Journal Article Review Assignments Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Journal Review Assignments - Article ExampleOne of the principal objectives of institutions of higher teaching more(prenominal) as colleges and universities is to chip in skills that enable its clients the student of whatever level to think critically while analysing problems in order to find implementable solutions that best fit the dynamic nature of the changing and challenge dimensions in the 21st century. As the title suggests, this article critiques the Teaching Practices used by instructors to achieve that very end. The authors argue that instructors teaching critical thinking at these same institutions do not explicitly understand the very nature of critical thinking, and as such(prenominal) lack the expertise to effectively transfer such knowledge critical thinking skills into their students immediate and later endeavors (Shim & Walczak, 2012, p. 16).The study, as the two co-authors explain, investigates the effects of different teaching practices used by instructors in different institutions of higher learning to sharpen the critical thinking ability of students. Shim and Walczak cite evidence from varied authors with prior interest in the same, effectively unearthing massive disagreements from how to define the concept at hand to its components. Accordingly, instructors apply varied instructional practices with no clear-cut boundaries on their suitability on course related tasks, the level of study, disciplines and/or institutions. To be sure, a standardized measure informing appropriate roadmap on the same is non-existent. Buoyed by the evidence gathered, the two dug deep into the transfer of critical thinking skills through and through a survey investigating the benefits derived from varied instructional methods commonly used by instructors. Like their predecessors, their findings seem to validate organized presentations, interpretation of abstract concepts, constitute challenging questions and certain types of class assignment in bolstering critical thinking. The study, however, went against past studies disapproving class presentations and group projects towards the same course (Shim & Walczak, 2012, p. 24) a clear channelize as to where the lack of problem solving skills needed in the workplace emanates from. Reference Shim, W., & Walczak, K. (2012). The Impact of faculty teaching practices on the development of students critical thinking skills. International Journal of Teaching and culture in Higher Education, 24(1), 16-30. 2. Arkoudis, S., & Tran, L. (2010). Writing blah, blah, blah Lecturers approaches and challenges in supporting international students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education , 22(2), 169 - 178. While the institutions of higher learning that do admit international students into their programs reap significantly in terms of revenue and sociocultural value exchanges, which includes but not limited to enhanced institutional reputation, the sustainability of such institu tions with regards to the diverse needs of the students, particularly concerning an even out academic environment, remains much in doubt. Arkoudis and Tran (2010) point out that despite English language being a mandatory entry requirement for the international students in certain universities, such as those in Australia, the Language and Academic Support (LAS) programs established to assist such students in horning their English language skills are more often inaccessible, departure a non-consultative flow of endeavors from both lecturers and their students individual efforts that rarely converge towards the desired objective from ends. In this particular study, the authors, thus, set out to investigate the strategies used by lecturers with the view of offering

How are adults presented in Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

How are adults presented in Romeo and Juliet EssayThere is a large difference betwixt y screw forthhs and adults in Romeo and Juliet. The adults a great deal make emotionally driven decisions, often ones that go back on what they energise previously said. An example of this is headmaster Capulet, who changes his mind on the brotherhood of his daughter. This drastically changes the plot of the story and could have been the reason for the death of Romeo and Juliet.They see the world in a different light to the y push throughhs.The younger custody in the Montague and Capulet families love to fight, and would happily insult the other family in order to subtr symbolize a fight. However, Lord Capulet, and maybe Lord Montague, is less happy to bulge the fight, although he would try to join in, like in act one scene 1. Lord Capulet says tis not hard. I think / for men as venerable as we to keep the peace and later on in the play he also compliments Romeo by work him a virtuou s and well-governed youth. Capulet and Montague could have ended a feud, which was started by their ancestors ancient grudge breaks to new mutiny. You do not discern out what Lord Montague thinks about the feud, only that Capulet thinks that Montague has the same intellection as he.Later in act 1 scene 5 Capulet gets very angry with Tybalt for wanting to start a fight with Romeo. Capulet expects Tybalt to obey him, as he is the master of the house. When Tybalt still refuses to give in to Capulet, his multi faceted side comes out. Capulet changes from arguing to Tybalt Marry, tis time to complementing the guests Well said, my hearts and then back to arguing with Tybalt.Lord Capulet loves his daughter very much. In act 1 scene 2, when Paris asks for Juliets hand in marriage, Lord Capulet tells him that Juliet is too young, but he can start to court Juliet and in 2 years, they may splice. You can tell that he cares about Juliet because he says that Paris may only marry if Juliet agr ees, An she agreed inwardly her scope of choice, / Lies my consent and fair according voice.This is surprising for a patriarchal society and where the daughter has to do what the father says. When Lord Capulet says that Juliet is too young to marry Paris he makes a indirect reference to his wife. And too soon marred are those so early made who we later find out married Lord Capulet when very young.Lord Capulet changes after Tybalt dies. Maybe because he loves Juliet so much he wants to help her, but instead he makes her disembodied spirit worse. He tries to cheer her up -believing that she cries over the death of Tybalt- by moving the date of the wedding forward to three days time Thursday.When Juliet refuses to marry Paris, superior Capulet becomes very violent, and shows another side of himself. He threatens to hit her and says unworthy as she is, that we have wrought / So worthy a gentleman to be her bride?He goes on to say that he was cursed when she was born, and then insul ts the deem by calling her a mumbling foolThe nurse is used as singular relief in the play. She is bawdy and comes from a lower class than the majority of the rest of the cast. Simply the fact she is from a lower class makes her slightly funnier, and she often jumbles up her words I desire some confidence with you and speaks in prose. She gets on better with Juliet than Lord or Lady Capulet, and so Juliet confides in the nurse.The nurse is loyal and caring but very bawdy. However, when Juliet needs her most, the nurse turns away from Juliet, and changes her loyalty by sayingI think you are happy in this second match, She goes on to say that Romeo is no longer there so she has to marry Paris. This is shocking because you believe that the nurse was always on Juliets side,In act 1 scene 3, the nurse talks about Juliet when she was a little girl, and of many slightly rude tales of Juliet. These stories horrify LadyCapulet, but the audience find them funny. It shows the difference bet ween the nurse and Lady Capulet, and their different upbringings. The nurse knows more about Juliet than her own motherThe nurse brings a lot of tension into the balcony scene, because she keeps calling Juliet inside. You worry that she may come outside and ruin Romeo and Juliets romantic moment. But it also brings an element of comedy to it, because it annoys Romeo and Juliet, and you imagine in your head how she would act if she did come out and see Romeo and Juliet on the balcony, confessing their love. The nurse adds a bit of tension in act 2 scene 5 when Juliet is waiting to find out what Romeo has said about their marriage. She will not tell Juliet what Romeo has said, and even though the audience already know what has been said, they are still concerned in grimace something terrible has happened.When Lord Capulet is insulting Juliet about her marriage to Paris, the nurse stands up for Juliet, even when Capulet attacks the nurse verbally. This may be when the nurse has a chan ge of thought, and decides the marriage between Juliet and Paris is a good thing.

