Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Sociology - Essay Example I called another friend and we carpooled; he drove. It was quite a drive so it’s a good thing that there was no drinking after all. On the way, we were talking about how the others were doing now, what keeps them busy and entertained. We finally arrive. The door of the house opens and the smile of a beautiful lady, which neither of us knew, greets us. â€Å"Hello,† she says, â€Å"I’m Ann. I’m Matt’s girlfriend. He’s in the kitchen right now but your friends are already in the dining room.† We enter the dining room, and were surprised to see everybody seated and having the same sort of puzzled, amazed look on their faces. Ann guides us to our seats and sits down herself. Then, Matt comes in, but we couldn’t see his face, that is, until he puts down a giant turkey right in the middle of the table. Everybody exchanges looks. One friend then says, â€Å"Didn’t we celebrate thanksgiving already? What’s the turkey for Matt?† Matt replies, â€Å"Of course it isn’t thanksgiving. But it doesn’t have to happen only once a year you know. You can be thankful anytime. In fact, I have a lot to be thankful for. I called you all up and you’re all here. And of course, you met Ann. I’m thankful for her too, of course†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Matt goes on talking until we finally get to taste the delicious bird, the stuffing, and the cranberry sauce. We all went home happily. But most of all, we all went home thankfully. We were thankful tha t everybody was doing well, thankful that we all came, and, certainly, thankful that we all have a friend like

Women as Property and Marriage as Slavery (responses) Assignment

Women as Property and Marriage as Slavery (responses) - Assignment Example Also, I agree with Anthony’s arguments on the need to list women in the property rights and ownership. This is because men are less responsible in managing property and children through their ill behaviors of drunkenness and licentiousness. In this case, women stand a greater chance of suffering in the society given that they depend on men for daily bread and property. That is why Anthony states, â€Å"Most prosecutions in our courts concern breach of promise, divorce, adultery, bigamy, seduction and rape.† I disagree with John Stuart Mill’s arguments on the subjection of women. It is essential for women to have rights and freedom of existence in a free world. The legal subordination of women to men due to the natural acts that state, â€Å"The conquered should obey the conquerors† should be a forgotten past. Women and men should have a perfect equality where both have powers, privileges, independence and development records on a personal ground (Mill 74). I also support the arguments of Engels on the need to create a worker-run state socialism where there would be formation of trade and wage labor unions and abolish capitalism. Engels derived his argument from the fact that women suffered inequality in a capitalist society where there was inequality in workplaces and homes. He states, â€Å"The division of labor between two sexes is determined by quite other causes than by position of women in the society.† Consequently, the society should empower women since they take part in agriculture, amassing surplus wealth and property yet they are not entitled to ownership in the government (Engels,

