Pregnancy Prevention Programs Are Still Being Left Unanswered

Pregnancy amongst school aged children is a major social problem that has been rapidly increasing throughout many at risk populations for centuries (Leonard, Sara Major and Suellentrop, Katherine, 2013). While funding for programs that provide services to the pregnant population is growing the true question about pregnancy prevention programs are still being left unanswered. What efforts are being made towards the prevention of these very same pregnancies? All too often courses such as sex education are not offered to the populations that are in need of such vital information (Kaye, Kelleen and Alison Stewart Ng., 2013a). The topic of sex is still being frowned upon, at least until it’s too late to help. Pregnancy prevention programs are†¦show more content†¦This organization targets girls and young women with the hopes of providing them knowledge on self-esteem, self-perception and self-value that will in turn prevent school age pregnancy along with a host of other life changing events. The School-Age Pregnancy and Prevention Clearinghouse also reported that these 22 national organizations had a direct impact on the pregnancy prevention by providing the social service practitioners and leaders with five core services that include: 1. Information Specialists/Databases- serves as a primary resource for social service agencies, schools and other professionals to locate very specific resources for their clients. 2. Education and Networking Workshops- provides their local human services practitioners with seminars, training courses, and discussion groups, based on their current need as it relates to empowering their clients. 3. Leadership Training Clearinghouses- provides a host of in-service trainings and workshops that enhance the knowledge and skills of community and organization leaders. 4. Technical Assistance Clearinghouses- provides assistance to service providers in the area of technology, the usage of space, and navigation through their model programs. 5. Basic and Applied Research- provides up to date research and literature reviews on pertinent issues within the field. Current Research Findings School aged

Saving Lives By Illegalizing Tobacco - 1465 Words

Saving Lives by Illegalizing Tobacco As soon as the door opens to any store, most of the time there will be a tobacco related product nearby. In today’s society there is controversy on whether drugs should be sold to the public, but most of these controversies do not involve tobacco related products. Tobacco products are widely used, but these tobacco are not safe. Cigarettes and other tobacco products should be illegal because tobacco is composed of many harmful chemicals. Anybody who comes in contact with a tobacco substance can contract an illness. They can either touch or breathe it and because of its dangerous composition it can lead to serious health problems in the future. Secondhand smoke has been on the rise since tobacco companies are targeting young adults for their target market. Tobacco affects the brain by releasing an addictive drug called nicotine that makes the smoker feel happy or stress free. Tobacco causes the user’s immune system to weaken from all the toxins and chemicals and can caus e autoimmune disorders. Cigarettes are made of harmful chemicals that can cause illnesses. McDonald states Sapkota’s, an environmental health scientist at the University of Maryland and Yale University major in Public Health, research on cigarette’s bacterial content showed â€Å"signs of germs that causes pneumonia, food poisoning, and urinary infections† (42).Tobacco is consist of over 4,000 chemicals that can make the smoker extremely ill. By touching the cigarette both theShow MoreRelatedThe Unethical And Unconstitutional Soda Tax And Ban3892 Words   |  16 Pagesgovernment is valuing money over human lives, which is completely unethical, because they know that they will make more money from these two classes whereas the lower class will suffer not only economically due to the inability to afford soda and sugary beverages, but also health-wise because their access to a cheap drinks will be taken away. A counterargument to this can be proposed saying that by taxing and banning these types of drinks the government is saving the lower class money in the long

Domestic and Global Business Environment Free Essays

string(101) " book in an organization \(of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession\)\." BA 7000 Domestic and Global Business Conditions Bradley T. Ewing, Ph. D. We will write a custom essay sample on Domestic and Global Business Environment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Jerry S. Rawls Professor in Operations Management Area of ISQS Office: BA 164A Phone: 742-3939 Email: bradley. ewing@ttu. edu MBA Summer 2009 COURSE DESCRIPTION BA 7000 – Domestic and Global Business Conditions – This course is intended to help students develop a better understanding of the domestic and global environments in which US businesses compete. Specifically, this course takes a satellite-view of markets in which firms compete, including markets for goods and services; money, bonds and stocks; foreign exchange; and labor. These markets are examined individually and as a system. Particular emphasis is placed on studying the interactions among all markets in order to gain a better understanding of how domestic and global business conditions affect the formulation and implementation of business strategies. COURSE OVERVIEW This course examines the fundamentals of business conditions analysis with an emphasis on how domestic and global business conditions affect the formulation and implementation of business strategies. Specifically the primary goals of this course are to enable you to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Recognize the relevance of domestic and global business conditions to managerial decision-making and firm performance, and to apply business principles to relate to business issues and the marketplace. Understand the mechanisms of the domestic and global business environment within the broad social, political, industrial and economic contexts. Explore the nature of business conditions and the implications for decision-making, research, business and policy. Analyze the firm, organization, or practices and its operations from a domestic and global systems perspective. Acquire a skill set of analytic tools that will increase your human capital. BOOKS MATERIALS These books are fairly quick and easy to read: The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explains the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli Articles: â€Å"Who Supplied My Cheese? † Business Economics, October 2005. (will be posted on my web site www3. tltc. ttu. du/ewing) â€Å"Strengthening Globalization’s Invisible Hand,† Business Economics, October 2006. (will be posted on my web site www3. tltc. ttu. edu/ewing) Other: Economics for Dummies (contains background, reference material) Online Lecture Notes – a set of PowerPoint slides (in pdf) available on my web site (http://courses. ttu. edu/bewing). You should use these to supplement the e-delivery lectures You should read â€Å"Economics for Dummies† in its entirety before reading any of the other books or doing the assignments. Additionally, you should view the lectures on DVD concurrently with your reading of â€Å"Economics for Dummies†. Reading â€Å"Economics for Dummies† and viewing the lectures prior to doing the assignments will help you understand the material and it should help you get the best grade possible. LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Develop students’ ability to think in business terms and about the conditions surrounding their operating environment. 2. Develop students’ ability to view organizations from a domestic and global business systems perspective. 3. Build students’ analytical skills for conducting business analysis. 4. Provide students with the opportunity to develop strategies for real world problems, and to develop decision making skills. . Integrate knowledge gained in other business experiences. Course Topic Guide Material to be covered: Business Conditions Concepts and Analysis Introduction to business conditions, concepts and analysis Operating a firm within the domestic and global environment Global economy and the Federal Reserve Economics of Risk – risk anal ysis (perception communication), risk management decision making Value Creation, Supply Chain Economics Business model – integrating economics, operations strategy Note: You may download a set of PowerPoint slides to accompany the lectures. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING All assignments need to be emailed to me with the course title and semester (i. e. , â€Å"MBA – BA 7000 Summer 2009†) clearly written in the subject line. I will acknowledge receipt of your assignments – usually within 24 hours. Due to the amount of spam and the use of a junk mail filter, do no assume that I have received your assignment until you have received an acknowledgement from me (Note: please use your official Texas Tech email account so that way your email has a better chance of getting through). General Guidelines for Written Work All written work prepared outside of class should be typewritten and contain a cover page with your name, course number, date, and title. Where page lengths are noted for particular assignments, the page lengths assume 12 point font, 8 1/2 by 11 paper, double spaced type, and one inch margins on all sides. In cases where 12 pitch type is not available, page lengths should be adjusted proportionately. Please include a cover sheet for all work which includes your name along with the date and subject of the project. Written work will be graded for both content and quality. That is, grammar, punctuation, spelling, coherence, style, and organization will be considered. A concise style is essential. Corporate executives repeatedly emphasize the need for business schools to do a better job of preparing MBAs to write in an organizational context. The standards applied to writing quality will approximate those applied to major corporate documents that have been prepared for broad distribution among senior executives. In order to receive a grade of â€Å"B† in the course the student will need to do â€Å"B† quality work on each of the above assignments. In addition to the above assignments, students will need to do â€Å"B† quality work on the following assignments (#1-4): Assignment #1 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of The Undercover Economist. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures. Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). You read "Domestic and Global Business Environment" in category "Essay examples" Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book. Assignment #2 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of The Tipping Point. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures. Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book. Assignment #3 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of Freakonomics. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures. Next, discuss how you would/could uccessfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book. Assignment #4 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures. Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book. In order to receive a grade of â€Å"A† in the course the student will need to do â€Å"A† quality work on each of the above assignments. In addition to the above assignments, students will need to do â€Å"A† quality work on the following two assignments (#5-6): Assignment #5 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of the articles â€Å"Who Supplied My Cheese? † and â€Å"Strengthening Globalization’s Invisible Hand,†. In your critique of the article identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the article were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the article relate to the lectures. Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the article in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the article. Assignment #6 – Value Creation Project The Value Creation project consists of a written report. VALUE CREATION DISTANCE LEARNING PROJECT OUTLINE: In this assignme nt I want you to select an existing company and then select a country (or, if doing a project related to Wind Energy, you may choose a region of the US or the offshore) to which you want the chosen company to expand. Next, I want you to investigate the external environment of the country to which the firm plans to expand and compare it to the domestic environment in the firm’s home country. I then want you to discuss how good of a fit the new country’s environment is for your chosen firm. Specifically discuss: What macro-environmental trends are relevant? What are the contending forces in the industry? What forces are changing the industry over time? Are there key competitors that present opportunities or challenges to the firm? Define opportunities as favorable conditions in the external environment, define threats as unfavorable conditions in the external environment, and conduct an environmental scan. Additional factors about the chosen country that you may want to consider when doing the environmental and competitive analyses. Each sub-section (i. e. , A, B, C, D, E, F) should be about 2-3 pages. Thus, since there are two major parts (i. e. , I and II), the overall length should be around 24-36 pages. Additionally, a cover page and a references section are required (but do NOT count in the page length suggestions). The absolute page limit (not including the cover sheet and references) is 40 pages. A full letter grade will be deducted on any project longer than 40 pages. No exceptions. Please follow this outline carefully. I. General Environmental Analysis A. Economic 1. Overall level of development 2. Economic growth: GDP and industry 3. Role of foreign trade in the economy 4. Currency: inflation rate, currency controls, stability of exchange rate 5. Balance of payments 6. Per capita income and distribution 7. Disposable income and spending patterns B. Social/Cultural 1. Population size, growth, density, distribution (urban/rural) 2. Literacy rates, education levels 3. Existence of middle class 4. Similarities and differences in relation to company’s home market 5. Language and other cultural considerations C. Political 1. System of government 2. Political stability and continuity 3. Ideological orientation 4. Government involvement in business 5. Attitudes toward foreign business 6. National economic and development priorities 7. Membership in regional trade organizations D. Technological E. Physical 1. Physical distribution and communications network (e. . , supply chain) 2. Climate variations 3. Shipping distance F. Major Threats and Opportunities II. Industry/Competitive Environment A. Threat of New Entrants/Barriers to Entry 1. Limitations on trade (e. g. , high tariff levels, quotas) 2. Documentation and import regulations 3. Local standards, practices, and potential non-tariff barriers 4. Patent/trademark availability 5. Preferential tr eaties with a company’s home country 6. Legal considerations for investment, taxation, profit repatriation, employment 7. Availability of intermediaries B. Threat from Competitors 1. Number of international competitors and their market shares 2. Number of local competitors and their market shares 3. Advantages needed to compete effectively relative to competitors C. Threat from Substitutes D. Power of Buyers 1. Customer needs and desires (e. g. , demand behavior and estimation, price elasticity of demand, etc. ) 2. Local production, imports, consumption 3. Exposure to and acceptance of product/service 4. Availability of complementary products/services 5. Industry-specific key indicators of demand 6. Attitudes towards products of foreign origin E. Power of Suppliers 1. Number and location of suppliers 2. Market structure (e. g. , competitive, monopoly, or in-between, etc. ) F. Major Threats and Opportunities ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES (Recommended) Assignments #1 #2 are due June 22, 2009 Assignments #3 #4 are due July 13, 2009 Assignments #5 #6 (Value Creation Project) are due August 3, 2009 Note: The absolute Final Date to turn in all assignments is Monday, August 3rd at 5:00 PM CLASSROOM POLICY ISSUES WITHDRAWAL POLICY The requirements set by the university for withdrawal will be strictly followed. You should retain all documentation of courses you have dropped. STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS The university is committed to the principle that in no aspect of its programs shall there be differences in the treatment of persons because of race, creed, national origin, age, sex, or disability, and that equal opportunity and access to facilities shall be available to all. Any student who because of a disability may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirement should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary accommodations. Students should present appropriate verification from AccessTECH in the Student Counseling Center in West Hall. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY The university catalog states the following: â€Å"It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to foster a spirit of complete honesty and a high standard of integrity. The attempt of students to present as their own any work that they have not honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension. The catalog defines cheating as â€Å"Dishonesty on examinations and quizzes or on written assignments, illegal possession of examinations, the use of unauthorized notes during an examination or quiz, obtaining information during an examination from the examination paper or otherwise from another student, assisting others to cheat, alteration of grade records, illegal entry to or unauthorized presence in an office are instances of cheating. I n this class, collaboration with others on in class examinations and cases is considered within the definition of cheating. RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS A student who intends to observe a religious holy day should make that intention known to the instructor prior to the absence. A student who is absent from classes for the observance of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence. How to cite Domestic and Global Business Environment, Essay examples

