Achievements of Ancient Egypt

Achievements of Ancient Egypt Achievement of Ancient Egypt: The achievements of ancient Egypt can be traced back to the period between 3000 BC to 31 BC. From advances in mathematics, literature to symbolized achievements in medicine art and science, Egypt has made tremendous advances in shaping the world civilization (Winckelmann and Alex, 54). It was a leading Middle Eastern power in the period of 612 onwards. The emperor of Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great desired to be crowned pharaoh that indicated that civilization made strides even for longer periods (Smith and Roger, 33). Alexander the Greats general named Ptolemy became an independent ruler in 305BC after being crowned pharaoh, and his line of rule lasted to the famous queen, Cleopatra. She passed on in 31B.C.After this period of time, the Roman Empire were able to capture the Nile Valley, and it was ruled by foreigners for over a period of a thousand years (Smith and Roger, 16). These meant that the Egyptian culture had to change to states of unrecognizable features. Within this paper, there would be a detailed analysis of these achievements ranging from agriculture, art to science to technology. Agriculture Life in Egypt was centered on the river Nile. Farmers developed long irrigation methods which controlled the flow of water so as to ensure that crop yields were maintained throughout seasons whether dry or rainy. They divided the year into 12 months,30 days each month and five days of celebration (Smith and Roger, 21). They also made the solar calendar. The rich fertile valleys made it possible for projects such as Pyramids through the surpluses of crops. These surpluses were used to fund the refined lifestyle for the elite to help in diplomatic and trade relations and to enable wars of conquest were paid for (Winckelmann and Alex, 57). Writing and literature: The earliest hieroglyphic writing dated back to 3000 BC. Hieroglyphs represented a word, sound or a silent determinative and the symbol could serve different purposes in reference to a specific context (Wilkinson, 42). Though the majorities were written from right to left, the Egyptian ideograms were made up of hundreds of symbols that could be recited in rows or columns or either direction (Smith and Roger, 27). These ideograms were exclusively used in tombs and on stone monuments in Egypt. Another form of writing that existed and which was highly accepted by the scribes was the one called hieratic. It uses a cursive script or in other words a joined up writing. It was easy and quicker to use, in comparison to hieroglyphic (Shaw, 32). Towards the end of Ancient Egyptian civilization that is around 500 BC a new form of writing emerged called the Demotic. It was phonetic, semi-alphabetic script. Literature Most of the Egyptian hieroglyphic texts are theological or commemorative. Their literature is notably evident in public monuments, and walls of temples. Love poetry, proverbs, curses, myths and legends are all found in hieratic and later modified into demotic scripts (Shaw, 22). Stories have been discovered dating back to the middle Kingdom. One of the famous stories, is the story of sinuhe. Another tale is that of Wenamum; that offers an insight into Egypts declining phase (Wilkinson, 37). These stories were said to have style and impact which was based on stories from Reminiscent Arabian nights. The Egyptian stories proved that a lively literary tradition even in the sense of humour existed in Ancient Egypt. They may also be used to illustrate the theme of secular versus esoteric literature (Smith and Roger, 41). Religion was an important element of Egyptian literature. Hymns and prayers were written for purposes of praising gods. The Egyptians regarded the Pharaoh as a god, and their supreme god was called the Ra. He was the god of the light, and guardian of Egyptian lives. Art Egyptian art was a true reflection of their way of life. This was greatly proved in temple drawings, and tombs of prominent people. The intention of these drawings was to provide information which the deceased could use while transiting to another level of life (Shaw, 31). It provided instructions to these people, on how they ought to conduct themselves in the other life. Talk of mysteries. Furthermore, pictures of servants, slaves, and food were used to denote that the deceased would need them, just as they are needed in the physical life (Smith and Roger, 45). In addition, artists used paints (blue, red, orange and white) made from naturally occurring minerals. By the time of Ramses, the second, artists gained the capability of shading colors for purposes of achieving a layered effect. Sculptors were also important in ancient Egypt (Wilkinson, 41). Furthermore, Egyptians made statutes of animals, gods, kings, queens etc, for purposes of praise and worship. Pottery glazed with miner als was always used to make amulets, pendants, beads, jewelry. Architecture Architectural achievements in ancient Egypt were built of stone. This stones came from quarries that were notable of supplying granite, limestone, sandstone which were used in building the temples and tombs. This architect did plan how to build, and they did it without mortar so that the stones could fit precisely on one another (Smith and Roger, 47). On the other hand, pillars were used to offer short stone support. Ramps were used to give workers an enabling support to carry stones to the top of structures and allow artists decorate the tops of walls and pillars (Wilkinson, 37). It is said that as pharaoh was named tomb construction began, and the construction proceeded throughout their lifetime thereby stopping at their time of demise. Pyramids Pyramids were tombs which were used to bury the pharaohs. Egyptians believed that the souls of departed kings enabled kingdoms to remain in prosperity and peace and full of blessings (Wilkinson, 33). They mummified the Kings bodies to ensure that during such difficult times like during suppressions the gods could intervene on their behalf so that they defeat the enemy for peace to prevail (Magd, 39). Mathematics Egypt had some mathematical achievements which made it possible for their education to increase tremendously. By the year 2700 BC, the Egyptians had developed the base of 10 enumerations (Shaw, 27). By the year 1300 BC, Egyptians managed to develop two algebraic equations. The innovation in mathematics gave them a cutting edge from the rest of the world. In the year 1650 BC, geometry, cotangent analogue and algebraic equations, arithmetic series and geometrics series were developed (Magd, 27). Medicine and science Edwin Smith Papyrus, a medical tradition that traces as far as 3000BC was initiated in 1600 BC. Later ancient Egypt saw Ebers Medical Papyrus, traditional empiricism; and the Worlds earliest tumors being documented in 1500 BC (Wilkinson, 33). Also, ancient Egyptian doctors gained the skills and capability of stitching wounds, repairing broken bones, and amputating infected limbs. They managed to bandage body cuts by the use of raw meat, and linen, which were soaked in honey (Magd, 31). In science, the world looks at Egyptian astrology as the origin of all astronomical knowledge. Ancient civilization of Egypt devoted much time and energy to study the heavens (Winckelmann and Alex, 59). The information was put to practical use in agriculture, geodesy and the system of weights and measures and also to study correspondences between events in the heavens and event on earth. Conclusion: Although open problems have emerged over the sophistication of Egyptian technology and its adoption of various advances, it cannot go without mentioning that Egypt shaped the Worlds civilization. This is from the Napoleonic conquests, to the modern Egyptology. The world looks at Egypt as the mother of all civilization. Currently, the country is enjoying better tourism business because of this ancient works. From artistic drawings to mummifications in pyramids to literature and medicine, Egypt has attained recognition from the world all over. Works Cited: Smith, Miranda, and Roger Stuart. Ancient Egypt. London: Kingfisher, 2010. Print. Wilkinson, Toby A. H. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House, 2010.  Print.   Shaw, Ian. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print. Winckelmann, Johann Joachim, and Alex Potts. History of the Art of Antiquity. Los Angeles,  Calif.: Getty Research Institute, 2006. Print. Magd, Zeinab. Imagined Empires a History of Revolt in Egypt. Berkeley: U of California, 2013.  Print.

