Solve case studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Solve studies - Case Study Example The qualities Google possesses; creativity, passion, taking risks, self-motivation, and self-management successfully attract the best talent around. This culture of controlled chaos is maintainable, although it may suffer if Google’s management begins to prioritize profits in the long term over innovation by being too rigid. Without a hierarchy, Google maintains teamwork and coordination across its engineering, marketing, product management, operations, and sales divisions (Marion, 2013). However, with increasing employee numbers and the hiring of mid-level managers, it is possible that they could suffer from international inconsistency, lack of visibility, delayed decision-making and increased bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is one threat to the maintenance of the organized chaos culture. As Google continues to grow and expand, they may have to come up with new guidelines and policies for the management of their employees, which could hurt innovation (Marion, 2013). Bureaucracy may increase if the diverse employee base does not comply with the vision and mission at Google. For this reason, they may have to control these elements via new policies and procedures, which could impact on other groups’ agility. Internal tools and meetings could become impossible to carry out as the geographical locations become more diverse and unfeasible. Decision-making may also be affected as the employee base increases, especially given the unfeasibility of consensus and open discussion. They could also lose the ability to oppose decisions, take risks, and critique the decisions (Marion, 2013). Achieving cross-functional decisions may prove harder, while they may also stall the mechanism of innovation. The culture of organized chaos may also lead to decreased visibility as workers spending a fifth of their working hours on project ideas may lead to role duplication. Reinvention of the wheel, productive time loss, and replication of effort may lead to decreased visibility due to the difficulty of maintaining an employee base that is multi-cultural (Marion, 2013). A growing and expanding employee base makes it more difficult to establish visibility. Finally, Google could suffer from decreasing international consistency as it becomes harder to attract and retain talent at locations across the world. Exporting their culture to other locations and implanting it may clash with local perceptions, tastes, and cultures. In the international context, it will become more difficult for Google to balance cultural homogeneity and diversity (Marion, 2013). These aspects are the threats to the maintenance of Google’s culture of organized chaos. However, their current organized chaos culture suits their innovative nature with the generation of ideas. Google’s founders are still committed to the fostering of an innovative culture in the company. However, while their culture works well in the attraction of talent, they may find it harder to pursue with r egards to demand and supply market dynamics (Marion, 2013). As long as Google is able to maintain collaboration, competence, control, and cultivation of values for customer enrichment, business diversification may not hurt their organized chaos culture and the innovation it breeds. They also need to diffuse their current structure of governance, organizational processes, and culture of innovation to new areas of acquisition, while also adapting to change in

The Big Sleep Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Big Sleep - Movie Review Example The detective is a cynical, smart, professional investigator who mouths witty dialogues and works on cases, on being hired. The man who hires the detective is rather old and fragile in exercising his courage and efforts to put an end to the troublesome threat calls. The old man's daughters are extremely good looking girls, who are thoroughly spoilt and headstrong. There also lies a suspicious side to the older daughter, besides some other dubious characters of the novel. All this constitute the typical characterization based on the Hard-Boiled formula. c. Setting: The setting of the novel is again typically Hard-Boiled. The first few scenes showcase the encounter of the detective with the person who proposes to hire him. This takes place in a rather rich, gloomy huge bungalow, which gives the introductory feeling into the storyline consisting of a mystery and subsequently, a detective solving it. Later, the setting shifts to one oppressive crime scene to another, which mark the collection of clues and solving of the case. "...winding down curved rain swept streets, under the steady drip of trees, past lighted windows in big houses in ghostly enormous grounds, vague clusters of eaves and gables and lighted windows high on the hillside, remote and inaccessible, like witch houses in a forest. I came out at a service station glaring with wasted light, where a bored attendant in a white cap and a dark blue windbreaker sat on a stool, inside the steamed glass, reading a paper... on a night like this you could grow a beard waiting for a taxi." Label the characteristics in the passage. a. The above lines are written in first person, which is a characteristic of the Hard-Boiled formula. b. The detective is the speaker or narrator, here, which again is typical of the Hard-Boiled genre. c. The detailing is rather precise with vivid and picturesque descriptions, following a rhythmic pattern of speech, which is how Hard-Boiled specialist writers write. d. We get an insight into the lighting of the whole setup, which is dark, gloomy with occasional neon lighting. This, again, is a characteristic of the Hard-Boiled formula. e. The last line, "on a night like this you could grow a beard waiting for a taxi." Is rather witty and a wise cracking, which is the characteristic linguistic style used by the characters of the Hard-Boiled fiction formula. Do you think the above passage you've copied is well-written Why or why notPersonally, I feel the above passage is written quite well. It gives the reader very picturesque details and descriptions which helps him/her imagine and follow the occurrences effectively. The fictitious novel is not a visual medium and therefore, descriptions help readers imagine the scene beautifully and the writer has succeeded in this. Following the lines of description, the writer is wise enough to break the monotony