Learning in the EYFS Essay Example for Free

Learning in the EYFS EssayKnowledge and understanding of the world Knowledge and Understanding of the World relates to fryrens everyday lives, their homes, families, an separate(prenominal) people, the local environment and community and the wider world. Personal, social and emotional discipline The social and emotional development of a child helps practitioners/parents understand the behaviors they exhibit. though children develop and climb on at disparate rates, social and emotional development gener solelyy occurs in predictable stages. Communication language and literacy Childrens learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, cosmos read to and beginning to read and write must be projected and extended. They must be provided with opportunity and encouragement to use their skills in a mark of situations and for a range of purposes, and be supported in developing the confidence and dispositions to do so.Problem solving reasoning and numeracy Thi s area mostly focuses on a childs ability to solve simple problems and builds an awareness of shapes space and measures. Practitioners do this by looking at shapes, numbers, building bricks etc. Physical study Children are encouraged to take part in a variety of physical activities. Children develop physic in ally at diametrical stages and times. This area helps practitioners to keep hybridise of each individual childs development. Creative development Being creative covers a multitude of ideas including how children express and communicate ideas. They keister explore all sorts of media (eg ICT, music) and materials. They provide alike develop their imagination through play.Although they are all different a good planned activity will cover to a greater extent than one area of development. For example, playing a snakes and ladders board game will help a child with their Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy master(prenominal)ly but it will too help them with their Communi cation, language and literacy development as they are being encouraged to communicate with other children playing the game. Also the areas are interdependent if the child is struggling with one area it can affect how they develop in other areas. For example, if a child is disabled and cannot join in physical activities this can affect their physical development but it can then also affect their communication, language and literacy and Personal, social and emotional development because they arent joining in with the same activities as their peers. This can be avoided or at least limited by good planning and inclusive practice.1.2Outcomes are given to the different areas of learning within the EYFS to ensure that practitioners have something to focus on. These outcomes are outlined within the EYFS as overarching principles these areEvery child is a unique child, who is invariably learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured Children learn to be strong and indepe ndent through positive relationships Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.And three main areas of development which arePhysical Development This is the development of a childs physical skills. It includes the Gross motor skills, such(prenominal) as walking, jumping, running, catching and the fine motor skills such as the pincer grip, hand-eye-coordination, doing up laces or zips. Personal Social and Emotional Development The social and emotional development of a child helps practitioners/parents understand the behaviors they exhibit. Though children develop and mature at different rates, social and emo tional development generally occurs in predictable stages. Communication and Language Development Language development is the process by which children come to understand and communicate language during early childhood.1.3The documented outcomes are assessed by practitioners in different ways. On-going assessments are carried out in settings frequently. Practitioners plan an activity, observe the child/children, record cultivation and evaluate the outcome. If needed they then plan another activity and repeat the process until they get the information they need. These are also known as formative assessments and they are an integral part of the EYFS framework. It helps parents, carers and practitioners to constantly monitor a childs progress and survival up on and solve problems if there are any. At the age of two a child has a progress check. This is when practitioners review their progress and nominate a short written summary of a childs development in the main areas of developm ent. This helps to make sure a child is on track with their development and helps to identify any areas that a child may be developing at a slower rate than is expected. This can also pick up on any disabilities or learning difficulties.If a practitioner does pick up on a learning difficulty they should commit together a plan to support the childs future learning and development. Practitioners must discuss with parents how the outcome of the assessments can be used to support the childs development at home, and parents are encouraged to share the outcome with any relevant professionals i.e. a teacher or a health visitor. In the final term of the year in which the child turns five practitioners must complete the EYFS profile for each child. This profile must reflect on-going observation, all relevant records held by the setting, discussions with parents and carers, and any other adults whom the teacher, parent or carer judges can offer a useful contribution.The profile lets parents , carers and other professionals have an overview of a childs knowledge, understanding and abilities, their progress against expected levels, and their readiness for year one. Year one teachers are given a copy of this profile and it will outline whether the child is meeting, exceeding or not yet reaching the expected levels of the early learning goals. I think assessments are important to Practitioners and other professionals like teachers because it helps them to work together to identify any problems that may arise with a childs development and address the problems quickly and effectively also if the child is very quick at development it can be spotted and they can be given extra planned work to obturate them from getting bored. I think it is also good for parents because they have guidance on how to help their childs development at home.

The Leadership Processes Of Daimler Chrysler

The Leadership Processes Of Daimler ChryslerSince its establishment in 1924, Chrysler has been the leading automobile companion manuf turninguring various motor vehicles such as the Chrysler Six which was the i of the first red-brick cars to be built. Chrysler Six was claimed to be the first car scoring several firsts, for instance, oil filter, air cleaner, postgraduate compression engine, four wheeled hydraulic stop and different such tech parts.Chrysler took everywhere its competitor, American Motors Corporations in 1987. This was angiotensin converting enzyme of its initial nuclear fusion reactions and acquisitions that position Chrysler on the third position of United States auto manufacturers.On the 12th of January 1998, Chrysler Corporation incorporated with the German company, Daimler. In the period leading up to the liquifyr, twain companies were experiencing high profit growths. Daimler admired Chryslers entrepreneurial spirit and groundbreaking thinking while Chrysler jimmyed the methodological engineering and technical capabilities of Daimler. The two companies were interested in a merger as it would complement their capabilities and resources which would produce great profits. The merger was touted as a corporate merger of equals and held high expectations among all stakeholders of the schemes (Darling, Seristo, Gabrielsson, 2005).Soon after the merger, both subgroups experienced various conflicts delinquent to different bailiwick and corporate cultures, business practices, trouble and leadinghip styles and inefficient converse ne 2rks. Negotiations between senior leaders frizzled and led to the lay-off of then Chryslers CEO, Robert Eaton. Due to the lack of counselling support, communication and the eventual domination of Daimlers culture over Chryslers, key executives who had been credited with Chryslers success in the 1990s left the organization. This resulted in a management brain run off which evolved into a crisis s ituation for DaimlerChrysler. Subsequently, an organisational restructuring, production cutbacks and cost cutting measures were announced. However, it was un suitable to re brighten the crisis and thus set about huge losses which eventually resulted in a merger failure.Chrysler dropped from its third position in the United States automobiles chart when it went through and through a merger with Daimler-Benz. Although it was a merger of equals, it was soon overridden by Daimler-Benz collectable to Globalization, neoclassical Approaches, Systems Approaches, counselling Styles, Leadership Processes as well as socialization.Soon it was realised that Daimler and Chrysler could not function successfully, and thus in 2009 DaimlerChrysler filed for bankruptcy which left a check on the history of United States automobiles.The master(prenominal) focus of our report provide centre on Chrysler, throughout the period before and during its merger with Daimler, and how internal and foreig n factors affected its operations.GLOBALIZATIONWhen Chrysler first started out, it scored several firsts in the industry such as an oil filter, air cleaner, high compression engine, four-wheel hydraulic brakes, and other advanced Chrysler parts. As the company progressed on, it went through several disturbances in its environment continuing into its merger with Daimler. Globalization started taking its toll on Chrysler.Globalization, according to Miller, K. (2009), is the feeler of transportation and telecommunications system making our world, both on a personal and organizational level ever more connected, efficient and interconnected towards a more global economy (p. 2).Chrysler embarked on its journey of manufacturing efficient automobiles through various improvements such as significantly expanding the electronics and com orderer content on vehicles, with applications ranging from power chase controls for improved fuel economy and reduced emissions, to enhanced safety system s and chassis controls and to on-board communication systems. Moving on in the years, Chrysler developed vehicles using outdated and high-priced structures even as its sales and resources shrinked. Since Chryslers business was heavily weighted to North America, this make the organisation more vulnerable to local economic fluctuations and less able to take advantage of developing markets, as stated by the New York Times.Climate tilt also made an impact on Chrysler. As Stephen J. G. said,The finis to drive cars long distances to work was common among throng in North America and Europe in the past(a) 60 years. Cities grew larger. The development of suburbs often placed homes far from work places massive road construction advocated extravagant car workDriving a car is the most air polluting act an average citizen commits.Chrysler produced auto vehicles that were manufactured without any consideration to its environment. Stephen J. G. (2008), said that Chrysler faced criticisms fo r their larger vehicles as they were exploiting the innate human tendency to jibek domination over othersBigger is better.However, in 2009, due to climate channel, Chrysler changed their tactics, targeting buyers with their higher fuel efficiency and smaller automobiles. Soon after, Chrysler came up with a Hybrid car which boasted fuel efficiency. Chrysler is advertise expanding on this idea by following it through till 2011 by making new models of the car but using the same technology, for instance, the electric vehicle Dodge Ev.We can view Chrysler in two different views, namely the Utopian view and the Dystopian view. For the Utopian view, we know that Chrysler will continue to change along with globalization and expand its horizons further than North America. It can also adapt with other cultures and societies by learning from its past and bringing it forward to use it in its future. notwithstanding several downfalls, Chrysler always manages to pick itself up and survive thr ough mergers, with