Analysis of Ryanair Essay

Ryanair established in 1985 carrying more than 5,000 passengers between its route Waterford Airport in Ireland to London Gatwick during its first year. The company expanded by 1989 had 350 employees, 14 aircraft and carrying more than 600,000 passengers a year. In 1997 there were dramatic changes in the European airline industry with deregulation of European Union air transportation allowed airlines to open new routes into Europe. The European Low fares association reported that low fares airlines are carrying more passengers than before with an increasing number of destinations in Europe set to increase from 38% to 53% in European travel (elfaa.com, 2011). Ryanair took advantage from the deregulation with routes from London Stansted to Stockholm, Oslo and Paris. By 2001 Ryanair launched its own travel website and within 3 months received 50,000 bookings (Ryanair.com, 2011). The report will focus on the low cost industry environment by identifying the opportunities and threats as well as five forces of the external environment. The report will also identify the strengths and weaknesses of Ryanair. Part 1: Low cost Airline industry The low cost airline industry has become the most profitable with all segments in the market with low prices and high load factors. This strategy has been challenged since the 1990s with the liberalization of services allowing new entrants to compete for business (Economist.com, 2011). The low cost airline industry operates all activities by reducing costs in order to gain strategic success and competitive advantage. This approach has a lot of opportunities as well as threats. Political Governments in the UK have the highest tax compared to Germany with a $1.3bn departure tax and Austria’s similar $119m duty tax (Independent.co.uk, 2011). The threat of passengers paying higher prices as a result of increased tax for their airline tickets can lower profits for airlines. This can affect low cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet as the higher taxes cut profits for the company for example Easyjet stated they had lost  £21m of its  £153m in 2011 (IATA.com, 2011). Acts of terrorism can also be a major threat to the airline industry. Initiating further routes is an opportunity for low cost airlines to other destinations in Europe with its growing economy and additional 15 EU countries that joined in 2004 such as Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia can offer new opportunities for new routes to increase the number of passengers(Delfmann, 2005). There has also been a threat with the plans to sell Stansted airport, the main location for low budget airlines after the Competition Commission to reduce its dominance in the market. This will bring greater competition to low cost airlines and benefit passengers with more low fare airlines from regional airports such as Gatwick and Stansted competing more (Telegraph.co.uk/travel, 2011). Economic The threat of rising oil prices caused global airlines to lose $16 billion in profits which did rebound in 2010 with higher traffic. The threat continues with oil prices averaging $110 a barrel and estimated to further increases in the industry’s fuel bill which will rise from $10 billion to $176 billion (Bangkokpost.com, 2011). This threat has also been warned by Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways and Iberia who cautioned that European carriers have to bear the impact of the high fuel costs with some operators having to go out of business (Guardian.co.uk, 2011). The recession in 2008 resulted in travelers seeking cheaper fares and led to growth in sales for budget airlines. This opportunity during recession allows budget airlines to take advantage and of more travelers seeking low fares with budget airlines rather than more expensive airline tickets. With the higher oil prices, natural disasters in Japan, discontent in the Middle East, North Africa and can force competitors in the airline industry to increase prices and fuel surcharges which pose major threats to airlines profits and survival of airlines. Social The growth in demand for passengers seeking low cost airlines for cheaper fares is an opportunity for budget airlines. People are living a better standard of life with declining inequality of incomes made up mostly of middle class income people. People are also more well-travelled, experienced and seek new destinations with the growth of vacation property (Goeldner and Ritchie, 2009). This is an opportunity as budget airlines frequently service short haul destinations for short trips or weekend trips for leisure or business purposes offering more destinations and new experiences to people with low fares. Migration has also made commuting a factor with people seeking employment opportunities and education as a motive for travelling as well as the rising quality standards has shown to expect growth for low cost airlines (Gross and Schrà ¶der, 2007). There are significant opportunities for low cost airlines that can benefit from the demand of increasing passenger from various destinations and purposes. Many people also seeking new destinations is a good opportunity for budget airlines to increase passenger numbers and revenue by providing different destinations of regional airports. Technological The increasing popularity of information technology is an opportunity for low budget airlines as they don’t use travel agents to sell tickets and allows consumers to be informed about schedules, compare prices and itineraries as well as flights with other airlines (Pease etl al., 2007). The new ‘saddle seat’ which is designed to allow 23 inches of legroom compared to 30 inches on a normal seat space and shaped to sit at an angle increase the number of seat for an airline (Telegraph.co.uk/travel, 2011). The seats offer an opportunity for low budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet to allow more storage space and more passengers in a plane which can increase revenues. The opportunities in technology allows airlines to take advantage of potential revenues with the internet offering direct marketing for customers and value added service by bringing offers to the customers directly. The opportunities for of the new seats can offer planes to fit more passengers and is a further potential a growth in revenue for budget airlines. Legal The airline industry has considerable regulations with issues concerning legislation and guidelines. For example low cost airlines have aggressive advertising campaigns to emphasize low fares which