Innovation and technology management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Innovation and technology management - Essay Example During the recession in 2008, the owners of different companies worldwide were focused towards growth and they predicted that technological innovation would be the main source of success for the companies. In such a situation, The CEOs of the companies employed technology to gain success and differentiation simultaneously (Orcale, 2012, p. 1-10; Jaruzelski, Loeher and Holman, 2012, pp. 16-24). According to the survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2011, about 80% of the CEOs of the companies operating globally believed that innovation is main driver for organisational efficiency and aims at building competitive advantage. From the survey results, it was observed that about 70% of CEOs had invested in undertaking technological up gradation to reduce the cost of the companies and in return became more efficient (Orcale, 2012, p. 1-10; Jaruzelski, Loeher and Holman, 2012, pp. 16-24). However, it is also evident that even technological advancement cannot deliver success until and unless business goals and strategies are developed and focused. Thus, it is pivotal to understand the condition of the company before undertaking any innovation process. The role of innovation is evaluated so as to ensure that it will lead to profitable growth. The changes in the company operation are evident when technological innovation is required (Orcale, 2012, p. 1-10). Innovation can take place in a number of ways; in a technological change highlights the types of products and services that can be produced by the company or change in business model that aims at delivering the initial value of the company (Jaruzelski, Loeher and Holman, 2012, pp. 16-24). Hence, it is quite evident that the companies should recognise the type of innovation that is required for the development of their business so as to sustain in the long run. The types of innovation are incremental, radical and breakthrough innovations. These innovations are

The Advantages of Homlessness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Advantages of Homlessness - Essay Example The freedom that a homeless person would have from these bills would be unimaginable to some. There would be a great deal of financial freedom if one were homeless, but one would need to consider as well where they could find shelter in the event of bad weather conditions. I would not choose to be homeless due to this reason. One would replace the worry of constant bill paying with the worry of finding safe and adequate shelter, sometimes on short notice. In addition, if one has children, being homeless is simply not a viable option. Children require stability and protection. The choice to be homeless would need to be made by adults with no children involved. I feel that personally, I would not be comfortable with the uncertainty of homelessness, the not being able to call the place my own. I would prefer to be a slave to work as it is then a slave to freedom. Freedom comes a price. If I had the power, however, to make and execute a social policy which would bring equality between classes, I would develop a policy that ensured essentially equal provisions for all. I would first implement a system that provided socialized health care for each and every individual who needed it. It would also provide for housing to any person or persons who needed or wanted to house. There would be no such thing as forced homelessness. If individuals chose to be homeless, there would be shelters established simply for their need for temporary shelter.   No one would be turned away at any time unless they were not following rules or laws. The rules would be simply to respect others at all times and no illegal activities.

Cjus 340 DB3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cjus 340 DB3 - Essay Example Contrary to that environmental criminologists concentrate on the place and the time of crime. They also use map as a tool to find out crime patterns in respective locations (Brantingham & Brantingham 49). Apart from the mentioned factors, the family environment plays pivotal role in upbringing of a child. If environmental problems exist in the family then the child is most likely to fall prey to the criminal activities. The root cause of a crime as per the researches conducted by the researchers is poverty, poor educational system and the family structure. Communication gap within the family and poor relationship amongst the family members inculcates bad behavior in children (Brantingham & Brantingham 53). It is observed that a family which is financially weak and has more children than required contributes towards criminal activities. Abusing and neglecting a child is another factor to promote antisocial activities. Physiological and Sociological surveys indicate that 50 percent children are at a risk of criminal activities for being neglected, abused and deprived from their due rights. Hence, juvenile delinquencies are on the rise in United States of America (Eysenck

