Wagner Matinee

English 1011 3 December 2009 â€Å"A Journey through Life† Life is all about choices. Even the simplest choice could turn a situation around and further affect the future of an individual forever. I found Willa Cather’s short story â€Å"A Wagner Matinee† very interesting. It deals with different levels of choices, some which might affect the character’s life slightly, while other choices may affect their entire lifetime. The way the story is written makes the reader think a lot about the events that occur along the way.It leaves the reader wondering how the situation the characters are to encounter is widely affected by the choice of decision that is made. Many psychologists have tried and still try to research and explain the way humans think and make their own decisions by theories, views, and models. There are many psychologists who contribute their lives in order to examine the similarity between decisions and their consequences. It is found that most of the decisions are through experiences, stereotypes and personal views.The story starts with the narrator, Clark, receiving a letter from his uncle, Howard. In the letter there is a notice stating that his aunt, Georgiana, is coming to Boston for the settling of her relative’s estate. However, when he reads the letter he notices that Uncle Howard postponed sending the letter until the last moment possible, because the date that is noted for his aunt’s arrival to town is the very next day. Clark describes the letter as â€Å"worn and rubbed, looking as If it had been carried for some days in a coat pocket that was non too clean† (Cather 201).It shows how his uncle’s poor decision could have turned out if he had delayed sending the letter for one extra day or if Clark was not at home that day to receive it. When Clark expresses his feelings toward his aunt he states how important and affective she was on his childhood. She was the one who taught him abou t music, Shakespeare, mythology, and Latin. If not for her, he would have been just an ordinary farmer boy who knows nothing about education.Thus, it is clear how upset he would have gotten with himself and his uncle if he would have received the letter late and missed his aunt’s arrival. Decision avoidance is a tendency of avoiding making a choice by postponing it or by seeking an easy way out that involves neither action nor change. It usually results from reason and emotion. As mentioned in the â€Å"Psychological Bulletin† by Christopher J. Anderson: â€Å"Under conditions of high stress, this avoidance can become extreme. Take, for example, the â€Å"old sergeant syndrome† described by Janis and Mann (1977b).Infantry on the front lines of battle for long periods, witnessing the death of comrades and having no hope of transfer, have been known to ignore decisions required to protect themselves under fire or from routine safety hazards. For them, decision av oidance costs lives†. There are four occurrences that had been discussed by researches: â€Å"Status quo†, â€Å"omission†, â€Å"Inaction inertia†, and â€Å"Deferral†. There is no need for the discussion of all four phenomena, since they all are all related to previous outcomes and feedback.Decision avoidance is made when facing a decision concerning a valuable thing to the decision maker. For a person there is usually only one chance to make the right decision, but sometimes when the person thinks about the options of the possible consequences it draws him or her back, especially if there is a possibility of discrepancy, loss, or regret. In the decision made by Uncle Howard, the reason for postponing the letter until the last moment might have been for various reasons.Some of the reasons could be that he might have knew how puzzled she will be when she goes back to her home town, he might have thought how much he would miss her when she will be a way, thought of their kids, or was afraid of her staying for a much longer time at her family’s house. Although Clark got upset with his uncle for the fact that he sent the letter so late, Uncle Howard probably did not think of it the way Clark did and he definitely did not mean to do that so Clark would not have the chance of seeing his aunt. The second choice is made by Clark.After his aunt arrives to town he decides to take her to an opera the next day, since she used to be a music teacher and admires classical music, â€Å"to repay her for some of the glorious moments she had given [him]† (Cather 202). Although, when he talks with her, he becomes worried that she would not enjoy it. She has not seen an opera ever since she moved to Nebraska, which was thirty years ago. Also, she seems to be interested more in the changes of the city, and keeps on talking about the small unimportant worries that she has about the house she just left for a couple of days, than in wat ching a concert. Once they enter the pera hall, it is the first time Clark notices her observing her surroundings. However, he feels unease that she might become embarrassed of her clothing. She is wearing a black, country, dress, while all the other city-women where dressed in shiny colorful dresses. For her, it felt as if she stepped back into the reality she has longed for over the years she was in Nebraska. Although she does not seem to show any feelings, which makes Clark even more disappointed in the bad decision he had made. Egon Brunswik, who was a successful psychologist in the mid twentieth century, visualized a model of social perception.It was named â€Å"The Lens Model†. The aspect of it is how the way individuals think they see in others usually determines the way they treat and respond to them. The lens in this model represents the way the person sees the environment which is affected by his or her opinions, ideas, and previous experiences. Therefore, this is t he main reason Clark was concerned for his aunt. Since every person is aware that he or she has a different prospect through his or her own lens; Clark did not want his aunt to be uncomfortable if somebody looks at her in an improper way.Clark is also very concerned that it is too much for his aunt to take in, since he recalls and says to the reader: â€Å"I could feel how all those details sank into her soul, for I had not forgotten how they had sunk into mine when I came fresh from ploughing forever and forever between green aisles of corn, where, as in a treadmill, one might walk from daybreak to dusk without perceiving a shadow of change† (Cather 203). However, the moment the first tune is heard in the air is when Aunt Georgiana first displays emotions.She grasps on Clark’s sleeve, and he realizes â€Å"that for her [,] this broke a silence of thirty years† (Cather 203). Then he assures himself that, certainly, the concert might have been a good choice after all. Although she keeps silent throughout the concert, Clark observes her and the way she reacts to the different melodies. Lastly, the third choice that is made by Aunt Georgiana was made thirty years earlier, when she was in her younger years. She spent her childhood in Boston and was used to the city life.However, when she grew up, she fell in love with Uncle Howard while visiting a village in the Green Mountains where her relatives had settled in the past. Her family and friends opposed her decision, but she followed her heart and married him anyhow. Then she moved with him to the Nebraska frontier, where they lived since. Blinded by love, she was not aware of the consequences of her decision and the dramatic change and affect it was to cause to her life. She moved from everything she knew, even from her sophisticated and educated self, to a place she was not expecting. She gave up all she had for the sake of love.Her life changed her from being a music teacher at the Boston Co nservatory, to being in the field and living a country life. It is most evident that she was not very happy with the decision she made when Clark was studying from some of her music books in his young years and she came up to him and told him not to love music so well, â€Å"or it may be taken away. †(Cather 202) This shows how depressed she got after she realized the mistake she made and the big sacrifice she gave for something that might have faded away after a while, and it is obvious that she would take it back if she could, for any price.Also when she arrives to Boston she seems as if she tries not to get attached to the city too much, for she will have to leave it again in a matter of days. When Clark tells her about the concert and suggests visiting the Conservatory, he might have not realized at first the real reason that made her avoid the plan, but the reason she did it was because she did not want to visit these places so the memories would not come back to her and make her even more depressed than she will be. She was trying to avoid reality.However, when Clark took her to the opera she starts to notice the differences between the life she could have stayed in and the life she chose to take. Instead of being in the colorful and happy life, teaching what she is most passionate about to future generations, she chose to move to the county side, do labor work every single day, and live a dull routine that she had no interest in. Yet, once the â€Å"Prize Song† is played Clark notices that tears start falling from her eyes. Soon he learns from her that she heard it times before by a German boy who sang in a chorus of his town in his youth.She had told him to join the country church, but he disappeared shortly after he got himself drunk, lost his money, and a bet, which left him with a fractured collar-bone. The reason that this song shook her emotions might have been because when the young boy came to town he reminded her of herself when s he made the same decision when she was younger. Although he lost everything, the German boy was able to manage and leave town, in contrast to her. Sigmund Freud gave the belief that decision making is irrational a very popular voice in the early twentieth century.The early work of the psychologist J. R. Simon in the mid-twentieth century also argued against classical rationality in decisional processes. It led to the â€Å"Bounded Rationality View†, which says that people are thought to seeking or achieving a satisfactory outcome, rather than the best possible outcome when making decisions. An equivalent and famous example for this view, which was also made by Aunt Georgiana, is the marriage of two individuals who fall in love but have completely different backgrounds and interests.In some situations, the need for a decision arises from the realization that an earlier decision was wrong and that it is not producing the desired results. For example, when the concert is over, w hile every one in the audience stands up and gets ready to leave the opera hall, Clark’s â€Å"kinswoman make[s] no effort to rise† (Cather 205). Even after the men of the orchestra leave the stage, she keeps sitting in her place. Once Clark speaks with his aunt, tears start rolling on her cheeks and she weeps, telling him, â€Å"I don’t want to go, Clark, I don’t want to go! †(Cather 205).Finally, her real emotions come out; she is not able to hold them in any longer. She knows that once she will step out of that building she will have to go back to the reality she put herself into, and she does not want to face it once again. During her short visit to Boston she found out that everything she longed for during this thirty-years period was indeed the life she wanted and dreamt of in her youth, and she knows that this time she will have to make the ultimate decision in which she will have to give up on a big part of her, either her country life and her family, or the one thing she is most passionate about, which is music.In this part of the story, it is very clear to the reader that the experiences and the events that happened in Aunt Georgiana’s past could affect her decision for bad or good. Although sometimes people recognize the right decision they have to make, but a bad experience or an outcome from such a decision in the past would trigger them to decide otherwise. She will have to think if she will be happier with finally redeeming the wrong choice she made when she was young and in-love, or if she will go back to the place in which she finds no interest or excitement.This short story without a doubt contains and shows different choices and their diverse consequences and effects on a person’s life. First, if Uncle Howard had not sent the letter on time, Aunt Georgiana might not have went to visit her nephew, and in return, she would have went back home without having to go through an emotional journey tha t left her with an even larger decision to make.Secondly, if Clark would have gave up on taking her to the concert they would have probably done something else to spend the time, and it might had or had not been easier for Aunt Georgiana to go back home. Also, the most affective decision that was made by the characters is a choice that most people have to make during their lifetime; whether to get married to the person they are in love with or follow a greater passion which is of a greater importance to them.Despite the situation however, a person should always make the decision with what their mind tells them, not their heart, because the mind thinks about the consequences faster and more accurately than the heart does. Meaning, when a person is blinded by the goal he or she wants to achieve and have in his or her life, they usually tend to want it without thinking about the wide range of consequences and changes it will make to his or her life. A person might think a decision is e asy.However, simplest choices can have far reaching consequences. Abelson, Robert P. , Schank, Roger C. , and Langer, Ellen J. Beliefs, reasoning, and decision making: psycho-logic in honor of Bob Abelson. New Jersey, 1994. Anderson, Christopher J. † The Psychology of Doing Nothing: Forms of Decision Avoidance Result From Reason and Emotion. † Phsycological Bulliten Vol. 129, (2003): 139–167. Wolf, Bernhard. â€Å"University of Landau, Germany†. 2005. University of Landau, Germany. 27 Nov. 2009. .