have become an issue with consumer protection legislation. Separate details of surcharges such as government tax, airport tax and fuel surcharge have to be included so that it does not consumers are not misinterpreted and misunderstood when buying a ticket. This is a threat to low cost airlines as it disregards the concept of low fares with all the taxes passed on by governments and aviation authorities. Low cost airlines can be substantially threatened with EU regulations and laws which can lower profits and damage the reputation of an airline with a negative image. Environmental Natural disasters such as the 2010 Iceland Volcano which caused 14,000 Ryanair flights cancelled. Costs of the 2010 Iceland disruption to the global airline industry soared to  £1.1bn according to estimates from the International Air Transport Association (Iata) (Guardian.co.uk, 2010). This threat to the airline industry faced by natural disasters such as the Iceland volcano can occur at any time and stop people from travelling costing airlines major disruptions with delays or cancellations. Emissions used by the airline industry have been increasingly growing rapidly over recent years, increasing 98% between 1990 and 2006 with predications of further increases to another 88% by 2050. This threat to the aviation industry enforcing airlines to pay for carbon dioxide and lower profits (Ftadviser.com, 2011). Porter’s five forces Porter points out the five forces which consist of bargaining power of suppliers, buyers, threat of potential new entrants and threat of substitutes to the industry. A company can adapt to the forces in order to increase chances of gaining sustainable competitive advantage and profitability. In understanding the strategic decisions a company has to make, it can be useful to look at the five forces of rivalry amongst the firm, substitution, new entry, the power of customers and the power of suppliers. Figure 1.1: Porters five forces Source: (Fouris and Oswald, 2006) Barriers of entry: to obtain aircrafts is extremely expensive and acquiring a basis at airports is also difficult (Gross and Schrà ¶der, 2007). With the success of Southwest airlines and deregulation and liberalization of the airline industry has allowed 40 budget airlines in the airline such as Easy Jet. This level is high as a result of these factors. Substitution- for the short haul flights, the substitute products include car, train and boat services. Travelling by train is clearly a substitute choice for travellers as it is high speed or travelling by car with the many motorway links available can have an impact. Technology can also be a substitute, for example business travellers may choose to conference skype calls over the internet. This level is moderate as flying is the main method of travelling long distances at a shorter time. Bargaining power of buyers: consumers can now purchase their own tickets from low cost airlines and can choose airlines with for higher level of quality, better service and lower price. Customers have the power to easily switch to another product that have lower prices with the ease of the internet (Hitt, et al, 2008). This popularity of comparison internet sites allows passengers to compare flight prices and choose the lowest cost airline of their choice. Therefore to survive with these intense factors airlines have to provide lowest fares to attract customers which is important for budget airlines and as a result the power of buyers is high as they consumers choose lowest fares causing risk of survival to an airline. Bargaining power of suppliers: Airlines rely heavily on the inputs for the company to survive which would be fuel, materials for the planes, services and manpower. Airlines either use Boeing or Airbus together with high maintenance fees, training staff. Additionally with the increase of cost for fuel to $50bn in 2011 resulted in travelers paying higher prices for tickets (Reuters.com, 2011). Therefore these inputs have high bargaining power over airlines as it can affect profits of an airline substantially. Competitor rivalry: may occur from price competition, product differentiation, advertising against other competitors is likely to affect the business (Bowhill, 2008). The intense rivalry occurs between low fares carriers are Ryanair, Easyjet and the carriers that provide ‘frills’ service with lower fares are British Midland Airways. Rivals also have to invest high capital investment and have a unique selling point to attract a large majority of customers and offer significant discounts and special offers. According the annual reports of Ryanair and Easy Jet, in 2010 Ryanair carried over 66 million passengers in comparison to Easy Jet carrying just 34 million. Therefore the airline’s low cost model delivers increased revenue and passenger growth as customers seek cheaper flights and benefit from price wars between airline fares. However budget airlines are still affected by rivalry with Ryanair and Easy Jet competing for customers flying with no frills airlines and the level of competitor rivalry is moderate. Conclusion Finally the analysis has demonstrated the attractiveness for the budget airline based on the ease of entry regulations and with the low expenditure costs lower than charter airlines that provide more service. The unstable environment has led to an increase in fuel costs with airlines paying heavily for their supply and in contrast the unpredictable economic environment has caused consumers to spend less and look for cheaper travel and prefer budget airlines such as Ryanair. Even though there is intense rivalry between airlines, budget airlines have an attractive strategy with more airlines using the low cost model to compete for passengers. Part 2: Internal analysis The internal factors of Ryanair’s concerns strengths and weaknesses to assess the extent to which the strategies for the airline in order to be successful, these summarizes the internal business environment and the capabilities (Johnson et al., 2002). The strengths of Ryanair are: The company has a successful low cost model benefitting from low expenses by using staff to clean the plane, passengers have to pay to print boarding pass reducing the need for staff at check in desks and take advantage of the internet to sell tickets. Ryanair’s low fares are aimed at encouraging demand especially with price sensitive leisure and business travellers that might choose alternative forms of transport method. Ryanair have set fares on the basis of demand on particular flights with higher fares on flights