Company Director's Duty of Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Company Director's Duty of Care - Essay Example -Should maintain sufficient knowledge of business 3) Reliance on Others -A director is not liable for the acts of co-directors or Company officers solely by virtue of his position. -A director is entitled to rely on a subordinate "put in a position of charge for the express purpose of attending to the detail of management" -Directors cannot absolve themselves entirely of their responsibility by delegation to others. "In fixing the director's duty of care and skill in the process of supervising the activities of management, UK law has sought to avoid the pitfalls of a purely objective and a purely subjective test, preferring to combine them." In the statement, the word "pitfalls" refer to various limitations of human behavior that in effect lead to mistakes. In the case of top level executives handling corporations and groups of people, these mistakes would tantamount to management errors and negligence, either in judgment or in the performance of one's duties and responsibilities. So as to tackle and address human factors in workplace settings, peoples' capabilities and limitations must first be understood. The modern working environment is very different to the settings that humans have evolved to deal with. As it is inevitable that errors will be committed, whether consciously or unconsciously, the focus of error management is placed on reducing the chance of these errors occurring and on minimising the impact of any errors that do occur (Chase & Simon, 1973; Tulving, 1979). Duty of care in English law In tort, there can be no liability in negligence unless the claimant establishes both that he or she was owed a duty of care by the defendant, and that there has been a breach of that duty (Buckley, 2005; Booth & Squires, 2006). The recurrent... In the statement, the word â€Å"pitfalls† refer to various limitations of human behavior that in effect leads to mistakes. In the case of top-level executives handling corporations and groups of people, these mistakes would tantamount to management errors and negligence, either in judgment or in the performance of one’s duties and responsibilities.So as to tackle and address human factors in workplace settings, peoples’ capabilities and limitations must first be understood. The modern working environment is very different to the settings that humans have evolved to deal with. As it is inevitable that errors will be committed, whether consciously or unconsciously, the focus of error management is placed on reducing the chance of these errors occurring and on minimising the impact of any errors that do occur (Chase & Simon, 1973; Tulving, 1979).The duty of care in English law  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In tort, there can be no liability in negligence unless the claimant establishes both that he or she was owed a duty of care by the defendant, and that there has been a breach of that duty (Buckley, 2005; Booth & Squires, 2006).The recurrent dilemma for the court in every situation has been to ascertain and decide whether a duty of care was owed and, if so, what its scope would be. The first judicial approach is to identify specific and distinctive situations in which a duty would exist. In Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) AC 562, Lord Atkin produced what came to be recognized as a ground-breaking statement of principle.

Theory of Comparative Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Theory of Comparative Advantage - Essay Example In turn, the countries would have an opportunity to import goods from the country that had an absolute advantage in those goods (Hall and Lieberman 2007). However, in 1817, David Ricardo disputed the postulation of absolute advantage and instead developed and enhanced the claim of comparative advantage (Hall and Lieberman 2007). According to the author, a country obtains comparative advantage if it possesses the ability to produce a particular good and be able to produce the good at lower opportunity than some other country (Carbaugh 2010). Initially, absolute advantage talked and fore so, resources as key to obtaining absolute advantage in production of goods, comparative advantage on the other hand regards opportunity cost as key in production of goods. For instance, Ricardo postulates that , a likely potential trading partner may be perceived to be absolutely inferior in the production of every single good, where more resources per unit of each good may be required than any other country and still have a comparative advantage in some good (Hall and Lieberman 2007; Maneschi 1998). The comparative advantage comes about because the country is inferior at producing some goods than others (Misra and Yadav 2009). At the same time, a nation that possessed absolute advantage in producing everything as it was perceived could still benefit from trade since it would have a comparative advantage only in some but not all the goods. What is comparative theory? Globalisation in the world has postulated that, trade unlike before can be conducted between countries. As a result, trade between countries has become important and necessary for the growth of international economy (Ezeani 2011). In order to understand how countries may end up coming to be trade partners, one theory developed by Ricardo has become important in explaining such relationships. Comparative advantage, which explains how trade relationships between countries may be established, has come out as a key theo ry in explaining how countries benefit from each other by having goods that they do not produce due to cost matters. Adam Smith emphasised the need of each nation to look for absolute advantage as far as production and consumption of goods is concerned. What when this postulation is analysed in practical sense, then it becomes clear that, absolute advantage may not permit development and healthy growth of trade in the international sphere. Take for example, two countries China and United Kingdom, where China may appear to be