...Mohamed Hassimiu Barrie 520 Quantitative Analysis September 16, 2012 Module 2 Answer to selecting two problems from my own experience, describing problems, the improving principle and the principle that I do not want to worsen. The scenario also wants me to make use of the Triz contradiction matrix to identify suggested principles to resolve the contradictions. As stated by economists, the desires of man are unlimited while the resources or means to satisfy these desires are limited in supply. This has been so since creation and it has never changed. Even though the world has advance nowadays through information technology and other new inventions, the desires of man keep advancing and complicating far above these inventions. The big companies are doing everything to satisfy the need of human beings but because of the complex nature of these needs they cannot be satisfied. The need to solve these ever ending problems of human beings have drive people to form organizations where people can come together with a common purpose to look at a specific problem and try to find solutions to them. For instance if we think about the common problems we face in our offices and our everyday life and how we strive to solve these problems, we will realize that life itself is about constantly finding solutions to ever ending problems. The important economic concepts of scarcity come into play here. By scarcity economics mean that the wants and desires of human beings are unlimited...
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...Change Management Summary-Harvard Business Review -Cracking the Code of Change - Submitted by: Moon Ji Yeon (1315101) Entrepreneurship, School of Global Service Submitted to: Professor Tae Woo Roh November 13, 2014 The article titled “Cracking the Code of Change” was written by Michael Beer and Nitin Nohria, Professors in Harvard Business School. The authors highly argued that it is important to understand the two basic theories of change to implement successful change. To support their ideas, the importance of combining two theories will be covered. The article also, described the contradictions that can be aroused when it comes to managing Theory E and Theory O simultaneously. Not only did this article point out the contradictions, but it also suggested how the company deal with them by showing some examples. Based on the content of article, the review will introduce about the conception of Theory E & Theory O and compare those two theories based on the six dimensions. In addition, contradictions and my review will be attached below. According to the article, there exist two archetypal theories of change. Those two theories are based on very opposite characteristics. They are directly related to ‘why and how changes should be made’. The first theory is called ‘Theory E’. This is considered a “hard” approach to change because it often becomes important news in the organization. This aims to create economic values;...
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...To what extent was Willhelmine Germany riddled with internal contradictions 1900-1912? After Germany was unified in 1871 the political structure of the second Reich was adopted as the constitution for the 25 German states. It was written by Bismarck in 1871 and full of contradictions and it favoured the aristocracy and the upper class. The constitution resembled a parliamentary democracy run by publilcly elected bodies such as the Reichstag and the Bundesrat. The political system was fragmented and there were disagreements in economic, social and military matters. This resulted in the internal hierarchy of the country contradicting the promise of a democracy. Willhelmine Germany was riddled with internal contradictions to quite a large extent as and one of the biggest contradictions in Germany was the constitution itself. Bismarck created the illusion of a parliamentary democracy but kept the power of the elite. The states kept their own government that were in charge of some atters such as suffrage and education. Foreign matters were still controlled by the Kaiser whilst the Bundesrat and the Reichstag had control over the law making process. The Bundesrat, the upper house, is a good example of the illusion of democracy that Bismarck had created; it was made up of 58 members nominated by the states assemblies. It could veto legislation if 14 or more members voted against a bill. Prussia held 17 of the 58 seats which ensured that no legislation was passed without Prussian...
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...Rev. Integr. Bus. Econ. Res. Vol 4(1) 469 Scope Change, Flexibility and the Management of Projects Daniel Adler University of Technology Sydney, Australia Daniel.adler@student.uts.edu.au ABSTRACT Managing scope on projects is universally recognized as a challenge for business. This paper will argue that the activity theory concept of contradiction is a useful method with which to re-frame debates around the origins of scope change that moves away from an either or approach to based on trade-offs between for example efficiency and flexibility. Scope change will be demonstrated to be a natural part of projects, and that managers who embrace it can benefit from the opportunities that arise. Using one live manufacturing project as a case example, the paper will conclude that both hard and soft paradigm stances in terms of project management can be accommodated under the activity theory banner of contradiction, giving rise to the potential transferability of this classification across all types of projects. Keywords: Project Management; Manufacturing; Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT); SME’s; Scope. 1. Introduction Scope change on projects can be very challenging for managers as it can be an admission that the original plans were inadequate, thus calling into question the expertise of the people who planned the project. Consequently when scope change results in time delays, budget increases, and disagreements about quality, this can often lead...
