Culture diversity in the media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Culture diversity in the media - Essay Example This paper discusses the manner in which the general media – including the press, television and films report on ethnic issues how such reporting help or obstruct the effort to elevate the cause of social and cultural diversity and prevent serious issues concerning racism in such media. The media, to a considerable extent, unintentionally tend to emphasize negative images and stereotyping in the process of news reporting or in the course of collecting information relating to issues concerning the people belonging to diverse cultural or ethnic groups. According to previous research conducted in this behalf on the portrayal of issues of people belonging to different cultural and ethnic backgrounds in the British and American media, the migrants were omitted from voicing their opinions and were ignored while reporting issues regarding the problems faced by their community. Such an incident was witnessed in the year 1990 while reporting on the issue of wearing a headscarf that was debated in countries like France and Denmark. The migrants opinion was either not quoted at all or it was not given due prominence by the media while reporting on the issue. They were often misquoted or quoted in a discriminatory manner which exuded negativity and sounded superficial, aggress ive and stereotypical. It is also noted that the opinion of people belonging to a minority group are often misinterpreted since a single set of representatives are interviewed over and over again which loses the credibility of their opinion and views and less importance is given on reporting of such an issue from the point of view of a diverse range of interviewees. Another significant issue that emerged during the study was that the media is highly biased towards reporting of certain important events of political nature. Consequently the everyday aspect of the minority life, for instance their

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 27

Homework - Essay Example Although the advancement of technology is so rapid that some programs or hardwares become easily outdated, there are still some activities that cannot be done using the Internet. In the future, I hope that there will be available programs where we can watch the stars or the galaxy through the telescopes used by astronomers in different parts of the world. It is like telescopes linked to each other through a computer and people all over the world can see through them through the internet real time. Location based services [LBS] is the capability to identify the location of a particular person or mobile device and connect with a different device or individual (Burgess, 2010). Currently, almost everyone uses LBS when they use different social media sites like blogs or when they check-in their locations using Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. LBS is also used to be able to navigate in areas that an individual may not be familiar with, and reduces the amount of time spent trying to locate establishments. Real time updates through Global Positioning System [GPS] also gives real time updates of traffic and accidents on the road so it will be really helpful so commuters can plan ahead and the time needed to travel will be more readily estimated. Even location of road constructions are provided, so a commuter can easily avoid these areas without having to run into traffic. To a certain extent, LBS is a good tool, because for certain applications it makes transportation more efficient and helps individuals plan properly, and this saves a lot of time, in a broader perspective. However, if the technology gets infiltrated by people with bad intentions, or terrorists, for that matter, LBS will no longer be beneficial at all. This may lead to threats, even security and safety issues because locations and activities of individuals may be monitored and mapped without the person being fully aware of it.

Education Reform Essay Example for Free

Education Reform Essay Education reform has been a heavily debated topic over the past several decades. This dispute, over education standards, peaked my interest due to my belief that the majority of students in public schools across the United States are underperforming in comparison to other first world countries. On the other hand some teachers and education professionals consider the existing policies adequate in teaching students, and they oppose any new regulations bestowed on by the federal government. These professionals fear that the outcome of increased government action will only result in further standardized testing. There are a plethora of aspects pertaining to education reform, I will just be focusing on a few, including; whether additional schooling controls economic prosperity, if written exams indicate the knowledge a student retains from a particular course, and should the federal government regulate the education system? By beginning some perfunctory research I quickly decided that the United States was in fact in dire need for reform. I chose to investigate further into the issue to find a clearer understanding of what schools and faculty can do to better assist their students. The process of establishing and supporting my thesis was a culmination of multiple components. My Ultimate goal is for the reader to fully comprehend the impurities of public education. My research began with determining a topic, then the research portion of the assignment commenced. Research was not as easy as entering your topic in on a search engine, the sources had to be specific to your topic, from a trustworthy publisher, and factual. Additionally there were requirement as to the medium of sources we needed to incorporate, such as a book, an interview, and a periodical.

