Management of Technology report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Management of Technology report - Essay Example Most companies will always need to keenly evaluate any technological product before actually accepting to use it. This arises because most of these products are always expensive and the risk creates the need to effectively evaluate the products before accepting to purchase or use them. In the introduction of a new product based on a new technology in a risk-averse market, the sales department must drastically change to suite the situation. The sales people will shift from taking orders to building relationships with the potential clients and becoming educators and coaches. They must keenly understand all the risks involved and work towards mitigating such risks. They must recognize that clients are always scared of change and must therefore be totally convinced on the importance of the new product. It is further important to share as much research as possible about the industry with the clients in order to give them your own perspective on why they need to adopt the new product. Indeed, technology has a rage of definitions all of which highlight a number of factors about its characteristics. In a way, technology is basically a type of knowledge which is usually embodied in a physical artifact such as a component, machine or a system. The difference between this knowledge and the general knowledge is the act that technology is applied and therefore focuses on know-how. Technology is usually associated with science and engineering. To enhance its effective application within a system, technology must be understood in the context of new product development and innovation. More importantly, it should be considered with respect to factors like organizational development and structures and knowledge networks. While technology can be very helpful for an organization, a failure to manage it properly can always be detrimental to the very organization. In this respect, it must be understood that managing technology involves both explicit and tacit knowledge.

OnDemand Group (ODG) Strategic report Assignment

OnDemand Group (ODG) Strategic report - Assignment Example OnDemand Group (ODG) is a medium size British firm, as derived from its employees – about 140, as the relevant criterion is set in the definition of medium enterprises established by the European Union authorities (Europa 2011); the firm has managed to develop a wide network of activities globally, by continuously expanding the range of its activities and by developing important agreements with competitors in foreign markets. Currently, ODG is a member of SeaChange International, a US Corporation, a fact that has enhanced the internationalisation efforts of the organization. In UK, the media and entertainment industry, in which ODG operates is highly developed; in the future, the ability of the firm to face the market pressures, both in the internal and the external market, will be related with the success of the internationalisation process, an initiative developed by the firm’s managers in order to secure the competitiveness of the organization.... This view is based on the foreign direct investment theories which emphasize on the high costs usually related to the internationalisation attempts of modern organizations; it is noted that these costs can be higher from the expected benefits; for this reason, it is suggested that monopolistic advantages are available to firms entering the global market, in order for the deficits caused from high costs – and entry barriers – to be controlled (Krist 2009, p.26). On the other hand, Prashantham (2008) explains the internationalization of firms by referring to their network relations; it is made clear that firms which have an expanded ‘network of customers, suppliers or support agencies worldwide’ (Prashantham 2008, p.34) are most likely to decide entering the global market, based on this network’s support. Certain firms are likely to choose internationalization in order to enter neighbouring countries; these countries, usually, have similar cultural cha racteristics with the country of origin, a fact that facilitates the internationalization process. This mode of internationalization is quite common in Scandinavian firms and it is known as ‘sequential development internationalization model’ (Svetlicic et al. 2003, p.11). At this point, reference should be made to the view of Jones (2009) who noted that the internationalization of a firm should be decided at an early phase of organizational life because in this way the expected benefits can be increased (Jones 2009, p.41). The review of the internationalization efforts of OnDemand Group leads to the assumption that the particular process, which has been in progress almost since the establishment of the organization, has