inferior in terms production of goods like clothes and aircrafts. In this case, China does not have absolute advantage like United Kingdom, and therefore, the question that can be asked in such scenario, is what China can do, what UK can do, and of course according to absolute advantage theory, there is no way out (Branch 2006). However, another theory that attempt to address this dilemma, which has evolved to become critical in international trade, is the theor y of David Ricardo developed in 1817, and the theory is known as comparative advantage theory (Peng 2010). Using the two examples of China and United Kingdom, comparative advantage theory postulate that, though UK may have absolute advantage in production of clothes and aircraft, this does not rule out China as an able country that cannot produce such goods. China may exhibit some efficiency and capabilities in the production of both goods ((Branch 2006)). As a result of having ability

Potato Salad Americans Essay Example for Free

Potato Salad Americans Essay Eating a Healthy Diet Assignment ? Try a New Recipe (10 pts) 1. Go to the Cooking Light website or any other website that gives you healthy recipes and chose a recipe you would like to try. Website you used: Cooking light . com Recipe you chose ? copy and paste the recipe including nutrition information in the space below. How to Make Potato Salad Americans can definitely agree on one thing: Potatoes are our favorite veggie. Each of us eats about a whopping 130 pounds per year. During the summer months (if not year-round), you can safely bet that loads of potatoes find their way into the ubiquitous potato salad. Honestly, can you have a cookout or picnic without one? Despite regional interpretations, theres really one basic way to make this popular dish. And here, well show you how to master the technique and turn out a variety of unique, healthy salads. Step One: Cut to Size Cut potatoes into uniform shapes and sizes so theyll cook evenly. If theyre different sizes, some will become mushy while others still have an undesirable crunch. Low-starch varieties, like red potatoes, work best in potato salads. Step Two: Start in Cold Water. Be sure to start with cold water when boiling potatoes. This works to solidify the outer surfaces and helps prevent them from getting too soft as the interior cooks, so the potatoes will hold their shape nicely in a potato salad. Step Three: Add Dressing Make the dressing while the potatoes cook, and toss them with the dressing while theyre still warm so theyll absorb maximum flavor. If using dairy products, like sour cream, allow the potatoes to cool slightly before tossing to prevent curdling. Step Four: Add Additional Flavors and Ingredients Customize your salad. For example, add your favorite veggies, fresh herbs, or salad greens. You can even give the salad an international flair: Lemongrass adds Thai flavor; chutney lends an Indian taste. 2. Try out the recipe, take a picture of you with the prepared meal and report back to class what you thought of this recipe. Would you recommend it? Will you make it again? Anything you would change the next time? To get full credit for this assignment, you need to show your picture to your instructor. Initial of instructor.

Gender Differences In Leadership Effect On Organizational Behavior Nursing Essay

Gender Differences In Leadership Effect On Organizational Behavior Nursing Essay Leadership is process whereby other people in an organization are influenced to perform a task or a job. Through leadership an organization is effectively directed and thus becomes more cohesive and coherent. Therefore we can define leadership style as that approach which provides direction. In management we have different leadership styles. Some of these styles include democratic or participative, autocratic or authoritarian and free reign or delegative leadership. Leading is something that is interpersonal and natural. This paper is going to talk about gender differences in leadership; and will in particular examine how different leadership styles are affected by the differences in gender. To ensure that this is achieved the paper will go through different sources and studies done about this work previously. In the present world women are taking on very big jobs and thus switching to different kinds of leaderships automatically. They have taken up leadership positions in large numbers but are still viewed as weak by their counterparts of the opposite sex. Therefore this paper is going to find out the role played by gender in leadership. It will try and highlight major findings of this issue. Discussion of the topic For a long time there has this belief by many people that leadership is naturally for men alone. Researches carried out long time ago show that gender priority was rampant. Women were sidelined in the society and there was nothing they could do other than bear children and raise them. This bias about women has been experienced as recent as 1990. A study which was carried out by (Siegfried and Cann, 1990) in the year 1990 reveals that male chauvinism was observed and women were not allowed to be leaders. As a matter of fact men and women share a lot in common when it comes to leadership styles and behaviors according to many studies. The same studies however show that gender plays a very vital role in selection and style of leadership. Theory overview The following three leadership theories will try to explain leadership styles and these theories can be applied to gender and leadership. The three theories are: Situational leadership theory Normative decision