Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Compare and Contrast - to Room Nineteen Cathedral

In both Doris Lessing’s â€Å"To Room Nineteen† and Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†, the protagonists exhibit a kind of selfishness. Although they share this similarity, they present their selfishness in different ways, and ultimately make very different life decisions based upon this. The Rawling family had â€Å"everything right, appropriate, and what everyone would wish for, if they could choose.† The husband and wife, Matthew and Susan, had a picture-perfect marriage, â€Å"†¦people to whom others came for advice.† Despite this, Susan felt a â€Å"certain flatness.† She was endlessly looking forward to the day when their twins would go off to school for the first time, and then all the children would be â€Å"off her hands.† When this day came, however, she†¦show more content†¦Although both protagonists are somewhat similar in their selfishness, the way they chose to handle their situations makes them quite different in the end. Works Cited Carver, Raymond. â€Å"Cathedral.† The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Comp. R.V. Cassill. 7th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005, Print. Lessing, Doris. â€Å"To Room Nineteen.† The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Comp. R.V. Cassill. 7th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005,Show MoreRelatedCompare and Contrast of Sunnys Blues and Cathedral 1075 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Compare and Contrast of â€Å" Cathedral â€Å" and â€Å" Sonny’s Blues â€Å" The two stories that will be examined in this essay are two that may not appear to have a great deal in common, but once we look deeper in to the stories it becomes clear that they are similar but still have their own identities, finding strong differences and similarities is the goal of this paper. These stories are â€Å" Cathedral â€Å" which was written by RaymondRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagestransformations in where humans lived, how they earned their livings, and their unprecedented ability to move about the globe. Moya and McKeown set the patterns of migration in the twentieth century against those extending back millennia, and they compare in imaginative ways the similarities and differences among diverse flows in different geographical areas and across ethnic communities and social strata. They consider not only the nature, volume, and direction of migrant movements motivated primarilyRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesaccounted for 17 per cent of pharmacy sales. Parallel trade is prevalent in Asia and there is a latent problem in the crucial US market due to price differentials with Canada. Canada has stringent and inï ¬â€šexible pricing and reimbursement criteria. In contrast, the USA has no formal price controls and price increases are customary. Over time, this has led to a wide disparity in prices (bestselling cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor was $3.20 per pill in the USA in 2003, compared with just $1.89 in Canada)

