...Outliers is at once Gladwell’s least and most ambitious book. Unlike The Tipping Point and Blink, which took their counter intuitiveness to extremes, the conventional wisdom Gladwell seeks to demolish in Outliers isn’t even really CW anymore. Is there anyone who still believes that “success is exclusively a matter of individual merit,” which is how Gladwell describes his straw man? And yet, as Gladwell examines all the things other than individual merit—the “hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies”—that produce hockey stars and software billionaires and math geniuses, he builds a brief for a massive reorganization of social structures and institutions that will give people who don’t have those advantages and opportunities and legacies an equal shot at success. Consider, for instance, those hockey stars. Relying on the work of a Canadian psychologist who noticed that a disproportionate number of elite hockey players in his country were born in the first half of the year, Gladwell explains what academics call the relative-age effect, by which an initial...
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...in two along an already-weakening fissure largely hidden from view until laid bare by a direct hit from the financial crisis. Across the developed world, most particularly the US, the UK and the Eurozone, decades of stagnant real wages, accumulating debt and flagging innovation had left the middle class acutely vulnerable to the financial storm that swept the globe. In the wake of the Great Recession, a sizable stratum of spent consumers has materialized where an aspirational middle used to be. Overlooked—or just ignored— during the boom preceding the global recession was clear evidence that the position of the middle class in developed markets was increasingly fragile. The New York Times reported in early 2008 that “[t]he European dream is under assault, as the wave of inflation sweeping the globe mixes with this continent’s long-stagnant wages.” A recent report from the UK-based Resolution Foundation Commission on Living Standards documents the failure of wages in developed markets since the mid-1970s to keep pace with economic growth, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Wages as a Percentage of National Income for OECD Countries 60% 55% 50% 1970-74 1975-79 1980-84 1985-89 1990-94 1995-99 2000-04 2005-08 Source: James Plunkett, Growth Without Gain? The Faltering Living Standards of People on Low-to-Middle Incomes, Resolution Foundation Commission on Living Standards, May 2011. 3 Quickening the Pace In the US, as Figure 2 reflects, inflation-adjusted...
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...shareholder who buys based off of nonpublic knowledge. When one person buys a stock because of nonpublic information, there is also a seller of that same stock that may have not made that sell decision if they knew the same nonpublic information, and vice versa. In addition, future buyers of that particular stock are going to pay inflated prices compared to the investor with insider information because he had access to that information first. Transparency is a big part of keeping the markets balanced, which means that all investors have the same information available to them. For example, it would not be fair if one student had the test bank for a test while the rest of the students did not. This would ruin the curve and the balance of the class grades, just like having insider information ruins the balance of the markets. The markets are already lopsided because individual investors have to compete with large institutional investors. If insider trading was legal, the average citizen would not put any money in the markets because the...
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...over the last several years, proactively been applying itself to a fundamental question of identifying the drivers of success for the next 10 years. Infosys has been deeply concerned about leveraging its current strong position, to evolve into a much stronger company, so as to ensure continued growth and success in the long-term. Main drivers that have contributed to drive the top management of Infosys to move up the value chain are below: * International Competitiveness * Overseas Expansion * Outsourcing Strategy * International Organization * Indian Brands * Indian Multinationals 2. Provide a mapping of the value chain in the IT services business. There could be many such value chain maps. Which of these are most appropriate for Infosys to focus upon its quest to move up the value chain? Value Chain Value Chain...
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...aims at reaching the B1 level of proficiency in Business English. However, regardless of your previous field of study, no exemption will be granted for following the Start-Up English module as we thoroughly prepare you for all other Business English modules you may have in the future. The module consists of seven two-hour lessons in which you will be able to display your language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Whether or not you have the necessary knowledge to meet the required level of proficiency will be tested in a written (multiple choice) examination during the exam period. The final grade must be at least 5.5 for you to be awarded the 2 credits available for this module. Again, this module serves as the starting point for all English courses at the Windesheim Business School, irrespective of your field of study. We believe it is of vital importance to not only acquire passive language skills but also practise and acquire active skills in English. Make sure that you actively participate in the English classes to prepare yourself for the final exam in which both of these skills will be tested. We hope this is a challenging experience and that you will do your utmost to come “up to scratch”. Good luck! July 2013, Dinand Warringa Marianne van Vlierden Ellen Keates August 2014, Revised by Bas de Leve 2. Study guide...
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...Glossary of Sociological Terms |11-Plus Exam |Examination introduced with the 1944 Education Act, sat by all pupils in the state sector| | |at the age of 11. If they passed they went to the selective Grammar School, or if they | | |failed to the Secondary Modern School. This exam still exists in some counties such as | | |Kent and also in Northern Ireland. | |12-Plus Exam |Exam made available only to a minority of 'high-flyers' in Secondary Modern schools, | | |offering a late chance to go to Grammar School at the age of 12. | |'30-30-40 society' |A term associated with Will Hutton to describe an increasingly insecure and polarised | | |society. The bottom 30 per cent is socially excluded by poverty from the rest of society.| | |The next 30 per cent live in fear and insecurity of falling into poverty. Only the top 40| | |per cent feel secure and confident. ...