Daimler in 1998 and Fiat in 2009.In terms of the dystopian view, make believely, due to its several changes, Chrysler is losing its original organizational structure. Chrysler is chief(prenominal)taining its image by retaining the Chrysler logo for its automobiles despite merging with various other organizations. Nevertheless, even though Chrysler has worked hard to preserve its external image, it has undeniably woolly-headed its charm to potential buyers and its customer base.SYSTEMS APPROACHESDuring the period of heathen change in the 1990s, Chrysler made some improvements to its organizational system. It increased the involvement of people in its operations which improved the permeability of its operations with its suppliers and customers.Before the merger with Daimler, Chryslers management had allowed permeability in its operations in which in that respect was a two way communication between Chrysler and its customers through feedback and information sca rpers. Recognizing the importance of receiving information from customers for improving their focus on development, Chryslers system processes utilized positive, growth and deviation amplifying feedback. In which, customers were requested to provide feedback c recidivate to their products. by means of processing these inputs from customers and workers, Chrysler modified its products to achieve higher profits (Zatz, 1994).In addition, Chrysler improved its system properties namely, holism and negative entropy. The CEO, designers and assemblage line workers held meetings together to create and gather information and ideas. This resulted in the creation of successful products by the company (Zatz, 1994). This shows the property of holism where the end product achieved was great in esteem than what the employees could have created individually. Chrysler also practiced negative entropy as it valued customers feedback and provided information of its operations to the public.However, after the merger with Daimler, Chryslers existing organizational system processes and properties were replaced by the dominant Daimlers system. This resulted in organizational restructuring, production cutbacks, cost cutting measures and numerous worker layoffs. The loss of Chryslers successful system resulted in high losses for DaimlerChrysler (Darling et al, 2005).The merger also brought closely a high level of misgiving among employees of Chrysler. According to Cervone, T (2009), communication was an area where DaimlerChrysler fell apart, because there were differences about what needed to be communicated and how to communicate. Daimlers style of communication was solely top-down management communication. However, Chrysler utilise a more in-depth and extensive communication network with its employees. Therefore as employees were otiose to receive important information after the merger, equivocality was high among employees of Chrysler. This was due to the different enactmen ts by employees which created multiple informational environments due to the limited information received in the communication networks.Karl Weicks Theory of Organizing states that reducing equivocality is central to the process of organizing in an organization. It also states that through the use of assembly rules and communication cycles, equivocality should be decomposed. In the case of DaimlerChrysler, no effort was made to reduce equivocality and this eventually resulted in the departure of key executives of the organization, creating huge losses for the merger (Darling et al, 2005).The period of merger was a time of uncertainty, cark and constant conflicts among employees of Daimler and Chrysler. There were various conflicts that stemmed from a vast difference in national and corporate cultures, conflicts on compensation as well as travel expenses. Failure to mix or assimilate the organizational practices and cultures of both companies created disorder in the merger. Furth ermore, the period after Chryslers CEO was fired by Daimler due to differences and the subsequent domination of Daimlers management, pulled Chryslers employees further into disorder (Darling et al, 2005).The New Science Systems Theory states that when systems are at the edge of chaos, order can emerge from disorder. It emphasizes the importance of relationships and cosmos open to information to create new and innovative organizational processes. The high level of disorder present in the merger could have been advantageously apply by the management of DaimlerChrysler to create a sustainable and innovative new system. However, as there were problems in the management itself and a lack of information flow and disharmony among employees in the organization, this opportunity was lost to DaimlerChrysler.CLASSICAL APPROACHESAs with most German companies, Daimler embodied the concept of absolute formality. There was a high vehemence placed on the respect that junior workers had to show t hose higher up in the hierarchy, and it was expected of workers to take extreme care not to make mistakes when label and titles were concerned. Chrysler, macrocosmness an American company, was practi travel toy the complete opposite of this. There was very little emphasis placed on hierarchies within the company, and the management encouraged a very comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. legion(predicate) a time, mid-level executives could make decisions without fear of negative repercussions from higher-ups. In fact, it was this spontaneity and risk-taking attitude that Chryslers success was partially attributed to. (Vance Paik, 2006.)Upon the merger of the two companies, the actions of Daimler-side co-chairman Schrempp made it clear that despite touting the merge as a marriage of equals, Daimler was still fighting to retain dominance in the newly interconnected DaimlerChrysler. The Chrysler executives were used to ensuring that their opinions were heard by the rest of the board, n o matter what their level was in the corporate hierarchy. This style of communication was unheard of in German companies, and Schrempp felt so threatened by this openness that he removed them from the company to preserve his position and power. (Badrtalei Bates, 2007.)Schrempp also axed some individuals from the post-merger management board, and a large majority of those fired hailed from the Chrysler division. Communications-wise, we can see that Daimler favored a top-down, formal style of communication within the company as seen from their strict hierarchy and style of decision-making. Chrysler, on the other hand, preferred to encourage an open floor of discussion, allowing as many employees as possible to participate and took their input into consideration. The main mistake committed by the DaimlerChryslers managerial board was that of being far too rigid when it came to the issue of communications within the company. (Vance Paik, 2006.)In Daimler-Benz, all decisions were made by a board of management executives in the main headquarters in Germany. Those in the lower levels of management had no power in making decisions, as everything would first have to be put past those at the very top of the corporate hierarchy. This cost the company their stability in the time period immediately after the merger, where many problems had the tendency to occur.patronage Chryslers executives being those who were used to making decisions on their own, without having to go through higher levels of authority, they were unable to make any quick decisions which might have saved the company due to Daimlers insistence on forcing them to adopt German style of decision making, which was an arduous, intricate process, and thus took a very long time. Although Frederick Taylors theory of Scientific Management offers that there is only one best way to accomplish any task, the case of DaimlerChryslers failed merger shows that this is not necessarily so there are situations which call for spontaneous, quick thinking as well. (Badrtalei Bates, 2007.)The reason for Chryslers apparent assimilation into Daimler, as opposed to there being a stabilized platform of equals between the two, was made clear by the remark passed by Schrempp in an interview conducted in October 2000. In it, it was insinuated that the German co-chairman had intended for it to be an acquisition of Chrysler instead of a merger of equals from the very beginning. This was ironically the exact same view that Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton had rejected so vehemently. It is then easy to see exactly why such a large majority of the Chrysler executives (about two thirds) had been either fired or left the company and replaced by managers from the Daimler corporate grid (Darling et al., 2005).DaimlerChryslers HierarchyMANAGEMENT STYLEDespite many labelling the merger of DaimlerChrysler as the deal of the century (Keegan, 2005) where the merger of equals would bring out the best of both organisations, D aimlerChrysler went under major crisis after their merger. According to Darling, Seristo and Gabrielsson (2005), crisis is outlined to be situations that interrupt an organisations usual activity and process (pp. 346-347). Crisis occurred within the newly merged company due to a few reasons Firstly, the merger of Daimler and Chrysler resulted in contrary differences in its managerial and leaderships styles. Managerial-leadership, or the lack of it, makes or breaks an organisation in times of crisis.According to Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid, Chryslers management belonged to the Country club style of management, where organisational leaders exhibited a high concern for its people as compared to the low concern for production. Chrysler, being an American based company, had its managers concentrating efforts on the establishment of a pleasant workplace with friendly and comfortable human relations.On the other hand, Daimler exercised the authority compliance style of management. As quoted from Daimlers Chairman Dieter Zetsche, Daimler systematically train their employees so that every one of them clearly understands that compliance is not optional its an integral element of their corporate culture (2009), which is characterised as high concern for production and low concern for people. The organisations main objective would be to ensure that its managers focus on arrangements of components in the workplace to maximize efficiency and attain goals. Hence, unlike the American based Chrysler, German Daimler management had little concern for human needs.According to Darling et al. (2005),The DaimlerChrysler merger was not an ordinary merger. This merger had embedded within it the existence of two very infrangible yet different organizational cultures that were expected to become integrated to facilitate achievement of the goals and objectives of the merged cross-cultural global enterprise. Failure to successfully integrate the two cultures gave rise to a cris is that threatened the existence of DaimlerChrysler.As there was no clear distinction of a culture after the merger, employees from both companies encountered various intergroup conflicts. These conflicts escalated during the interactions of these now interdependent sub bodies of an organisation that lived in mistrust and continued to perceive opposition of goals, aims, and determine, each perceiving the other party as potentially interfering with the realization of these goals. some(prenominal) companies failed to drop their existing organizational culture and find a shared direction or vision.The merger was thus marked by deep discredit between the two subgroups, as could be seen from how Daimler and Chrysler both openly showed their conflict. They failed to reach a compromise, much less a collaboration to solve the differences to resolve the conflict.Many later commented that the DaimlerChrysler merger was nothing more than an outright acquisition of Chrysler by the German a utomaker (Keegan, 2005). American President of Chrysler group Jim Holden, together with the management, was eventually replaced by Zetsche and the German management from Daimler, who tries to instil the German practice on the American organisation, hence causing the organisational culture of Chrysler to be dominated by the Daimler management.As the merged organisation fought to survive in the highly competitive manufacturing sector, they adopted the Likerts System I due to the Blake and Moutons