Innovation for Competitive Advantage in International Market

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

Fact And Truth ? Regarding The Difference Between Them :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Thought experiments (Gedankenexperimenten) are facts in the sense they have a â€Å"real life† correlate in the form of electrochemical activity in the brain. But it is quite obvious that they do not relate to facts. They are not a true statement. A question can be posed: do they lack truth because they do not relate to a fact or are the two facts disjointed? How are Truth and Fact interrelated? One answer is that Truth value is a shorthand to describe the possibility that an event will occur. If true – it must occur and if false – it cannot occur. This is a binary world of extreme conditions of being. Should all possible events occur? Of course not. If they do not occur would they still be true? Must a statement demonstrate a real life correlate to be true? Instinctively, yes. We cannot conceive of a thought without brainwaves. A statement which remains a potential seems to exist in the nether land between truth and falsity. It could become true by materializing, by occurring, by matching up with real life. If we had the ability to show that it will never do so (ad infinitum), we would have felt comfortable to classify it as false. This is the outgrowth of millennia of concrete, Aristotelian logic. Logical statements talk about the world and, therefore, if a statement cannot be shown to relate directly to the world, it is not true. This approach, however, is constructed upon some underlying assumptions: First, that the world is finite and not only finite – but also close to its end. To say that if something did not happen than it is not true is to say that it will never happen (meaning that time and space – the world, in one word – are finite and are about to end momentarily). A second assumption is that truth and falsity are mutually exclusive. Quantum logic has disproved this one. There are real world situations that are in both realms, the true and the â€Å"not-true†. A particle can â€Å"be† in two places at the same time. This fuzzy logic is incompatible with our daily experiences but if there is anything that we have learnt from physics in the last seven decades is that the world is incompatible with our daily experiences. Thirdly, that the psychic realm is but a subset of the material one.

Essay --

Abuse of the Second Amendment: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Senior Historical Paper Ashleigh Rogers Mr. Todd Gonion Ninety bullets rang through the air, seven bodies hit the asphalt, and blood pooled N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre represented one of the bloodiest, catastrophic maltreatments of the Second Amendment, and illustrated how citizen’s ignored the responsibilities that came along with the ownership of a weapon. This massacre relates to the theme â€Å"Rights and Responsibilities in History† because it shows a group of individuals irresponsibly taking their unalienable Constitutional rights and using it to solve trivial conflicts with other citizens. On February 14, 1929, the true intentions of the second amendment were massacred as a Chicago gang ignored their responsibilities as gun owners and decimated other citizens. The Second Amendment states â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.† As America was once dependent on England, Americans looked to England’s governmental institutions as a base on how to govern the United States. America configured the Second Amendment based off political ideologies that originated in England. In 1181, King Henry issued the Assize of Arms, stating citizens were to possess weapons at all times to secure that England citizens would be protected against foreign invasions. In England, males as young as seven were required to bear arms to ensure an extensive defense for their country; it was considered an Englishman’s obligation to his country. In addition, Militias became vital to English life, as they leveled monarchial rule... ...elling example of how citizens took the privilege of owning weapons for their own security in the home and nation, and used it for venomous reasons. A concept that was effective in the eleventh century lost its value as citizens began to ignore their responsibilities as gun owning United States citizens. The Federalist foresaw that citizens were going to expunge their right, yet it was still ratified in the Constitution. The discernment of a plan to execute seven individuals conveys how citizens have ignored both the meaning of their rights and their responsibilities. A few individual’s decision to configure the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, consequentially led to a stringent of regulations placed on gun owners. â€Å"Violence is an evil thing, but when the guns are all in the hands of me without respect for human rights, then men are really in trouble†- Louis L’Amour.

