Apple Inc.

Team â€Å"Death Spiral† examined the stewardship and business performance of Apple Inc. by undertaking a strategic analysis of Apple Inc. ’s previous, present and potential future strategic and market performance. The internal workings of the firm were examined to reveal a culture of constant innovation and a drive to create easy to use, life improving products. A two tiered corporate structure with Steve Jobs and Tim Cook being at the apex of anagement and a horizontally flat structure of vice presidents the decision making process is not complicated by various vertical levels of command and decision making. Apple Inc. ’s internal structure has become flexible as divisions are specifically established to develop the latest product and maintain a competitive advantage. Apples industry segments were than explored and it was noted that it was not possible to absolutely define a market which Apple consistently performed in. Apple Inc. ’s multi-functional pro duct base gave a clearly indication of the underlying strategic management at play.It was accepted that Apple has defined its own market segment, that of ‘mobile electronic devices’. The four main strategic management themes of M. E. Porter (focus, differentiation and cost leadership), G. Hamel & C. K. Prahalad (structuralist), W. C. Kim and R. Mauborgne (reconstructionist) and J. Ridderstrale and K. Nordstrom (intellect, uniqueness and innovation) were examined in light of Apple Inc. ’s most recent performance. The Blue Ocean Strategy and the Funky Business Strategy models were found to be the most applicable and helped explained Apple Inc. s sustained and phenomenal rise in business performance. Finally, strategy recommendations for the future direction of Apple Inc were explored by the use of a Strategy Canvas. Possible pitfalls and hypothetical futuristic products were also explored. The single most strategic liability identified was the departure of the CEO Steve Jobs from Apple which could potentially be catastrophic if not fatal for the Apple brand. † ! ! Apple Inc. has transformed over its 30 year existence; there have been changes in leadership, product types, company logo and name.Apple Inc. experienced decline in the early to mid-nineteen nineties but has experienced unprecedented growth and success since the return of the founding father figure of Steve Jobs. Yoffie and Kim (2010) highlight the misdirected and turbulent time Apple experienced in the 1990’s until the turn around and change (1998) in ethos/philosophy of Apple as purported by Jobs. Job’s aim was to reduce the number of product models, change the mode of distribution to larger outlets and promote Apple as a ‘hip alternative to other computer brands’ (Yoffie & Kim, 2010, p. 4).Apple Inc. ’s current mission statement states ‘Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and pr ofessional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and Apps Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices’ (Apple Inc, 2010c). This mission statement highlights and gives a strong indication of where the strategic direction Apple Inc. ntends to progress; not only do they strive to have the best products but they intend to stretch vertically across product lines. To emphasis this, Ostdick (2010) comments on the personal drive of Steve Jobs and his belief that all product innovations can be recycled into other projects. The underlying guiding ethos is just because one piece of technology doesn’t work in one project, how we can potentially use it outside its intended use to produce something new and successful. Parallel to the financial success of Apple Inc. is the longevity and stabilit y of its board of directors and corporate structure of the firm.There are seven members on the board of directors from various professional backgrounds. The average tenure of these members is six years with more than half sitting for more than ten years (Apple Inc, 2009). Organisational structure is horizontal with Steve Jobs and Tim Cook acting as chief executive and operating officers respectively. Beneath this pinnacle are nine vice presidents who preside over areas such as retail, hardware engineering and marketing (see appendix 1 for the current executive structure of Apple Inc. ) (Apple Inc, 2010c).These vice presidents administer the day to day running of fourteen individual divisions (see appendix 2 for the current organisational chart of Apple Inc. ). In terms of strategy; Apple Inc. has dedicated divisions purely for further development of the iPhone and iPod. The flexibly of the firm is highlighted here; with † 0 research and development, Apple are prepared to speci fically develop these products. It would be logical to infer when their product life cycles reach their pinnacle; new divisions may be made to further develop the current products at th time. hat Apple Inc. ’s culture internally is a positive workplace where generous employee benefits are available. Employees are subjected however to a strict process of ethics and business processes outlined in e outline their document ‘Business Conduct: The Way We Do Business’ (Apple Inc, 2009). Externally Apple Business . Inc. is embracing the latest sustainable practices in various operational areas and hence attempting to improve their triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental) or Corporate Social Responsibility credentials (Esty & Winston, 2009).Apple provide educational programs for their staff Esty 2009 . and are engaging the community with educational programs and scholarships (Apple Inc, 2009 Over Apple 2009). the last five years a cultural change has occurr ed in relation to environmental responsibilities. Apple responsibilities. recycling programs have been established, carbon emissions saving have been implemented upstream and downstream of the supply chain; and a further commitment to produce environmentally safe products (Apple Inc, 2010b). ! † # !The first challenge in analysing the industry that Apple operates in is defining that industry. Apple has created its own industry of â€Å"Consumer Technology† by choosing to compete in, and redefine segments of more traditional industries. Apple operates in segments of the Computer, Consumer Electronics, Music, Movie/Video, and Telecommunications Industries. positioned itself in selected segments of the market. In each industry it has Although Apple has its roots in the Computer Industry it is no longer just focused on computers. st The change of name in January 2007 from Apple Computers to Apple Inc reflects this change of direction (Honan, 2007). . Despite this Apple gene rated almost 14 BN USD of sales from personal computers in 2009, its second highest † 1 level in history and 32% of the company’s total sales. Even in its traditional market segment Apple Inc. does not dominate the market with an estimated 4. 2% share of the global market in 2009 (Yoffie & Kim, 2010).Apple Inc. continues to gain ground, particularly in their home market, the USA. Apple PC sales are estimated to be only 10. % of the US market in the 3 quarter of 2010 (see Appendix 3) (Ash, 2010), up from 8% in 2009 (Yoffie & Kim, 2010), overtaking Acer to become a distant 3rd to Hewlett Packard and Dell Computers. The personal computer industry is a USD $425 BN industry dominated by companies producing what are still referred to as â€Å"IBM compatible† machines that predominantly use Microsoft Windows operating systems. Major industry leaders include Hewlett Packard (HP), Dell Computers, Acer, Lenovo is a Chinese company that purchased the loss making personal rd Toshiba and Lenovo. computer business of IBM in 2005. IBM no longer manufactures personal computers. The industry is can be characterised as being in a mature growth phase with rising sales and falling prices. Leading industry consultants the Gartner Group forecast sales growth in unit shipments of almost 20% in 2010 with significant falls in unit prices (Anonymous (The Australian), 2010). The industry is highly price competitive and fragmented with thousands of smaller companies competing with the major players using common commoditised components.Apple stands apart from the pack offering a highly differentiated product, with its own operating system and unique Apple design and style. It focuses on the personal usage market rather than the corporate market and commands premium prices for its products. Despite its small market share overall Apple commanded 91% of computers sales over USD $1,000 in 2009 (Yoffie & Kim, 2010). This allows them to maintain industry leading margins of 40 % in 2009. Apples margins have increased during recent years while their competitors have continued to decline (Yoffie & Kim, 2010).The global consumer electronics market is estimated to be in excess of USD $ 700 BN a year (Anonymous, 2010b). Consumer electronics includes entertainment, office productivity and communication equipment. The boundaries of this industry are loosely defined as product innovation and technology but convergence is blurring the edges. Leading Global companies include (by one industry definition) Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Microsoft, Apple, Intel, IBM and Nokia (The Engineer, 2010). The industry is characterized by product lifecycles which are getting shorter, † nd products more technologically advanced and complex. Your phone is a computer; your fridge can connect to the internet. You can watch TV on your computer or phone and watch U-tube on your television! The industry is competitive with many global players with established market pres ence being challenged for market share by both other established players and new emerging brands. Prices are