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...be that agreeable individuals are less aggressive in negotiating starting salaries and pay raises for themselves. Yet there is clear evidence that agreeableness is something employers value. Several recent books argue in favor of the “power of nice” (Thaler & Koval, 2006) and “the kindness revolution” (Horrell, 2006). Other articles in the business press have argued that the sensitive, agreeable CEO—as manifested in CEOs such as GE’s Jeffrey Immelt and Boeing’s James McNerney—signals a shift in business culture (Brady, 2007). In many circles, individuals desiring success in their careers are exhorted to be “complimentary,” “kind,” and “good” (for example, Schillinger, 2007). Take the example of 500-employee Lindblad Expeditions. It emphasizes agreeableness in its hiring decisions. The VP of HR commented, “You can teach people any technical skill, but you can’t teach them how to be a kindhearted, generous-minded person with an open spirit.” So, while employers want agreeable employees, agreeable employees are not better job performers, and they are less successful in their careers. One might explain this apparent contradiction by noting that employers value agreeable employees for other reasons: They are more pleasant to be around, and they may help others in ways that aren’t reflected in their job performance. While the former point seems fair enough—agreeable people are better liked—it’s not clear that agreeable individuals actually help people more. A review of the...
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...ARTICLE IN PRESS Long Range Planning -- (2010) ---e--- http://www.elsevier.com/locate/lrp Complex Business Models: Managing Strategic Paradoxes Simultaneously Wendy K. Smith, Andy Binns and Michael L. Tushman As our world becomes more global, fast paced and hypercompetitive, competitive advantage may increasingly depend on success in managing paradoxical strategies strategies associated with contradictory, yet integrated tensions. We identify several types of complex business models organizations will need to adopt if they are to host such paradoxical strategies. Managing complex business models effectively depends on leadership that can make dynamic decisions, build commitment to both overarching visions and agenda specific goals, learn actively at multiple levels, and engage conflict. Leaders can engage these functions through team-centric or leader-centric structures. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction By the late 1990’s, USA Today was the highest circulating national newspaper in the United States.1 CEO Tom Curley and his senior executive team had created a new category of newspapers by negotiating distribution deals with hotels and businesses to provide national news to educated and high-income business travelers, a demographic that yielded excellent advertising revenues. When widening access to the Internet and the emergence of novel news content channels such as Yahoo! and AOL promised to put the newspaper’s position under...
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...Despite writing and facilitating what is arguably one of the most relevant 21st century texts on the history of capitalism, Joyce Appleby retains some flaws: namely, her infatuation with contradiction. This love affair with discrepancy presents itself throughout the text, most notably perhaps in her discussion of labor activists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this case, her contradictions payed off, the extent of labor activist’s success was just that, contradictory at times, depending on place, the people fighting for it, historical precedent, and the ultimate good it would do for those in charge (whether that be in government, or business). Along with other countries in Europe, Great Britain saw a substantial uptick in...
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...Is Business Ethics an Oxymoron? Copyright: Daryl Koehn I have taught business ethics for ten years, and I would be rich woman today if I had a dollar for every person who has said to me, "Business ethics. Isn't that a contradiction in terms?" Sometimes businesspeople make this comment. More often, though, the skeptics are people outside of business. Those who actually work in business know that business ethics is a serious issue for a number of reasons. Businesses obviously care about the ethics of their managers and employees. Managers who embezzle large sums of money can destroy a firm. Sexual harassment by employees may lead to multi-million dollar legal settlements. A firm may be hit by substantial fines if employees lie to customers, misrepresenting the features or risks of products. Firms may want to maximize profits but they certainly do not want employees who try to line their pockets by whatever means possible. Firms equally care about the ethics of their customers. Retail stores suffer huge losses each year due to shoplifters. Unscrupulous customers buy pieces of clothing, wear them and then return them, thereby depriving stores of deserved revenue. When customers are very abusive, firms may find it difficult to retain employees willing to serve the public. In more general terms, businesses must care about ethics because businesses are part of a human community. Communities are held together by virtues and sound mores. As Aristotle puts it, a person without ethics is...