Fdi in Nigeria

THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS ON THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY BY SHIRO ABASS A. Department of Finance University of Lagos BSTRACT Generally, policies and strategies of Nigerian government towards foreign direct investments are shaped by two principal objectives of desire for economic independence and the demand for economic development. Multi national corporations are expected to bring into Nigeria, foreign capital in the form of technical skills, entrepreneurship, technology and investment fund to boost economic activities thereby, rising the standard of living of Nigerian. The main issues in this paper relates to understanding the effects and impact of foreign direct investments on the Nigerian economy as well as our ability to attract adequate amounts, sufficient enough to accelerate the pace of our economic growth and development. From related research and studies, it was revealed that multinational corporations are highly adaptive social agents and therefore, the degree to which they can help in improving economic activities through foreign direct investment will be heavily influenced by the policy choice of the host country. Secondary data were collected for the period 1970 to 2005. In order to analyse the data, both econometric and statistical method were used. Tables were produced in order to create a visual impression of the dependence of Nigeria economy on that of donor countries such as Western Europe and North America. The economic regression model of ordinary least square was applied in evaluating the relationship between foreign direct investment and major economic indicators such as gross domestic product, gross fixed capital ormation and index of industrial production. The model revealed a positive relationship between foreign direct investment and each of these variables, but that foreign direct investment has not contributed much to the growth and development of Nigeria. This is evident in reality of enormous repatriation of profits, dividends, contract fees, and interest payments on foreign loans. The study thus suggest that in order to further improve the economic climate for foreign direct investments in Nigeria, the government must appreciate the fact that the basic element in any successful development strategy should be the encouragement of domestic investors first before going after foreign investors. 1. 0INTRODUCTION In order to seek the highest of return for capital, economists tend to favour the free flow of capital across national boarders. It is against this backdrop that multinational companies seek investment in foreign countries with reasonable risk. Nigeria is believed to be a high-risk market for investment because of factors such as bad governance, unstable macro economic policies, investment as a way out of Nigeria’s economic state of underdevelopment. Since the enthronement of democracy in 1999, the government of Nigeria has taken a number of measures necessary to woo foreign investors into Nigeria. These measures includes the repeal of laws that are inimical to foreign investment growth, promulgation of investment law, various overseas trips for image laundry by the president, among others. The need for foreign direct investment is born out of the underdeveloped nature of the Nigeria’s economy that essentially, hindered the pace of her economic development. Generally, policies and strategies of the Nigerian government towards foreign investments are shaped by two principal objective of the desire for economic independence and the demand for economic development. There are four basic requirements for economic development namely. i)Investment capital ii)Technical skills iii)Enterprise iv)Natural resources. Without these components, economic and social development of the country would be a process lasting for many years. The provisions of these first three necessary components present problems for developing countries like Nigeria. This is because of the fact that there is a low level of income that prevents savings, big enough to stimulate investment capital domestically or, to finance training in modern techniques and methods. The only way out of this problem is through acceleration of the economy by external sources of money (foreign investment) and technical expertise. Foreign direct investment is therefore suppose to serve as means of augmenting Nigeria’s domestic resources in order to carryout effectively, her development programmes and raise the standard of living of her people. According to Nwankwo, G. O. 2 factors responsible for the increase need for foreign direct investment by developing countries are: oThe world recession of the late 1970s and early 1980s and the resultant fall in the terms of trade of developing countries, which averaged about 11% between 1980 and 1982. High real interest rate in the international capital market, which adversely affected external indebtedness of these developing countries. oThe high external debt burden. oBad macro economic management, fall in per capital income and fall in domestic savings. Foreign direct investments consist of external resources, including technology, managerial and marketing expertise and capital. All these generate a considerable impact on host nation’s production capabi lities. At the current level of gross Domestic Product, the success of governments policies of stimulating the productive base of the economy depends largely on her ability to control adequate amount of foreign direct investments comprising of managerial, capital and technological resources to boost the existing production capabilities. The Nigerian government had in the past endeavored to provide foreign investors with a healthy climate as well as generous tax incentives, but the result had not been sufficiently encouraging (as we shall see in this research). Nigeria still requires foreign assistance in the form of managerial, entrepreneurial and technical skills that often accompany foreign direct