Wr Grace Case Study free essay sample

It has the ability to automatically and simultaneously post all sub-ledger items in the appropriate general accounts, simultaneously update general ledger and cost accounting areas, and evaluate and report on current accounting data in real time. Grace also liked SAP’s centralized approach to general ledger, up-to date references for the rendering of accounts across all of its divisions. 3. What obstacles did SAP and Grace face in their attempts to consolidate Grace’s ledgers? SAP and Grace split the project into two main components: General Ledger Data Migration, and Business Process Testing. General Ledger Data Migration involved acquiring all of the relevant data from Grace’s three separate ledgers, combining it and eliminating redundancies, and supplying it to the SAP General Ledger. Business Process Testing tests the system to ensure that the system would work as planned. After the data migration was completed, Grace still had to decommission its old ledgers. We will write a custom essay sample on Wr Grace Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 4. How successful was the general ledger migration? What are some of the risks of adopting a single general ledger system from a single vendor to run a global business? a) 1. All of the WR Grace shares a common accounting infrastructure 2. Management can quickly develop an overall picture of the company’s financial status 3. The company’s financial status, and most of the ledger can be accessed or updated in real time. 4. Devote less energy on managing its ledgers and more on running business. 5. Grace’s accountants and financial planners will be more efficient. 6. IT costs decrease. 7. Fewer errors b) If there is a problem in the system, it’s more difficult to fix or recover the damaged for a global business than a single vendor.

Mass Media Essay Essays

Mass Media Essay Essays Mass Media Essay Essay Mass Media Essay Essay Mass Media’s Influence on Americas’ Youth Does mass media influence children and teenagers more than their friends and family? That’s the question mainstream America is asking. America’s youth today is faced with an issue that adolescents in past decades never experienced. Young people today are flooded with media such as television, music, movies, magazines, newspapers, internet, and more. Media is overly accessible and virtually impossible to hide from in a world now dependent on it. The main concern that always comes up in the discussion of mass media is its many negative impacts on children and teens in American society. Mass media is a dominant force in the United States and across the world that shapes and molds young people in a variety of ways, creating ideas and theories that hold huge influence in the perceptions and actions of these adolescents. Many times these perceptions and ideals shown through mass media are very harmful to the development of children and teenagers in the United States. Mass media in the United States lacks government intervention and regulation. One of the reasons that there may not be strict enough rules for mass media could be that most broadcast companies in the United States are privately owned. These private companies receive no government funding. For example, public radio and public television are funded and controlled by government. Therefore, the government holds little leverage in telling these corporations what to do. Mass media’s effect in regards to violent behavior shows why the government regulation of mass media needs to be stricter than they currently are. The watching of violence is a very popular form of entertainment in mainstream America. A crowd of pedestrians enjoy a street fight just as the Greek enjoyed watching Spartans battle in the arena. Boxing and Wrestling are one of the most popular spectator sports on television in the United States and around the world. Violence is the most frequently depicted genre in television and movies. News programs provide extensive coverage of violent crimes just to bump up their ratings. Another way these kids are viewing this violence is through their videogames. Videogames such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty are among the most popular videogame titles on the market. According to CNN Grand Theft Auto sold 3. million copies and generated $310 million dollars in sales in its first day. The more violent the videogames are, the more copies they sell. Just imagine how different things might be in a world without children playing violent videogames or watching gory movies nearly every day. In a research study reported in the Journal of Adolescent Health the results reported were that on 23 channels recorded more than half of the material was filled with violence (Brown and Witherspoon 2002). Many of these television shows that contain violent material depict unrealistic effects. For example, there could be an extremely horrific gun shooting or stabbing in a movie and the character lives. However, the reality is that a gun shooting or a stabbing will most likely result in death. One common example of violent behavior being glorified through television and movies is bank robberies. These movies make robbing banks seem appealing because of the ease in which they take the money while underplaying the consequences that go along with a serious crime such as this. Many parents observe their children and teenagers copying behaviors that they have picked up in films and TV shows. It is quite apparent that this process leads to a greater frequency of violence. Mass media’s influence on sexuality is another controversial topic. Media is one way America’s youth learn and see sexual behavior. â€Å"Adolescence is the stage when individuals develop independent identities by disengaging from their parents and interacting more extensively with their peers† (Paek et al. 2011). Considering that at this stage adolescents are not guided by their parents as much as in prior stages of their life it becomes increasingly important that the mass media influences adolescent sexuality. The mass media are an increasingly accessible way for people to learn about and view sexual behavior. The media is especially important and influential for teenagers as they begin developing their own sexual beliefs and patterns of behavior. Media is often the only influence in these young people’s life as parents and schools remain reluctant to discuss sexual topics. In the United States, young people spend 6 to 7 hours each day on average with some form of media (Brown and Witherspoon 2002). Brown and Witherspoon report, â€Å"almost all teens have their own source of music †¦ and more than wo-thirds have their own television †¦ in their bedroom† (Brown and Witherspoon 2002). Many of those televisions also are hooked up to cable. These numbers will have surely increased over the past decade if history repeats itself. A report published in the Journal of Sex Research concluded that mass media has a profound influence on adolescent sexual attitudes and sexual practices (Brown 2002). The availability of sexual content continues to increase. According to Forbes Magazine internet pornography is now a billion dollar per year industry. Sexual content is flooding through mainstream media. It is clear in regards to sexuality in media that it influences the way adolescents think and behave sexually. Media also effects how early young people begin to start having sexual activities. Young people interpret sexual media content differently than adults; they also evaluate and incorporate what they are seeing into their own lives. â€Å"Both children and adults have been reported to believe the media is a central source of information on sex and sexuality for young people† (Werner-Wilson, Fitzharris, Morrisey 2004). Considering that adults are reportedly looking to the internet as a resource for sexual questions or curiosity it’s easy to understand why children are also looking to the internet as a sexual resource. Young teens in America are having sex earlier, and with more partners because of what they see in the media. It’s simply natural to behave the way you see others behaving. Another disturbing effect caused by mass media is in regards to health. Mass media continues to put out content that does nothing to promote good health and a lot to cause unhealthy behavior among young people. A study on media and American teenagers showed that 8 to 18 year-olds spend 6 to 7 hours a day with some type of media and over 20 hours a week just with music (Brown and Witherspoon 2002). The most dangerous health effects caused by media are on young women. Young women all over the United States and the world are starving themselves in an effort to become skinnier. The reason these women are striving to become skinnier is because of the perception that mass media has created on what beauty is. In a study shown by the Society for Adolescent Medicine, nearly one quarter of college girls are engaging in some form of anorexic behavior (Brown and Witherspoon 2002). Not only has this standard of what a woman should look like affected these women physically but it has also completely diminished many of these women’s self-esteem. According to the National Institute of Mental Health anorexia often develops during teen years or young adulthood. Since it is already known that the teen years are when adolescents are most impressionable, it makes perfect sense that anorexia often develops during this period. The full name for this disorder is anorexia nervosa. The characteristics of anorexia include emaciation, starvation, self-esteem issues, and fear of weight gain. The effects of this eating disorder can be deadly. Some of the most serious problems include brain damage and organ failure. Tobacco is largely depicted in the media. According to the National Institute of Health, people who start smoking before the age of 21 have the hardest time quitting. About 30% of youth smokers will continue smoking and die early from a smoking-related disease. Teen smokers are more likely to use alcohol and illegal drugs they are more likely to have panic attacks, anxiety disorders and depression. A research study conducted by Hye-Jin Peak, Albert Gunther, Douglas McLeod, and Thomas Hove explored the degree that peer perceptions effect adolescents’ truthfully reporting whether or not they have been exposed to anti-smoking efforts thru mass media (Peak, Gunther, McLeod, and Hove 2011). This study also evaluated how peer perceptions affect adolescents’ effect whether or not the teens smoke or how they feel about smoking (Peak et al. 011). The research study results explained that media influence on adolescents showed a strong correlation between increased media and increased smoking in adolescents (Peak et al. 2011). Considering the research results leads one to believe that if stricter laws were made on commercials for tobacco then maybe fewer kids would be smoking. If the United States Government examined how other nations re gulate mass media they may be enlightened. â€Å"Recognition of the harmful effects of smoking has led many countries to restrict tobacco advertising. In some, such as New Zealand and Norway, cigarette consumption decreased significantly after the bans† (Brown and Witherspoon 2002). Media Portrayal of cigarette popularity contributes to the likelihood of adolescents beginning to smoke. As of today there are some restrictions on tobacco marketing, but these restrictions are very weak and hardly effective. As for image advertising, the agreement does not ban actual photos of people trying to entice adolescents to start smoking, only the cartoon images for cigarette advertising (Petty 1999). All advertisements are still allowed to picture people (Petty 1999). â€Å"Beer and wine are also among the most heavily advertised products on television and radio† (Brown and Witherspoon 2002). Considering that beer and wine are so heavily advertised in the mass media main stream America should really be considering the impact of alcohol use on United States’ adolescent population. According to the National Institute of Health there were 2. 8 million alcohol related injury deaths among 18 to 24 year-old college students from 1998 to 2001. If the Mass Media didn’t idealize alcohol as glamorous then certainly there would not have been as many tragic unnecessary deaths of young people during this 3 year period. The number of negative effects caused by mass media is extraordinary. Media negatively affects individual’s self-concept, attitudes, and behavior. It is impossible not to see how much the negative effects on youth out-weigh the positives. What can be done to change the status quo media has set in the U. S.? Focusing on a variety of categories; not just violence, sexuality, and self-esteem may be helpful. Perhaps if from the time children became toddlers they are not able to see Hustler and Penthouse magazines that contain explicit nudity at a party store or gas station counter that would be step one in gaining some kind of protection or censorship for our children. The world is constantly evolving. â€Å"Young people today are growing up in a world unlike anything previous generations have experienced. Today’s youth have greater access to forms of communication than ever before† (Brown and Cantor 2000). Surely the future of America’s adolescents is extremely important to most all Americans. Therefore, it only makes sense that since mass media is changing drastically then the rules regulating mass media must change drastically too. Brown, Jane. â€Å"Mass Media Influences on Sexuality. † The Journal of Sex Research 39. 1, Promoting Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior (Feb. , 2002), pp. 42-45. Jstor. Oakland Community University. 28 Jul. 2011 Brown, Jane, and Elizabeth M. Witherspoon. â€Å"The Mass Media and American Adolescents’ Health. † The Journal of Adolescent Health 31. 6s, (2002) pp. 154-167. Oakland Community University. 8 Jul. 2011 Brown, Jane, and Joanne Cantor. â€Å"An Agenda for Research on Youth and the Media†. The Journal of Adolescent Health 27. 2s, (2000) pp. 1-7. Oakland Community University. 28 Jul. 2011 Paek, Hye-Jin, Albert C. Gunther, Douglas M. McCleod, and Thomas Hove. â€Å"How Adolescents Perceived Media Influence on Peers Affects Smoking Decisions. † The Journal of Consumer Affairs pp. 123-146. (201 1). Wayne State University. 12 Aug. 2011 Petty, Ross. â€Å"Tobacco Marketing Restrictions in the Multistate Attorneys General Settlement: Is This Good Public Policy. Journal of Public Policy Marketing 18. 2, (1999), pp. 249-257. Jstor. Oakland Community University. 6 Aug. 2011 Thompson, Kenneth, and Anita Sharma. â€Å"Secularization, Moral Regulation and the Mass Media. † The British Journal of Sociology 49. 3, (1998), pp. 434-455. Jstor. Oakland Community University. 6 Aug. 2011 Werner-Wilson, Ronald Jay, Jennifer Lynn Fitzharris, and Kathleen M. Morrissey. â€Å"Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Media Influence on Adolescent Sexuality. † Adolescence 39. 154 (2004). Wayne State University. 12 Aug. 011 CNN on the Web. 14 August 2011. http://articles. cnn. com/2008-05-08/tech/gta. sales_1_ea-sales-grand-theft-auto-iv? _s=PM:TECH. NIH on the Web. 14 August 2011 nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/smokingandyouth. html. NIMH on the Web. 14 August 2011 nimh. nih. gov/healt h/publications/eating-disorders/complete-index. shtml. FORBES on the Web. 14 August 2011 forbes. com/2001/05/25/0524porn. html. Web. August 14 collegedrinkingprevention. gov/media/Mag_and_Prev_ARPH_April_2005. pdf.