Thesis Writing free essay sample

Broad enough to address an important and interesting issue, but narrow enough to address the issue in the time allotted. Watch out: Your topic seems to get bigger once you are in it! + Sanderson the limitations of your situation (your capabilities, motivation, experiences, additional classes to be taken, supervision, required labor, dependence on others, etc. ) + Do some previous readings. Make sure you understand at least roughly what you are getting into. Study the state-of-the-art of the issue. 3 Before you start writing (2) Creating a timetable + Coordinate with your other commitments.How many hours per time unit can you effort? Discuss the timetable early enough with your advisor. He/she may have experiments, travel or other activities on his/her mind which you should know. Reading strategies + Illustrated that you are not going to know exactly what you are looking for in the beginning. Research is not fully playable. + First read to explore. Then read to focus. Finally read to understand all the details of previous relevant work. + Read critically. Research is not about believing, but about asking questions. Try to get to the primary sources. A topic may be misinterpreted by secondary sources.Read always you can never do enough reading! This holds especially for a PhD thesis: You should finally know more about your topic than anybody 4 else, including your advisor! Before you start writing (3) Writing as you research + As you read, take notes (summaries, short reactions). As you research and experiment, write things down. Keep a journal and list everything what you do related to the topic. Very often you will publish one or more papers before you complete a PhD thesis any,away. + Take advantage of other peoples writing skills and experiences. If you have experienced co-authors like your advisor(s)-, learn by doing!A good co-author is a very valuable teacher. + Writing helps focusing and clearing issues. You may have good ideas in your brain, but only when you write them down you will notice what is missing. Also, it is very helpful to explain things to others early in the process. This may lead to useful feedbacks. 5 Before you start writing (4) Presenting as you research + Presentations are another means for shaping your thoughts and getting input from the outside world. This is part of the larger issue of communication. Doing good research is one thing communicating it properly is another one. Presentations should be started in your own group. Dont be afraid your colleagues are in a similar situation. Together you will robustly your presentation and public discussion capabilities, before you encounter a larger, international audience and possibly some very critical big-shots. + In many places the defense of a Master or PhD thesis also includes a presentation and public discussion. Be prepared for that! 6 Guidelines and tips Layout (modified after Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, University of Newcastle Upon Tone) Presentation format. Dictated by institutional guidelines. Sizes of page raging and line spacing Formats of title page, list of contents, appendices, list of references, illustrations, figures, tables numbering system of chapters and sections, pages, figure and table captions, equations font-styles for chapter and section headings, other text, figure and table captions, equations, quoted work, citations how references are cited how tables, figure s and equations are cited Tips: + Find out early enough about these regulations. It saves time. Places: Library, student office, graduate school, advisor + Get hold of a thesis written by another student of your Department 7Guidelines and tips (2) Structure Organization of chapters or sections. No fixed regulations, but certain rules: Title page (full title and subtitle, name of author, statement about degree program, date of submission) Abstract (objectives of work, methodologies used, main findings). Should be self-contained. Contents list (chapters and sections with page numbers) List of tables, diagrams and illustrations (figure and table numbers, with captions and page numbers) Nomenclature list (nomenclature and acronyms used) Acknowledgements (contributions of advisors, colleagues, sponsors, friends, etc. ) Contd.Guidelines and tips (3) Main text + Chapter introducing the research (motivation, objectives, methodology, overview) + Chapter reviewing the work that has been done before + Chapter or two describing in detail the methodology adopted or pr oposed + Chapter or two presenting the main results of the work + Concluding chapter, summarizing the main findings, statements about the main contributions and recommendations for future work References (list with refs cited in the thesis) Appendices (parts which would disturb the flow of reading: Well-shown facts, lengthy derivations, sample calculations, long abeles, background information) Tips: + Spend enough time planning the structure + Get copies of other (good) theses. Talk to your advisors + Write abstract and introduction chapter last 9 Guidelines and tips (4) Flow of contents Writing a thesis is like writing a novel: There must be some internal logic.Confusing sentences will make the reader give up very quickly. And the examiner will react with low marks! Tips: + Avoid repetitions (copying your own sentences several times) + Avoid copying other people sentences. Develop your own style + Maintain thread between adjoining chapters joining words/sentences) + Define all variables in equations and in calculations. Use variables according to general practice. Dont use the same variables for different things + Describe test and computational conditions. The reader usually is not familiar with your facilities + Leave out material that does not contribute directly to the discussion or development Of an idea Contd. 0 Guidelines and tips (5) Tips: + Avoid long and complex sentences. The matter may be complex enough -? describe it in simple terms + Apply punctuations correctly + Do not repeat certain words too often and too close together. Use a thesaurus to introduce variety in expressions. Avoid bombastic words. Avoid rarely used vocabulary and do not generate your own words + Writing in the active voice improves the reading pace and dynamics. Active: Parameter (a) improves the performance of the algorithm Passive: The performance of the algorithm is improved by parameter (a) (Active expressions are more assertive! ) + Illustrations and diagrams are very important.Use them in the right place and such that they are readable in terms of graphic style and explanations of variables 11 Guidelines and tips (6) The o Abstract Provides the reader with a summary of the contents. It should be brief, but contain sufficient detail: Motivation of work, objectives, methodologies employed, main results and conclusions. Abstract should be self-contained. Tips: + Write the Abstract last! + Use punchy style to attract reader. 12 Guidelines and tips (7) The illumination Discuss motivation for the work. Define the problems that you wish to attack. State briefly state-of-the-art of the research issues and objectives of the work. Give indication how the work will progress. Provide overview of the thesis contents. Tips: + Write the Introduction last! + Do not repeat the sentences room the abstract + Use punchy style to attract reader. 13 Guidelines and tips (8) The Literature Review (previous work) State why the problem of the thesis is important. Describe what others have done. Set benchmarks for your own project. Justify the use of specific methodologies in your work. Tips: + Concentrate on most important publications. Use primary literature. + Keep it confined to topics really relevant to your own work. Dont try to show off by citing too many authors. + Make sure you do not miss the latest developments. + Science is international.Check the international scenery. + Make sure you understood hat you have cited! 