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...Industrial Relations in China :A Case Study of Foxconn Suicides Abstract As globalization affected the whole world, the contradiction between leaders and labors has become a world-wide problem. In China, a series of employees’ suicides attracted the public and media’s concentration to consider this problem. A Taiwanese electronics corporation, is acting as the protagonist in this issue and now earning an internationally notorious reputation of running sweatshops. This paper analyze the cause of ongoing trend of exploitation of workers in China with the example of Foxconn, and examine the reasons behind those suicides from the perspective of management, workers and related laws. Based on the fundamental information of China, to illustrate my own analysis about this case from ethical and legal point, and to criticize Foxconn’s management strategy, industrial relations and the gaps of Chinese laws. Keywords: workers’ exploitation, China, Foxconn, suicides, inustrial relations 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and significance of the topic With the rapid development of Chinese economy and the increasing globalization of business competition, the various types of enterprises in China have been booming development, rapid increases in the number and size of foreign investment in China to hire to do business, and further reform of state-owned enterprises increase, the private sector, the number and the number of employees of private enterprises in recent years, is also...
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...Adrienne Korson Marxism: For and Against Marxism is essentially a critique of Capitalism. In order to understand Marxism, one needs to evaluate the history of Marxism. Heilbroner described Marxism as being “inescapable” (Heilbroner, 15). Marxism is credited with the contribution for uncovering an unsuspected level of reality beneath the surface of capitalism. His mode of inquiry for uncovering the hidden reality of capitalism is through his own invented process of socioanalysis. Because of Marx’s legacy of revealing the reality of capitalism, Heilbroner compares him to Freud and Plato, all whose works are inescapable for the truths they have unveiled. Freud and Plato both unveiled hidden realities. Marx shared a further similarity in the sense that his “combination of insight and method permanently altered the manner in which reality would thereafter be perceived” (Heilbroner, 17). Marx’s works in his book Capital is still more relevant today than Adam Smith’s renowned work Wealth of Nations. Marx‘s book placed importance on technology and crises and social tension, and more importantly, undertakes the task of critiquing the political economy. However, the problem of Marxism is within trying to define it. Heilbroner believes that there exists a set of premises that can assist in defining Marxist thought, “so that any analysis that contains these premises can be properly classified as Marxist” (Heilbroner, 20). There are four main premises as described by Heilbroner; the...
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...Carnegie was a complex and confounding character. In many ways, his internal contradictions reflected the contradictions of capitalism, contradictions we in the world’s wealthy nations still live out, collectively, of course, but also individually – though mainly on a much smaller-scale than Carnegie! [The average yearly income at purchasing power parity of a Haitian is U.S $1,300, compared to an average yearly income at for a New Zealander of U.S $27,900 -Estimates, 2008, source CIA Fact book, retrieved April 2014]. Carnegie’s wealth was accumulated by luck, skill, vision, the exploitation and suffering of his workers, environmental degradation, bribery, lies & deception, monopoly power, industrial espionage, technological advancement, economies of scale and reinvestment, deal making & breaking. The money was not of importance, in a material sense, to Carnegie for most of his career he had, by his early thirties, achieved significant wealth it mattered only as a measuring stick for his obsessive competitiveness: Carnegie was man who desperately needed to win. Even at the time, he was equally praised and condemned (both with good reason) for his philanthropy: many could not forgive him for the way his wealth had been accumulated; many were concerned about the power to shape society that accumulated in the hands of such a rich man a power that Carnegie, a great egotist, did not hesitate to use; others praised the increasing breadth of his vision, and the good...