Innovation for Competitive Advantage in International Market

Innovation for Competitive Advantage in International Market INTRODUCTION Organizations must run fast to keep up with changes taking place all around them. They must modify themselves all the time. Change, rather than stability, is the norm today. Every business is affected by a number of powerful environmental forces such as; technological advances, environmental changes, evolving society and customer desires, and maturation of market, which drive the need to change in todays globalized economy. All of these enviromental forces have created opportunities and threats. Every organization strives to take advantage of opportunities and manage the threats which have arisen during the change process (Daft, 2001). Organizations, to be considered innovative, need to implement technologically new products and processes, or need to make significant technological improvements in existing products and processes. Organizations generate and apply the appropriate knowledge required for producing something new and improving the existing product or process, simply known as â€Å"knowledge creation† (Atmaca, 2006). The rate of innovation and technical change is important to an economys rate of growth. Differences in knowledge creation, diffusion, and use have implications for international competiveness, standards of living, and quality of life (Feldman and Massard, 2002). To remain competitive, established firms must continually seek out opportunities for growth and new methods for strategically renewing their performance. Changes in customer needs, new technologies, and shifts in the competitive landscape require that companies continually innovate and initiate corporate ventures in order to compete effectively (Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2008). The discussion begins with defining the innovation concept focusing on different literatures from professional writers. Innovations can take many forms, including radical breakthrough innovations as well as incremantal innovative improvements, and todays researchers are strongly emphasizing that innovation is one of the most valuable differentiator for sustainable competitive advantage. The concept of innovation is compared to the concept of invention and creativity as they are confused and interchangeably used. Later, the discussion concentrates on the importance of innovation in identifying opportunities and threats coming with change; which are followed by suggestions how to become successful innovators to overcome these threats. The discussion continues by identifying the four types of changes an organization undergoes to achieve advantage in the international environment. These changes can be used to update the products or the services, the technology, the existing strategy and structure, and culture in the organization. Then, focus will be on how organizations can build innovation by applying key elements that create a truly innovative and entrepreneurial one. The next chapter identifies some successful global innovators that have delivered novel benefits to their customers. This thesis reviews the innovation concept and the forms it takes to achieve competitive edge in the market. It identifies the benefits driving from innovation, explains why people and organizations resist change and identifies the appropriate steps to overcome barriers resisting it. It explains the role management has during innovation and the key elements to create an innovative organization. It concludes by explaining why healthcare sector is different and identifies the best practiced innovations in healthcare sector. The later chapter concentrates on how innovation evolves in the service sector. The biggest industries for RD spending for 2009 are identified. The important features of services sector; the concept of service innovation and its four dimensions are compared to the service product concept. To conclude, some suggestions how management in service companies can achieve effective innovation are given. The last chapter concentrates on the healthcare sector. It focuses on the main and best practised innovations in the healthare sector, as healthcare is a part of the service sector. The reasons that make the healthcare sector different from others are underlined. Big structure, complex size, and different government policies are some of the reasons. To sum up, best practised processes and services which are applied by present healthcare service providers are identified. CHAPTER I LITERATURE REVIEW IN INNOVATION 1.1 Defining Innovation According to King (2009) innovation is doing things in new ways in order to achieve significant results and make a huge difference in performance compared to others. Innovations goal is to have a positive change, to make someone or something better. Testing and evaluation of ideas is critical in achieving this goal. The ideas that do not work are identified through testing. Failure is an integral part of the innovation process. Failing means collecting data and evidence about the changes that organizations want to undergo. This view is supported by Mulgan and Albury (2003) who define innovation as new ideas that work and a successful innovation can be achieved through the creation and implementation of new processes, products, services and methods of delivery which will result in significant improvements in the profitability and enhance the growth of an enterprise. Innovation is a special case of planned change and learning that either transforms current products, services, and markets, or creates an entirely new market by introducing a radically new product or service. An organization is considered innovative if it stirs up the marketplace, by creating competitive pressures and new opportunities. It has been recognized that innovation success in an established organization requires balancing the stabilized efficiency of the current market offerings and building new capabilities to create and develop offerings for unknown markets (Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker, 2003). The changes used to adapt the environment can be evaluated according to the scope and to the extent to which changes are incremental or radical for the organization. Incremental changes maintain the general equilibrium of the organization through a series of continual progressions and affect only one part in organization. On the contrast, radical changes, transform the entire organization. Incremental changes include technology improvements, such as the introduction of computer-integrated manufacturing or product improvements in the established structure and management processes. In radical changes, the technology is likely to be breakthrough, and new products created will establish new markets (Daft, 2001). Importance of innovation seems to be the most talked management issue these days. Knowledge plays a crucial role in the economic processes because within the knowledge-based economy, innovation plays a central role and stands at the heart of economic change. Firms innovate to defend their competitive position as well as to achieve competitive advantage. Organizations possessing more knowledge outperform those with less. It was believed that an enterprise can maintain competitive advantage through quality and price. While todays different researches have revealed that innovation is one of the most valuable differentiator for sustainable competitive advantage (Tyagi, 2008). 1.1.1 Invention Tyagi (2008) has made a distinction between invention and innovation. Invention is discovering of things never existed before while innovation is discovering how to introduce and commercialize new products, processes and new ways of adding customer value through innovative business models and management systems. This point of view is supported by King (2009) who defines invention as the generation of new ideas which have the potential to make someone or something better. New ideas can drawn from scanning other industries, by having conversations and meetings, or accessing information which is not usual in your business. All innovations starting point is invention of creative ideas. The distinction between them is; invention is having an idea about a service, product, technology or device, while innovation is the successfull application of those ideas. Another author who has discussed about the difference existing among invention and creativity is Sloane (2010). Invention is the creation of a product, device or method that has never been made and existed before. So, every invention is an innovation. But every innovation is not an invention. When a company first publishes its website this is a major innovation for the company even though many other websites may already exist. 1.1.2 Creativity Creativity is defined as the process of thinking and generating new things, new concepts, and new ideas. Converting these thoughts into tangible things, bringing these ideas to life is innovation. Creativity is like dreaming up new things and innovation is making those dreams come true. Expressed in other words, creativity is the capability of conceiving something unusual or original while innovation is the implementation of those unusual or original things (Difference Between, n.d.). 1.2 Benefits and Barriers of Innovation In the last years change has occured incrementally and infrequently. A globalized economy is creating both opportunities and hazards to everyone. Firms are forced to make dramatic improvements not only to compete and prosper but also to survive. People who have been through difficult, and not successful change efforts end up drawing pesimistic and angry conclusions. They become suspicious of the motives of those pushing for transformation (Kotter, 1996). This section will focus on the discussion of benefits and barriers that come with innovation. The advantages supporting a strong leadership and the factors causing resistance toward change will be identified. In addition, this section will also explain some methods that managers can use to implement change successfully within the organization. 1.2.1 Benefits of Innovation Bhatt (2007) states the reasons that make companies innovate, those are listed below: To advance in technology. To change the environment. The evolving of the society. The evolving of the customer desires. Competitors improve their products and services. Customers stop buying your old products so you need to replace them and add new products. Innovation opportunities can arise due to environmental changes in technology, science, and data analysis. Environmental changes may result in creation of new customer needs or may enable the organization to develop better solutions to current customer needs. Service or product innovations have to fulfill four benefit aspects listed below: Unique. The target group should perceive the new benefits generated from the new service or product as unique. Important. The customers should perceive the new benefits as important. Sustainable. The new benefits should be protected against followers by measures such as patents, time to market and brand management. Marketable. The organization should have the resources, capabilities and competencies to market the product which also includes an effective and ready to market version of the product (Anon., 2008). Stark (n.d.) has identified the benefits of good innovation, those are listed below: First to market. Premium prices. Best customers. Large market share. Increased shareholder return. Increased employee motivation and morale. 1.2.2 Barriers to Innovation Beer and Nohria (2000) state that one research team concluded that ‘The brutal fact is that about 70 per cent of all change initiatives fail. These researchers conclude that there are two primary reasons why organizations undergo change: one is based on ‘hard economic value (e.g. financial return to shareholders); the other is based ‘soft organizational capabilities. The organizational approach develops corporate culture, human capabilities, feedback, measurements and reflections on evolutionary progress. Both people and organizations frequently resist change, even if it is in their best interests, especially in large and established organizations. Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker (2003) suggest five main reasons why individuals resist change: Selective perception. People sometimes perceive the same thing differently. When changes are initiated, individuals tend to focus on how they will be personally affected rather than seeing the big picture for the entire organization. Lack of information.People will resist change if they are not informed about what is expected from them or what benefits change will bring. If the reasons for change are not clearly presented, people tend to fill in the missing pieces with speculation, which often assumes the worst in terms of initiator intentions and personal impact. In addition, if people do not have enough information about how to change, they may fear making mistakes, so they will not try. Fear of the unknown. Individuals resist change when they are uncertain about how it will affect their well-being. They fear downsizing, uncertainties about not knowing how to change, not being able to perform as well as before the change, losing position, income, and status or power. Habit. Many people prefer familiar actions and events, even if they are not optimal. Breaking a habit is difficult because it takes hard work and involves giving up perceived benefits from the habit, even if the new behavior has more desirable consequences. Resentment toward the initiator.If a change seems arbitrary or unreasonable, resentment and anger are directed towards those initiating the change. People resent being controlled and losing autonomy over their works and lives, when their thoughts and feelings are not considered by change initiators. Finally, without trust in the initiators inventions, people may resist the change out of resentment or fear of possible unknown consequences. Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker (2003) state that organizations resist change for many of the same reasons individuals do. There are also many forces inside an organization that create resistance to changes initiated by environmental conditions. Some of the main ones are summarized below: Power Maintenance. Changes in decision-making authority and control of resource allocations threaten the balance of power in organizations. Units benefiting from the change will welcome it, but those losing power will resist it. Structural stability. Organizations create hierarchies, subgroups, rules and procedures to promote order, consistent and predicable behaviors. People who ‘fit these desired behavioral criteria are hired and shaped to confirm further through the socialization process and organizational conditioning. Functional sub-optimization.Differences in functional orientation, goals and resource dependencies can cause changes that are seen as beneficial to one functional unit and as threatening to another. Functional units usually think of themselves first when evaluating potential changes and support those that enhance their own welfare, but resist the one that reduce it. Organizational culture. Organizational culture promotes predicable ways of thinking and behaving. Organizational members will resist changes that force them to abandon established assumptions and approved ways of doing things. Group norms. Groups develop their own norms to promote desirable behaviors. Many members conform these norms. Consequently, any change that disrupts group norms, tasks or role relationships will probably be resisted. Strategos conducted a survey of innovation practices of more than 550 large companies, where majority of respondents in every industry rated innovation as critical and said that the importance of innovation would grow in the future. According to Loewe and Dominiquini (2006) the top six obstacles to innovation identified by respondents across industries are: Short-term focus. Lack of time, resources or staff. Leadership expects payoff sooner than is realistic. Management incentives do not reward innovation. Lack of a systematic innovation process. Belief that innovation is inherently risky. Below is a list of suggestions how to become successful innovators about overcoming the barriers to innovation: Have a vision for change. Innovation has to have a purpose, a statement which defines the direction for the business and which people will readily understand and remember. Your team needs to know the direction they are headed in order to be innovative. Illustrate the goals and explain to people how their role is decisive in meeting the goals to fulfill the organizational vision. Fight the fear of change. Innovative leaders constantly explain the need for change. They must paint a picture that shows an attractive future that is worth taking risks to achieve. Have a dynamic suggestions scheme. Great suggestion schemes are focused and open to all. Leaders do not need to offer huge rewards. Sometimes, recognition and response are generally more important. Break the rules. To achieve radical innovation leaders need to challenge all the assumptions related to how things should look in your environment. Business is like Art, with no well-defined rules and referees. Innovation is filled with opportunities for people who can take advantage in creating new ways to provide the goods and services that customers want. Give everyone two jobs. Ask your people to run their current jobs in the most effective way possible and at the same time to find completely new ways to do the job. Encourage them to identify the purpose of their role, the outcomes delivered through this role and if there is a better way to deliver that purpose. Collaborate. CEOs must see collaboration as key to their success during innovation. Success can not only be achieved by using internal resources, but also by looking outside of the organization for people to partner with. Welcome failure. The innovative leader encourages a culture where people feel free to innovate and experiment. Innovative leaders tell people that each unsuccessful attempt is a step along the road to success. When innovative leaders welcome innovation and create a culture of experimentation, means that they except failure and welcome it. Build prototypes. Innovative leaders are suggested to try the new ideas at low cost by building prototypes and see what the customer reaction is. You will learn more in the real world than you will in the test laboratories. Be passionate. Leaders must concentrate on the things they want to change, on the challenges they want to face and be passionate about overcoming them. Organizations need passionate supporters, who are inspired to innovate and change the way they do things to come up with extraordinary results. Be passionate about what you believe, communicate that passion every time you speak and explain why reaching the destination is really worthwhile (ArticleSnatch, n.d.). 1.3 Types of Innovation There exist four types of changes to achieve strategic edge within an organization. Managers can use these four types of changes to achieve competitive advantage in the international environment. Each company can have maximum impact upon the chosen market through its own unique configuration of technology, product and services, strategy and structure, and culture as explained below (Daft, 2001). 1.3.1 Technological Innovation Technological innovations refer to changes in an organizations production process to enable distinctive competence. Changes in an organizations production process, including its knowledge and skills base, are designed to produce greater in volume or to have a more efficient production. Changes in technology involve the work methods, equipment, and work flow techniques for making products or services. For example, in a university, technology changes are about changes in methods for teaching the courses. Tyagi (2008) suggests that traditionally innovation has been associated with the use of technological knowledge, and research and development activities. A technological innovation is any innovation due to an industrial application of scientific knowledge. Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner (2008) suggest that innovation involves the usage of new knowledge to transform organizational processes or create commercially viable products and services. The latest technology, results of experiments, creative insights, or competitive information may be the sources of new knowledge. However it comes about, innovation occurs when new combinations of ideas and information bring about positive change. Among the most important sources of new ideas is new technology. Technology creates new possibilities and provides the raw material that firms use to make innovative new products and services. But technology is not the only source of innovation. There can be innovations in human resources, firm infrastructure, marketing, service, or in many other value-adding areas that have little to do with anything â€Å"high-tech.† 1.3.2 Product and Service Innovation Product and service innovations refer to the product or service outputs of an organization. New products may be in the form of entirely new product lines or small adaptions of existing products. New products are designed to develop new markets, or customers, or to increase the market share. Tyagi (2008) states that product innovation is about the introduction of new goods and services which have improvements in terms of design excellence, core characteristics, technical specifications etc. and are derived from customer or industry insight, or strategic alignment of the organization. Godin (2005) suggests that the old rule was to create safe and ordinary products that were combined with great marketing. The new rule is to create remarkable products and figure out a great theory by looking at whats working in the real world and what the various successes have in common. Identify what the successful companies have in common and do something to be remarkable. Roberts (2002) has made a distinction when discussing if innovation is between product/service innovation and process innovation. Product/Service innovation refers to efforts to develop new products or services for end users. Product/Service innovations tend to be more radical and are more common during the earlier stages of an industrys life cycle. As an industry matures, there are fewer opportunities for newness, so the innovations tend to be more incremental. Process innovation, by contrast, is associated with improving the efficiency of an organizational process, especially manufacturing systems and operations. Process innovations occur in the later stages of an industrys life cycle as companies seek ways to remain viable in markets where demand has flattened out and competition is more intensive. As a result, process innovations are often associated with overall cost leader strategies because the aim of many process improvements is to lower the cost of operations. There are several problems with seeking competitive advantage through investments in process technology. Firstly, the people who sell you robots or point-of-sale terminals, software to analyze production or service delivery will sell the robots, terminals, and software to your competitors. Your ability to obtain the benefits of this technology depends on your ability to implement it more rapidly and more effectively. Secondly, investment in specialized technology is not a substitute for skill in managing the work force. This is because more skills may be required to operate the more sophisticated and advanced equipments. Having a higher level of investment per employee will result in increasingly expensive interruptions in the process which means that the ability to operate, maintain, and repair equipment effectively becomes even more critical (Pfeffer, 1996). 1.3.3 Strategy and Structural Innovation Strategy and structural innovation refers to the administrative section in an organization. It is related to the management and supervision in the organization, including changes in an organizations strategic management and structure, policies, accounting and budgeting systems, reward systems, labor relations, coordination devices, management information and control systems. Strategy and structure changes in an organization are mandated by top management. They usually have a top-down structure. An example may be if the corporate goes downsizing. On the other hand, product and technology changes may come from the bottom up. 1.3.4 Cultural Innovation Cultural innovation refers to changes that may occur in an employees attitudes, beliefs, values, expectations, abilities, and behavior. Culture innovation tends to change the way employees think. These are changes in mindset rather than the technology, structure, or products and services. Culture can be a powerful force undermining or shoring up the effectiveness of a nation, a business, and a manager. Recognizing the presence and power of culture will help in better navigating through the rough seas of international business. Discovering how to harness the power of culture in an organization will help the organization gain competitive advantage (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003). To conclude, it can be said that successful innovation in an organization occurs when technological and product or process innovations in the value chain are implemented through effective strategy and structure innovation. Innovation in an organization, which includes people, leadership, creativity, process and organizational culture, is the driver to grow, to achieve high profits and to succeed in the market. Innovation in an organization should be approached in a systematic way and not a piecemeal manner and should be initiated even at the lowest levels (Tyagi, 2008). 1.4 Leadership in Practice of Innovation Many organizations are resistant to changes and continue operating the way they had been operating in the past. To remain competitive, they work harder, improve efficiency, reduce cost and implement best practices. But, this is not enough. Instead of getting stuck in their standard mode of operations, organizations need to adopt innovative ways to change the strategies. The best way to create a competitive edge and be in the head of the competition is to innovate by drawing advantage from the creative power of your people. Turn your greatest assets into opportunistic entrepreneurs who discover new ways and improve the way they do business. Management innovation involves total transformation of existing culture to enhance organizational performance in an integrated manner involving technological innovation, product and service innovation, and strategy and structural innovation (Tyagi, 2008). Sloane (2003) suggests that every organization needs to have a vision, a culture and a process of innovation to build a truly innovative environment. There are eight key elements that create a truly innovative and entrepreneurial organization as below: Painting the vision. The first step is to paint a desirable, challenging and believable vision. Innovative leaders must be sure that people share a common goal and embarke on a journey all together. Being all together means they accept easier the changes, all the challenges and difficulties that show up during the journey. Innovative leaders should delegate more responsibility, and empower the staff with control over their work. Once staff is aware of the goal and direction headed, they contribute the best creative ways to solve challenges and obstacles that lie ahead. Build an open and questioning culture. The painted picture quickly fades away from view, so great leaders should take time to meet staff and illustrate the goals to be achieved and the challenges to overcome. Leaders inspire the staff to become entrepreneurs finding innovative routes to success and constantly remind them how their role is decisive in fulfilling the vision and meeting the challenges. Empowering. The purpose of empowering your people is to turn them into entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities. By empowering, leaders enable them to develop the skills for the task and achieve the change through their own efforts to come up with radical innovations. People need freedom to succeed and need to understand and agree on what management expects of them. People and management must agree on the scope of freedom and responsibility. Empowering means trusting your people, supporting and believing that they will achieve great things. Set goals, deadlines and measurements for innovation. Change is uncomfortable, resulting in anxiously people fearing an embarrassing or costly failure. Leaders should spend time with people encouraging them to undertake risks and come out from their safety zones. Leaders should reassure them that risks are necessary and worth taking and no one will be punished if their initiatives do not succeed. Use creativity techniques to generate a large number of ideas. Innovative leaders should build a culture where everyone can come up with creative solutions and crazy ideas through techniques, methods, and workshops. The goal is to change the people within the organization; from people who do routine jobs into highly energized entrepreneurs who constantly search for new and better ways of making the vision a reality. People need to be trained to learn the skills and to develop the confidence to try new methods, and use creative techniques to come up with new solutions. Review, filter and select ideas. In the innovation process many ideas are generated in response to a given issue or challenge. At the end, the most promising idea is selected. Prototype the promising proposals. After the idea is selected, then the move is to rapidly prototype it. Analyze the results and the successful projects. New product is tested for its feasibility, attractiveness and payback. Those that pass these criteria are given more funding. King (2009) suggests that the most effective, efficient and leading edge organizations are those that innovate and encourage innovation. Innovative organizations require a strong leadership team to approve the importance of innovation and create a culture for it. A development of strong capabilities for innovation leadership need to be started early in the career development process. In an innovative culture, the staff is given freedom to innovate and experiment. In an innovative culture, risks are managed and the organization understands and accepts that future success is built on a series of learning from unsuccessful attempts. Collaboration with outside parties to generate and adopt innovations is encouraged. Success will depend on strong leadership. We can take learning from market leaders to help us identify key leadership behaviors to promote innovation as explained below: Lead continuous innovation and improvement. Develop and communicate an encouraging story. Encourage partnerships and collaboration. Staff should be exposed to new viewpoints and ideas that can be adapted in the organization. To do this, the organization should create partnerships and collaboration with different parts within or outside the organization. Promote innovation. Organization should consider innovation as a core part of its role, and time is allocated for its employees to innovate. Different organizations have created bespoke