Authority-Compliance leadership style, the exploitative authoritative organisation, which is characterised by motivation through downward communication, top-level decision making, the giving of orders, and top level control. Although the strict hierarchical regime might have worked with the German Daimler, it only served as a unpleasant culture shock to American based Chrysler. Chrysler and Daimler succeeded on their own because of their unique features. Merging without collaboration simply meant that their uniqueness had to be sacrificed, hence causing them to lose their edge in the market.LEADERSHIP PROCESSESAfter the merger of DaimlerChrysler both subgroups experienced a high level of change. Many problems surfaced during the organizational change process. Firstly there was a lack of management support by Daimler and Chryslers management. According to Darling et al. (2005), Chryslers CEO, Robert Eaton who was in charge of the integration of the two companies, lacked the leadership skills or political judgment needed to help the new entity develop a unique culture that represented the best of both worlds.Secondly there was inconsistent action on the part of the management on both sides. Daimler-Benz and Chrysler both had extremely different styles of management and corporate culture. As a result, both companies experienced clashes in operating(a) practices during and after the merger, which quickly escalated in intensity and frequency to the point where the merged c ompany found itself entering a state of crisis (Darling et al, 2005). The leaders of DaimlerChrysler were thus unable to form a clear management vision to be shared with others in the organization. Ownership tension, characterized in this case by these two issues, hampered the successful capital punishment change efforts and subsequently resulted in a failed merger.In addition, communication between the two subgroups was poor. Daimler practiced an autocratic top down communication style, while Chrysler used an in depth and extensive communication style (Cervone, 2010). As the cultures and communication networks of the two subgroups were not assimilated, there was no clear communication network to both subgroups. Also there were differences about what needed to be communicated. This resulted in uncertainty and anxiety among all organizational members.Despite the multitude of problems experienced by DaimlerChrysler, during the change process, there was no clear effort by the leaders to successfully implement the change process by providing effective management support and reducing uncertainty for organizational members. These problems escalated and subsequently became one of the main factors that caused the merger failure.CULTUREIn the early 1990s, Chrysler experienced several problems that stemmed from a lack of a strong culture in the organization. Chrysler was historically known for its innovation but along the years, lost its core value by producing outdated products. Its relationships with its customers and various stakeholders deteriorated. These problems adversely affected the companys profits (Zatz, 1994).In order to boost its falling profits, Chrysler made efforts to create a strong organizational culture that increased individual and organizational performance to greater levels. Chrysler began by revamping its core assumption of innovation with a multitude of effective values. These values supported individual participation, growth and improvement in processes which resulted in an boilersuit increase in organizational performance. They are also described as themes for excellent cultures by Peter and Waterman.The values Chrysler incorporated are the involvement of people in which ideas were solicited from suppliers, customers wants and needs were collated via customer feedback, assembly line workers were included in the planning process and mechanics were consulted early in the process. The value of learning or the Hands-on, value driven theme in which members actively took part in the analysis of past mistakes and achievements in order to improve their overall processes was implemented. In addition the value of quality was created. Chrysler had in place a product quality improvement partnership program to improve quality by increasing teamwork. This is similar to the theme of Simultaneous loose-tight properties as employees exhibited a unity of purpose of achieving quality through diversity in the form of teamwork. The program w as a success as it produced the 1966 Grand Cherokee and Chrysler PT cruiser which consistently appeared at the top of the quality charts (Zatz, 1994).These values were encouraged by top management and in time, supported by all employees. This form of synergy was represented in the organizations behaviours and artefacts. Chrysler adopted a participative decision making style, practised wide communication on all networks, implemented low power distance which resulted in a freewheeling open culture that was indifferent to positions or hierarchy.Chryslers Onion Model in the 1990sIn 1998, Chrysler merged with Daimler. The merger was touted as the merger of equals. However, Daimler and Chrysler failed to consider the vast differences in their national cultures during merger negotiations. This led to conflicting corporate cultures, assailable problems and ultimately a failed merger (Darling et al, 2005).The German culture of Daimler-Benz was generally less individualistic then Americans. They were uncomfortable with anxiety and ambiguity, practised indirectness in communication and gave respect for title, age and background. While, Daimlers culture consisted of an autocratic leadership style, top- down management and limited involvement of employees. Daimler was characterized as being conservative, efficient and safe. This collided with Chryslers values and opposed its American values of a free-wheeling and open culture. They were characterized as being risk-taking and innovative. Therefore, misunderstandings soon occurred due to the differences in their communication styles, planning and decision-making processes and leadership styles (Darling et al, 2005).During the merger, there were long heated discussions between the CEOs of Daimler and Chrysler about the differences in their corporate cultures and behavioural traits. They recognized the differences but were unsure of how to assimilate the cultures. Finally, they decided that if the differences were far apart, they would pick a spot in the middle and they would merge (Cervone, 2010). By doing so, the CEOs failed to recognize that organizational cultures are often ambiguous. There are potentially multiple manifestations to a corporate culture which are diverse and dynamic. Thus, pickax a spot in the middle of two different cultures will not create an effective culture for DaimlerChrysler.Also, organizational cultures are not unitary. It is unimaginable to characterize an organization as having a single culture as there are multitudes of subcultures existing in conflict or harmony with one another. As such, the CEOs decision to pick a culture that is midway between their cultures will not result in success. This would fail to recognize the subcultures within the organization that largely impacts its behaviours and decisions.In addition, organizational cultures are complicated. Integrating two independent companies with divergent cultures into one cohesive organization is a major undertakin g (Zatz, 1994). solely picking a culture will not create a sustainable culture for DaimlerChrysler. This objectifies culture by simplifying it and de-emphasizing the complex processes via which organizational culture is created and sustained. Culture is in actuality pervasive and it affects the everyday business of the firm (Weber, Camerer, 2003). Thus, more effort is needed to collaborate both cultures. The leaders should create joint basic assumptions and related to values for the organization. This would create a shared meaning among all employees and subcultures which would in turn create similar behavioural traits. This level of synergy in cultures will result in success for DaimlerChrysler.Furthermore, organizational cultures are emergent. It is a product of constant interrelationships between organizational members in different contexts and settings. After the merger, cultural workshops were put in place to integrate both subgroups of the company. These workshops were not s upported by both members and thus failed. Subsequently, no other efforts were made by the management to integrate the members. As no clear distinction of a culture was made, Daimlers culture grew to be more dominant and oppressing to employees of Chrysler. Employees became increasingly dissatisfied and there were constant cultural collisions in the interrelationships between Daimler and Chryslers employees. This led to the departure of key Chrysler executives who had led the company to success in its domestic and international markets for creativity, efficiency and profitability. As a result, the companies faced huge losses (Zatz, 1994).This situation could have been avoided by integrating employees of both corporations. By creating opportunities for employees to interact in settings such as orientation of members to the newly merged company, company events, department dinners or joint work teams, would have increased familiarity and created cohesive relationships between employees. Also, communication networks should be expanded and fully utilized to allot information during the merger in order to reduce uncertainty and increase support of the merger. These methods would have allowed a cohesive culture among members of both companies to emerge over time.CONCLUSIONWhy was Chrysler a success?Chrysler initially pioneered several automobile parts, making it more accepted in the automobile market. After being criticised for not being environmentally friendly, Chrysler replied to the criticisms by introducing a new line of automobiles such as Hybrid cars and electric cars in the Dodge EV series and brought the speck back into demand.Why was DaimlerChrysler a failure?The merger of Daimler and Chrysler did not thrive as many people had predicted. It would have became the collaboration of the century if only they had managed to solve the problems that occurred within the newly formed DaimlerChrysler. The issues they faced wereThere were problems with the organizatio nal system processes of the newly merged organization. Chrysler, on its own, constantly strived to improve its system properties, for instance, holism and negative entropy. However after it was merged with Daimler, they went under organizational restructuring, production cutbacks, cost cutting measures and numerous worker layoffs resulting in a high level of uncertainty among employees due to limited information received in communication network.Daimler embodied the concept of absolute formality, while Chrysler placed very little emphasis on hierarchies within the company. Furthermore, Daimler was still fighting to retain dominance in the newly merged DaimlerChrysler. The main mistake committed by the DaimlerChryslers managerial board was them being far too rigid when it came to the issue of communications within the company.The lack of a suitable managerial-leadership also caused a crisis. Daimler exercised the authority compliance style of management over Chryslers style of manage ment of the Country club. The merger was thus marked by deep distrust when they failed to even reach a compromise to resolve their conflict.Chrysler experienced several problems that stemmed from a lack of a strong culture in the organization. Chrysler was historically known for its innovation but along the years, lost its core value by producing outdated products. Daimler and Chrysler failed to consider the vast differences in their national cultures and assimilate them during merger negotiations, thus causing DaimlerChrysler to lose its edge in the market, which ultimately led to a failed merger.What they should have done to solve the problems?During the negotiations prior to the merger, leaders of Daimler and Chrysler should have identified the vast differences in the national and corporate cultures of both companies. As both of the companies merged to complement their capabilities and resources, the domination and oppression of Daimlers culture over Chrysler adversely affected t he merger. Chrysler experienced a loss of culture and an erosion of its successful values which reduced its overall capability. Therefore, the leaders of DaimlerChrysler should have exhibited cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence to facilitate the growth of a cohesive culture. Through the collaboration of shared meanings and values, DaimlerChrysler would have created a successful merger.What happened to Chrysler in the end?Chryslers sales tumbled 30 percent in 2008 and it ended the year with only $2 billion in cash and reliant on a government bailout to keep it afloat. After which Fiat took an interest in Chrysler after thorough look for of whether it will have minimal downside and be profitable. As JP Morgans analyst Himanshu Patel said, the merger for both Fiat and Chrysler could help the U.S. automaker secure another round of bailout funds.This is a strategic alliance, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer with Solaris Asset Management in New York By Gilles Cast onguay and Poornima GuptaWe hope that Chrys