Grade 10 english Essay

Compare and Contrast the relationship between the Students and their Teacher in â€Å"Students† and â€Å"Crow Lake. † Both the poem â€Å"Students† by Tom Wayman and the short story â€Å"Crow Lake† by Mary Lawson highlight the challenges that teachers face with their students. While Wayman explores the generation gap between himself and the kids in his class, Lawson provides an anecdote of a lecture where she suddenly realizes that she is not cut out for teaching. From the two pieces we learn how important relationships can be when given the responsibility of teaching students. Firstly, the autobiographical poem begins with the teacher being shocked at the age of the students: â€Å"Wayman was sure the computer was in error† (line 3). This reaction foreshadows the generation gap that makes it difficult for him to communicate with the teenagers in his class. Furthermore, when he says, â€Å"The wisdom of the students/ hadn’t altered, though,† (lines 9-10) we see that he respects the ability of the students; he just questions their motivations for learning. Wayman uses a series of metaphors like â€Å"The Vaccination Theory of Education,† and, â€Å"The Dipstick Theory,† to show how students learn in different ways. The tone of the lyric poem if slightly satirical but, from the ideas explored by the author, we start to appreciate the challenges that he faces coping with children from this generation. Similar to Wayman, Lawson faces challenges with her University students. While Wayman remains positive and continues to battle against this gap, Lawson has an epiphany and realizes that she has been â€Å"boring† her students. While Wayman is an experienced teacher, Lawson is more of a research expert and, as she identifies, she finds, â€Å"it hard to relate to students† (p14). Lawson uses flashback to show her passion for nature and, as she realizes that the students have not had the same experience and that is why they are indifferent to her lesson, she realizes it is her fault that they are not engaged: â€Å"And now I was putting the entire class to sleep† (p16). Unlike Wayman, Lawson decides to leave the lecture hall and, we can assume, she makes a decision that will end her teaching career. By the end of the story Lawson has realized her limitations. To conclude, both texts imply that it can be very difficult for teachers to relate to students. In a world where education is so important, we learn that the teacher has a responsibility to be creative and inspire students to learn rather than just assess them with a letter grade or drag them through material in a way that is very boring.

Organizational Structure Essay

An organizational structure is a composition that specifies a company’s hierarchical structure. There are various kinds of conformations that organizations can choose to build their business around. The organizational structure exemplifies the way in which control and business affairs have been appointed within the organization. Organizational structure encompasses the design of an organization though people positioning and responsibilities in order for organizational goals can be reached. Some of the time, a formal structure is not necessary due to a small informal business setting. In large organization responsibilities must be distributed. Hence, the reason that policies and procedures are established that assign responsibilities for numerous positions. The determination of these organizational functions (such as marketing, finance, human resources, and operations) influence and determine the organizational structure of your an organization. The three main types of organiza tional structures are functional structure, divisional structure, and matrix structure. Divisional Structure The structure that an organization is based around also is contingent on the enormity of the company. Divisional structure separates the faculty based on the commodity and customer demand verses geographical location. For example, each area within the organization is accountable for certain divisions. Each division has individual support systems such as finance department, marketing department, warehouse department, and maintenance department. Divisional structure is grants flexibility and is a decentralized structure. Divisional structure also grants quick adaptability to geographical changes. Divisional structure embellishes advancements in the market and industry and allows for various plans of action. However, this structure causes replication of resources due to each unit having the necessity of every resource. PepsiCo’s Organizational Design An example of an organization design around divisional structure is PepsiCo. PepsiCo is a flexible company that is constantly looking for new innovations and consistently adapts to the geographical market. PepsiCo has a decentralized organizational structure. The functional determinations are made in individual units with corporate control and direction. PepsiCo has one CEO and three division presidents. The company’s hierarchical structure continues as each division is broken down into market units. Each market unit has a director. Furthermore each market unit is divided into regional units, then down the chain to sales units. Each unit has its own resources, such as marketing, finance, human resources, and operations departments. PepsiCo determines responsibilities by departmentalization. Departmentalization is a conglomeration of common duties and characterization of tasks. The influences of departmentalization are function, product, geographic, process and customer. PepsiCo maintains a span of control by making sure of correct distribution of responsibility among employees and task obligations are accounted for. For example, units are tasked with weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly forecast for sales, operations, overhead, and labor. Reports are sent weekly to account for these actions. Human resources departments are in each division to ensure control over the organization. There are guidelines and procedures in place to ensure the rules are being followed across the globe. Formalization sets the standard for the administered responsibility. Each unit at PepsiCo has management teams in place to ensure control of task performances. For example, a if a location has been tasked with a 1,000 case distribution for week one in the period and the sales teams are severely falling short on sales, management will step in to centralize the issue, reiterate the method of actions, and ensure the actions are conducted in a certain manner to achieve results. PepsiCo is multinational organization made up of three units which are PepsiCo Americas Foods, PepsiCo Americas Beverages and PepsiCo International. This structure allows the organization to focus on manifesting international markets, which will grant independence revenues, enabling focus on better product advancement. The organization is spread across the globe. However, the control is local, unlike a matrix structure that is located only in a single area (PepsiCo 2012). Matrix Structure A matrix structure formalizes line teams as well as the typical divisional hierarchy. The matrix structure is a hybrid between the functional and divisional structure, effectively creating independent business units for each product or service created or each unique market targeted. The matrix-structured organization is a project-based business that divides individual groups based on functional specializations. Variation of the matrix structure divides the authority by both functional and project areas. The functional manager heads up the functional areas of the organization. The project supervisor oversees the assigned project. This allows for management to focus on areas of proficiency. Companies such as General Motors has based its organization around the matrix structure due to the ability to specialize in specific areas, and organizational communication through other fields. General Motors believes the differentiation of ideas creates innovational determinations. The matrix structure also allows the human resources department to be shared throughout the organization. General Motors is made up of one main chief information officer (CIO) and several divisional CIOs that control the functionalities in the organization. General Motors also has process information officers that work in various areas of expertise across the organization. General Motors believes the matrix structure develops global commercialism (Daft 2007). Functional Structure Functional Structured organizations group tasks according to the target. Functional structured organizations work well for organizations that have a need for departments to rely on expertise of its faculty. A major disadvantage to a functional structured organization is the communication boundaries due to variation in departments that work individually. One company that a functional structure works well is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is one of America’s largest retailers. Wal-Mart is designed by a functional structure. Wal-Mart’s target market is a consumer with median incomes. Wal-Mart has a limited amount of functions in specialized areas with in the organization. Wal-Mart does not produce its goods, but has enough buying power to supply the demanded products. The organizational structure and large size enables the buying power to purchase goods at low prices. This buying power enables Wal-Mart to offer its target market lower prices creating a competitive edge over other retailers. A functional structured organization; such as Wal-Mart have a chief executive officer, limited executive staff, and department heads in domineering areas of expertise such as accounting, marketing, human resources and warehouse. Wal-Mart’s headquarters and executive staff is made up of a Chief of Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and Board of Directors, with supporting committees. Conclusion Determining an organizations structural design that will be the most effective for a specific company has great significance on organizational success. Using an unsuitable design structure can be consequential in communication, product development, customer service, and countless situations of other organizational issues. Organizational structure can determine the successful outcome of the organization. Reference Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2011). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World (ninth ed.). New York, NY: McGrall Hill. Retrieved May 7, 2012 (2012). PepsiCo. Retrieved May 7, 2012, from www.pepsico.com Daft, Richard (2007). Organizational Theory and Design (ninth ed.). Manson, OH: Thompson Higher Education. Retrieved May 7, 2012.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS - Essay Example The company seeks to liaise with other automobile companies and revive electric vehicles in Israel. This way, a major network of electric vehicles will be formed (Gilder, 2013, p. 95). Better Place has a mission to exist on which aims at complete elimination of automobiles that use oil. These cars will be friendly to the environment as there will be no toxic fumes production via exhaust pipes. This implies that there will be no threat of gas build up from these cars. Better Place asserts that it is different from other companies in the sense that it works in the view of changing the world by bringing on board the electric vehicles. The vehicles will be cost effective as opposed to cars that are wholly dependent on petrol and diesel. According to statistics, it can be shown that internal combustion vehicles would cost owners an average of $ 0.11-0.12 for every mile cruised. On the other hand, electric cars are estimated to spend $ 0.06-0.08 mile on average (Alt, 2013, p. 6). These sta tistics fully support the Better place in its assertion that it will make a difference that will impact positively on the lives of Israelites. On the contrary, if Better Place were not there, there would also be unhealthy competition due to the fact that there would be no change in different car models to offer a wide range of choice (Etzion & Struben, 2011, p.8). Also, creativity and innovation would be phased out in automobile industry leaving no opportunity for more choices. Better Place has stakeholders who intend to build long term relationship with for constructive progress of the company. These stakeholders decide on forms of engagement and recording of the outcomes as well as improving the way the organization works (Husted & Allen, 2011, pp. 128). These stakeholders include employees, customers, suppliers and members of the community in Israel. The headquarters in California provide the effective guide in terms of delocalized management in which case the company is able to have well co-ordinated activities in all countries of operations. They are very important in business engagements as they contribute in its growth and development. This relationship is illustrated using a table below whereby employees’ involvement is to improve morale, motivation and creation of dynamic safe environment. Customers on the other hand engage in building reputation helping in building the business (Etzion & Struben, 2011, p.21). Then, government helps the company keep abreast with policy and regulations while the community builds the organization’s reputation. Venture capital investors have the duty to invest more capital into the business so that its financial status is strategically envisioned. Suppliers have a very big role to play in production as the supplies of for example tires keep the company service and goods provision to the market strong and stable. Other utility companies are very important as they either make use of the company products or ma ke relevant supplies of validity. Car manufacturers are of great value because they make the industry have the required supplies of cars and spare parts as much as possible. Low level of Interest High Low Power High source: (Gilder, 2013) Industry Analysis and Scenarios Better place is bound to face various positive and negative scenarios in its course of it business activities. This means that eventualities are expected and the company must device new strategies of fighting its rivals in business activities. In this respect, it should prepare to fight all possible threat that may undermine its progress. This would be achieved by proper incorporation of methods that re reasonable and

Econ 101 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Econ 101 - Research Paper Example The book contained a new economic outlook of the government and money, and from the roots of the book, came the introduction of macroeconomics. According to the School of Thought (2011), the development of Macroeconomics can be attributed to the works of Keynes, and the controversial arguments that he had with fellow economists helped the development of economics. The other contribution that Keynes had on the world is probably the influence that he had on other Keynesian economists like Joan Robinson, with whom he belonged to a reading group. The influence that Keynes had on his protà ©gà ©es can be seen in later works developed by these economists. The most interesting fact about Keynes life is that his life and work probably led to the development of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, since he helped develop a new international money system that needed to have an overseer. This means that the development of the new economic treaty between the United States and The United Kingdom was brokered using Keynes’s knowledge, and the two institutions mentioned were developed because of the

