Critically examine a period of strategic change for an organisation of Essay

Critically examine a period of strategic change for an organisation of your own choice. Outline the triggers for change and the - Essay Example 7 Triggers to this change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 2- Product Differentiation as a strategic change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Triggers to this change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 3- Retail-marketing/ Own-store retailing as a strategic change †¦ 10 Triggers to this change †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 Significant organizational issues facing the managers in strategic change .. 12 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 Introduction In the light of large-scale changes facing the world around the business, organizations require to undergo strategic changes and strategic re-orientations. Both the external and internal environments of a business face tremendous changes day by day, mainly due to technological advances, varying customer requirements, differences in marketing trends etc, and in order the business to survive in this challenging environment, it is highly important that business must be accustomed with the environments through the strategic change possible. For management, there are quite a large number of strategies to help the business achieve its specific or common goals. Out of these strategies, change itself is a strategy as it is, though a challenge to get it successfully implemented, an opportunity for the business. Apple Inc with the leadership of Steve Jobs has emerged to be an organization that prospered a number of strategic changes l ike retail-marketing, innovative product design, product differentiation etc. This piece of research paper is an attempt to address the strategic change from both literature perspectives as well as empirical evidences from Apple’s strategic change. This paper outlines how Apple Inc has managed strategic change at various situations and how it could successfully implemented changes like launching of its retail-marketing. Apple Inc: An overview Apple Inc, one of the most successful technology companies of today, has been established by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak in early 1970. It’s startup story itself is amazingly interesting as it is closely linked to one-off hobby machine that an outstanding talented electronic wiz, Steve Jobs, made for himself and this has later become the core of the most successful companies of today (O'Grady 2008, p. 1). Apple Inc is a multinational company, headquartered in California, that designs, develops, and markets personal computers, servers, communication devices like cell-phones, portable music digital players and related accessories (Datamonitor 2010). The company has always been thriving on innovation and continuous changes. It ignited personal computer revolution in early 1990s with the development of Apple- II. The company thus went through a number of strategic changes in production, technology, marketing, innovation and so on. It later reinvented the personal computer within the next few years by the development of Macintosh. Macintosh and its another development called iMac gave the company deeply routed brand loyalty (Kerin, Hartley and Berkowitz, 2005, p. 395). In recent years, Apple found hidden marketing opportunities, that were until then explored by none, for digital music players, music software, iPhone, 3G iPhone etc and revolutionized its markets through effective distribution with

Critical analysis Twelfth Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical analysis Twelfth Night - Essay Example Although categorized as a romantic comedy, relating the story of a pair of twins washed up separately upon the same shore, each thinking the other is dead, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night provides a great deal of this kind of social commentary as the two youths become involved with nobles they meet in their journey back together. By analyzing a single scene of this play, one can begin to understand how Shakespeare managed to convey social position and degree of intelligence in such a way that calls into question the prevailing social assumptions of his time. The scene is divided by the arrivals of two of the characters to Olivia’s house that quickly demonstrate the difference of social classes existent in England at the time. At the opening of the scene, Feste, the house jester, returns after an unexplained absence and finds it necessary to charm his way back into his mistress’ good graces. According to Richard Holinshed, â€Å"These men are profitable to none; for, if their condition be well perused, they are enemies to their masters, to their friends, and to themselves† (1580). Thus, his behavior seems to suit his station as in attempting to ease his way back into the household, he distracts the other characters from pursuing his personal activities by making jokes until the scene is interrupted by the arrival of Viola, disguised as the servant Cesario, delivering a message of love from Duke Orsino for the noblewoman Olivia. The conversation between Olivia and Cesario sparks an immediate and intense interest from Olivia, who recognizes Viola belongs to her own upper class. In both halves of this scene, language variety reveals social class as well as sincerity of intention within the characters portrayed. Feste changes his language style depending upon whom he is speaking with, making it possible for him to switch from one class to another simply by changing his means of communicating. As he speaks