Biography of Folk Singer and Activist Joan Baez

Biography of Folk Singer and Activist Joan Baez Baez was known for her soprano voice, her haunting songs, and her long black hair early in her career - until she cut it in 1968. Joan Baez Biography Joan Baez was born on January 9, 1941, in Staten Island, New York. Her father Albert Baez was a physicist born in Mexico, while her mother was of Scottish and English descent. She grew up in New York and California, and when her father took a faculty position in Massachusetts, she attended Boston University and began to sing in coffeehouses and small clubs in Boston and Cambridge, and later in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Bob Gibson invited her to attend the 1959 Newport Folk Festival where she was a hit; she appeared again at Newport in 1960. Vanguard Records, known for promoting folk music, signed Baez and in 1960 her first album,  Joan Baez, came out. She moved to California in 1961. Her second album, Volume 2, proved to be her first commercial success.  Her first three albums focused on traditional folk ballads. Her fourth album, In Concert, Part 2, began to move into more contemporary folk music and protest songs.  She included on that album â€Å"We Shall Overcome† which, as an evolution of an old gospel song, was becoming a civil rights anthem. Baez in the 1960s Baez met Bob Dylan in April of 1961 in Greenwich Village. She performed with him periodically and spent a lot of time with him from 1963 to 1965. Her covers of such Dylan songs as â€Å"Don’t Think Twice† helped bring him his own recognition. Subjected to racial slurs and discrimination in her own childhood because of her Mexican heritage and features, Joan Baez became involved with a variety of social causes early in her career, including  civil rights  and nonviolence. She was sometimes jailed for her protests. In 1965, she founded the Institute for the Study of Nonviolence, based in California. As a Quaker, she refused to pay a part of her income tax that she believed would go to pay for military spending. She refused to play in any segregated venues, which meant that when she toured the South, she only played at black colleges. Joan Baez recorded more mainstream popular songs in the later 1960s, including from Leonard Cohen (â€Å"Suzanne†), Simon and Garfunkel and Lennon and McCartney of the Beatles (â€Å"Imagine†). She recorded six of her albums in Nashville starting in 1968. All the songs on her 1969 Any Day Now, a two-record set, were composed by Bob Dylan. Her version of â€Å"Joe Hill† on One Day at a Time helped bring that tune to wider public attention.  She also covered songs by country songwriters including Willie Nelson and Hoyt Axton. In 1967, the Daughters of the American Revolution denied Joan Baez permission to perform at Constitution Hall, resonating with their famous denial of the same privilege to  Marian Anderson. Baez’ concert was also moved to the mall, as Marian Anderson’s had been: Baez performed at the Washington Monument and drew 30,000. Al Capp parodied her in his â€Å"Li’l Abner† comic strip as â€Å"Joanie Phonie† that same year. Baez in the 1970s Joan Baez married David Harris, a Vietnam draft protestor, in 1968, and he was in jail for most of the years of their marriage. They divorced in 1973, after having one child, Gabriel Earl. In 1970, she participated in the documentary â€Å"Carry It On,† including film of 13 songs in concert, about her life through that time. She drew much criticism for a tour of North Vietnam in 1972. In the 1970s, she began composing her own music. Her â€Å"To Bobby† was written honoring her long relationship with Bob Dylan.  She also recorded her sister Mimi Farina’s work. In 1972, she signed with AM Records. From 1975 to 1976, Joan Baez toured with Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review, resulting in a documentary of the tour. She moved to Portrait Records for two more albums. The 1980s-2010s In 1979, Baez helped form Humanitas International. She toured in the 1980s for human rights and pace, supporting the Solidarity movement in Poland. She toured in 1985 for Amnesty International and was part of the Live Aid concert. She published her autobiography in 1987 as And a Voice to Sing With, and moved to a new label, Gold Castle.  The 1987 album Recently included a pacifist hymn and another gospel classic made famous by Marian Anderson, â€Å"Let Us Break Bread Together,† and two songs about South Africa’s freedom struggle. She closed down Humanitas International in 1992 to focus on her music, then recorded Play Me Backwards (1992) and Ring Them Bells (1995), for Virgin and Guardian Records, respectively. Play Me Backwards included songs by Janis Ian and Mary Chapin Carpenter. In 1993 Baez performed in Sarajevo, then in the midst of a war. She continued recording into the early 2000s, and PBS highlighted her work with an American Masters segment in 2009. Joan Baez had always been quite politically active, but she had largely stayed out of partisan politics, endorsing her first candidate for public office in 2008 when she supported Barack Obama. In 2011 Baez performed in New York City for the Occupy Wall Street activists. Discography 1960: Joan Baez Vol. 1 (remastered 2001)1961: Joan Baez Vol. 2 (remastered 2001)1964: Joan Baez 5 - 2002 version with bonus tracks1965: Farewell, Angelina1967: Joan1969: Any Day Now: Songs of Bob Dylan1969: Davids Album1970: The First Ten Years1971: Carry It On1972: Blessed Are...1972: Come From the Shadows1974: Gracias a la Vida (Heres to Life)1975: Diamonds and Rust1976: The Lovesong Album1977: Best of Joan Baez1979: Honest Lullaby1979: The Joan Baez Country Music Album1982: Very Early Joan Baez1984: Ballad Book Vol. 11984: Ballad Book Vol. 21987: Recently1990: Blowin Away1991: Brothers in Arms1992: No Woman No Cry1992: Play Me Backwards1993: From Every Stage1993: Rare, Live and Classic (box)1995: Ring Them Bells (winter holiday and Christmas)1996: Greatest Hits (remastered)1996: Speaking of Dreams1997: Gone From Danger1998: Baez Sings Dylan1999: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection1960: Joan Baez Vol. 1 (remastered 2001)1961: Joan Baez Vol. 2 (remastered 2001)1964: Joan Baez 5 - 2002 version with bonus tracks 2003: Dark Chords on a Big Guitar2005: Bowery Songs2007: Ring Them Bells (reissue with bonus tracks)2008: Day After Tomorrow2011: Queen of Folk Music Joan Baez Quotes The concert becomes a context of its own, and thats whats beautiful about being able to stand up there- that I can say what I want, put the songs where I want them and, hopefully, give people an evening of beautiful music as well. (1979)Action is the antidote to despair. Sources Baez, Joan. And a Voice to Sing With. 1987.Baez, Joan. The Joan Baez Songbook: P/V/G Folio. 1992.Hajdu, David.  Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina. 2011.ï » ¿Swanekamp, Joan.  Diamonds and Rust: A Bibliography and Discography on Joan Baez. 1979.

Goal Statement Management of Secure Information System Personal

Goal Management of Secure Information System - Personal Statement Example In addition to that, I completed my Associate program in Computer Studies in August 2014. These basic ingredients coupled with determination to excel and ability to learn under any condition will enable me to succeed in this program. I possess strong communication skills which will contribute to my success in this study program since I am well informed that it involves a lot of communication and interaction. Others skills that I have gained over time that will increase my level of competency in this program include excellent quantitative and analytical skills, data analysis, keen to details, ability to deliver excellent customer service, conceptual thinking skills and proper time management ability. I am a person who can work effectively with others so as to realize a common goal. I have great leadership skills which were made evident when I served as a youth coordinator for my community. Under that docket, I handled a number of duties such as meeting the needs of the youths by initiative a number of programs that favored them, initiating formation of youth organizations, creating a platform through which youths from various parts of the world can interact and network, initiating recreational activities for the youth among other activities. I am a self-motivated person who is guided by set principles pertaining any program or institution that I am based in. I have had a number of work experiences which are closely related to the program that I am applying for. I am currently working as an IT specialist by providing second level support for the Information Technology help desk. I have also worked under department IT support in which I handle various issues affecting IT customers and clients. That position exposed me to handling very challenging clients thus being able to strengthen my customer relation skills.

Free Speech vs. Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Free Speech vs. Security - Essay Example It allows for the debate and resolution of these problems by the mutual consent of the people. However from the homeland security perspective, a society incorporating free speech may appear as a threat to political stability. The best example here is of Egypt where normal citizens planned a historic protest on a social networking website. Also in a society where people from different racial and religious background live, freedom of speech may provoke a particular community. In such a case, spread of violence and hatred may occur. The use of internet has allowed everyone to speak freely without any fear. The amount of information available on the internet is formidable and the people have easy access to it (Sunstein, 1995). Homeland security considers this availability of extensive amount of information as a security threat as it may be used for negative purposes and this is the reason why recently a bill has been passed which gives government the right to bar internet access if it de ems it appropriate. Everyone should know that accompanying the right of free speech are the responsibilities associated with it. The responsibility of people increases multifold during wartime.