Sysco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sysco - Essay Example Day was required to give all the pros and cons of the implementation of the new software along with its detailed requirements. The obstacles to the implementation of new BI software were identified so that software faces no unknown resistances and obstructions. Questions were also designed for the software to answer to evaluate the efficacy of the software in terms of fulfilling Sysco’s requirements of information. Sysco has a number of companies under its governance due to which, all the steps taken by the company are required to be looked in good details. No change or development is without challenges, therefore, challenges were also identified in order to cope up with the challenges successfully. For increasing the IT expertise of the company as a whole, a data warehouse was also established. However, this data warehouse was required to be improved to a great extent as the staff and IT requirements of the data warehouse lacked competence to handle complicated IT related iss ues. For implementing BI software, the company required to look towards the investment that it was going to invest for the implementation of the software, the integration of the present system with the new software, acceptance of all the supervised companies and expertise of the IT staff. Obstacles Facing Sysco For implementing BI software, Sysco faces some obstacles. The company, Sysco has its own data sources that are required to be connected with BI software and for this process, IT help is required, which can be given by BI’s technical staff (McAfee and Wagonfeld 4). The company’s database needs to be attached with BI software. The company was to decide on purchasing the right amount of BI software for its information needs. Investment for BI software is also a major concern for the company. Day was fully aware that associated companies linked with Sysco were to bear the costs invested for implementing BI software due to which, there can be a problem in terms of in vestment approval by those companies (McAfee and Wagonfeld 11). The linked companies already have their own software solutions for information systems due to which, there were fair chances of resistance by the companies. Data warehouse started by Sysco was not fully complete and its staff lacked the necessary expertise to extract necessary data. The employees serving in the data warehouse were required to be trained better and the warehouse was itself an obstacle for the implementation of BI software (McAfee and Wagonfeld 3). Sysco lacked the essential IT competence in terms of its data warehouse and its IT staff, which is a clear obstruction. Questions Addressed by Sysco Sysco initially decided to address only two questions with its new BI software rather than use it as a more general analysis tool. The questions were ‘What additional products could we be selling to each of our customers?’ and ‘Which of our current customers are we most likely to lose?’ (M cAfee and Wagonfeld 8-9). These questions were initially asked because they support the company to look forward in their future in terms

Education as Initiation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Education as Initiation - Assignment Example Peters (1965) presents the idea of education as initiation. In his book, he describes the teacher as an initiator of education and the students as aspirants. His work revolves around the process of being initiated into a given tradition whereby the values of this tradition are passed along. In addition, the author elaborates several education criteria depending on nature of students: Firstly, a state of mind that is desirable develops a valuable aspect that must be initiated. Secondly, education implies that one is being brought into the light because he or she possesses the appropriate skill or knowledge in a manner that involves some degree of understanding. Thirdly, education will always involve seeing everything that is happening in a broader perspective. This implies a cognitive awareness that relates to other fields; knowing what and how. From Plato’s point of view, the goal of schooling is simply to enlighten the mind. Induction prepares a learner by providing brief ideas about the covered information in a particular field. In addition, Plato believes that schooling imparts the knowledge of reality to learners. Learners are always taught what is real or rather the things they will face in the major task. For Instance, when an induction is performed for students in a mathematics class, it gives them an outline of the things they should expect during the entire course. This is outline is real as it is a forecast of the entire subject. Lastly, schooling inculcates the relevant values to students. Learners, irrespective of the level or field of study, obtain the societal values. These values are acceptable in the society as they prepare the students for future or rather initiate the learner into his or her place in the society. Therefore, all these are related to the concept of schooling for induction as it prepares the students for what is ahead.

Managed health care future for the disabled and poor Essay

Managed health care future for the disabled and poor - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is managed health care as delivering health care in an integrated system and in an organized manner. The main goals of managed health care are to enhance the clinical quality of the medical services, to enhance the client and social service element of health care, and to minimize the costs of distributing quality health care. Managed care is a structured approach to purchasing and getting the right service for a particular health need. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), and physician hospital organizations (PHOs) are forms of managed care. Managed care and in particular, the health maintenance organizations became popular as a way of enhancing care and minimizing unnecessary services. However, towards the end of 1990s, the consumer backlash resulted in the abandonment of the firmly controlled care management systems. Quality is â€Å"now the watchword for 21st century healthcare as the institutions and individuals who pay for services begin to focus on what they are getting for their money†. In other words, individuals demand for quality health care because they are paying for it. There is still no consensus as to who should be accountable for the provision and financing of the health care services in the United States. This has resulted in a patchwork system in which the individuals, employers, and the government all assist in covering up the expenses. For a while, the government has assumed the mandate of providing health insurance to particular deserving populations (such as some poor people, children, disabled, and other older persons) but it has generally shunned financing care for the working adults (Earp, French, and Gilkey, 2008). Instead, majority of the working adults get insurance either through buying coverage on their own or through their employers, or they go without the cover. It is important to note that there is no single unifying system offering the system s. The health services are offered directly by private providers, organizations supported by state or federal funding, and governmental organizations (like the public health). Health care services are provided by both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations (Earp, French, and Gilkey, 2008). Managed care imposes quality measurement, accountability, controls, and organization in the delivery of health care to attain the buyer’s aims for access to cost of care, effectiveness of care, care, and quality of care. The introduction and growth of managed care strategies have influenced the general health care organization. They have begun to alter the delivery of publicly and privately health care (National Research Council, 1997). Provider Contracting The aim of a managed care organization is to offer or organize for the health care services provision. Majority of the managed care organizations like the preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and the health maintenance organizati ons (HMOs) offer their services through agreements with medical groups, individual physicians, hospitals, individual practice associations (IPAs) and other kinds of health care facilities and

Spanning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Spanning - Essay Example This helps in storing the same or similar data in one hard disk and thus ensuring that less data is lost. It also makes the work of the technician much easier in terms of referrals and work in general. There is a software that is used for putting large data in a smaller capacity hard disk. However, most people refrain from using this because retrieving the data may be much more hectic. For a person to retrieve the data, they have to sue the same software that they used to remove it (Robins and Salowe, 2005). In the process, a lot of data may be lost or even corrupted and thus making the entire point of storing information useless or pointless. It is important to note that people do not like to be tied to any kind of software for either storing or retrieving their information. In this case, they look for versatility and efficiency at the same time. For spanning to be effective, it has to consider how feasible it is and how possible it is to run and to maintain. There are other projects that are known to be not feasible. It would be useless to carrying out a spanning activity that would be detrimental to the actions that he wishes to perform. Issues of feasibility include cost, the acceptability and the appropriateness of the program. It would be useless to carry out an activity that is not appropriate for the action that is to be performed. In this case, the results would not be what is expected and thus make the whole work useless (Monma and Shallcross, 2009). Appropriate means that the action has to be compatible with the technology. For instance, it would be futile to try and use an outdated antivirus to eliminate a virus that has just surfaced. Chances are very high that the virus is beyond the antivirus and cannot be eliminated at all. This means that the person will have lost money when purchasing the antivirus, they will have

Offenders and Psychology Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Offenders and Psychology - Coursework Example In the Table â€Å"Profile Characteristics of Disorganized Asocial Offenders† it is evident that there are a number of characteristics, which are appropriate in the process of offender personality’s studies. The status of the personalities in their communities is determined with respect to the following features: they have a limited intelligence, are involved in unskilled work and have a few contacts with other members of the community. These persons show the following types of post-offense behavior, such as turning to the place, where the crime was committed; having a visual collage of criminal events etc. After that, when the crime was committed, a disorganized criminal can hardly change a place of his residence, because he is used to his familiar environment. It is possible to differentiate a disorganized asocial offender from the organized nonsocial offender. The former offender would commit his crimes at night, as a rule. For this type of offenders, it is very impo rtant to be understood and supported. Establishment of positive relationship with this personality is very beneficial in the process of investigation. Moreover, the interviews are more effective with these offenders at night, when it is their â€Å"best time†. The features of the organized nonsocial offender can be interpreted in the following way: this type of the offender would be more organized in his daily life. They are lonely persons and they do not want anyone else around them. These persons have an average level of intelligence and they can be active members of the society. These offenders can have his personal relationship and he can even make a good impression (Interview with S. Milena Halterman, 2010). This type of offenders can go to many other places, which are far away from their neighborhood. Post-offense behavior of the organized nonsocial offenders is as follows: he is interested in the consequences of the crime, committed by him. Moreover, â€Å"organized  crime  scenes  reflect  a  high  level  of  control  by  the  offender  where restraints  are  used  and  the  body  is  disposed  of  in  a  thought out  manner, usually  transported  to  another  location  from  where  the  murder  took  place† (Holmes& Holmes, 2009). During the interview sessions, it is relevant to confront these offenders directly, because they are afraid of direct facts. A single-interview strategy is one of the most appropriate for them. These offenders can tell everything sincerely during the interviewing. Therefore, it is appropriate for the criminologists to focus on the peculiar personal features of the offenders in order to determine possible options of serial crime prevention and a proper investigation conduct of every particular case. Thus, the modern paradigm of criminology should be focused on researches and studies, which are concentrated on the peculiar aspects of offendersâ⠂¬â„¢ behaviors. Question 2 In the modern paradigm, it is very important to know that there is a strong relationship between social and psychological issues of the criminals and the actions committed by them. Psychological  profiling has been developing since 1940 and this field was developed for investigation of serial crimes (Schlesinger 2009). The basic points, outlined in this field of study are: characteristics of the  offender,  time factors, modus  operandi, offender’s  and  signature and  staging (Holmes & Holmes, 2009).  There is a great need to take into account organized vs.  disorganized

Human Resources Development and Leadership Essay

Human Resources Development and Leadership - Essay Example mbination of the traits, skillsets and personality of a particular individual that are developed within the context of racial, ethnic, or educational setting with each individual having an exclusive personal culture. On the other hand, national culture can be considered as shared understanding that originates from a set of beliefs, perceptions and values that provide a foundation for a nation’s heritage. Even though national culture is a communal understanding, people in a nation continue to have a broad variety of beliefs concerning their country. Corporate culture is a blend of broadly shared institutional principles, morals and the guiding philosophies of the organization that is typically highlighted in its mission and vision statements. Organizational culture has similarities to the national culture in that individuals in the firm usually perceive their firms differently (Witte & Muijen, 1999). These differing perceptions usually align themselves with the level of the ind ividual in the hierarchy of the firm. It produces leaders who have varying views of their corporate culture in comparison to those who are in lower levels of the firm. Understanding the manner in which these perceptions differ is a significant aspect of the job of every leader. Culture is not an external aspect as it exists within the person and cannot be separated from other learned skills (Matsumoto & Juang, 2004). Therefore, the development of multicultural awareness, understanding and competencies should be considered as a professional responsibility and an opportunity for any leader. With billions of workers residing and working in diverse environments, there are numerous opportunities for nurturing cultural awareness, understanding and skillsets. People living in unfamiliar cultures have a higher likelihood of becoming more multicultural in their understanding of alternative morals, traditions and ways of life, which were initially odd and unfamiliar (Ford, 1999). In some instance,

Initial Assessment Essay Example for Free

Initial Assessment Essay The reasoning for using Initial Assessment in my curriculum area is because the majority of students have not completed a formal education or if having done so hold little or no qualifications. The majority of the courses start at entry level therefore no qualifications’ are require, but to offer students progression on to higher levels they need to be holding or be able to achieve a level 1 in communication and application of number. This is the minimum requirement to complete an apprenticeship programme and the vast majority wish to follow the vocational route to being a ‘qualified tradesman’. Procedures Before the day of enrolment students are fore warned at the interview stage what the awarding bodies’ requirement is to do a particular course. In the case of Construction Awards Alliance they have their own assessment criteria to try a match the suitability of the student to a particular trade. However because we deliver from entry to level 2 with three bodies to keep to the assessment process standard the college format is used( booklet produced by the learning centre, attached). Hillier. J (2005 p62) states â€Å"Great care must be used with such assessment activities. Many potential learners will feel highly by being threatened by being asked to undertake a diagnostic assessment. † In my opinion as long as students are made aware that this is not a formal test the majority do not mind taking the test, provided that the reasoning behind it is explained correctly. As a tutor it is important I remember the purpose of the test as Lambert. D and Lines. D (2000 p20) state â€Å"formative assessment is undertaken so that positive achievements of a pupil can be recognised and the appropriate next step planned†. Once all the information is collated this is entered into the course/ student profile booklet, this enables me or any other tutors to look at a particular student or group qualifications and progress as they are recorded for each achievement. Personally I think that the process works well when we complete the diagnostics on line as students can not see how others are doing. Most students feel more comfortable using this method as they do not feel as much pressure as they can wear head phones if required. The whole purpose works well because as a tutor working on entry level and to a certain degree on level 1, communication and application of number can be imbedded into the practical aspects of the course. The major weakness that I feel of the assessment process is that they are not curriculum specific; aspects of application of number are not relevant to the vocational subject. As I have experienced my self and some mature students the terminology of key words has changed until we have had them explained. When using the paper versions students that struggle to read or write often do not complete enough of the booklet, for the tutor to find the true level the students capable / working at. An important aspect that is often missed is the fact that to help students there is a requirement to have extra support in place if require for individuals. If there is no support is there a need for assessment? Yes but ensure all the support is provided and available as required in a timely manner.

