Ch. 15 LO Essay Example

Ch. 15 LO Essay Example Ch. 15 LO Essay Ch. 15 LO Essay Learning Objective Chapter 1 5 LOI Decisions about technology and innovation are strategic, and managers need to approach them systematically. Assessing the technology needs of a company usually begins with benchmarking. Benchmarking compares the organizations practices and technologies with those of other companies. Then the company will look at the environment through scannings. These scannings focus on what can be done and what is currently being developed. Both of these practices still might not be enough to stay ahead of the innovation curve and use disruptive innovation which efers to a process by which a product, service or business model takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and them moves up market. Managers should make an effort to be aware of disruptive innovation that could potentially displace established competitors in their industry. L02 After managers have thoroughly analyzed their organizations current technological position, they can plan how to develop or exploit emerging technologies. Managers must consider several criteria when planning how to develop or exploit emerging technologies. To begin a manager must consider the market potential. Many innovations are stimulated by external demand for new goods and services. Next they should consider whether technological innovations are even feasible. After that they must carefully consider whether there is a good financial incentive for doing so. Then they must link technology and innovation strategies to their organizations core capabilities. Finally, a manger must decide whether to adopt technological innovations while also taking into account the culture of the organization, the interests of managers, and the expectations of stakeholders. L03 Developing new technology may conjure up visions of scientists and product evelopers working in research and development laboratories. In many industries, the primary sources of new technology are the organizations that actually use it. However, new sources can come from suppliers, manufacturers, users, other industries, universities, and overseas companies. Essentially, the question of how to acquire new technology is a make-or-buy decision which is the question an organization asks itself about whether to acquire new technology from an outside source of develop it itself. These questions include if it is important in terms of competitive advantage that the technology remain proprietary, are the time, skills, nd resources for internal development available, and is the technology readily available outside the company? The answers to these questions guide the manager to the most appropriate technology acquisition option. L04 Successful innovation is a lot more than a great idea. A study found that the lack of good ideas is hardly ever the obstacle to profitable innovation. Organizing for innovation involves unleashing the creative energies of employees while directing their efforts toward meeting market needs in a timely manner. Companies can unleash creativity y establishing a culture that values intrapreneursnip, accept and ven celebrate failures as a sign of innovation, and reinforce innovation through goal setting, rewards, and stories of creative employees. A powerful tool for managing technology and innovations is the development project. A development project is a focused organizational effort to create a new project or process via technological advances. These development projects typically feature a special cross-functional team that works together on an overall concept or idea. L05 Managers today want, or should want, their organizations to become world- class. Being world-class requires applying the best and latest knowledge and ideas nd having the ability to operate at the highest standards of any place anywhere. In order to get to world-class a company must build their organization for sustainable, long-term greatness. Great companies have strong core values in which they believe deeply, and they express and live the values consistently. They are driven by goals and have the ability to change continuously by driving for progress. A company must also replace the tyranny of the or with the genius of the and. The genius of the and is that multiple important goals can be achieved simultaneously and synergistically. World-class companies create high-value products and earn superior profits over the long run and that is what every company should be striving for. L06 Change happens, constantly and unpredictably. And competitive advantage you may have depends on particular circumstances at a particular time, but circumstances change. Effective change management occurs when the organization moves from its current state to a desired future state without excessive cost to the organization or its people. People dont like change for reasons such as inertia, poor timing, surprise, peer pressure, and management tactics. Motivating people to hange often requires three basic stages that include unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. Managers can also use education and communication, participation and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiation and rewards, manipulation and cooptation, and explicit and implicit coercion. Each approach to managing resistance has advantages and disadvantages. Finally, managers must lead the change in order to establish a sense of urgency to their peers in order to maximize efficiency. L07 Most change is reactive. A better way to change is to be proactive. Reactive change means responding to pressure after a problem has arisen. Preparing for an uncertain future requires a proactive approach. Proactive change means anticipating and preparing for an uncertain future. It implies being a leader and creating the future you want. People can proactively forge the future by being a shaper more than an adapter. An adapter takes the current industry structure and its future evolution as givens and choose where to compete. People can also actively manage their careers and their personal development, and become an active leader and a lifelong learner. Being willing to seek new challenges, and reflect honestly on success and failures is key to creating a successful future.