theory Contingency theory We shall focus the feature of emerging leadership in each model as it relates to situational aspects as per the three theories. We shall then put focus on specific facets of leadership with regard to these models to see whether and how leadership is affected by gender. (Butterfield and Grinnel, 1999) Situational leadership theory In this model we shall look at optimum methods used by leaders in tackling leadership style based on the type of leadership. The model scrutinizes task behavior as it relates to nature of work the leaders do. According to this model, the level of maturity of the leader in job and psychology affects the style of leadership. Gender and leadership are not correlated in this theory. (Butterfield and Grinnel, 1999) Normative decision theory The main reason why this model was designed was to improve some core issues on effective leadership. The model gives a clear explanation about what should happen in a decision making environment. The theory says that leaders could have a frequent improvement on performance of a group if they employ optimal amount of involvement in decision making process. From this theory we can conclude that leadership is a gender neutral aspect. The contingency theory This theory comes up with a model which stipulates that choosing the right type of leader fundamentally determines the effectiveness of leadership which is in contrast to the situational model. The model has a lot of focus on individual aspects of the leader rather than followers or situations. It notes that one develops personality characters at an early stage in life and the leadership style that the leader will employ will be affected his or her life and past experiences. Main arguments, developments, changes; At this stage the paper is going to scrutinize the researches and studies done that concern this topic. In 1990 Eagly and Johnson carried out a study which reveals that women were fond of leadership style which was more interpersonally based as compared to men who appreciated leadership style that was task oriented. The study concluded by showing that men are fond of being autocratic or directive in contrast women who appreciated democratic leadership (Eagly and Johnson, 1990) The 2003 Meta-analysis of Eagly et al, (2003) shows that women can adopt transformational leadership style faster as compared to their male counterparts the leader in this kind of style is more coaching, encouraging and flexible when it comes to problem solving. In cases where women served as leaders, it is recorded that they rewarded good work but men leaders only censured the subordinates ad adopted hands off leadership style in most cases. (Eagly et al, 2003) On he other hand we are warned by Eagly et al, (2003) to have in mind the power of perception. Her observation was that even if studies show differences in styles of leadership gender variation is minute because the roles of leadership is the major factor in determining the behavior of an individual. She concludes by observing that women are better leaders than men in some ways, but women still have disadvantages due to the mentality in many settings that is generally masculine. If masculinity was to be removed from organizational leadership it would give psychologists a clear image of any disparities in leadership between men and women. (Eagly et al, 2003) Leadership which is participative does not involve the leader alone in decision making but other people also. For example employees being involved in decision making of an organization. Gardiner and Tiggeman (1999). It involves making a decision depending on the task to be done in organizations. This does not strictly say hat the employees are the ones to make final decision but their contributions are considered in the making of the final decision. According to some studies which were carried out in the 90s womens leadership is more participative than mens. Both men and women subordinates were used in carrying out of this research and this confirms the fact that gender differences affects leadership style. The gender difference brings about both effective and ineffective leadership styles, but above all it is the leadership style that matter and not gender. (Gardiner and Tiggeman 1999) While studying religious male and female leaders, researchers Cann and Siegfried also found out that female leaders were more transformational than there male counterparts. In transformational leadership style, the leaders involve their followers in all maters including decision making and this motivates the followers. On the other hand researcher by the name of Maher, (1997) carried out a research which proposes that maybe transformational style of leadership is a feminine kind of leadership style. In groups where resources control is under women this type of style is most likely to be observed. From the studies cited above, it can clearly be seen that an important role is played by gender in leadership styles and women are observed to be fond of transformational style as compared to men. (Maher, 1997) On analyzing differentiation in transformational and transactional leadership in religious leaders, Maher, (1997), discovered that there was no remarkable gender difference in transactional or transformational style of leadership. According to Butterfield and Grinnel (1999), there are two basic types of societies in a society; dominator society and partnership society. She observes that women leadership styles take the partnership model which is a manner in which human relationships are developed on the basis of links