Education Platform and Learning Theory Assignment

Education Platform and Learning Theory - Assignment Example Often memory is fallible and hugely unreliable upon first encounter with information and the importance of continuous and repeated study and practice to enhance memory of content can never be over emphasized. This makes exercise a principle of learning, core in daily undertakings with students. In his book, Thorndike mentions the principle of exercise and states that, that which is often repeated and revised is remembered best and I strongly agree. Primacy also, as a law of learning insists that the state of being first creates a strong impression in that the first experience a learner has with a particular subject matter often sticks and has therefore to be positive and form basis of what is to follow. For example, unlearning and retracting a wrong first impression can be difficult and confusing to the students and may even put the teacher’s mastery of subject to question; a situation that must be avoided (Thorndike and Gates, 1929). ... Greater freedom on the other hand means greater advancement and often stimulates personal responsibility. An Ideal Educator As stated in Guthrie’s Encyclopedia of Education, an ideal educator, above all else, must have adequate, if not thorough, knowledge and command of content, subject and curriculum of study. This also involves diverse knowledge on related subjects and any questions that may arise from the students, relevant or not, should be handled with relative ease and competence. An ideal educator must be one who loves to read and remain ever abreast with the subject; constantly updating themselves (Guthrie, 2003). He/ she ought also to be patient as students have different abilities and the slow ones may have as much or even more desire to learn as the skilled. An ideal educator should have integrity and be a good role model for the students. This ranges from good, decent, and neat dressing to strong rapport with students and fellow educators, good tone, friendly and a n appropriate sense of humor. They should be fair and not appearing to favor anyone, engaging, interactive, listening and able to drive the students toward more creative and critical thinking. Good oral and writing skill together with self confidence as such from facial expressions and a positive attitude are critical too and are a major plus (Guthrie, 2003). Ideal Education Work Environment A suitable educational environment would be one that makes me, fellow employees as well as students feel good about coming to work and study and at ease and peace with the students, teachers and auxiliary staff across the board. This promotes a sense of community

Is Excessive Food Waste an Environmental Concern Essay

Is Excessive Food Waste an Environmental Concern - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that according to a report by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (APA), remarkably few citizens know that excessive food waste is an environmental hazard. Excessive food refers to wasteful practices by consumers and during production. Most people argue that since food is biodegradable, it does not pose a threat to the environment. However, a report published by EPA revealed that when food rots, it produces a greenhouse gas known as methane. Amazingly, methane is twenty times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) argues that if only five percent of Americans’ food scraps were recovered, it would be enough to feed four million people for a day. USDA reported that close to 26 million tons of wasted food get thrown away in garbage annually. In fact, in 2010, food approximated to 34 million tons went to waste. In addition, food waste formed the single largest component of municipal solid waste reaching incinerators and landfills. EPA notes that the U.S government spends close to one billion dollars just to dispose of all its wasted food. This is exceedingly astonishing. The excess money spent on the management of wasted food can be used to run vital government departments. Experts from the University of Arizona believe that the country’s environmental impact can be reduced by 25 percent if Americans can reduce their food wastage by a half. This appears to be true because the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) indicated on 10th January 2012 that one-third of the food produced for human consumption globally, goes to waste every year. FAO reported that consumers and retailers in the U.S waste close to 40 percent of edible food annually. The data from FAO is also astonishing and calls for immediate actions. From the data reported earlier, it is clear that excessive food waste is becoming a serious environmental hazard. Consider ing the report produced by FAO, the U.S is just a representative of many nations whose citizens waste tons of food annually. The most alarming bit is that methane, the gas produced from food rot, traps heat in the atmosphere 23 times more than the widely known carbon dioxide. Since global warming affects the whole earth, stakeholders should consider passing international regulations that regulate the quantity of wasted food a country produces, in order to curb methane overproduction.