Innovation for Competitive Advantage in International Market Innovation for Competitive Advantage in International Market INTRODUCTION Organizations must run fast to keep up with changes taking place all around them. They must modify themselves all the time. Change, rather than stability, is the norm today. Every business is affected by a number of powerful environmental forces such as; technological advances, environmental changes, evolving society and customer desires, and maturation of market, which drive the need to change in todays globalized economy. All of these enviromental forces have created opportunities and threats. Every organization strives to take advantage of opportunities and manage the threats which have arisen during the change process (Daft, 2001). Organizations, to be considered innovative, need to implement technologically new products and processes, or need to make significant technological improvements in existing products and processes. Organizations generate and apply the appropriate knowledge required for producing something new and improving the existing product or process, simply known as â€Å"knowledge creation† (Atmaca, 2006). The rate of innovation and technical change is important to an economys rate of growth. Differences in knowledge creation, diffusion, and use have implications for international competiveness, standards of living, and quality of life (Feldman and Massard, 2002). To remain competitive, established firms must continually seek out opportunities for growth and new methods for strategically renewing their performance. Changes in customer needs, new technologies, and shifts in the competitive landscape require that companies continually innovate and initiate corporate ventures in order to compete effectively (Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2008). The discussion begins with defining the innovation concept focusing on different literatures from professional writers. Innovations can take many forms, including radical breakthrough innovations as well as incremantal innovative improvements, and todays researchers are strongly emphasizing that innovation is one of the most valuable differentiator for sustainable competitive advantage. The concept of innovation is compared to the concept of invention and creativity as they are confused and interchangeably used. Later, the discussion concentrates on the importance of innovation in identifying opportunities and threats coming with change; which are followed by suggestions how to become successful innovators to overcome these threats. The discussion continues by identifying the four types of changes an organization undergoes to achieve advantage in the international environment. These changes can be used to update the products or the services, the technology, the existing strategy and structure, and culture in the organization. Then, focus will be on how organizations can build innovation by applying key elements that create a truly innovative and entrepreneurial one. The next chapter identifies some successful global innovators that have delivered novel benefits to their customers. This thesis reviews the innovation concept and the forms it takes to achieve competitive edge in the market. It identifies the benefits driving from innovation, explains why people and organizations resist change and identifies the appropriate steps to overcome barriers resisting it. It explains the role management has during innovation and the key elements to create an innovative organization. It concludes by explaining why healthcare sector is different and identifies the best practiced innovations in healthcare sector. The later chapter concentrates on how innovation evolves in the service sector. The biggest industries for RD spending for 2009 are identified. The important features of services sector; the concept of service innovation and its four dimensions are compared to the service product concept. To conclude, some suggestions how management in service companies can achieve effective innovation are given. The last chapter concentrates on the healthcare sector. It focuses on the main and best practised innovations in the healthare sector, as healthcare is a part of the service sector. The reasons that make the healthcare sector different from others are underlined. Big structure, complex size, and different government policies are some of the reasons. To sum up, best practised processes and services which are applied by present healthcare service providers are identified. CHAPTER I LITERATURE REVIEW IN INNOVATION 1.1 Defining Innovation According to King (2009) innovation is doing things in new ways in order to achieve significant results and make a huge difference in performance compared to others. Innovations goal is to have a positive change, to make someone or something better. Testing and evaluation of ideas is critical in achieving this goal. The ideas that do not work are identified through testing. Failure is an integral part of the innovation process. Failing means collecting data and evidence about the changes that organizations want to undergo. This view is supported by Mulgan and Albury (2003) who define innovation as new ideas that work and a successful innovation can be achieved through the creation and implementation of new processes, products, services and methods of delivery which will result in significant improvements in the profitability and enhance the growth of an enterprise. Innovation is a special case of planned change and learning that either transforms current products, services, and markets, or creates an entirely new market by introducing a radically new product or service. An organization is considered innovative if it stirs up the marketplace, by creating competitive pressures and new opportunities. It has been recognized that innovation success in an established organization requires balancing the stabilized efficiency of the current market offerings and building new capabilities to create and develop offerings for unknown markets (Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker, 2003). The changes used to adapt the environment can be evaluated according to the scope and to the extent to which changes are incremental or radical for the organization. Incremental changes maintain the general equilibrium of the organization through a series of continual progressions and affect only one part in organization. On the contrast, radical changes, transform the entire organization. Incremental changes include technology improvements, such as the introduction of computer-integrated manufacturing or product improvements in the established structure and management processes. In radical changes, the technology is likely to be breakthrough, and new products created will establish new markets (Daft, 2001). Importance of innovation seems to be the most talked management issue these days. Knowledge plays a crucial role in the economic processes because within the knowledge-based economy, innovation plays a central role and stands at the heart of economic change. Firms innovate to defend their competitive position as well as to achieve competitive advantage. Organizations possessing more knowledge outperform those with less. It was believed that an enterprise can maintain competitive advantage through quality and price. While todays different researches have revealed that innovation is one of the most valuable differentiator for sustainable competitive advantage (Tyagi, 2008). 1.1.1 Invention Tyagi (2008) has made a distinction between invention and innovation. Invention is discovering of things never existed before while innovation is discovering how to introduce and commercialize new products, processes and new ways of adding customer value through innovative business models and management systems. This point of view is supported by King (2009) who defines invention as the generation of new ideas which have the potential to make someone or something better. New ideas can drawn from scanning other industries, by having conversations and meetings, or accessing information which is not usual in your business. All innovations starting point is invention of creative ideas. The distinction between them is; invention is having an idea about a service, product, technology or device, while innovation is the successfull application of those ideas. Another author who has discussed about the difference existing among invention and creativity is Sloane (2010). Invention is the creation of a product, device or method that has never been made and existed before. So, every invention is an innovation. But every innovation is not an invention. When a company first publishes its website this is a major innovation for the company even though many other websites may already exist. 1.1.2 Creativity Creativity is defined as the process of thinking and generating new things, new concepts, and new ideas. Converting these thoughts into tangible things, bringing these ideas to life is innovation. Creativity is like dreaming up new things and innovation is making those dreams come true. Expressed in other words, creativity is the capability of conceiving something unusual or original while innovation is the implementation of those unusual or original things (Difference Between, n.d.). 1.2 Benefits and Barriers of Innovation In the last years change has occured incrementally and infrequently. A globalized economy is creating both opportunities and hazards to everyone. Firms are forced to make dramatic improvements not only to compete and prosper but also to survive. People who have been through difficult, and not successful change efforts end up drawing pesimistic and angry conclusions. They become suspicious of the motives of those pushing for transformation (Kotter, 1996). This section will focus on the discussion of benefits and barriers that come with innovation. The advantages supporting a strong leadership and the factors causing resistance toward change will be identified. In addition, this section will also explain some methods that managers can use to implement change successfully within the organization. 1.2.1 Benefits of Innovation Bhatt (2007) states the reasons that make companies innovate, those are listed below: To advance in technology. To change the environment. The evolving of the society. The evolving of the customer desires. Competitors improve their products and services. Customers stop buying your old products so you need to replace them and add new products. Innovation opportunities can arise due to environmental changes in technology, science, and data analysis. Environmental changes may result in creation of new customer needs or may enable the organization to develop better solutions to current customer needs. Service or product innovations have to fulfill four benefit aspects listed below: Unique. The target group should perceive the new benefits generated from the new service or product as unique. Important. The customers should perceive the new benefits as important. Sustainable. The new benefits should be protected against followers by measures such as patents, time to market and brand management. Marketable. The organization should have the resources, capabilities and competencies to market the product which also includes an effective and ready to market version of the product (Anon., 2008). Stark (n.d.) has identified the benefits of good innovation, those are listed below: First to market. Premium prices. Best customers. Large market share. Increased shareholder return. Increased employee motivation and morale. 1.2.2 Barriers to Innovation Beer and Nohria (2000) state that one research team concluded that ‘The brutal fact is that about 70 per cent of all change initiatives fail. These researchers conclude that there are two primary reasons why organizations undergo change: one is based on ‘hard economic value (e.g. financial return to shareholders); the other is based ‘soft organizational capabilities. The organizational approach develops corporate culture, human capabilities, feedback, measurements and reflections on evolutionary progress. Both people and organizations frequently resist change, even if it is in their best interests, especially in large and established organizations. Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker (2003) suggest five main reasons why individuals resist change: Selective perception. People sometimes perceive the same thing differently. When changes are initiated, individuals tend to focus on how they will be personally affected rather than seeing the big picture for the entire organization. Lack of information.People will resist change if they are not informed about what is expected from them or what benefits change will bring. If the reasons for change are not clearly presented, people tend to fill in the missing pieces with speculation, which often assumes the worst in terms of initiator intentions and personal impact. In addition, if people do not have enough information about how to change, they may fear making mistakes, so they will not try. Fear of the unknown. Individuals resist change when they are uncertain about how it will affect their well-being. They fear downsizing, uncertainties about not knowing how to change, not being able to perform as well as before the change, losing position, income, and status or power. Habit. Many people prefer familiar actions and events, even if they are not optimal. Breaking a habit is difficult because it takes hard work and involves giving up perceived benefits from the habit, even if the new behavior has more desirable consequences. Resentment toward the initiator.If a change seems arbitrary or unreasonable, resentment and anger are directed towards those initiating the change. People resent being controlled and losing autonomy over their works and lives, when their thoughts and feelings are not considered by change initiators. Finally, without trust in the initiators inventions, people may resist the change out of resentment or fear of possible unknown consequences. Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker (2003) state that organizations resist change for many of the same reasons individuals do. There are also many forces inside an organization that create resistance to changes initiated by environmental conditions. Some of the main ones are summarized below: Power Maintenance. Changes in decision-making authority and control of resource allocations threaten the balance of power in organizations. Units benefiting from the change will welcome it, but those losing power will resist it. Structural stability. Organizations create hierarchies, subgroups, rules and procedures to promote order, consistent and predicable behaviors. People who ‘fit these desired behavioral criteria are hired and shaped to confirm further through the socialization process and organizational conditioning. Functional sub-optimization.Differences in functional orientation, goals and resource dependencies can cause changes that are seen as beneficial to one functional unit and as threatening to another. Functional units usually think of themselves first when evaluating potential changes and support those that enhance their own welfare, but resist the one that reduce it. Organizational culture. Organizational culture promotes predicable ways of thinking and behaving. Organizational members will resist changes that force them to abandon established assumptions and approved ways of doing things. Group norms. Groups develop their own norms to promote desirable behaviors. Many members conform these norms. Consequently, any change that disrupts group norms, tasks or role relationships will probably be resisted. Strategos conducted a survey of innovation practices of more than 550 large companies, where majority of respondents in every industry rated innovation as critical and said that the importance of innovation would grow in the future. According to Loewe and Dominiquini (2006) the top six obstacles to innovation identified by respondents across industries are: Short-term focus. Lack of time, resources or staff. Leadership expects payoff sooner than is realistic. Management incentives do not reward innovation. Lack of a systematic innovation process. Belief that innovation is inherently risky. Below is a list of suggestions how to become successful innovators about overcoming the barriers to innovation: Have a vision for change. Innovation has to have a purpose, a statement which defines the direction for the business and which people will readily understand and remember. Your team needs to know the direction they are headed in order to be innovative. Illustrate the goals and explain to people how their role is decisive in meeting the goals to fulfill the organizational vision. Fight the fear of change. Innovative leaders constantly explain the need for change. They must paint a picture that shows an attractive future that is worth taking risks to achieve. Have a dynamic suggestions scheme. Great suggestion schemes are focused and open to all. Leaders do not need to offer huge rewards. Sometimes, recognition and response are generally more important. Break the rules. To achieve radical innovation leaders need to challenge all the assumptions related to how things should look in your environment. Business is like Art, with no well-defined rules and referees. Innovation is filled with opportunities for people who can take advantage in creating new ways to provide the goods and services that customers want. Give everyone two jobs. Ask your people to run their current jobs in the most effective way possible and at the same time to find completely new ways to do the job. Encourage them to identify the purpose of their role, the outcomes delivered through this role and if there is a better way to deliver that purpose. Collaborate. CEOs must see collaboration as key to their success during innovation. Success can not only be achieved by using internal resources, but also by looking outside of the organization for people to partner with. Welcome failure. The innovative leader encourages a culture where people feel free to innovate and experiment. Innovative leaders tell people that each unsuccessful attempt is a step along the road to success. When innovative leaders welcome innovation and create a culture of experimentation, means that they except failure and welcome it. Build prototypes. Innovative leaders are suggested to try the new ideas at low cost by building prototypes and see what the customer reaction is. You will learn more in the real world than you will in the test laboratories. Be passionate. Leaders must concentrate on the things they want to change, on the challenges they want to face and be passionate about overcoming them. Organizations need passionate supporters, who are inspired to innovate and change the way they do things to come up with extraordinary results. Be passionate about what you believe, communicate that passion every time you speak and explain why reaching the destination is really worthwhile (ArticleSnatch, n.d.). 1.3 Types of Innovation There exist four types of changes to achieve strategic edge within an organization. Managers can use these four types of changes to achieve competitive advantage in the international environment. Each company can have maximum impact upon the chosen market through its own unique configuration of technology, product and services, strategy and structure, and culture as explained below (Daft, 2001). 1.3.1 Technological Innovation Technological innovations refer to changes in an organizations production process to enable distinctive competence. Changes in an organizations production process, including its knowledge and skills base, are designed to produce greater in volume or to have a more efficient production. Changes in technology involve the work methods, equipment, and work flow techniques for making products or services. For example, in a university, technology changes are about changes in methods for teaching the courses. Tyagi (2008) suggests that traditionally innovation has been associated with the use of technological knowledge, and research and development activities. A technological innovation is any innovation due to an industrial application of scientific knowledge. Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner (2008) suggest that innovation involves the usage of new knowledge to transform organizational processes or create commercially viable products and services. The latest technology, results of experiments, creative insights, or competitive information may be the sources of new knowledge. However it comes about, innovation occurs when new combinations of ideas and information bring about positive change. Among the most important sources of new ideas is new technology. Technology creates new possibilities and provides the raw material that firms use to make innovative new products and services. But technology is not the only source of innovation. There can be innovations in human resources, firm infrastructure, marketing, service, or in many other value-adding areas that have little to do with anything â€Å"high-tech.† 1.3.2 Product and Service Innovation Product and service innovations refer to the product or service outputs of an organization. New products may be in the form of entirely new product lines or small adaptions of existing products. New products are designed to develop new markets, or customers, or to increase the market share. Tyagi (2008) states that product innovation is about the introduction of new goods and services which have improvements in terms of design excellence, core characteristics, technical specifications etc. and are derived from customer or industry insight, or strategic alignment of the organization. Godin (2005) suggests that the old rule was to create safe and ordinary products that were combined with great marketing. The new rule is to create remarkable products and figure out a great theory by looking at whats working in the real world and what the various successes have in common. Identify what the successful companies have in common and do something to be remarkable. Roberts (2002) has made a distinction when discussing if innovation is between product/service innovation and process innovation. Product/Service innovation refers to efforts to develop new products or services for end users. Product/Service innovations tend to be more radical and are more common during the earlier stages of an industrys life cycle. As an industry matures, there are fewer opportunities for newness, so the innovations tend to be more incremental. Process innovation, by contrast, is associated with improving the efficiency of an organizational process, especially manufacturing systems and operations. Process innovations occur in the later stages of an industrys life cycle as companies seek ways to remain viable in markets where demand has flattened out and competition is more intensive. As a result, process innovations are often associated with overall cost leader strategies because the aim of many process improvements is to lower the cost of operations. There are several problems with seeking competitive advantage through investments in process technology. Firstly, the people who sell you robots or point-of-sale terminals, software to analyze production or service delivery will sell the robots, terminals, and software to your competitors. Your ability to obtain the benefits of this technology depends on your ability to implement it more rapidly and more effectively. Secondly, investment in specialized technology is not a substitute for skill in managing the work force. This is because more skills may be required to operate the more sophisticated and advanced equipments. Having a higher level of investment per employee will result in increasingly expensive interruptions in the process which means that the ability to operate, maintain, and repair equipment effectively becomes even more critical (Pfeffer, 1996). 1.3.3 Strategy and Structural Innovation Strategy and structural innovation refers to the administrative section in an organization. It is related to the management and supervision in the organization, including changes in an organizations strategic management and structure, policies, accounting and budgeting systems, reward systems, labor relations, coordination devices, management information and control systems. Strategy and structure changes in an organization are mandated by top management. They usually have a top-down structure. An example may be if the corporate goes downsizing. On the other hand, product and technology changes may come from the bottom up. 1.3.4 Cultural Innovation Cultural innovation refers to changes that may occur in an employees attitudes, beliefs, values, expectations, abilities, and behavior. Culture innovation tends to change the way employees think. These are changes in mindset rather than the technology, structure, or products and services. Culture can be a powerful force undermining or shoring up the effectiveness of a nation, a business, and a manager. Recognizing the presence and power of culture will help in better navigating through the rough seas of international business. Discovering how to harness the power of culture in an organization will help the organization gain competitive advantage (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003). To conclude, it can be said that successful innovation in an organization occurs when technological and product or process innovations in the value chain are implemented through effective strategy and structure innovation. Innovation in an organization, which includes people, leadership, creativity, process and organizational culture, is the driver to grow, to achieve high profits and to succeed in the market. Innovation in an organization should be approached in a systematic way and not a piecemeal manner and should be initiated even at the lowest levels (Tyagi, 2008). 1.4 Leadership in Practice of Innovation Many organizations are resistant to changes and continue operating the way they had been operating in the past. To remain competitive, they work harder, improve efficiency, reduce cost and implement best practices. But, this is not enough. Instead of getting stuck in their standard mode of operations, organizations need to adopt innovative ways to change the strategies. The best way to create a competitive edge and be in the head of the competition is to innovate by drawing advantage from the creative power of your people. Turn your greatest assets into opportunistic entrepreneurs who discover new ways and improve the way they do business. Management innovation involves total transformation of existing culture to enhance organizational performance in an integrated manner involving technological innovation, product and service innovation, and strategy and structural innovation (Tyagi, 2008). Sloane (2003) suggests that every organization needs to have a vision, a culture and a process of innovation to build a truly innovative environment. There are eight key elements that create a truly innovative and entrepreneurial organization as below: Painting the vision. The first step is to paint a desirable, challenging and believable vision. Innovative leaders must be sure that people share a common goal and embarke on a journey all together. Being all together means they accept easier the changes, all the challenges and difficulties that show up during the journey. Innovative leaders should delegate more responsibility, and empower the staff with control over their work. Once staff is aware of the goal and direction headed, they contribute the best creative ways to solve challenges and obstacles that lie ahead. Build an open and questioning culture. The painted picture quickly fades away from view, so great leaders should take time to meet staff and illustrate the goals to be achieved and the challenges to overcome. Leaders inspire the staff to become entrepreneurs finding innovative routes to success and constantly remind them how their role is decisive in fulfilling the vision and meeting the challenges. Empowering. The purpose of empowering your people is to turn them into entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities. By empowering, leaders enable them to develop the skills for the task and achieve the change through their own efforts to come up with radical innovations. People need freedom to succeed and need to understand and agree on what management expects of them. People and management must agree on the scope of freedom and responsibility. Empowering means trusting your people, supporting and believing that they will achieve great things. Set goals, deadlines and measurements for innovation. Change is uncomfortable, resulting in anxiously people fearing an embarrassing or costly failure. Leaders should spend time with people encouraging them to undertake risks and come out from their safety zones. Leaders should reassure them that risks are necessary and worth taking and no one will be punished if their initiatives do not succeed. Use creativity techniques to generate a large number of ideas. Innovative leaders should build a culture where everyone can come up with creative solutions and crazy ideas through techniques, methods, and workshops. The goal is to change the people within the organization; from people who do routine jobs into highly energized entrepreneurs who constantly search for new and better ways of making the vision a reality. People need to be trained to learn the skills and to develop the confidence to try new methods, and use creative techniques to come up with new solutions. Review, filter and select ideas. In the innovation process many ideas are generated in response to a given issue or challenge. At the end, the most promising idea is selected. Prototype the promising proposals. After the idea is selected, then the move is to rapidly prototype it. Analyze the results and the successful projects. New product is tested for its feasibility, attractiveness and payback. Those that pass these criteria are given more funding. King (2009) suggests that the most effective, efficient and leading edge organizations are those that innovate and encourage innovation. Innovative organizations require a strong leadership team to approve the importance of innovation and create a culture for it. A development of strong capabilities for innovation leadership need to be started early in the career development process. In an innovative culture, the staff is given freedom to innovate and experiment. In an innovative culture, risks are managed and the organization understands and accepts that future success is built on a series of learning from unsuccessful attempts. Collaboration with outside parties to generate and adopt innovations is encouraged. Success will depend on strong leadership. We can take learning from market leaders to help us identify key leadership behaviors to promote innovation as explained below: Lead continuous innovation and improvement. Develop and communicate an encouraging story. Encourage partnerships and collaboration. Staff should be exposed to new viewpoints and ideas that can be adapted in the organization. To do this, the organization should create partnerships and collaboration with different parts within or outside the organization. Promote innovation. Organization should consider innovation as a core part of its role, and time is allocated for its employees to innovate. Different organizations have created bespoke