that have the highest demand for bookings booked nearer to the date of departure. Ryanairs competitors also do not operate on comparison sites and save commission or fees to other comparison websites. The company loses fewer bags and with 88% punctual flights compared to competitor’s ant explains why the company is a favorite airline for customers with over 73 million passengers in 2010 (Ryanair.com, Annual report 2010). Flights to secondary airports: the company offers point to point service on short haul flights to secondary and regional airports around the major hub centers and cities. The point to point routes rather than hub airports allow the company to provide direct nonstop flights and avoid the costs of providing services through connecting passengers, baggage transfers and transit passenger assistant costs. By choosing secondary locations allows convenience for a large majority of the population and is generally less crowded than in major airports. This has also resulted in on time flights, faster turnaround times, less terminal delays as well as more competitive airport access and handling costs or operating restrictions that can reduce expenses (Ryanair Annual Report, 2010). Low operating costs: Ryanair maintain low operating costs as a low budget airline company and aims to reduce costs in main areas which include: aircraft equipment, personnel productivity, customer service costs and airport access and handling costs. Weaknesses Ryanair have been negatively perceived as arrogant as the company does not take into consideration the competition by putting other low fares airlines out of business creating a bad image with negative media. Ryanair is viewed as not caring too much about customer needs or problems which reflect O’Leary’s opinion that customers pay low prices and get a good deal therefore should expect low standards. There have also been complaints for the extra payments for fees and taxes as well as paying higher prices for stowing luggage and onboard food and beverage. The company has also come across as having a negative reputation by having underpaid staff that are disciplined for any mistakes, work long hours and unhappy staff with staff (itfglobal.org, 2011). The company also charges  £5 for every purchase using bank card,  £40 for printing a boarding pass at the airport and  £100 for changing the name on the booking. Therefore customers often have to pay a lot more than they expected which makes Ryanair’s image appear dishonest (Ryanair.com, 2011). Porters value chain The generic strategies are concerned with the strategies of the company and at the micro level by exploring Porters model of the value chain. The value chain classifies the activities of the company and divided into primary and support activities used to identify the cost leadership strategy as illustrated in appendices b. The core competencies of Ryanair consist of maximizing revenues whilst providing a no frills low cost strategy and keeping logistics simple. This is maintained by Ryanair’s capability to lower operating costs such as aggressive online booking reducing the cost of staff and operate in secondary airports using Boeing 737-800. Through simple services and investing less on employees, Ryanair core competencies provide effective and efficient resource management. The primary activities involved in the inbound logistics of Ryanair consist of its 272 Boeing 737-800 planes that can carry 189 people and agreements to secondary airports. Ryanair have contract agreements with these large aircrafts with the ability to fly long hours and do not charge fuel surcharge (Ryanair.co.uk, 2010). Operations: Ryanair have lower unit costs as part of its operation and save costs through lower handling fees, landing fees in secondary airports and fast turnaround times with the capacity to utilize the aircraft at a shorter time. Ryanair operate in 1,110 routes and 1,400 flights a day from 44 bases. The efficiency of its operation supports the low cost strategy position with fast turnaround times, no meals on board and improved employee productivity (Ryanair.com, 2010). Financial analysis The strengths of Ryanair are quite clear. The company has been profitable with an increase in profits of 26% to â‚ ¬401m and operating profit increase by 28% to â‚ ¬516.2m in 2011. The figure below illustrates how the company increased passengers by 8% and revenue 16% by 2010. Figure 2.1: Summary Table of results (IFRS) in Euro Source: (Ryanair.com, 2011) Figure 2.2: Summary table for EasyJet Source: (Easyjet.com, 2011) As seen from the tables above it can be clear to differentiate the profit revenues. Profit after tax for Ryanair in 2010 was â‚ ¬138 million and for Easyjet was just  £121 million. Revenue for Easyjet in 2010 was  £2, 973 million in 2010 and  £2, 66 million in 2009 compared to Ryanair’s revenue in 2010  £18 million and  £16 million in 2009. According to Ryanair’s annual reports, revenues rose by 16% to â‚ ¬896.8m due to an 8% rise in traffic and a 5% increase in average fares in 2010. Ryanair has been able to gain a growth in revenue even during the financial recession which had a significant effect on other major airlines resulting in bankruptcy and closure. Due to its cost efficient methods through increased passenger traffic with its new routes and low prices Ryanair has been able to uphold its place as the number one low cost carrier. This difference also shows in Ryanair’s current ratio at 1.79 in 2010 compared to Easy jet only gaining 1.33. Conclusion From the internal analysis it is clear to see Ryanair’s low costs strategy means it is less affected than its competitors with its cost leadership. This has required the company to gain a large market share whereby it has purchased large quantities of planes and low cost operations has made shown that cost leadership is the only way to work for the future and globally. Ryanair has built a low cost culture however still needs to pay close attention to the external environmental factors including governmental policies and increased cost of fuel. The core cost savings mentioned has made the company highly successful with its short haul routes with standardized no frills services, higher seating density and its ticketless reservation system. Ryanair have succeeded by becoming a successful airline in Europe with the Southwest airline model and managed to grow its market segment of price sensitive customers through its no frills service. Bibliography Afuah, A. (2009) Strategic Innovation: New Game Strategies for Competitive Advantage. New York: Routledge. Beech, J. and Chadwick, S. (2006) The business of tourism management. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Bangkokpost.com (2011) Oil spike to push up airline losses. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/241328/oil-spike-likely-to-push- up-airline-losses. [Accessed on: 05 March 2011]. Betz, F. (2002) Executive Strategy: Strategic Management and Information Technology. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Bowhill, B. (2008) Business Planning and Control: Integrating Accounting, Strategy, and People. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Centreforinformation.com (2011) Jaw-dropping airline market capitalization. [Online]. Available at: http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2011/03/10/jaw-dropping-airline-market-capitalisation-facts-part-3/page1 [Accessed on: 05 March 2011]. Cherunilam, F. (2007) International business: text and cases. 4th Ed. New Delhi: Prentice Hall. Delfmann, W. (2005) Strategic management in the aviation industry. Ashgate: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Easyjet.com (2011) Annual Reports and Accounts. [Online]. 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(2007) Handbook of low cost airlines: strategies, business processes and market environment. Berlin: Hurbert and Co. Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. and Hoskisson, R.E. (2009) Strategic management: competitiveness and globalization: concepts & cases. 8th Ed. Mason: Southwestern Cengage Learning. IATA.com (2011) Airline Industry 2011 Profit Outlook Slashed to $4 Billion. [Online]. Available at: http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/pages/2011-06-06-01.aspx. [Accessed on: 12 June 2011]. Independent.co.uk (2011) Chief of airline industry attacks ‘tax bandit’ UK. [Online]. Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bus iness/news/chief-of-airline-industry-attacks-tax-bandit-uk-2293964.html. [Accessed on: 20 June 2011]. Independent.co.uk (2009) Ryanair it’s cheap not cheerful. [Online]. Available at:http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/consuming-issues-ryanair-its-cheap-not-cheerful-1781973.html. [Accessed on: 25 June 2011]. Itfglobal.org (2011) Campaigns. [Online]. 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How to Choose Visual Essay Mertons Theory Samples

How to Choose Visual Essay Mertons Theory Samples What is Actually Going on with Visual Essay Mertons Theory Samples Sociologists utilize a number of theoretical perspectives to produce sense of the planet. Merton rejected a lot of the notions that were the foundation for structural functionalism. Merton employs the term malintegration to spell out the condition of society. Agnew's strain is called GST or standard strain theory. For a family therapist to work, it's very important to them to opt for a theory they feel comfortable using. The strain theory requires a look at what causes someone to commit a crime. Subcultural theory also will help explain non-utilitarian crimes like vandalism and joy riding which strain theory can't really explain. Employing the case of the American dream, in order for each person to achieve it, they should have accessibility to numerous luxuries like education, which isn't always true. For instance, if you read silently, you're stimulating your visual sense. Consequently, the thought of environment as the important element that defines human behavior stays the only sound reason. Gradually, the thought that human behavior ought to be explained via the use of the scientific method started to replace aged superstitions. Much of social learning isn't immediate, so this procedure is especially vital in those situations. There's some thought ahead of imitation, and this consideration is known as mediational processes. Demographic controls have significant results but don't negate a number of psychosocial results. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with different persons in a procedure for communication. If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Visual Essay Mertons Theory Samples Visual essays can be produced in an assortment of fashions and tools and frequently have a collection of images and panels (compositions of different images and text). The two of these visual learners will be a lot more likely to retain information should they see it. Both tools might be used in combination with Audacity to combine sounds and samples from different sources. Often times visual papers are finally represented in the shape of slides or videos, but they are also able to be in the shape of posters. Things You Won't Like About Visual Essay Mertons Theory Samples and Things You Will Individuals from a specific area deemed to get quite a few deviants or criminals gain that label. Children will have a lot of models with whom they identify. Society tells everyone they are a success based upon how much material wealth they've obtained. Merton's major concern was that societies, like the usa, do not offer the ability to realize cultural targets. The Little-Known Secrets to Visual Essay Mertons Theory Samples Subsequently, essay was defined in many different ways. A financial essay can begin with a thesis, or it may begin with a theme. A visual analysis essay is very different from a usual essay. Developing a portrait photo essay is a mix of art and journalism. The Visual learner should observe all study material. Students are requested to explain, comment on, or assess a subject of study in the shape of an essay. College students should get great grades and graduatethis is their culturally-valued targets. Some traits that might result in social disruption is going to be stigmatized. Stress, anger and frustration are typical emotions people feel and they can encourage someone to do something they need to not to be able to find relief or a remedy to their problem. In order to prevent unsettling society, an individual must know about what behaviors are marked as deviant. These behaviors have very little reaction from others and for that reason, have very little effect on somebody's self-concept. The growth of subcultures is explained in regard to the place of groups and individuals in the social structure. You have to decide which is the specific aspect about which you would like to talk. His strain theory begins with the overall assumption that societies provide both culturally-valued targets and culturally-valued ways. Thus, deviance may be the consequence of accepting one norm, but breaking another to be able to pursue the first.

