledge intensive firms. These are firms which have a high percentage of highly qualified staff who trade in knowledge itself (Starbuck, 1992). Consultancy firms like Ernst and Young or Deloitte are prime examples for knowledge intensive organisations. Co nsultants sell their knowledge to organisations or individual and organisations in need and quite evidently does knowledge work on a daily basis. Organisations like Google and Apple, where research and development is key to gaining competitive advantage over rivals are also knowledge intensive. Other examples of knowledge intensive professionals include pharmacists, educationists, doctors, accountants etc. The majority of knowledge intensive firms are under increasing pressure from the external environment in terms of staying competitive and profitable. Thus essentially, ability to innovate and change is integral to their success as organisations. We shall now briefly look at the traditional views on innovation and change through the work of some academics and the gradual shift in concept in the information era. This would set the stage for our analysis on how and where knowledge management fits in the processes of change and innovation. Definition of Innovation: Several academics have clearly differentiated the concepts of creativity and innovation. Organisational creativity refers to the generation of novel and useful ideas, whereas organisational innovation describes the realization of those ideas(Cook,1998; Jones, 1995). Thus innovation can be defined as the process by which a new element becomes available within the marketplace or is introduced into an organization with the intention of changing or challenging the status quo (King, 1995). The innovation process can be classified into 5 types (Andriopoulos and Dawson, 2009): Product innovation As the name suggests, this refers to the creation of a new product. Common examples include the ipod and the latest ipad devices from Apple, which took the market by storm. Innovative methods of computing are being released each year and this is changing the face of the IT arena. Service innovations This refers to the creation of new and improved services. Hotmail worlds first free web based email service is a prime example. Process innovations Here, the innovation is on the process rather than on the end product or service. In the United States, Netflix offers subscription based DVD rentals online. This is now the largest of its kind in the world due to several innovations in its process. The firm uses distributed warehouse system to deliver DVDs to its customers via post. The returned DVDs are scanned first if they are requested again before it goes back to the warehouse. This streamlined and fast delivery model has helped Netflix become the market leader.(Rappa, 2008) Management innovations The adoption of Japanese manufacturing techniques by American and European companies during the eighties and nineties is an example of Management innovation. Market or position innovation This refers to the creation of new markets as a result of innovation. With the advent of Second life, a whole new virtual reality market has sprung up and is fast growing. Before this, this market simply did not exist. Traditional view on innovation: The traditional view on innovation considers it as a linear process starting from creation of the innovation, going through several stages until the innovation is accepted or rejected by the adopting unit. Rogers (1995), in support of the linear approach, used the term diffusion for the process of communicating the innovation through the channels of a social system. The innovation-decision process according to this model can be depicted as below: Knowledge Persuasion Decision Implementation Confirmation Fig1.1 Innovation-Decision process (Rogers, 1995) Knowledge The manager or decision maker or more generally the adopting unit becomes aware of the innovation. Persuasion The unit develops either a favourable or unfavourable attitude towards the innovation. Decision The unit undergoes a series of activities leading to the choice of acceptance or rejection of the innovation. Implementation The unit puts the innovation to use. Confirmation The innovation is confirmed and the innovation becomes a routine if the overall feedback from the unit is favourable. Otherwise, the innovation is rejected. The traditional model also looks at innovation as a rational process in which managers use industry-wide accepted standards or best practises. This model revolves around the idea that best practises, once created, all that is left in the innovation process is the communication of this across the organisation. Thus the traditional model of innovation essentially proposed that innovation can be carried out in a linear fashion and can be overlooked with rational thinking. However, this models inability to explain the complex and dynamic innovations in the modern era has led to various criticisms, which would be discussed at a later stage in the essay. Definition of Organisational Change: Andriopoulos and Dawson (2009) define organisational change broadly as new ways of organizing and working. And more specifically(p14): Organizational change is the process of moving from some current state that, whether planned or unplanned, comprises the unexpected and unforeseen as well as the expected The definition clearly identifies 3 integral parts of organizational change (1) the as-is state, (2) the to-be state and (3) the transition path. However, the transition from as-is to to-be state, in the views of several academics, rarely takes the planned or expected path as evident from the above definition. Studies on organizational change process have been conducted extensively by academics. However, the dynamic nature of the topic itself has meant that we still dont