being driven down by aggressive competition. Manufacturers are seeking to lower costs through mass production in low cost countries, notably China. In this environment, branding is critical.Products are too complex for many consumers to rationally compare features, functionality and price in an effective manner. Products are often purchased on the basis of the perceived price performance, with consumers associating with the product brand. Apple is well positioned in this regard with a strong brand associated with Style, Quality, Useability and â€Å"Cool† despite having only a limited range of products within this broader industry definition. $ The music industry is a well-established consumer industry, traditionally controlled by the recording companies.Major players Universal Music, Sony Music, EMI and Warner Music controlling in excess of 70% of the industry with a larger number of small â€Å"independents† making up the rest. Global sales are in order of USD $ 25 Billion in 2009 (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, 2010b). The dominate trend in the industry is the rapid uptake of digital download of music as the consumer preferred method of distribution. This is undermining the power of the recording companies in favour of the internet based retailers and resulting in revenue contraction. Total recorded music sales evenue has been in decline for the past decade, declining by 7% in 2009. This is despite continued high growth in internet based digital music sales up 12% in 2009. Music sales through digital channels accounted for USD $4. 2 billion of music sales in 2009, representing 27% of global sales growing from a base of just USD $20 million in 2003 (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, 2010a). Apples iTunes is a leading player in the digital sales channel revolution, arguably the industry leader in legal internet music sales. This is the segment of he industry that Apple chose to compete in and † redefine for its own purposes. Intellectual property issues remain a major challenge for this industry with internet based peer to peer file sharing significantly eroding industry sales. $ %& † The multibillion dollar movie industry is dominated by large movie studios with distribution traditionally handled by theatres, then a secondary market through video/DVD rentals or retail stores and a tertiary revenue stream through television rights. Apple is involved only in the distribution part of the business through film download for rent or sale.This challenges the traditional video store business, with a new model. To date, video downloading has promised more than it has delivered (Kane, 2007). The market is becoming increasingly crowded with an increasing number of companies entering the market including internet heavy weight Google which owns YouTube and retail heavy we ight WalMart (Ogg, 2010). Economies of scale make this an industry that favours natural monopolies or oligopolies. Multiple large scale players as well as a myriad of minor companies are jostling for critical mass.As with most internet based businesses price and convenience are the driving factors. Apples assault on the internet movie sale and rental market leverages their success in music with i-Store, their strength in video capable devices, iPods, iTouch and iPads and established leadership in video processing computers. !# The software industry has many segments including proprietary operating systems, business applications, personal applications and entertainment applications. Most providers focus on selected sectors where they can establish market leadership.Microsoft focuses on operating systems for PC (Windows) and business productivity tools that run on PCs. IBM focuses on large scale enterprise systems and predominantly business software and integration services. A plethor a of other companies large and small compete for leadership in all the gaps in between. Economies of scale are particularly important as the variable production costs are very low. Apple has maintained its own proprietary operating systems for its computing devices to preserve product differentiation and unique usability features. However this has been at significant evelopment cost. Application development has been left to third parties who compete to provide market leading solutions. With the advent of the Apps Store, Apple has entered the software distribution business with a 30% gross margin, leveraging the enterprise of thousands of independent † 2 software developers large and small. By tight integration with their systems the App Store provides a captive high margin marketplace for software. This is another niche segment that Apple has chosen to compete where there are synergies with the t existing businesses.By providing a distribution system Apple has been able to enc ourage more developers to create applications for their computing devices. More applications extend th the functionality and desirability of their products, driving sales. This is a profitable symbiotic relationship. Despite being a relatively small player in the industry segments, Apple is an undisputed financial success. It is now the third largest company in the world, as measured by market capitalisation, d behind only Exxon Mobil and Petro-China. At the close of trade on the 12th of November the Apple Inc shares were valued at USD $308. 3 (Refer to Figure 1. ) each, valuing the entire comp company at over USD $ 282 billion. During the past year the company’s shares have increased in value by over 50% increased (Yahoo Finance, 2010).The stock is trading on a Price to Earnings Multiple of 20. 42 times compared to an industry (Personal Computers) average of 15. 80 times (Stock Call, 2010). The company’s high valuation compared to its sales of 3. 5 times can be attrib uted to the high margin and high growth performance of the business. In the 3rd quarter of 2009 the company reported a net profit margin of 21. 8% compared to an industry average of 4. 53%. Total sales were 67% a year earlier (Stock Call, 2010). On these metrics the company share price does not seem excessive. . † 3 ! ! † Apple Inc. has been defined as being involved in the new technology industry. The products they deliver stretch across multiple industry boundaries; some products compete in established markets, others are market leaders in contemporary industries spanning product development and product delivery (Yoffie & Kim, 2010). This makes an analysis of Apple’s competitive strategy challenging and difficult.Singular theories may fit individual product lines, but not reflect the true direction that this multi-faceted company is taking as a whole. Porter’s (1980) generic theories are an example of this; the three strategies of focus, differentiation a nd cost leadership provide information on specific products such as computers and software; but fail to examine products like the iPad and iTunes (Porter, 1998 see Part 1). An analysis of iTunes best illustrates the timeliness and limitations of the application of the out-dated theory of Porter to Apple Inc. Tunes adopts both a differentiation strategy (by providing the download of music at various download qualities, the ability to download movies and tv shows; and combining it all into an easy to use product) and a cost leadership strategy (this is achieved by providing a competitive priced service for the customer, and a cost effective way for Apple to update firmware of its products). Consideration was given to the theories of Hamel & Prahalad (1994), however the structuralist approach does not encompass the true nature of Apple’s efforts over the last ten years.In contrast the reconstructive theories of Chan Kim and Mauborgne (2005) and their â€Å"Blue Ocean Strategyâ €  in particular allow a greater analysis of the strategic positioning instigated by Apple. The Reconstructionist’s view helps accommodate advances made by Apple Inc. in redefining and creating new technology. Utilising Chan Kim and Mauborgne’s six principles helps in assessing Apple Inc. ’s value chain matrix; and their innovation in product development (Chan Kim & Mauborgne, 2005), (Chan Kim & Mauborgne, 2009).To contrast explanations for Apple’s recent success and to provide analysis for their future; the theories of Ridderstrale and Nordstrom (2000) in their ground breaking book â€Å"Funky Business: Talent Makes Capital Dance† will contrast a different view of competitive strategy. The use of Funky Business as an ideology helps explain the rise of emotional buying and how important the utilisation of innovation is in the 21 century business environment. Furthermore, examples will be given to illustrate the synergies which exist between the Funky Business philosophies and the creation of Blue Oceans which ultimately coalesce into a strategic position. t † 4 Swimming in a Blue Ocean A broad definition of Chan Kim and Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean strategy is the ability for a company to move from a red ocean (an industry where competitors offer similar products or services with the aim to become a cost/market leader); to a blue ocean (an undefined and new industry that may incorporate industries, or create a new industry based on differentiation and lower operating cost) (Chan Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). Apple Inc. is in some respects a contradictory company when it comes to its strategic analysis for its expansive product mix delivers in more than one â€Å"ocean†.For the purpose of this strategic analysis (and recommendations for the future) specific example’s will be given where Apple Inc. has gained a competitive advantage by defining their own unique Blue