Gay Lesbian Parents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gay Lesbian Parents - Essay Example That reality suggests that the children of gay and lesbian couples can experience healthy and normal psychological development were it not for societal tendencies towards discrimination, on the one hand, and the innate tendency of children to react negatively to uniqueness, or difference, on the other (Ahmann, 1999). In other words, while homosexual parenting does not, in itself, limit a child's capacity to undergo a normal psychological development process, the fact that it unfolds within societies which, despite public statements to the contrary, are innately protective of the traditional family structure and biased against same-sex families, detrimentally impacts the child's opportunities for healthy development. Through a review of the arguments on either side, the research shall attempt to prove the stated argument. Western societies, despite the prevalence of laws upholding homosexual rights tend towards negative conceptualisations of homosexuality. The anthropologist, D. Gilmore (1990) asserts that societal acceptance of sexual orientations is ultimately defined by the prevalent culture and cannot be dictated by laws. Insofar as Western societies, whether as a consequence of historic or religious traditions, define homosexuality as a practice which falls from without the bounds of normalcy, if not outright abnormal, it is inherently incapable of comprehending the possibility of children of same-sex parents as anything other than underprivileged. The fact that this is not necessarily the case and that the aforementioned perception is ultimately predicated on the dominant culture's perception of homosexuality as abnormal is validated by evidence which effectively proves that cultures which perceive of homo and hetero-sexuality as equally normal, have no prejudices against the concept of same-se x parenting (Gilmore, 1990). In other words and as further emphasised by Halwani (2002), culture dictates perceptions of homosexuality and, as a result, invariably affects the children of same-sex couples. The fact that culture, concomitant with traditional definitions of marriage and family, inexorably influence perceptions of the stated relationship and, as such impact the psychological development of the children concerned, is evidenced in a plethora of commentary on the phenomenon. The law, for example, clearly defines marriage and the family unit which is subsequently formed as a "union of man and woman uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family" (Johnston, n.d.). Religion, similarly defines marriage and family, consequently maintaining same-sex unions and families to be a harmful deviation from the norm with incalculably detrimental psychological effects on the children concerned (Richardson, 2004). In other words, there exists a predominately negative perception of the same-sex family unit insofar as culture, religion and the law combine to define it as abnormal. That in itself will limit the possibilities of healthy psychological development for children with gay or lesbian parents. Psychologists have determined the existence of a strong likelihood, as evidenced by empirical fact, that children who grow up with same-sex parents can

Legal Advice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legal Advice - Essay Example Warren Buffet is the chairman and CEO of the company and is greatly responsible for a number of investment initiatives. From the start of his business at Berkshire Company, he paid more attention to long-term investments in openly quoted stocks. However, presently his focus has shifted to purchasing entire companies (Sharon, Steven & Corinne, 2002). Currently, the company holds a number of companies comprising of confectionary, marketing, railway, home fittings. It manufactures detergents and is involved in the sale of jewelry. In addition, Berkshire is involved in newspaper printing, production and supply of uniforms as well as numerous local electric and gas utilities. According to a report released by Forbes Global in the year 2000, Berkshire Hathaway was ranked 18th largest public corporation worldwide (Carroll, 2009). Berkshire Hathaway Company revealed their plans to invest a total of $5 billion in in the Bank of America on August 25th, 2011. The Bank of America was at the time experiencing hard economic times. They had been having disputes with regard to how foreclosure practices were managed. Ultimately, this implied that they were also having concerns with their mortgage investors. In total, they had approximately $ 8.8 billion loss and a huge amount of it accredited to the disbursement they made with the mortgage financiers. In addition, the bank of America was also planning to fire several workers. Following the announcement by Berkshire Hathaway to invest in this bank, the shares increased by over 25%. The bigger part