Crime and Punishment analysis essays

Crime and Punishment analysis essays Everyone in his or her life experiences some type of mischief or wrong doing in which causes some type of mental disturbance. In Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky uses the five basic literary elements in order to show the atrocities of crime; that crime is an unnecessary evil that only brings about suffering such as guilt, illness, loneliness and punishment. The five basic literary elements utilized by Dostoyevsky are setting, plot, characterization, style and theme. For instance, Dostoyevsky uses the literary element of setting to show that crime is consequentially followed by guilt, and only causes a negative effect on that person who is culpable of the crime. The setting of Crime and Punishment takes place in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, in the midst of its troubled transition to the modern age. Through Dostoyevsky use of setting we see that crime causes suffering and guilt. For example, he uses normal occurrences at a police station to exacerbate the protagonists (Roskolnikov) guilt. Furthermore, we see the suffering of Roskolnikov through Dostoyevskys vivid descriptions of his impoverished room; He woke up tense, bilious, irritable, and looked with hatred at his tiny room. It was a minute cubicle, six steps long...the ceiling was so low that a man of any height could not stand there without the sense that he was about to bump his head.(37) Secondly, through the use of plot, Dostoyevsky displays his feelings that crime is accompanied with loneliness. Ive really got to go. I wanted to tell you mother...and you Dunia, it would be better off if we ...separated for a while.(336) This statement by Roskolnikov indicates the extent to which his crime has isolated him, further demonstrating Dostoyevsky belief that crime entails loneliness. Furthermore, ...

Free Essays on The Search For The Standard Authority Of The Early Church

The search for the standard authority in the Early Church I understand and have not violated the Seminary ¡Ã‚ ¦s position on plagiarism ____________________________________________________________ Introduction: The Problem of Authority One of the hallmarks of the Reformed tradition is the concept of sola Scriptura, which is the teaching and belief that the only authoritative special revelation from God that man has is the written Scriptures or the Bible. Underlying this belief is the understanding concerning the nature of Scripture itself, that it is the inerrant, infallible, and inspired word of God. The idea of sola Scriptura stems from the work of the Protestant Reformation where figures like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli countered the claims of the Roman Catholic Church who attributed their authority in the church ¡Ã‚ ¦s traditions or what is called the magisterium. The magisterium is the official teaching body of the Church that is inspired by the Pope. Underlying this conviction is the belief that Jesus Christ transferred His authority to the apostles and their ordained successors, the bishops, where the primary authority was given to the Roman see; this concept is also known as apostolic succession. Ho wever the reformers denied that such authority could be attributed to an individual or tradition within the post-apostolic church as seen in the Westminster confessions, which reads:  ¡Ã‚ §The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men. ¡Ã‚ ¨ (WCF 1:6) Clearly we see that for the reformers, the authority of the Scriptures would find no equal, whether in terms of traditions or any individual whose claim to authority is said to parallel Scripture. H... Free Essays on The Search For The Standard Authority Of The Early Church Free Essays on The Search For The Standard Authority Of The Early Church The search for the standard authority in the Early Church I understand and have not violated the Seminary ¡Ã‚ ¦s position on plagiarism ____________________________________________________________ Introduction: The Problem of Authority One of the hallmarks of the Reformed tradition is the concept of sola Scriptura, which is the teaching and belief that the only authoritative special revelation from God that man has is the written Scriptures or the Bible. Underlying this belief is the understanding concerning the nature of Scripture itself, that it is the inerrant, infallible, and inspired word of God. The idea of sola Scriptura stems from the work of the Protestant Reformation where figures like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli countered the claims of the Roman Catholic Church who attributed their authority in the church ¡Ã‚ ¦s traditions or what is called the magisterium. The magisterium is the official teaching body of the Church that is inspired by the Pope. Underlying this conviction is the belief that Jesus Christ transferred His authority to the apostles and their ordained successors, the bishops, where the primary authority was given to the Roman see; this concept is also known as apostolic succession. Ho wever the reformers denied that such authority could be attributed to an individual or tradition within the post-apostolic church as seen in the Westminster confessions, which reads:  ¡Ã‚ §The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men. ¡Ã‚ ¨ (WCF 1:6) Clearly we see that for the reformers, the authority of the Scriptures would find no equal, whether in terms of traditions or any individual whose claim to authority is said to parallel Scripture. H...