The Science Behind Love Essay Example for Free

The Science Behind Love Essay What is this thing called love? There are so many definitions that people can come up with for love. Some are easy to understand while others do not make that much sense. Many people think that love is something that happens in a split of a second. Actually what people don’t know about love is that it does not happen in a split of a second. Psychologists and scientists have said that in order for someone to fall in love, it would take at least 90 seconds to 4 minutes (Fisher, 2004). Many studies have been done to prove that the brain of the individual that is in love goes through a weird domino effect. It produces certain chemicals that make the individual act strange when the person is in love. It has also been said that in a way, science can help people that are in relationships (The evolution of romance, 2007). So the main questions would be that what are the chemicals that make a person in love and what are the tips that science can offer to benefit the relationships of people who are in love? Many people have this one question in their mind: what is love? What is the full definition of it? There is no one definite definition for it but one can conclude that love is something magical and it is something that everyone experiences in their life at one point. So what does love do to a person? How does it make them feel physically, emotionally, and mentally? When a person is in love, physically it does not really do that much. It does not change how to person looks or anything. What love does to a person is more mental and emotional changes. Mentally what love does to a person is that it makes them crazy; in other words, it makes them do some weird things (Middleton Anderson, 2006). Emotionally what love does to a person is that it makes them love someone else who is their everything in their life. At times it is weird how a person who is so much in love acts; they would say stupid things and do stupid things too (Thorton, Carmody, 2010). Many studies have been done to show that love does not involve just the heart. It also involves the brain. Read more:  Persuasive Essay Example About Love Actually the brain does play a huge part in the whole sequence of love. In other words, it goes through some weird domino effect that no one had ever thought about. Researchers have found out that there are these certain chemicals, or more like hormones, that are produced in the body which are sent to the brain (Murphy,m2001). These certain chemicals would be oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine. The parts of the brain that these chemicals play on the most would be the hippocampus and the thalamus (Murphy, 2001). There are many differences that can be said between men and women when they are in love. According to researchers, they say that women are more willing to make a change in the relationship while at times, men are just there. Men do some things to make a relationship work but not as much as the women would do it. Now researchers are wondering is it because of the chemicals that are in the brain that is making the women act much differently than the men. Researchers have also found out the in women, there is a higher amount of serotonin and dopamine but in men, there is a higher level of oxytocin (Young, 2009). It is due to the cause that since women produce estrogen where men produce testerone so it is due to these factors that men and women have different levels of these three chemicals that help play the role of love (Young,2009). They also those animals also have many differences among the humans. It is true that animals do experience love just the way that humans do and to some extent, they also have the same chemicals in their brains as well but not as much as the humans do (Rooks,2009). So what kind of love has to happen in order for the brain to be the major factor in the love process? Researchers have concluded that it can be almost any type of love. It can be a crush, deep love, intense love or any type of love that exist in this world today. Studies have shown that it takes about 90 seconds to 4 minutes to actually like someone or even possibly fall in love with them (Fisher 2004). It is pretty interesting that you can fall in love with someone within seconds and minutes but what does that brain have to do it? Let’s explore some of the studies that certain scientists have done. One of the famous studies that have been was by Helen Fisher who is a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Fisher had a hypothesis where the three chemicals dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin have a major role in the brain when a person is in love. She decided to conduct a study where she would give the volunteers a picture of the person that they love then showing them another picture of someone else. This test would tell us how quickly the brain reacts with these three chemicals in play. After that, their brains would be scanned under a brain scanner which would show more evidence for this experiment. It would show the blood flow activity that happens when the chemicals play around with the brain. Many volunteers were interested in this case study yet there were some groups of people that were not allowed to participate in the case. People with some type of metal in their heads, for example lip ring or braces were not allowed to be in the study. People that were claustrophobic or were left handed were not allowed either. They wanted people that were passionately in love and that could hardly eat, sleep or drink because they are that much in love. Fisher was astonished with the results that she found upon this study. Her exact finding in this study was that the three chemicals that she used in her hypothesis were correct Before scientists only concluded that body movements is what made us react when we are in love but now it is proven to fact that the brain has its own central and network for the actions that are related in love. Her conclusion was that there was a part of the brain that played around the most with the subjects. All three of the chemicals that she used in her hypothesis were also in the brain that played the major part when a person is in love. There was this dopamine mother lode. What this does is that it elevated the amount of dopamine that goes into the brain when the person was in love. Many people think that love is a very small process that happens in the brain but it is clearly a much more difficult process (Fisher, 2004). Another famous study that was done was by the authors Bianch-Demicheli, Grafton and Ortigue (2006).Bianch-Demicheli, Grafton and Ortigue combined their findings when they conducted experiments where they would tell their study subjects the name of their lovers and with that, they would scan their brains and see how the brain reacts when basically their lover is the only thing that is in their mind. Another study was conducted where instead of saying the subject’s lover’s name; they would say a favorite sport, TV show or something along that nature and see the difference it has on the brain. They had about 46 participants that were willing to be part of the study. Two studies were conducted yet it was separated in men and women. The results were that there was a similar reaction time that happened between both experiments yet for the women, there was a little faster reaction time where they could think of their beloved much faster than the men. The time that they would think about their lover to the time that they would think about their favorite past time was the same. It also showed that their responses to the to lover’s name was much more active in the brain then the responses to their favorite pastime. The study that was done by Ortigue and her team explains to us that actually what parts of the brain are active when that individual is in love. It also does a control experiment where instead of using the individual’s lover’s picture, they would use another picture of some type of hobby that they like to do. By showing both the lover’s picture and the picture of their favorite hobby, at times, the brain levels were almost the same. Similar studies have been done to conclude the same facts and data that Fisher and Ortigue and team have found in their experiments. Robert Epstein teaches a course on relationship science where he makes his students participate in numerous amounts of experiments that would prove in a way what science has to do with relationship and how they can help as well. Robert Epstein is a professor at the University of California where he teaches a course on relationship science. He believes that in order for his students to understand the subject matter better, they should have hands-on exercises and experiments, one of which is Soul Gazing where he would pair each of the students with someone else and have them look deeply into each other’s eyes. From this whole class, 89 percent of them experienced a lot of intimacy feelings between them. Epstein then explains to us how almost half of the US first marriages fail and he believes that the only way to fix the poor relationship performance is to find a â€Å"practical technology technique† (2010) and then teach it to the people. . In a study that was done by James D. Laird and his fellow colleagues in 1989, Epstein says that Mutual Eye Gazing made the subjects in the study have a lot of feelings which rapidly increased. Those feelings made the subjects like and love total strangers. Both Soul Gazing and Mutual Gazing increased intimacy and it made the people feel vulnerable. A lot of the exercises showed some obvious results between males and females. One of the males showed no positive effects when he did the exercise with another guy. To him, it made him feel very uncomfortable. Yet when he did the exercise with a girl, his intimacy rate went up by 25 percent but the girl’s rate went up by 144 percent! By this, once can conclude that girls have more intimacy feelings then boys. One of the students Olivia did another exercise Secret Swap where it creates vulnerability when people share their close secrets with each other. When Olivia did this exercise with her mother, both intimacy and vulnerability rates went up 31 percent. She did the Soul Gazing with a total stranger and her intimacy rate went up 70 percent. It’s quite amazing that with a total stranger, your intimacy rates go up. There are some examples of movies and books that can portray these findings that these scientists have found. One good example that can easily relate would the famous story of Romeo and Juliet. With the studies that Robert Epstein has conducted, Romeo and Juliet are closely related. In the story, Romeo and Juliet see each other for the first time and right then and there, they fall in love. In other words, this can be stated as â€Å"love at first sight†. This can conclude the studies by Epstein and Fisher when she said that a person can fall in love with someone from 90 seconds to 4 minutes. Romeo and Juliet just see each other for the very first time and instantly they fell in love. People in the modern world still think that â€Å"love† is so unrealistic. Honestly in a way, that is kind of weird because they did not even know each other for even a minute and they fell in love. Another example of these findings would this Indian movie called Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, directed by Karan Johar. This movie is about two friends Rahul and Anjali in college and they are best friends throughout their four years of college. Everyone would think that they are in love but they are not really. Rahul would always say that I am going to find the perfect girl for me and Anjali would help him out. Until the day another girl Tina came. Right then and there, Rahul started to fall in love with Tina but there was nothing more than flirting between them. Then during their English literature class, they were talking about Shakespeare and his Romeo and Juliet story. The question was asked â€Å"what is love?† This was Rahul’s answer: â€Å"Love is friendship† (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, 1998). Anjali was in shocked because her and Rahul were really good friends and she started to think that Rahul did like her. She started to fall in love with Rahul but really, he was in love with Tina and Anjali was devastated with this so she decided to leave college because she could not bear to see the Rahul and Tina in love because she really loves Rahul but he takes her nothing more than a friend. This type of movie can be closely related would be the Ortigue’s and her team. In conclusion, there is science behind the whole concept of love. It is not only involved with the heart and mind but the parts of the brain are also involved. Now that everyone knows the full definition of love and now everyone would think twice when they fall in love with someone. References: Brownless, S. (1997). Can’t do without love. U.S. News World Report, 122 (6), 58 This article talks about how science nowadays are related to love and how people react. Studies have shown that a certain chemical oxytocin plays a major role in the brain. The author also explains a certain study that was done on rodents and the results from that. Epstein, R. (2010). How science can help you fall in love. Scientific American Mind 20(7), 26-33 This article explains to us how in a successful love relationship, science can play major role. The author conducted a lot of studies that would prove to us that science can help with relationships and how it can fix America’s poor relationship status. Helmuth, L. (2000). Love on the brain. Science Now, 3 This article explains a specific case study that was done on students from a London. It tells us the specific brain areas that are highly activate when those students were in love. Middleton, L. Anderson, A. (2006). What is this thing called love? New Scientist 190(2549), 32-34 This article helps us understand whether science can help us understand love even more. Scientists are now finding certain chemicals in the brain that helps a person fall in love. It also explains to us how a person falls in love using that certain chemical. Murphy, L. (2001). It’s all in your mind. Psychology Today, 34(5), 26 This article tells us specifically which areas in the brain are deeply effected when a person is in love. The author conducts a special case study and tell us future findings in how we should measure love. Ortigue, S., Grafton, T.S., Demicheli-Bianchi, F. (2006). The power of love on the human brain. Social Neuroscience, 1 (20), 90-103. This article tells us about the recent discovery of the brain and how it is related and how it reacts when a person is in love. It talks about two experiments that has be done by these authors and their findings from each of the experiments. Rooks, J.P. (2009). The science of love. Skeptic, 15(1), 73-74 This article talks about how animal’s brain are somewhat related to the human’s brain. It also tells us what we can conclude from this finding. The evolution of romance. (2007) Harvard Mental Health Letter, 23(9), 6-7 This article discusses the study that is done on romantic love. It uses a another study as a reference from H. E. Fischer and come to the fact that love is related to one of the brain systems and with that, it becomes much stronger. Thorthon, E.K. Carmody, P. D. (2010). Depression, love, happiness and the quantitative electroencephalography in a single case study. Biofeedback, 38 (1), 13-18. The authors of this article talk about how closely related emotions and how the brain functions are. They explain to use how different emotions (sad, happy, being in love) react in the brain by doing a case study and explaining to us the results and the conclusions founded by the authors. Young, LJ. (2009). Being human: love: neuroscience reveals all. Nature, 457(7226), 148 This article talks about how the brain reacts differently in both men and women. The author describes how men are different compared to how women are different and also how their brain scans are different too.