have a prescriptive explanation in terms of theory and concept as far as the topic of Organization change is concerned, as evidently expressed by Pettigrew et al. (2003:p351): This constant process of change and renewal means that, whilst scholars and managers can take forward certain key messages, there will always be a need for more research on innovative forms of organizing Organizational change can be of varied degree and form from minor changes in the organizational processes to major organization wide re-structuring initiatives. Palmer et al. (2006) identifies 2 types of changes: Incremental adaptive change is when one firm plays catch-up in response to another firms activity in an incremental adaptive fashion. E.g Microsoft and Yahoo largely followed google applications like maps and videos. Reactive frame breaking change deals with a much larger scale of change. E.g Major restructuring and downsizing was required for investment banks like RBS as they came under increasing government and public control after the recession driven bailouts using taxpayer money. It is interesting to note that most banks havent cut down on their IT spending as they have identified IT as a tool to improve efficiency and cut costs. Outside these two more reactive changes, there is of course the strategy driven large scale operational changes that organizations undergo. Linear views on Organisational Change: The traditional theories on organisational change have been modelled mainly around the concept of unfreeze-change-refreeze put forward by Lewin (Collins, 1998). This 3-step model essentially looked at organisational change process as a linear one. In this model, Lewin(1958) also talks about the helping and restraining forces for and against the change. Unfreeze Change Freeze Fig1.2 Lewins 3-step change model (Lewin, 1958) An extended 7-step model was proposed by Lippitt, Watson and Westley (1958) which increasingly focussed on the role of the change agent than the actual change. The 7 stages were: Diagnosing the problem Assessing capacity and motivation for change Assess motivation and capacity of the change agent Choose progressive change objects Clear segregation of role of the change agent Maintain the change Termination of the change agent (Lippitt et, al. ,1958) Kotter(1995) later proposed his 8-step model for effective change management in his analysis on why most change projects fail. These change theories as we can see, largely revolves around a certain degree of predictability of the overall change process. They have invited criticism from the supporters of chaos or complexity theories as we would examine later in the piece. Criticisms on traditional views: The traditional linear view on innovation process has been fairly criticised by the advocates of process views on innovation. These academics argue that innovation is very rarely rational and linear and is in most times, a network based concept(Abrahamson, 1996; Swan and Scarbrough, 2005). The concept of best practices were deemed inappropriate by some academics as innovation is a highly context specific concept(Swan et al., 1999) Some other criticisms include: Scarbrough(2008) argues that innovation is not a linear process and that the importance of feedback into the process could not be neglected at any stage of the process. Rogers(1995) did speak about two-way communication between the original sender and receiver in a knowledge diffusion process, however, it is clear that the critics of the linear model propose a much wider network-based mesh-like communication process during innovation. Swan and Scarbrough(2005:p3) states that since knowledge is increasingly dispersed across organizational boundaries, it is at these interstices, through the operation of networks, that distributed networks can be brought together and integrated into new products, processes and services. Newell et al.(2009) observes that most innovation processes are not predictable and cannot be considered as a technical fix. Clark (2003) observed that innovation often required considerable re-engineering of the existing process and thus cannot be considered as an entity that can be used as an add-on to an organisational context. The linear freeze-change-unfreeze view of organisational change has been countered by supporters of complexity theory or chaos theory. According to the chaos theory, it has become impossible to predict the outcome of long term organisational changes as this would require knowledge of the present state at a very high accuracy (Tsoukas, 1998). Certainly, the high rate of failure of Enterprise Systems implementations (70%) reinforces the concept of unpredictable nature of change. It can also be seen from relevant literature that organisational change need not be segregated from innovation as such. Andriopoulos and Dawson (2009), maintains that there are no clear boundaries between the concepts of creativity, innovation and change as in practise, they interlock and overlap over time. Moreover, it can also be argued that their concept of process innovation is quite similar in some respects to the concept of organisational change. Thus we shall consider innovation and change as one broad area further in this work. Knowledge based innovation and change: As discussed earlier in the essay, the traditional liner view on the innovation process have been attacked and countered with the process view. The processual, network based view on innovation looks at the process as a set of iterative, overlapping and interdependent episodes rather than linear stages (Newell et al, 2009). This model as we can see, clearly addresses the unpredictability of the innovation process. The episodes overlap and iterate, leaving room for the occurrences of good or bad co-incidences and also takes into account the social and organisational