DIVIDEND POLICY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DIVIDEND POLICY - Essay Example The management increased both the interim and final dividend throughout the four-year period. In 2007 the company paid an interim dividend of 6.5p which increased to 6.75p in 2008, 6.9p in 2009,7.6p in 2010 and finally 7.9p in 2011. For the case of the final dividend, the amount paid in 2008 was 13.5p, which was increased to 14.1p, 16.2p, 16.85p in 2009,200 and 2011 respectively (Associated British food, 2011). This is attributed to the increasing performance and profitability together with the increase in the performance of the general economy. Since the economy recovered from the recession and the inflation rates reduced, the company realized a reduction in the cost that made it post positive performance. The improving global economic performance also resulted in the increase in the sales turnover and improvement in ABF cash flows (Associated British food, 2011). Since the payments of dividends depends on the availability of cash flows, an increase in the cash inflows would result into an increase in the dividend that can be distributed to the company. Several theories have been developed o elucidate the relevance or irrelevance of dividends decision on the value of a firm (Lease, 2000). Modigliani and Millar dividend irrelevance theory asserts that dividends have no effect on the firms value in a perfect market because dividends are paid out of earnings and therefore whether distributed or not, it does not affect the firms earnings. Dividends have no effect on both equity and cost of equity (Baker, Powell & Veit, 2002). The bird in hand theory was also developed. According to this theory, dividend payments affect the value of a firm since investors are sure about the dividend earnings than the expected capital gains, which they consider as a bird in the bush (Miller & Kevin, 1985). The tax preference theory on the contrary claims that investors will prefer capital gains to the dividend because of the tax advantage associated with the capital gain. Since divi dends attract higher taxes, investors will prefer capital gain. The signaling theory further argues that dividend payment is significant in a firm’s investment decisions because it acts as a signal to the performance of the company. A company with high dividends is said to have better future prospects hence this will attract investors; the theory is based on the assumption that capital markets are imperfect and investors have different levels of knowledge (Benartzi, Roni & Thaler,1997). Before selecting a dividend policy, company managements must take into consideration the likely impact of their dividend decisions. Dividend decisions of a firm are important, as it can be use in influencing the value to the shareholders. In paying dividend, firms will considerer several factors. First, the dividend policy can be determined by the financial requirements of a firm. A firm that has several positive investment projects may decide to increase the proportion that is retained to inv est in the positive projects (Baker, Powell & Veit, 2002). Retention in this case provides the capital required to undertake the positive projects. Secondly, the dividend policy can also be determined by the nature of the company’s earnings. A company that realizes stable income in the financial performance can decide to increase the amount of dividends paid because of stability in the earnings whereas those with fluctuating incomes may reduce the amount of dividend distributed to the shareholders (Clayman, 2012). Moreover, firms’ liquidity also affects its dividend policy. A firm with better cash flows and which is liquid has the ability to make large dividend payments than that is not liquid. This is because dividends are always distributed out of cash and is therefore determined by the

Coca cola company report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Coca cola company report - Essay Example During this long time of its business Coca Cola has done many mergers and acquisitions with various companies. The company has also diversified its business in health drinks, bottled water, fruit juice etc. Coca Cola has created a huge customer base and maintains a strong connection with its targeted customers. Coca Cola is one of the recognizable brands in the world. It is a 16 billion dollar brand. Coca Cola produces the top five soft drinks like Diet coke, Fanta, Coca cola, and Sprite etc. It is also involved in manufacturing other products like vitamin water, Minute maid, powerade etc. The company has the license to market more than 500 beverage brands including water, sparkling drinks, juice, sports & energy drinks, ready to drink coffee or tea etc. Coca Cola has the world’s largest distribution system (Isdell and Beasley, 2011). It has many bottling partners throughout the world for selling its beverage. Its present employee strength is 130,600. In 2013 the company has earned revenue of US$ 46.854 billion. In 2013 Coca Cola has its total assets of US$ 90.055 billion. The company has many subsidiary companies. In 1920 Coca Cola became a publicly trading company. Coca Cola was innovated in 1886. From that time it has become the catalyst for inspired innovation and social interaction. This non alcoholic beverage created a global brand which provides refreshment to its customers throughout the world. This product was invented by John Stith Pemberton in 1886. In this year the first newspaper ad of Coca Cola appeared describing it as refreshing and delicious beverage. The Coca Cola syrup and extract was labeled as copyright under John Pemberton. In 1889 the formula of Coca Cola and the brand was bought by Asa Griggs Candler. He started the company Coca Cola in 1892. The company’s Spencerian script and its trademark were registered in 1892 with the Patent office of U.S. In the company’s second annual meeting the