Business Analysis of Black and Decker Essay -- Black and Decker Busine

Business Analysis of Black and Decker 1. FINDINGS Black and Decker's DeWalt line has been so successful in the USA that it is now the standard for both the Professional-Industrial and the Professional-Tradesman market segments. Nolan Archibald, Chairman, President and CEO of Black and Decker (B&D) saw the potential in 1994 to increase the companies market share through worldwide sales of B&D products. While the company had a definite presence in the European Consumer Power Tools market segment, it lacked penetration in the Professional Power Tools segment. On the other hand, in Japan, where there was a huge market for professional power tools, B&D's market penetration was negligible compared to its competitors. B&D's vision for DeWalt is to be the global "Value Power Tool" provider of choice for every Professional Tradesperson and all worldwide Industrial markets. Based on the facts, the product managers of the DeWalt line have developed a global strategy based on the following conclusions: Â · DeWalt is a highly succe ssful product in the US market. B&D must leverage its brand identity and marketing strategies employed in the US and also capitalize on their established quality and pricing. Â · B&D must explore the formation of strategic alliances with local distributors. Multiple and/or hybrid channels must be used to reach customers quickly and as effectively as possible. Â · Through a global strategy, B&D can appeal to consumer homogeneity by offering lower product costs while maintaining high product quality. The lower product costs derived from the economies of scale will maximize customer value exchange. Â · B&D must aggressively employ a hybrid push-pull communication strategy to be successful in the two markets. This will enable B&D to get the DeWalt name out to more customers in a diverse geography. Â · While Elu has performed better than B&D Professional and B&D Proline product lines in the European market, its lack-luster revenues compel B&D to replace the Elu product line with the DeWalt line. Â · There exists cultural differences between the US market and the European and Japanese markets. While the European market is similar to that of the US, the Japanese market warrants a thorough study of local conditions before entering it. The global strategy must consider factors such as brand loyalty, product recognition, brand image and channel intermediaries.... ...se "transit advertising". Following is a tabulated set of recommendations and associated timeframes: Recommendations Implementation Plan/Responsible Party Timeframe 1 Combine Professional Product Lines in Europe Market DeWalt as the Professional Product/ Marketing & Sales task force Immediately 2 Maximize Market Potential Offer competitive prices, value, variety of products/ Product Manager/Sales task force Immediately 3 Maximize Market Potential Provide Sales and Customer service support to distribution channels/ Sales task force & manufacturing Immediately 4 Use Distribution Channels to their potential Use existing assembly plants Europe to centralize manufacturing and assist in implementing JIT delivery systems / Manufacturing & Product Manager Immediately 5 Employ hybrid push pull communication strategy Advertise, provide informational seminars, demonstrations / Sales & Marketing Task force Immediately 6 Compile data and interpret Japanese market Form a task force that consis ts of a representative from manufacturing, marketing, sales, and product management to study and interpret the data. Immediately /Ongoing study DeWalt in Europe and Japan Marketing and Product Management

Can Everyone Benefits from Higher Education?

Can Everyone Benefit from Higher Education? Higher education refers to the level of learning that takes place at universities, colleges or degree-awarding institutions, which a person can attend after he or she completes high school or secondary school education. Higher education provides students with further knowledge on specific areas and awards the students with academic degrees or certificates. In the past, higher education was not seen as a â€Å"must† as nowadays because a competition in job market was not as high as at the present time.In formers times, higher education was popular in some societies, mainly western culture, and not so famous in other parts of the world, Thailand and Asian countries for example. Since the world is becoming more globalized, there are so many businesses appeared and all of them require capable employees who can make tasks run smoothly. Business owners hire people who have special knowledge that fit their businesses. Therefore, higher educ ation has become popular and necessary throughout the world.In additional, everyone can gain the benefit from further education. People can benefit from higher education in various ways; for instance, there are specific area of knowledge, practical skills, interpersonal skills, new colleagues and society. In terms of career, these qualities can lead to the better job, higher salaries, larger societies, and more development and advancement in skills, knowledge and performance, especially when compared with people who graduate from high school.In addition, higher education is a key that helps people avoiding unemployment during the time of economic recession when a number of jobs is limit. However, there are some people who do not attend higher education and the reasons are different, depend on personal circumstances. For example, they might not see an importance of going to university or college because they already have special skills that are required in the job market e. g. sport players, artists, singers, stars.Some people might have less opportunity to study than others e. g. money problems or physical disabilities. In some cases, social inequality and intelligence can also be barriers to higher education. For instance, people who are clever but their families are in poverty might not have the opportunity to study because higher education is frequently considered to be expensive. In order to resolve the tuition fee problem, government should support by give scholarships for students who have a good grade or the reasonable conditions.Nevertheless, there are also alternatives to higher education that could be the reason for not attending universities or colleges. Some organizations provide on-the-job trainings to their employee in order to increase work skills, which can be a major cause of ignoring higher education. Some people need some specific professional skills for their job, so they decide to attend vocational trainings or short-term career preparatio n programs instead.There are also some groups of people who believe in the value of self-study so they do not see the necessity of going to universities or colleges. They can learn by themselves through various ways such as reading books, discussing with people or experiencing real situations. In summary, everyone can benefit from higher education; at least they gain more knowledge and skills. The more people are educated, the more the world became more developed and advanced. Thus, higher education is waiting for everyone. Nobody is too old to learn.

My aim in life Essay

â€Å"A year from now you may wish you had started today.† This is a translated quote from my loving grandmother. Life should be tied into aims to achieve happiness. I believe we must have an aim in life, or our life might become full of regrets and disappointment. Like all other successful people in the world I have goals, too; and they are well written in my journal. My long term goal is to become a professional petroleum engineer, and win the Nobel Peace prize. I am a very dedicated member of this universe. This world is my home, and ‘you’ll’ are my family. My passion is helping, and I will incorporate my passion with my profession of engineering to bring peace in my ‘home.’ I want to work on fossil fuel, the world’s largest energy source, and make the best use of this source for my ‘family.’ One day I want to proudly state that, â€Å"my investment of time in education brought peace in this world.† Generally speaking, I have always wanted to become an engineer. I have also wanted to become an international person. I was born in Bangladesh, and came to the United States of America for higher education. I visited several other countries, and want to visit more. I want to learn the mutual understanding of people from every corner of the world, and want to understand their need. I am a leader, a volunteer, and also a follower. Through working with several international organizations, I have come to know that our world needs more helping hands. I have a dream of running a project, where I will inspire people from everywhere to dream big and to believe in their aspirations. Because I believe our wish can become true only if we can believe that we ‘can.’ As my blueprint of life reads, I want to be the best petroleum engineer this world has ever seen. Petroleum engineers design and develop methods for extracting oil and gas from deposits below the earth’s surface. Petroleum engineers also find new ways to extract oil and gas from older wells. Oil and gas has both positive and negative impact in the world economy. These energy sources are something that we rely on everyday of our lives. My goal is to bring this source of energy to a level where it will be more accessible. Inspiration is a must. Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner from Bangladesh, has inspired me to work for the peace of this world. He proved how possible it is to catch the dream of life; which is not winning the Nobel Prize but to win the heart of every person in the world. What else can we expect from our life? Isn’t the happiness lying beneath it? I will dedicate my education, my earnings, and my life for this lovely family. Each ‘thank you’ I earn from people will be my Nobel Peace Prize. My life’s agenda’s ending says, â€Å"Believe in yourself buddy. I know you do not have any regret in life.† I believe nothing is impossible if I have the power of will. As my plan is to fuse together my passion and goal, I know I will create my own happiness, and also impact the world that I consider my family. My goals will provide my ‘family’ a better place to live. My goals will provide my ‘family’ to find peace, and my goals will inspire everyone to become their best selves.

Provide a reading of Nosferatu and discuss how it established the Vampire sub-genre Essay Example