Ocean. Chan Kim and Mauborgne (2005) provide a fundamental analytical tool to analyse Apple’s competitive strategies. This methodology comprises 5 formulation and execution principles to competitive advantage. They are as follows: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Reconstructing Market Boundaries Focus on the Big Picture, not the Numbers Reach Beyond Existing Demand Get the Strategic Sequence Right Overcome Key Organisational HurdlesReconstructing Market Boundaries Apple’s current resurgence has its beginnings in one of its original blue oceans; i. e. the creation of iTunes changed how people downloaded and listened to music. iTunes was originally used to compete with the illegal download music market, the now defunct ‘ Napster' being an example. Apple’s aims were to provide a low cost option for customers, high quality downloads and a music player interface (Chan Kim & Mauborgne, 2005).From an administrative point of view iTunes gave Apple control of digital rights and with five major record labels contributing to the service gave them a distinct competitive advantage (Yoffie & Kim, 2010). Blue Oceans however are not constant and as good ideas make money the competitive advantage for iTunes would have eroded if it did not diversify. To compete with growing technology demands, movies and TV shows were introduced to the iTunes store for purchase and rental. This differentiation created a new Blue Ocean for Apple Inc. / â€Å"Currently iTunes is the market leader in visual media. Concurrently the iTunes store has the largest downloadable content on the internet . It provides a catalogue of eight million tracks, two thousand films (total downloads daily average are in excess of fifty thousand) and twenty thousand TV episodes (Anonymous, 2010c). Prime Facie analysis reveals that the popularity of iTunes cannot be solely attributed to the product delivery; but a concurrent innovation and integration with the portable products that Apple has created over the last decade.It co uld be argued that the iTunes blue ocean was strengthened by the continual improvement in storage size and screen resolution quality of it iPod and iPhone range. Apple Inc. can now be seen entering its next stage in differentiation. To do this Apple Inc. has introduced the iPad (Feb 2010); revolutionising tablet computing. Building on its iPhone operating system, Apple is attempting to reconnect with business people. Unlike iTunes, iPad services will not be the low price of music downloads.Apple will attempt to lure high profile media conglomerates to allow subscription through their iTunes service at a higher premium price (Yoffie & Kim, 2010). Even though news articles are sold at a premium price; the ability to distribute them via iTunes gives Apple Inc. a low internal cost. The most recent venture by Apple Inc. to create a unique user experience the creation of multiplayer online gaming on the iPhone; multiplayer gaming traditionally has been the domain of PC and console develop ers (Gametraders, 2010). With this venture Apple Inc. opes to refine how people play games with each other. iPhone customers will have the capability to game wherever they can take their iPhone (Apple Inc, 2010a). This strategic move can be seen as a blue ocean for Apple Inc. which will provide a service no other mobile phone provider offers with the quality of the gaming experience. In addition to this Apple Inc. are not actually investing in gaming; they are using their iPhone and OS4 operating system as a go between. With other companies vying to have their games on the popular iStore; Apple Inc. have created for them a low cost product. 1Focus on the Big Picture, not the Numbers Apple’s current focus is on being a lifestyle company. It integrates its products and makes them easy for the end user to operate. Steve Jobs openly states that his products start with an idea and a need to alleviate customer demands (Ostdick, 2010). This strategic thinking helps formulate new Blu e Oceans. It allows companies such as Apple to create products unrestricted by current industry 1 In February 2010, Apple announced that the iTunes store had recorded its 10 billionth song download (Johnny Cash’s â€Å"Guess Things Happen That Way†) (Ostdick, 2010). // standards and norms. Greg Joswiak the vice president builds on this philosophy stating they never let . vice-president technology go to waste. In an interview with Reena Jana from the Harvard Business Review blog he generalises on key points concerning the innovative strategies of Apple Inc. ‘Think of this strategy as s Think smart recycling of internal ideas and engineering, especially when cross-pollinated with other cross ollinated products’ (Jana, 2010). These comments were made in wake of the iPad release.Jana (2010) . demonstrates how the iPad is a hybridisation of the iPhone and a laptop; and how the iPhone was just hybridisation an update of the iPod. Reach Beyond Existing Demand The fundamental tenet of this principle is, ‘Instead of concentrating on customers they (companies) need to focus on non-customers. And instead of focusing on tead customer differences, they need to build on powerful commonalities in what buyers value’ ( (Chan Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). Apple do this well. It is important to ). ote that there would be a minority of people that do not inority own at least one Apple product. However their competitive strategy in reaching beyond existing demand would be to sell products to existing customers in industries they would not normally consider using an Apple product. As stated in â€Å"Focusing on the big picture† tated (above), the ability to build upon and reuse technology in an innovative way is allowing apple to reach new markets and potentially new customers. ! † # $% & † ‘ ( † / Get the Strategic Sequence Right Apple Inc. as excelled in their strategic sequencing when it comes to the redevelopment and innovation of their portable products. Chan Kim and Mauborgne (2005) stress the importance of price, cost and adoption. Figure 2 (Golijan, 2010) illustrates the chronology of the iPod and Apple Inc. ’s development of the product. The timeline highlights the quality of sales on the left hand side; over the ten year period models evolved and became more accessible at varying price points. The success of the products allowed Apple Inc. to diversify and continually improve the product.Within this industry no other competitor has been able to hold consistent sales growth and product innovation as the iPod. Overcome Key Organisational Hurdles Yoffie (2010) clearly highlights the trouble’s Apple has encountered with several changes in management in the 1990’s. Since the second coming of Steven Job’s Apple has been a stable entity and has not experienced the organisational problems of the past. Recent economic performance would indicate there has been no lead ership or structural change within Apple Inc. It is of interest to note that otentially when Steven Job’s rejoined Apple Computers as the CEO there was a tipping point and a push towards a new Apple Inc. He changed the name, the logo and the ethos of the company and personally pushed Apple Inc. into its current successful position (Jana, 2010). Let’s Get Funky As shown above Apple Inc. has exhibited clear Blue Ocean strategy elements during its history, and yet after the dramatic decline during the 90’s to the stellar success now being experienced, Apple Inc. has also displayed some new, contemporary strategic rudiments.Examining the quirky and mildly eccentric philosophy’s of Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjell Nordstrom as extolled in their manifesto â€Å"Funky Business: Talent Makes Capital Dance† (2000) it is apparent that much of the success of the ‘second life’ of Apple Inc. (circa 2000 to the present) can be attributed to a metamorpho sis in business thinking and to these ‘new’ strategic philosophy’s and ideas. As an example, central to the â€Å"Funky Business† strategic model are the three core elements of: Make Room for Grey Matter – in the ‘global village’, a company’s future depends on the intellect of its teams members.Consumers want, demand a dream, emotion, not products and services; Only the Best Rake in the Pot – In order to succeed a company must be number one in its field or even better – Unique; and Permanent Innovation – Creativity leads to the redefining of the company and its markets and yet the constantly changing † /0 environment of the market implies the constant search for innovation, with innovation being a state of the mind (Laville, 2000).Jobs and his cohorts, since the near fatal demise of Apple Computers in the mid 1990’s have reposition and focused the Apple brand with the global ‘lifestyle†™ village in mind (Yoffie ; Kim, 2010). Central to this theme is the enabling of consumers to engage in quasi-voyeurism, transporting their minds and bodies into ‘Mac/Apple World’, experience music, connecting to the internet and most importantly to each other in the Global community. Apple has been an industry leader in the enabling of the consumer to participate in the web world through a number of primary senses. Steve) Jobs’ ability to reinventing himself and redefine Apple (in its second incarnation) using ideologies akin to that of the Funky Business model resonant with the changing landscape brought about by the globalization phenomenon. Thus Jobs’ ability to connect with the community through technological change, institutional change and the evolution of values (Young ; Simon, 2005) allowed Apple to ride the crest of the wave through the first decade of the millennium harnessing the three underlying forces of excess: growth of markets (eg.China, India, Russia, etc. ), Ongoing overabundance of supply (which has exceeded demand since the 90’s and knows no bounds! ) and technological progress (lowers the cost of information, lower barriers and the world becomes a smaller more accessible environment) (Laville, 2000), (Yoffie ; Kim, 2010). Apples’ Funky Business strategy is exemplified by its innate ability to understand the dynamics of the world of competition and how it has changed.Accordingly, Apple is able to compete in this new environment by realize that the established and entrenched large scale structures of traditional companies don’t ‘hack it’ and that the single most important facet of this new age of business, is the intellectual capital to identify products and get them into production quickly (Musatov, 2001), examples include Apples industry benchmarking and leadership products: iMac (1998), iPod (2001), iTunes (2003), iPhone (2007) and the iPad (2010) (Yoffie ; Kim, 2010).Thus, i t is not the production facility that is the most important, per se, but the minds who operate it. In interviews with Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjell Nordstrom (Anonymous, 2010a) (Anonymous, 2010e), it is clear that one economic model for the 21 century that conceptualize a Funky Business strategy can be illustrated by the strategic direction of Apple over the last decade plus, understanding of st † /1 market forces, individual choice (or knowledge of the individual), freedom to choose and the ability to re-invent or innovate regularly and expediently. † Apple Inc. trategy for the iPad (launched in January 2010) echo with the core elements of creating a new Blue Ocean and Funky Business principles, as described above. These (as expressed by industry commentators) were Apple' core strategic elements for the iPad launch: â€Å"consideration of s future applications of current products as they are developed† (innovate), â€Å"crowd-source hype and ideas around pricingà ¢â‚¬  (sell the dream, the emotion, not so much the device) and of course the core Funky Business principle of, â€Å"Don’t focus on being first; focus on being the best† (Uniqueness) (Jana, 2010).Coincidently, as this new ‘Tablet’ Blue Ocean gathers depth and breadth for Apple, the competition are not far behind with the announcement of Samsungs new ‘Galaxy Tab’ in November 2010 (Anonymous, 2010d), the time between launch, maturity and loss of competitive advantage shrinks with each new development and innovation. â€Å"The Age of Paradox† written by Charles Handy (1995) points out that the Sigmoid Growth Curve can be used to plot out, the life of any organism, life cycle of a product or the life of an organisation.Every new life, organisation, project, or initiative, commences with some faltering at the start, grows, matures, declines and ultimately perishes. If this was the only underlying concept to this ideological graph it would not be of any use, but rather, the positive and encouraging use of this model is that a firm can proactively start its own new sigmoid curve in any new area it wants rather than watching the old curve maximise, then decline.During any new development phase an organisation will experience what is known as a â€Å"dip† or a setback; this can be due to a lack of resources, loss of direction, ineffectiveness, poor productivity and/or loss of a competitive advantage. This is completely normal and team morale must remain high through this temporary stage known as ‘ dipping' Every time there is a new growth curve (new idea, . change in goals, new product, etc. ), it intercepts with the old Sigmoid Curve, and either climbs or descends but ultimately the cycle of a major dip will commence associated with ccompanying anxiety and setbacks. † / The dip can represent a significant challenge for any organisation, as it was for Apple Inc. with a loss of direction between 1985 un til December 1997 with several changes of CEO’s at the helm (Scully, 1985 – 1993) and the (Spindler and Amelio years 1993 – 1997) (Yoffie & Kim, 2010). Apple management, you could say, went through a case of ‘ Paradigm Block' ‘the inability or refusal to see ; beyond the current models of thinking’ (JCU, Competitive strategy course notes, session two slide 11). † † † * & + † , † – † & † & * There are different eras of product interests and management change that Apple has gone experienced its inception in the 1980’s when they launched the Apple 1. Mapping the most recent period of Apples growth on a strategic canvas, from the launch of the iMac in 1998 through to the iPad launch (2010) we can visualize a series of interconnected sigmoidial curves gradually increasing with each new innovation and product launch, as shown in Figure 3.In fact, the gradual treadline † / ncreasing to the right in Figure 3 reflects a buoyant and productive company with clear growth from strategic product development, delivery and acceptance (depending on the market KPI used). Presently, given the rapid development by other competitors in the tablet market, Apple Inc. would need to accelerate innovation and product delivery within the next 6 – 12 months to avoid another dip and loss of competitive advantage. This may require a change or transition in new management and of course a new updated product e. g. pdated iphone from 4 to 5 with more capabilities and apps (See Figure 4 Strategy canvas). . * &/ ! &0 1 & Future strategy scenarios which Apple may need to engage in order to reinvent itself in the ensuing post 2010 era are many and varied. Given Apples’ history to date and without climbing the walls of the Apple head office and being a fly on the wall it is unwise to predict what Apple may come up with next. They will however need to improve their product range or in novate around their range of iPhone, iPod, iTunes and iPad etc. o maintain market capital. They need to be constantly innovative and invest in their R&D department to have any chance of keeping the current Blue Oceans, ‘Blue’, and require time (which is no luxury in the Funky Business world of the 21st century), to develop new Blue Oceans. Potentially Apple could develop a strategy to have a lifestyle package called Apple â€Å"iHome† that would be able to accommodate the current avant garde movement of the new ‘energy gurus’ that are environmentally friendly and the ‘tech heads’ that enjoy the Apple brand.The iHome could be similar to the CBus system, Smart system or Building system as they are commonly known, they could † /2 incorporate their existing range and facilitate new ideas such as an iPhone that has a de novo chip which instead of using an security access card or conventional key you just swipe your iPhone to unlock your car, house front door or office. The CBus system can work in conjunction with, home appliances such as air-conditioning, automated windows, lights, security video and irrigation, effectively generating a ‘smart home or â€Å"iHome†.You can remotely set up your home with the use of your iPhone through the net, and be able to monitor your home when you are away. The innovative potential of the â€Å"iHome† package is endless but the pitfalls may include, acceptance by the market, technological maturity of the appliances in question and the competitive advantage or market acceptance of these new ‘out there’ products. In essences, it would be foolhardy to recommend a strategy for Apple post 2010, in that Jobs and his self-proclaimed â€Å"mobile-devices† company are still delivering, still leading industry segments they Apple Inc. A. Company Industry Position Apple is the iconic company behind the mouse-driven Macintosh computer, the phenomenal iPod music-player and the recently launched iPhone. The company’s marked inventiveness keeps it in the lead (Economist. com website) and secures its place in the industry. Apple’s relentless efforts and continual investments in research and development are seen to usher in more innovative breakthroughs that will further fuel the company’s further growth and market expansion. B. Industry Characteristics. With its founder, Steven Jobs, at its helm, Apple creatively designs personal computers, portable digital music players and mobile communication devices and proceeds to manufacture and market them. The company as well offers to sell and to service related software, peripherals and networking solutions. (Google Finance website) Apple has such an immense following that is made up of the individual consumers, the small and mid-sized business (SMB) enterprises, the education sector, the government agencies and the â€Å"creative consumers. † (Apple Inc. 008 10-K) The latter pertains to Apple’s special niche market composed of young and trendy people who can afford to discard relatively new gadgets for want of more updated versions of the same products. The more recent ventures of the company include the selling of a myriad of products manufactured by other companies specifically to cater to such special market niche. These products include application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, accessories and peripherals of all sorts, and digital content that are all tailored for the Mac, iPod and iPhone. Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) Apple has an established market all around the world. It has set up a dynamic marketing network through its â€Å"online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. † (Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) It should not come as a surprise to know that Apple puts up with a lot of aggressive competition in all the markets it caters to – markets for computers, digital music devices, mobile communication gadgets, all the related paraphernalia and for the services attached to these products. Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) But no matter how stiff competition can be, Apple has emerged as an undisputed market leader. In fact, Apple has reaped increased earnings this economically difficult year (2008) while most of other companies incurred huge losses. In the same tune, Apple offered last Black Friday only 8% off its new MacBook, 4% off a 20-inch iMac, 5- 8% off iPods and none off iPhones while analysts predicted discounts to reach 15% (Frommer, Yahoo! Finance webpage). Apple is obviously no t keen on competing based on prices. As the company behind such signature products as iMac, iPod and iPhone, Apple can well afford to price its products higher without having to worry about losing the market to competitors offering cheaper products. Technology and its optimization are among the factors behind Apple’s success. Its products are deemed â€Å"new technology† and the technological aspects of its products are optimized for exclusivity. Thus, users of any one of Apple’s products are bound to be captured clients for the others in the company’s menu. The technological inter- relatedness of Apple’s products presents a distinct advantage that it is wisely making the most of. Apple’s products are theoretically homogeneous; the market is awash with all kinds of computers, music-players and mobile phones. But then, such products are more considered as rather unique. Author McNees has written that â€Å"in a mature market with highly homogeneous products, well-executed small differences can make [a given product] unique and [sought after]. Indeed, the leverage brought on by Apple’s industrial-design machine makes its product stand out in the market. This constitutes another major advantage enjoyed by the company. Meanwhile, there are also serious disadvantages that Apple is saddled with. For one, the company is highly susceptible to the adverse effects of a prevailing bad economic condition which both causes the market value of the company’s shares to take a dive and substantially reduces the earning and sp ending capacity of its market. Apple also happens to be in the middle of a litigation arising from its past stock option granting malpractices. Adverse findings of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the conclusion of the investigation that it is conducting will materially damage the company’s name, financial condition and operating results. (Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) (Please see II to IX and a portion of X in the Excel document) X. Based on the foregoing, I do not recommend that the 10,000 shares of Apple be purchased now. I would recommend keeping it as cash and then buying the Apple shares when the macro-economic factors affecting the finance world and especially the stock markets have begun to improve. At this point, the market can generally do worse and Apple might just go with such downturn with no sufficient ammunition – like significant good news – available. Works Cited â€Å"Innovation Lessons from Apple.†Ã‚   Economist.com.   7 June 2007.   The Economist Newspaper Limited.   26 November 2008 .   â€Å"U.S. SEC Form 10-K of Apple Inc. for Fiscal Year ending September 2008.†Ã‚   Apple Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  26 November 2008 < http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/10/21results.html>. Frommer, Dan.   â€Å"Apple’s Black Friday Sale:   No 15 Percent Discout.†Ã‚   Yahoo! Finance. 28 November, 2008.   Yahoo! 30 November 2008 < http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/136179/Apples-Black-Friday-Sale%3A-No-15-Percent-Discount>. â€Å"Apple Inc.†Ã‚   Google Finance.   29 November 2008 . McNees, Donald.   â€Å"Hat trick:   retaining customers, finding growth and achieving attractive returns are not easy in today’s mature financial markets, but a handful of companies are doing all three.†   The Free Library by Farlex. 29 November 2008 < http://www.the freelibrary.com/Hat+trick%3a+retaining+ customers%2c+ finding+growth+and+ achieving†¦-a0158908311>. White, Gerald, Ashwinpaul Sondhi and Dov Fried.   The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements.   New York:   John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998. Brigham, Eugene and Joel Houston.   Fundamentals of Financial Management.   Orlando, FL:   The Dryden Press, 1998. Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and software products. It was established in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, and incorporated on January 3, 1977. The company's hardware products include the Macintosh line of personal computers, the iPod line of portable media players,the iPad line of tablets, and the iPhone line of mobile phones. Apple's software products include the OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser, and the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software.As of 2008, Apple Inc had acquired twenty-one companies, purchased a stake in two companies, and made five divestments; most of them were software companies. Apple had not released the financial details for most of these mergers and acquisitions. Apple's business philosophy is to acquire small companies that can be easily integrated into existing company projects. [4] For example , Apple acquired Emagic and its professional music software, Logic Pro, in 2002. The acquisition led to the creation of the digital audio workstation software, GarageBand, now part of the iLife software suite.The company made its first acquisition on March 2, 1988 when it purchased Network Innovations. It has also made five divestments, all in the 1990s, in which parts of the company are sold to another company. The company's largest acquisition was the purchase of NeXT in 1996 for US$400 million. In the 2000s, Apple made the most acquisitions in a single year in 2002, with six. In the 2010s, so far the most acquisitions in a single year is 2013, with 10. Of the companies that Apple has acquired, 37 were based in the US.

Bureaucracy & Formal Organizations

Chapter Summary Society is organized â€Å"to get its job done†. It does so through formal organizations and bureaucracies. The same system that can be frustrating and impersonal is also the one on which we rely for our personal welfare and to fulfill our daily needs. The society of today, however is not the society of yesterday, nor will it be the society of tomorrow. The rationalization of society refers to a transformation in people's thinking and behavior over the past 150 years, shifting the focus from personal relationships to efficiency and results.Karl Marx attributed this transformation to capitalism, while Max Weber, who disagreed with Marx, related it to Protestant theology. As a result of rationality, formal organizations, secondary groups designed to achieve specific objectives, have become a central feature of contemporary society. With industrialization, secondary groups have become common. Today, their existence is taken for granted. They become a part of our l ives at birth and seem to get more and more complex as we move through the life course.The larger the formal organization, the more likely it will turn into a bureaucracy. Bureaucracies are defined as formal organizations characterized by five features that help them reach their goals, to grow, and endure. These five features are (1) clear levels, with assignments flowing downward and accountability flowing upward, (2) a division of labor, (3) written rules, (4) written communications with records, and (5) impartiality. Although bureaucracies are the most efficient forms of social organization, they can also be dysfunctional.Dysfunctions of bureaucracies can include red tape, lack of communication between units, and alienation. Examples of these dysfunctions include an overly rigid interpretation of rules and the failure of members of the same organization to communicate among one another. According to Max Weber, the impersonality of bureaucracies tends to produce workers who feel d etached from the organization and each other. According to Karl Marx, workers experience alienation when they lose control over their work and are cut off from the finished product of their labor.To resist alienation, workers form primary groups, banding together in informal settings during the workday to offer each other support and validation. They also personalize their work space with family photographs and personal decorations. Not all workers, however, succeed in resisting alienation. One reason bureaucracies endure and are so resilient is because they tend to take on a life of their own through a process called goal displacement. Once a bureaucracy has achieved its original goals, it adopts new goals in order to perpetuate its existence.A classic example of goal displacement involves the March of Dimes. Originally founded to fight polio, the organization was faced with being phased out after Jonas Salk discovered the polio vaccine. Rather than disband, it adopted a new missio n, â€Å"fighting birth defects†, which was recently changed to a vaguer goal of â€Å"breakthrough for babies†. In addition to bureaucracies, many people in the United States become involved with voluntary organizations, groups made up of volunteers who organize on the basis of some mutual interest.But even voluntary organizations are not immune from the affect of bureaucratization. Although formal organizations provide numerous beneficial functions, they also tend to be dominated by a small, self-perpetuating elite, a phenomenon Robert Michel referred to as the iron law of oligarchy. Even volunteer and non-profit organizations are affected by the