The impact of innovation on companies - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3737 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Firms and businesses exist and battle to survive just as living beings within the countries or regions they operate, and just as living beings experience the need to change or create change due to their continuously altering environment, so to do business organizations. In order to stand the test of time and obtain a higher competitive advantage, a business must continue to remain relevant to its customers, it must continuously find ways to provide the relevant product or service for the ever changing consumer base and at the same time maintain an optimum profit margin. This form of artificial or better yet commercial evolution, can be said to be the core reason behind the use of technology in the business world, this is the drive for industrial innovation. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The impact of innovation on companies" essay for you Create order In 1950 Joseph Alois Schumpeter, stated that; The fundamental impulse that sets and keeps the capitalist engine in motion comes from the new consumers goods, the new methods of production or transportation, the new markets, the new forms of industrial organization that capitalist enterprise creates.(p83) As businesses grow and expand beyond their place of origin, they tend to acquire more competitors in any industry they operate and in turn have to find ways to effectively stretch their core competencies in order to compete with their new rivals or develop new competencies, most of the time with the use of technology. The process of innovation is a highly complex series of steps which is somewhat disorderly, difficult to measure and requires a high level of technical knowledge (Kline and Rosenberg, 1986) and this clearly depicts there numerous dangers involved in the innovation process. Also one may ask, how will changing a product or service or the method of its production giv e a company a higher competitive advantage (Utterback and Suarez, 1991) when compared to its counterparts who have chosen to maintain the status-quo, besides why would any company want to change a formula that has worked for them over a long period of time. The concept of innovation has long been studied by numerous scholars with a of lot journals and articles written on it, but this paper will attempt to understand what innovation means to a business operating on a global front by offering case studies on three of the most innovative companies in the world and in that light find out how their innovation has impacted their operations and activities, and whether it has increased their competitive advantage in comparison with their less innovative competitors. What is Innovation? Since the dawn of time large companies or firms have existed for two major reasons, survival in the long run (Utterback and Suarez, 1991) and profit maximization in the short run through obtaining a high market share of their consumers. With the increasing effects of globalisation partnered with the continuously shrinking economic distance and the rapid technological changes occurring (Lall, 2001), companies now find themselves competing on a global scale. The increased scale of competition has created the need for companies to evolve in their activities and progressively grow beyond the status-quo and this is where the need for technology arises. In lay man terms, innovation in business can said to be a positive change in the methods of production or the creation of a whole new product. Mulgan and Albury (2003) define innovation as the successful creation and implementation of new processes, products, services and methods of delivery which result in significant improvements in out comes efficiency, effectiveness or quality (p3). The OECD define innovation as: Consisting of all those scientific, technical, commercial and financial steps necessary for the successful development and marketing of new or improved manufactured products, the commercial use of new or improved processes or equipment or the introduction of a new approach to a social service (1981, 15-16). Nord and Tucker define an innovation as a practice or technology which is being utilized for the first time by a firm or organisation, irrespective of whether it has been implemented by other firms (1987, cited in Klein and Sorra, 1996). In the words of Kline and Rosenberg, who coined the term commercial innovation in order to clearly acknowledge that the concept is been seen from a business angle (1986); The process of innovation must be viewed as a series of changes in a complete system not only of hardware, but of the complete market environment, production facilities and knowledge, and th e social contexts of the innovation organization (p275). Large firms have always found themselves at the forefront of technological breakthroughs and the diffusion of a newly acquired knowledge (Patel and Pavitt, 1992; Cantwell 1994; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Roberts 1995 a and b cited in Gerybadze and Reger, 1997). Most businesses create and run a research and development departments, which are charged with the task of exploring the possibilities of creating and utilizing new technology in their operations in order to either create a new product or a new method of production. Innovation is not only the creation of a new product or a change in the production process, put in the words of Kline and Rosenberg (1986); There is no single, simple dimensionality of innovation. There are, rather, many sorts of dimensions covering a variety of activities. We might think of innovation as a new product but it may also be; an improvement in instruments or methods of doing innovation, the substitution of a cheaper material, the re-organization of production, internal functions or distribution arrangements leading to increased efficiency, better support for a given product or lower cost (p279). Innovation may also be development of skill by a particular firm, through continuous learning and routine problem solving activities (Loasby, 1998) which will eventually become a benefit to that business. None the less, the most recognised forms of technological change in the business world are product innovation and process innovation (Dicken, 2007). Product innovation occurs as soon as company starts creating new commodities, for many organizations creating a new product is a central path by which they adapt or sometimes transform themselves in their changing environment (Woomack, Jones and Roos, 1990; Doherty, 1992; Brown and Eisenhardt, 1995; cited in Eisenhardt and Tabrizi, 1995), Dicken (2007), believes that once a business environment becomes highly competitive, the steady creation of new products will aid in maintaining a firms profit margin and in the long run maybe its survival (p93). Process innovation on the other hand involves developing new, efficient and cheaper means of production while still maintaining the required level of quality. The need for businesses to undergo a continuous process of innovation cannot be stressed enough and due to intense competition, along with fast changing markets and technologies, firms now tend to be more aware of this fact (Harvard Business Review, 1998). As businesses grow within certain regions, gather together and form clusters, there will tend to be an exchange of information among firms operating in different fields of the same industry or the similar fields, these businesses invest in research and development now, not only to create new ideas but to become efficient in the use of the free flowing information in their environment (Cohen Levinthal, 1989). Investment in innovative activities will rise as a result of the complex and varying processes involved for successful innovation (Kline Rosenberg, 1986), the process of studying an industrys environment while researching on new technology and