Implementing and Adopting Innovation: Case Study of Skype

Implementing and Adopting designing Case Study of SkypeThe redeem assignment focuses on a real origin peculiar(prenominal) which involves the implementation and aimion of renewal. The case study is comprised of four primary parts which explore the litigate of grounding ontogenesis, the promoters of flip-flop, the inner(a) and external chemical reaction within trade resources and the likely strategic implications and business model for further exploitation which brush aside be proposed. In this respect, the assignment explores Skype as an example of business organisation which adopts establishment on a unceasing basis and the various strategic implications to which this behaviour is associated.Skype is an information communication technology (ICT) which is cardinal of the most popular mathematical products used by contrastive consumer segments in the butt on of communicating over the Internet. This computer programme provides users with the probability to commun icate and interact via a low cost channel. The attach tos growth is promoted by the continuous internationalisation and globalisation of markets. Moreover, not only continuous internationalisation figure outs the tuition of Skype, but Skype itself whoremaster be seen as a promoter of globalisation removal of market and country boundaries.In this context, Skype has grown through the continuous application of additive fundament. The political party has been adopting innovative applications and targeting various customer segments through the products and go provided. However, the present assignment would not only explore these strategy approaches to battle but primarily focuses on the organisational and structural innovation of Skype. The report particularly focuses on the eruditeness of Skype by E-bay and the organisation implication this has. Pay Pal as an other(a) integrative part of this acquisition is also presented and discussed.Innovation CharacteristicsInnovation prudence and organic evolution has grown as one of the most popular fields within social sciences. It has attracted the interest of scholars for many years. For example, Schumpeter (1950) who is the pioneer within the discipline proposes that innovation is the knowledge of a romance solution which alters past perceptions. Schumpeter (1950) characterised the process of innovation development with the concept of creative destruction explaining that innovation restructures the way past patterns atomic number 18 graspd through the implementation of novelty (Hospers, 2005). However, it is essential to be outlined that innovation is not only characterised by its novel characteristics but by the mercantile impressiveness which it has (Tidd et al., 2005). In other words, an innovative solution is both new and applicable to the respective market.Apart from the above mentioned characteristics, it is also grave to be outlined that innovation can be value in different forms and degree s. For example, innovation can be seen primarily as incremental and musical theme (Afuah, 2003). Incremental innovation occurs when bantam novel changes ar applied within an organisation (Tidd et al., 2005). It is often that incremental innovation is practiced on a continuous basis and thus is cognize as a process of continuous improvement which has applications in companies as Toyota and their total quality caution (TQM) core strategic values (Afuah, 2003 Bessan and Francis, 1999). Contrary to the incremental innovation, the radical one is characterised with profound changes within an enterprise (Francis and Bessant, 2005).Apart from the degree of innovativeness, it is also important to be outlined that business organisations can exploit different fibres of innovation. The academic literature mainly outlines two main types such as product and process innovation (Boer and During, 2001 Damapur and Evans, 1984). As it can be logically proposed found on the names, the product in novation mainly concerns the products and the process innovation is implemented within the business processes to promote efficiency and effectiveness (DiLiello and Houghton, 2008). However, apart from product and process innovation, organsiational innovation is also seen as another essential type.In this context, the present epitome is specifically focuses on organisational innovation in the case of E-Bays acquisition of Skype and how this bear on to the mutual organisational innovativeness. The organsiational innovativeness is mutual as this acquisition has affected both parties in a unique way (Hof, 2005). However, it should be also underlined that as E-bay has adopted and more often than not promoted the payment platform Pay Pal therefore the implications which Pay Pal has on Skype should be also considered (Vitzthum and Konsynski, 2009).The organisational impact which this acquisition has on Skype is substantial. On the one hand, Skype has been having significant popularity i n Europe and Asia but lacked mellow exposure in the large the Statesn market. In this respect, as E-bay is one of the leading e-commerce platforms n the US therefore Skype would be able to benefit for such co-operation. However, the innovative characteristics of this venture do not come from the increased market exposure but from the integrating of three different business models Skype, E-bay and Pay Pal. This can be place as a trim example of Schumpeters creative destruction, when old and orthodox patterns are substituted by novel behaviour (Hospers, 2005 Schumpeter, 1950).Furthermore, the characteristics of this organisational innovation not only should be identified within the structural implications only but also in sexual relation to internal business resources. For example, organisational innovation promotes the interaction between different groups of employees which as a return increases the creative capability of the enterprise due to continuous knowledge-sharing and c onception generation (Tushman and OReilly, 1997). This is the fountain why, through this acquisition, Skype not only does gain the opportunity to get popularised within different markets but also benefit from the exchange of insight. gentleman resource management and in particular the collaborative performance of employees is essential to the promotion of innovation (Dodgson and Rothw, 1994). In other words, organisational innovation can promote the development of other types of innovation, such as process and product innovation as part of the internal collaborative processes.Triggers and Promoters of the InnovationThe triggers and promoters of innovation can be separate into internal and external ones. The internal triggers in the present case are the desire of E-bay and Skype to grow in greater capabilities and combat within diverse markets. As it was already outlined Skype had good exposure in Europe and Asia but lacked the very(prenominal) success in United States (Vitzthum and Konsynski, 2009). On the contrary, Skype as a braggart(a) e-commerce platform in the US lacked significant exposure to European and Asian consumers as opposite to the intensive revenue generation in North America (Amber, 2000). Furthermore, the third element in this partnership, Pay Pal at the time of the merger was still in the beginning of its growth and therefore this collaboration looked extremely positive to Pay Pals increased business capabilities and market reach.Apart from the internal drive which is always a highly influential promoter of innovation and business private-enterprise(a)ness, the external environment can be suggested to be another substantial stimulus to this acquisition. For example, globalisation and the incessantly intensified communication between international customers influence technological development and therefore information and communication technologies as Skype consent substantial opportunity to grow. Furthermore, another important trigg er to the organisation is the increased market competitiveness. The adoption of innovation is generally associated to both positive and negative external sources. As it is in the present case, these are the market opportunities which the acquisition provides and the industrial competitiveness and threats which whitethorn have negative impact on the performance of the organisations.The internal and external sources of innovation, however, should not be perceived as ultimately separate entities. For example, the internal skills of a business contribute to the business ability to exploit external opportunities and overcome external threats. In this respect, the resource based view (RBV) theory can be used as an analogue, suggesting that a firms strength derives from its internal dynamics and this promotes business continuous competitiveness (Barney, 2001). In the present context, it can be proposed that the sure case of organisational restructuring and innovation affects the increase d resource capabilities of the business and thus promotes the ventures greater competitiveness.Reactions to the Adopted InnovationAs Joseph Schumpeter suggests, innovation is a phenomenon which causes disruption and change (Hospers, 2006 Schumpeter, 1950). This is the priming coat why, innovation and all processes related to its adoption bring into beings certain internal and external reaction. In the present case, the reactions of E-bays acquisition of Skype and integration of Pay Pal cannot be assessed only from internal perspective as the author of the present report cannot access this internal information. However, there are certain outcomes which can be clearly recognised in the academic literature which can be conceptually and theoretically integrated in the current analysis.One of the primary reactions which can be identified in the internal environment of a alliance when innovation is adopted is the rejection by employees to accept the proposed change (Hiatt and Creasey, 2003). This is specially common in the cases of organisational restructuring which is resulted by mergers and acquisitions (Fedor and Harold, 2004). Employees perceive this as a risk to their career and job stability. However, the present acquisition cannot be recognised with any major physical and structural transformations and therefore it may not have had such a substantial impact over employees.Another reaction which can be identified with such a swimming diversification and organisational innovation is seen within the external context and in particular in customers and competitors (Cook, 2004). For example, customers become interested in the collaborative propositions which the brands are likely to provide. For example, Skype has been continuously innovating and applying some incremental innovations and improvements due to the wider market share the company is exposed to. This is the reason why, Skype has developed various video and communication application within its platf orm to fit the ask of multiple customer segments. This is true innovation, not only it needs to be novel but it also need to have commercial and market value (Damanpour, 1991).Strategic CharacteristicsThe present case reveals an innovative organisational situation the acquisition of E-bay of Skype. This is an approach of horizontal diversification by E-bay which not only does have substantial impacts on E-bay but on Skype as well. This is an example of the interconnectivity of innovation it cannot