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...mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu, or mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kim, W. Chan. Blue ocean strategy: how to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant / W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-59139-619-0 (hardcover: alk. paper) 1. New products. 2. Market segmentation. I. Mauborgne, Renée. II. Title. HF5415.153.K53 2005 658.8 02—dc22 2004020857 The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives Z39.48–1992 To friendship and to our families, who make our worlds more meaningful ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Contents Preface Acknowledgments ix xiii Part One: Blue Ocean Strategy 1 2 Creating Blue Oceans Analytical Tools and Frameworks 3 23 Part Two: Formulating Blue Ocean Strategy 3 4 5 6 Reconstruct Market Boundaries Focus on the Big Picture, Not the Numbers Reach Beyond Existing Demand Get the Strategic Sequence Right 47 81 101 117 viii...
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...the world. A more stable political system and currency, coupled with vast mineral wealth of the country make Brazil a 'must' for all companies with truly global ambitions. With a population of 194 million, Brazil represents the fifth largest market opportunity in the world — after China, India, Indonesia and the USA. It is also the fifth largest country in the world by geographic size. An IMF (International Monetary Fund) report indicates that Brazil leads all other South American countries in terms of infrastructure and technological development. Combine these facts with the stabilising economic and political landscape — (the twin nightmares of corruption and hyper-inflation ravaged the country for decades) — and it is easy to see why Brazil attracts a higher percentage of total global foreign direct investment year on year. However, anybody wishing to do business with Brazil and the Brazilians should be aware of the various cultural and structural barriers which might confront them. Probably the most pervasive barrier encountered by the unwary traveller would be the 'Custo Basil' or the 'Brazil Cost'. This term refers to the very real extra costs of doing business in Brazil — corruption, governmental inefficiency, legal and bureaucratic complications, excessive taxation, poor infrastructure, inflation etc. Although this 'costa' is difficult to define and has lessened in recent years, it remains real and the cause of great frustration for international business people. ...
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...“melting pot,” and “Salad bowl” theories This paper will examine the theories of the “melting pot” and “salad bowl” and also look at “racial democracy” in Brazil. Secondly, this paper will look at cultural assimilation using these theories. Finally it will look at the myths of these theories and how they have affected the American and world societies. Have Americans really reached either the “melting pot” or “salad bowl” theories of cultural assimilation? Is Brazil really a “racial democracy” or is this also a myth and how does this differ with America? The United States of America is one of the most culturally diverse nations on earth. In 2009, Michael C. Lemay states, “the United States of America is arguably the most ethnically and racially diverse nation on earth”. Who is an American, I am using the term Americans to be defined as individuals who were native born, naturalized citizens, and individuals who consider themselves Americans from the United States of America. Generally speaking most Americans grow up, in ethnically homogeneous communities (Putnam, 2007) vice the differing theories of “melting pot” or “salad bowl.” While Americans live and work in communities that are ethnically and culturally diverse the issues of intolerance and prejudice against various ethnic and racial backgrounds has been a plague throughout much of the United States history. Such as the Grandfather clause or Block busting. The Grandfather Clause is a device...
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...Transformation Series 2015 - Case INNOVATION or INNOVATION PRELUDE Business history has many examples of companies redefining the boundaries of business through break-through innovation, there are also those who made the tragic mistake of missing ‘gamechanging innovations’ in their industry thereby ending up with inexorable commercial disasters. In each case, the disaster occurred, as the Wall Street Journal, points out, “not because of ‘bad’ management, but because they followed the dictates of ‘good’ management. They listened closely to their customers. They carefully studied market trends. They allocated capital to the innovations that promised the largest returns. And in the process, they missed disruptive innovations that opened up new customers and markets for lower-margin, blockbuster products.” The threat of disruption, on many an occasion, isn’t perceived as a threat! The disruptor appears to the incumbent to be doing the incumbent a favor by relieving the incumbent of its ‘least valuable’ customers. In due course, the disruptor moves upstream and relieves the incumbent of its most valuable customers. Seemingly, no industry is spared: steel, computers, telephony, photography, stock markets; the list goes on. Will it be Banks next? Burdened with legacy systems, infrastructure cost and increasingly complex security issues, banks are dealing with a double whammy: grappling with intense regulatory scrutiny as a result of a prior “missteps,” while a generation of disruptors is eating...