iron law of oligarchy. Sociologists use the term, â€Å"corporate culture† to refer to an organization's traditions, values, and unwritten norms. Much of what goes on in corporate culture, however, is hidden.To ensure that the corporate culture reproduces itself at the top levels, people in positions of power groom ot her people they perceive to be â€Å"just like them† for similar positions of power. In the United States, personal achievement is central; workers are hired on the basis of what they can contribute to the organization that hires them. To counter the negative side of bureaucracies, many corporations have begun taking steps to better humanize work settings. This includes the establishment of work teams, corporate day care, employee stock ownership plans, and the quality circles.There has been a great deal of research directed at comparing the Japanese corporate culture to the American corporate culture. The Japanese corporate model differs significantly from the American corporate model in the way it views work, workers, and work organizations. Although considered as superior to the American corporate culture, more recent inspection shows this to be more of a myth than a reality. Successful Japanese businesses have adopted many of the American methods. The real bottom line is that we live in a global marketplace of ideas as well as products, with no single set of cultural values being universally superior.Key Terms in Chapter Seven alienation: Marx's term for the experience of being cut off from the product of one’s labor that results in a sense of powerlessness and normlessness. (p. 181) bureaucracy: A formal organization with a hierarchy of authority; a clear division of labor; emphasis on written rules, communications, and records; and impersonality of positions. (p. 176) capitalism: An economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of producing goods and services, the pursuit of profit, and market competition. (p. 176) corporate culture: The orientations that characterize corporate work settings. p. 186) formal organization: A secondary group designed to achieve explicit objectives. (p. 176) goal displacement: A goal displaced by another; in this context, the adoption of new goals by an organization; also known as goal replace ment. (p. 182) humanizing a work setting: Organizing a workplace in such a way that it develops, rather than impedes, human potential. (p. 188) Peter principle: A bureaucratic â€Å"law† according to which the members of an organization are promoted for good work until they reach their level of incompetence, the level at which they can no longer do good work. p. 182) rationality: The acceptance of rules, efficiency, and practical results as the right way to approach human affairs. (p. 174) rationalization of society: A widespread acceptance of rationality and a social organization largely built around this idea. (p. 174) self-fulfilling prophecy: As applied to corporate culture, predictions that later come true based upon values and stereotypes. (p. 186) the iron law of oligarchy: Robert Michels’ phrase for the tendency of formal organizations to be dominated by a small, self-perpetuating elite. (p. 185) he McDonaldization of society: The process by which ordinary aspe cts of life are rationalized and efficiency comes to rule such things as food preparation. (p. 179) traditional orientation: The idea, characteristic of tribal, peasant, and feudal societies, that the past is the best guide for the present. (p. 174) voluntary association: A group made up of volunteers who have organized on the basis of some mutual interest. (p. 183) Key People in Chapter Seven Alexis de Tocqueville: In his report of his travels across the United States, Democracy in America, Tocqueville observed the tendency of Americans to join voluntary associations. p. 183) Peter Evans and James Rauch: Evans and Rauch found that the most prosperous countries are those with central bureaucracies that hire workers on the basis of merit and offer them rewarding careers. (p. 182) Elaine Fox and George Arquitt: Studying local posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Fox and Arquitt found that leadership positions in organizations are typically decided behind the scenes with current lead ers choosing their favorite candidates for other leadership roles. (p. 185)Rosabeth Moss Kanter: In her organizational studies of corporations, Kanter discovered that corporate cultures reproduce themselves at the top levels by selecting workers that they think best match the corporate model; providing those workers with the opportunities and resources to do well; and after they succeed, promoting them to high-level positions. (p. 186). Gary Marx: Noting technology’s role in the control of workers, Gary Marx warned of a maximum-security workplace where computers keep track of every movement workers make on the job. (p. 190)Karl Marx: According to Karl Marx, the rationalization of society was due to the transformation to capitalism, which, in turn, created alienation—workers who lost control of their work and were cut off from the finished product of their labor. (p. 174) Robert Michels: Michels coined the phrase â€Å"the iron law of oligarchy† to describe the t endency of formal organizations to be dominated by a small, self-perpetuating elite. (p. 185) William Ouchi: Ouchi identified five ways that the Japanese corporate model differed from the American corporate model. p. 191) George Ritzer: Ritzer coined the term â€Å"the McDonaldization of society† to describe the process by which ordinary aspects of life are becoming more and more rationalized. (p. 179) David Sills: Sills identified four of the seven functions of voluntary associations. (p. 184) Max Weber: According to Weber, a change in people’s religious orientation and their way of thinking produced capitalism. Weber also argued that the impersonality of bureaucracies tends to produce workers who feel detached from their organizations and each other. (p. 175)

We Grow Accustomed to the Dark…

Darkness is a recurring image in literature that evokes a universal unknown, yet is often entrenched in many meanings. A master poet, Emily Dickinson employs darkness as a metaphor many times throughout her poetry. In â€Å"We grow accustomed to the dark† (#428) she talks of the â€Å"newness† that awaits when we â€Å"fit our Vision to the Dark. † As enigmatic and shrouded in mystery as the dark she explores, Dickinson's poetry seems our only door to understanding the recluse. As she wrote to her friend T. W. Higginson on April 15, 1862, â€Å"the Mind is so near itself – it cannot see, distinctly†(Letters 253).In this musing, she acquiesces to a notion that man remains locked in an internal struggle with himself. This inner conflict is brought to light through a metaphorical darkness that pervades many of her poems. Evidenced by the sheer breadth of her poetry she penned throughout her life, it is clear Dickinson indulged and withdrew often into t he inner realm of her own mind. The darkness is an interesting metaphor because it represents a dichotomy between an internal and external. Poem 428 illustrates both as the darkness acts as a barrier against understanding, while at the same time a limitless passage to potential knowledge.As a poet, Dickinson meticulously fashions her poems. Each word, each capitalization, each rhyme scheme – the dash – is a device carefully calculated and chosen. The dash is rarely reflected on since Dickinson tends to utilize the punctuation in every poem. However, in poem 428, the formatting is essential to the meaning. What do the dashes mean? The punctuation – dash – has the power to immediately interrupt the flow of a sentence. Dashes indicate pauses – ends – places to wait – sometimes nothingness. Nothingness is what the darkness contains. Isn't nothingness an unknown?As we read the poem we pause at every turn, commanded to do so by the dash â⠂¬â€œ indicative of inner conflict. Our minds subconsciously repeat this action after ever pause – every dash. The words it is used on highlight the dark. The dash is used after lines directly referencing darkness itself and its incarnations (line 6's â€Å"night,† line 10's â€Å"Evenings,† line 11's â€Å"Moon,† line 19's â€Å"Midnight†) half of the time. In other lines, darkness is not directly referenced, yet evoked through certain associate terms. The power of darkness to hinder understanding and arbitrarily change are used fter such words (line 2's â€Å"away,† line 4's â€Å"bye,† line 11's â€Å"sign,† and line 17's â€Å"alters†).The darkness also could represent an inner conflict, such as the turmoil â€Å"within† (line 12) is exclusively mental. The line is indicative of the inner search for truth. The superfluous use of dashes in this specific line emphasizes the feeling of hopelessness that plagues t he search. This trend continues in line 13 as the subject, â€Å"the Bravest,† still always have darkness that lies ahead which they must â€Å"meet†¦ -erect-† (line 8) and overcome. After doing this, the brave can â€Å"see† (line 16) and reach the deeper enlightenment they've sought.What about the words that lack a dash? These lines emphasize the sworn enemy of darkness- the light. To begin, line 3's â€Å"lamp† illuminates the darkness. Light is used often as a metaphor to show knowledge that lies ahead or paths to understanding. Therefore, line 5's â€Å"step† and line 20's â€Å"straight† lack a dash since they show a direction. In darkness, there exists nothingness and no place to tread. In line 14, â€Å"tree† is indicative of light's other meaning – to shed light on something. A realization of a truth may be revealed in light. This connection causes