14 Guidelines and tips (9) The Concussions and Recommendations for Future Work Some people only read abstract, introduction and conclusions. So make sure these three chapters are internally consistent and conclusive. Contains: Summary of main findings, critical analysis of results, what is really new? Where did you achieve progress? Directions for further research. Tips: + Check if the project objectives have been achieved and if not, explain why. + Clearly distinguish your own from other peoples work. + Pretentious conclusions and contributions concisely and factually. Write in a punchy style, but dont lam things you did not achieve. 15 Nine steps to developing an efficient draft of your manuscript (modified after San Francisco Edit, www. Sifted. Net) 1 . Consolidate all the information. Ensure that you have everything you need to write, e. G. All data, references, drafts of tables, figures, etc. 2. Start writing. Write when your energy is high. Try to find a time and place where you can think and write without distractions. 3. Write quickly and in larger portions. Keep the flow going. The first version does not have to be perfect. Leave gaps if necessary, search for correct words, data, figures, etc. Later. Do the editing later. 4. Write in your own style (voice).Avoid copying sentences from other authors, the reader will notice this. 5. Keep to the plan Of your outline. Avoid wandering around and meandering. Keep the red file, the reader must be able to follow you. Dont jump from issue to issue. 6. Write the thesis in parts. Treat each section as mini;essay. Check if each section can stand alone. 16 San Francisco Edit, www. Sifted. Net) 7. Put your first draft aside. Let it rest for a few days or even longer. Fresh reading will give you additional insights into and critics of your own text. Good things need time! . Revise it. This may have to be done several times. Let a colleague have a look at it. If your control of the language (English! Is not sufficient have somebody (expert) proofreading it. For detailed checking see section Checkpoints to consider! 9. Target a journal. Thesis work should also be published in journals. Define your content in relation to the goals of the journal. Consider the audience Of the journal. Check several recent journal issues. Condense your thesis into manageable junk(s) for journal publication. Dont try to put everything into a journal manuscript. 17 Checkpoints to consider (1 ) Introduction Does it arouse interest or curiosity? + Does it include a thesis statement? + Does it include all the important goals and content statements? + What is the authors purpose in writing this thesis? Does it show the attitude of the writer to the statement? + Does it give sufficient credit to previous work? 18 Checkpoints to consider (2) Body + Does each paragraph have one main idea which clearly relates to the thesis statement? + Do the paragraphs come in logical order? + Does each paragraph contain enough specific details which expand or clarify the main idea of the paragraph? + Are transitions used between paragraphs to help the deader follow the train of thought from one paragraph to the other? 19 Checkpoints to consider (3) Conclusions Are they clearly related to the thesis statement and the body? Do they develop from the material or do they seem forced and artificial?Are the main points summarized briefly? Be honest with the critical assessment of your own results. Dont try to pretend things which you have not achieved. + Are the perspectives clear and concise? + Dont forget to make clear and realistic suggestions for future work. + + + + Note: Introduction and conclusions together should be selectiveness! 20 Checkpoints to consider (4) Generalities (1) + Is the wording appropriate and accurate? + Is the language acceptable (spelling, punctuation, grammar)? + Are the points presented in a coherent, logical order? Dont loose the red file! Concentrate on the essentials! + Do arguments flow smoothly logically from one to the next Are arguments supported by appropriate examples? + Remember: Nobody should know more about the issue you are dealing with than yourself. Consider this in your text by explaining things carefully and clearly,but not too exhaustively! + Are references sufficient, not too exhaustive and relevant? + Pay credit to the earliest findings/developments (primary literature). 21 Checkpoints to consider (5) Generalities (2) + Is th e referencing consistent and in accordance with the author specifications? + Are sources acknowledged? Dont just copy other authors sentences and figures without referencing. + Are the pages numbered and are there indices? 22 General advice (given by MI T, modified) A.Think of a thesis as a series of small related tasks Do some research of the literature Summarize and comment upon the literature Perform experiments or/and do fieldwork Write up the results from those experiments Draw conclusions from what you have done See how your exults and conclusions fit with the literature Put all these pieces together into a whole. Follow a format which your Department will give you or that you will find in a journal or a conference. + Edit your document carefully for content, format, spelling, grammar and mechanics + Consult other, more experienced people for help and support 23 General advice (2) B. Do not think l have to write a whole thesis! + Stitch pieces together + Dont write one big piece at a time C. Do not put off writing the thesis until the end + Start to write as early as possible, even if it is only your random thoughts + Any task that you are performing can be written about! D.

Book Report Essay Example

Book Report Essay I have been reading the book Boost by Kathy Mackel. The book is about the main character and narrator, Savannah Christopher, Savvy for short, and her older sister, Callie. Savvy and Callie are both athletic girls, but conflicts with their sport make them want to boost their game. In the book, Savvnvy is trying out for a 180 team, Fire, at the age of 13 with her friend, Nina Gonzalez. Meanwhile her sister Callie is a freshmen trying out for the varsity cheerleading team. I predict that because Savvnvy is a really good player, the older players will push her around. I also think her sister will get troubled with heerleading on her size because it is mentioned how she sits on her iPod to listen to music all day and eat Junk food. I think that since both sisters are very serious in their sports, they want to be as best as they can, they will do anything to improve their game. I predict that they will most likely incorporate drugs to their game. Most likely they will take steroids. I say steroids because athletes that take drugs usually take steroids because it makes them stronger and be their best at their game temporarily. I believe that Savvnvy and Callie using drugs to enhance their game will eave them ending up to be sick and eventually hospitalized since they are very young and will proboable become addicted from taking drugs. We will write a custom essay sample on Book Report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Book Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Book Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This act of taking steroids for the girls game will also Jeopardize their relationship with their friends and family from being caught with the drugs. I think Savvnvy will lose her closest friend, Nina Gonzalez, whom plays on the same team as her. In the book Boost, the two sisters, Savvnvy and Callie will get into a lot of trouble from their steroid use from their coaches and school supervisors as well. I think Callies coach will ban her from the cheer team, and the school from the principle. I predict that Savvnvys coach will also ban her from the team, but Savvnvy will probably apologize and making it up greatly to the coach and her teammates that she will let down, possible giving her a second chance to be on the team. In the book Boost I predict that the author, Kathy Mackel, will throw multiple conflicts at you and some spooky suspense. I believe that all the conflicts with Savvnvy and Callie will be resolved. Also including their relationship with their family, friends, coaches, and school officials will be resolved as well. Book Report By charismaski

Apability as a Source of the Heterogeneit Essay Example