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...ENCOUNTERING SOCIAL CLASS DIFFERENCES AT WORK: HOW “CLASS WORK” PERPETUATES INEQUALITY Using a microsociological lens, we develop a theoretical framework that explains how social class distinctions are sustained within organizations. In particular, we intro- duce the concept of “class work” and explicate the cognitions and practices that members of different classes engage in when they come in contact with each other in cross-class encounters. We also elucidate how class work perpetuates inequality, as well as the consequences of class work on organizations and those at the lower end of the organizational hierarchy. By examining microlevel interactions and how they become institutionalized within organizations as prevailing rules and practices, we contribute to both institutional theory and the sociology of social class differences. We encourage future research on social class and discuss some of the challenges inher- ent in conducting it. Several contemporary developments—includ- ing the financial crisis of 2008 (Rajan, 2010), the shrinking of the middle class (Leicht & Fitzger- ald, 2007), and the rise of the “new poor” in America (Cohen, 2010)— have reinjected the is- sue of social class differences and inequality (Stiglitz, 2012) into contemporary discourse. Within organization studies, however, social class has received only scant consideration (cf. Castilla & Benard, 2010; Dacin, Munir, & Tracey, 2010; Scully & Blake-Beard, 2006). While two re- cent exceptions...
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...Comprehension in Translation If we ask people who know English whether they understand the following sentence “This car is very powerful” they all say they do. Their comprehension is based on two elements. One is their knowledge of the words and grammar of the English language. But this is not enough. In different contexts and in different situations the word “powerful” may mean different things: “ a powerful car “ in the advertisement is not the same as “ a powerful method” for solving a problem , or “a powerful man” in felling trees, though the three “powerfuls” do not have smth in common. Similarly, the word “car” can mean not only an automobile , but also according to Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language it means “ a streetcar; an elevator cage; a part of the balloon which carries people and equipment” . “Understanding” the above sentence means that those hearing or reading it can imagine automobile, probably big, that can run very fast. This is where the second element of comprehension comes in: besides knowledge of the language comprehension implies knowledge of the outside world, called extralinguistic knowledge or encyclopedic knowledge or background knowledge. Comprehension varies from non-comprehension to full comprehension. Total non-comprehension of verbal statements is extremely rare, since the situation and/or content almost always say smth about its meaning. The problem of full comprehension is rather more difficult to deal...
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...Crime and Deviance AN INTRODUCTION TO CRIME AND DEVIANCE Definitions * Crime- An act which breaks the criminal laws of society. * Deviance- refers to the behaviour which is disapproved of by most people in society and which does not conform to society's norms and values. TOPIC 1: FUNCTIONALIST, STRAIN AND SUBCULTURAL THEORIES Durkheim's functionalist theory: * Socialisation and Social control are two key mechanisms which allow social solidarity to occur in society. The inevitability of crime: * Functionalists see too much crime as destabilising society. * They also see crime as inevitable and universal- Durkheim, 'crime is normal... an integral part of all healthy societies.' * There are two reasons why C&D are found in all societies; 1.Not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values. 2. Different groups develop their own subculture and what the members of the subculture regard as normal, mainstream culture may see as deviant. * Durkheim also discusses that in modern societies there is a tendency towards anomie (normlessness). The diversity of modern societies means that the collective conscience is weakened, and this results in higher levels of C&D. The positive functions of crime: * For Durkheim, crime also fulfils two important functions; boundary maintenance and adaptation. * Boundary Maintenance- In Durkheim's view, the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society's shared rules and reinforces...
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..._____ Professors Julio J. Rotemberg and John T. Gourville prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright © 2009, 2010, 2011 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800- 545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School. JULIO J. ROTEMBERG JOHN T. GOURVILLE New York Life and Immediate Annuities In July 2009, Ted Mathas, the chairman and CEO of New York Life Insurance Company (NYL), was satisfied with the bet he had placed on immediate annuities back in 2002. An immediate annuity was a financial product sold to a current or soon-to-be retiree. In the annuity’s simplest form, a 65-year-old person would give NYL a lump sum, say $100,000. In return, NYL would provide that person with a guaranteed income stream, say $650 a month, for the rest of his or her life. In 2002, immediate annuities were a somewhat neglected $120 million annual business for NYL. But because Americans were living longer and because corporations were cutting back on their retirement benefits, Mathas saw immediate annuities as the ideal vehicle to...
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...try to clarify what we had in mind when framing a few of the knottier questions, we won’t be offering you a list of “right” answers. Instead, regard this manual as your personal support group. Since the publication of the first edition, we’ve had the chance to learn from the experiences of hundreds of instructors nationwide, and we’d like to use this manual as a forum where we can share some of their concerns, suggestions, experiments, and hints. We’ll begin with a roundtable on issues you’ll probably want to address before you meet your class. In the first section of this manual, we’ll discuss approaches to Rereading America and help you to think through your class goals. We’ll examine some options for tailoring the book to fit your interests and the time constraints of your term. We’ll also take up some pedagogical issues. We’ll offer advice on how to broach particularly hot topics in your class. We’ll explore in some detail how to get the most out of journal assignments and learning logs. And...
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