efficient ways of its utilization can turn out to be a very tedious process. There has always been some sort uncertainty in innovation due to the risk involved of either creating a new product or utilizing a new form of technology in the production process, but following the countless amount of detailed research performed on different companies operating in different parts of the world by Michael Porter and Class van der LInde, it was revealed that the companies which were internationally competitive were not those with cheaper input or large scale, but those which were capable of continuous improvement and innovation (1995). Impact of Innovation on Companies Operating Globally: A Study of Apple Computer Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The increasing use of technology by businesses can be clearly observed in todays with companies who arent even technology based developing ways to utilize new ideas in their activities or production process. Before the economic downturn, American companies dominated most industries with the most innovative firms but with the economys slow and gradual return, we can find that American companies are no longer the be all and end all in innovation (Businessweek, 2010). 2010 Ranking Company HQ Country Stock Returns 2006-2009 (in %) Revenue Growth 2006-2009 (in %) Margin Growth 2006-2009 (in %) 1 Apple U.S. 35 30 29 2 Google U.S. 10 31 2 3 Microsoft U.S. 3 10 -4 4 IBM U.S. 12 2 11 5 Toyota Japan -20 -11 NA 6 Amazon.com U.S. 51 29 6 7 LG Electronics South Korea 31 16 707 8 BYD China 99 42 -1 9 General Electric U.S. -22 -1 -25 10 Sony Japan -19 -5 NA *21 Wal-Mart Stores U.S. 7 6 -1 *Wal-Mart was does not fall under the 10 companies but is included for the sake of this paper Table 1: Data from Businessweek; 50 Most Innovative Companies, 2010. The table above shows the 10 most innovative firms for the year 2010 along with a 4year analysis of their revenue, stock and their operating margin, but the sake of this paper I am going to focus on Apple, Wal-Mart and Sony, then attempt to find out the impact of their innovation on the industry they operate in as well as themselves over time. Case Study on Apple Computer Inc. Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower Steve Jobs, Apple Computer Inc. CEO. Apple Computer Inc. is located in Silicon Valley and is a quintessential venture-capital-financed high-technology firm (Nonaka Kenney, 1991). As at 1977, the time of Apples conception, the PC industry was dominated by the IBM PC and Microsofts Windows Operating system. Apple was characterised by its idiosyncratic and go-alone strategy and was famous for not allowing its technology to be utilized by other PC makers (West, 2002). Apple placed itself firmly in the PC industry and showed its capacity for innovation by the 1984 release of the Macintosh Apple, which was the first ever mass-market PC with a graphic user interface (GUI) (West, 2005), at this time, what differentiated Apple from all other competition was the fact that they created their own software along with the hardware that ran it as well. Apple creators Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak did not believe the PC should only be a work tool, but should be fun as well and it was this thinking that led to the first successful use of the mouse to interact with the PC (Markides, 1997). In 1994 Apple was forced into licensing its products out to other companies due to high drops in revenue and this in turn led to a loss in their market share as these companies produced similar products at cheaper prices (West, 2002). Although being a highly innovative company, Apple faced numerous issues in the PC industry where it suffered a high level of losses and eventually had to relieve its then CEO John Sculley of his position and re-empoy Steve Jobs as CEO in July 1997 (West, 2005). Apple Inc. went through a massive makeover with the return of one of its founding fathers who came in with a series of highly innovative and profitable products, and eventually diversifying into other markets and altering Apples major product in the process. With the release of the iMac on August 15, 1998 Apple was able to put to rest so me its past failures. These failures included the first Apple Portable, which was bulky and awkward and the Newton, Apples first attempt to enter the PDA market. In 2001, after several years of development, Apple released Mac OS X, an operating system that targeted both consumers and professionals. Mac OS X was a complete redesign from Mac OS 9 and was able to harness the power of UNIX while offering a streamlined user experience with a simplified GUI (Graphical User Interface). The iMac line of personal computers paired with Mac OS X returned Apple to profitability and the release of the iPod portable digital audio player later that year was the icing on the cake. The phenomenal success of the iPod set the stage for future products, including the best-selling mobile device in history, the Apple iPhone, the MacBook line of portable computers, and the Apple iPad which was released on January 27th 2010. (Dougherty, 2010) Apple has experienced success in most recent product releases coupled with massive growth in sales and revenue as shown in 2007 when the sales of their Mac range shot up by 37% (Piero, 2010), while controlling only 7.4% of the American market share as at the fourth quarter of 2009 (Foreman, 2010). With the continuous release of new and exciting products along with their entry and unusual dominance of the mobile phone industry and their literal creation of the tablet PC market with the release of their iPad device, it is evident that Apple is a company that has achieved superiority through rapid and constant innovation and will continue to garner a reputation that is far out of proportion to its size or market share (West and Mace, 2007). Case Study on Wal-Mart Stores Inc.* Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the brain child of Sam Walton which was made a reality in 1962 when the discount retailer was opened. Sam Walton operated only in small towns which allowed them run their operations on a small scale, in relation to their bigger and better resourced competitors. The expansion of Wal-Mart was a slow and gradual yet efficient process, the company grew at a pace which Sam Walton could easily manage and be actively present in most activities. Wal-Mart operated as low cost strategy which was hard to maintain due to the lack of a suitable working relationships with suppliers and distribution chain, suppliers saw Wal-Mart as a minor player in the retail industry and treated them as such. In order to minimize costs Wal-Mart utilized vertical integration by building their own warehouses and obtaining their own trucks for transportation, with this and the use of their Everyday Low Price Strategy (EDLP) which saved them a large amount of funds that would have been spent on advertising, Wal-Mart was on its way to obtaining market leadership. The 70s saw a change in Wal-Marts corporate nature as the company went public, in order to expand beyond its 30 stores and raised about $5million in the process. In less than 25 years, Wal-Mart had risen to become the largest American corporation in terms of sales. With over $374 billion in revenue, Wal-Mart had overshadowed all competition in its home market and is proposed to hit half a trillion dollars in revenue within the next decade (Upbin, 2004 cited in Hesterly, n.d). Wal-Marts success can be attributed to its low cost strategy and its intense use of technology in its operations. Technology investments in sophisticated inventory, management systems, state of the art distribution centres, and other aspects of logistics werent seen as very important areas of the retail industry. Wal-Mart had pioneered the use of technology in the retail industry and still possesses significant advantage over its compet itors. The use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to shorten