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...is applied in a broad range of area such as medicine, philosophy, physics, and other different areas of academics. Applications of Reductionism and Holistic principles were examined and defined in this paper. From the basis that SD as a Holistic/Reductionist methodology is deduced from a more differentiated general holistic nature of System Thinking (ST). Holism defined: All-encompassing view based on the knowledge the nature, functions, and properties of the components, their interactions, and their relationships to the whole (Business Dictionary.com). Reductionism defined: Material world-view in which complex phenomenon is broken down into conceptual chunks small enough to be analyzed or measured. The basis of all analysis reductionism is useful in understanding inanimate things or simple systems (Business Dictionary.com). In the business and technology world these words are very important. Their methodology defines the function of a business. Reductionism: A problem is addressed but studying the properties of its parts. Therefore, a complex system is broken down into its component part and each part is studied individually by various approaches. It bills the descriptions of system...
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...Belgium Brewing A paper submitted in partial fulfillment for the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Finance Table of Contents Page No. Introduction…………………………………………………….3 Environmental Issues…………………………………………..3, 4, 5 Strategic Philanthropy………………………………………….5, 6 Ethical and Social Responsible………………………………...6, 7, 8 Areas of Development………………………………………….8, 9 Conclusion………………………………………………………9, 10 Resources………………………………………………………. 11 Introduction: New Belgium Brewing Company started out with a simple bicycling through Belgium which also happens to be the home of some of the world’s finest ales. An American electrical engineer named Jeff Lebesch cruised around Belgium on in his fat-tired mountain bike pondering the thought whether or not he could produce the same high-quality beers back home in Colorado. Lebesch went back to his home in Colorado and started experimenting until his beers attained good recognition from some friends and so Lebesch decided to market them. New Belgium Brewing Company opened for business in 1991 as a small basement operation in Lesbesch’s home in Fort Collins but soon out grew that and now has its own custom-built facility. (Drever; Haiar, 2006) New Belgium started out as a small business with concrete core values and beliefs and as it grew bigger, it retained its business values. New Belgium’s most recognized characteristic is its image. New Belgium bases its company off...
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...------------------------------------------ PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA REGULATION OF PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA NUMBER : 111 of 2007 CONCERNING AMENDMENT TO REGULATION OF PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA NUMBER: 77 of 2007 CONCERNING THE LIST OF BUSINESSES CLOSED AND LIST OF BUSINESSES OPENED WITH RESERVATION IN THE INVESTMENT SECTOR WITH THE MERCY OF THE GOD ALMIGHTY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA, Considering: a. That, with the issuance of the Presidential Regulation Number 77 of 2007 concerning the List of Businesses closed and the List of Businesses opened to Investment, constituting the implementation of paragraph (4) of Article 12 and paragraph (1) of Article 13 of the Law Number: 25 of 2007 concerning business Investment, sectors the arrangement opened of closed and with reservation in such Presidential Regulation shall be made clearer in order to prevent -1- any possible misinterpretation from happening; b. that, with respect to point a above, in is necessary Regulation to stipulate an a Presidential to of the 2007 concerning amendment Number 77 Presidential Regulation concerning the List of Businesses Closed and the List of Businesses Opened to Investment; In view of: 1. Paragraph (1) of Article 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia of 1945; 2. The Law Number: 25 of 1992 concerning Cooperatives (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia to Number: State 116 of of 1992, the ...
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...is not appropriate for the team working, some others are prone to work as a team or in a team. The management of business/company should take into consideration these choices and preferences. In my opinion, the human resource branches of the business should regard or are regarding these preferences during the recruitment process. On the other hand, each individual who has become the employee after the recruitment process has an expectation including different approaches towards himself/herself. However, the management of the business/company has also some expectations, generally mentioned as ethics of the company, from the employees. Sometimes, these mutual expectations can not be met by other side and there might be contradiction. The contradiction between personal choices and business ethics might lead to unrest in the company, which causes to partial or whole inefficiency. Inefficiency, which leads to decrease in profits, is the least expected or wished thing, Since the main goal of the businesses (except non-profit organizations) is to make their profit increase, not decrease. Even though there seems to be contradiction between efficiencies of individuals and policies of businesses, that is not the case. The common agreement between the individuals and management can help to establish common ground. In such kind of situation, if the ethics of business/company are designed in accordance with the employees preferences and differences, then it would be very easy...
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