investments. Total amount of income that will accrue to capital will be OR0BK0 while labour receives YBR0. Given that Q = F (K, L), the total output in this country is the area under the marginal efficiency of capital (MEC) curve and this output will be distributed between the two factors of production, that is labour and capital. For foreign direct investment to take place, the returns to capital in the United Kingdom must be less than returns to capital in Nigeria, given that United Kingdom is more endowed with capital utilization In response to this differential in returns to capital, there will be capital movement from the United Kingdom to Nigeria and this will continue until the returns are the same in the two countries. The amount of capital moved from United Kingdom to Nigeria is in the form of foreign direct investment and hence, Nigeria’s stock of capital or investment fund is increased. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL REVIEW 2. 1FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT: PROPONENTS AND ANTI-PROPONENTS. 2. 1. 1 PROPONENTS — Most analysts believe that national and foreign private sector enterprise, if permitted to operate in a competitive market condition will offer developing countries the best prospects for speedy national economic growth. These analysts however do not view multi national capital as panacea to developing countries. Amongst the proponents of foreign direct investments are Peter Drucker, Harry Johnson, Gerald Mier, Sanjaja Hall, Paul Strcter, Carlos, F, Ludiak, l. A, Manle, . F, Author Nwankwo and many more. Harry Johnson argued that foreign investments bring to the home country, â€Å"a package of cheap capital, advanced technology. Superior knowledge of foreign market for final products and capital goods, immediate inputs and raw materials†. Similarly, Drucker has argued that developing countries need to employ export oriented development strategies in order to meet their foreign exchange and employment requirements and that such orientation is much more likely to succeed if these countries can acquire â€Å"capital export markets†. Such markets he maintained are precisely what multinational companies with their worldwide sourcing and marketing can offer. Gerald Mier contends that from the stand profit of national economic benefit, the essence of the case of encouraging the inflow of capital is that the increase in real income resulting from the act of investment is greater than the resultant increase on the income of the investor. This is also the view held by Mactougal when he stated that a moderate inflow of investment in an economy is beneficial. The chief benefit of foreign direct investment, according to these writers, is the accompanying â€Å"package deal† of technical and managerial skill. This may be costly, difficult or impossible to obtain in other alternative investment means. The less developed a country is, the less able it is as a rule to utilize patents, technical advice and contract management assistance without taking the whole package. This view was supported by Penrose (1961) and Chenery (1966). 2. 1. ANTI-PROPONENTS — some analysts (known as the dependence school) are strongly opposed to pro foreign direct investment perspectives. Their arguments are based on series of studies and research carried out. Such analysts include Dos Santos, Ronald Multer, Cardose, Euzo Falleto, Dr. Fashola and many others. Theofonio Dos Santos argued that developing countries’ economic difficulties do not originate in their isolation from advanced countries, but that the most powerful obstacle to their develo pment came from the way they are oined to their international system. Multer, R maintained that multinational corporations transfer technologies to developing countries that result in mass unemployment; that they monopolize rather than inject new capital resources; that they displace rather than generate local business and that they worsen rather than ameliorate the country’s balance of payment. Overall, the dependent school rejects the pro foreign direct investment analysts’ depiction of the benefits derived from participation in the international economy. Dr Fashola, for example argued that most of the policies adopted by Nigeria since the SAP era are qualitative in nature and as such are yet to be effective in turning round for the better economic fortunes of the nation. More recently, a new body of literature emerged and challenged the pro-foreign direct investment optimist about the long-term negotiating and benefiting prospects of the world. What might be labeled the structuralized school has argued that developing countries may in fact experience a long-term decrease in their power over high technology manufacturing system. Their arguments were based on what scholars learnt empirically about the behaviour and effects of multinational companies in developing countries. Results of some of their studies are. i)Bornshier and Jean in a multiple regression analysis of variance in growth of GNP per capital in 76 developing countries (Nigeria inclusive) between 1960 to 1975, found out that their flow of foreign direct investment were associated negatively with growth in income per capital. Other studies by Michael Dolan and Brain Tomlin appeared basically to confirm Bormshier’s observations. Also, Robert Johnson in his regression analysis of growth per GNP in 72 countries between 1960 to 1978, found stocks of foreign direct investment to be positively associated with economic growth at statistically significant level for relatively advanced economies. He therefore concluded that once the size of a developing country is taken into account, the level of direct investment has no consistent effect on growth. i)Vincent Mahler (1976) carried out an analysis of 68 least developed countries and found a statistically significant association between income concentrated in the 6 percent to 20 percent of the population and foreign direct investment in manufacturing but not in mining and