Apability as a Source of the Heterogeneit Essay Example Apability as a Source of the Heterogeneit Paper Apability as a Source of the Heterogeneit Paper The objective of this paper is to incorporate the entrepreneurial view point into the framework of the resource-based view of strategic management. We firstly attempt to make a brief survey of the conceptual framework of the RBV, and formulize it in a static sense by contrasting it with the competitive forces approach.Secondly, we conduct a critical assessment of the RBV from a dynamic point of view. The concept of entrepreneur’s ability is distilled by this assessment, and the objective of corporate strategy is clarified as well. Finally, we suggest a new perspective of the RBV by amending it from an entrepreneurial viewpoint. Keywords: resource-based view, entrepreneurship, disequilibrium, capability, strategic management RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Vol. 3, pp. 125-150 (2005). * Associate Professor, Faculty of Business Administration, Ritsumeikan University 126 RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRSVol. 3 INTRODUCTION The pivot on which everything turns. (J. A. Schumpeter) Although the resource-based view (RBV) has emerged as one of the substantial theories of strategic management, it is said that it has overlooked the role of entrepreneurial strategies and entrepreneurial abilities as one of the crucial sources of the competitive advantage of a firm. Even today, when entrepreneurship research is in demand, most economic research, and consequently much of strategic management research, views entrepreneurship as the specter which haunts economic model. Baumol, 1997: 17) The main objective of this paper is to amend the RBV of strategic management from a dynamic point of view, in order to make up its insufficiency. Many scholars have attempted to investigate into the mechanism of sustainable competitive advantage of a firm through the RBV with original concepts such as core competence’ (e. g. , Hamel Praharad, 1994), dynamic capability’ (e. g. , Teece, Pisano Shuen, 1997) VRIO framework’ (Barney, 2002), capability lifecycle’ (Helfat Peteraf, 2003), and routine and skills’ (e. g. Nelson Winter, 1982), however, little work in RBV has been made to grasp the role of entrepreneurship as the crucial source of competitive advantage, despite the abilities of the entrepreneur are undoubtedly the principal human resource possessed by a firm (see Alvarez Barney, 2000 for an exception). This paper attempts to incorporate the theory of entrepreneurship into the RBV of strategic management, while critically dealing with the RBV from an entrepreneurial viewpoint. The paper is divided into three parts. First, a brief survey is given of the conceptual framework of the RBV.It is helpful for us to grasp the characteristics of its framework by contrasting it with the competitive forces approach (CFA) presented by Porter (1980) because it is said that the CFA explores the source of sustainable competitive advantage in the external environment of the firm (i. e. , attractiveness of industry where they are located), while the RBV pays attention to the internal resources of the firm (i. e. , the heterogeneous resources that a firm possesses). Second, we clarify the objectives of corporate strategy through a critical 2005The Critical Assessment of the Resource-Based View of Strategic Management TOKUDA 127 assessment of the RBV from both a static and a dynamic point of view. Barney’s fundamental concept of the RBV is examined. Third, we suggest a new perspective of the RBV by amending it from an entrepreneurial viewpoint. . STRATEGY AND EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF A FIRM Traditional research on strategic management suggests that firms need to seek a strategic fit between the external environment, for example opportunities and threats, and internal resources, for example strengths and weaknesses (e. . , Andrews, 1967; Itami, 1987). However, considerable emphasis has usually been given to a firm’s competitive environment and its competitive position (Das Teng, 2000). Considering the source of sustainable competitive advantage of a firm, it is widely accepted that the dominant viewpoint in the strategic management theory throughout the 1980s was the CFA presented by Porter (1980). His conceptual framework was mainly based on the structure-conduct-performance paradigm of the theory of industrial organization (Bain, 1959; Mason, 1949).It is no exaggeration to say that Porter (1980) specifically brings a concept of competition’ for the first time in strategic management theory. 1) The most innovative part of his work in this field is that he constructs a consistent framework for thought so as to examine concrete questions like how will a firm able to get a competitive advantage over its competitors? In the CFA, the industrial structure strongly influences the rules of competition, as well as the stra tegies potentially available to the firms belonging to that industry.Therefore the strategic issue for a firm seems to concern their competitive positioning in the industry. They seek a favor1) Broadly speaking, the strategic management theory before 1980s (pre-Porter period), which used to be called business policy’, had not been a body of theory with a consistent viewpoint yet. Its object was mainly to argue the management of the diversified firm. Hence, it was generally dealing with such an argument like, to which business should we give the priority to allocate our resources? or from which business should we withdraw our resources? In this stage, the strategy was no more than the citing list of procedures’ because the object of strategy went no further than merely arguing the analytical technique: growth matrix, effect of experience curve, product portfolio management, policy decision tree and so on, and the flowchart of its application which is needed when the st rategy has been drawing up. For instance, Hoffer and Schendel (1978), gave a comprehensive survey of past studies on the subject.They compile variety of analytical techniques and the flowchart of its application is indicated in their work. It is not thoroughly explained, however, why the process ought to be followed by such a flowchart. 128 RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Vol. 3 able position in order to gain a monopoly rent (Teece, 1984), while avoiding involvement in competition or moderating competitive pressures by influencing industry structure and their competitors’ behavior.To help the firm find such a positioning in the industry, Porter (1980) advanced a fiveforce model’. This consists of five industry-level forces: i. e. , entry barriers, threat of substitution, bargaining power of supplier, bargaining power of buyer and rivalry among industry incumbents, which determine the inherent profit potential of an industry or sub-segment of it. However, a series of empirical surveys have failed to support the link between industrial structure and the performance of a firm.Some studies show the variance in firm performance between industries is substantially less than that within industries (e. g. , Jacobson, 1988; Hansen Wernerfelt, 1989; Rumelt, 1991). Others also identify systematic and significant performance differences among firms which belong to the same strategic group within an industry (Cool Schendel, 1988). Research has suggested that the internal resources of a firm rather than the external environment around the firm are possibly the primary source of performance differences among firms.This result is bringing a growing number of researchers to the RBV of strategic management to explain the differences by focusing their attention on resource heterogeneity in an industry and the source of sustainable competitive advantage of the firms. 2) . STRATEGY AND INTERNAL RESOURCES OF A FIRM Since the mid 1980s, the RBV has emerged as one o f the substantial theories of strategic management (Barney, 1986a; Rumelt, 1984; 2) According to Teece, et al. 1997: 514), an entry decision process of the CFA looks roughly as follows: (1) pick an industry (based on its structural attractiveness’); (2) choose an entry strategy based on conjectures about competitors’ rational strategies; (3) if not already possessed, acquire or otherwise obtain the requisite assets to compete in the market. From this perspective the process of identifying and developing the requisite assets is not particularly problematic. The process involves nothing more than choosing rationally among a well-defined set of investment alternatives.If assets are not already owned, they can be bought. On the contrary, the RBV assumes resource endorsement of a firm cannot equibrate through factor input markets. The entry decision process of the RBV is as follows: (1) identify your firm’s unique resources; (2) decide in which markets those resourc es can earn the highest rents; and (3) decide whether the rents from those assets and most effectively utilized by (a) integrating into related market(s), (b) selling the relevant intermediate output to related firms, or (c) selling the assets themselves to a firm in related businesses. 