Provide a reading of Nosferatu and discuss how it established the Vampire sub Provide a reading of Nosferatu and discuss how it established the Vampire sub-genre Paper Provide a reading of Nosferatu and discuss how it established the Vampire sub-genre Paper Essay Topic: Film Nosferatu is a name that conjured fear into the hearts of early filmgoers. A masterpiece of silent film, the strength of this classic and the genre it spawned stands testament to the ability of German Expressionist F. W Murnau. Nosferatu pioneered the Vampire sub-genre of films. It was the first of its ilk, only placed in the genre retrospectively. Countless vampire films, cartoons, sketches, cliches and jokes have appeared over time, each drawing something from the original vampire film none would exist as we know them if it was not for Murnaus silent nightmare. It was Nosferatu that developed many of the generic conventions one has come to expect from a vampire film. Bite-marks, fangs, blood, coffins and gloomy castles lit dimly from the eerie glow of the full moon all feature in Murnaus film. It was Nosferatu which firmly planted these haunting images into the minds of filmmakers to come, each becoming a tired cliche of a very old genre of films. Take, for example, the well-known myth that sun-light will destroy a vampire once-and-for-all. Bram Stokers Dracula (the novel of which Nosferatu was developed from) does not mention sunlight killing a vampire, only reducing its power. Murnau added this concept into his adaptation to which almost all vampire films to follow have copied. However, whilst being the first film of a very popular genre, Nosferatu still retains details which are very different to the films which borrowed from it in future. The most noticeable is the vampires appearance. When one thinks of Vampire they immediately picture the charismatic Bela Lugosi dark lord, oozing sophistication and sex appeal. Nosferatu contains none of this. Count Orlok, the Vampire, is a disgusting animalistic mess of bat-like ears, rodent features, pointy rat-like teeth and a hunched back. Nosferatu moves slowly and painfully, wearing his Undeath as a curse rather than a dark gift. Indeed, the name Nosferatu, by which Orlok is also known, means Plague-Carrier. Count Orlok is free from all the over-done Dracula cliches, this monstrous vampire looking more at home in a sewer than a palatial cheteau in the Carpathians. The story of Nosferatu itself borrows heavily from the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. The two narratives are almost identical, to the point that Stokers daughter tried having all copies of the film destroyed. A classic tale of good versus evil had a simple Equilibrium-Disequilibrium-New Equilibrium storyline. We see Hutter and Ellen happy in their married life until Hutter is drawn into the web of the vampiric Count Orlok, with the Nosferatu preying upon Hutter and his wife. However, the new-equilibrium is not a happy ending. While Orlok dies to the rays of the morning sun, Ellen lays dead having sacrificed herself to destroy the vampire and the plague it brought with him. The film also finished with a low angle shot of Orloks castle does some evil still lurk within? Has the curse of Nosferatu really been destroyed? The film is designed to make people uneasy and even the films resolution leaves the audience feeling unnerved rather than relieved. Murnau was a pioneer of the Expressionist movement. His film rests heavily on mood and theme rather than the character acting. He evokes a feeling of unease through his use of lighting and shadow. He distorts and exaggerates shapes into unrealistic proportions in order to express feelings through the medium of film. For example, the actors wear heavy make up and move jerkily or slowly exaggerated in order to express a mood. The characters do not simply exist within a setting but are visual elements that merge with the setting Murnau tells his story through the entire mise-en-scene rather than his characters each element of this mise-en-scene interacts and combines to create a unique mood and atmosphere. We can see this use of mise-en scene to tell his story throughout the film. Much of the film is shot in shadow, giving a darker more haunting atmosphere to the film coupled with the iris shots, which Murnau made much use of, give a feeling of being trapped that there is no escape from the terror that stalks Ellen and Hutter. Similarly Murnau uses detail in the entire screen, often utilising the corners, which suggest and hidden horrors lurking in the corners. Murnau also makes use of long takes, often of images of death and decay, which causes discomfort in the audience watching. Murnau used more symbolic scenes to express the mood of the film, such as those of spiders and Venus flytraps. Its not only visual elements that add to the creation of the films tone, music too plays its part. Munau called it his Symphony of Terrors a disjointed, discordant and unnerving noise that is not in the least bit tuneful. The music of the film is a very powerful tool in the storytelling of Nosferatu, building up suspense or shocking the audience. Each of the films attributes combine to create distinct ambience that doesnt just tell the story but lets the audience feel the story.

Analysis of semco and pixar animated studio as an example of innovative organizations