of Berkshire India is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. According to a statement released by the Company, another plan with regard to this subsidiary corporation is to sell and supply common insurance merchandises in India via its operational distribution portal. Their preliminary emphasis will be on motorized insurance. However, the firm regularly updates its business model so as to meet the necessities of the fast developing Indian insura nce sector. In addition, the firm will advance into health, life as well as travel insurance if they the market turns out receptive as stated further by the statement (Braem, 2009). However, for successful implementation of their plans, there are business regulations that will be observed.Naturally, administrative laws are related to the government as well as the manner its organizational units work. In this perspective, administrative law consists of three precise elements. There are; replication of businesses as per the recommended style, coordination of dissimilar efforts into one bigger organization and continued daily operations of the firm in smooth process to help achieve their set objectives (Twomey& Jennings, 2010). For Berkshire Hathaway Company to operate successfully, they will require licenses and permits that are necessary for conducting their business online or e-commerce business, just like all other corporations. A state business permit is the major document needed for the purposes of taxation and carrying out other basic business operations (Miller and cross, 2013). The firm will also be required to pay sales tax for conducting business online as per the state regulations (Bentley, Galliher & Ferguson, 2007). Berkshire Hathaway Company is advised to comply with the available laws and regulations as operating without license could lead to fine of closure by the regulating authorities. This determines which elements of

Elastic and Inelastic Demand Essay Example for Free

Elastic and Inelastic Demand Essay I would say that when I think of a company that has inelastic demand on their products it would have to be Apple. Apple charges above average prices for their phones, computers and music players all with the marketing strategy of superior quality. When a company achieves inelastic demand it is because of two possible reasons. They have either developed highly differentiated products or brands or they have achieved a monopoly on a market or product category. (Tedesco, 2011) If you look at Apple they have a combination of both. You wouldn’t necessarily label Apple as a monopoly but they do possess a large amount of influence on how other tech companies develop their products. This is shown in various lawsuits that have been brought by Apple against other tech companies for patent violations. Apple has however developed superior products in comparison to others. Apple has marketed their high-end electronic devices to the point that they can introduce similar devices every few months and make people think that they are improved enough over the older models to constitute a needed upgrade. The marketing is brilliant. If I was talking to the president of Apple about what their pricing strategies should be I would bring up the possibility of a downgraded model to reach the customer base who can’t afford $600 every few months for a new phone or tablet. Even though Apple has monopolized on the higher income customer base they have untapped potential in the lower to middle income customer base. Cell phones are deemed as a necessity by many and if the price is right most consumers will spend the money on a product that is considered superior to others in the marketplace. While researching different articles for this assignment I came across an article about the elastic demand of sports tickets, especially Super Bowl tickets. When I was trying to think of a company with elastic demand, the NFL never crossed my mind but the NFL is a profit generating entity. The article cited the difference in ticket prices in tier seating between the Super Bowl in New York City and the Super Bowl in New Orleans. The prime examples showed that club-level tickets at MetLife Stadium would cost $1400 more than the similar seats at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. The article attributed this to the marketability of the venue. The author stated that most sports teams price their ticket inventories in the inelastic portion of their demand function because,† teams charge too low a price to maximi ze ticket  revenues. Part of the strategy in doing this is to ensure maximum attendance so as to ensure greater revenue streaming from complementary purchases associated with sporting attendance†¦such as concessions, parking, and merchandise.† (Rishe, 2013) If I were to talk to the president of the NFL I would suggest putting a cap on Super Bowl tickets so that a more diverse group of fans could attend the Super Bowl. As of now the only fans that attend a Super Bowl are the fans with a large amount of expendable income. If tickets were more attainable by the â€Å"common† fan they would generate as much money but also accommodate a much wider consumer market. Bibliography Rishe, P. (2013, September 19). SuperBowl XLVIII Pricing: A Lesson In Demand Elasticity. Retrieved September 27, 2014, from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2013/09/19/super-bowl-xlviii-pricing-a-lesson-in-demand-elasticity/ Tedesco, T. (2011, May 20). View from Mount Olympus. Retrieved September 26, 2014, from piworld.com: http://www.piworld.com/blog/inelasticity-demand-your-printing-services-pricing-strategy-tj-tedesco Tucker, I. B. (2013). Survey of Economics (8th ed.). Mason, Ohio, United States of America.