Stylistic analysis and history in art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stylistic analysis and history in art - Essay Example Legon claims, â€Å"The Egyptian canon of art was metrological founded through the system of horizontal guidelines that established the canonical forms† (Legon Web). The most appealing nature of the image that looks Egyptian to me is the choice of colour. The colours used in the image are a true reflection of Egyptian artwork. â€Å"Cannon of art† refers to classification of art by early historians. This early classification still has its influence in the naming of today’s art. In the topic "Discrimination in the Arts in America," â€Å"Cannon of art† is present. The early historians in America supported hierarchies of race due to the alleged evidence from the book of Genesis chapter nine in the bible. Noah blessed his son, Shem who covered him of his nakedness when he was drunk and cursed Canaan, Japheth was blessed to expand. Christian fundamentalists believed in the three races, White representing Japheth who was to expand to other nations. They justified slavery of Africans on this and believed that the whites should take the highest positions that existed. The cannon of art for Americans had a background of racism, which many art historians represented in their work. They did this via colour since the three different races had three distinct colours; white, yellow, and black. My choice of a retablo is the painting of Virgin Mary by Frida Kahlo made in Mexico. Like most of the retablos made during the 18th century, the Virgin Mary retablo was made in honour of the Catholic saints (Castro-Sethness 21-23). Virgin Mary is one of the most honoured spiritual personalities in the Catholic Church in prehistoric times and even at present. The most important learning from the Virgin Mary retablo is that the people who existed in the period in which the retablo was made had a significant connection to the church (Nolan 15-20). Most notably, they valued the saints and therefore, preferred preserving their images in form

Kant's ethical theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Kant's ethical theory - Essay Example Immanuel Kant is the founder of Critical Philosophy, and he is also the Father of Modern Philosophy. By applying the Critical Method to the study of Pure Reason, Practical Reason and Judgement, Kant endeavored himself to the knowledge of Man. His findings provide a wide spectrum of implications in order to establish the frameworks of Absolute Empiricism,Absolute Rationalism and Absolute Idealism In the realm of any ethical theory, there are some standpoints that can be taken, so an ethical system could be Deontological, Teleological, Consequentialist, Relativism/Subjectivism, and Virtue Based Theories. Kant’s ethical theory is purely based on duty, so it is deontological. The uniqueness and originality of his ethical theory springs from the application of the concept of Categorical Imperatives (unconditional) instead of Hypothetical Imperatives (condicional) as the philosophers before Kant used to build their ethical theories, especially in the case of Thomas Aquinas. The Cate gorical Imperatives demand to be universalizable in order to be accepted as valid guidelines for action. The concepts of autonomy and heteronomy along with the principle of treating human beings as ends in themselves, not as means, give rise to valid conclusions about respect for human dignity, freedom in every ethical choice, and the eventual state of peace that can be accomplished with such an ethical system. It lacks the presence of Unconditional Love as Kant tried by all means not to deal with the conflicts that arise out of building an ethical theory based on emotions. But Unconditional Love is much more than an emotion as it can be considered to be a Categorical Principle. 2. Defining how Kant distinguishes between autonomy and heteronomy. Autonomy is the freedom of choice without any external determination, and Kant established that it is necessary for a human act to be considered moral in itself. Heteronomy is the external determination of human acts (for example, God or a motivation based on any kind of reward or punishement) so heteronomy interferes with the freedom of choice of the individual taking away from the agent the capacity of using his/her reason as a whole human being according to the Law of Nature to act in a moral way. The implications of this standpoint about morality are summed up as follows: "If our actions are pre-determined and we merely bounce around like snooker-balls, we cannot be described as free and morality doesn't apply to us. Kant could not prove that we are free - rather, he presumed that we could act morally, and for this to be the case we must be free. He also thought that it followed that there must be a God and life after death, otherwise morality would make no sense." (RSRevision.Com, 2006). 3. Explaining Kant's formulation of the "categorical imperative." A categorical imperative is an unconditional motivation to act morally as a free agent. This concept is very useful from a practical viewpoint since actions guided by a categorical imperative are free from speculations or dogmatic interpretations. That way our actions are morally correct, and they are good in themselves since they are valid for everybody according to the universalization process explained by Kant. Those actions spring from the good will of man since the main motivation is a strong sense of duty. Some of the formulations of the categorical imperative are the following: "Act only on that maxim (intention) whereby at the same time you can will that it shall become a universal law" () "Always act to treat humanity, whether in yourself or in others, as an end in itself, never merely as a means." (Philosopher.Org, no date). 4. Explaining how adherence to the categorical imperative provides for autonomous ethical choice. Whenever we are faced with conflictive choices the categorical i