factors that may affect the innovation process. The importance of knowledge work during innovation is also emphasized in this model. From agenda formation to routinization of the innovation, the success of the change lies in effective creation, diffusion, implementation and use of knowledge. Due to several reasons, we can see that such an open-ended framework is more appropriate when we look at some of the recent innovations in IT. Thus, understanding of knowledge concepts are critical to any innovation and change project in the modern era. The communication channel between the change agent and the unit undergoing a change is no longer the straightforward 2-way communication as seen in Rogers (1995). Innovation and change processes are increasingly becoming network based, spanning across practises, institutions and geographies. The success of Research in Motions blackberry phone can be hugely attributed to the innovative feature of email on a hand held. However, the product was actually just meant to be a start-up product, designed to enable the company to enter the wireless market. The huge popularity of this new way of working among its users resulted in immense pressure on the development team to refine and come up with the blackberry we know now. Thus it can be argued that the users were part of the innovation project as well. Further on this example, during the 9/11 strike on the world trade centre, there were several media reports that people trapped inside the building used their blackberry phones to keep in touch with their loved ones since all other forms of wired and mobile connectivity had gone down. Along with huge popularity, this event added even more social value to the otherwise technological product. This clearly qualifies for the external factor depicted in the Clark model. Other innovations like Open Source Software Development, Extreme programming(XP) and Agile methodologies are also examples for experimental innovation models including dynamic, planning, testing and regular releases (Beck, 2000; Highsmith, 2002). The open source developers community consists of developers from across the globe and from different functions of life. In spite of the existence of semantic, syntactic and pragmatic knowledge boundaries among them, they still manage to interact remarkable well and come up with innovative solutions. Information technology interestingly plays the role of a boundary object in the form of the Knowledge Management (KM) portal or forum. The open source KM forum is exceptionally well maintained and strictly moderated, just as well as the knowledge intensive firms, if not better. In a more organisational context, knowledge intensive firms like consulting and software services companies consider knowledge management as an integral part of innovation and change projects. The amount of money they spend on maintaining a centralised repository for knowledge management is testament to this fact. The consultancy firm Ernst and Young spends 6% of their revenue on knowledge management (HBS, 2001). It may seem that the abundance of knowledge workers and technology would automatically foster a favourable environment for KM in such companies; some academics believe that this is not always the case. Andriopoulos (2003) suggests that knowledge can be a double headed sword. Since knowledge workers in such organisations are highly specialized in their area, this may enslave them inside a pattern of thought, thus inhibiting innovation and change (Bengtson, 1982). Such a view of experts becoming not receptive to new ideas was shared by Starbuck (1992) as well. On similar lines , Carla ODell, president of American Productivity Quality Center said: The number-one reason KM initiatives may not function is that the evangelists fail to connect with the real business issues. Relevant academic literature suggest that such organizations try to work around this problem by creating a strong culture and by involving the specialists more and more in organisational dialogues (Blackler, 1995). Such enabling contexts created by the organisation would be an important factor for fostering knowledge creation for innovation and change. Google, for example, gives one day a week for its employees to work on their pet projects and ideas. The ideas can be posted by anyone on the repository via email. Rocket ride, as it is called, has also led its competitors to create similar projects like Microsofts Technorati and Yahoos Exalead (Business Week, 2005). The concepts of knowledge theory has indeed influenced the way organizations go about undertaking innovation projects as evident from the above illustrations. Conclusion: Through this piece, we have looked at knowledge theory as a term relevant to the scope of the topic. We have also looked the traditional view on innovation and change process via the works of several academics and some industry examples. Some of the criticisms against these views were also discussed. In the specific area of knowledge intensive firms, we analyzed how these knowledge theories affect the innovation and change process. Having looked at the modern unpredictable and network based modes of innovation and change, it may seem that the traditional concepts are now outdated. However, majority of knowledge management work is still based on the assumption that most forms of knowledge can be codified, stored and distributed. Change consultants still follow the step by step approach for organisational innovation and change. Thus the apt conclusion here would be one of a compromise between the two. It is imperative that organisations, especially the knowledge intensive ones cannot ignore the importance of knowledge management for innovation and change. However, the approach shall be decided upon considering the institutional context in detail.