005 The Critical Assessment of the Resource-Based View of Strategic Management TOKUDA 129 Wernerfelt, 1984), even though it is said that the RBV does not presently appear to meet the empirical content criterion required of a theoretical system (Bacharach, 1989; Hunt, 1991; McKelvey, 1997; Priem Butler, 2001a,b). The increased attention to firms’ resources by researchers has seemed to be beneficial in helping to clarify the potential contributions of resources to competitive advantage, as well as to introduce strategy scholars to a number of useful descriptive theories from industrial rganization economics (e. g. , Alchian Demsetz, 1972, on teamwork’ production, or DeVany Saving, 198 3, on price as a signal of quality), and furthermore to alleviate a previous analytical overemphasis on the opportunities and threats that arise from the product side (Priem Butler, 2001a). The RBV suggests that the resources possessed by a firm are the primary determinants of its performance, and these may contribute to a sustainable competitive advantage of the firm (e. g. Hoffer Schendel, 1978; Wenerfelt, 1984). According to Barney (1991), the concept of resources includes all assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes, information, knowledge, etc. controlled by a firm that enable the firm to conceive of and implement strategies that improve its efficiency and effectiveness (Barney, 1991; Daft, 1983). In the early stage of the RBV, the main concern was to identify the characteristics of resources that are not subject to imitation by competitors.If the resources possessed by a firm can easily be replicated by competitors, even though the resources are the so urce of competitive advantage of the firm, then the advantage will not last long. Dierickx Cool (1989a) describe how the sustainability of a firm’s asset position hinges on how easily its resources can be substituted or imitated, and imitability is linked to the characteristics of the asset accumulation process: i. e. time compression diseconomies, asset mass efficiencies, inter-connectedness, asset erosion and casual ambiguity. In the same way, several other characteristics have been explored such as unique historical conditions, causal ambiguity (Reed DeFillippi, 1990), social complexity, isolating mechanism and so on (Barney, 1991; Lippman Rumelt, 1982; Rumelt, 1984). . CAPABILITY AS A SOURCE OF THE HETEROGENEITY Let us develop the concept of resources a little further.For instance, Grant (1991) notes the distinction between resources and capability as follows: 130 RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Vol. 3 Resources are inputs into the production process†¦[they] inc lude items of capital equipment, skills of individual employees, patents, brand names, finance, and so on. But, on their own, few resources are productive. Productive activity requires the cooperation and coordination of teams of resources. A capability is the capacity for a team of resources to perform some task or activity. Grant, 1991: 118-19) In the same manner, Amit Schoemaker (1993) define resources as stocks of available factors that are owned or controlled by the firm, which are converted into final products or services. Capabilities, in contrast, refer to a firm’s capacity to deploy resources, usually in combination, using organizational processes, to produce a desired effect. 3) Hence, the presence of capability enables resources to begin to be utilized, and the potential for the creation of output arises.While resources are the source of a firm’s capabilities, capabilities are the main source of its competitive advantage (Grant, 1991). The important point o f this approach compared to the early stage of RBV is that, for the sake of gaining a sustainable competitive advantage, capability is regarded as more important than resources per se, and this implies that the firm-specific way of cooperation and coordination of resources causes the heterogeneity among firms in an industry. ) This thought can be theoretically traced back to Penrose’s (1959) work. According to her work, firm development is an evolutionary and cumulative process of resource learning, in which increased knowledge of the firm resources both helps create options for further expansion and increase absorptive capacity. Therefore, a major focus of her work lies in the application of resources. She regards a firm as more than an administrative unit, it is also a collection of productive resources which including both physical and 3) Stalk, et al. 1992) draw a distinction between a capability and a competence as follows: competencies and capabilities represent two dif ferent but complementary dimensions of an emerging paradigm for corporate strategy. Both concepts emphasize behavioral’ aspects of strategy in contrast to the traditional structural model. But whereas core competence emphasizes technological and production expertises at specific points along the value chain, capabilities are more broadly based, encompassing the entire value chain. Inthis respect, capabilities are visible to the customer in a way that core competencies rarely are (Stalk, et. al. , 1992: 66). ) To deepen the concept of capability, Grant (1991) invokes the concept of organizational routine’ from evolutionary theory (e. g. , Nelson, 1991). He views capability as a routine or a number of interacting routines, and organization as a huge network of routines. 2005 The Critical Assessment of the Resource-Based View of Strategic Management TOKUDA 131 human resources. According to Penrose, it is never resources’ per se that are the inputs’ in the pr oduction process, but only the services’ that the resource can render, that is: The services yielded by resources are a function of the way in which they are used? xactly the same resources when used for different purposes or in different ways and in combination with different types of or amounts of other resources provide a different service or set of services. The important distinction between resources and services is not their relative durability; rather it lies in the fact that resources consists of a bundle of potential services and can, for the most part, be define independently of their use, while services cannot be so defined, the very word service’ implying a function, an activity†¦it is largely in this distinction that we find the source of the uniqueness of each individual firm (1959: 25). ) The result of this is that the concept of capability’ is the capacity of a firm to convert resources they possess into the service’. The good service s might be produced by either good resources’ or average capability’/ average resources’ or good capability’, if capability were a type of score’ of capability, particular to each firm (e. g. , good firms have a high capability score’). The difference, or possibly the uniqueness, of a firm largely comes from these capabilities. . VULNERABILITY OF THE RBV After having made a brief survey of the conceptual framework of the RBV by ontrasting it with the CFA, we now attempt to clarify the objective of corporate strategy through a critical assessment of the RBV. Barney’s (1991) conceptual framework of the RBV has been used6), because 5) Foss (2005) notes that while the RBV is Penrosian in its emphasis on firm-level heterogeneity, most of Penrose’s basic themes ? flexibility in an uncertain world, organizational learning as an evolutionary discovery process, path-dependency, the vision of the management team, entrepreneurship, firm d ifferences being traceable to the efficiency with which resources are applied rather than to resources themselves, etc. seem to lie outside the orbit of the RBV, at least as its conceptual framework is clearly related to Demsetz’s (1973) competitive equilibrium model. 6) Referring to the SWOT framework, Barney defines resources as being valuable when they help seizing an opportunity in the firm’s environment or when they help neutralizing some threat in that environment, or at least shielding the firm against the threat. By resources 132 RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Vol. 3 as Priem Butler (2001a) remark, many RBV proponents either paraphrase his statements or simply cite his articles (i. . , Barney, 1991), without an augmented definition (e. g. , Bates Flynn, 1995; Brush Artz, 1999; Lits, 1996; Powel, 1992a, b; Rindova Fombrun, 1999; Yeoh Roth, 1999), and operate under his framework in their conceptual and empirical work. 7) Barney’s (1991) remarks on the conditions that a firm produces competitive advantage8) may be paraphrased as follows: (a) resources must be valuable. (b) resources must be rare. Two points should be noted here regarding to the attributes of the competitive advantage of a firm.Firstly, Barney’s concept of valuable’ is an ambiguous criterion to measure the competitive advantage of a firm. Whether the resource is valuable or not should be measured by its profitability, and thus it ought to take the form of an economic asset regardless of how tangible or intangible it is. The value of any resource should be measured by the discounted value of the expected future income stream that