Against equality of opportunity Essay Example for Free

Against equality of opportunity Essay Rawls is a little to extreme to apply to television presenting as his theories but the point is still there that just because your talented in one area you shouldnt be put on a new level. People who were not successful in the genetic lottery should be helped to, this can clearly be applied to the success sport stars receive because of their bodies, not something everyone can choose.  Dworkin is similar Rawls, all should be treated with the same rules, Dworkin however places a much higher value on ambition rather than endowment. People should receive equality of resources not welfare, with society rewarding those with the ambition, those who make the effort. In the context of this essay therefore the sport star would be the one who benefits. They can be seen as making a huge effort and having the determination to succeed in an entirely competitive world, they therefore should get the job over someone who hasnt shown the same level of ambition or effort in their life. Cohen however finds this harder; he argues that ambitions and endowments are difficult to evaluate and to distinguish between. Ambitions are integrally related to endowments, those with intelligence and talents might have more ambition, just as much or they might have less, we do not know. As with Dworkin, the reason people do well is responsibility of choice. Sport stars are people who have a talent, the reason they do well is because they do not squander it, they make the right choice to do well in their life. The reason people are unsuccessful is down to irresponsible choices or sometimes bad luck. Sport stars therefore should get jobs in presenting if they chose to try that career and are good at it, at the same time however the successful do have a responsibility to those who are unsuccessful because of bad luck. Everyone in that situation should have an equal right to welfare and resources. This argues that sports stars should not just get the presenting jobs automatically, som etimes a retired star is better, sometimes the trained present will be more deserving of the success, each individual is different. As with the others, Rae we all begin with begin with an opportunity to equal means, but he believes this will lead to unequal prospects. He argues making merit a criterion for success will cause peoples differing talents and intelligence to make prospects for success unequal. Because some are much better than others in any given area (in this case sporting knowledge and ability) they will have the unfair advantage to do well in such careers at the expense of the disadvantaged that dont have those talents. This however, also means the people who get hired, for jobs such as sports television presenters, will be the people who are best for the job. Retired sport stars know their game through and through and this added level of knowledge puts them on a better standing, they can give more information and perhaps pass on a love of the sport which got them to where they now are. This therefore argues compared to someone just trained in presenting, sport stars are those who should be present ing the program as they can give more to the people watching. Despite this argument there are still successful programs like Soccer A.M which are not presented by stars and are still very popular, on the whole however with most current sports programs show a definite trend in using ex-stars to front the programs. Perhaps this is because the television companies believe the celebrity of the star will attract viewers, perhaps they feel the stars know all about the sport and so can present and discuss it better. Whatever the reasons there are many strong theories and arguments for both sides, showing the situation could be both fair and unfair in places it just depends on personal views on ambition, talent and choices. Bibliography Cavanagh, M. Against equality of opportunity, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2002.

Statement of Educational Philosophy Essay -- Education Teaching Teache

Statement of Educational Philosophy During my public school years, I played practically every role possible in the classroom. At one time or another, I was the most popular student, the kid everybody picked on, the genius, the dummy, the teacher’s pet, and the student that the teachers wished would stay home. After playing all these different roles, I’ve come to the conclusion that each one is needed for a well-rounded classroom. Each has something special and significant to offer to the classroom. I think that these students should be allowed to interact and influence each other in order to broaden their overall thinking. No one’s ideas should be disregarded or thought less of than anyone else’s, as is common place in many public schools these days. If the teacher, who is usually the one disregarding these ideas, would just take the time to listen, they too might learn something new or exciting. This is the reason I want to become a teacher. As you might suspect, I am a big believer in progressivism. While I do expect students to learn and build upon the basic skills taught in school (reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.), I also think that learning how to think for one’s self and learning to work with others is highly important and under stressed. As the leader in the classroom, I will design projects for the students to do, in which group cooperation is a necessity. Quite often, the students will be working in groups, as long as they are working toward the goal that they are supposed to be working toward. I will, however, monitor these group projects, in order to make sure that everyone is doing their part in the group effort. I think this will introduce two important qualities in life; t... ...e curriculum and that that I am expected to incorporate them into my lesson plans. I will do so, but probably in a different way than most other teachers. My overall goal as a teacher is to do my best to ensure that every student is prepared for the next grade level and beyond. As I said earlier, every student has something different to offer the classroom, but the classroom should have only one thing to offer each student; success. Success doesn’t just meaning receiving good grades though. Success could be improving behavior in the classroom or overcoming a social problem. Some students will have no problem with achieving this success, but for others it will be a real struggle. It is for these students, that I will not be satisfied with my efforts until I see that I have made an impact and, if nothing else, have put them on the road to success. Statement of Educational Philosophy Essay -- Education Teaching Teache Statement of Educational Philosophy During my public school years, I played practically every role possible in the classroom. At one time or another, I was the most popular student, the kid everybody picked on, the genius, the dummy, the teacher’s pet, and the student that the teachers wished would stay home. After playing all these different roles, I’ve come to the conclusion that each one is needed for a well-rounded classroom. Each has something special and significant to offer to the classroom. I think that these students should be allowed to interact and influence each other in order to broaden their overall thinking. No one’s ideas should be disregarded or thought less of than anyone else’s, as is common place in many public schools these days. If the teacher, who is usually the one disregarding these ideas, would just take the time to listen, they too might learn something new or exciting. This is the reason I want to become a teacher. As you might suspect, I am a big believer in progressivism. While I do expect students to learn and build upon the basic skills taught in school (reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.), I also think that learning how to think for one’s self and learning to work with others is highly important and under stressed. As the leader in the classroom, I will design projects for the students to do, in which group cooperation is a necessity. Quite often, the students will be working in groups, as long as they are working toward the goal that they are supposed to be working toward. I will, however, monitor these group projects, in order to make sure that everyone is doing their part in the group effort. I think this will introduce two important qualities in life; t... ...e curriculum and that that I am expected to incorporate them into my lesson plans. I will do so, but probably in a different way than most other teachers. My overall goal as a teacher is to do my best to ensure that every student is prepared for the next grade level and beyond. As I said earlier, every student has something different to offer the classroom, but the classroom should have only one thing to offer each student; success. Success doesn’t just meaning receiving good grades though. Success could be improving behavior in the classroom or overcoming a social problem. Some students will have no problem with achieving this success, but for others it will be a real struggle. It is for these students, that I will not be satisfied with my efforts until I see that I have made an impact and, if nothing else, have put them on the road to success.