James Joyce Essay -- essays research papers fc

In selecting James Joyce's Ulysses as the best novel of the twentieth century, Time magazine affirmed Joyce's lasting legacy in the realm of English literature. James Joyce (1882-1941), the twentieth century Irish novelist, short story writer and poet is a major literary figure of the twentieth-century. Regarded as "the most international of writers in English ¡K[with] a global reputation (Attridge, pix), Joyce's stature in literature stems from his experimentation with English prose. Influenced by European writers and an encyclopedic knowledge of European literatures, Joyce's distinctive writing style includes epiphanies, the stream-of-consciousness technique and conciseness. Born in Rathgar, near Dubtin, in 1882, he lived his adult life in Europe and died in Zurich, Switzerland in 1941. The eldest of then children, Joyce attended a Jesuit boarding school Clongowes Wood from 18888-1891 and Belvedere College, another Jesuit school from 1893-1898. In 1902, Joyce graduated from University College and went to live in exile in Europe unable to tolerate the narrow-mindedness of his native country. Ironically, Ireland and Irish people become the subject of his short stories and novels. The two central preoccupations of his work are a sense of betrayal. Ireland, dominated both political and economically by Britain and religiously by the Catholic Church caused Joyce to regard them as "the two imperialisms" (Attridge P. 34). Roman Catholicism is an integral aspect of the novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. In 1917, the English novelist H.G. Wells in a review of the novel in the New Republic wrote, "by far the most living and convincing pic ture that exists of an Irish Catholic upbringing." Joyce's focus on betrayal was a consequence of the downfall in 1889of the Irish leader Charles Stuart Parnell when he was attacked by the Irish Catholic Church when named a correspondent in a divorce case. This treachery left an indelible mark on Joyce's mind. 	Joyce literary talent emerged at Belvedere as he began to read the work of European writers and in particular the Norwegian dramatist, Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906). At the age of eighteen, Joyce wrote an essay entitled "Ibsen's New Drama" which was published in the Fortnightly Review. When Ibsen sent him a note of thanks, "the awestruck Joyce resolved to learn Norwegion... ... days the about life span of his characters-as Joyce world do in 'The Dead' in Ulysses, and perhaps in Finnegan's Wake." (Atteridge p.65) There was an increasing concentration on form and language in Joyce's five novels. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce in a few lines, describes Stephan, Dedalues's mood and characters. Works Cited 1. Arnold, Armin. James Joyce. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1969. 2. Attridge, Derek. The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 3. Benstock, Bernard. "Joyce, James." Twentieth Century Authors. New York: HW Wilson Company, 1942. 4. Cahalan, James M. A Critical History. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1988. 5. "Joyce, James Augustine Aloysins." Microsoft Corpuration. Encarta. CD-Rom. Encarta. 1993-1996. 6. Kalasky, Drew. Short Story Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995. 7. Kenner, Hugh, Fritz Senn, E.L. Esptein, Robert Boyle, SJ. A Starchamber Quiry: a James Joyce Centennial Volume, 1882-1982. New York: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1982. 8. Rice, Thomas Jackson. James Joyce: Life, Work, and Criticism. Frederiction: York Press LTD., 1985.

Farewell School

The last day in our school life is an indelible memory with sweet memories of our school life. It is a record of pleasant memories that occupy a special place in our life. Though it is a traditional affair, it has a very deep impact on the students who are leaving their â€Å"alma mater† after a period of studies there. The memories of my school farewell day still linger in my mind with ever fresh emotions. The Farewell Day It is a day of excitement. I am going to have different way of life. So far, for the past twelve years of high school studies, everyday it dawned with the thoughts of studies and home work.But from tomorrow onwards I will have different kinds of thoughts and burdens. No homework of writing pages of answers. My friends Mani, Kumar, Saru and Joe will have different plans which I may not be able to join. I may not be able to spend hours and hours with them in combined study. This very thought about them brought tears in my eyes. Farewell Party My teachers and the school authorities have arranged for a farewell party. I remember the party of the of the previous year, when our seniors handed over the lighting candles symbolically asking us to keep up the tradition of the school and bring glory and fame to the school and students.They loved us and wept bitterly when they passed on the light to us. But I could not meet any of them afterwards. That is the beauty of life. To meet, to love and then to depart! Is it the fate of life? On the day of the farewell party we exchanged our feelings and emotions and the party came to an end with some light snacks. Farewell To Our Teachers I still remember the farewell advice given by the head of our school. It should be the â€Å"Magna Charta† of every student. It suits all ages though it is quoted from the Taittireya Upanishad, a part of the Vedas. More about  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Farewell to Manzanar† here.This advice had been passed on from generation to generation. The fifteen points he mentioned should be followed by every student. The Fifteen Points of Taittireya, Upanishad These fifteen points were mentioned every year in the farewell talk of our school. It is an advice to a student who finishes his learning at the feet of a Guru staying with him day and night for a number of years away from his home. It is a way of life prescribed by the ancient Vedas for the uplift of humanity. Here are those fifteen points. 1) Always speak the truth. Only truth prevails.Truth can protect you from every evil. 2) Follow the Dharma of life. Every walk of life has its own duties or Dharma. The Dharma that you follow will become the Karma of your life and lead you to eternity. 3) Study something daily. That should become a habit of life. 4) Everyday learn something new. Share your knowledge daily with others. Knowledge not shared is a mere waste. Only by sharing and discussing it can be improved. It gives you more and more enlightenment. 5) Don't commit anything untrue. It will lead you to darkness. This stresses the importance of Truth. ) Don't step on anything which is against Dharma. It is nothing but suicide. 7) Give your Guru or the teacher his due. Don't disappoint him in any way. He may not be avaricious in getting from you. It is not fitting for a Guru to go after wealth. Even a handful of grain given by you with all your heart may please him. 8) Extend your generation either by marrying a fitting lady or having a good group of disciples. Through your children and through your disciples you can promote your knowledge. 9) Do everything to save your immortal soul. You are free now.There may not be any Guru to guide you hereafter. But if you lead a careless life and lose your soul what will be the ultimate benefit? 10) Earn wealth enough for your existence. Spend your wealth diligently without wasting. Wealth is necess ary for life; but wealth is not all life. 11) May your mother be your visible god. â€Å"Matru deva bava†. Respect to maternity is very important because the mother bears you in her womb. 12) In the same way father has he right of your respect. Their blessing will be a cause of flourishing in all your generations. They are not to be thrown away in their old age. 3) Your ancestors have to be commemorated on certain days and sacrifices are to be offered. 14) â€Å"Acharadevabava† means elders have to be respected. Reverence to parents, teachers and elders is the channel of grace and fortune. 15) â€Å"Athithidevabava' means treating guests and the needy with reverence as they are the images of Almighty. The farewell day of my school life and the message I got on that day are still directing my life to success. Education is not a means of finding a job or spending some years in a place. It is the blossoming of personality into fullness!