Final Team Case Essay Example for Free

Final Team Case Essay Case Background Co-Founders Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett started Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 1939 inside a small one car garage behind Packard’s house. The two finished their studies as electrical engineers at Stanford University in 1934 and became close friends. They decided to start their own business and make a run for it†, formalizing their partnership January 1, 1939. (The HP Way). They decide the company’s name with a coin toss that one car garage became the office of Hewlett-Packard. At the time it was started HP had $538 in working capital and little more than a couple hundred dollars worth of assets. It was in that garage that HP’s legacy was born, when Bill and Dave created the first HP product – the Audio Oscillator HP200A. Following the invention of their first product, the pair moved into a small building down the street from their famed garage and hired their first employees. â€Å"Walt Disney Studios placed an order for eight HP 200B audio oscillators for the movie Fantasia—HP’s first big sale.† (High Tech: Winning Success In Silicon Valley). Another milestone was reached in 1940 when HP sent out its first ever Christmas bonus in the amount of $5. This Christmas bonus set the tone for all bonuses to come, as it quickly turned into a production bonus and soon helped to shape the company wide profit sharing plan that HP adapts. In 1942 HP builds its first ever company owned building, and in order to protect themselves build it so that it can be easily converted to a convenience store should the electronics industry fail. One of the most important milestones for the company was reached in 1947, as HP became a true Corporation. HP also caught attention for their Management by Walking Around and Open Door Policy programs. In 1957 HP had its initial public offering of stock and wrote their first set of corporate objectives, which set the tone for their management style as a company. In 1958 HP made its first â€Å"sizeable acquisition when they purchased F.L. Moseley Company†, which further expanded their product line. ( Maddox). The late 50’s and 60’s were an extremely important time for HP as a company as it was during this time that they became a global company by building a manufacturing plant in Germany. It was also during this time that they created their Division Separation structure where they separated profit and loss accountability  between divisions. This division was thought to help keep employees nimble while fostering motivation and creativity. During the 60’s HP further developed itself by entering into the medical field with the purchase of Sanborn Company. They also had their stock listed on the New York and Pacific Stock exchanges and were listed in Fortune 500’s top companies at 460. It was also during the 60’s that HP created its first computer, which was used in house to control company tests. HP also creates their first scientific calculator around this time, which also gained critical success. Further helping promote HP products Dave Packard was appo inted U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense in 1969. In 1977 John Young became president of HP replacing Bill Hewlett. In the early 80’s HP took much more interest in the personal computing industry as it was during this time that they create the first mass marketed personal computer. They also enter into creating printers for use with their personal computers, the printers HP manufactured during this time set the standard for the direction in which printers would evolve. In 1987 Bill Hewlett retired as vice chairman of the board of directors, his son Walter Hewlett and David W Packard (son of Dave Packard) step up to take his place. In 1992 Lew Platt became HP president and CEO who was the first president and CEO of HP to not be a member of the Hewlett or Packard family. In 1993 Dave Packard relinquishes his chair of the board of director’s position to Lew Platt. Possibly one of the most damaging events hits HP in 1996 when Dave Packard one of the original founders dies. In 1999 Carly Fiorina becomes President and CEO of HP. In 2002 HP merged with Compaq Computer. This merger created an â€Å"$87 billion entity† which operates in more than 160 countries and has almost 150,000 employees. (Dykman, Davis, Lamb). â€Å"Quite a change from a company which 70 years ago started in a 1 car garage shack with 2 college kids who had $500 to work with!† (Hewlett Packard Company) Today, HP provides consumers a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps the company match the right products, services, and solutions to their customers’ specific needs. Hewlett-Packard’s Vision Statement We strive to improve the environmental performance of our customers, our supply chain, and our own operations. We give people the tools and solutions  to build a better today while preparing to address the challenges of tomorrow. Motto: Purpose Statement To lead in the marketplace by developing and delivering useful and innovative products, services and solutions. Mission Statement Committed to global responsibility by being economic, intellectual and a social asset, demonstrate commitment to our employees by promoting creative work that reflects our values, and earn customer respect and loyalty by consistently providing the highest quality and value while achieving finance growth. Values Statement HPs values embody the qualities, beliefs, and principles that will ensure organizational success. It is necessary that people work together in unison toward common objectives and avoid working at cross purposes at all levels if the ultimate in efficiency and achievement is to be obtained.