The Tin Drum Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Tin Drum - Term Paper Example This shows Alfred a Nazi character, but it also shows that he is weak, under the influence of his wife, and not an absolutely fanatical Nazi. Hitler and Beethoven represent the cultural tensions in the family which in turn result in the young Oskar’s somewhat confused understanding of the power struggles that are going on. Oskar describes Alfred’s fondness for the visual image that the Nazi uniform presents, but the description also shows how uncomfortable it was to wear, since the strap of the cap â€Å"scraped his chin† (p. 116) and he had to get wet in the rain because he refused to use an umbrella. (p. 116) Alfred goes out to Sunday demonstrations but apart from that, there is very little change in his activities, since he still cooks, and washes up in the home as he did before. Section b. As far as we can tell from Oskar’s rather biased narrative, Alfred did not really have much of a career as a Nazi Party member. Oskar describes his motivation for jo ining the party as a natural tendency to conform to his surroundings: â€Å"he always had to wave when other people were waving, to shout, laugh and clap when other people were shouting, laughing and clapping.† (p. 152) His membership is described as â€Å"quite unnecessary, brought no benefits, and just wasted his Sunday mornings† (p. 152) and so it is obvious that Oskar trivializes and mocks Alfred’s status there. Even when Oskar mentions Alfred’s promotion, he does it in an off-hand manner: â€Å" Like all unusual happenings, his promotion was the occasion for a family skat game.† (p. 115) This is echoed later in connection with a drinking session when Alfred is grieving over the death of Agnes beneath the portrait of the Fuhrer: â€Å"the teetotaling Fuhrer was silent, because Matzerath, a drunken little unit leader, was unworthy of Providence† (p. 185). These disparaging comments show that Matzerath filled a very low rank and was of ver y little importance in the Nazi regime. Section c. The Nazi rally on a summer day in 1935 was a planned set piece which was intended to whip up support from the faithful. The way that Oskar describes it, however, subverts the intentions of the stage and the rows of flag bearing people. It is set up so that people go to a rostrum to look up in awe at the spectacle before them. Everything is regimented in straight lines, and yet the advice of Mr Bebra urges Oscar to be aware of the hidden mechanisms of power that operates during these rallies: â€Å"Always take care to be sitting on the rostrum and never to be standing out in front of it.† (p. 114) Oskar views the rostrum from behind it, which shows the mechanisms which orchestrate the event, or from underneath, where he can disrupt it without being seen. Dramatic displays like â€Å"torchlight processions and parades past rostrums† (p. 115) may look impressive from the perspective of a spectator, but the depiction in Th e Tin Drum suggests that the whole thing is a sham, and that it is better either to be fully in favour of it, and on the rostrum, or to utterly oppose it. Going with the flow, like Matzerath, is seen to be the worst option. Section d. There is a lot of symbolism in Oskar’s account of the death of Alfred Matzerath. Clearly the party membership pin that

Will China Become a Superpower in the Future Essay

Will China Become a Superpower in the Future - Essay Example This essay discusses the People's Republic of China, called China in day to day parlance, that has become synonymous with the term ‘emerging superpower’ today. Whenever the world talks about China, reference is made to the country’s future global prowess. Riding high on near-double digit economic growth for the last more than three decades, China has turned from a closed, impecunious economy into a self-assured and flourishing global trading partner. China’s performance on various parameters strengthens the belief that the country indeed has the potential to become a superpower. China is the second biggest economy of the world, next only to the United States. The researcher of this essay focuses on the analysis of China’s success and a million dollar question, that looms large. Will China be able to tread the distance and be able to shed the ‘emerging superpower’ tag and actually become a ‘superpower’? It is mentioned that w hile there are parameters on which China has scored wonderfully well to be termed as a hot contender for becoming a superpower, there are many challenges in the way, such as the rate of urbanization, safe drinking water, it's citizens and the villages. These challenges are truly daunting and are prevalent in the economic, social, demographic and political environment of the country. The researcher then states a conclusion of the aforesaid discussion, that is China is not, and will not be a Superpower. At best, it will be an influential power on the world stage.