Companies like Semco, Gore and Associate, 3M and Pixar have made a reputation for themselves due to their emphasis on creativity. Innovation is a product of collaborative learning, idea generation, sharing and idea realization practices of workers in an organization (Dovey, 2009, p.311). For innovation to occur an organisation must foster an environment and culture that give room for creativity which is what Semco and Pixar have achieved. To this end, this report will analyse Semco and Pixar as an exemplar of innovative companies and the relationship that exist between them using some key theories of innovation and the defining features and managerial actions that set them apart as innovative organisations. SEMCO Semco is a loose organisation that encourages innovation and self organisation leading to trust, collaboration and cooperation. Semco was a small family engineering company originally called Semler and Company established in 1952 in Sao Paulo, Brazil by Antonio Curt Semler and renamed Semco after Ricardo Semler, the 24 year old son of the owner resumed office as the new chief executive officer in 1984, firing more than half of the top managers on his first day of resuming office as chief executive officer and eliminated all secretarial positions (CNN, 2004). The company prior to Ricardo taking over was characterised with autocratic style of management with control and rules being the order of the day and operating at the edge of collapse. Ricardo Semler favours a participating style of management, profit sharing and free flow of information. The company product range includes dishwashers, pumps, mixers, cooling units for air condition, biscuits factories among others (Semler 1999, p. 1). It is one of the most innovative companies in the world and has become the subject of study for most business schools all around the world due to its peculiar management style. There is no organisation structure that feeds managers ego, subordinates choose their own bosses, employees set their salaries, production targets and achieve them at their own time, and are encouraged to participate, share ideas and also share in the profit (Semler 1999, pp.1-7, 130 131). PIXAR Pixar animated studio was established in 1986 after Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucas films for $10 million with Ed Catmull being named co-founder and Chief technical officer, Smith as vice president alongside Steve Jobs (Price, 2008, p.74 85-197). In 2001, Ed Catmull was named Pixar’s president. The company originally manufactures and sell hardware and software that enable computer graphics to develop animations. In 1987, the company began the making of short films with its first computer generated movie, Toy Story being released in 1995. The company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney acquired 2006 at $7.4 billion and located in Emeryville, California (Paik, 2007). The acquisition will help Pixar gain economies of scale and access to new technologies. Pixar has a range of films under its belt that has surpassed box office expectations from Rango, Hop, Toy Story 3, finding Nemo, the incredible and many others (Emerald Group Review, 2 011). Its target audience cuts across all ages and nationalities and include families and children and its product range include short films in DVDs, soundtrack CDs, animated films among others (Price, 2008, pp.3-7). It fosters an environment that gives room for mistakes and encourages collaborations among teams and departments and devoid of micro management by executives to ensure creativity and innovation (YouTube-imperial college, 2009). THEORIES OF INNOVATION USING EVIDENCE FROM SEMCO AND PIXAR What makes Ricardo Semler and Ed Catmull exceptional in the way they run their companiesCould it be that they were born to innovation, an act of God, divine intervention, grace, or years of experience and acquisition of knowledge and educationAnalysts and business tycoons have called these men genius. Some critics of Semler and Pixar would have called the transformation at these companies as a gift from the gods. However, it is worthy of note that Semco was a company already in operation prior to Ricardo taking over and Pixar had several failed attempts before its major breakthrough in 1995 with Toy Story. Emerald group, 2011 quoted Ed Catmull in Harvard Business Review ‘I don’t think our success is largely luck. Rather, I believe our adherence to a set of principles and practices for managing creative talent and risk is responsible.’ Was grace far from the transformation in these companiesRicardo was one of the youngest graduates at Harvard Business School who wo uld have learnt some of the traditional management theories in school but choose to manage in a uniquely different way that suite his life and believes suite those of his employees. Moreover, having had an encounter with a doctor who told him to change his work style, he decided to change his way of management, a factor that has led to the key changes at Semco today. Thus innovation at Semco may be a combination of association having graduated from Harvard, accident-a chance meeting with the doctor, personality-considering that while at high school he raised some money for the school vacation program which he reinvested to yield a return before the vacation, feature of life and a bit of cognitive considering the fact that innovation at Semco had evolved over time. It is far from being grace or act of gods. Several forms of innovation can be said to have taken placed at these organisations. They are: Organisational innovation: An organisational innovation is one that entails the implementation of a new organisational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace or external relations (Stoneman, 2010, p.17; OECD, 2006). It is often intended to increase a company’s performance through improvement in workplace satisfaction and labour productivity and access to knowledge. It entails an adoption of an organisational method such as flatter organisation structures, employees’ participation among others that have not being used before in an organisation and often results from strategic decisions taken by management (Stoneman, 2010, p.18). Semco and Pixar posses a great deal of organisational innovation. Semco had implemented theories that have never being tried before such as the satellites programs that allow ex-employees to open their own companies with financial help and resources and become partners with Semco and employees cutting their wages by 30% to Semc o at difficult times to get a higher returns when trading conditions get better. What drive such innovation are the organisational culture, structure and learning. Social innovation: This is the innovation that supports and it is beneficial to the society. Pixar is an example of such innovation whose films though animated have a lot of influence on the society both young and small. Its latest film, hop for instance gives social lessons about the role of adult and children in society. Semco has also contributed to the Brazilian society through employment and a reduction in job cuts. Traditional innovation: This is technological innovation and is measured in different ways such as through patents, expenditure and development among others. Semco and Pixar have shown a lot of innovation and creativity in technology with Pixar having a lot of patents. All these types of innovation create social capital which will be discussed later in this report. FEATURES OF INNOVATIVE ORGANISATIONS OR MANAGEMENT ACTIONS SEMCO and Pixar’s success is built on a lattice or flatter organisational structure devoid of control culture that has gone through series of transformation through the years which has enhanced their innovative ability. An organisational culture devoid of control fosters innovation as individuals are giving the freedom to self organise and make their own decisions just like Semco where employees set their salaries and take decisions on production targets and the time they meet such targets (Semler, 1999, p.1). These companies have been able to manage innovation in the following ways: Structure and culture: Organisational design is crucial to the continuous innovation of an enterprise. As the business environment becomes complex and uncertain, so is the organisational design changing to meet up with customers’ demands for value maximising products. Traditional management scientists like Max Weber emphasised formal structure which is a top-down approach characterised with command, control, rules, position power and neglect social and psychological influences on behaviours of employees and teams (Burnes 2000, p.45). Employees are likely to respond to a good leader who they trust and respect than being managed in a bureaucratic way as argued by Adair 1986:54. Semco operates a lattice structure and considers all workers as equal and has reduced bureaucracy from twelve layers of management to three (Semler 1999, p.7). Reduced hierarchies and high involvement will lead to faster decision making and idea generation and information sharing, leading to innovation. F ormal organisational structure stifles individual creativity. In the words of Semler, authoritarianism diminishes productivity and as such no privileges or rules that discourages flexibility (Semler, 1999, p. 4). At Semco, People are made to enjoy their job and feel good about themselves, not just to survive. Business strategy in the company is determined without interference from the top. Similarly, Pixar is free from the thick layers of formal management and executives are not involved in the day to day running of the organisation. All employees are equally important and all work together for the success of a story. Both companies are devoid of micro-management which ensures creativity and innovation. To have these kind of organisations require a conducive organisational culture that is devoid of control. In the words of Ed Catmull, ‘Management really doesn’t tell people what to do.’ Thus both companies give employees freedom to take risk and there is reflecti on, learning and feedback. However , not everyone can work in an environment with such a structure as some people like being told what to do, also, people wants to know what their responsibilities are and who they are report to while others do not like responsibility. It means that such environment will attract liked minded individuals. Trust and Freedom: Due to the flexible organisational structure and lack of formal reporting structures, employees can be trusted to carry out their roles. However, there is a tendency for employees to abuse the system giving the few reporting structures. Semco has absolute trust in her employees and encourages them to be self managing and governing and have made partners with them. There is so much trust that Semco made entrepreneurs out of its workers through assistance with setting up their own company through its satellite programs, buy from them and encourage them to sell to its competitors. One will assume trust will not be a possibility giving the large number of employees of over 3000. Semco has defiled business school expectations and has gone as far as allowing workers to participate in managerial decision making from deciding how much they get paid, to unlimited access to financial information and freedom to work whenever and wherever they choose and meet targets at their own set time and set their salaries which has resulted in impressive growth, long term loyalty and increase and better productivity. To Semler, his interest is in the final result not where, how and hours worked (Easen, 2004). Freedom drives performance and encourages innovation. Staff can work better if given more independence (Handy, 2004). Semco adopts a participating or democratic management style that create an atmosphere where both bosses and subordinates ( partners and associate) interact regardless of jobs and position and all are involved in decision making (Semler, 1999.pp.6 81). In the words of Semler (1999, p. 6), ‘We don’t have as many bosses as we used to. As workers began to exercise more control over their jobs and assume more voices in our policies, the need for supervisors diminished.’ Having trust in individual will give them a sense of belonging and being wanted and encourage new ideas and sharing of ideas among one another. Semco and Pixar re alised that the most powerful resources at their disposal are the people who make things happen in their organisations and have learnt to trust, believe in them and give them the freedom to express their innovative capabilities and drive production forward. Trust is seen as an outcome of social capital and shared values (Cote and Healy, 2001). However, the problem with freedom is that not everyone like being free. Some people want to be controlled and directed to get their job done. Some see control as a motivator. Moreover, some top managers may resist the need for reduced hierarchies for fear of losing control and power. Social capital and Collaboration: At Semco and Pixar, there is collaboration and teamwork as people work together for common and shared values and not get in each others’ way but are committed to the achievement of the common goal of the company. At Semco, employees participate in managerial decision not just relating to their jobs but the business as a whole. They are included in decisions that pertain to choosing who their boss becomes (Easen, 2004). Before people are hired or promoted to leadership positions, they are interviewed and approved by all who will be working for them, and every six months managers are evaluated by their subordinates. Semco has autonomous business units established by ex- employees who open their own business with help from Semco and have become partners, associate and collaborators and has made Semco a leaner and agile organisation (Semler, 1999 P.7). Also different departments and business units and teams work collectively to drive innovation f orward at Semco and Pixar. Easen, 2004 reported Semler as saying that ‘Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.’ There is a balanced collaboration at Pixar as artist and technologists are paired together. Every offer or idea is accepted and then people get the chance to plus it (Nelsen, 2008). A term Nelsen called ‘plussing’- taking an idea or a piece of work and find a way to add or improve upon it without judging it. At Pixar, collaboration means amplification whereby employees who are listening and interested in each other are joined together to work and bring separate depth to the problems and breadth that gives them interest in the solution as well as allow teams to communicate at different levels. The brain trust at Pixar is a framework or forum that gives an opportunity for some of the best brains to use their expertise and experience to share their understanding and knowledge with others and to get feedback. The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD defines social capital as ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups’ (ONS, 2001; Cote and Healy, 2001:41). It is the glue that holds organisations together and enables employees to join forces more effectively and pursue shared objectives. In a culture of continual change and uncertainty, sustainable communities are those who are collaborative and always growing with and towards each other in the formation, sharing and adaptation to new knowledge (Smith and Paquette, 2010). Some of the outcomes of social capital are social relations, trust, collaboration, mutually enforceable agreement, general reciprocity and innovation (ONS, 2001). In Semco there is mutually enforceable agreement resulting from profit sharing. In the past, Pixar had used stock to motivate employees and encourage them to stay. Also, the need to produce quality output at Pixar could be a form of mutually enforceable agreement (Price 2008, p. 114). Pay recognition: Motivation such as adequate pay, interpersonal relations and work and group dynamics are some factors that increase productivity and workers satisfaction (Mullins, 2007, p.53). Employees will be committed to work if they are being paid fairly and feel that their contribution is appreciated in the organisation. Semco’s employees set their salaries and share in the profits. As Semler (1999, P. 4) says, ‘Profit-sharing is democratic. We negotiate with our workers over the basic percentage to be distributed- about a quarter of our corporate profit.’ This has worked so well at Semco as there is very low labour turnover and when the need arises, those laid off are assisted to form their own company. Reward systems and benefits retain people and lead to workers’ satisfaction, commitment and loyalty (Chiu et al, 2002). There were times when workers salary proposal were rejected in instances of over- statement. Contrary to this is the argument that financial rewards are not enough to motivate people and that group pressure has more influence on employees than financial rewards (Mullins, 2007, p.301). In addition, people also have intrinsic motivation derives from within the individual which propels them towards the need for self actualisation and fulfilment. Learning and feedback/ Gives room for mistakes/Risk taking: Learning within projects teams depends heavily on the inflow and transfer of knowledgeable among them. Semco and Pixar are learning organisations. Such organisations give room for failure and learning from mistakes and encourage risk taking and have a wide tolerance for new ideas and do not punish mistakes. A learning organisation was defined by Johnson et al (2008) as, ‘One capable of continual regeneration from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals that encourage mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision.’ Semler pointed out that mistake is welcome and a sign that the employee is taking enough risk. Without mistakes, there will not be learning and consequently, innovation will be stifled. Likewise at Pixar, continuous innovation requires that executives resist the natural tendencies to minimise risks and accept uncertainty to ensure originality and ability to r ecover from failures resulting from taking risks. It encourages creativity by allowing people to experiment with new ideas and mistakes genuinely made are treated as part of the learning process Emerald Group review, 2011). Mistake are not punished at Pixar but seen as building block for new ideas and innovation just like 3M. Pixar endorses and encourages a creative by rejecting hierarchical and controlled system, instead the taking of risks and recognizes the importance of serendipity in the creative process (Smith and Paquette, 2010) It has been argued that employees’ collective knowledge exceeds those of the organisation and its capabilities and managers should aim at encouraging processes that unlock employees’ knowledge and encourage information, knowledge and idea sharing which is the sort of environment both companies have created for their employees. As a narrator said, each movies produced by Pixar contains a combination of tens of thousands of ideas arising from risk taking, failure and learning. Ed Catmull said that ‘Innovative people are failure recovered not failure avoider.’ Both companies give room for reflection, learning and feedback. The benefits of learning cannot be over emphasis. Learning increases employees’ commitment, improve quality as mistakes are identified. Senge 1999 reiterated that organisational learning leads to organisational performance. Commitment: At Semco, everyone is committed to the achievement of the organisation’s objectives as they all feel a sense of belonging and part ownership of the company arising partly from the profit sharing. Employees are seen as being importance and valued. A worker in an interview said if an employee is idle, another worker will often ask why he or she is not working, reminding him or her that failure to work will reduce their profits and subsequently reduction in money for their pockets. So there is peer pressure. If employees feel that they are being trusted to take decision on their own and self manage, they will be committed. Semco operates an egalitarian company where there is no preferential treatment. Parking lots are for first come basis and all employees eat on the same canteen. Meetings are held based on the first two employees to be present. This makes employees feel as being a part of the team and big family and give them a sense of being wanted by the company. B y removing privileges of ranks, employees will see themselves as a wider community, thus feel comfortable voicing their opinion, leading to generation of new ideas. Dynamism: Semco is a highly flexible company with no boundaries to the type of business and products, making it difficult to say exactly what kind of business the company is in. There is no fixed business and it is open to any form of business that comes their way. It is also characterised with the absence of business plans and company strategy. In the words of Semler (2003, p.4), ‘ Once you say what business you are in, you create boundaries for you employees, you restrict their thinking and give them a reason to ignore new opportunities as they will say we are not in that business.’ Semco is so dynamic in its operations and processes that employees must not use one desk two days in a row. This is to make them difficult to track and are free to move and work anywhere that appeals to them be it home office. There is time flexibility as they are not concerned about when the employees arrive at work. However, contracts are negotiated on the basis of what to be achieved at a set period and what it stands to gain for paid value and what the employees get in return. It is a mutually enforceable agreement as both parties- employees and Semco benefit. Pixar, though in a core line of business of animated films, it is not to say it is not a dynamic company as different forms of films that benefits both adult and children have being produced over the years. There is effective communication at both companies due to the organisational culture and flatter structure devoid of control. There is information, idea and knowledge sharing. At Pixar, technologists communicate with the artists. SUMARY AND CONCLUSION Semco and Pixar are said to be innovative even though the companies are different in what they do and how they approach innovation. Nevertheless, some common factors in both companies is the delegation of a large amount of control to their employees and absolute freedom to take risk and give room for mistakes and failure, giving them freedom to generate new ideas and thus take a more active role and commitment. Both companies have decentralised the management structures to get employees more involved in decision making and give them a sense of belonging. They have created a culture that gives room for mistakes, failures, sharing of information, and ideas. There is also collaboration between employees, teams, departments, business units and partners, trust, social capital, communication, lack of micro-management and similar organisational culture and structure which encourages innovation. However, both companies differ in a number of ways such as absence of profit sharing at Pixar, la nguages, products, country of location and time scales. Having carried out a detailed analysis of Semco and Pixar, it is possible that what works at these companies can be applicable to other companies. However, some disadvantages will be accrued if these features are applied in another company characterised with hierarchical control culture and structure such as resistance from top management who are control freaks and unwilling to relinquish power. Moreover, not everyone will be able to self manage as some people like being controlled and told what to do. In addition, that trust and freedom work well in these organisations does not mean it can be implemented in other organisations as differences in culture and environment will play a role in determining its effectiveness in another company with different organisational culture and business environment. Having said this, nothing is worth not trying, so these managerial actions that have worked so well in these organisations can be applied to other organisations. The reward may not be see n immediately, but in the long run, it will pay off. REFERENCE ADAIR, J. 1986. Effective Team Building: How to make a Winning Team. London: Gower Publishing Co Ltd.BURNES, B. 2000. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 3rd edn. England: Pearson Education Ltd. CHIU, R. K, LUK, W.V AND TANG, T.L (2002) Retaining and motivating employees: Compensation preferences in Hong Kong and China. Personnel Review [Online journal], 31 (4), pp.402-431. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=Retaining+and+motivating+employees%3A+Compensation+preferences+in+Hong+Kong+and+Chinact=allec=1bf=1 . (April 19 2011). COTE, S AND HEALY, T. (2001) The Well-being of Nations. The role of human and social capital. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. CNN. 2004. Ricardo Semler, Semco SA. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/06/29/semler.profile/index.html?iref=allsearch(27 April 2011). DOVEY, K. 2009. The role of trust in innovation. The Learning Organization [online journal] 16(4). Pp.311-325. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=role+of+trust+in+innovationct=allec=1bf=1 . (March23/3/2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.semlar.transcript/index.html (15 April 2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Democracy in the Workplace. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.democratic.workplace/index.html?iref=allsearch (15 April 2011). EMERALD GROUP, 2011. How Pixar animates its talent team: not knowing the answers can be the way ahead. Development and Learning in Organizations [Online journal], 25 (1), pp. 30-32. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=pixarct=allec=1bf=1. (April 8 2011). HANDY C, 2004. Giving your Staff More Freedom. [WWW] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ hi/ business /4058519.stm (1 April 2011). JOHNSON, G, SCHOLES, K AND WHITTINGTON, R. 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. 8th edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. MULLINS, L. J, 2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 8th edn. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. NELSEN, R. 2008. Pixar’s Randy Nelsen on the Collaborative Age. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhXJe8ANws8 (1 April 2011). OFFICE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS. 2001. Social Capital: A review of the literature. [WWW] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/socialcapital/downloads/soccaplitreview.pdf (26 April 2011). PAIK, K. 2007. To Infinity and Beyond: The story of Pixar Animation Studio. London: Virgin Books Ltd. PIXAR GROUP 24. 2009. Innovation Management: Imperial College. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTB5S2mc3wA (20 March 2011). PRICE, D. A.2008. The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company. USA: Alfred A. Knopf. SEMLER, R. 2003. The Seven-Day Weekend. London: Century. SEMLER, R. Semco – Ricardo Semler – MIT SF 11 – Leading organizations. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1qJ2W9cVDM (14 April 2011). SEMLER, R. (1999) Maverick! The Success Story Behind the World’s most Unusual Workplace. London: Random House Business Books. SEMLER, R. 2007. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkOPxJCN1wfeature=related (13 March 2011). SENGE, P.M. (1999). It’s the learning: the real lesson of quality movement. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 22 (6)Pp.34-40. STONEMAN, P. 2010. Soft Innovation: Economics, Product Aesthetics and Creative Industries. New York: Oxford University Press.SMITH, S. AND PAQUETTE, S. (2010). Creativity, chaos and knowledge management. Business Information Review, 27 (2), pp. 118-23. BIBLIOGRAPHY BESSANT, J. 2003. High Involvement innovation: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Continuous Change. England: John Wiley Sons. CHRISTENSEN, C.M, AND ERIK, A.R. 2004. Seeing What is Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. USA: Harvard Business school Press. BURDETH, O.J. 1994. The Magic of Alignment. Management Decision [online journal], 32 (2), pp. 59-63. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=alignmentct=allec=1bf=1go=Go. (March 3 2011). Analysis of semco and pixar animated studio as an example of innovative organizations Companies like Semco, Gore and Associate, 3M and Pixar have made a reputation for themselves due to their emphasis on creativity. Innovation is a product of collaborative learning, idea generation, sharing and idea realization practices of workers in an organization (Dovey, 2009, p.311). For innovation to occur an organisation must foster an environment and culture that give room for creativity which is what Semco and Pixar have achieved. To this end, this report will analyse Semco and Pixar as an exemplar of innovative companies and the relationship that exist between them using some key theories of innovation and the defining features and managerial actions that set them apart as innovative organisations. SEMCO Semco is a loose organisation that encourages innovation and self organisation leading to trust, collaboration and cooperation. Semco was a small family engineering company originally called Semler and Company established in 1952 in Sao Paulo, Brazil by Antonio Curt Semler and renamed Semco after Ricardo Semler, the 24 year old son of the owner resumed office as the new chief executive officer in 1984, firing more than half of the top managers on his first day of resuming office as chief executive officer and eliminated all secretarial positions (CNN, 2004). The company prior to Ricardo taking over was characterised with autocratic style of management with control and rules being the order of the day and operating at the edge of collapse. Ricardo Semler favours a participating style of management, profit sharing and free flow of information. The company product range includes dishwashers, pumps, mixers, cooling units for air condition, biscuits factories among others (Semler 1999, p. 1). It is one of the most innovative companies in the world and has become the subject of study for most business schools all around the world due to its peculiar management style. There is no organisation structure that feeds managers ego, subordinates choose their own bosses, employees set their salaries, production targets and achieve them at their own time, and are encouraged to participate, share ideas and also share in the profit (Semler 1999, pp.1-7, 130 131). PIXAR Pixar animated studio was established in 1986 after Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucas films for $10 million with Ed Catmull being named co-founder and Chief technical officer, Smith as vice president alongside Steve Jobs (Price, 2008, p.74 85-197). In 2001, Ed Catmull was named Pixar’s president. The company originally manufactures and sell hardware and software that enable computer graphics to develop animations. In 1987, the company began the making of short films with its first computer generated movie, Toy Story being released in 1995. The company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney acquired 2006 at $7.4 billion and located in Emeryville, California (Paik, 2007). The acquisition will help Pixar gain economies of scale and access to new technologies. Pixar has a range of films under its belt that has surpassed box office expectations from Rango, Hop, Toy Story 3, finding Nemo, the incredible and many others (Emerald Group Review, 2 011). Its target audience cuts across all ages and nationalities and include families and children and its product range include short films in DVDs, soundtrack CDs, animated films among others (Price, 2008, pp.3-7). It fosters an environment that gives room for mistakes and encourages collaborations among teams and departments and devoid of micro management by executives to ensure creativity and innovation (YouTube-imperial college, 2009). THEORIES OF INNOVATION USING EVIDENCE FROM SEMCO AND PIXAR What makes Ricardo Semler and Ed Catmull exceptional in the way they run their companiesCould it be that they were born to innovation, an act of God, divine intervention, grace, or years of experience and acquisition of knowledge and educationAnalysts and business tycoons have called these men genius. Some critics of Semler and Pixar would have called the transformation at these companies as a gift from the gods. However, it is worthy of note that Semco was a company already in operation prior to Ricardo taking over and Pixar had several failed attempts before its major breakthrough in 1995 with Toy Story. Emerald group, 2011 quoted Ed Catmull in Harvard Business Review ‘I don’t think our success is largely luck. Rather, I believe our adherence to a set of principles and practices for managing creative talent and risk is responsible.’ Was grace far from the transformation in these companiesRicardo was one of the youngest graduates at Harvard Business School who wo uld have learnt some of the traditional management theories in school but choose to manage in a uniquely different way that suite his life and believes suite those of his employees. Moreover, having had an encounter with a doctor who told him to change his work style, he decided to change his way of management, a factor that has led to the key changes at Semco today. Thus innovation at Semco may be a combination of association having graduated from Harvard, accident-a chance meeting with the doctor, personality-considering that while at high school he raised some money for the school vacation program which he reinvested to yield a return before the vacation, feature of life and a bit of cognitive considering the fact that innovation at Semco had evolved over time. It is far from being grace or act of gods. Several forms of innovation can be said to have taken placed at these organisations. They are: Organisational innovation: An organisational innovation is one that entails the implementation of a new organisational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace or external relations (Stoneman, 2010, p.17; OECD, 2006). It is often intended to increase a company’s performance through improvement in workplace satisfaction and labour productivity and access to knowledge. It entails an adoption of an organisational method such as flatter organisation structures, employees’ participation among others that have not being used before in an organisation and often results from strategic decisions taken by management (Stoneman, 2010, p.18). Semco and Pixar posses a great deal of organisational innovation. Semco had implemented theories that have never being tried before such as the satellites programs that allow ex-employees to open their own companies with financial help and resources and become partners with Semco and employees cutting their wages by 30% to Semc o at difficult times to get a higher returns when trading conditions get better. What drive such innovation are the organisational culture, structure and learning. Social innovation: This is the innovation that supports and it is beneficial to the society. Pixar is an example of such innovation whose films though animated have a lot of influence on the society both young and small. Its latest film, hop for instance gives social lessons about the role of adult and children in society. Semco has also contributed to the Brazilian society through employment and a reduction in job cuts. Traditional innovation: This is technological innovation and is measured in different ways