Leading And Managing A Change In Clinical Practice Nursing Essay

Leading And Managing A Change In Clinical Practice Nursing Essay I had seen many patients complains of complex wounds that need long time to cure. Complex wounds are considered as a real challenge to the health care providers especially when it is accompanied with factors that can play role in impaired and complicate wound healing such as Surgery, infection, the presence of diabetes, Trauma, Radiation, Autoimmune diseases and arteriosclerosis. As stated by Ferreira. M, 2006: The most commonly seen complex wounds that require special care and attention are Wounds in the lower extremity of diabetic patients, Pressure ulcers, Chronic venous ulcers, Wounds following extensive necrotic processes caused by infections and Chronic wounds related to vasculitis and immunosuppressive therapy that have not healed using simple care. There is no specialized and responsible team who can determine the best type of management for the patients with complex wounds. The health care provider in the hospital is providing the same care and management to the patients who complaining of simple or complex wounds. They need to know that There are striking differences between simple wounds, for example surgical wounds or skin scratches, and those chronic wounds that do not heal primarily and demand specialized care, mostly in hospitals (Ferreira. M, 2006) .This will harm the patient (physically and emotionally), decrease the quality of care that provides to the patients, delay wound healing and increase the period of hospitalization. The care provided for patients with wounds can be described in one single word which its DRESSING. While the treatment of the complex wound is much complicated. Determining that the majority of these complex wounds should be considered surgical cases and not just cases for dressings as stated by Ferreira. M. 2006. The treatment of complex wounds should be by using surgical procedures instead of the clinical measures. In addition to debridements, skin grafting, and flap coverage. Health care providers (doctors, nurses, etc) need to increase their awareness about the important of the presence of wound management team in each hospital to decide the best type of management, decrease the complexity of the treatment and choose the best surgical approaches that will increase the quality of life to the patient. Step 2 A complicated wound needs more than just a bandage to recover and heal. It needs special attention; compassion of a wound care team who are specializes in non-healing and slow to heal wounds. As stated by Tjandra. J, 2001Wound healing is the replacement of destroyed tissue by living tissue, and is fundamental to survival. My vision is to form a team of professionals who work together to assess patients wound and provide input regarding their treatment. This team consists of physicians, physical therapists, dietitians and nurses wound therapy nurses and nurses specialized in complex wounds. These specialized wound nurses may visit patients in their home in order to provide an effective plan to heal their wounds. They have to work on providing appropriate wound care to the patients that will help the complex wound to heal faster. As well as they should know that Wound healing may be impaired by general factors such as malnutrition, corticosteroids, diabetes mellitus and anaemia, which affect the patient as a whole. And local factors such as infection, ischaemia and hematoma which affect the site of the wound (Tjandra. J, 2001). In addition to cleansing, control bacterial growth and prevent infection. This team will also provides education to patients and their families to help prevent any future complications, increase there awareness regard complex wounds and their demands to heal, encourage them to collaborate with the team and participate in the treatment. This change will enhance the quality of care patients received; improve the quality of life, decrease the period of hospitalization and promote the process of healing. It is important that all practitioners are aware of the pathophysiology and aetiology of pressure ulcers and mechanisms to prevent pressure ulcer development (Ousey, K, 2005) because Patients with complex wounds need to spend long period in the hospital so they will be at high risk of develop bed sore. Team members should coordinate program to prevent pressure ulcer that will protect the patient from getting this series skin problem. This change will build up a very strong team who are able to put the patient on the right way of cure and make them able to treat the complex wounds in time less than the expected. It is a real chance for all the health care provider specially nurses toward increasing their knowledge and improving there skills. Wound care team consider as a good step towards improving the health care services in the hospital. Step 3 4 Leadership is a very important concept in nursing professional that helps to develop the skills of nurses and the other health care professionals. I will be able to achieve my vision by using one of the most important models in leaderships and management. It is John Adairs Leadership model. Adair has developed what he calls a functional approach to leadership based on three overlapping circles of needs which are achieving the task, managing the team or group and managing individuals (Cipd 2010). By adopting this model of leadership, my responsibilities as a leader to achieve the task are as follows: sharing my vision, goals, and objectives with the team members. Then, create an action plan to achieve the task, considering timescales and strategies. It is