Chaucers The General Prologue Essay -- Chaucer General Prologue Essay

Chaucer's The General Prologue Chaucer-the pilgrim starts out â€Å"The General Prologue† with detailed descriptions of each pilgrim as he views them. When Chaucer-the pilgrim arrives at the Pardoner, he becomes very focused on his physical appearance and what is seems to be missing. There is something odd about this Pardoner and Chaucer-the pilgrim can’t seem to grasp just what that is. He describes that the Pardoner is all on fire to do is job, just arriving from Rome (Bretful of pardon, come from Rome al hoot). However, his eagerness to Pardon those for God does not help his physical appearance in any respect. Chaucer-the pilgrim describes his voice as that of a high-pitched goat and points out that he has no facial hair and will presumably never have any, as his face is just as smooth as if he had recently shaved (A vois he hadde as small as hath a goot; / No beerd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have; / As smoothe it was as it were late yshave). Chaucer-the pilgrim is setting up in the reader’ s mind that of a prepubescent boy, yet as the reader knows there are no children on the jour...

Different Health Systems

The healthcare system of the United States is commonly associated with state-of-the-art hospitals and highly-trained physician. However, the general performance of the U. S. healthcare system has been determined to be a less than that of other industrialized countries. Such observation is mainly due to the differences in healthcare systems among states, regions and health administrations. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is a socialized healthcare system managed by the government. It provides varied healthcare support to veterans or ex-officio military servicemen and their families.Survey shows that approximately 83% of VHA patients are satisfied with the healthcare that they have received. In addition, survey depicts that 69% of the patients were treated within 20 minutes of their appropriate appointment with their physician (DeNavas-Walt et al. , 2005). Also, approximately 93% of the patients participating in the survey indicate that they had seen a specialist within the la st 30 days. Such observations show that the Veterans Health Administration provides an exemplary system of healthcare, much better than the private sector.However, it also could mean that the VHA is associated with more costly healthcare rates than the other healthcare systems such as the Military Health system and the private sector. This characteristic compensates for the types of members that would avail of the VHA benefits, who are actually veterans, which are commonly composed of older, sicker and illness-susceptible individuals. In addition, these veterans are generally poorer, homeless and victims of substance abuse, which represents a major difference from the major population in the United States.It has been estimated that more than 50% of the VHA enrollees are above 65 years of age. The private sector’s healthcare system is mostly focused on intervention-based healthcare, which means that the physician will generally treat a patient who is already suffering from a p articular illness (Frogner and Anderson, 2006). Such system is thus less costly than the VHA system, because the patients enrolled in the private sector will only resort to requesting medical attention when the need arises.In the private sector healthcare system, health insurance is generally bought by the employer on behalf of its employees The VHA system, on the other hand, follows the prevention approach to health care, which involves providing checkups and education to its veteran patients in order to avoid more serious illness in the future. The Military Health System, on the other hand, provides healthcare to individuals who are currently active in the military service, including members of their family.The benefits of the Military Health system falls under the blanket coverage known as the Tricare, which is almost identical to that of the private sector’s system of healthcare management (Smith et al. , 2005). Here the enrollee pays a small portion of the total cost of the healthcare service, such as 20% of a surgery, for example, and the other 80% is paid for my the Military Health System. Each visit to the physician, just like the private sector’s healthcare system, is associated with a small co-payment, such as $10 per visit, regardless of specialization of the doctor to which consultation was made.The mission of a healthcare system is to provide medical services at the lowest practical price and at the same time, with the best feasible quality. The integration of electronic medical records in the Veterans Health Administration has provided a model for the other healthcare system to follow suit. In addition, the private sector has also use the VHA’s mission in providing prevention-based medical services, instead of just intervention-based services. References DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor B and Lee C (2005):   Income, Poverty and Health Insurance in the United States: 2004.   Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau. Frogner BK and Anderson GF (2006):   Multinational comparisons of health systems data, 2005.   New York: The Commonwealth Fund. Smith C, Cowan C and Sensenig A (2005):   Health Spending Growth Slows in 2003.   Health Affairs   24(1):185–94.