can be attributed to it. 9) In the RBV the valuable attribute of a firm is taken as given. The being rare, Barney seems to have a simple counting sense (as distinct from an economic sense) in mind.Firms that control valuable and rare resources possess a competitive advantage and will be able to obtain a competitive advabta ge. If furthermore the relevant resources are non-imitable and non-substitutable a sustainable competitive advantage may be obtained. The non-imitability (or more correctly: costly-to-imitate) condition directs attention to whether (or, at which cost) competitor firms can acquire or accumulate resources with attributes and levels of attributes similar to some desired resource which produces a competitive advantage.The non-substitutability (or, costly-to-substitute) condition directs attention to whether (or, at which cost) competitor firms can access (different) resources that will allow them to implement the same strategies as some successful firm. According to Foss (2005), it is also these two criteria that allows Barney to define sustainable competitive advantage in terms of situations in which all attempts by competitor firms at imitating or substituting a successful firm have ceased. Thus, he notes that sustainable competitive advantage is a property of an equilibrium. ) Priem and Butler investigate whether the RBV arguments regarding competitive advantage meet the generally accepted criteria for classifying a set of statements as a theory, See Priem Butler (2001a, b) and also Barney’s counter-argument (Barney, 2001). 8) With regard to the sustainability, he notes the resource must be imperfectly imitable, and cannot be strategically equivalent substitutes for this resource. 9) This kind of argument has been well discussed in the theory of multinational corporations (i. e. an argumentation between OLI paradigm theorists and Internalization theorists regarding the handling of ownership advantage of a firm). See, e. g. , Casson (1987). 2005 The Critical Assessment of the Resource-Based View of Strategic Management TOKUDA 133 planning and investment necessary to build up such resources are exogenous in this framework. 10) This means there is the fear that the RBV will overstate the profitability of firms exploiting these resources, because they ignor e the cost of acquisition and accumulation.Therefore it is impossible for the RBV to explain why firms invest in such a valuable resource rather than in other type of resources (i. e. , Barney is conducting a cross sectional analysis of what the firms currently has, he is not discussing what they would need to do to obtain more or different resources in the future. Barney focuses here on content while other RBV authors have focused on process. He is not trying to explain why firms invest, he is trying to explain what firms have accumulated as of a specific point in time.However, other RBV researchers have considered why and how). In addition, if the firms want to realize their competitive advantage or maximize their profit from the resources they possess, they have to take into account of the demand-side characteristics that influence on the final price of their output. The values of resources are determined by demandside characteristics, and those are also exogenous to the RBV mode l (Priem Butler, 2001a, b).We never have a priori information on the competitive advantage among firms that will result in super-normal profit, on the contrary, we know a posteriori the existence of the competitive advantage by virtue of the existence of super-normal profit. After all, the emphasis is on how to sustain such a valuable resource over the long term without adequate appreciation of its economic value. Therefore it is open to criticism that the RBV contains a theory of sustainability but not a theory of competitive advantage (Priem Butler, 2001b).Secondly, the concept of a rare’ resource does not necessarily ensure the competitive advantage of the firm, even if that resource generates a large rent’ due to its relative scarcity. Rents are the prices of services yielded by resources (Lewin Phelan, 2002). In this phase rent is noth10) According to Petaraf (1993: 180), Firms with superior resources will earn rents†¦ It may be understood most clearly by assuming that firms with superior firms with superior resources have low average costs than other firms. We understand that superior resources may earn Ricardian type of rents, however in order to analyze the source of firm ustainable competitive advantage over rivalry, we should put not a rent’ but a profitability’ in question. And we cannot understand her ground why superior resources’ go to a low cost position’ (1993: 180). Superior resources must have accompanied a lot of investment until then due to its superiority, even though which is such an intangible assets as organizational culture (i. e. , Barney, 1986b), thus we cannot necessarily to say firms with superior firms with superior resources have low average costs than other firms’. 134RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Vol. 3 ing more than the rental price of the service of the resource whether it is rare or not. After remunerating all the factors of production, no profit has been left to t he firm (Demsetz, 1973; Barney, 1986a; Rumelt, 1987). If there is a firm gaining profit from the resource, it is simply that the firm squeezes some part of the rent from the owner of the resources. Many RBV researchers identify the concept of rent’ (e. g. , Mahoney Pandian, 1992; Petaraf, 1993; Rumelt, 1987), that is expressed in various forms, i. e. Ricardian rent, Marshallian rent, Paretian rent, and quasirent, as those, which accrue from the relative differentiation of resources a firm control (We have to bear in mind the fact that rent will be paid even though all of land is homogeneous or even if the land is not fertile. Rent is not paid due to the relative difference of the land’s fertility but by the fact that land is merely scarce (Lewin Phelan, 2002). The difference in fertility reflects in the difference in rental rates, however, the rental rate is nothing to do with the profitability of a firm.The owner of any resources just asks for the rents: i. e. , wag e, rent, and interest, according to its rate). They consider the concept of competition’ as the states that firms compete in factors of production markets over the relative advantage of the resources they acquire or accumulate, rather than compete in final-product markets over the price of their products and services. However, from the static point of view, all of the relative advantages of these resources ought to be compensated for their owner. And the source of competitive advantage of the firm remains only by their monopoly rent.In this case alone, a firm would be able to gain super-normal profit at the cost of social welfare. It follows from what has been said, that the RBV contains the conditions of sustainability, but it does not fulfill the conditions for acquiring and realizing a competitive advantage. 11) 11) According to Foss (2005), Barney (1991) singles out two necessary primitives that must obtain for SCA to exist, namely heterogeneity and immobility, however, t he relation between these two primitives and the four other conditions of sustainable competitive advantage (i. e. resources being rare, valuable, costly to imitate and costly to substitute) is not made clear. The implication of Barney’s discussion is that the four latter are collectively sufficient for SCA, and if they (all) obtain, heterogeneity and immobility also obtain. However, the four conditions are not all necessary, whereas immobility and heterogeneity are. In other words, possessing resources that are rare, valuable, costly to imitate and costly to substitute is not the only way to gain and sustain competitive advantages, as long as the relevant ways conform to the criteria of resources being immobile and heterogeneous.This, however, is not clarified in Barney’s paper. 