-Dave Packard Trust and respect for individuals We work together to create a culture of inclusion built on trust, respect and dignity for all. Achievement and contribution We strive for excellence in all we do; each persons contribution is critical to our success. Results through teamwork We effectively collaborate, always looking for more efficient ways to serve our customers. Meaningful innovation We are the technology company that invents the useful and the significant. Uncompromising integrity We are open, honest and direct in our dealings. Issue Statement In order for the company to remain one of the world’s leading producers of the latest technological advances, HP must face the following issues head-on: 1. Their ability to remain a top tier leader in the technology industry through innovative products 2. Strive in meeting the continued needs of various shareholders by increasing HP shares 3. Maintain customer loyalty by producing quality yet reasonable prices and exemplarily  customer service 4. Finding ways to reduce our global footprint worldwide through advances in green solutions Management Question: What does CEO, Meg Whitman, need to do to retain and recommit HP to the PC business and reintroduce products her predecessor discarded? Stakeholder Analysis * Communities * Customers * Employees * Investors * Legislators and regulators * Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) * Suppliers * Universities Stakeholder Expectations and Expectation (See Exhibit 1.1) Stakeholders Key Issues With the unwavering success of new entrants into the market HPs stakeholder’s main issue is their ability to be innovative and competitive in the market. Competitors such as Apple has gained a significant competitive advantage in the technology industry forcing HP to evaluate how they do business. SWOTS Strengths * Hewlett-Packard (HP) is a global provider of personal systems, imaging and printing products, and technology solutions. * It is the largest player in the inkjet and laser printer market. * HP is also one of the market leaders in the global PC market. * HP has a very strong distribution Hewlett-Packard’s primary strength is its business position. The enterprise has a large amount of cash in hand about $10 billion. * Hewlett-Packard is a global enterprise and especially after its merger with Compaq, the company became world’s biggest computer hardware and peripherals  consort in the world and has ranked 20th in the Fortune 500 list. * Hewlett Packard is operating in more than 170 countries including both developed as well as under-developed. * Being a global dealer of computer hardware, it gives HP many advantages like dominating printers market, both laser and inkjet. The company attracts and focuses on consumers from even newly found markets all around the world, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations etc. * The company competes both at local and international level. * It has increased its competitiveness through policies and strategies that supports free-market economies. * HP is a leading supplier in the growing IT markets. Weaknesses * HP uses the Windows platform in all its I-PAQ phones. Incidentally, I-PAQ phones have been much criticized for not being very Windows friendly in a lot of user forums. * The inability to react quickly to changing market conditions and demands is a weakness of HP. * The company was in a long term debt for many years which kept it from investing in different growth opportunities. * The touch pads of the notebooks of Hewlett Packard like the dv series, dm3, and Envy lines needs improvement. These touch pads are either finicky, unreliable, or are difficult to use because of friction. * The mouse buttons on various HP supplied machines are said to be clumsy to use, too. * Poor shelling life of HP products plagued some mainstream systems and net books. * The past acquisition of Peregrine made the HP’s portfolio even more diverse and complete but HP Open View’s lack of mainframe management capabilities created several problems. * Another weakness was that it did not yet hit a CMDB product that includes discovery and mapping. This cause many customers to switch the brand. Opportunities * Expansion in alternative client computing architectures and other emerging mobile computing devices gives a good opportunity for HP. * The mobile phone market is forecasted to grow tremendously. * The recent acquisition of EDS puts HP at a strong position in the computer market and makes it portfolio more impressive. * Hewlett-Packard was able to generate large number of revenues and profits from its different deals and  raised more than six billion which it can use to pay off its debts as well as invest in different research and development activities. * If the products by the company are supplied at reasonable prices, there will be more chances of growth as the demand would increase. * The company has formed Customer Solutions Group that helps in selling the complete IT solutions, products and services by HP. Threats * Hyper-competitive environment Companies such as Dell, Toshiba, Lenova Group and Acer are formidable competitors for HP. * It competes in terms of price, brand, quality, technology, distribution and range of products, among other factors. * Other mobile operating systems such as Symbian, iPhone, and Linux are on the rise and they too pose a threat to HP. * Operating in global market means many competitors and therefore, the company has to be at the forefront of changing technologies as well as addressing the changing customer demands and needs. * The global economic recession is also a threat for the company’s sales and profits. The prices have also fallen as the stock markets are at historic low positions. * Many other competitors including Dell are entering the printer business whereas IBM has become a market leader. 3. Organizational Design Analysis Division of Labor in the Ambidextrous Orgainzation: Organic characteristics such as decentralization and employee freedom are excellent for initiating ideas, but these same conditions often make it hard to implement a change because employees are less likely to comply. Employees can ignore the innovation because of decentralization and generally loose structure. HP has such problem and it is necessary to overlay the ambidextrous approach, which speaks to incorporate structure and management process that are appropriate to both creation and the implementation of innovation. The ambidextrous approach looks at HPs design elements that are important for exploring new ideas versus the design elements that are most suitable for exploiting HPs current capabilities. Exploration means encouraging creativity and developing new ideas, whereas exploitation means implementing those ideas to produce routine products. HP can be designed to behave in an organic way for exploring new ideas and in a  mechanistic way to exploit and use the ideas. Research under HP could use an ambidextrous approach by designing for both exploration and exploitation perform better and are significantly more successful in launching