distribution cycle, by providing a direct transfer of sales information directly from the discounters register to the suppliers computers. Wal-Mart was the leader in forging EDI links with suppliers with its Retail Link System which provided inventory information for over 3000 stores to about 3000 vendors (Standard and Poor, 1998 cited in Hesterly, n.d). In 2003, Wal-Mart once again showed its penance for technological initiative with its push for the use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) by all suppliers, in order to track inventory more precisely than the traditional methods, although the use of the RFID was not widely accepted it was shown to save Wal-Mart up to $8 billion in costs. At the heart of Wal-Marts success remains its distribution and logistics system which had been born out of the need to service so many stores in small towns while maintaining low costs, as a result of this, Wal-Mart created and utilized t heir own distribution centres which used a cross-docking technique. In cross-docking, goods were delivered to distribution centres and often simply loaded from one dock to another or even from one truck to another without sitting in inventory, the cross-docking technique reduced Wal-Marts cost of sales by 3% in comparison to competitors who no matter how much they attempted could not perfectly replicate the technique. Wal-Mart, though operating in a service oriented industry laid their emphasis on innovation and continuous improvement, and this can be traced back to the old days when there were either no computers or they were not affordable, then Sam Walton would keep a ledger of measures on several variables for each store, the emergence and efficient utilization of information technology enabled Wal-Mart to extend its emphasis on information and measurement and transform this into success and immense global growth. *Case created by Dr. William Hesterley for the purpose of a class discussion Case Study on Sony Electronics Inc. Sony Electronics Inc. is a well-known electronic company formed in 1946 in the post-world war two era by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita under the then name Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation (Kenan, n.d). From the outset, Sonys original management policies revolved around product innovation and the company strived to make consumer electronics which were compact in size and highly portable (Vila and Mitchell, 2007). After their 1950 release of Japans first tape recorder (Kenan, n.d) Masaru Ibuka travelled to the United States in order to market this invention, which was Sonys first major product (Chaudhuri, 2007) and relative success. Sony eventually became known for their innovative and consumer friendly products, in 1955 after they obtained the licence for the transistor for Western Electronics (Chaudhari, 2007) and went on to create Japans first transistor radio the TR-55 and a slew of other highly innovative products including the worlds first direct-view portable television set, the TV8-301 in 1960, along with the worlds tiniest all transistor television set in 1962, the worlds first blu-ray disc player in 2003, and in 2005 they were credited with building the worlds smallest video camera which also shot in high definition (Kenan, n.d), but the product that made Sony a household name and reckonable force in their industry was the Walkman. The Walkman was produced in 1979 and was a massive hit with consumers, the product was not the first of its kind, with tape recorders already existing long before its arrival but it was an advance in marketing, produced not for journalist professionals but for the average and common user as a the first portable music player (Hormby, 2006) paving the way for Apples iPod and Microsofts Zune. The Walkman created a cultural impact immediately becoming a highly sought after commodity by everyone irrespective of age or country (Du Gay, Hall, Janes, Mackay and Negus, 1997), in the words of Akio Morita; Thi s is the product that will satisfy those young people who want to listen to music all day. They would take it everywhere and wont have to care about record function. If we put a playback-only headphone stereo like this on the market itll be a hit February 1979, Sony Headquarters (Bellis, n.d). Beyond the culture defining era of the Walkman series, Sony continued to show its ability to bring dream into realities with the release of its Sony Discman or CD Walkman series, which utilized the already growing compact disc format. The Discman also included some series with radio and reception (Hassan, 2010). In recent years Sony has diversified into the mobile phone industry with its joint venture with Ericsson and also the gaming industry with its widely popular console the Playstation, which saw an increase in sales in 2010 (Mokey, 2010). From a company started with less than 1500 dollars (Kenan, n.d), Sony as at 2006 boasted of a worldwide sales figure of 63.9 billion dollars (Cahaud huri, 2007) and has now been at the forefront of technological breakthroughs for the past 64years while still remaining a highly profitable and reliable brand name in the consumer electronics industry and with their background based on constant product innovation and a continuous search for new technology, Sony Electronics Inc. will remain a highly regarded company for more years to come. Conclusion There have been numerous journals that have attempted to draw out the relationship between innovation and the performance of a firm or business (eg. Feeny and Rogers, 2001; Loof and Heshmati, 2001) and it can also be seen from these journals that innovative firms are among the most efficient in their industries and can also enter into other with little to no issues. A direct linkage can be seen between a firms performance and its level of utilized technology, Geroski (1994, p130) sums up that innovation can influence a firms performance in two ways: The first is of the notion that the creation of new products or processes of production will strengthen a firms competitive position in relation to its rivals. But the profits and growth will be short-lived and only last as long as the innovating firm can defend its position against rivals. The second view argues that the process of innovation alters a firm fundamentally by enhancing its internal capabilities, making it more flexible and adaptable to market pressures than non-innovating firms (cited in Neely and Hii, 1998). Innovation is the key to competitive advantage in a highly turbulent environment, and has direct consequences to a firms ability to compete due to the value it creates by developing new products or new methods of production (Neely Hii, 1998) and there is an obvious relationship between the intensity of competition and innovative activities (Bonanno and Haworth, 1998). Looking at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Apple Computer Inc., and Sony Electronics Inc., all companies occupy or at one time occupied the market leader position in a specific industry or more and are also recognised as highly innovative firms, these similarities are far from coincidences, both Wal-Mart and Apple rank in at numbers 1 and 56 respectively in the Fortune 500 list and were two of the most profitable companies of the year (Fortune, 2010), also looking at the Table.1 it can clearly be seen that the companies listed are ei ther the market leaders in their industries or extremely strong and rapidly growing competitors. Innovation from all this can be said to have a positive impact on the productivity and efficiency of businesses, be it a manufacturing or service providing firm. All firms should be involved in innovative activities despite the risks involved and the high costs of investing in technology I can say that the firms that will come out on top in the race to be global leader in their respective industries are those that embrace technology and its utilize it efficiently in their activities.