The role of music and other sound Essay Example for Free

The role of music and other sound Essay Often when in convocation with another person a generally meaningless comment can have a profound ability to offend someone more than a deliberately vulgar outburst; this is due to the tone in which the person delivers his remake. Tone as described in the Oxford Dictionary is the sound of a persons voice, expressing a feeling or mood, and is an essential tool in the way people communicate with each other to express there feelings and experiences. In author Tennessee Williams A Street Car Named desire a play about two sisters from the south living out there separate lives, meet again in New Orleans during a pivotal moment in each of there journeys; tone is a vital tool in expressing there emotional trials and tribulations within the book. As while reading the book it is not possible to hear the tones in which the characters use to express themselves, it is done through the stage directions. Thought the stage directions do not only evoke the tones of the play, they also foreshadow events ahead through describing symbolic happenings such as music and sound effects. Tennessee Williams use of stage directions is one of the many keys to the great success of this play; even the first paragraph is a tribute to that. The first paragraph describes a peaceful image, Two women, one white the other coloured talking, which for its time would have seen as being taboo in most areas of the country. The passage continues to describe a peaceful setting where summer seems to be creeping slowly and how people of different colours mingle amongst each other. This sense of tranquility is suddenly halted by the playing of a blue Piano simultaneously as the men come back for there bowling match. This indicates that the blue piano is a foreshadow to trouble in the future and when ever it plays it symbolizes a problematic situation arising. This is confirmed further on within the act as when ever the piano is described, a conflict emerges. Whilst Stella and Blanche are reacquainting they start to talk about what happened to there old home the Belle Reve, when the blue piano starts playing again. In this situation the piano indicate the emotional climax of this scene, when Blanche vividly describes what trials and tribulations she has suffered whilst her sister has been away, and how badly she has come off from them. The tone of the speech is very much linked to the colour of the piano, intending the speech to portray a time of sorrow of Blanches life. The last and probably the most symbolic aspect the image of the blue piano withholds is the forthcoming of Stella and Stanleys new baby. The arrival of the baby mentioned in unison with the play of the blue piano foreshadows that the birth or even just the babies being with strike up conflict within the characters in the book and may lead to a rift in there relationships. Another musical effect portraying tone is the song of the Polka. The song features at the end scene one during a conversation where Blanche and Stanly were flirting. The polka song is meant to symbolize the death of Blanches husband; ambiguously the line The music of the polka rises up, faint in the distance refers to her husband in a literal sense, as to Blanche, her husbands memory is faint in the distance, from a time long past, but still it faintly lives on within her. The reminder of her husband through song is a reaction of the guilt she feels, guilt for flirting with another man, i. e. her sisters husband Stanly. This guilt uncovers her underlying feelings still for her husband and how she is still trying to grasp hold to her life that she had before her life went into turmoil. The song also foreshadows the starting of a relationship with Stanly will only lead to a negative end for Blanche and potentially suffering a similar downfall as when her husband died. The final effect of sound used to disclose tone is laughter. Regularly in plays laughter would be used by the author to denote a light hearted or humors moment within the performance; however the appearance of laughter in A Streetcar Named Desire marks a moment or presence of tension between characters. Not the first occurrence of laughter used to break tension but probably the most prominent is when Stanley first offers Blanche a drink and uses a sexual metaphor to refer to her drinking. This not only reveals Stanleys nature as a womanizer but exposes sexual tension between Blanche and her brother in law. The laugh therefore predicts a sexual entwinement between the two characters later on in the book ensuring conflicts to follow. The second important period where a laugh emoting tension occurs is during convocation between Stanly and Stella when they are arguing over whether Blanche is telling the truth about Belle Reve. This is a pivotal moment within the opening scenes for it reveals three things. Firstly that Stella is uncomfortable with her husbands over eagerness to pursue issues that do not relate to him. This makes her insecure for it means she is unable to with hold her own secrets, for if Stanly new she held them he would interrogate her until she told him or worse. The is related to the first, in that Stella feels she has no control over her life for she is forced to do what Stanly wants, which is portrayed in that he does not listen to what Stella want and interrogates Blanche; which against Stella wishes. Thirdly Stella feels Stanly is far to curious of Blanche and feels slightly threatened by her sister as she feels Blanche may steal Stanley away from her. A Streetcar Named Desire is a play driven upon an emotional rollercoaster colliding with opposing personalities ensuring for furious confrontations. Tennessee Williams use of stage directions to provoke the tone of the characters allows for vivid imagery and powerfully tense moments.