agriculture. iii)Several studies were also conducted to estimate the economic desirability of the technology brought to developing countries by multinational corporations. It was found that royalty payments, technical tees, tie-in-clause leading to the purchase of over priced immediate goods, export restrictions and other limitations had resulted in technology acquisition during most of the sixties to become major burden In conclusion, considering the wide range of conflicting empirical studies on how foreign direct investment in developing countries affect the rate of aggregate growth, distribution of income, employment and some non-economic indicators like culture and political structures, one cannot draw conclusions from them with any minimal acceptable level of confidence. Perhaps the warning of Arthur Nwankwo is appropriate in this context where he warned that no nation could provide for the welfare of its citizens as long as its economy is fettered. More so, many studies have shown that multinational corporations are highly adaptive social agents and therefore, the degree to which foreign direct investment helps or hurts a developing country will be heavily influenced by the policy choice of the host country. 3. 0 EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS 3. 1MODEL SPECIFICATION The under listed variables are used in building the model. FDIForeign Direct Investments GFCF Gross Fixed Capital Formation GDPGross Domestic Product llPIndex of Industrial Production The models will therefore be: GPD = b0 + b1FDI + u†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (equation 1) GFCF b0 + b1FDI + u†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (equation 2) lIP = bo + b1FDI +u†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (equation 3) These models, which are used in gauging and assessing the performance of the economy, make the economic indicators functions of the level of cumulative foreign direct investment. If we assume a linear relationship (logarithm), then the model equations become. Log GPD= b0 + b1Iog FDI + u†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (equation 1) Log GFCF= b0 + b1log FDI + u†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (equation 2) Log lIP= b0 + b1log FDI + u†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (equation 3) Fromthe model Log GOP=b0 + b1 FDI Log GOP=0. 159 + 1. 237 log FDI Standard Error (Se)=0. 158 Correlation coefficient (r)=0. 99 t1=1. 03 t2=0. 037 3. 2 Interpretation of Results The first noticeable thing about the above result is that Gross Domestic Product is positively related to foreign direct investments. The responsiveness of GDP to FDI to 1. 237 indicates that a one percent increase in foreign direct investment leads to a more than proportionate increase of 1. 24 percent in gross domestic product. A correlation coefficient of 0. 9 indicates a very strong relationship between economic growth (measured by GDP) and foreign direct investments, thus leading to the rejection of our alternative hypothesis and acceptance of our null hypothesis, which states that there is a relationship between foreign, direct investment and economic growth. Also, a test of the significance of the intercept and gradient of our model is found to be statistically significant through a test of standard error. Thus given that: H0 : a = 0 H1 : a + 0, for significance of intercept And H0 = 0 H1 : B + 0, for significance of gradient. For t1 since the computed value of 1. 02 is less than 2. 042 (value from t table), we reject H1 and accept H0 which states that there is a relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth. For t2 since the computed value of 0. 037 is less than 2. 042 (value from t table), we reject H1 and accept H0 which states that there is a relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth. From the model Log GFCF=b0 + b1 FDI Log GFCF=0781 + 0. 873 log FDI Standard Error (Se)=0. 199 Correlation coefficient (r)=0. 95 Tl=9. 41 t2=41. 57 3. 3 Interpretation of Results The results from this model shows that there exist a direct functional relationship between foreign direct investment and standard of living, such that the elasticity of gross fixed capital formation with respect to foreign direct investment is 0. 873. A correlation coefficient of 0. 95 indicates a very strong relationship between foreign direct investment and gross fixed capital formation (which could be used as a measure of standard of living). Also, a test of the significance of the intercept and gradient of our model is found to be statistically significant through a test of standard error. Thus given that H0 : a = 0 H1: a + 0, for significance of intercept And H0: B = 0 H1 : B + 0, for significance of gradient For t1 since the computed value of 9. 41 is greater than 2. 042 (value from 1 table), we reject H0 and accept H, which states that the inflow of foreign direct investment has not affected the standard of living of Nigerians. For 12 since the computed value of 41. 57 is greater than 2. 042 (value from t table), we reject H0 and accept H, which states that the inflow of foreign direct investment has not affected the standard of living of Nigerians. 3. 4 Interpretation of Results The above results show a positive relationship between foreign direct investment and industrial production. The elasticity of the index of industrial production with respect to foreign direct investments of 0. 14 indicates that one percent increase in foreign direct investment will lead to fourteen percent increase in the level of industrial output. The coefficient of explanatory variable of foreign direct investment is also significant, statistically at 8. 5 percent. The correlation coefficient of 0. 78 shows high positive relationship between foreign direct investment and index of industrial output. Also, a test of the significance of the intercept and gradient of our model is found to be statistically significant through a test of standard error. Thus given that: Ho:a = 0 H1 : a + 0, for significance of intercept And H0 : B= 0 H1 : B + 0, for significance of gradient. For t1 since the computed value of 936 is greater than 2. 