important to share my action plan with the members and ask them for feedback or suggestions. After that I will distribute responsibilities by agreement and delegation, monitor and maintain overall performance against plan and report the progress toward the team aim continuously. Finally review, reassess, adjust plan, methods as necessary. In addition to that I will encourage and motivate the members to be involved in making decisions and giving suggestions, to make the task a success and meet our goals. The leader should try to resolve any groups conflicts and look for ways to develop a cooperative team working. However, to develop each nurse and improve her skills, we will recognize the team member as individuals, and get to know their strengths and needs, we have to help them and encourage them to challenge the complex cases of wounds. It is very important to give awards and recognitions to the individuals hard efforts and work. Therefore, to achieve my vision and reveal the benefits of this change I will apply Lewins three- stage model of change. It is a holistic model that helps people to think about the change and gradually adopt it as pointed out by martin (2003). Lewin proposed 3 stages for any changes to occur, including: the unfreezing stage is when people start to believe that there is a need for change, the moving stage, when it is possible to make changes, and the refreezing stage is when the change is strengthened and becomes the new normal state (martin 2003). In the unfreezing stage team members must realize that they will be able to treat any type of complex wounds and promote wound healing if they work on improve their knowledge and skills. They will see the importance of act as one collaborative group to enhance the quality of care and promote wound healing. As stated by Reinelt (2010) Evidence-based practice (EBP) is commonly used to inform practice decisions in the fields of medicine, nursing, social work, child welfare, and criminal justice. So it is important to provide the team with some evidence based research that will guide decision-making about what treatments and protocols to use with individual patients, and offenders to ensure the highest possible accountability for producing good results. Reinelt (2010). In addition to that, I will invite nurses and doctors from other countries that are already implemented this idea in their hospitals and ask them to give presentation to our health care providers about their experience and discuses how this change can improve the quality of care and increase the benefits to the patients. Throughout this stage, I will be expecting initial resistance to the change by some people but I will listen carefully to their opinions and issues, I will try to convince them of the important and the benefits of implementing this change. I will also encourage them to give suggestions that would help in achieving my vision. In the moving stage, we will see the possibility of forming complex wound team in the hospital and improve members skills and knowledge. In this stage I will arrange for different teaching sessions and workshops that will help in increase members knowing, improve their therapeutic and communication skills, and enhance their confidence. One of the most important nursing leadership qualities is supporting your team, If the members of the team wish to develop new skills, or apply their theoretical knowledge in a practical environment, it is important that the leader provide a supportive environment for them to try out these skills. This will provide them with the true method of learning, and develop their skills in a competent manner (Lalwani, P. 2010). In addition, there will be a team supervisor who will distribute and organize the work between the members and promote team collaboration. In the refreezing stage, the change is carried out and implemented, the team is working together to treat and promote healing of any difficult wounds. Leader should keep in mind that not every member can deal with stress and other such aspects of the profession very well. So, as a leader, I will need to support them, and understand and help them in a way that proves useful for them (Lalwani, P. 2010). The Leader is responsible of solving problems, encourage and motivate the members and introduce feedbacks, as stated by Lalwani, P. 2010, Feedback can, and should also be positive, as this will further encourage your team members to perform better and keep introducing innovative yet efficient ways of becoming independent. Therefore, there will be monitoring committee to observe team achievements, evaluate their understanding, knowledge and skills and recognize the benefits of this change for patients, families, and the healthcare providers. The findings will determine if we will carry o n this change, stop it or create another action plan to overcome the difficulties and improve the outcomes. Step5 As stated by Lalwani, P. 2010, my goal is ensure the betterment of the organization I am work for, by improving the quality of patient care, which I can do with the application of various creative leadership qualities and management strategies, and the different leadership styles in nursing. My action plan included many steps and events which will aid to achieve my vision and create wound management team consist of physicians and nurses specialize in the complex wounds. This will help to achieve my goals such as enhance the quality of care patients received, improve patients quality of life, and promote healing of the difficult wounds. In addition to improve health care providers knowledge and skills regarding the difficult wounds and the most important