Ascendable Computing with Storage Resources

Ascendable Computing with Storage Resources INTRODUCTION Ascendable computing with storage resources through the Internet have been preferred by a cloud computing. It also assists users for accessing services with no regard where the services are presented and the way they offered same to water, gas, electricity, and telephony utilities [1]. With the adaptable and clear components in the resource assignment and also service delivering, a lot of data-intensive applications are improved in the environment of cloud computing. The data rigorous applications dedicate many of their implementation time in disk I/O for exercising a huge amount of data, e.g. commercial transactions data mining, satellite data processing, web search engine, etc.An evolving dedicated cloud computing platform for the   data-intensive application is Apache Hadoop [2][3] Data is allocated over the cloud. This has to be made possible to the applications that want to utilize it. There should not be any degradation of performance. The data accessing speed must be augmented, maintaining the load balanced in the system [4]. Possibility and Scalability are the two significant components to enhance the cloud performance. Generating replication is one of the vital strategies to attain the above. This replication also minimizes access latency plus bandwidth consumption. Then the data is saved at several places. The entreated data is derived from the closest source from which the appeal created. It results in increasing the performance of the system. The replications advantages do not occur without the overheads of generating, sustaining and also updating the replicas. Here, Replication can hugely enhance the performance [5]. The cloud computing applications performance of gaming, voice, storage, video conferencing, online office, social networking, and backup relies hugely on the possibility and effectiveness of great-performance communicating resources. For better reliability and high performance low latency service provisioning, Data resources may be drawn nearer (replicated)   to the place   known as physical infrastructure where the cloud applications are functioning. One of the most broadly learned spectacle in the allocated environment is Replication. Data replication algorithms are classified into two categories: static replication [6] [7] plus dynamic replication algorithms [8] [9] [10]., The replication policy is reestablished and very well defined in the static replication model. Moreover, dynamic replication generates automatically and removes replicas based on the modifying access patterns. And, static plus dynamic replication algorithms are further categorized into two groups, they are distributed and centralized algorithms [11] [12] Two kinds of replication techniques are Active and passive Replication. In active replication the whole replicas derive and execute the similar series of client appeals. In Passive replication the clients dispatch their appeals to a primary, implementing the appeals and dispatches updated messages to the backups. The replications target is to reduce the data access for the user accesses and also improving the job implementation performance. Replication proffers both enhanced performance and dependability for mobile computers through generating several replicas of significant data. For enhancing the data access performance in conventional wired/wireless networks, Data replication has been broadly used [13]. With the data replication, the users can utilize the data with no assistance of network infrastructure, and also can minimize the traffic load [14]. Scheduling is one of the significant tasks executed to fasten most profit for boosting the effectiveness of the cloud computing work load [15]. In cloud environment, the vital aim of the scheduling algorithms is, creating the utilization of the resources orderly. In cloud computing the different job scheduling [16] techniques are Cloud Service, User Level, Static and Dynamic [17], Heuristic, Workflow [18] and also Real Time scheduling. A few of the scheduling algorithms in cloud whether otherwise task or job or else workflow [19] or resources are Compromised-Time-Cost, Particle Swarm Optimization related Heuristic [20], enhanced cost based for tasks, RASA workflow, plus   new transaction intensive cost constraint, SHEFT workflow, Multiple QoS Constrained for Multi- Workflows.   Demonstrated workflow scheduling algorithms [kianpisheh2016] are available. Some of them are ant colony, market oriented hierarchical, deadline constrained, etc. Related Work Mazhar Ali et.al [21] suggested Division plus Replication of Data in the Cloud for Optimal Performance and Security (DROPS) which approaches the safety and performance problems collectively. In the DROPS methodology, A file was separated into fragments, and then replicate the fragmented data through the cloud nodes. All nodes saved only one fragment of a specified data file that assures that even in a victorious attack, meaningful information was not exposed to the attacker. They presented that the possibility for generating and compromising every node saving the fragments single files fragments is utterly low. They also matched the DROPS methodologys performance with ten other plans. The greater level of safety with little performance overhead was noticed. For minimizing the consumption of Cloud storage while confronting the data dependability requirement, Wenhao Li, Yun Yang et.al [22] proposed a cost-efficient data dependability management mechanism called PRCR regarding a common data dependability technique. By utilizing proactive replica examining method, when the running overhead for PRCR can be negligible, PRCR assures dependability of the great Cloud data with the minimized replication, that can also function as a cost efficiency yardstick for replication related methods. Javid Taheri et.al [23] suggested an innovative optimization algorithm based on Bee Colony, called Job Data Scheduling using Bee Colony (JDS-BC). JDS-BC comprised two integrating mechanisms to schedule jobs effectively onto computational nodes and then replicate data files on the storage nodes in a system hence the two independent, and in several cases conflicting, objectives (i.e., makespan plus whole datafile transfer time) of these heterogeneous systems were minimized concurrently. Three benchmarks differentiating from small- to huge-sized instances were utilized to evaluate the of JDS-BCs performance. For presenting JDS-BCs superiority under variant operating situations, Results were matched opposite to other algorithms. Menglan Hu et.al [24] suggested a sequence of innovative algorithms for solving the joint issue of resource provisioning and caching (i.e., replica placement) for cloud-based CDNs with an emphasis on handling the dynamic demand patterns. Firstly, they propose a provisioning and caching algorithm framework called Differential Provisioning and Caching (DPC) algorithm, that focuses to rent cloud resources for constructing   CDNs and whereby for caching   the concepts hence the complete rental cost can be reduced while every demands are served. DPC comprised 2 steps. Step 1 first augmented total demands assisted by available resources. Then, step 2 the whole rental cost for innovative resources for serving all remained demands. For every step we mapped both greedy plus iterative heuristics, each with variant benefits over the prevailing methods. Yongqiang Gao et.al [25] presented a multi-objective ant colony system algorithm for the virtual machine placement issue. The aim was, deriving efficiently a sequence of non-dominated solutions (the Pareto set) that reduce the total resource wastage plus power consumption simultaneously. The suggested algorithm was examined with some examples from the literature. Its solution performance was matched to that of a prevailing multi-objective genetic algorithm plus two single-objective algorithms notable bin packing algorithm and a max-min ant system (MMAS) algorithm. Zhenhua Wang et.al [26] presented workload balancing framework and resource management to Swift, a broadly utilized and conventional distributed storage system on cloud. In this framework, workload monitoring plus analysis algorithms were designed by them for inventing over and under loaded nodes in the cluster. For balancing the workload amidst those nodes, Split, Merge and also Pair Algorithms executed for regulating physical machines when Resource Reallocate Algorithm was mapped for regulating virtual machines on cloud. Additionally, by leveraging the experienced architecture of allocated storage systems, the framework resided in the hosts and operates through API interception.