innovative new products or services. Through research, using this model as an overlay, HPs creative department should use the organic structure to expand its capabilities such as reducing their global worldwide footprint through advances in green solutions. The economy of China has been growing at a robust rate since last few years. Chinas recently released five-year plan signifies a new phase of growth through the expansion of domestic consumption, driving a low-carbon economy, fostering innovation and achieving balanced social and economic growth (Datamonitor PLC, 2012). The growth of HPs mobile tablet PC market, entry into the smartphone market expects to grow strongly in the coming years. The growth is expected to be driven by the demand from the US and Asia Pacific regions. In 2010, the market was led by the North American region with approximately 35% market share. By 2014, Asia Pacific region including China expects to lead the tablet PC market (Datamonitor, 2011). In February 2011, HP launched the HP TouchPad, a 9.7-inch tablet PC that runs on webOS 3.0. The company plans to make available this product in the coming months. The companys increased focus on the tablet PC segment will enable it to benefit from the growing market (Datamonitor, 2011). HP entered the smartphone market with the acquisition of Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm WebOS mobile operating system, in July 2010. The launch of new smartphones with an updated version of WebOS will enable the company to effectively compete with each other players in the market, including Apple and Google (Datamonitor, 2011). In addition, provide the healthcare markets with products beyond the capabilities of their competitors. HP has been focusing on providing healthcare solutions in recent times. In January 2010, the company and McKesson collaborated to work on electric health record (EHR) adoption at independent physician practices. HPs solutions targeting healthcare sector will enable it to increase its revenues in the company years (Datamonitor, 2011). The creative department could use an organic structure to explore and  develop new ideas to face intense competition from Apple, RIM, and Nokia. Under an organic structure, HP will be able to react quickly to those competitors having a positive effect on revenues and profitability of the company in the long run. Looking at the mechanistic structure HP could exploit capabilities and apply routine implementation of innovations. An example of this looks at HP leading market position in the global printers market. HP ships more than one millions printer per week. Strong market position in various market segments provides economies of scale for the company, including increasing their customer base (Datamonitor, 2011). The Four Types of Change Provide a Strategic Competitive Wedge: Managers can focus on four types of change within organizations to achieve strategic advantage. These four types of change are technology, products and services, strategy and structure, and culture. These factors provide an overall context within which the four types of change serve as a competitive wedge to achieve an advantage in the international environment. HP has an unique configuration of products and services, strategy and structure, culture, and technologies that can be focused for maximum impact upon the its c hosen markets. Technology changes are changes in an organizations production process, including its knowledge and skill base, that enable distinctive competence. These changes are designed to make production more efficient or to produce greater volume. Changes in technology involve the techniques for making products or services. They include work methods, equipment, and workflow. In the case of HP, the competitive-intelligence (CI) chief of HP has focused his intention to offer free shipping for printer cartridges, its development of print status monitor software which will prompt customers to purchase replacement cartridges, and numerous technical specifications. Only but a few minor errors, the CI team had nailed everything: prices, specs, software details (Varchaver Burke, 2007). Products and services changes pertain to the product or service outputs of HP. New products and services are normally designed to increase the market share or to develop new markets, customers, or clients. If correctly  applied, HP can bring together existing technologies in a new way to serve a new market. HP has a broad product portfolio. HPs services segment offers consulting, outsourcing and technology services across infrastructure, applications and business process domains. Its services encompass the data center and the workplace (desktop); network and communications; and security, compliance; business continuity; warranty support; technology consulting and systems integration solutions (Datamonitor, 2012). Strategy and structure changes pertain to the administrative domain in an organization. The administrative domain involves the supervision and management of management, policies, rewards systems, labor relations, coordination devices, management information and control systems, and accounting and budgeting systems. Strategy, structure, and systems changes are usually top-downthat is, mandated by top managementwhereas product and technology changes often come from the bottom up. To make the strategy successful, they identified a new set of key performance metrics to track how effectively the company was meeting goals of competitive costs, high quality, and great service. This change also proved to be successful in the long run. A culture change refers to changes in the values, attitudes, expectations, beliefs, abilities, and behavior of employees. Culture change pertains to changes in how employees think; these are changes in mindset rather than technology, structure, or products. Culture change can be particularly difficult because people dont think their attitudes and beliefs easily. The four types of change are interdependent a change in one often means a change in another. The structural change was an outgrowth of the technology change. HP is an independent system, and changing one part often has implications for other parts of HP. Porters Competitive Strategies- Michael E. Porter studied a number of business organizations and proposed mangers can make the orgainzation more profitable and less vulnerable by adopting either a