thing is create nurses specialize in wound therapy and make them able to treat any complicated wounds. So I think my action plan is fit well with my previous explanation and rational for change. Conclusion By the end of this assignment I discover that there are at least 8 qualities that successful leaders have: Responsibility, Integrity, Decision takers, Deal with facts, Vision and inspiration, Optimism, Resilient, and Excellence (Brodie, D. 2008). The Successful leaders are not just working to put themselves in good senior position but to use their skills, knowledge and all the leadership qualities for the growth of the organization that they are working for, provide high quality of care to the patients that will lead to patient satisfaction and play role in the progress of their health and well being. I can understand now that the leaders are those who are willing to follow. They must be perfect in whatever they do, because by doing their best; they will discover that only the best is expected from their team members. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1807-59322006000600014script=sci_arttext Tjandra, J. Clunie, G. Thomas, R (2001). Text Book of Surgery/ Wound Healing and Wound Management. USA, Canada, Australia. 2nd ed., Pp 20, 23, 24, 25. Ousey. K, (2005) Pressure Area Care, UK.1st ed., Pp 13 http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/maneco/leadership/leadshipovw.htm?IsSrchRes=1 Martin, V. 2003 Leading change in health and social care, 1st ed., Routledge: London and New York, Pp. 104-06. http://leadershiplearning.org/blog/claire-reinelt/2010-06-29/use-evidence-based-practice-field-leadership-development http://www.buzzle.com/articles/nursing-leadership-qualities.html (Lalwani, P. 2010) http://ezinearticles.com/?The-8-Qualities-of-Successful-Leadersid=760414

Touching Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride -- Wedding Toasts

Touching Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride (to the crowd) As Father of the Bride, I am honored to be the first to speak this evening. I would like to begin by welcoming each and every one of you on this joyous occasion. It is good to see so many friends and family here today to help celebrate Paula and Manson’s wedding. I would also like to remember those who have meant so much to our family, but could not be here today. (to Manson) At this time, I would like to take this opportunity to formally and wholeheartedly welcome Manson into our family. I hope that we will get to know you better in the coming months and years. (to the crowd) It is about this time in every wedding that the bride begins thinking, â€Å"oh-my-gosh, what is daddy going to say?† â€Å"Is he goin...

History Essay

1.   In your opinion, who started the Cold War? Explain in 5 sentences. In one opinion, the Cold War was not started by one side or the other.   The Cold War was more of a culmination of political, cultural and ideological differences than anything else(Pierpaoli).   This being said, in fairness, both the West and the East provoked hostilities during the Cold War through various attempts to promote their respective political systems throughout the world.   Ultimately, the Cold War was not decisively won by the West; rather, the West was able to hold out longer than the East. 2.   List three major prolonged conflicts in the Cold War. During the Cold War, three major prolonged conflicts that erupted were the Korean War (1950–1953); the Vietnam War (1946–1975); and the war in Afghanistan (1979–1989)(Pierpaoli). 3.   How did the Cold War influence society and culture? 3 sentences The Cold War influenced society and culture in many ways.   Culturally, the Cold War gave birth to an entire genre of literature and motion pictures/television- the classic story of the â€Å"secret agent†.   In terms of society, the Cold War divided society in terms of whether people, in both the East and West, supported capitalism or communism, and the many facets that each system offered (Pierpaoli). 4.   Evaluate the role of technology on the Cold War. Technology also played a role in the Cold War.   It was through surveillance technology that the United States was able to protect itself from Soviet aggression, such as the detection of missile sites in Cuba, a mere 90 miles from the US mainland (Pierpaoli).   Technology also helped the Soviets to detect an American U2 spy plane within their airspace- an incident which almost sparked World War III.   Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the nuclear weapon technology which both the US and USSR possessed held the potential to destroy the planet. 5.What was Watergate and how did it influence the Vietnam War? Briefly describe. When one speaks of Watergate, they are usually referring to illegal actions taken by President Richard M. Nixon. Watergate is said to have begun when Nixon ordered one of his closest advisors, Henry Kissinger, to tap the telephone of a New York Time reporter in order to try to determine who was â€Å"leaking† information to the media about a secret bombing mission in Cambodia (Greene).   This influenced the Vietnam War in that the public learned of the many outrageous secret missions of the American military in Vietnam, raising public opposition to the war itself. 6.`A Short History of Terrorism,` write a paragraph explaining the difference in modern `terrorism` and its historical antecedents given in this article. The single most remarkable difference modern terrorism and its historical antecedents is the fact that modern terrorism is not meant to advance the agenda of a particular nation, but is driven by the belief by many Middle Eastern nations that the United States is an evil empire which God would like to see destroyed (Greenberg).   