How to Write a Term Paper

How to Write a Term Paper How to Write a Term Paper How to Write a Term Paper While writing a term paper, you must be specific about your topic, know what you want to say, and say it effectively. Despite of the required format, APA style term paper for example, you need to choose the term paper topic which is interesting and relevant to the course. Make sure there is enough information on the topic, otherwise, you will not be able to support your ideas. If your term paper topic is too broad, you will have difficulty completing your paper. The term paper on terrorism is too broad because there are so many facets of the topic.   What to do?   You need to narrow your topic to specific question.   For example, write about the different types of terrorism or review terrorism related legislation changes after September 11. Term Paper on Terrorism Term paper writing should follow the academic format.   In the introductory paragraph of the term paper you should give a definition of the term terrorism. Terrorism in the modern sense is violence or other harmful acts committed (or threatened) against civilians for political or other ideological goals.  Most definitions of terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear or "terror", are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of civilians.   Then give general information about the terrorism. For example, September 11, 2001 - a day that shocked the entire world. For many people all over the globe this day will be remembered as one of the most terrible and unbelievable days ever, even if they were not directly involved. The attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the crash of an airplane in Somerset Country near Pittsburgh not just killed m ore than 3,056 people and damaged or destroyed more than 30 buildings. There were far reaching consequences. In addition, you should include a clear thesis statement in the introductory part of your term paper.   Usually, thesis statement is the last sentence of opening paragraph.   The body section of your term paper should be devoted to the development of the thesis, support of your ideas, and numerous examples.   Each idea should start with the new paragraph and there should be transitional sentences between each paragraph.   Writing a term paper is not easy, however, it is so interesting to read numerous articles and enrich your knowledge on specific topic! Custom Written Term Paper Despite of the topic complexity and deadline pressure, we are able to provide you with custom written term paper!   We have built a team of professional writers who are ready to help you with term paper writing at any time of day and night!   provides free plagiarism report to prove the originality and authenticity of your term paper.   You, as our client, can request unlimited number of revisions and claim full refund if completed essay was not delivered within the specified deadline.

Job Search Tips that Work Yes, They Worked for Me!

Job Search Tips that Work Yes, They Worked for Me! Many job search experts, including me, are out there giving tips about how to find jobs. I thought Id give you all some job search tips based on my own experience one that got me several interviews and a part-time job when I moved to a new city. In my search, I was open to accepting a part-time position as something steady and stable while I started my own business. Job Search Tips that Worked 1. Created multiple versions of my resume. One emphasizes my managerial experience; one emphasizes my legal experience; another emphasizes my writing and editing experience. For each job I was interested in, I made sure the keywords from that job description were in my resume! 2. Applied to a lot of jobs. Yes, even ones I thought I didnt want. Some of them turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. I also applied to jobs there was probably no way I would ever get. And I sent cover letters and resumes to places where I would want to work but where there were no available jobs advertised (including the University of Wisconsin Law School). Because you never know. 3. Wrote engaging, punchy cover letters. Each cover letter was custom tailored to the specific job I was applying for. It made a difference. I was offered several interviews in widely divergent fields. 4. Went on an informational interview. Where there was no position currently available but there was a possibility of a future job, I scheduled time to talk to someone relevant. 5. Asked what I needed to bring to interviews. I found out what the employer wanted and brought the requested materials. 6. Showed up 15 minutes early for interviews. I also  chatted politely with the receptionists whenever possible. Believe it or not, this practice can get you far! 7. Stayed positive and friendly in the interviews. I talked about things other than the job. Plus I had researched the company, so came prepared with questions I could ask about the organization and the job. 8. Wrote thank you notes. (At least when I was interested in the job!) If 2 people interviewed me, I wrote 2 thank you notes, each with its own unique message. 9. Clarified my priorities for myself. I got clear that having a part-time job with flexibility, in an open and friendly environment, was what I wanted. These attributes were more important for me than the pay rate or even growth opportunities. The more I got clear about what I wanted, the closer I got to getting it. 10. Stayed active! I searched for or applied for jobs every day, while also taking care of my body by exercising every day. I sent out at least 2 job applications per week, whether I found the perfect opportunity or not. In my spare time, I volunteered to help a woman with disabilities to write a book. I took a transcription job that kept a little bit of money flowing in. And I started my own business, which got me out in the community and on the internet networking. I was never sitting around wondering what to do on any given day. Remember, action breeds action! Doing  something –  anything – keeps you engaged in your life and work. You never know what will come out of the relationships you form. How Effective Are These Job Search Tips? What did I get out of all of this? Several interviews, and ultimately a 25% time job at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Office of Career Services. Its was a perfect fit as I ramped up my own business. All these job search tips worked for me.  What has worked for you?