042 (value from t table), we reject H0 and accept H, which states that the inflow of foreign direct investment is not associated with the rate of increase in index of industrial production. For t2 since the computed value of 7. 05 is greater than 2. 42 (value from t table), we reject H0 and accept H1 4. 0 CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 4. 1 CONCLUSION Given the above situation and the fact that Nigeria’s economic recovery efforts and growth requires major private sector investment in modern equipments that can industrialize the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole, then the Nigeria’s foreign investment policy should move towa rds attracting and encouraging more inflows of foreign capital by moving ahead with economic programmes that includes measures easier set-up and expansion of businesses. In the years ahead, Nigeria (and many other African and third world countries) in trying to pave way for more foreign direct investment faces greater problems, especially with poor external image problem and particularly the concept of European Economic Unity that includes Eastern Europe. This translate to the fact that investment flows that would ordinarily have come from countries of surplus capital like Western Europe to capital deficient countries like Nigeria would now be going to poor European Economic Communities which includes Eastern Europe. Except African countries are able to adopt new strategies, this development will further compound the crises of under-development confronting countries like Nigeria. A very important challenge of management in the coming years would therefore be the development of indigenous technology and entrepreneurial capabilities as the involvement of multinational companies in our economy may dwindle as a result of new bigger and attractive opportunities that are likely to emerge from Europe. With the up and down movement of foreign direct investment, Nigeria needs to juxtapose foreign investment with domestic investment in order to maintain high levels of income and employment. The problem therefore does not lie so much with the magnitude of investment flows to Nigeria as with the form in which it Is given. We could emphasize that foreign investment cannot contribute much to the economic development of Nigeria if it is directed primarily to capital supply than to investment projects. Foreign investment can be very effective if it is directed at improving and expanding managerial and labour skills. In other words, the task of helping a â€Å"poor beggar† can be made less generous and yet more fruitful if it is directed at teaching him a trade rather than giving him food to eat. The analysis presented in this work does not offer a simple version of multinational corporation investment in Nigeria because the picture in complex. Foreign direct investment can make a valuable contribution to third world countries’ development in general and Nigeria in particular, but not all foreign direct investment doe so. Greater flows of investment fund’s climate in the Nigeria economy are important but a good investment climate is not synonymous with what multinational corporation prizes most. In conclusion, in order to further improve the climate for foreign investment in Nigeria, the government must appreciate the fact that the basic element in any successful development strategy should be to encourage domestic investors first before going after foreign investors, considering the fact that they constitute the bulk of investment activities in the economy. Thus, the most effective strategy for attracting foreign investment is to make the Nigerian economy very attractive to Nigerian investors first. 4. 2 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS The following policies are hereby recommended to policy makers and government, if it is desired that foreign investment contribute to the growth and development of Nigeria. ? The Nigerian government should encourage the inflows of foreign direct investment and contact policy institutions that can ensure the transparency of the operations of foreign companies within the economy. In evaluating foreign direct investment, the screening process should be simplified and improved upon. For example, export investment projects that consistently generate positive contribution to national income can be screened separately and swiftly, while projects in import competing industries should be screened separately. ? Efforts should be made to engage in joint ventures that are beneficial to the economy. Joint ventures provide for a set of complementary or reciprocating matching undertakings, which may include a variety of packages ranging from providing the capital to technical cooperation. The government should intensify the policy to acquire, adopt, generate and use the acquired technology to develop its industrial sectors. ? Efforts should continue, this time with more vigor at ensuring consistency in policy objectives and instruments through a good implementation strategy as well as good sense of discipline, understanding and cooperation among the policy makers. ? The Nigerian government needs to come up with more friendly economic policies and business environment, which will, attracts FDI into virtually all the sectors of the economy. The Nigerian government needs to embark on capital project, which will enhance the infrastructural facilities with which foreign investors can build on. ? The current indigenization policy should be pursued to the letter as a way of preventing absolute foreign ownership in the key sector of the economy. ? The Nigeria government should also carry out the liberalization of all the sector of the economy so as to attract foreign investor s, so that the current efficiency and growth noticed in the telecommunication sector can also be enjoyed there. 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