This type of religious zeal gives modern terrorism its sharp teeth and deadly venom. 7. Write a brief essay explaining your views on whether America should move beyond Affirmative Action at this time. Support your position. America should move beyond Affirmative Action for several key reasons; first, as we have seen in recent months, opportunities have opened up for minorities from the most powerful office in the United States to the areas of entertainment, the media, and the average job in any city in the nation.   Additionally, the increasing cultural diversity of America is transforming the demographic of the nation so that rather than minorities (Gryphon), there are any number of â€Å"mini-majorities† in place, thereby making favoritism for any given group both outdates and unnecessary. 8. Did women have a positive role in the progressive movement even before they had the right to vote? What was it? Describe briefly. Women most definitely had a positive role in the progressive movement even before they had the right to vote because it was the women in society which held families together as men worked outside of the home for long hours, making the woman the essential person who fed/mentored the children, etc.   It was in roles such as these that women were already asserting superiority before they could cast a ballot (Friedan). 9. Did the U.S. do everything it could to help the Jews in Europe? Is our current foreign policy a reaction to this situation? Briefly describe. In the final analysis, the US did not do everything it could to help the Jews in Europe, as there is evidence to suggest that the American government knew about the plight of Jews in Europe for several years before getting involved to protect the lives and interests of European Jews.   In a way, it can be said that our current foreign policy is a reaction to this past situation, as the US is both trying to prevent any aggression against the Jews of the magnitude of that of the past in Europe, and also compensating Jews for past injustices. 10. What were the roles of television and advertising in creating the consumer society of the post-World War II world? Briefly describe. Television and advertising created the consumer society of the post-World War II world, as they both shared with millions of war-weary Americans a wide variety of products that were now available after years of rationing and scarcity due to the war effort.   This led to a consumer society, as American people not only grabbed the items that they needed and could not get for many years, but also those new items that had not been available before.   All of this made the nation one of hardcore consumers, a trend that continues today.

Global Competitive Advantage - Apple Case Study - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2042 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Research paper Level High school Did you like this example? International Business Global competitive advantage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" creating and sustaining: the case of Apple Inc. The purpose of this essay is to discuss theoretical ideas behind creating and sustaining global competitive advantage; then applying these in an analysis of Apple Inc. Using the star analysis, I will examine how the company achieves global competitive advantage by means of efficiency, flexibility and learning. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation, founded in April 1976, headquartered in Cupertino, California, US (Apple.com, 2014). The company designs, manufactures and retails consumer electronics, online services, personal computers and software. Apple is also thelargest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization, second-largest information technology companyby revenue and theworlds third-largest mobile phone maker (Forbes.com, 2013). Globalisation plays a major role in achieving global competitive advantage. The merge of distinct and historically separate national markets into one global market place poses many advantages as well as disadvantages for companies operating world-wide (Hill, 2005). Home country Apple states that it differs from other companies within the same sector as it was set up to create value by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“seeking innovations and creating an organization that can implement themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Steve Jobs, 2000). The company is thought to have a very powerful management and corporate culture, which promotes innovation in everything they do, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“from their products to marketing and deliveryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ; which is key in differentiating their brand from the competition (The Harvard Review, 2011). Porterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1980) value chain helps businesses examine additional competitive capabilities hidden in primary and support activities. For the purpose of this assignment, I will concentrate on exploring primary activities that predominately apply to how Apple creates value and thus gains competitive advantage. Research and development is one of the primary activities, where Apple creates value. The company designs and develops products which are rich in design and user experience. Throughout the years, Apple has created a brand culture, attracting customers who identify with the brands values: innovativeness, simplicity, and coolness (Forbes, 2012).This core competence alone gives the company a distinguished brand image in the