Electronic Communications Essay

As time goes by, the world is changing rapidly; so are its people and the technology itself. Technology brings about a lot of amendments in people’s life. It is getting more advanced from day to day especially when it comes to Information Technology or in this case; electronic communications. Back then, mailing was seemingly to be one of the most vital ways of communication especially for the world communication. In contrast, nowadays people are more prone to communicate the easier ways; by staring on their electronic accounts on their computers or through their iPods and sending short messages from their iPhones or Blackberries. Why is it so? In my slight opinion, this growing trend gives a lot of dominances in today’s life, which are helping people to save their time and money, create borderless communication and make it easy for people to gain prominent information. First and foremost, the world today is turning more to electronic communications like e-mail, Facebook and Short Message System (SMS) and other electronic communications is because they will prevent people from wasting their time and money. How do these work? As we all know, sending a letter to someone will take a lot of processes and will eventually take a long time and waste a lot of money. On the contrary, electronic communications entail only the tip of our fingers so as an electronic device to work with. Then, what is left for us to do is just, typing! Has that not taken a much lesser time and money? For instance, an e-mail only requires us to turn on our laptops, open our accounts on the website and then, you can start write your letter and send them through e-mails. In short, with the very unstable economy nowadays, having these kinds of communications will ease everyone’s burden especially on their daily expenses and also their valuable time will not be wasted. Secondly, the growing trend of electronic communications is making it possible for a borderless communication which is vital these days. Why is it vital? A lot of things require borderless communication; in education field, businesses and even daily activities, especially when foreigners involved. For example, when trading with foreigners, in order to communicate with each other, they need Skype or Yahoo Messenger as mediums to interact and be able to do the trade at a faster rate as compared to by using ‘snail mails’ or regular letters. Skype is the perfect example of an electronic communication which will cut he boundary that has separated each country and make communication between two different countries from around the world possible. In conclusion, it is crucial to have these electronic communications in today’s age of globalization as they make it easier for people around the world to connect with each other. Last but not least, the dominance of these electronic communications is people could gain prominent information more efficiently than before. As there are lesser borders between countries, the efficiency of getting much more relevant and prominent information is higher. People will have the ability to provide and gain information effectively through Facebook or Twitter accounts. For example, international artists who have planned to do a world concert can inform their fans about it through their Facebook account. Likewise, the fans also can ask just about anything to their favourite artists regarding the concert. Hence, this explains why people make these electronic communications as a huge trend these days and in order to keep the trend ongoing, each person has the responsibility to adapt with the technology itself. In a nutshell, the growing trend of using electronic communications is inevitably vital in people’s lives as it gives out a lot of benefits as stated in above paragraphs. So, to avoid ourselves from not getting the chance of keeping up with the changing trends, we have to try our best to adapt ourselves with the rapid changes. I believe that the electronic communication trend is a trend which is very important to be followed as the world is getting more advanced day to day.

How to Pay for the Cost of a Fraternity or Sorority

How to Pay for the Cost of a Fraternity or Sorority Lets just be honest: Joining a fraternity or sorority can be expensive. Even if you dont live in the house, you likely have to pay dues, for social outings, and for all kinds of other things you werent expecting. So how can you manage to pay for the cost of going Greek if money is already tight? Fortunately, most fraternities and sororities understand that not every student can pay the full cost every semester. There are lots of places to look if you need a little extra financial help. Scholarships If your Greek is part of a larger regional, national, or even international organization, it may very well have scholarships available. Talk to some of the leaders in your campus chapter to see what they know or whom you should contact for more information on scholarships. Grants There may also be grants available, coming either from your larger organization or from organizations that simply want to support students who are involved in Greek life in general. Dont be afraid to do some searching online, check in with your campus financial aid office, and even ask other students if they know of good resources. Get a Job With the Organization on Campus If youre lucky, you can work within your fraternity or sorority and get an actual paycheck or things paid for indirectly (e.g., your room and board covered). Start asking around as soon as you realize you might be interested in this kind of arrangement; youll likely need to apply for positions in the spring if youd like to start working in them in the fall. Get a Job With the Larger Organization If your fraternity or sorority is very large on a regional or national scale, they likely need help keeping things running smoothly. Ask if there are positions that you can apply for- and work in- from your campus. The larger organization might need ambassadors, people who can write newsletters, or folks who are great at accounting. You never know what you might find open, so start asking around as soon as possible. Barter See if you can trade your skills for financial arrangements. Perhaps you have some mad skills at gardening. See if you can trade your labor in building, growing, and maintaining an organic garden for your sorority or fraternity in exchange for having your annual dues waived. Or if youre skilled in fixing computers, ask if you can work a few hours a week keeping everyones machines happy in exchange for a discount on your room and board costs. You got into college because youre smart and resourceful, so dont be shy about using those skills to help you create a financial arrangement that works for you and your desire to remain involved in your fraternity or sorority.

John F. Kennedy Jr. Essays - Kennedy Family, John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Jr. Essays - Kennedy Family, John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He was the youngest president ever to be elected, the first Roman Catholic president, and the first president to be born in the 20th century. Although, he didn't get the chance to live out his term and possible another one, he impacted the entire world. No other president was so popular, especially with the young people. John F. Kennedy was born May 29th, 1917, child of Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy. John had eight brothers and sisters: Joseph P. Jr. (1915), Rosemary (1918), Kathleen (1920), Eunice (1921), Patricia (1924), Robert F. (1925), Jean (1928) and Edward M. (1932). All of the children were born in Brookline, Massachusetts. They were all very competitive due to their parents. The only thing that was important to them was winning. John grew up in the nineteen twenties and thirties at his birth place of Brookline, Massachusetts. John had once stated, life is unfair,1 yet for him the statement was definitely not true. His childhood consisted of many things. Coming from a wealthy family let him have the freedom to do what most kids couldn't. That still didn't keep him from behaving like other kids. He and his brothers and sisters all participated in things such as sailboat races, tennis matches, or even just a simple game of touch football. All family members were always encouraged to get involved with government issues. Small talk wasn't allowed at the Kennedy dinner table2. They discussed world and national issues. The impact of these discussions wouldn't be seen until later. Joseph and Rose were trying to prepare their sons for public life and prepare their daughters for marriages to distinguished young men. In 1937, the Kennedy family moved to Great Britain so that John's father could become the American ambassador there for three years. John stayed in the United States for an education at Harvard University. John was a very good student at Harvard, yet he didn't make the high grades that his brother had. So, John joined two clubs and spent most of his time working on a newspaper published at Harvard, Crimson3. When he had finished his school term his father decided to let him tour Europe. When he was there he started to become interested in wars and politics, after noticing Hitler's actions. John went back there the following summer and saw how Hitler never gave up and continued to strengthen his army. He knew of the war that was soon coming. The United States had sided with Great Britain, so he knew he would have to go into the war. So, he went to enter the Air Corps, but was turned away because of his back problems. Instead he went for the position on naval officer and passes the health analysis. He was assigned to the intelligence division, he thought it was very boring. Shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked, John was sent for motor torpedo (PT boat) training4. Officer Kennedy soon became Lieutenant Kennedy. In Tulagi, John was assigned to a dirty old looking boat that had already been through nine months of combat. John experienced his first real combat when his boat was attacked by a Japanese fighter plane. Only two men were injured that time. They continued to stay there until one night when a full size Japanese ship came full speed at Kennedy's boat. The boat was demolished and the Japanese thought that all of the men had been killed. All of the men were forced to swim to Plum Pudding Island , three and one half miles away, with Kennedy leading them. After his triumph he was promoted to Full Lieutenant and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for saving his crew. He also received a Purple Heart for the severe back injury he suffered from the collision. After that, he took command of another PT boat and took part in many more missions. For John one particularly bad thing happened in this war, his brother died. Which impacted his life so greatly. The family had expected his brother Joe to run for public office. Now that he was gone, John was now the eldest son and