Are families adapting or declining Research Paper

Are families adapting or declining - Research Paper Example Moreover, the living spaces that developed close to factories and other worksites were expensive and could not be expanded as had previously been done in the rural setting. It came to be that when people lives around others who were strangers to them, their families became a refuge for them from the strange new environment in which they lived (Lasch 168). Despite the lack of any significant industrial growth in developing countries, the development of mass media, education and other services had a hand in the creation of modern families. An example of this is in some African countries where there has been a movement towards abandoning the traditional practice of polygamy and this is being replaced by monogamy due to the strengthening of marital bonds. Furthermore, the strengthening of the bond between the parent and the child over any other familial relationships has ensured that the nuclear family has developed and this is also due to the fact that emphasis is being put on what the parents owe to their children instead of what the latter owe to their parents (Coontz 9). The modern family has also seen a decrease in the number of children born within it and this can be described because of the declining death rates among children. The declining child death rates also leads to a decline in the birth rates, because parents are now more secure because they know that there are enough resources available today to ensure that their children survive. Another reason for this is the fact that the economic conditions of today do not allow parents to have more than a few children at a time because they cannot afford to have more even if they wanted to. This results in not only fewer children, but it also means that there are fewer ties to the extended family and this in turn means that in subsequent generations, there will be fewer uncles, aunts and cousins than in previous generations. Therefore, it can be said that the current economic factors as well as the small numbe r of children being born are not sufficient to sustain the type of extended family that existed before in our society (Cherlin 19). When it comes to the matter of whether the modern family is doing better than how the institutional family did, then the answer would be yes. This is mainly due to the changes that have been brought about by the modern lifestyle and these include an increase in the family’s income, a decrease in the mortality rates, an increase in life expectancy, a high nutritional status, more educational opportunities, among many others. Modern families are therefore better off with these changes than they were without them despite the fact that the institutional or extended family is collapsing. The demise of the extended family is a consequence of its members trying to adapt to the modern way of life and it is a fact that its decline and eventual fall is inevitable. It can be claimed that the modern family has come because of the commoditization of the famil y life. In order for the economy to remain profitable, ways have been devised to ensure that almost everything, especially human activity, has been turned into a commodity or a form of commodity. This commoditization of life has increased the rift between family members because some activities that used to be done exclusively within families have now

Terrorist Attacks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Terrorist Attacks - Essay Example ulations, government, domestic intelligence collection and also the exchange of information collected by foreign and domestic agencies was determined by a strict and rigid set of rules. These strict and rigid set of rules prevented intelligence information from being collected for the purpose of law enforcement. As a result, this created difficulties in sharing of the criminal justice –derived data and information with other agencies (Lebovic, 2006). When terrorist were captured either in US soil or overseas they were accorded rights and treatment like any other criminal defendant (Rockmore, 2011). This system which was adopted to deal with terrorist activities was weak and inadequate in addressing the Americas needs to have a strong system to prevent terrorist attack in its soil. This was evident in 2001, September 11 attack and the consequent vague investigations that followed. It was the inability to coordinate information collected that led to failure to identify patterns of behavior that might have indicated the early warnings of attack. Also, due to those strict rules that were to be followed in courtroom made, it hard for the government to detain a terrorist even after identifying him. In the wake of September 11 attacks, by then president Bush administration worked day and night to update some of the rules that governed terrorism approach by the U.S.A. The government formed homeland security project to inform the public and policy makers about the complex challenges related to responding and preventing domestic terrorism. Secondly, the government allowed the revision of electronic surveillance rules to allow permission to intercept individuals even in case they changed phones frequently. They also implemented rules to allow routine collection of traveler’s financial information. They implemented U.S visit program that captures fingerprint from all foreign travelers entering Unite States. The government also exercised its right under the Chicago