be conducted in isolation and it has effect on multiple business aspects. For example, the organisational innovation resulted in Skypes producing a continuous incremental innovation, developing and introducing new applications to fit the needs of various segments. The platform introduced multiple video streaming which is highly applicable to ordinary users, families and business conferencing. This multiple application of innovation is exactly the purpose and value of the phenomenon.It i s important to be underlined that innovation is a powerful source of competitiveness but it needs significant internal commitment. This is the reason why, leading can be recognised as essential promoter of innovative behaviour. Leadership is the process which motivates and inspires organisational commitment. In the context of incremental innovation, employees need to be continuously committed to promote the innovative performance of the business.Leadership, however, should not be confused with management as these are different approaches to mess management, development and co-ordination. Management can be explained as the process of executing business processes and operations in an efficient vogue whereas leadership is the approach of doing the right things identifying solutions where no structure guidance exists. This is the reason why leadership is needed to stimulate employees commitment to innovation (Alves et al., 2007). People management and team work are essential to inn ovation development as this process stimulate idea generation and knowledge sharing between different individuals which is synthesised in the creation of a novel and meaningful solution.ReferencesAfuah. A. (2003) Innovation Management. (2nd ed.) Oxford Oxford University Press.Alves, J., Marques, M., Saur, I. and Marques, P. (2007) Creativity and Innovation through Multidisciplinary and Multisectoral Cooperation, Creativity and Innovation Management, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 27 34.Anon (2008) swop management and employee motivation the balancing act online. Available from http//www.articlesbase.com/recruitment-articles/change-management-and-employee-motivation-the-balancing-act-672944.html Accessed 04/05/11Barney, J. (2001) Is the Resource-Based Theory a Useful Perspective for Strategic Management Research?.Yes., Journal of Management, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 99 120.Barney, J., Wright, M. and Ketchen Jr., D. (2001) The resource-based view of the firm Ten years after 1991.,Journal of Manage ment, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 625 641.Bennet, B (2009) Change management Motivation online. Available from http//billbennett.co.nz/2009/09/16/change-management-motivation/ Accessed 04/04/11Bessant, J. (2003) High Involvement Innovation. Chichester antic Wiley Sons.Bessant, J. and Francis, D. (1999) Developing strategic continuous improvement capability, global Journal of Operations Production Management. Vol. 19, No. 11, pp. 1106 1119.Boer, H. and During, W.E. (2001) Innovation. What innovation? A comparison between product, process and organisational innovation, International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 22, No. 1/2/3, pp. 83 -107.Cook, S. (2004), Change management excellence using the four intelligences for successful organizational, Kogan Page Publishers. Available from http//books.google.co.uk/books?id=Y9BcWvY-0SMCprintsec=frontcoverdq=change+managementlr=v=onepageq=f=false Accessed 04/03/11.Dahlgaard, J. J., Kristensen, K. and Kanji, K. G. (1998) Fundamental of Tota l Quality Management. London Chapman Hall.Damanpour, F. (1991) Organizational Innovation A Meta-Analysis of do of Determinants and Moderators, The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 555 590.Damanpour, F. and Gopalakrishnan, S. (2001) The kinetics of the Adoption of Product and Process Innovations in Organizations, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 45 65.Dewar, D. R. and Dutton, E. J. (1986) The Adoption of Radical and Incremental Innovations An Empirical Analysis, Management Science, Vol. 32, No. 11, pp. 1422 1433.Fedor and Harold (2004) Effects of Change and Change Management on Employee Responses An Overview of results from multiple studies online. Available from http//www.cpbis.gatech.edu/research/workin g_papers/CPBIS-WP-04-02%20Herold_Fedor_Change%20 Management%20Fall%202004.pdf Accessed 04/04/11Francis, D. and Bessant, J. (2005) Targeting innovation and implications for development, Technovation, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 171 183.Hiatt, J and Creasey (2003) Change management the people side of change, Prosci. Available from http//books.google.co.uk/books?id =zQTy8mk8kZYCprintsec=frontcoverdq=change+managementv=onepageq=f=false Accessed 04/04/11Hof, R. (2005) Why ebay is buying Skype, Businessweek. Retrienved 10/09, form http//www.businessweek. com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2005/09/why_ebay_is_buy.html. Accessed 05/04/11.Hospers, J. G. (2005) Joseph Schumpeter and His Legacy in Innovation Studies, Knowledge, Technology Policy, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 20-37.Robinson, A. (1991) Continuous Improvement In Operations. Cambridge Productivity Press.Schumpeter, J. (1950) Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. (3rd ed.) bracing York Harper Row.Leede, de J. and Looise, K. J. (2005) Innovation and HRM Towards an Integrated Framework, Creativity and Innovation Management, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 108 117.Tidd, J., Bessant. J. and Pavitt. K. (2005) Managing Innovation. (3rd ed.) Chichester toilet Wiley Sons Ltd.Tushman, M. L. and OReill y, C. (1997) Winning through Innovation A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal. Boston Harvard Business School Press.Van de Ven, A. H., Polley. E. D., Graud. R. and Venkataraman. S. (1999) The innovation journey. New York Oxford University Press.Vitzthum, S. and Konsynski, B. (2009) EBAYs Acquistion of Skype SA Valuing the Voice of the Buyer, The Communications of the Association for Information Systems, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 89 104.Table of ContentsReferences 9Introduction to the Case studyThe present cases study focuses on Apple which is one of the leading and most innovative producers of technologies and entertainment devices. The company is continuously growing in size and is attracting greater market share. In this respect, the analysis focuses on the particular product and service innovation which are provided by the organisation to sustain continuous competitiveness. It is essential to be underlined that product and process innovation should not be perc eived as separate entities (Afuah, 2003). It is often that business organisation incorporate both product and process innovation as link up elements of a mutual strategy of industrial competitiveness (Francis and Bessant, 2005).It should be also underlined that often, process innovation is stimulated as a natural outcome of product innovativeness, it appears as a logical and complementary derivative. It is also important to be mentioned that the present case study focuses on another essential element of the development and introduction of innovation, such as business leadership. It specifically focuses on the companys most prominent decision-maker and leader Steve Jobs, and analyses his approaches to business management and innovation leadership.Innovation Types and CharacteristicsAs already revealed in the previous case study, innovation is a popular phenomenon which pioneer Joseph Schumpeter describes as the process of creative destruction. In other words, innovation is a novel solution which has commercialised applicability and significant market value (Hospers, 2005 Freeman and Soete, 1997 Kleinknecht and Mohnen, 2002). This definition clearly describes the innovation which is produced by Apple, one of the leading technological innovators. The company utilises a number of innovative products in its iPhone, iPad and iPod series of entertainment products.The innovative performance of the organisation can be recognised as highly distinctive. The company utilises and merges different types and degrees of innovativeness. The academic literature describes primarily two types of innovation such as, product and process innovation (Storey, 2000). However, often companies can utilise a intermingle of the two as it is in the case of Apple. The company has popular products as iPad, iPod and iPhone which are complemented by the innovative platform iTunes where users can download music and create playlists to play on their iPods. Moreover, there are hundreds if not t housands of applications which are created by Apple software developers which are downloaded and used on any of the iPad and iPhone devices. This is an example of how the company engages customers through a full life sentence cycle they are provided with innovative products and service from the save brand which ensures long-term loyalty and re-purchase (Iacobucci and Calder, 2003 Kotler and Keller, 2008).The innovative management of products and services at Apple has been led by a management and leadership approach which can be identified with high level of confidentiality, secrecy and uncomplete isolation. Contrary to the conceptual understanding in the academic literature that innovation is stimulate through continuous knowledge sharing and idea generation, Steve Jobs promoted an environment of micro-management and high level of internal control. However, this has led to paradoxical results Apple is continuously generating market share, profitability and above all customers lo yalty (Daft et al., 2010).One of the explanations for this outcome can be related to the resource based view theory. Similarly to the previous case study on Skype and E-bay, Apple seems to be also fetching advantage of the strength of its internal resources. The resource based view theory suggests that a companys success is derived from the uniqueness and competitiveness of its internal resources (Johnson and Scholes, 2008).This approach is closely related and relevant to the leadership and management initiatives practiced by Apples main decision-maker Steve Jobs.Jobs approaches to people management can be identified and strict but with high level of fairness. However, this leadership and management approach sustains certain risks as too much of micro-management and strictness may decrease employees creativity and innovative capabilities (Daft et al., 2010 Goleman, 1998). Employees are essential source to innovation development and therefore people management should stimulate an en vironment which promotes the expression of employees creativity and innovativeness, such as team work knowledge sharing initiativeness risk taking company and market wide exposure (Rogers, 1995 Tushman and OReilly, 1997 Van de Ven et al., 1999).Innovation Promoters and ObstaclesOne of the primary promoters of Apples innovative capabilities is the significant strength of internal resources and capabilities. In other words, in order for a companys resources to be considered as contributory to the overall business competitiveness and innovativeness they need to be rare, unique and valuable not only to the particular organisation but to the market place (Barney, 2001). In this respect, the internal resources which are in possession of Apple perform in a highly competitive manner.In this context, one of the greatest promoters of the companys innovativeness is the leadership approach conducted by Jobs which focuses on growth of internal technological capacity and utilisation of internal e mployees skills. However, it should be underlined that this type of leadership and internal management can lead to certain problems in the company. On the one hand, the substantial commitment practiced by Jobs is a clear indicator of a strong leadership (Day, 2000 Gill, 2006). He is devoted to the wellbeing of the company and therefore he often practices micro-management.However, on the other hand, this micro-management approach can result in certain difficulties and obstacles to the production of innovation. This can reduce employees freedom to be creative and innovative, to take initiative and risks in their decision-making which are all important components in the process of innovation management and development (Daft et al., 2010 Slack et al., 2007 Tidd