differentiation strategy or a low-cost strategy. Appling a low-cost leadership strategy means managers choose to compete through lower  costs, whereas with a differentiation strategy the orgainzation compete through the ability to offer unique or distinctive products and services that command a premium price. Each strategy can vary in scope from broad to narrow. That is, an organization can choose to compete in many market and customer segments or to focus on a specific market or buying group. Appling this model to HP revels the organizations focuses on low-cost leadership strategy with a broad scope where HP provides goods and services to customers at cheaper prices. HP uses the low-cost strategy with their printer / copier product line where tight controls to produce products more efficiently than its competitors. Low-cost leadership strategy using a broad scope is concerned primarily with stability rather than taking risks or seeking new opportunities for innovation and growth. For HP, this means it can achieve higher profits than competitors because of it can efficiency and lower operation costs. Also, this strategy puts HP in a better position to prevent loss of market share. 4. Identification and Evaluation of Alternatives 1. Encourage technology change by using skunkworks Pros: Focuses on breakthrough ideas for HP Give highly talented employees time and freedom to keep HP on the cutting edge This group could be highly autonomous and secretive while creating Cons: May create a subculture under HPs vision Risk of skunkworks wasting resources and come away with nothing to show Ideas may be behind competitors organizations skunkworks teams 2. Empower employees through the bottom-up approach Pros: Employees are motivated to figure out the best ways to get their jobs done Supports the right culture that drive high performance Employees at all levels feel part of the vision / change or the organization Cons: Employees ideas could go nowhere Ideas could get lost between the layers of management Employees may become focused on looking for shortcuts in the process 3. Discover a distinct pattern of tailoring innovations to customer needs by using the Horizontal Coordination Model Pros: Increases the amount of new product development Improves the different possible developed products Gives HP the edge in meeting customer needs and circumventing manufacturing / marketing ideas Cons: If not properly applied, the connections is lost between employees and customers If not properly applies, the coordination between departments are not shared Must be driven by top managers to function well 5. Recommended Alternatives- Based on the models and discussed alternatives, I recommend HP will be best able to adapt to the changing external environment by proceeding with the Horizontal Coordination. This means HPs technical, marketing, and production employees share ideas and information. All departments would have a say if / when a product gets introduced in the market. Specialization means every department are highly competent at their own tasks. Boundary spanning means each department under HP vision will be linked with involvement on new products and has an excellent linkage with relevant sectors in the external environment. Under boundary spanning, employees are aware of recent scientific developments and personnel are closely linked to customer needs. Horizontal coordination stresses the importance of sharing ideas between technical, marketing, and production. I would not recommend using skunkworks or the bottom-up approach. Skunkworks has a great possibility of developing a subculture that may not support HPs overall vision. Using the bottom-up approach may go dry after employees discover their ideas are going unnoticed or getting lost while traveling through the layers of management. 6. Implementation and Conclusion Elements for Successful Change- Regardless of the type or scope of change, there are identifiable stages of innovation, which generally occur as a sequence of events, through innovation stages may overlap. For a change to be successful implemented, HPs mangers must make sure each element occurs in the organization. If one of the elements is missing, the change process  will fail. 1. Ideas. Change is an outward expression of ideas. Ideas can come from within or from outside the organization, 2. Need. Ideas are generally not seriously considered unless there is a perceived need for change. A perceived need for change occurs when managers see a gap between actual performance and desired performance in the organization. 3. Decision to adopt. The decision to adopt occurs when managers or other decision makers choose to go ahead with a proposed idea at HP. 4. Implementation. Implementation occurs when HPs members actually use a new idea, technique, or behavior. Materials and equipment may have to be acquired, and workers may have to be trained to use the new idea. This is the most difficult part for HP. Until people use the new idea, no change has actually taken place. 5. Resources. Change does not happen on its own; it requires time and resources, for both creating and implementing a new idea. Employees at HP must provide energy to see both the need and the idea to meet that need. In conclusion, strong market position in various markets segments provides economies of scale for the company, besides increasing its chance of winning customers. However, intense competition will adversely affect the revenues and profitability of the company in ling term (Datamonitor, 2011). Works Cited 1. Daft, R. (2010). Organization Theory Design. (11th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. 2. Datamonitor. (2011). Hewlett-Packard Company 3. HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY Palo Alto, California. (2008). Microwave Journal, 51(7), 120-126. 4. Hewlett Packard Company. 2007 November 19. 30 March 2008 http://www.thocp.net/companies/hewlett_packard/hp_company.htm. 5. High Tech: Winning Success In Silicon Valley. (1984). Ebony, 40(1), 37 6. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.hp.com/go/history