Competition vs Collaboration

Competition vs Collaboration Competition versus Collaboration Studying so much about collaboration within and outside the organization made me curious about the competition element. So I tried to find out where does the competition lies when we are talking about Collaboration.Christiansen (2000) says that for creativity and innovation, it is important to consider whether collaboration or competition is valuable. Although there are some downsides with collaboration like: collaborative group working independently, resistance dispute, ownership problems, Time pressure in members and their activities, etc.. Despite having such downsides competition is beaten by collaboration. Furthermore, competition among individuals within an organization, in idea generation, forces people to shutdown. Who wins and who looses is based on the rules of the game which includes individuals competencies and other factors. Whereas in the innovation-process, creativity nourishes with new ideas from a variety of sources. In competition individuals hold back information. Furthermore, the individual might not have a clear picture about the problem in-hand or reduce creative thinking or might not give enough time to think about the solution. Thus, increasing the possibility that the outcome is not a best solution or a best idea. Whereas in collaboration, individuals will be synergistically working together towards their objective. Collaboration is an important part of the innovation stages of selecting the ideas, development and commercializing an idea. In case where competition is outside the organization Nagel (2001) says that Wealth is created by competition and innovation plays a centre role in competition. And innovation is a key which comprises collaboration among competitors. Innovative companies collaborate externally though joint ventures, alliances or less structured forms of networking. Some innovative companies value internal and external competition, not being cut-throat competition with high secrecy or fierce, only to stimulate higher performance in competing projects where the losing teams are happy to support the winning team on their way forward. In such a company, with a positive competitive culture, to lose is not equal to losing face or missing out on the next potential promotion. In companies that believe in collaboration, people cannot help but to collaborate (Mayle 2006).This concept can be seen apprentin the Ripple Effect (IDEO 2009) project model from IDEO where different organizations collaborate to provide inspiration, deign and business support to entrepreneurs in development of new offering. I have attached a video below showing how companies are collaborating to provide clean drinking water for the poor The Ripple Effect in India, by IDEO and Acumen Fund from IDEO on Vimeo. Reference: Christiansen J. A., 2000 Competitive Innovation Management: Techniques to Improve Innovation Performance, Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan IDEO 2009, Ripple Effect: Access to safe drinking water for Acumen fund and The Bill Melinda Gates foundation [Online], Available:http://www.ideo.com/work/item/ripple-effect-access-to-safe-drinking-water/ Mayle D. 2006, Managing innovation and change, Publisher: SAGE Nagel S. 2001, Handbook of Policy Creativity: Creativity at the cutting edge Publisher: Nova Publishers, Social Media and Networks In the last few years, the number of users accessing the internet is expanding and an exponential rate. Users looking for any kind of information are searching the internet. Organizations are shifting or starting businesses online spending a lot of many to get traffic to their site. But with the hype of internet and web 2.0, these companies are using the internet to market and advertise their products and services through social media channels like facebook, twitter, youtube etc. It is the most low cost promotion method available today. Now a day marketers are using social media as their primary advertising platform as it is able to capture mass audiences. Its somewhat similar to TV advertising . In our business plan this social media and networks is playing an important part in advertisement. Companies are more concerned about their social graph ranks about products and services then how Google ranks them. The social media channels are creating content for the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) to work for the companies social media strategy. The content creation strategy should be aligned with the social media strategy to drive users towards taking action ( PR News 2009) There are three kinds of people who doubt the efficiency of social media. * Who are unaware about social media. * Who are interested in it but do not have knowledge to use it * Who doubts the social media strategy could benefit the business or their website(Jue et al. 2009) Social media should be included in the brand strategy because it will help consumers in the adoption process, laid out by Rogers (1962), which are (1) awareness, (2) interest, (3) evaluation, (4) trial, and (5) adoption, by spreading the awareness of the brand and answering the questions about the benefits the brand will provide. Social media will communicate the brand at all emotional levels. Furthermore, feedback will help in improving and evolving the brand. Bauknecht (2005) says people are believing and trusting more on peer recommendations than an advertisement. According to Warner (2008) social media networking might be just waste of time because the amounts of time individuals are spending on it. According to a survey, there is an estimated cost of  £6.5 billion per annum for loss in productivity and high bandwidth usage Britains social media fanatics spent like 12 hours per week on social media websites wasting value time. Young generations are also spending so much time on it. It was already hard to get the video game generation to focus on their studies. Lets see how much time it takes to spend on social media I am not a blogger or a social media fan. I did not have a Facebook account. I belonged to the category who doubted that social media could not benefit the business as advertising does. Now for me realizing the potential of social media was a huge eye-opener. I cant imagine how I could be ignoring it even after noticing all the online websites and other friends are on some kind of social media. However, after attending the Presentation of Chris Ramsbottom, former student of LUMS, and listening to his experiences regarding convincing the top managed about the importance of social media made me realize that I am not the only one. Now I have almost all the major social media channels and to expand my knowledge further regarding social media, I just got a book The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success 2009 by Lon Safko, David Brake and a digital copy of Social Media Marketing for Dummies 2009 by Shiv Singh. Also an iPhone to keep in touch with the social media networks However, it is important to understand how to utilize social media effectively by clarifying what actually is required from the social media either increasing sales or brand awareness of products or services. It will avoid wasting valuable time. Reference: Bauknecht K., Prà ¶ll B. and Werthner H. 2005, E-commerce and web technologies: 6th international conference, EC-Web Publisher: Springer Science Business Perez S. 2008, Real People Dont Have Time for Social Media [online], Available: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/real_people_dont_have_time_for_social_media.php PR News 2009, SEO SEM 3.0: Demystifying Social Media Optimization to Bring Consumers to You, PR News, April 27, http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.lancs.ac.uk/ (accessed December 13, 2009). Jue A.L. , Marr J.A. and Kassotakis M.E. 2009, Social Media at Work: How Networking Tools Propel Organizational Performance , Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Rogers, Everett M. (1962). Diffusion of Innovations. Glencoe: Free Press. Warner B. 2008, Times Online : Is social networking a waste of time[Online], Available: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3536749.ec Mass Production I have been absent from the working log for quite sometime. Was really busy in group meetings, presentations and assignments etc. just finished my toughest assignment for SAP which is due day after tomorrow. Im relaxed now and having a cup of tea and startedwriting my learning log again Mass Production Honestly when I saw the week 6 questions I thought mass production will be boring and just time consuming, there would be nothing interesting about it except the word mass production but after seeing a clip of Charlie Chaplin at the time of lecture actually started my interest. I was fascinated to find out how industrial revolution began and how change actually happened. Most of the people live their lives and dont bother to look at the history like how we, as people, got to current situation. How we, as people progressed. It made me feel proud how we as human beings progressed through passage of time. The Industrial Revolution consisted a period from 18th to the 19th century where changes on manufacturing, transport and agriculture had an enormous effect on social, cultural and economic conditions first starting in UK. UK is the place, in the 18 century, where first manufacturing operations were specifically designed to reduce production costs by specialized labour and the use of machines appeared (britannica.com). Then afterwards spread to Europe, North America, and eventually the world. It was interesting to read about Model T a model of car produced by the Ford Motor Company between 1909-27, first car to be successfully mass-produced on an assembly line. I was a little bit curious what is the significance of the letter T. Just noticed it is 20th letter of the alphabet. So Model T is THE MODEL OF THE 20TH CENTURY. (Babylon dictionary) The main characteristics of MODEL T is the Standardization which lead to economies of scale during production, Division of Task which led to higher productivity. Specialism which lead to easy training of new workers in different departments Payment procedure, more parts produced the more money earned, led to overcoming the problem of high labour turnover Concentration where specialist making the decision instead of Workers Interest to read more about Model T and suggestion from Mary on The limits of Fordism led me to a paper onThe Rise and Decline of Fordism and the Sea-Change in the Technological Advantage of Nations 2004 by Andrew Tylecote and Giovanna Vertova, who states that in the manufacturing industry there are 3 functions Design Manufacture process of turning inputs into outputs co-ordination management The larger the firms became, under Fordism production, the more co-ordination was required; the faster technology and products changed and the pace of change was steadily accelerating, the more design was required. It is to be noted that Fordist production methods was actually derived from the transformation of previous organization of production notably Taylorism. It was actually Taylor in his Bethlehem Steel plant where craftsmen were subordinated directly to engineers who allocated tasks to workers. Fordism production, in Kaplinskys words, had distinct spheres. Photobucket Mass production system of Fordism was marvellously efficient and the model can be valued by the concept of transformation mechanisation which has 3 stages referred by Coombs (1983). Stage 1: The dedicated machine tool, lower labour cost and higher production Stage 2: The assembly line of continuous flow mechanical moving of materials between different stages of transformation. What Fordism lacked was the 3rd stage i.e. Control mechanisation which is the substitution of machines for the human brain in the direction and supervision of the productive process.What was needed, for control mechanisation, was machine intelligence and that was the next techno-economic paradigm development of ICT. Later on flexible form of mechanisation was made possible by Computer-aided manufacturing. Computer aided manufacturing which later on joined with computer aided design. The use of ICT in the process of coordination was increasingly recognized which led the development and diffusion of internet. Coming from a family business of clothes manufacturing, for me I understood perfectly about the boredom the workers experience for constant doing the repetitive work in mass production.Even after the policy of wages were based according to the amount of output a worker does i.e. wages paid for each item of work they do, the motivation increases but eventually comes down and the element of boredom re-appears. By looking at the theory of the law of Diminishing Marginal Productivity of labour (sometimes called the law of diminishing returns). It states that the increase in output due to units increase in labour working hours will eventually decline.(Jacques, Ian 2006) Which means if a worker is working 10 hours in a day ,His efficiency in the 1st hour will be higher than the 2nd hour. 2nd hour skill of production is more than the 3rd hour. In his last hour that is in the 10th hour his efficiency will be very very low .It may be zero or negative. Which was apparent in the case of Charlie Chaplin in the MODERN TIMES movie clip, that was seen in the class, when he lost his mind after repetitive working of loooooog hours and his productivity became negative In the book Mathematics for Economics and Business by Jacques, Ian gives an exmple: In the simplest case output, Q, is assumed to be a function of labour, L, and capital, K. Moreover, in the short run the input K can be assumed to be fixed, so Q is then only a function of one input L. (This is not a valid assumption in the long run and in general Q must be regarded as a function of at least two inputs. Methods for handling this situation are considered in the next chapter.) The variable L is usually measured in terms of the number of workers or possibly in terms of the number of worker hours. We define the marginal product of labour,MPL, by dQ = MPL dL Between 0 and L0 the curve bends upwards, becoming progressively steeper, and so the slope function, MPL, increases. Mathematically, this means that the slope of MPL is positive: that is, d(MPL ) > 0 dQ Now MPL is itself the derivative of Q with respect to L, so we can use the notation for the second derivative and write this as d2Q - > 0 dL2 Similarly, if L exceeds the threshold value of L0, then Figure 4.17 shows that the product curve bends downwards and the slope decreases. In this region, the slope of the slope function is negative, so that d2Q dL2 The law of diminishing returns states that this must happen eventually: that is, d2Q dL2 for sufficiently large L. Conclusion: To increase the productivity of a labourer and to reduce the cost of production. Reducing working hours of a shift is necessary. References: Andrew Tylecote and Giovanna Vertova 2004, The Rise and Decline of Fordism and the Sea-Change in the Technological Advantage of Nations www.giovannavertova.it/WP06.pdf britannica.com http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/368270/mass-production Babylon dictionary http://dictionary.babylon.com Jacques, Ian 2006, Mathematics for Economics and Business, Pearson Education UK, p. 268-271 http://lib.myilibrary.com.ezproxy.lancs.ac.uk/Browse/open.aspID=60204loc=Cover Kaplinsky (1984) Fordial Organisation Of Factory Production, p. 