2005 The Critical Assessment of the Resource-Based View of Strategic Management TOKUDA 135 . THE RBV’S FORTE Given that the RBV is nothing more than an indication of the condition for c ompetitive firms to sustain their advantage, how can we investigate the academic value in the RBV in terms of explaining the source of the competitive advantage of a firm? By examining Barney’s (1986a, 2001) esearch, we see that he might recognize the existence of super-normal profit and the source of competitive advantage besides valuable and rare resources. The strategic factor market imperfection’ is the key concept for finding the academic value in the RBV. The strategic factor markets are developed when a firm requires the acquisition of resources in order to implement its strategy (Barney, 1986a). These markets are where firms buy and sell the resources necessary to implement their strategies (Barney, 1986a; Hirshleifer, 1980).Hence the economic performance of the firms depends not only on the returns from their strategies but also on the cost of buying the resources from these markets to implement those strategies. And the costs of those resources are determined by the characteristics of the factor markets. It is leading us that valuable and rare resources are not the source of competitive advantage or above normal return if the cost of acquiring or developing these resources equals the value they create when used to conceive of and implement a strategy.However, there is an implied possibility that the competitive advantage may come from the imperfections in strategic factor markets. Different firms in these markets will have different expectations about the future value of a strategy, which creates this imperfection (Barney, 1986a), and the owners of the firm also have different expectations about the future return of their resources (Barney, 2001). Therefore, different expectations toward the resources produce the possibility of a competitive advantage for a firm.This kind of competitive advantage, named economic rents’ by Barney, reflect the creative and entrepreneurial ability of firms to discover how to generate value with thei r resources in ways that other firms and outside owners cannot anticipate (Barney, 1986a, 2001). Firms which intend to obtain a competitive advantage must be consistently better informed concerning the future value of these resources than other firms. 12) 12) Peteraf (1993) argues that ex ante limits to competition is a condition for the existence and endurance of competitive advantage. Because of ex ante uncertainty about the future 36 RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Vol. 3 Examining the Barney’s concept of strategic factor market imperfection’, we are able to interpret that the characteristics of competition’ are not in the world of static states (equilibrium), but in the world of dynamic processes of change (disequilibrium). As mentioned above, no rents emerge in the world of static states. If the price of any resource reflects the discounted value of its expected future earnings, and if everyone shares the same correct expectations, then that price include s all correctly anticipated value components.It is nothing to say that ex ante values will turn out to be equal to ex post values. There will be no room for super-normal profit. Unless there is a difference between the ex post value of a venture and the ex ante cost of acquiring the necessary resources, the entrepreneurial rents are zero (Rumelt, 1987; Peteraf, 1993). In a dynamic sense, such a situation cannot exist because a price of any resource does not reflect the discounted value of its expected future earnings, so everyone does not share the same correct expectations towards it and the price includes all correctly anticipated value components.The possibility of profit comes from ex ante uncertainty of the resource’s certain (real) value, the probability of profit comes from ex post realization of its certain value. In this sense, the size of super-normal profit, thus the competitive advantage of a firm, depends on the difference between the ex ante cost of resources an d the ex post value of them. This suggests that to acquire a competitive advantage is no more and no less than to obtain the entrepreneurial rents. The CA depends on how to exploit the factor markets disequilibrium, i. e. the firm’s skill (accuracy) at perceiving the future value of resources. We may say that the academic values can be found in the RBV when we view it in a dynamic context. value of the resources to be bought or developed today, only firms with entrepreneurial insight or luck make the right investment decisions and are rewarded by entrepreneurial rents (Barney, 1986; Wernerfelt Montgomery, 1986). Also, ex post limits to competition (i. e. , isolating mechanisms) protects the strategic assets and capabilities from being imitated. Isolating mechanisms allow a firm to sustain its competitive dvantage. Isolating mechanisms Rumelt (1984: 568) such as casual ambiguity, specialized assets, switching and search costs, team-bodied skills, reputation and image and lega l restrictions on entry are the reasons why markets fail. In the absence of isolating mechanisms and market imperfections, resources would be mobile, and no firm could achieve competitive advantage and positive returns (like in perfect competition). By pointing these mechanisms out, Rumelt (1984) highlights why firms exist’ and then concentrates on why firms are heterogeneous’. 2005The Critical Assessment of the Resource-Based View of Strategic Management TOKUDA 137 . ABILITY OF ENTREPRENEUR AS A SOURCE OF THE HETEROGENEITY In the dynamic world, the heterogeneous perceptions are more important than the heterogeneous resources per se (Lewin, 2005; Lewin Phelan, 2002). As a matter of course, such perception originates in the asymmetric information among firms. This drives us, logically, to the situation that the entrepreneurship’ and also the ability to perceive market imperfection of information have to be incorporated into the RBV.How to best evade the market i mperfection or how to make good use of that imperfection is very strategic decision made by a firm to gain a super-normal profit. 13) And of course, the one who will be in charge of this strategic task is an entrepreneur. 14) As an aside, even if it is logical to represent the entrepreneurship in t

Proposal for Problem at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Proposal for Problem at Work - Essay Example One of its entrepreneurial ventures focused on health care considering the organization as the â€Å"market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare† (Philips: Company Profile, 2011, par. 2). To provide continued service to its wide range of clientele, the Philips Emergency Call Center was designed to respond to medical emergencies through a medical alert service and a medication dispensing service with the ultimate goal of giving peace of mind to consumers. Call center agents, called Lifeline Personal Response Associates, are available 24/7 to assist in responding to various medical assistance inquiries and provide appropriate interventions and support (Philips Lifeline Employment, 2011, par. 1). Statement of the pro blem Parallel to other organizations with diverse composition of personnel responding to various needs of clients, organizational problems normally ensue. At Philip Lifeline, the identified problems are as follows: (1) associates making mistakes in responding to calls due to any of the following factors: cell phone use (texting); noise level (associates being loud while taking a call; people having loud conversations; talking across the room); using work email; associates standing up when handling a call; and (2) associates rushing during calls due in response to increases in call volume to get bonus; to leave for scheduled breaks, and in a hurry to end the shift. Analysis From the problems identified, it could be deduced that the root causes of the dilemmas are interferences that affect productivity (use of cell phones while taking calls, noise levels, and improper work decorum). Further, rushing in responding to inquiries due to various reasons could also be a symptom for lack of motivation and rewards in the workplace. In addition, the inability of management to address infractions or violations to company policies (using cellphone, emails while taking calls) makes these problems persistent and unaddressed. Financial Analysis The financial condition of Philips Lifeline, as revealed in its official website contain information that indicate a decrease in net income during the first quarter of 2011 of EUR 63 million to amount to EUR 138 million, as compared to EUR 201 million in 2010. However, when sales by sector was reviewed, healthcare actually contributed to a 5% comparable growth rate from EUR 1,821 million in the first quarter of 2010 to EUR 1,971 million in the same time period for 2011 (Quarterly Report, 2011). This simply means that the healthcare services encompassing the performance of associates posted positive growth despite the identified problems. More importantly, if these problems are properly addressed, greater performance and productivity wo uld result to increase financial condition and success that would be reflected in positive financial growth and increased bottom line. Objections/Alternatives Given the problems identified and analyzed, as well as the information provided from the organization’s financial condition, the alternative courses of action that management could consider to address the problems are as follows: (1) review company policies and sanctions; (2) re-orient all employees on the organization’s code of discipline by communicating company policies