light to be intrinsically linked to wisdom.Thus, in a poem so imme rsed in emotional darkness, wisdom would void it. As far as line 18's â€Å"sight† is concerned, no dash is present because without light a visual cannot be seen and will remain in (a physical and mental) darkness. In these lines without a dash, darkness is not acting as a barrier. In this poem, a rhyme scheme doesn't seem to exist at first. Few of the lines rhyme, except for lines 14 and 16 and lines 18 and 19. However, the poem has fluidity despite its apparent scarcity of rhyme. After examining the alteration of syllables in each line, a pattern is revealed in this poem concerning darkness.The first nine lines alternate between 8 and 6 syllables. These lines are concerned, as any narrative is, with exposition. These lines set up darkness as an internal conflict to come. The conflict intensifies in lines 10 and 11 as we are bombarded by an explosion of 8 syllables in each line. These lines present the conflict within one's own mind at its most desperate. After this climax, the syllables in the last nine lines resolve the conflict presented. In these lines, Dickinson presents us with an archetypal figure that is faced with a conflict: the â€Å"bravest† hero.These lines present the resolution in lines that alternate between 6 and 7 syllables. Just as the syllables decrease, the falling action presents us with a final insight. This insight discusses how darkness is an insurmountable entity that, like the hero, we must face to continue â€Å"straight† through â€Å"Life† (line 20). The next seemingly arbitrary decision is Dickinson's capitalization. The capitalization at the beginning of the sentence must be capitalized; therefore, we'll focus on the capitalizations that lie within each sentence. In this poem, each of these words is a noun.Past this simple reading, what may we deduce from these capitalizations? Each stanza presents a different set of capitalized objects which lend themselves to the interpretation that darkness is a b arrier. It is no mere coincidence, that like the darkness they reference, these objects are not easily read. The poem presents itself as a narrative, but when you want to seek a connection between these capitalized objects, you feel you've hit a wall – an impasse. In poem 554, Dickinson presents us with another frustrating statement when she asserts â€Å"I had not minded – Walls –†.In a similar way, this poem Dickinson is satisfied with the elusiveness that the darkness presents. She takes delight in contradiction and abstraction. In a letter sent to T. W Higginson on June 8, 1862, Dickinson states that she â€Å"[has] no tribunal† (255). Dickinson, like her poetry, is a paradox. In her house she was Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, yet in her poetry and letters takes on the form of the enigmatic â€Å"Your Scholar† or â€Å"E. Dickinson† (Letters 263-278). However, without seeming too presumptuous with a direct correlation to the poet, th ese objects remain impenetrable.The objects could be interpreted as external entities, yet each when internalized represents a concept inaccessible. For example, in poem 428, we find the â€Å"Moon† and â€Å"Star,† objects present in darkness of the sky, not characterized in the usual way we symbolically represent them. The â€Å"Moon† doesn't represent an omen – â€Å"sign† – and the â€Å"Star† is found â€Å"within† reach instead of far away. This is further evidenced when the â€Å"Bravest† in relation to the â€Å"Tree† do not act how we expect. We expect figures exemplifying courage to undergo immense – not â€Å"little† – obstacles and to always – not â€Å"sometimes† – encounter them (as represented by the tree).But what of all the poems that argue the opposite, that the darkness represents a potential limitless portent to freedom? Indeed poem 428's metaphorical d arkness could be interpreted as a veil that covers a deeper hidden truth. In fact, darkness takes on a myriad of manifestations, such as shadow, in Dickinson's poetry. In â€Å"Presentiment – is that long shadow – on the Lawn† (#487), Dickinson uses a â€Å"long shadow† in apposition with a â€Å"presentiment†. A presentiment is an intuition about the future (usually of something evil). In this instance, a limiting of light presents us with an indicator to further wisdom.In another poem, â€Å"In Ebon box, when years have flown† (#180), the darkness that covers the â€Å"box† is manifested as â€Å"velvet dust / Summers have sprinkled there! † A mere â€Å"wiping away† is all it takes to unlock what's hidden inside. In these poems, darkness is never directly referenced – only alluded to. However, in Dickinson's poetry, darkness need not solely be alluded to. In â€Å"Through the dark sod as education† (#559 ), the deeper theme of darkness explicitly leads to potential knowledge. In poem 559, the â€Å"Lily† is an entity known to thrive in the light of day (and perhaps even Dickinson herself).Then, why is the image of the â€Å"Dark Sod† brought in? Dickinson certainly could have chosen to utilize night, a period that flowers encounter every night. However, through this uncommon embodiment of lawn, Dickinson exposes darkness as an omnipresent force. Even for a â€Å"Lily,† darkness is a commonplace occurrence. However, here a head on confrontation with an omnipresent force doesn’t block the pursuer from realizing a deeper meaning. Thus, the â€Å"Lily† needs the darkness for redemption. Poem 559 presents darkness as a metaphor we shouldn't have â€Å"trepidation† or â€Å"fear† for.In the second stanza, Dickinson advances her exploration of darkness. In the â€Å"meadow,† the â€Å"Lily† acknowledges the darkness that it fac ed by reflecting on its recent â€Å"Mold-life†. The â€Å"Mold† in the garden-variety setting of the poem has the destructive power to devour and delineates passing of time. However, to ignore the first part of the hyphenated expression, the word â€Å"Mold,† would be to ignore the power of darkness' influence. Mold itself could refer back to the process of forming (both physical creation and the mental process undergone throughout life by the mind).In this poem, the â€Å"Lily† undergoes a transformative process that leaves it forever in â€Å"Extasy†. Ecstasy here is an interesting consequence when we consider Dickinson's own thoughts on the matter. On their first meeting, Dickinson said to T. W. Higginson, â€Å"I find ecstasy in living; the mere sense of living is joy itself† (Letters 264). (Therefore, if we conclude that ecstasy is an effect of darkness, then we could deduce that Dickinson believed it vital element since life is compri sed of birth and death. ) The flower in the poem is mutated and enhanced through the period of darkness it experiences.This poem could be seen as a musing on the human condition that befalls us all. A matter relatable and universally understood that life is a never-ending struggle which we all engage. The individual will emerge from the hardships, like â€Å"Dark Sod,† once they come to the realization that light cannot exist without its antithesis, darkness. Just as light cannot exist without its opposite, a discourse on metaphorical darkness in Emily Dickinson's poetry would not be complete without an inclusion of metaphorical light.However, light is such a commonly used word, that expressions expounding its revelatory nature have become cliches. To go beyond these two analyses, we must reveal the destructive nature underlying light. In â€Å"There's a certain slant of light† (#320), Dickinson explicates light in a novel way. In this poem, the setting is a â€Å"Win ter Afternoon. † From the very first line, the poet maintains a bias against the light. In the season of winter, it is expected for light to rarely appear. As a New England resident, Emily Dickinson knew this fact well. This poem, unlike many of Dickinson's poetry, does not extol nature or light.Unlike its usual connotation, Dickinson presents a light that contradicts what we expect and that instead exhibits a complicated nature. Interestingly enough, the light at work in this poem is found to be oppressive, despite nature superseding its position. Why then is light oppressive? The answer to this query is arrived at if we carefully decipher Dickinson's diction choice. In this poem, we can argue that change is epitomized by the â€Å"certain Slant of light† as a turning point for transformation. This slant of light is oppressive, but this is no simple, purely negative oppression.Rather, like darkness, it is both hard and worthwhile. The diction is heightened in the third stanza, when the poem 320’s speaker states how light cannot â€Å"teach† a lesson. An experience of painful transition is deemed more important. This experience is characterized by the stress placed on the word â€Å"Any. † The word both ends the physically written line and limits the expounded experience. Further explored, the turmoil disclosed is revealed not as a collective one by the diction choice an â€Å"imperial affliction. † It is almost as if a privileged group can only experience the transformation.In one word, Dickinson refashions light from universal emblem of revelation to a symbol of an exclusive human experience. However, taking light metaphorically where we never thought it could, Dickinson shows how easily transmuted these externals – light and dark – (which we’ve internalized and thought we knew) are. In Dickinson's first letter to T. W. Higginson on April 16, 1862, she asked him, â€Å"Are you too deeply occupied to say if my verse is alive? †(253) The irony lies in the fact that Dickinson’s verse is so alive that Emily Dickinson continues to rewrite the traditional modes of literature convention past her own lifetime.