market, and a competitive advantage, which succeeds even in the face of multiple competitors (Apple.com, 2014). Marketing and sales is a very important sector for a company competing within the fast-developing technology sector. Perceived scarcity of Appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s products makes them seen as luxury goods therefore more desirable and in demand (Forbes, 2011). Apple is also seen as the master of preserving confidentiality during the product development phase. On the other hand, the company is also named the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“master of the teaser marketing campaignà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Telegraph, 2013). Each time a new product is due to be launched, leakages feed the media and internet creating speculations months prior to the actual launch. This creates a free marketing momentum prior to paid marketing campaign. The Apple store is a place where customers are able to sense the Apple experience delivered by the products, but also by the well-trained staff. Employees are trained not to focus on sales but on building relationships and creating loyal customers. This approach makes customers feel like Apple enriches their lives, thus improves brand image and creates value (The Business Review, 2011). Partner country Businesses are often unable to sustain continuous high levels of productivity over long periods of time without accessing knowledge from beyond their boundaries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" they require external knowledge to develop new inno vations (Haeussler et al. 2014). According to Bing-Sheng et al. (1998), increasing formation of strategic alliances can be seen as a response toglobalisationand increasing uncertainty and complexity in the business environment. A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more organisations to collaborate on a specific business activity or an on-going project, whilst maintaining their own identity. The main aim of an alliance is for both firms to benefit from achieving economies of scale and greater access to target markets, sharing of knowledge and expertise as well as the reduction of risk and costs thus gaining competitive advantage (Bing-Sheng et al. 1998). Apple Inc. has recently announced a new partnership with IBM. The main aim of the alliance is to team up à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“market-leading strengthsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  of both companies to renovate enterprise mobility with the use of IMBà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s data and analytical capabilities and Appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ha rdware and software as well as unique customer experience (Apple, 2014). According to Forbes (2014), IBM will also sell iPhones and iPads to business clients worldwide. This demonstrates that Apple will benefit from greater access to new target markets whilst IBM will advantage from selling Appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s products to their customers. Furthermore, a strategic alliance with IBM poses a great potential advantage for Apple as IBM holds extensive understanding of enterprise business conditions and demands. Consequently, Apple could act opportunistically and learn from their competitor. Partner selection is vital to forming a successful strategic alliance (Hill, 2014). IBM will help Apple achieve its strategic goals through greater enterprise market access, gaining access to critical core competencies of IBM and sharing the costs and risks of new product development. On the other hand, according to Hill (2014), the failure rate for strategic alliances seems to be high; this i s why an alliance should be structured so that threat of opportunism is minimised. Contractual safeguards have to be written into the alliance agreement to protect core competencies of the company (Hill, 2014). Apple and IBM both agreed to bring together complementary skills and assets that neither company could develop on its own (Forbes, 2014) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" this reduces the threat of opportunism from both sides as both companies will benefit from the alliance. An additional way of successfully managing a strategic alliance is to recognise opportunities ahead of the competition (Haeussler et al. 2014). Critics outline that Apple didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t realise the importance of a strategic alliance with Microsoft early enough. Consequently, if Apple would have licensed their Mac OS operating system, when it first came out, perhaps Windows would not be as successful (Forbes, 2014). This demonstrates that strategic alliances can pose a great competitive advantage when recogni sed at the right time and managed correctly. Supplier country International businesses often face make-or-buy decisions about whether they should perform a certain activity in-house or outsource elsewhere. Companies usually internalise core competence activities in order to protect proprietary product technology, accumulate dynamic capabilities and improve scheduling. On the other hand, activities seen as peripheral to core competence are usually externalised with the aim of lowering cost and achieving strategic flexibility (Parmigiani, 2007). As outlined earlier in this essay, Apple Inc. perceives designing and developing its products as the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s core competence, hence these activities are internalised to avoid opportunism from competing companies. Acquisition of businesses can also help protecting