The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby Essay Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as a satire that comments on American ideals in the 1920s. He shows the carelessness of everyone during the time by portraying them in the community of East and West Egg. Fitzgerald conveys two different themes throughout the story. One is the American Dream is corrupted by the desire for wealth and the other is the Attainment of a dream may be less satisfying than the pursuit of it. He uses those themes to show how The Great Gatsby is a satire of American Ideals. The American dream is life should be better and richer and fuller for one. This dream is corrupted between the relationship of Gatsby and daisy. Daisy is the symbol of all that Gatsby strives for; her voice is full of money, as Gatsby describes it. Her voice was full of money-that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals song in it (Fitzgerald 120). She can be interpreted as a twentieth-century flapper because she ensnares men with her husky, mysterious voice. Gatsby became so enamored by her voice that he based all of his actions on winning Daisy over. Her voice contains the promise of vast riches. However, Gatsby is too late to realize that money is the only thing her voice promises. There is no compassion in Daisy, just as there is none in cold, hard cash. Daisys dream is corrupted by wealth because she is caught up with Toms wealth and Gatsbys wealth. Daisy and Toms marriage is further proof of the collapse of the American dream. Although they belong to the West Egg social group and have extreme wealth, they are unhappy. Tom is first described as one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savours of anti-climax (Fitzgerald 6). Tom and Daisy are both in unsatisfied with life and are searching for something better. They have traveled to France and drifted here and there unrest fully wherever people were rich and played polo together (Fitzgerald 6). They are unhappy and bored with life. Tom seems to be searching for the excitement that he found in playing football in college, and he finds an outlet for his dissatisfaction by cheating on his wife with Myrtle. Once again, Gatsby does not see that attaining wealth and power does not equal happiness. The Buchanans marriage is full of lies and infidelities, yet they are united through their corruption. After Tom has discovered Daisys infidelity and Myrtle has been killed, their callous selfishness is revealed when they are reunited over fried chicken and two bottles of ale (Fitzgerald 145). They instinctively seek out each other because each recognizes the others strength in the corrupt spiritual element they inhabit. After Myrtle and Gatsby are both killed, neither one of the Buchanans sends their regards or seem remorseful. In fact, they go on a short vacation, which is an indication of the lack of compassion they have toward others. There was no love for anyone. All people cared about was wealth and parties. Nick perceives Tom and Daisy as they really are, heartless and careless. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made (Fitzgerald 179). Tom and Daisys actions are an indication of the detrimental and emotionally numbing effects that wealth can have on someone. They focus too much on appearance and things of monetary value, while ignoring peoples feelings and lives. Jordan Bakers plans are also negatively impacted by the corruptive qualities of wealth. Although Nick is attracted to Jordans bored, jaunty, careless air at first, he finally understands that it conveys her profound disregard for other peoples feelings. Jordan supports Daisy having an affair, because Daisy ought to have something in her life (Fitzgerald 79). She sees Gatsby as something, not someone. Jordan also has a reputation for being dishonest and for being a gossip. She was involved in a golf tournament scandal in which she was accused of moving her golf ball to her advantage. Jordan belongs to the East Egg social group because of her careless, dishonest ways. She serves as a hint as to the true nature of the people from East Egg. Jordan may also be an indication of the types of people that Gatsby entertains, since she attends his parties. She is similar to many of his partygoers in that she exploits his hospitality yet never shows any genuine kindness toward him. It is very te lling that Gatsbys house is full of people throughout the entire summer, yet when Gatsby dies, no one attends his funeral except Nick and Gatsbys father. The shallow acquaintances of Gatsby were never his true friends-the only used him for his lavish generosity. The countless people who attend his parties, ride on his hydroplane and in his car, and drink his alcohol are nowhere to be seen when the time comes to pay their respects for him. The theme of the pursuit of a dream is more satisfying than attaining the dream itself repeats itself throughout the book. Gatsbys dream was to get Daisy. We see this repetition of a green light though out the story. Every time Gatsby looked at Daisys house Fitzgerald mentioned the green light. Fitzgerald compares Gatsbys green light to the green breast of the new world (Fitzgerald 180), comparing Gatsbys dream of rediscovering Daisy to the explorers discovery of America and the promise of a new continent. However, Gatsbys dream is tarnished by his material possessions, much like America is now with our obsession with wealth. Gatsby wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to tom and say: I never loved you (Fitzgerald 109). Gatsby tried and tried to get Daisy to think she never loved Tom but the truth was that she did love him. The pursuit of the dream was more satisfying for Gatsby than actually attaining it. He threw parties just to hope she would come and he would be a ble to see him. He became rich so he could impress her with nice things. If Gatsby truly got Daisys heart they would end up doing the same thing as Tom and she normally do. In the end they will have the same dinner fried chickenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and two bottles of ale (Fitzgerald 145) and it would get old and then they would end up having an affair with other people around town like nothing ever changed. On the surface, Fitzgeralds novel may appear to be just a shallow novel about the jazz, parties, and glitz that he experienced in the early twentieth century. After closer examination, however, it is apparent that The Great Gatsby is a profound social commentary on the corrupt and disillusioning effects that materialism can have on members of society. We also learn that in the end attaining your dream is not as fun as trying to get it. Fitzgerald did write a satire that showed the ideals of the 1820s.