24 Perez Coombs. (1983). Structural Change and Assimilation of New Technologies in the Economic and Social Systems, Futures, 15(5): 357-375. disruptive technology It is a term which Christensen described as a new technology in this book the innovators dilemma by categorizing new technology into 2 categories: Sustaining technology incrementing improvements in an existing established technology Disruptive technology new technology, may not be perfect but appealing to a limited audience. Has initially little value and does not create attention among the dominate players in the industry. Disruptive technology usually targets new areas within the current industry with a new approach and could dominate an existing market. I will give 2 examples of disruptive technologies. Firstly, in my technology module, I found cloud computing a very disruptive technology. Its potential value cannot be ignored or denied. There were number of phases involved in the evolution of cloud computing, which include application service provision (ASP) and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Velte et al. 2009). In 2006, Amazon launched a commercial web service called Elastic Compute cloud (EC2) allowing small companies and individuals to renting I.T. infrastructure and computing power to run their own computer applications (LaMonica 2006). Cloud computing service is risk free and Easy to use. One does not have to buy anything or invest hugely into it. The technology is flexible; adjusting to the companys requirements and also easily scalable; fulfilling the needs of the companys growing demands. Just imagine in an industry where customers, had to pay upfront for a technology for which they may get 20-30% use, could use this cloud computing technology model and pay only for what is used and when it is used. It can be seen that the barriers to the entry of customers, around cost and complexity, are going to come down so dramatically that the cloud is going to open up much more usages of IT for small medium businesses. Emerging markets can be seen in countries, where just the cost and complexity have been barriers. Developing countries like Brazil rushing, China, India and beyond are going to end up using the technology in ways they have never been able to use it before and in ways we have never seen before. The second disruptive technology I found was the Google announcement of Google Navigation Map product for FREE, which was one of the innovation searches in our workshops. This product is used by connecting to the internet to Google cloud computing technology providing all the services of a traditional Sat. Nav and much more. By looking at the stock market of Garmin, one of the leading companies of navigation system providers in the GPS industry, we could actually see the market reaction to such a disruptive technology in just a couple of days from announcement, last year, in October 2009. TomTom and other companies are also affected. This product is targeted to price sensitive customers with offering excellent features and capabilities for FREE. With good understanding of the term disruptive innovation and disruptive technology, broadered my view of anticipating whether any new technology, i came accross, will prove disruptive or not. References: * Christensen C.M. 1997, The innovators dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail, Publisher: Harvard Business Press * Gurley B., Google Redefines Disruption: The Less Than Free Business Model [Online],Available: http://abovethecrowd.com/2009/10/29/google-redefines-disruption-the-%E2%80%9Cless-than-free%E2%80%9D-business-model/ [Accessed December 1, 2009 ] * LaMonica M. 2006, Amazon servers, starting at 10 cents an hour [Online], Available: http://news.cnet.com/Amazon-servers,-starting-at-10-cents-an-hour/2100-1038_3-6109202.html [Accessed December 1, 2009 ] * Velte T., Velte A. and Elsenpeter R. 2009, Cloud Computing: A Practical Approach, Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional disruptive innovation The term Disruptive innovation is thought up by Clayton Christensen, who describes the term as a process by which a product or service application starts from the bottom of the market and manoeuvres up in the market displacing established competitors. (christensen, 2009) I read an interesting book The innovators guide to growth: putting disruptive innovation to work by Scott. It describes the disruptive innovation theory: the market consists of customers some of which are at a high end, very demanding, and willing to buy high-performance, expensive products. While others are low end and satisfied with simple and inexpensive products. Customers lives are not changing as fast as most organization or companies are innovating. These fast innovating companies end up producing goods, sustaining innovations, that are too good, too expensive and sometimes too inconvenient for many customers. The disconnect between the capabilities of a product and the customers ability to use them opens up an opportunity for innovators who brings to a market a disruptive innovation that is simple, convenient, accessible and affordable. Thus, changing the game of the market. The disruptive innovations can be broadly classified into two types: new-market and low-end disruptive innovations. The new-market disruptive innovation, which succeeds because they bring previous non-consumers into the market, whereas a lower-end disruptive innovation is aimed at mainstream customers for whom price is more important than quality. Disruptive innovations can be generally be divided into new-market and low-end disruptive innovations. A new-market disruptive innovation is often aimed at non-consumption (i.e., consumers who would not have used the products already on the market), whereas a lower-end disruptive innovation is aimed at mainstream customers for whom price is more important than quality. Low-end disruption has occurred repeatedly in retailing. Disruptive innovation will result in major changes, but they dont often rely on technological breakthroughs. In fact, many times the technologies are quite trivial. Its the Business Model the way a company organises and acts that drives disruptions. Taking the example of Wal-Mart, who opened their first discount retailer in 1962, they didnt start to sell goods that are different from their competitors, they created a new way to organize and act that allowed them to make money at low price points. So its not often the technology but is the businesses model. I read about many other models that shows the difference between disruption and sustaining innovation like the personal computer, eBay online model etc. the most interesting one is from the video games industries. Contrast the Sony PlayStation 3 product with the Nintendos Wii product. The PS3 is a technological marvel. The best game play you can find, great graphics, the blue ray disks in the player. It is aimed at the heart core gamers, the most demanding consumers in the games industry. Now Nintendo has innovated in a very different way. Instead of introducing games with better graphics Nintendo made it simpler, made it more accessible. The big innovation is the controller. Nintendo is consciously targeting the non-gamer and by doing so it has greatly expanded the market for the video games by reaching people that Sony wouldnt even think about targeting. Not winning it by doing it better but by winning it by doing it differently. (Ali Farhoomand, 2009) In the EBIN 504 innovation module understanding of the concept of disruptive innovation helped me understand more how to look at the market or industry to Spot Disruptive Innovation Opportunities which had helped me in my EBIN 503: Business Planning Module where we had a workshop for idea generation for starting a business. I also in thebook The innovators guide to growth I learned that, firstly we had to look for a market or industry where there is some kind of constraint that inhibits consumption where there is something that makes it difficult for people to solve problems in their life. Sometimes they dont have skills, sometimes they dont have money, and sometimes they cant access the solution and sometimes its just takes too long. Finding one of those barriers to consumption and see how you can obliterate it. Secondly we had to identify where people have important and unsatisfied jobs to be done. Where are problems that a customer faces that they cant adequately solve today. If we can find that frustrated customer and ease their pain we often times have the ticket to disruptive innovation. Then after we have looked for the constraint innovation and targeted that job to be done, then we think thought about how we can play the innovation game differently. With better understanding of the concept of di sruptive innovation theory, I understood its not about doing it better, its about making it simpler, cheaper, more accessible, more affordable. That is what disruption is all about. (Scott D. Anthony, 2008) References Ali Farhoomand, H. J. (2009) Nintendos Disruptive Strategy: Implications for the Video Game Industry. Feb 10, 2009, Harvard business publishing. http://harvardbusiness.org/product/nintendo-s-disruptive-strategy-implications-for-th/an/HKU814-PDF-ENG Christensen, C. (2009) Disruptive Innovation. http://www.claytonchristensen.com/disruptive_innovation.html John Bessant, J. T. (2007) Innovation and entrepreneurship John Wiley and Sons, p. 229-34, 247 Scott D. Anthony, M. W. J., Joseph V. Sinfield, Elizabeth J. Altman (2008) The innovators guide to growth: putting disruptive innovation to work, Harvard Business Press PLATFORM INNOVATION Platform in simple words means pictures of major subsystems and interfaces between these subsystems. The platform innovation is defined as one that leads to the practical application of fundamental innovations. Such innovations normally are launching pads for a new industry I read a journal Platform-Innovation drive enterprise growth. It was very fascinating to see how Platform thinking for physical products played an important role in the companys transformation of its traditional mainframe business to a Web server business. Also product platforms require accurate operational definition without which its difficult to achieve progress, but many organizations are lacking in applying this definition. New product strategy must be remodeled to capture the degree to which common architectures and subsystems will be leveraged across existing and new market applications, as well as the timing of product introductions. (Marc H Meyer ad el. 2001) In the EBIN-521 e-Technology module I have learned that the Internet has evolved from web 1.0 to and Web 2.0 to become an increasingly important platform not just for economic development, communication, educational purposes, and as an area for entertainment, but also as a place for those who wish to express their opinions and ideas freely and is now considered web as a platform which doesnt have a hard boundary Figure 1 shows a meme map of Web 2.0 that was developed at a brainstorming session during FOO Camp, a conference at OReilly Media. Its very much a work in progress, but shows the many ideas that radiate out from the Web 2.0 core. (Tim OReilly 2005) from the above figureabovewe can have an idea of Web as a platform.Web 2.0 can be conceived as blocks of principles and practices that are interconnected system of sites, where software and web applications are built upon the Web as opposed to upon the desktop. The uniqueness of web 2.0 is customers are building your business for you. (Tim OReilly 2005) Everything is platform in web 2.0 era. I found this comic very interesting. In the EBIN-521 e-Technology module and EBIN-503 Business Planning Finance Planning we are going to plan to have an open API (application programming interface) as part of our e-business. Open API is a platform innovation concept, where other developers uses Open API to come up with a new combination for an innovation, which leads to more innovation. Application Programming Interface (API) is an interface that a software program implements in order to allow other software to interact with it; much in the same way that software might implement a user interface in order to allow humans to interact with it. (Wikipedia cited: on Nov 2009).For example In September 2009 programmableweb.com announced that ithad 16 new Mashups in their Mashup Directory and 28 different APIs were used to build them in different combination (programmableweb.com 2009). At the website link provided below in the reference shows a list of API used in different meshups An an exampleof a web ping.fm (http://ping.fm/)It is a web application for Managing Social Networks. It is linked with 46 social websites like Twitter, Facebook, myspace,blogger, beboetc. You can create an account with ping.fm and link it to any social websitefrom the list of 46. And if you want to post something like any news or update you can just post once on ping.fm and it will posted to you all the LINKED services you added to your ping.fm account. Now pink.fm provides OPEN API. Byusing their opi functionality any web-developer or business organization can build their business In our business plan, we will be having an OPEN DATA API and TRANSACTION API in our eBusiness as a open platform for other developers build or develop their web-application or software , hence building their business using our platform or in other words building our business for us Reference: Make platform innovation drive enterprise growth By Marc H Meyer, Paul C Mugge, Publication title: Research Technology Management. Arlington: Jan/Feb 2001. Vol. 44, Iss. 1; pg. 25, 15 pgs Wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface#cite_note-0 John Musser 2009 28 APIs Used This Week: Open Government, Wikipedia, New York Times, and Football Nerds http://blog.programmableweb.com/2009/10/04/28-apis-used-this-week-open-government-wikipedia-new-york-times-and-football-nerds/ Realinnovation- 2008 http://www.realinnovation.com/dictionary/Platform_Innovation-312.htm dilbert.com 2007 http://www.dilbert.com/fast/2007-09-09/ Tim OReilly Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software 2005 http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html understanding Dominant Design Dominant Design a product configuration which endures; a particular combination of product features which appears to satisfy the market and survives, without major change, for some time. (Don Bradmore 2004) Often in dominant design route there are many competitors involved each one introducing many products with special features but the firm that are able to imitate the dominant design survive while those that cannot fail. The design typically remains a standard product model for many years during which firms compete on lowering costs through process innovations. In the technology industry number of alternative design are often introduced by firms e.g. Microsoft Windows, Apple Inc. Mac OS and IBM OS2). Updated designs are introduced later incorporating incremental improvements. After sometime the architecture that becomes most accepted as the industry standard may emerge e.g. Microsoft Windows. Dominant designs might not be better than other designs in the market place; however they fulfil the key requirements. Many technologies, currently in use, struggled with similar competing products before gaining the dominant design. According to Markides and Geroski (2005) until the standard is emerging consumers are affected by issues