making. Sociological studies also reveal that the style in which women manage is different from that of men. Men are more hierarchical than women and women leaders organize their management on a wider base. Men groups get in to self-assertion quickly rather than make a compromise like the ladies. (Maher, 1997) Limitations of the research Most of the studies and research done fall short of coming up with strong evidence of leadership style being determined by gender, and instead only gives a general feeling and what seem to be happening. For a leader to choose a leadership style he or she not only consider gender but also bears in mind certain factors which may influence his or her decision. The studies again fail to come up with core evidence that an individual chooses leadership style basing on gender alone. In addition, the studies use samples that are limited which can not give more reliable results. Basing on the entire research findings, however, psychologists do warn us against jumping in to conclusion that female and male leaders have some sort of inborn style of leadership. It is clear that women are well conversant with how people resent the bossy kind of leadership. This only softens their approach whenever they are dealing with their workers. Nonetheless there is need for more research to be done in this field that incorporates other factors that might be influencing styles of leadership to get more reliable data. (Eagly, A. H. et al 2003) Other studies; Compare and contrast studies with each other; Many studies are in support of the fact that ladies are more inclined towards transformational or participative kind of leadership style. According to Eagly and Johnson in their study they reveal that women fall in love with leadership style that is more interpersonally oriented but their male counterparts embrace task oriented leadership style. The study also continues by women are more democratic. Denmark, (1993): also strongly supports this argument. He argues that women leadership style also embraces partnership model. Consequently there is an observation by sociologists that women management style is dissimilar to that of men. Men are observed to be more hierarchical but women appreciate participatory and more democratic style of leadership; they never get themselves involved in supporting and correlating with their groups. On the other hand these studies may vary in the intensity of how participative women leaders can be in their groups. (Denmark, 1993) Maher, (1997) contrast Cann, and Siegfried, (1990) in his analysis about differentiation in transactional and transformational leadership style among religious leaders basing on gender and scrutinizing residence hall administrators and residence hall administrators assistants, where he found out that there was minute gender difference in transactional or transformational style of leadership style. Meanings of studies to the practice of Organizational behavior From the studies we can clearly see that there is an important role played by gender in leadership styles; it also has a direct impact on leadership of an organization because its style may be affected by the top gender personality. Nonetheless studies reveal that men and women are correspondingly effective in one way or another. But in some cases for an organization/s management to be efficient then gender differences must be put in to consideration. For example the ladies are considered to be more coaching and guiding in their leadership which is much appreciated by female workers in an organization. In addition, most women are working role models, and motivators. They also assist workers to attain dedication and creativity. This approach does optimally in current models of organizations which are less hierarchical. It should be note that not all organizations are equally in participatory style of leadership and the style may fail to work in customary male dominated organizations l ike the military. (Gardiner and Tiggeman, 1999). Organizational practice differs accordingly; according to Eagly and Karau (1995), men and women are all effective. Leaders and managers who were analyzed in the studies were mostly first line supervisors working in laboratories. According to the studies women did well in women dominated organizations. Correspondingly men flourished in organizations where men were majority. From this we conclude that in management of organizations women will get a positive management approval if they worked in sectors where women were a majority same with male dominated organizations for men. However men will be forced to emulate different leadership style which is somehow democratic when working in organizations full of women. Conclusion Leadership is a core aspect in any organization. It is the leadership that is going to determine the success of an organization. While running an organization there are different leadership styles which can be used. We have autocratic leadership where employees are dictated by their seniors on what to do and how to perform their tasks; another leadership style being democratic where employees views are also put in to consideration. A vital role is played by gender in the choice of the type of leadership style. From the researches and studies conducted it can be concluded that women appreciate democratic leadership style in contrast to men who embrace autocratic leadership style. The kind of leadership adapted is the one that determines triumph of an organization. Other than that there is need for more research to be done in future to show the certainty and truth of these studies.