Ethical Dilemna Assignment Jehi Mcmath Brain death case Research Paper

Ethical Dilemna Assignment Jehi Mcmath Brain death case - Research Paper Example It is in responding to such cases as this that, WHO prioritized mental health as well is as mental injuries. This was to reduce disability as well as early mental disorders. Ethically, it would be unsound for the medical personnel to carry out the operation o the patient when he or she is under such great pain (Chakrabarti, 2014). Yet, on the contrary, one would find that this is not acknowledged by the traditions and best practices of medication. Given that in provision five, the nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth. When a patient makes requests that contravene the regulations lay down by the medical field. This may happen when the patient is in great pain with very minimal chances of survival. The patient may seek to apply for a slow and a merciful death. This ma receives an objection from the medical official on the grounds that, it would be tantamount to murder of the innocent. Sometimes such and endeavor may even attract a fain of a jail term or even both. These are some of the challenges that may bother the nurses. In the light of the fact that, in provision eight; the nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public in promoting community, national and international efforts to meet health needs. A nurse’s judgments visa viz the decisions of the victims. There are some decisions that may be reached by the patient. Some of these decisions may be very detrimental to the patient. For example, a patient who demands for a discharge, when it is evident that he or she will not receive the much needed care at home environment. Humanness against the rules that inform medical practice has equally poised a dilemma to the medics. This happens when, for instance, there repugnant regulations that may

Transportation by Sea Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Transportation by Sea - Assignment Example A busy seaport should therefore be viewed as a powerful yardstick for measuring the development in the region in particular and in the country in general. But, the overall development of a port depends on several factors including that of having the port in a geographically advantageous location. The locational advantage, among other factors, plays a prominent role in the growth prospects of a port as it would naturally make the port accessible to the shipping lines of several countries. Apart from the locational advantage, a port should internally posses certain technical advantages too for efficient handling of port operations. and strictly prefer seaports that would reduce transportation costs and time. Port location is therefore one of the prime determinants of its development. The growth of a port also depends on the depth of water, warehousing facilities and the total area. These requirements, along with the importance of location, should be properly studied for port designing and construction depending on the type, size, number and frequency of vessels that would call at the port, type and volume of cargo that would be handled and needs of the warehousing facilities and terminals. ... agoon, in a deep natural bay or river would naturally attract the attention of shipping lines and develop very fast (Internet, Port Planning, Factors influencing sea port locations). Locational advantage When a port is located in a geographically convenient location joining several shipping routes and providing accessibility to several countries, it undoubtedly attains the geographically locational advantage. Such a superior port conspicuously draws the attention of the shipping lines and attracts huge demand for its services. If the port is also located in a deep water zone, it would facilitate the docking of the bigger ships (Internet, A new port in Shanghai, 20 miles out to sea, Para 9). Because of the innumerable advantages of having deep water ports, several countries, including India, have drawn up big plans in this regard (Internet, Ambitious growth plans for Kakinada deep water port, 3 2001). The main advantage of such a port is that its services are generally useful not only for the country but also for its neighbouring countries. Different countries, operating their shipping lines for the transportation of their different commodities and goods, would crave for utilising the facilities of such a port to meet their growing demands. When the advantageous location is effectively aided by the presence of industrial growth in the region, it adds magnificently to the port development (Internet, The fundamentals of ports management, function and role of an international port). Infrastructure While the locational advantage is the nature's gift for a port and serves as the basic ingredient for its development, the port location should be fortified by the presence of excellent infrastructural facilities to render quality services at reduced costs to various

Active Range of Motion in the Cervical Spine Increases Article

Active Range of Motion in the Cervical Spine Increases - Article Example This is considered in general to be worthwhile. The participants are the result of an advertising effort. It is known that there were 109. It should be possible to know how many were available. These participants chose themselves. It would have been better if they were chosen from a pool as determined by the researchers. It shows the Chiropractors doing the actual testing. Maybe they should have supervised the tests rather than be actually doing them. Then the instrument readings should be interpreted by the chiropractors. In addition, there should be interpretations by other competent professionals. The interpretation of the two professionals should be considered. The F-distribution is helpful in measuring the ranges of the population. This choice presupposes that there is a difference in the ranges between the participants. The variances can be considered against some other standard or expected data. There were Chiropractors doing the manipulation. It is not clear if the same type of posture was used in the uncontrolled studies. Different types of studies of necessity will provide different results. The uncontrolled study seems to be investigating a change in motion. This controlled study is designed to observe a change in motion. In addition, this controlled study seeks to observe an additional result. It seeks to establish the length of time after the observed change in motion. There is no provision made for the level of pain experienced. How would we measure the pain level from slight to severe? The participants were selected based on the report of the participants. Headaches can be caused and relieved by factors other than movement. There is no indication that the headaches were verified by a professional. The possible difficulty here is that we indicated no certainty as to the link between a headache and the other aspects of the patient. Every aspect is relevant.

Work Now trends (complete part one) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Work Now trends (complete part one) - Essay Example On the other hand, this gives the temporary employees a chance to determine their level of interest in that company. Working as a temporary employee gives the employees an advantage over the external applicants in times of a vacancy announcement. In the recent research, about 58% of the employers will prefer to pick the temporary workers in the next five or so years to external applicants (Jim, 2006). People working as temporary employers have a chance to associate with employees who may help them gain the permanent position or at times provide them with leads, and end up getting better positions elsewhere. Other than the above-mentioned impacts of temp-to-fulltime to the employer, the costs associated with hiring permanent workers is higher compared to that of the temporary employees. As the main aim of any business is maximization of profits, this strategy saves on costs; hence, more profit. People go for temporary jobs for experience, extra cash or if they have no other source of income. However, temp-to-fulltime strategy has its own shortcomings. With this kind of employment, nothing is guaranteed. Sometimes a company genuinely needs a temporary employee for just a specified time for various reasons. It gets frustrating for a person who took up that job with expectations of ever having that position permanently. One has to try to be perfect in everything, as the slightest mistake would mean immediate dismissal. This is not fair for everyone makes mistakes. These employees enjoy lesser benefits and lower income compared to their counterpart. This is despite the fact that they often do most of the work. The best secret to make any temporary job a permanent one is to perform excellently and assimilate into the company and its culture in the shortest time possible. Coming in early, offering to stay late in the office, complete the given assignment, and presenting it in time and having the right mindset are