Competition vs Collaboration Competition vs Collaboration Competition versus Collaboration Studying so much about collaboration within and outside the organization made me curious about the competition element. So I tried to find out where does the competition lies when we are talking about Collaboration.Christiansen (2000) says that for creativity and innovation, it is important to consider whether collaboration or competition is valuable. Although there are some downsides with collaboration like: collaborative group working independently, resistance dispute, ownership problems, Time pressure in members and their activities, etc.. Despite having such downsides competition is beaten by collaboration. Furthermore, competition among individuals within an organization, in idea generation, forces people to shutdown. Who wins and who looses is based on the rules of the game which includes individuals competencies and other factors. Whereas in the innovation-process, creativity nourishes with new ideas from a variety of sources. In competition individuals hold back information. Furthermore, the individual might not have a clear picture about the problem in-hand or reduce creative thinking or might not give enough time to think about the solution. Thus, increasing the possibility that the outcome is not a best solution or a best idea. Whereas in collaboration, individuals will be synergistically working together towards their objective. Collaboration is an important part of the innovation stages of selecting the ideas, development and commercializing an idea. In case where competition is outside the organization Nagel (2001) says that Wealth is created by competition and innovation plays a centre role in competition. And innovation is a key which comprises collaboration among competitors. Innovative companies collaborate externally though joint ventures, alliances or less structured forms of networking. Some innovative companies value internal and external competition, not being cut-throat competition with high secrecy or fierce, only to stimulate higher performance in competing projects where the losing teams are happy to support the winning team on their way forward. In such a company, with a positive competitive culture, to lose is not equal to losing face or missing out on the next potential promotion. In companies that believe in collaboration, people cannot help but to collaborate (Mayle 2006).This concept can be seen apprentin the Ripple Effect (IDEO 2009) project model from IDEO where different organizations collaborate to provide inspiration, deign and business support to entrepreneurs in development of new offering. I have attached a video below showing how companies are collaborating to provide clean drinking water for the poor The Ripple Effect in India, by IDEO and Acumen Fund from IDEO on Vimeo. Reference: Christiansen J. A., 2000 Competitive Innovation Management: Techniques to Improve Innovation Performance, Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan IDEO 2009, Ripple Effect: Access to safe drinking water for Acumen fund and The Bill Melinda Gates foundation [Online], Available:http://www.ideo.com/work/item/ripple-effect-access-to-safe-drinking-water/ Mayle D. 2006, Managing innovation and change, Publisher: SAGE Nagel S. 2001, Handbook of Policy Creativity: Creativity at the cutting edge Publisher: Nova Publishers, Social Media and Networks In the last few years, the number of users accessing the internet is expanding and an exponential rate. Users looking for any kind of information are searching the internet. Organizations are shifting or starting businesses online spending a lot of many to get traffic to their site. But with the hype of internet and web 2.0, these companies are using the internet to market and advertise their products and services through social media channels like facebook, twitter, youtube etc. It is the most low cost promotion method available today. Now a day marketers are using social media as their primary advertising platform as it is able to capture mass audiences. Its somewhat similar to TV advertising . In our business plan this social media and networks is playing an important part in advertisement. Companies are more concerned about their social graph ranks about products and services then how Google ranks them. The social media channels are creating content for the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) to work for the companies social media strategy. The content creation strategy should be aligned with the social media strategy to drive users towards taking action ( PR News 2009) There are three kinds of people who doubt the efficiency of social media. * Who are unaware about social media. * Who are interested in it but do not have knowledge to use it * Who doubts the social media strategy could benefit the business or their website(Jue et al. 2009) Social media should be included in the brand strategy because it will help consumers in the adoption process, laid out by Rogers (1962), which are (1) awareness, (2) interest, (3) evaluation, (4) trial, and (5) adoption, by spreading the awareness of the brand and answering the questions about the benefits the brand will provide. Social media will communicate the brand at all emotional levels. Furthermore, feedback will help in improving and evolving the brand. Bauknecht (2005) says people are believing and trusting more on peer recommendations than an advertisement. According to Warner (2008) social media networking might be just waste of time because the amounts of time individuals are spending on it. According to a survey, there is an estimated cost of  £6.5 billion per annum for loss in productivity and high bandwidth usage Britains social media fanatics spent like 12 hours per week on social media websites wasting value time. Young generations are also spending so much time on it. It was already hard to get the video game generation to focus on their studies. Lets see how much time it takes to spend on social media I am not a blogger or a social media fan. I did not have a Facebook account. I belonged to the category who doubted that social media could not benefit the business as advertising does. Now for me realizing the potential of social media was a huge eye-opener. I cant imagine how I could be ignoring it even after noticing all the online websites and other friends are on some kind of social media. However, after attending the Presentation of Chris Ramsbottom, former student of LUMS, and listening to his experiences regarding convincing the top managed about the importance of social media made me realize that I am not the only one. Now I have almost all the major social media channels and to expand my knowledge further regarding social media, I just got a book The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success 2009 by Lon Safko, David Brake and a digital copy of Social Media Marketing for Dummies 2009 by Shiv Singh. Also an iPhone to keep in touch with the social media networks However, it is important to understand how to utilize social media effectively by clarifying what actually is required from the social media either increasing sales or brand awareness of products or services. It will avoid wasting valuable time. Reference: Bauknecht K., Prà ¶ll B. and Werthner H. 2005, E-commerce and web technologies: 6th international conference, EC-Web Publisher: Springer Science Business Perez S. 2008, Real People Dont Have Time for Social Media [online], Available: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/real_people_dont_have_time_for_social_media.php PR News 2009, SEO SEM 3.0: Demystifying Social Media Optimization to Bring Consumers to You, PR News, April 27, http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.lancs.ac.uk/ (accessed December 13, 2009). Jue A.L. , Marr J.A. and Kassotakis M.E. 2009, Social Media at Work: How Networking Tools Propel Organizational Performance , Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Rogers, Everett M. (1962). Diffusion of Innovations. Glencoe: Free Press. Warner B. 2008, Times Online : Is social networking a waste of time[Online], Available: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3536749.ec Mass Production I have been absent from the working log for quite sometime. Was really busy in group meetings, presentations and assignments etc. just finished my toughest assignment for SAP which is due day after tomorrow. Im relaxed now and having a cup of tea and startedwriting my learning log again Mass Production Honestly when I saw the week 6 questions I thought mass production will be boring and just time consuming, there would be nothing interesting about it except the word mass production but after seeing a clip of Charlie Chaplin at the time of lecture actually started my interest. I was fascinated to find out how industrial revolution began and how change actually happened. Most of the people live their lives and dont bother to look at the history like how we, as people, got to current situation. How we, as people progressed. It made me feel proud how we as human beings progressed through passage of time. The Industrial Revolution consisted a period from 18th to the 19th century where changes on manufacturing, transport and agriculture had an enormous effect on social, cultural and economic conditions first starting in UK. UK is the place, in the 18 century, where first manufacturing operations were specifically designed to reduce production costs by specialized labour and the use of machines appeared (britannica.com). Then afterwards spread to Europe, North America, and eventually the world. It was interesting to read about Model T a model of car produced by the Ford Motor Company between 1909-27, first car to be successfully mass-produced on an assembly line. I was a little bit curious what is the significance of the letter T. Just noticed it is 20th letter of the alphabet. So Model T is THE MODEL OF THE 20TH CENTURY. (Babylon dictionary) The main characteristics of MODEL T is the Standardization which lead to economies of scale during production, Division of Task which led to higher productivity. Specialism which lead to easy training of new workers in different departments Payment procedure, more parts produced the more money earned, led to overcoming the problem of high labour turnover Concentration where specialist making the decision instead of Workers Interest to read more about Model T and suggestion from Mary on The limits of Fordism led me to a paper onThe Rise and Decline of Fordism and the Sea-Change in the Technological Advantage of Nations 2004 by Andrew Tylecote and Giovanna Vertova, who states that in the manufacturing industry there are 3 functions Design Manufacture process of turning inputs into outputs co-ordination management The larger the firms became, under Fordism production, the more co-ordination was required; the faster technology and products changed and the pace of change was steadily accelerating, the more design was required. It is to be noted that Fordist production methods was actually derived from the transformation of previous organization of production notably Taylorism. It was actually Taylor in his Bethlehem Steel plant where craftsmen were subordinated directly to engineers who allocated tasks to workers. Fordism production, in Kaplinskys words, had distinct spheres. Photobucket Mass production system of Fordism was marvellously efficient and the model can be valued by the concept of transformation mechanisation which has 3 stages referred by Coombs (1983). Stage 1: The dedicated machine tool, lower labour cost and higher production Stage 2: The assembly line of continuous flow mechanical moving of materials between different stages of transformation. What Fordism lacked was the 3rd stage i.e. Control mechanisation which is the substitution of machines for the human brain in the direction and supervision of the productive process.What was needed, for control mechanisation, was machine intelligence and that was the next techno-economic paradigm development of ICT. Later on flexible form of mechanisation was made possible by Computer-aided manufacturing. Computer aided manufacturing which later on joined with computer aided design. The use of ICT in the process of coordination was increasingly recognized which led the development and diffusion of internet. Coming from a family business of clothes manufacturing, for me I understood perfectly about the boredom the workers experience for constant doing the repetitive work in mass production.Even after the policy of wages were based according to the amount of output a worker does i.e. wages paid for each item of work they do, the motivation increases but eventually comes down and the element of boredom re-appears. By looking at the theory of the law of Diminishing Marginal Productivity of labour (sometimes called the law of diminishing returns). It states that the increase in output due to units increase in labour working hours will eventually decline.(Jacques, Ian 2006) Which means if a worker is working 10 hours in a day ,His efficiency in the 1st hour will be higher than the 2nd hour. 2nd hour skill of production is more than the 3rd hour. In his last hour that is in the 10th hour his efficiency will be very very low .It may be zero or negative. Which was apparent in the case of Charlie Chaplin in the MODERN TIMES movie clip, that was seen in the class, when he lost his mind after repetitive working of loooooog hours and his productivity became negative In the book Mathematics for Economics and Business by Jacques, Ian gives an exmple: In the simplest case output, Q, is assumed to be a function of labour, L, and capital, K. Moreover, in the short run the input K can be assumed to be fixed, so Q is then only a function of one input L. (This is not a valid assumption in the long run and in general Q must be regarded as a function of at least two inputs. Methods for handling this situation are considered in the next chapter.) The variable L is usually measured in terms of the number of workers or possibly in terms of the number of worker hours. We define the marginal product of labour,MPL, by dQ = MPL dL Between 0 and L0 the curve bends upwards, becoming progressively steeper, and so the slope function, MPL, increases. Mathematically, this means that the slope of MPL is positive: that is, d(MPL ) > 0 dQ Now MPL is itself the derivative of Q with respect to L, so we can use the notation for the second derivative and write this as d2Q - > 0 dL2 Similarly, if L exceeds the threshold value of L0, then Figure 4.17 shows that the product curve bends downwards and the slope decreases. In this region, the slope of the slope function is negative, so that d2Q dL2 The law of diminishing returns states that this must happen eventually: that is, d2Q dL2 for sufficiently large L. Conclusion: To increase the productivity of a labourer and to reduce the cost of production. Reducing working hours of a shift is necessary. References: Andrew Tylecote and Giovanna Vertova 2004, The Rise and Decline of Fordism and the Sea-Change in the Technological Advantage of Nations www.giovannavertova.it/WP06.pdf britannica.com http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/368270/mass-production Babylon dictionary http://dictionary.babylon.com Jacques, Ian 2006, Mathematics for Economics and Business, Pearson Education UK, p. 268-271 http://lib.myilibrary.com.ezproxy.lancs.ac.uk/Browse/open.aspID=60204loc=Cover Kaplinsky (1984) Fordial Organisation Of Factory Production, p. 