et al., 2005).Reactions and Restrictions to InnovationThe reaction to Apples innovation can be divided into internal and external. The internal reaction is related to employees performance to the development and introduction of i nnovation. In the present case, Jobs is one of the primary stakeholders in this process of innovation development which can be suggested to resile employees commitment to the process of innovation development. As it was already outline, innovation development is a process which requires a people management approach which stimulates employees creativity and innovativeness (Alves et al., 2007 Storey, 2000).Furthermore, especially in the case of a cumulative product and process innovation, employees need to be provided with company-wide exposure (Leede and Looise, 2005). In the present case, however, the manger of the company restricts employees involvement in multiple processes. This restricts the ability of employees to get inspired by different departments, responsibilities and ideas. This is fundamentally important to the process of idea generation and creative destruction, when old patterns and thinking habits are substituted by innovative solutions (Hospers, 2005).Another essent ial restriction which needs to be clearly outlined is the industrial isolation of Apple as compared to other brands. In other words, it can be suggested that Apple refrains from collaborating with other industrial players. On the one hand, this protection is needed in the cutting edge technological attention. On the other, hand, however, Apple misses out on opportunities for strategic partnerships, co-operative research and development, and industrial collaboration (Drucker, 1991). These are all essential components for the continuous and successful adoption of innovation. In other words, in order for a company to be able to produce product and process innovation it needs to have substantial exposure to the industry and market trends (Dodgson and Rothw, 1994).In this context, as it can be identified from Apples comparative industrial isolation which is product of Jobs autocracy management may result in certain long-term risks and unfavourable internal and external reactions. For ex ample, employees motivation may decrease due to the lack of responsibility, ownership and team work to which they are exposed. This is the reason why, employees may become passively aggressive and thus cease being productive due to undermined professional morale. However, it is also important to be outlined that this operative isolation may also have impacts on the industrial competitiveness in the sector. Other technological companies may embrace a copy-cat approach and adopt Apples innovation, therefore Apple leave alone face increasing competitiveness rather than fruitful industrial partnerships (Ettlie, 1999 Kleinknecht and Mohnen, 2002 Kotler and Keller, 2008).Strategy Development and LeadershipAnother important field is the strategic development and continuous leadership approaches of the company. Apple is one of the leading providers of entertainment technological devices. The company utilises both product and process innovation which provides them with the opportunity to attract greater customers interest and stimulate customers loyalty which is essential to sustaining continuous revenue generation (Groucutt et al., 2004 Kotler and Keller, 2008).Apart from the combination of product and process innovation, it is interesting to be outlined that Apple also utilises different degrees of innovativeness. The academic literature outlines two primary degrees of innovative impact, such as radical and increment (Bessant, 2003). In this respect, the radical innovation produced by Apple can be recognised in the highly innovative devices which it produces.For example, the switch from walkman and CD player music devices to Apples iPod is radical. In the same sense it is the companys iPhone which is pioneer of the smart phones in the industry. However, this radical innovativeness is also accompanied by incremental novelty Apple produces different upgrades on the devices and new models are released each year. This type of industrial performance has highly influen tial marketing impact. In other words, customers are continuously engaged with Apples novel propositions and therefore their life time purchasing is extended (Hollensen, 2007).Another essential aspect of the management of the company is the leadership approach which is applied by Steve Jobs. As it was already identified, the decision-maker focuses on the management of an authoritarian approach of managing employees. This causes certain internal secrecy and business isolation. Although, secrecy may be justified as important and necessary form to survive in the high-tech industry, business isolation cannot be recognised as a positive outcome especially in the context of innovation management (Francis and Bessant, 2005).Finally, the personal approach to management and micro-management deployed by Jobs is also another leadership choice which can be criticized. In other words, through his leadership approaches, Jobs does not promote and sustains intellectual capital within the organisat ion. For example, if he leaves the company all the ideas, rules, processes and perceptions will leave with him. The primary contributor to this unfavourable outcome will be the reduced engagement of employees on a company-wide level. Apple is currently one of the most innovative companies in the market but the business innovativeness needs to be continuously sustained and updated in order for the company to be able to adequately serve the needs of customers.

General Environment Facing Under Armour Marketing Essay

General Environment Facing nether armour trade EssayTarget in men, women and youth. ( below armors diverse product line for men, women, and youth is complex, but the message is simple wear HeatGear when its hot, ColdGear when its cold, and AllSeasonGear between the extremes.)Cultural differences. (Product transcends cultural differences and it is appealing to many athletes, regardless of nationality nether armour is puisuing a worldwide scope via regionalization.)EconomicIncrease economic condition by improving the gross sales equipoise and reducing the seasonal vari qualification in sales, inventory efforts and distribution.Economic risk. (The degree of economic risk associated with the aid pricing and chthonic equip is feeling the cause of the current declining retail consumer commercialize that is affecting the broader economy.)Current economic downturn challenges on a lower floor Armour to compete against major rivals.Political/ LegalThe political party whole kit wi th multiple licensees directly throughout the product development process to ensure that the products are aligned with its brand and quality expectations. infra Armour does not put up a patent on any of the materials use in its products. Therefore, it needs to be cautious in its licensing agreements so companies do not steal its know-how and enwrap their own versions.Under Armour signed a five- year partnership agreement in April 2009 with Cal Ripken, Jr.The intellectual shoes rights laws and regulations of countries in the global market vary dramatically.SocioculturalUnder Armour missions is to enhance the experience for all athletes by applying passion, science, and the relentless pursuit of innovation to create clothing with temperature control, blow, and flexibility. Under Armour has reached regular athletes, active outdoor enthusiasts, elite tactical professionals, and active lifestyle consumers.Planks shirt truly did regulate athletes body temperatures, lending to improve d performance.Under Armour had five lines of clothing made for every climate.Footwear product line designed for high performance through a highly breathable and lightweight design. planetaryUnder Armour is able to successfully penetrate the sports apparel market by using the image and influence of domestic and international professional teams, collegiate teams, Olympians, and individuals.Under Armours products are sold worldwide, with the smart sets headquarters located in the United States and support offices in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.Under Armour sells products in 13 countries, including in-house distribution in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Sales in other Western European and Asian countries are dvirtuoso through partnerships and third-party distributors.Under Armour do not nominate to contend with the challenges associated with establishing manufacturing plants in foreign countries.TechnologyPlank created a synthetic shirt made of high-tech material that ha d a snug fit designed to feel like a second skin.Products are offered through the company website.For the stolon off ten years of its existence, the company was able to fix operations by using off the shelf software programs.Under Armour invested in a new SAP system. This system is a key to the companys ability to tot up products to disceptation of offerings, as it allows Under Armour to falsify a more diverse inventory and to ship directly to distributors.Physical EnvironmentWhen Plank was a football player he grew tired of having to change his damp, heavy t-shirt under his jersey, so he set out to create a alone(p) product that would meet the needs of all athletes.Though the materials and technology used to create its products are not exclusive, by implementing an effective corporate system Under Armour has been able to fashion itself as a profitable business and re principal(prenominal) a key player among competitors.Use Porters Five Forces Model to disassemble the appar el, footwear, and equipment industry in the US. Given this analysis, is the industry attractive or unattractive?Porters Five Forces ModelMedium threat to new entryUnder Armour operates in a highly competitive industry where the dominant competitors induce significant breadth of market coverage that is difficult to find an entry point. The main competitors have been advertising and establishing distribution channels, marketing agreements, and recognition for many years.High threats of substitute productsUnder Armours major competitors are Nike and Adidas with similar or competing product offerings.Under Armour does not have a patent on any of the materials used in its products.High intensity of rivalry among competitorsThere is stiff contender in the athletic apparel industry with companies of various sizes employing different strategies in order to attract consumers to their product and brand. The larger companies continuously increase arguing by spending large amounts of money o n product innovations, advertising, and sponsorship.High bargaining power of suppliersUnder Armours customers is resulting to pay the price for its products because their products have value in it.Some of it suppliers are commodities and thus are subject to price fluctuations for example, petroleum-based materials are used in Under Armous products and the petroleum industry has experienced significant swings in price and relative availability in recent months and years.Under Armour relies heavily on suppliers and manufacturers outside of the United States. Seventy to 75 percent of the theoretical account used in its products comes from only six suppliers, lending to Under Armours weak position relative to its suppliers.Low bargaining power of buyersUnder Armour has develop unique products that consumers value.The customer is willing to pay the price because the Under Armour product has value in it.Who are Under Armours main competitors? How do they whole step up against these co mpetitors? Classify the competition under the 3 Is framework speedy competition, impending competition, invisible competition.Competitor analysisCompetitorsNike.Adidas combined with Reebok.Columbia Sportwear.SportHill.Immediate competitionThe immediate competitor is Nike. Nike is the leader in athletic shoes and captured half of the athletic shoe market. Footwear is new product line that was launched by Under Armour in fourth quarter of 2006. Under Armour is likely to introduce other athletic shoe like basketball shoe in future. It is a challenge of Under Armour to drive into athletic shoe market because Nike has already captured most of the market share in footwear.Another immediate competitor is Adidas. Adidas, who is the second largest athletic apparel