Management on Middle Adulthood

Middle adulthood begins at the age of 40 – 60. This is a time when you can†t believe where the time went. It seems like just yesterday you were graduating from college, got married, and had children. Your children are now approaching young adulthood, pushing you into the next stage of life, middle adulthood. You look in the mirror and all the signs of middle age are starting to set in. You notice wrinkles, gray hair, flabby skin and you†re having trouble reading the menu. You begin to reassess you life. Are you happy with what you have accomplished in life so far? Do you have good family relationships? Is your career on track? Are you happy with yourself? There are many conflicts with both men and women during this period of life. One conflict very important to both men and women is the bodily issue. Our body weight starts to change. Fat seems to be redistributed to the hips, stomach and trunk; our complexions become drier and wrinkles start to appear. Our skin doesn†t seem to be as resilient as it was in our 20†³s and 30†³s. In women there is a drop in bone mass, due to the slow depletion of estrogen. Menopause is fast approaching, followed up with all the negative health complications that follow this phase. This is the beginning of a slowness of our psychomotor performance. Our reaction time to specific situations is not as quick, and our physical stamina is not as strong as it used to be. All these developments affect how men and women feel about themselves. Particularly women, begin to interpret these changes in a negative way. Some view themselves as sexually unattractive. Men, on the other hand, don†t seem to be as concerned about their physical appearance, since society has placed much of the physical importance on the women. This is a time where we need to accept these failings and move towards more important issues. This is also a time when men and women become more health conscious. We all know of the major diseases that cause premature deaths during middle adulthood, such as cancer and heart disease. When you†re a young adult, you don†t think about these health issues as you would during middle adulthood. There is more of a concern to take better care of our health, such as heathy diets, cardiovascular activity, resistance training, and not smoking. We might be better prepared for later adulthood, if we lead a healthy lifestyle. We start to realize our mortality. As most people live to be about 85, we realize that at 40, we†re almost half-way there. During this time, there may be turmoil in the family, marital distress, and general dissatisfaction with our lives. Many people during this time go through what we call the â€Å"mid-life crisis†. A mid-life crisis may be caused by many different issues. During the early 30†³s, the woman†s primary duty is child rearing and may also be pursuing a career. Most men focus on their job careers. Sometimes these two people are heading in the same direction, but may be on two different parallel roads. Men may realize their mortality and may express their turmoil and self doubts by reverting to adolescent type behavior. Some men may accept new relations with younger women as a way of dealing with their conflicts. Some women may also suffer from self doubt and their inevitable mortality during their 40†³s, but various studies have indicated that women can manifest a mid-life crisis during their early 30†³s, 40†³s and 60†³s. This is also a time when men and women assess their careers by questioning whether or not they still enjoy their career choices and their achievement in the chosen field. If not, maybe it†s time to make improvements, such as furthering your education, improving intellectually, which will make an individual more marketable. When women go through a mid-life crisis, their crisis evolves around interpersonal relationships in the family rather than aging. Men seem to be more involved with the aging factor. Women may go through the 'empty nest† syndrome. Their children are becoming young adults and leaving the ‘nest†. For some women, that have devoted most of their time to child rearing with a small amount devoted to career, this may be a very difficult time. This leaves just you and your husband. A time for reacquaintance and renewal of your relationship. As we progress into the 40†³s. we also see an emergence of more feminine/masculine aspects of self. Women start to take on a more masculine qualities, such as assertiveness and independence; while men tend to move towards a more calm, intimate status. I have touched upon some of the major conflicts of middle adulthood. For most people this can be a smooth transition and for others there may be difficulties. I believe that the 40†³s – 60†³s is a time to reassess your life, to check and balance, and to go forward to one†s later adulthood.