7 In-Demand Skills You Can Learn Quickly That Will Boost Your Job Prospects

7 In-Demand Skills You Can Learn Quickly That Will Boost Your Job Prospects Skill acquisition is super important to advancing your career. But you’re busy- or you live in a remote location- or you just feel daunted by how long it takes to gain proficiency, let alone mastery, of any given skill. Never fear! There are a ton of in-demand and highly marketable skills you can learn quickly. Here are some of the best.1. Web Design/DevelopmentEver notice just how many job postings ask for some variant on this? Or call it a bonus or a plus? There are tons of online sites and programs that can help you learn how to do all of this and more, in your spare time. And this skill will help make you look really good to a wide range of companies needing help launching, updating, or redesigning their sites.2. Data Analysis/StatsEven if you were terrible at math in school, it’s time to give it another try. Big data is the next frontier. Try sites like Khan Academy to get free instruction in how to harness, organize, and analyze mega data sets and put that skill s mack on your resume. Learn something like Mini-tab, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) or E-view to really set yourself apart.3. Cloud ComputingIt’s okay if you don’t even know what that is now. You can learn! Heard these buzz words? Virtualization, software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS)? You too could become an expert in them. Try ALISON.com for a free introductory course to cloud computing. Then you can put Customer Management Software (CRM) expertise on your resume and be that much more marketable.4. Excel and PowerPointThese more complicated programs of the Office suite- and usually the ones you ignore? Never underestimate the power of expertise in either of these programs. Take an online class in either- or both- and revel in how far you can get being a super genius at these programs.5. Public SpeakingThe skills you build while beefing up your public speaking expertise are multipurpose and can bring about a huge confidence boost. Wh en in doubt, improve your communication skills- both written and oral. But public speaking can make you that much more effective when speaking, interviewing, asking for a raise†¦ There are platforms like Udemy and Skillshare available through Toastmasters International or Dale Carnegie Training. You can even sign up for Skillshare through Monster.com and get your first month free.6. CodingAugment your new web development/design skills with some coding knowledge. These technical skills are all the rage right now, can help whether you’re going into marketing or management, and can really set you apart in the hiring pool. Start with HTML and CSS and then see if you can pick up some skill with JavaScript. Try the Web Development Bootcamp for a nine-week course.7. BloggingNot just for teenage girls! Every company needs a blog these days, and having the talent to generate interesting, well-written content, plus the knowledge of SEO and some of the more technical aspects can re ally set you apart from the crowd. When in doubt, be a blogging maven!

Critical Summary of a recent journal article in cognitive psychology Essay

Critical Summary of a recent journal article in cognitive psychology. The aim of this is to help students in their critical reading and note taking - Essay Example This article describes the different psychological aspects of how children tend to lie and whether the adults are able to determine if the child is lying or not. It explains a child’s psychology that with age a child starts to determine the concepts and thinking of adults and hence he can successfully lie. In this respect a lengthy research was conducted in which children from the age group of 10 to 13 were chosen and they were interviewed. These interviews were videotaped and shown to observers who were then questioned and data was collected from them to reach to a final result to determine the different verbal and non verbal aspects of a child’s lying and whether the adults could accurately find out if the child was lying or not. The results of the research showed that prepared lies were difficult to be caught than unprepared ones and the reason for this being that the children are able to think and plan the details before lying. It also showed that they could more easily know that the child is telling the truth but it is difficult for them to judge whether he is lying. And last but not the least adults were not good at determining the child’s deception. Regarding the children it was seen that they were equally nervous when they were telling a lie or the truth when facing the interviewer so this could not be considered to be a major factor. One interesting thing which was seen was that the lying patterns of children were somewhat similar to adults as they tried to remain calm and cool while lying and also they were actually trying to relate their lies with real life incidents. The final conclusion that we get is that it is very difficult for an adult to know if a child is lying or not. This poses a serious problem especially when children facing criminal charges are to be questioned. Factors that adults more often consider to check a child’s lie for example the

Reflection 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reflection 7 - Essay Example The writer says that some foodies are prone to be outraged to the mention of raising pigs inhumanly. Ironically and remarkably, they tend to show little or no interest to inhumane working conditions their employees work in as they prepare the pork. Employees are entitled to safe working environment, better wages, no discriminations and a free working zone. Unfortunately, some companies are mindful of their returns solely. Workers thus suffer a lot. I also gathered a vast knowledge of the existence of trade unions and their roles To ensure that worker’s rights are respected; there have been the establishments of various labor unions (Kohn). These organizations advocate for better wages of workers in foodies. They also inspect the working conditions of the employees to ensure that they are safe. For instance, Whole Food has for a long time been subjected to severe scrutiny after being accused of labor abuses and also union busting. According to Kohn, the Coalition of Immokalee was able to bargain for a pay increase of its workers by 75% by the year 2005. Employees deserve better rights in their place of work. It is only wise for foodies to help them in fighting for their rights. It is inevitable that in the case of consumers eating low-quality food; they will outburst with complaints. They must help the workers in this fight. The unions must also aid in this

Physical Training In The Workplace Research Paper

Physical Training In The Workplace - Research Paper Example This proposal describes the issues that ABC Corporation is facing regarding its employees health conditions, because of which a number of malfunctions are noticed in the operational capacity of the business. Moreover, ABC Corporation is paying a significant amount of its revenues to the insurance company, in the form of premium for its employees’ health insurance. Employees are also complaining about the boredom they are experiencing at the workplace. The proposal consists of background of the problem defining the issues that lead to adoption of a suitable employee wellness program, the theoretical evidences for the proposed program and a set of recommendations regarding program design and how to implement it so that the desired objectives can be achieved efficiently. Contents Executive Summary 2 1.Background 4 2.Theoretical Grounds 6 3.Introduction to the Organization 7 4.Identifying the Issue 8 Memo 9 Reference List 12 1. Background â€Å"The doctor of the future will give no medicines, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the causes and prevention of disease† (Adison, 1900) Providing a remedy to a disease with the help of medicines is easy but costly, at the same time, leaves medicine’s harmful effects on the human body. For this reason, rectifying the physical lacking and deficiencies from an individual’s health condition with the help of physical activities is beneficial as compare to the usage of medicines (DeVries, 2010). Any activity introduced by organizations’ managers and owner to improve the health conditions of the employees is known as Workplace Wellness Program. Business in the modern world design and implement policies and regulations that compel workers of that organization to adopt healthy behaviors at their designated work station, which consequently results in higher productivity level. Organizational and industrial experts suggest that organizations should implemen t processes within its functional capacities that enable the employees to get hold of and maintain control over their health conditions. For this reason, business implement a number of physical exercise activities in the name of â€Å"Corporate Wellbeing† such as Behavior Change Communication to Improve Health landscape, health related events and seminars, medical scrutiny of the employees on time to time basis, physical training, weight reduction programs, health notices or fitness facilities within the premises of the business (DeVries, 2010). Workplace Wellness programs introduced by an organization would include giving flexible timing to the employees for physical exercise, providing employees with healthy food menu and help them to develop healthy eating habits, conducting â€Å"walk and talk† meetings with the employees and offering a number of financial incentives and aide to the employees so as to motivate them to participate in wellness programs. With the emer gence of globalization on the business horizon, organizations now need to engage employees into physical activities on a more rigorous scale, to maintain their health conditions. This activity results in keeping employees physically fit and increase their ability to counter the new challenges emerging every other day (DeVries, 2010).

Harvard Business Review Competitive Forces Paper Essay

Harvard Business Review Competitive Forces Paper - Essay Example However, the risks can be translated to a competitive advantage (Porter, 2008). Areas where IT represents a risk to company’s competitive advantage Physical threats Physical threats arise from damage of company servers and other IT resources e.g. by fire, theft and floods. It may also happen as a result of unauthorized access of information by malicious employees. Electronic threats Such risks when they materialize aim at compromising the information security of a company. They come in the following ways: virus attacks e.g. luv bug and Melissa viruses; attach by black hat hackers who are usually malicious and crack your IT system hoping to gain something out of the information; fraudulent emails and websites. These threats can cause fraudulent transactions. The staff also misuses organizations emails and web. Organizations bandwidth can also be misused by Staff who performs peer-to-peer file transfer and sharing. Failure to update or configure the organization's software usual ly brings about these types of threats. Technical failure Occur when a hardware device ceases to function or some of its components get damaged. In some instances, it occurs when a software bug is introduced to the system or shows up due implementation errors. This failure can occur due to large, complex systems which are unstable and are frequently maintained and updated. Infrastructural failure Occurs when network and power outages occur and one cannot access the internet. These will definitely interrupt the business process and valuable transactions might be missed out. A company may have an Uninterrupted Power Supply, but in other cases, they seem to fail. Human error These happen when an employee fails to adhere or to be keen to IT stipulated policies and procedures or when an employee accidentally deletes important business data. Specific areas in which IT may support or promote a company’s competitive advantage Know the IT environment/estate In order to manage risks, a company needs to know all its IT assets. It needs to know how many servers are there, how many PCs per department, the applications running on the servers and client PCs. The company should also keep track of who uses which IT asset, who manages the assets, supports the systems, the data stored and processed in servers and machines, the workflow of the processes e.tc. A company might rate the importance of an asset by the data they store the liability which can be got when the data gets mishandled. Companies also have tools which track the assets even by the person who uses it and can even happen in real time, but the most important thing is arranging the assets in groupings which are organized e.g. as a business unit, data center product line. It can be put in any grouping which allows the analysts to do their job without too much consultation or up and down movements. A manager may want to view analysis reports or an auditor may want to view compliance reports. Identifying risks and policies The organization needs to identify the risks which are a likely and their probabilities. It should also identify the policies which can be utilized in managing risks. The starting point is identifying the operational policy controls which are usually under the company’s IT Governance and risk compliance (GTC) program. The operational controls standards used