such as through patents, expenditure and development among others. Semco and Pixar have shown a lot of innovation and creativity in technology with Pixar having a lot of patents. All these types of innovation create social capital which will be discussed later in this report. FEATURES OF INNOVATIVE ORGANISATIONS OR MANAGEMENT ACTIONS SEMCO and Pixar’s success is built on a lattice or flatter organisational structure devoid of control culture that has gone through series of transformation through the years which has enhanced their innovative ability. An organisational culture devoid of control fosters innovation as individuals are giving the freedom to self organise and make their own decisions just like Semco where employees set their salaries and take decisions on production targets and the time they meet such targets (Semler, 1999, p.1). These companies have been able to manage innovation in the following ways: Structure and culture: Organisational design is crucial to the continuous innovation of an enterprise. As the business environment becomes complex and uncertain, so is the organisational design changing to meet up with customers’ demands for value maximising products. Traditional management scientists like Max Weber emphasised formal structure which is a top-down approach characterised with command, control, rules, position power and neglect social and psychological influences on behaviours of employees and teams (Burnes 2000, p.45). Employees are likely to respond to a good leader who they trust and respect than being managed in a bureaucratic way as argued by Adair 1986:54. Semco operates a lattice structure and considers all workers as equal and has reduced bureaucracy from twelve layers of management to three (Semler 1999, p.7). Reduced hierarchies and high involvement will lead to faster decision making and idea generation and information sharing, leading to innovation. F ormal organisational structure stifles individual creativity. In the words of Semler, authoritarianism diminishes productivity and as such no privileges or rules that discourages flexibility (Semler, 1999, p. 4). At Semco, People are made to enjoy their job and feel good about themselves, not just to survive. Business strategy in the company is determined without interference from the top. Similarly, Pixar is free from the thick layers of formal management and executives are not involved in the day to day running of the organisation. All employees are equally important and all work together for the success of a story. Both companies are devoid of micro-management which ensures creativity and innovation. To have these kind of organisations require a conducive organisational culture that is devoid of control. In the words of Ed Catmull, ‘Management really doesn’t tell people what to do.’ Thus both companies give employees freedom to take risk and there is reflecti on, learning and feedback. However , not everyone can work in an environment with such a structure as some people like being told what to do, also, people wants to know what their responsibilities are and who they are report to while others do not like responsibility. It means that such environment will attract liked minded individuals. Trust and Freedom: Due to the flexible organisational structure and lack of formal reporting structures, employees can be trusted to carry out their roles. However, there is a tendency for employees to abuse the system giving the few reporting structures. Semco has absolute trust in her employees and encourages them to be self managing and governing and have made partners with them. There is so much trust that Semco made entrepreneurs out of its workers through assistance with setting up their own company through its satellite programs, buy from them and encourage them to sell to its competitors. One will assume trust will not be a possibility giving the large number of employees of over 3000. Semco has defiled business school expectations and has gone as far as allowing workers to participate in managerial decision making from deciding how much they get paid, to unlimited access to financial information and freedom to work whenever and wherever they choose and meet targets at their own set time and set their salaries which has resulted in impressive growth, long term loyalty and increase and better productivity. To Semler, his interest is in the final result not where, how and hours worked (Easen, 2004). Freedom drives performance and encourages innovation. Staff can work better if given more independence (Handy, 2004). Semco adopts a participating or democratic management style that create an atmosphere where both bosses and subordinates ( partners and associate) interact regardless of jobs and position and all are involved in decision making (Semler, 1999.pp.6 81). In the words of Semler (1999, p. 6), ‘We don’t have as many bosses as we used to. As workers began to exercise more control over their jobs and assume more voices in our policies, the need for supervisors diminished.’ Having trust in individual will give them a sense of belonging and being wanted and encourage new ideas and sharing of ideas among one another. Semco and Pixar re alised that the most powerful resources at their disposal are the people who make things happen in their organisations and have learnt to trust, believe in them and give them the freedom to express their innovative capabilities and drive production forward. Trust is seen as an outcome of social capital and shared values (Cote and Healy, 2001). However, the problem with freedom is that not everyone like being free. Some people want to be controlled and directed to get their job done. Some see control as a motivator. Moreover, some top managers may resist the need for reduced hierarchies for fear of losing control and power. Social capital and Collaboration: At Semco and Pixar, there is collaboration and teamwork as people work together for common and shared values and not get in each others’ way but are committed to the achievement of the common goal of the company. At Semco, employees participate in managerial decision not just relating to their jobs but the business as a whole. They are included in decisions that pertain to choosing who their boss becomes (Easen, 2004). Before people are hired or promoted to leadership positions, they are interviewed and approved by all who will be working for them, and every six months managers are evaluated by their subordinates. Semco has autonomous business units established by ex- employees who open their own business with help from Semco and have become partners, associate and collaborators and has made Semco a leaner and agile organisation (Semler, 1999 P.7). Also different departments and business units and teams work collectively to drive innovation f orward at Semco and Pixar. Easen, 2004 reported Semler as saying that ‘Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.’ There is a balanced collaboration at Pixar as artist and technologists are paired together. Every offer or idea is accepted and then people get the chance to plus it (Nelsen, 2008). A term Nelsen called ‘plussing’- taking an idea or a piece of work and find a way to add or improve upon it without judging it. At Pixar, collaboration means amplification whereby employees who are listening and interested in each other are joined together to work and bring separate depth to the problems and breadth that gives them interest in the solution as well as allow teams to communicate at different levels. The brain trust at Pixar is a framework or forum that gives an opportunity for some of the best brains to use their expertise and experience to share their understanding and knowledge with others and to get feedback. The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD defines social capital as ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups’ (ONS, 2001; Cote and Healy, 2001:41). It is the glue that holds organisations together and enables employees to join forces more effectively and pursue shared objectives. In a culture of continual change and uncertainty, sustainable communities are those who are collaborative and always growing with and towards each other in the formation, sharing and adaptation to new knowledge (Smith and Paquette, 2010). Some of the outcomes of social capital are social relations, trust, collaboration, mutually enforceable agreement, general reciprocity and innovation (ONS, 2001). In Semco there is mutually enforceable agreement resulting from profit sharing. In the past, Pixar had used stock to motivate employees and encourage them to stay. Also, the need to produce quality output at Pixar could be a form of mutually enforceable agreement (Price 2008, p. 114). Pay recognition: Motivation such as adequate pay, interpersonal relations and work and group dynamics are some factors that increase productivity and workers satisfaction (Mullins, 2007, p.53). Employees will be committed to work if they are being paid fairly and feel that their contribution is appreciated in the organisation. Semco’s employees set their salaries and share in the profits. As Semler (1999, P. 4) says, ‘Profit-sharing is democratic. We negotiate with our workers over the basic percentage to be distributed- about a quarter of our corporate profit.’ This has worked so well at Semco as there is very low labour turnover and when the need arises, those laid off are assisted to form their own company. Reward systems and benefits retain people and lead to workers’ satisfaction, commitment and loyalty (Chiu et al, 2002). There were times when workers salary proposal were rejected in instances of over- statement. Contrary to this is the argument that financial rewards are not enough to motivate people and that group pressure has more influence on employees than financial rewards (Mullins, 2007, p.301). In addition, people also have intrinsic motivation derives from within the individual which propels them towards the need for self actualisation and fulfilment. Learning and feedback/ Gives room for mistakes/Risk taking: Learning within projects teams depends heavily on the inflow and transfer of knowledgeable among them. Semco and Pixar are learning organisations. Such organisations give room for failure and learning from mistakes and encourage risk taking and have a wide tolerance for new ideas and do not punish mistakes. A learning organisation was defined by Johnson et al (2008) as, ‘One capable of continual regeneration from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals that encourage mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision.’ Semler pointed out that mistake is welcome and a sign that the employee is taking enough risk. Without mistakes, there will not be learning and consequently, innovation will be stifled. Likewise at Pixar, continuous innovation requires that executives resist the natural tendencies to minimise risks and accept uncertainty to ensure originality and ability to r ecover from failures resulting from taking risks. It encourages creativity by allowing people to experiment with new ideas and mistakes genuinely made are treated as part of the learning process Emerald Group review, 2011). Mistake are not punished at Pixar but seen as building block for new ideas and innovation just like 3M. Pixar endorses and encourages a creative by rejecting hierarchical and controlled system, instead the taking of risks and recognizes the importance of serendipity in the creative process (Smith and Paquette, 2010) It has been argued that employees’ collective knowledge exceeds those of the organisation and its capabilities and managers should aim at encouraging processes that unlock employees’ knowledge and encourage information, knowledge and idea sharing which is the sort of environment both companies have created for their employees. As a narrator said, each movies produced by Pixar contains a combination of tens of thousands of ideas arising from risk taking, failure and learning. Ed Catmull said that ‘Innovative people are failure recovered not failure avoider.’ Both companies give room for reflection, learning and feedback. The benefits of learning cannot be over emphasis. Learning increases employees’ commitment, improve quality as mistakes are identified. Senge 1999 reiterated that organisational learning leads to organisational performance. Commitment: At Semco, everyone is committed to the achievement of the organisation’s objectives as they all feel a sense of belonging and part ownership of the company arising partly from the profit sharing. Employees are seen as being importance and valued. A worker in an interview said if an employee is idle, another worker will often ask why he or she is not working, reminding him or her that failure to work will reduce their profits and subsequently reduction in money for their pockets. So there is peer pressure. If employees feel that they are being trusted to take decision on their own and self manage, they will be committed. Semco operates an egalitarian company where there is no preferential treatment. Parking lots are for first come basis and all employees eat on the same canteen. Meetings are held based on the first two employees to be present. This makes employees feel as being a part of the team and big family and give them a sense of being wanted by the company. B y removing privileges of ranks, employees will see themselves as a wider community, thus feel comfortable voicing their opinion, leading to generation of new ideas. Dynamism: Semco is a highly flexible company with no boundaries to the type of business and products, making it difficult to say exactly what kind of business the company is in. There is no fixed business and it is open to any form of business that comes their way. It is also characterised with the absence of business plans and company strategy. In the words of Semler (2003, p.4), ‘ Once you say what business you are in, you create boundaries for you employees, you restrict their thinking and give them a reason to ignore new opportunities as they will say we are not in that business.’ Semco is so dynamic in its operations and processes that employees must not use one desk two days in a row. This is to make them difficult to track and are free to move and work anywhere that appeals to them be it home office. There is time flexibility as they are not concerned about when the employees arrive at work. However, contracts are negotiated on the basis of what to be achieved at a set period and what it stands to gain for paid value and what the employees get in return. It is a mutually enforceable agreement as both parties- employees and Semco benefit. Pixar, though in a core line of business of animated films, it is not to say it is not a dynamic company as different forms of films that benefits both adult and children have being produced over the years. There is effective communication at both companies due to the organisational culture and flatter structure devoid of control. There is information, idea and knowledge sharing. At Pixar, technologists communicate with the artists. SUMARY AND CONCLUSION Semco and Pixar are said to be innovative even though the companies are different in what they do and how they approach innovation. Nevertheless, some common factors in both companies is the delegation of a large amount of control to their employees and absolute freedom to take risk and give room for mistakes and failure, giving them freedom to generate new ideas and thus take a more active role and commitment. Both companies have decentralised the management structures to get employees more involved in decision making and give them a sense of belonging. They have created a culture that gives room for mistakes, failures, sharing of information, and ideas. There is also collaboration between employees, teams, departments, business units and partners, trust, social capital, communication, lack of micro-management and similar organisational culture and structure which encourages innovation. However, both companies differ in a number of ways such as absence of profit sharing at Pixar, la nguages, products, country of location and time scales. Having carried out a detailed analysis of Semco and Pixar, it is possible that what works at these companies can be applicable to other companies. However, some disadvantages will be accrued if these features are applied in another company characterised with hierarchical control culture and structure such as resistance from top management who are control freaks and unwilling to relinquish power. Moreover, not everyone will be able to self manage as some people like being controlled and told what to do. In addition, that trust and freedom work well in these organisations does not mean it can be implemented in other organisations as differences in culture and environment will play a role in determining its effectiveness in another company with different organisational culture and business environment. Having said this, nothing is worth not trying, so these managerial actions that have worked so well in these organisations can be applied to other organisations. The reward may not be see n immediately, but in the long run, it will pay off. REFERENCE ADAIR, J. 1986. Effective Team Building: How to make a Winning Team. London: Gower Publishing Co Ltd.BURNES, B. 2000. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 3rd edn. England: Pearson Education Ltd. CHIU, R. K, LUK, W.V AND TANG, T.L (2002) Retaining and motivating employees: Compensation preferences in Hong Kong and China. Personnel Review [Online journal], 31 (4), pp.402-431. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=Retaining+and+motivating+employees%3A+Compensation+preferences+in+Hong+Kong+and+Chinact=allec=1bf=1 . (April 19 2011). COTE, S AND HEALY, T. (2001) The Well-being of Nations. The role of human and social capital. 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