Sociological Conflict Theory

Teenage suicide, the third leading cause of death for those 13-18 years old, is a complexity of issues which culminates in a catastrophic action, the causation of which can only be partially examined or explained by the 3 main sociological theories. Functionalism would attempt to illustrate suicide as a working part of society—the weak and possibly the unsuccessful eliminate themselves, allowing society to devote resources to other issues. A con of this theory is that it does not address the issue; what motivated suicide may be a significant issue within society.Another con of this theory is that it fails to see global perspective and even a family view, thereby forcing society to use resources on family; this could be more costly than assisting the anomie. Another theory why teenage suicide is functional to our society is that failed suicide attempts give us invaluable information into the minds of those in this desperate state. A study was taken of teenagers who had attempte d suicide in British Columbia. It found common denominators such as problems in their family situations, the pressure to excel, and low self-esteem.The data collected shows an example of functionalism because it can prevent future suicides. Although suicide is perceived as a completely personal act, it creates negative latent functions that echo throughout society as a whole. When economic times are tough, some social welfare programs may be cut leading to higher suicide rates. One example is that in Europe suicide can affect how economic decisions are made by the government’s welfare programs (International Journal of Social Welfare Article published online: 9 FEB 2011). This ultimately decreases the size of the work force possibly negatively effecting economic recovery.The Marx Conflict Theory does an exemplary job in outlining the precursors for teenage suicide by exposing the underlying conflict existing between classes. This class conflict can be easily seen in American high school today. There are several factors which increase the risk of teenage suicide which vary slightly from survey to survey, but all include stress over relationships and/or performance expectations. The Conflict Theory, however, does little to address the underlying individual motivations involved in teenage suicides.For example, it does not address warning signs or the fact that a predominance of those committing suicide or attempting to commit suicide has at least one, often more than one emotional or psychological disorder. Children from the ages 15-24 are more prone for suicide due to the major changes that are occurring at this stage of life. There are many images and labels associated with teenage suicide, which coincide with the symbolic interactionism theory. Studies show that â€Å"goths† are more likely to commit suicide than â€Å"normal† teens (http://www. cvpy. org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/goth-teens-dhr. df). The reasons behind a teen's suicide or attempted suicide can be complex; some may even see it as a solution. Feelings of rejection, hurt, loss, anger, shame, or guilt can be contributing factors. Concern over disappointing friends or family members, feeling unwanted, unloved, victimized, or like they're a burden to others can lead to suicidal thoughts. Labeled teenage subcultures are often targets for bullying and teasing, which can lead to a teen’s suicide (http://alterophobia. blogspot. com/2008/05/tempest-smith-another-victim-of-hatred. html).Often, suicidal teens are seen as alienated or unduly stressed, unable to cope with the demands placed on them by their parents, peers, and the media. Within some subcultures, suicide itself may be seen as glamorous, noble, a way to lighten the burden on others, or a way to reject the norms of society. Each theory can contribute to the sociological causation and explanation of teenage suicidal tendencies; none stand alone in providing a thorough explanation of t his societal woe, though symbolic interactionism provides the most adequate examination of the issue, due to the many images and labels that are associated with teenage suicide.

Bless Me Ultima essays

Bless Me Ultima essays In the book Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolpho Anaya, there were two families represented, the Marez family and the Lunas family. These two families were very different, but were brought together by the marriage of Gabriel Marez and Maria Lunas. Through the eyes of their son Antonio one may see the comparison of the two. The differentiation of these two families is very clearly noticeable, such as in their personalities, the expression of their religion, and their everyday ways of life. One can easily see the difference in their personality even down to the most basic things. The Marezs are very free spirited, they do not like to have to worry about things. They can be seen mainly riding their horses around the llano. An example of this is shown in the book where Gabriel Marez speaks of his move to Guadeloupe at the birth of his son, Antonio. In this he says, "The move lowered my father in esteem of his compadres, the other vaqueros who clung tenaciously to their way of life and freedom." On the other hand the Lunas are more down to earth. They are farmers, so they stay in one place to grow their crops, and are very land oriented. They concentrate more on work and less on the free will that can be seen in the Marez family. As far as religion goes the Lunas are far more religious than the Marez family. Religion plays a very important part in the life of the Lunas. They believe highly in God and everything else that is involved in the Roman Catholic religion. Maria Lunas is shown to be praying to the Virgin Mary on many different occasions in the book. The Lunas family has been encouraging Antonio to become a priest throughout his life, to the point that he believes he is obligated too. This is clearly shown in the book where Antonio states, My mother was a devout Catholic, and so she saw the salvation of the soul rooted in the Holy Mother Church, and she said the world would be sav ...