24 Perez Coombs. (1983). Structural Change and Assimilation of New Technologies in the Economic and Social Systems, Futures, 15(5): 357-375. disruptive technology It is a term which Christensen described as a new technology in this book the innovators dilemma by categorizing new technology into 2 categories: Sustaining technology incrementing improvements in an existing established technology Disruptive technology new technology, may not be perfect but appealing to a limited audience. Has initially little value and does not create attention among the dominate players in the industry. Disruptive technology usually targets new areas within the current industry with a new approach and could dominate an existing market. I will give 2 examples of disruptive technologies. Firstly, in my technology module, I found cloud computing a very disruptive technology. Its potential value cannot be ignored or denied. There were number of phases involved in the evolution of cloud computing, which include application service provision (ASP) and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Velte et al. 2009). In 2006, Amazon launched a commercial web service called Elastic Compute cloud (EC2) allowing small companies and individuals to renting I.T. infrastructure and computing power to run their own computer applications (LaMonica 2006). Cloud computing service is risk free and Easy to use. One does not have to buy anything or invest hugely into it. The technology is flexible; adjusting to the companys requirements and also easily scalable; fulfilling the needs of the companys growing demands. Just imagine in an industry where customers, had to pay upfront for a technology for which they may get 20-30% use, could use this cloud computing technology model and pay only for what is used and when it is used. It can be seen that the barriers to the entry of customers, around cost and complexity, are going to come down so dramatically that the cloud is going to open up much more usages of IT for small medium businesses. Emerging markets can be seen in countries, where just the cost and complexity have been barriers. Developing countries like Brazil rushing, China, India and beyond are going to end up using the technology in ways they have never been able to use it before and in ways we have never seen before. The second disruptive technology I found was the Google announcement of Google Navigation Map product for FREE, which was one of the innovation searches in our workshops. This product is used by connecting to the internet to Google cloud computing technology providing all the services of a traditional Sat. Nav and much more. By looking at the stock market of Garmin, one of the leading companies of navigation system providers in the GPS industry, we could actually see the market reaction to such a disruptive technology in just a couple of days from announcement, last year, in October 2009. TomTom and other companies are also affected. This product is targeted to price sensitive customers with offering excellent features and capabilities for FREE. With good understanding of the term disruptive innovation and disruptive technology, broadered my view of anticipating whether any new technology, i came accross, will prove disruptive or not. References: * Christensen C.M. 1997, The innovators dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail, Publisher: Harvard Business Press * Gurley B., Google Redefines Disruption: The Less Than Free Business Model [Online],Available: http://abovethecrowd.com/2009/10/29/google-redefines-disruption-the-%E2%80%9Cless-than-free%E2%80%9D-business-model/ [Accessed December 1, 2009 ] * LaMonica M. 2006, Amazon servers, starting at 10 cents an hour [Online], Available: http://news.cnet.com/Amazon-servers,-starting-at-10-cents-an-hour/2100-1038_3-6109202.html [Accessed December 1, 2009 ] * Velte T., Velte A. and Elsenpeter R. 2009, Cloud Computing: A Practical Approach, Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional disruptive innovation The term Disruptive innovation is thought up by Clayton Christensen, who describes the term as a process by which a product or service application starts from the bottom of the market and manoeuvres up in the market displacing established competitors. (christensen, 2009) I read an interesting book The innovators guide to growth: putting disruptive innovation to work by Scott. It describes the disruptive innovation theory: the market consists of customers some of which are at a high end, very demanding, and willing to buy high-performance, expensive products. While others are low end and satisfied with simple and inexpensive products. Customers lives are not changing as fast as most organization or companies are innovating. These fast innovating companies end up producing goods, sustaining innovations, that are too good, too expensive and sometimes too inconvenient for many customers. The disconnect between the capabilities of a product and the customers ability to use them opens up an opportunity for innovators who brings to a market a disruptive innovation that is simple, convenient, accessible and affordable. Thus, changing the game of the market. The disruptive innovations can be broadly classified into two types: new-market and low-end disruptive innovations. The new-market disruptive innovation, which succeeds because they bring previous non-consumers into the market, whereas a lower-end disruptive innovation is aimed at mainstream customers for whom price is more important than quality. Disruptive innovations can be generally be divided into new-market and low-end disruptive innovations. A new-market disruptive innovation is often aimed at non-consumption (i.e., consumers who would not have used the products already on the market), whereas a lower-end disruptive innovation is aimed at mainstream customers for whom price is more important than quality. Low-end disruption has occurred repeatedly in retailing. Disruptive innovation will result in major changes, but they dont often rely on technological breakthroughs. In fact, many times the technologies are quite trivial. Its the Business Model the way a company organises and acts that drives disruptions. Taking the example of Wal-Mart, who opened their first discount retailer in 1962, they didnt start to sell goods that are different from their competitors, they created a new way to organize and act that allowed them to make money at low price points. So its not often the technology but is the businesses model. I read about many other models that shows the difference between disruption and sustaining innovation like the personal computer, eBay online model etc. the most interesting one is from the video games industries. Contrast the Sony PlayStation 3 product with the Nintendos Wii product. The PS3 is a technological marvel. The best game play you can find, great graphics, the blue ray disks in the player. It is aimed at the heart core gamers, the most demanding consumers in the games industry. Now Nintendo has innovated in a very different way. Instead of introducing games with better graphics Nintendo made it simpler, made it more accessible. The big innovation is the controller. Nintendo is consciously targeting the non-gamer and by doing so it has greatly expanded the market for the video games by reaching people that Sony wouldnt even think about targeting. Not winning it by doing it better but by winning it by doing it differently. (Ali Farhoomand, 2009) In the EBIN 504 innovation module understanding of the concept of disruptive innovation helped me understand more how to look at the market or industry to Spot Disruptive Innovation Opportunities which had helped me in my EBIN 503: Business Planning Module where we had a workshop for idea generation for starting a business. I also in thebook The innovators guide to growth I learned that, firstly we had to look for a market or industry where there is some kind of constraint that inhibits consumption where there is something that makes it difficult for people to solve problems in their life. Sometimes they dont have skills, sometimes they dont have money, and sometimes they cant access the solution and sometimes its just takes too long. Finding one of those barriers to consumption and see how you can obliterate it. Secondly we had to identify where people have important and unsatisfied jobs to be done. Where are problems that a customer faces that they cant adequately solve today. If we can find that frustrated customer and ease their pain we often times have the ticket to disruptive innovation. Then after we have looked for the constraint innovation and targeted that job to be done, then we think thought about how we can play the innovation game differently. With better understanding of the concept of di sruptive innovation theory, I understood its not about doing it better, its about making it simpler, cheaper, more accessible, more affordable. That is what disruption is all about. (Scott D. Anthony, 2008) References Ali Farhoomand, H. J. (2009) Nintendos Disruptive Strategy: Implications for the Video Game Industry. Feb 10, 2009, Harvard business publishing. http://harvardbusiness.org/product/nintendo-s-disruptive-strategy-implications-for-th/an/HKU814-PDF-ENG Christensen, C. (2009) Disruptive Innovation. http://www.claytonchristensen.com/disruptive_innovation.html John Bessant, J. T. (2007) Innovation and entrepreneurship John Wiley and Sons, p. 229-34, 247 Scott D. Anthony, M. W. J., Joseph V. Sinfield, Elizabeth J. Altman (2008) The innovators guide to growth: putting disruptive innovation to work, Harvard Business Press PLATFORM INNOVATION Platform in simple words means pictures of major subsystems and interfaces between these subsystems. The platform innovation is defined as one that leads to the practical application of fundamental innovations. Such innovations normally are launching pads for a new industry I read a journal Platform-Innovation drive enterprise growth. It was very fascinating to see how Platform thinking for physical products played an important role in the companys transformation of its traditional mainframe business to a Web server business. Also product platforms require accurate operational definition without which its difficult to achieve progress, but many organizations are lacking in applying this definition. New product strategy must be remodeled to capture the degree to which common architectures and subsystems will be leveraged across existing and new market applications, as well as the timing of product introductions. (Marc H Meyer ad el. 2001) In the EBIN-521 e-Technology module I have learned that the Internet has evolved from web 1.0 to and Web 2.0 to become an increasingly important platform not just for economic development, communication, educational purposes, and as an area for entertainment, but also as a place for those who wish to express their opinions and ideas freely and is now considered web as a platform which doesnt have a hard boundary Figure 1 shows a meme map of Web 2.0 that was developed at a brainstorming session during FOO Camp, a conference at OReilly Media. Its very much a work in progress, but shows the many ideas that radiate out from the Web 2.0 core. (Tim OReilly 2005) from the above figureabovewe can have an idea of Web as a platform.Web 2.0 can be conceived as blocks of principles and practices that are interconnected system of sites, where software and web applications are built upon the Web as opposed to upon the desktop. The uniqueness of web 2.0 is customers are building your business for you. (Tim OReilly 2005) Everything is platform in web 2.0 era. I found this comic very interesting. In the EBIN-521 e-Technology module and EBIN-503 Business Planning Finance Planning we are going to plan to have an open API (application programming interface) as part of our e-business. Open API is a platform innovation concept, where other developers uses Open API to come up with a new combination for an innovation, which leads to more innovation. Application Programming Interface (API) is an interface that a software program implements in order to allow other software to interact with it; much in the same way that software might implement a user interface in order to allow humans to interact with it. (Wikipedia cited: on Nov 2009).For example In September 2009 programmableweb.com announced that ithad 16 new Mashups in their Mashup Directory and 28 different APIs were used to build them in different combination (programmableweb.com 2009). At the website link provided below in the reference shows a list of API used in different meshups An an exampleof a web ping.fm (http://ping.fm/)It is a web application for Managing Social Networks. It is linked with 46 social websites like Twitter, Facebook, myspace,blogger, beboetc. You can create an account with ping.fm and link it to any social websitefrom the list of 46. And if you want to post something like any news or update you can just post once on ping.fm and it will posted to you all the LINKED services you added to your ping.fm account. Now pink.fm provides OPEN API. Byusing their opi functionality any web-developer or business organization can build their business In our business plan, we will be having an OPEN DATA API and TRANSACTION API in our eBusiness as a open platform for other developers build or develop their web-application or software , hence building their business using our platform or in other words building our business for us Reference: Make platform innovation drive enterprise growth By Marc H Meyer, Paul C Mugge, Publication title: Research Technology Management. Arlington: Jan/Feb 2001. Vol. 44, Iss. 1; pg. 25, 15 pgs Wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface#cite_note-0 John Musser 2009 28 APIs Used This Week: Open Government, Wikipedia, New York Times, and Football Nerds http://blog.programmableweb.com/2009/10/04/28-apis-used-this-week-open-government-wikipedia-new-york-times-and-football-nerds/ Realinnovation- 2008 http://www.realinnovation.com/dictionary/Platform_Innovation-312.htm dilbert.com 2007 http://www.dilbert.com/fast/2007-09-09/ Tim OReilly Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software 2005 http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html understanding Dominant Design Dominant Design a product configuration which endures; a particular combination of product features which appears to satisfy the market and survives, without major change, for some time. (Don Bradmore 2004) Often in dominant design route there are many competitors involved each one introducing many products with special features but the firm that are able to imitate the dominant design survive while those that cannot fail. The design typically remains a standard product model for many years during which firms compete on lowering costs through process innovations. In the technology industry number of alternative design are often introduced by firms e.g. Microsoft Windows, Apple Inc. Mac OS and IBM OS2). Updated designs are introduced later incorporating incremental improvements. After sometime the architecture that becomes most accepted as the industry standard may emerge e.g. Microsoft Windows. Dominant designs might not be better than other designs in the market place; however they fulfil the key requirements. Many technologies, currently in use, struggled with similar competing products before gaining the dominant design. According to Markides and Geroski (2005) until the standard is emerging consumers are affected by issues