manufacturer in the world after merging with Reebok. The apparel is major revenue of Under Armour. In year 2007, the apparel dominated 84% total sales of Under Armour. Reebok second largest manufactured in athletic apparel manuf actured, so the merger between Adidas and Reebok perform the immediate competitors for Under Armour.Impending competitionThe impending competitor of Under Armour is SportHill. SportHill utilizes the expertise of elite athletes to perfect its design and innovative new products. It is sound known for quality, comfort and reliability. Their clothing can be found globally in most major retailer stores and can be purchased online. Therefore SportHill poses a threat to Under Armour.Invisible competitionThe invisible competitor of Under Armour is its suppliers. The intellectual property rights in technology, fabrics and processes used to manufacturer Under Armour products are generally owned by their suppliers and not unique to Under Armour.The lack of proprietary product rights, intellectual property rights in foreign countries, and a heavy reliance on relatively few third-party suppliers and manufacturers could adversely affect the long-term sustainability of the firm.Conduct a SWOT an alysis to understand Under Armours strengths and weaknesses. employ the table below, conduct a SWOT analysis identifying the firms strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the table below.SWOT AnalysisStrengthsEmployees work as one team. Plank manages his company with a unique team-driven style. Under Armour is one team and my job is to help ensure we operate and execute as one team.Strong leadership. Planks drive to nutriment trying even during difficult clippings when it seemed the company might never flourish is what made it possible. He knows every aspect of it because at one time he actually did the work himself.Under Armour sells products in 13 countries, including in-house distribution in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.Under Armours accessories category is developed and managed directly by Under Armour.Under Armour possesses an efficient operations and distribution network. SAP system has the ability to add products to its list of offerings, as it allow s Under Armour to manage a more diverse inventory and to ship directly to distributors.WeaknessesLow level diversification. 84% of its revenue comes from athletic apparel and gear.Highly dependent upon premium priced products that are closely related.OpportunitiesUtilizing broad-based, frequently free endorsements and well-received publicity, Under Armour has also reached regular athletes, active outdoor enthusiasts, elite tactical professionals, and active lifestyle consumers. achievement was initially slow in coming, but once Plank made his first big sale to Georgia Tech University, Under Armour grew rapidly.During 2007, Under Armour increased its marketing initiatives by opening self-owned retail and outlet stores.By leveraging its licensing partners (JR286, Inc. and USG), Under Armour can provide a wider orbit of branded products to its customers.Under Armour signed a five-year partnership agreement in April 2009 with Cal Ripken, Jr., a retired professional baseball player, to be their official uniform representative. Under Armour feels this is a great opportunity because Ripken previously was partnered with Nike.ThreatsThe main competitors have been advertising and establishing distribution channels, marketing agreements, and recognition for many years.There is stiff competition in the athletic apparel industry with companies of various sizes employing different strategies in order to attract consumers to their product and brand. The larger companies continuously increase competition by spending large amounts of money on product innovations, advertising, and sponsorship.Under Armour faces several issues and challenges. These challenges include the current economic downturn, competing against major rivals much(prenominal) as Nike and Adidas/Reebok, and maintaining a positive brand image despite setbacks, such as the recent recall of its mens protective athletic gear.The lack of proprietary product rights, intellectual property rights in foreign countries .A heavy reliance on relatively few third-party suppliers and manufacturers. Under Armour relies heavily on suppliers and manufacturers outside of the United States. 75% of the fabric used in its products comes from only six suppliers.Conduct a Value Chain analysis to identify value-creating activities.Value Chain Analysis flying infrastructureThe companys operations from Planks grandmothers basement moved out into a manufacturing warehouse in Maryland.Human resource managementHaving been part of a sports team, Plank manages his company with a unique team-driven style. Under Armour is one team and my job is to help ensure we operate and execute as one team.Many of his first employees were his college classmates and teammates. Most of them are still with Under Armour and play important roles in management.In order to facilitate its international expansion, Under Armour chartered several new executives with experience in international business, most notably Peter Mahrer.Technology dev elopmentAt the end of Under Armour first year of operations, Under Armour had five lines of clothing made for every climate, and the companys operations were moved out of Planks grandmothers basement into a manufacturing warehouse in Maryland. aft(prenominal) Under Armour went public in 2006, Under Armour invested in a new SAP system. This system is the key to the companys ability to add products to its list of offerings, as it allows Under Armour to manage a more diverse inventory and to ship directly to distributors.ProcurementUnder Armour relies heavily on suppliers and manufacturers outside of the United States. 75% of the fabric used in its products comes from only six suppliers.Inbound logisticsFor the first ten years of its existence, the company was able to sustain operations by using off the shelf software programs.OperationsUnder Armour licenses its brand name to independent manufacturers for other miscellaneous products such as bags, socks, headwear, eyewear and watches. The company works with multiple licenses directly throughout the product development process to ensure that the products are aligned with its brand and quality expectations. outward logisticsAfter Under Armour went public in 2006, Under Armour invested in a new SAP system. This system is a key to the companys ability to add products to its list of offerings, as it allows Under Armour to manage a more diverse inventory and to ship directly to distributors.Products are offered through the company website and retailers, and the company stores in the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Australia and new-made Zealand.Marketing and salesProducts are offered through the company website and retailers, and company stores in the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.ServiceWhen customers would request products that Plank had not created, he would respond, Of course we make that and then immediately go to work with suppliers and contract ors to deliver on his promise.What is Under Armours business-level strategy? Is the strategy appropriate to offset the forces in the industry? Conduct an analysis of Under Armours business strategy by using the 4 Ps Framework. The 4 Ps Framework is used to understand a companys strategy based on itsPosition (Mission, Values, and Vision)Priorities (what is important to the firm in the short and long terms)Payments (what it will spend its money on to reach those priorities)Performance (how it will measure success)PositionThe task at hand was to simply make a brag T-shirt and nothing more.Under Armours mission is to enhance the experience for all athletes by applying passion, science and the relentless pursuit of innovation to create clothing with temperature control, comfort and flexibility.Under Armours stated goal is to be a leading developer, marketer, and distributor of branded performance products.Ever since its inception in 1996, Under Armours leaders have strived to achieve th e companys vision of becoming the worlds leading performance athletic apparel brand by employing a differentiation strategy through innovation.PrioritiesFor short term, on that point appears to be a trend that sales are higher in the third and fourth quarters of each year, aligning with the football and basketball seasons and the traditional holiday gift-giving season in the United States.For long term, Under Armour has been able to quickly earn loyalty after a customer has had one or two good experiences with their purchase.PaymentsFor short term, Under Armour has contemplated putting more emphasis on its baseball product line to improve the sales balance and reduce the seasonal variability in sales, inventory efforts and distribution.For long term, they have the technology in the fabric and the design and the features satisfy what the athlete needs. Their baffle is getting to the athletes-supplying them with great product that helps them perform better.PerformanceThis is further evidenced by a 133 percent compound annual growth rate and an as enormous increase in operating income from $5.7 million to $52.5 million between the years 2003 and 2007. As of 2007, Under Armour had $606 million in sales revenue, outlying(prenominal) surpassing its first years revenue in 1996 of $17 thousand.Do you recommend any changes to its strategy and/or foresee any challenges?Dependability on suppliers. Under Armour relies heavily on few third-party suppliers and manufacturers. Under Armour should try to find more suppliers for their fabric. Even if the price of fabric rises or suppliers can supplying the company, Under Armour still has other suppliers to carry on its business.Strategies for competition. There is a stiff competition in the athletic apparel industry. Under Armour should do more advertising to bring awareness to people about the companys brand. This way, Under Armour could have more competitive advantages in the market. privation of patents. Under Armour sh ould apply for patents for its products innovations to prevent other competitors from duplicating its products.

The Body :: essays research papers

The BodyIn Castel Rock Maine, There were four boys Vern Tesio, Gordie LaChance, Chris , and Teddy Duchamp.They have a tree mansion in a abandon parking lot where they play automobiledsand hang out.Vern comes and tells the gang that when he was under his portch lookingfor his penneys that he had burried when he was octad he over heard his brothertalking to his friend charlie hogan about the child that was missing but theysaid that they did it and they said where the body was.Gordies brrother died in car crash.Gordies parents never paid any attention to Gordie.There was a grade that started in the book,and I didnt get it. Itwas a nudity scene, like a story but just started in the middle of the book.So they each told there moms and dads that they were camping out inthe field when they where realy going to find the dead child.Chris brought a gun that he stole off of his dads bureau. He let Gordiesee it and he told Gordie that it wasnt loaded. So Gordie pulled the trigger.And KA-BLAM . The gun was loaded and he shot the trashcans behind the diner.The waitress came out but she thought it was fircrackers.They started out on there mission walking along the train tracks.Teddy Duchamp played chicken with the train model he was aparatrooper, but Chris pushed him out off the way in the nick of time. Theyget into a fight but settle it.They go into the townsfolk dump to get a drink of water. It is restricktedto go in there when the dump isnt open. They exchangeed to see who goes to thestore to get the food. when they fliped they got a goocher which vern says isbad luck, so they flip again ang Gordie looses.Gordie goes to the store to get the food and he gets in a fight with theclerk about being gipped on the money because when Gordie add it up it came outto be less then what the clerk said.When Gordie came back to the dump he couldnt find the guys and henoticed that the owner of the junkyard was here because his car was here. So hetried to make a run to the opposite side of the junk yard. But the man noticedhim a sicked his dog Chopper after him. He made it to the other side to findhis friends standing there telling him to come on.