I dont have topic on mind you can choose an easy one Research Paper

I dont have topic on mind you can choose an easy one - Research Paper Example Plagiarism is a prevalent but disturbing subject in academic societies all over the world. Many students today plagiarize past papers as well as various research papers when writing their research papers or assignments.  There are even websites that have been established to deal with the sheer need of students for people to help them in locating sources for their academic assignments. There are many websites today that allow students to pay complete strangers to do their assignments for them (Perelman, 128). Plagiarism was formerly simply referred to as copying. It was still as frowned upon as it is today, but the word plagiarism carries greater weight than the word ‘copying’. Many tertiary institutions punish students who engage in plagiarism; but this has not really dissuaded the practice. In fact, plagiarism appears to be on the rise. ‘Copying’ was not considered to be a serious issue before 1700 A.D. This is because prior to 1700 A.D., any written mate rial that was in existence was not considered to be the personal property of others, but as special messages of God. Therefore, any person who copied written texts was not considered to be trying to pass another’s work as his own, but just to be imitating the written work. In England, the first law against copying the works of others was passed in 1710 (Kantz, 83). This development is thought to have come about as a result of the developments of the printing press. The Protestant reformation also began to recognize the value of individual ownership. Although there was a lot of objection to the new law outlawing ‘copying’ another’s work, it would become more accepted in the 1890s. The word ‘plagiarism’ comes from the Latin term â€Å"plagiarus† which means â€Å"abductor† or â€Å"kidnapper†. Even though it is ethically wrong for a person to portray the ideas and concepts of others as his or her own, the laws concerning wha t constitutes plagiarism are hazy at best. For instance, one would be forced to say that in ghost writing, which is an accepted form of authorship in literary circles, the author that lends his or her name to the ghost writer is ethically wrong if plagiarism is strictly to be defined as taking credit for another’s work. Additionally, all movie stars who hire writers to write their acceptance speeches, or even politicians with writers in their payroll can also be said to be engaging in a form of plagiarism. This is because in reading their speeches, these celebrated people take credit for another person’s ideas and thoughts by passing these speeches as their own. Another kind of plagiarism that is not penalized in literary circles is â€Å"honorary authorship† where an overseer of a laboratory who hardly contributed at all to the research is mentioned in a research paper as a co-author. Another variety of plagiarism is in government circles where higher ranking o fficers use documents written for them by their subordinates and pass them off as their own. It is quite unreasonable to stress to students that plagiarism of any kind is wrong and will be penalized when here is a very different reality in the working world. The real world has a serious problem in overlooking different types of plagiarism while students are penalized even for insinuating ideas that their lecturers believe

The Impact of Mobile Phones and Tablets on Modern Business Coursework

The Impact of Mobile Phones and Tablets on Modern Business - Coursework Example This research will shed light on the potential and role of smartphones and tablets in increasing efficiency and effectiveness in organizations and to evaluate the attitudes of organizations towards the use of tablet and mobile phones in their operations and determine whether these attitudes and discernments differ among companies. Data will be gathered through questionnaires among 20 respondents. The data will be analyzed qualitatively. Over the past few years, technology has tremendously changed to include advanced gadgets such as mobile phones and tablets. These gadgets have been used for numerous purposes including entertaining and connecting friends and family. Tablets and phones have been fitted with numerous applications with different uses. The use and demand for smartphones and tablets have grown tremendously. The increment of tablets and smartphones across the world has created a complex environment and an opportunity for organizations. Tablets and smartphones have gained popularity over the past few years because of their comfort of interaction with the user and their entertainment uses. Numerous studies have suggested that tablets and smartphones have been primarily used for playing video games, watching videos and movies and reading books. However, tablets and smartphones are not entirely used for entertainment purposes. Since the functionality of smartphones and tablets is comparable to that of desktops and laptops, they have more undiscovered uses that can be beneficial not only to people but also to organizations. Presently, most organizations across the world have adopted the use of mobile phones and tablets to aid in their operations. Many of these organizations have employed smartphones and tablets to aid their business operations hoping to attain benefits from such usage. However, few of  these organizations understand the role and potential of mobile phones and tablets in business.