and expanding core competencies of the company. Apple acquires smaller businesses in order to gain skills and intellectual property to work on new projects (Tim Cook, 2013), for instance: in recent years, the company acquired Siri (a voice-recognition system) as well as a series of mapping start-ups that shaped the basis of Apple Maps (Apple.com, 2014). In contrast, critics debate if Apple should become more acquisitive as they are moving from traditional personal computers to smart phones and mobile computing, where competition is much tougher (Forbes, 2014). When balancing between internalisation and externalisation, companies have to consider transaction cost analysis of boundary decisions, including the most efficient way of governing it. Internalised design and development of Apple products demonstrates the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hierarchical approach to transaction cost analysis of boundary decisions, where costs are high as activities are performed in-house, however: threat of opportunism is kept at its minimum (Hill, 2014). On the other side of the spectrum, activities such as manufacturing are externalised and perfo rmed by other companies such as Foxconn Technology Group, located in China (Apple, 2014). This is also an example of intermediate governance as both firms benefit from the manufacturing contract. Offering a relatively high-skilled, low-priced labour force as well as a good business infrastructure and a stable economy, China is an ideal location for manufacturing Appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s products (The Economist, 2014). Furthermore most of the products needed for manufacturing are made in China thus lowering the cost of production (Forbes, 2014). As outlined above, the more complex the governance mechanism, the more effective it will be in reducing the threat of opportunism. On the other hand, market governance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" although relatively cheap, will allow competing companies to act opportunistically (Barney, 1999). Bearing in mind the transaction cost economies; Apple balances between internalisation and externalisation efficiently, thus creating a competitive advantage. Customer country: Integrationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Responsiveness (IR) is vital to achieve global competitive advantage. This framework outlines that companies should balance between pressures for cost reduction and local responsiveness (Hill, 2014). As demonstrated below, the integration-responsiveness framework presents four distinct approaches to IR. Apple Inc. operates under international strategy: products are designed focusing on domestic customers, whilst international business is sought as a way of replicating its home-market success (Kendall et al. 1990). This means that Appleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s products are standardised: engineering, design and manufacturing is all controlled by one source à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" this gives the company greater control as well as a competitive advantage as it differentiates from competing businesses (Forbes, 2013). Consequently, differentiation becomes the main competitive strategy as international strategy is not the m ost cost-efficient. Furthermore, international strategy is well suited for high-end products also allowing greater control over the company (Rothaermel, 2013). Apple has a strong brand image, with products seen as up-market and luxury (Forbes, 2014). This demonstrates that the company does not have to alter its IR as pressure for local responsiveness and cost reduction is relatively low. On balance, based on application of academic frameworks in research I conducted, I believe that Apple generates and maintains substantial global competitive advantage over its rivals. Activities such as: building efficient global supply chains, flexibility when managing risks and opportunities and learning from international exposure as well as partnership with other companies all help Apple become an innovative company with a strong brand reputation and a sustained global competitive advantage. References: Apple (2014) Apple/About. Available from: https://www.apple.com/uk [Accessed: 1 Dece mber 2014]. Apple Press Info (2014) Apple and IBM Forge Global Partnership to Transform Enterprise Mobility. Available from: https://www.apple.com/uk/pr/library/2014/07/15Apple-and-IBM-Forge-Global-Partnership-to-Transform-Enterprise-Mobility.html. [Accessed 30 November 2014]. Barney, J.B. (1999) How a Firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Capabilities Affect Boundary Decisions. MIT Sloan Management Review, 40 (3) 137-145. Bing-Sheng, T; Das, T. K (1998) Resource and Risk Management in the Strategic Alliance Making Process. Journal of Management. 24 (1) 21-42 Forbes (2013) Apple Dominates List Of The Worlds Most Valuable Brands. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/11/06/apple-dominates-list-of-the-worlds-most-valuable-brands . [Accessed 28 November 2014]. Forbes (2014) Apple IBM Partnership: Enough To Solve Enterprise iOS Fears?. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/leoking/2014/07/16/apple-ibm-partnership-enough-to-solve-enterprise-ios-fears/ . [Accessed 30 November 2014]. Forbes (2014). This Is Why China Is So Important For Apple. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2014/09/22/this-is-why-china-is-so-important-for-apple/. [Accessed 25 November 2014]. 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How I Learned A Great Deal About My Countrys Culture

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