Monday, December 23, 2019

A Critical Analysis Paper Of Life And Death - 2010 Words

Last updated: 2 hours ago History View files Plagiarism check .DOC .PDF â€Å"A CRITICAL ANALYSIS PAPER OF LIFE AND DEATH IN2 A Critical Analysis Paper of Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities: Name: Course: Professor: Institution: Date: A Critical Analysis Paper of Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities Introduction The majority of the aged among the Americans make the choice to spend the rest of their lives in assisted living facilities. Nonetheless, the safety of the aged in the society is somewhat at risk due to the loose regulations that are evident in this multi-billion dollar industry. Contrary to the norms of what life in the assisted living facilities ought to be, the documentary ‘Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities’ provides a rather dissimilar understanding of the manner in which the aged are handled in their later years. Several circumstances revolve around the decisions that are made that eventually surrender the aged in assisted living facilities. However, throughout the film and/or documentary, a revelation is brought forth pertaining to the kind of treatments that are provided to the aged in turn bringing out the mishmash that is ongoing in minimal state regulations same time lack of and/or minimal involvement by the federal authorities. Through this, what ha s become of assisted living facilities is distressful to both the aged and their relations while trying to comprehend the role they have to play inShow MoreRelatedBrothers Grimm and Beautiful Mind1109 Words   |  5 PagesA Beautiful Mind Film Analysis A Beautiful Mind Film Analysis This movie is based on the true story of the brilliant mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. He made remarkable advancements in the field of mathematics at a young age and had a very promising future. Unfortunately, John Nash had problems deciphering the difference betwe Premium 855 Words 4 Pages * Film Analysis: a Beautiful Mind WEEK 3 A Beautiful Mind Film Analysis xxxxxx x. xxxxxx xx UniversityRead MoreEnglish Reflection1551 Words   |  7 Pagesfive paragraph paper. Throughout my first semester of college, I have learned many things regarding papers. Things that I did not necessarily understand when coming into this semester. I have learned and expanded on many things when writing a paper due to the goals set forth for this class. Goals about how to correctly acknowledge, quote, and cite an individual, but also how to create a thesis, respond and convey ideas professionally, and how to revise a paper rather than edit a paper. When it comesRead MoreLanguage And Literature Courses And Ap U.s. History1281 Words   |  6 Pagesmetaphor of the road only stretches to imply that death is a part of life, line 6 expands on the idea that humans often cause harm to each other, thus Stafford’s reason for the word â€Å"killing† (Paper 1). The free verse poem filled with enjambments, is structured with four four-lined stanzas followed by a couplet. By analyzing the structure along with metaphors and imagery I was able to identify Strafford’s overarching idea of life’s inevitability—death. Before English 1102 I was unfamiliar with the processRead MoreCJ 1010 - An Analysis of the Death Penalty Essay1739 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Critical Thinking Paper An Analysis of the Death Penalty Brett High Criminal Justice 1010 Professor Terry L. Powell June, 24th 2014 Part 1: Deterrence All of the research that I have done suggests that the death penalty is not a major source of deterrence for criminals to commit severe crimes such as homicide. 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While the speaker sulks in sadness, they recall a dear lost companion and suddenly all negative thoughts simply disappear, and their distress comes to a halt. Dwelling on the thought of this Draft Research Paper LaDuke PAGE 4 friend introduces a new perspective and appreciation for the speaker’s own life on earth. He would rather be alive with regrets then to not beRead MoreThe Importance Of Error Analysis And Failure Mode Effects Analysis755 Words   |  4 Pagesinvolved in the process of analyzing particular errors in an organization. This paper focuses on two processes of error analysis (Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)) to address unnecessary medical errors (Serious Safety Events (SSE)). SSE in a healthcare setting is defined as any deviance from usually-accepted practice that may affect the patient and causes serious harm or sometimes death (Hoppes and Mitchell, 2014). RCA is a technique used to determine the root causeRead MoreMilitary Decision Making Process ( Mdmp ) Essay1266 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract The Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) is a decision-making model to assist military members in making sound military decisions and to compile operation orders. This paper will describe MDMP and show how it can be applied to daily operations. The paper will identify the steps in the model and describe how critical thinking impacted the decision. Decisions are something that we all encounter daily throughout our lives. Sometimes decisions are as big as buying a home toRead MoreNursing Care for the Terminal Breast Cancer Patient Community1470 Words   |  6 PagesCommunity Nurse Care A. Perception about Quality of Life and Health Promotion A nurses or caregivers own perception will certainly affect the care she will provide to a dying patient. She needs to accept that death is a certainty and, therefore, unavoidable. But the kind or manner of death one will go through is not certain and can thus be controlled (Hess, 2009). Statistics say that at least half of all American adults die a bad death. A bad death is characterized by needless suffering, some formRead MoreMr B Root Cause1725 Words   |  7 PagesRTT1 Organizational Systems Task 2 The purpose of this paper is to analyze the unfortunate sentinel event of Mr. B, a sixty-seven-year-old patient presenting with severe left leg pain at the emergency room. A root cause analysis is necessary to investigate the causative factors that led to the sentinel event. The errors or hazards in care in the Mr. B scenario will be identified. Change theory will be utilized to develop an appropriate improvement plan to decrease the likelihood of a reoccurrence

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Perspective on Customer Service Today Free Essays

Providing excellent, and memorable, client support is important for client retention. Without exceptional support, your clients will not return. Average or mediocre support won’t keep your customers either, and bad customer service will simply drive them away. We will write a custom essay sample on Perspective on Customer Service Today or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a business owner or manager, you need to ensure that your business is focused on understanding â€Å"what is good customer service† and how to define customer service. With that understanding in place, you can work on building and maintaining great customer service, and high customer satisfaction levels. If a customer is satisfied that means that a product of service has met his expectations and that he was not dissatisfied by it. Customer satisfaction is doubtlessly very important, and it is the precondition for repeat purchases and it prevents the customer from telling others about his disappointing experiences. A loyal customer, however, is more than a customer who frequently purchases from a company. Any serious effort to manage customer perceptions starts with a good measurement system. Companies must be truly willing to look at the whole process of interaction through the customers eyes. An upset customer calls, using profane language on the phone. The man indicates your business can never do anything right, and it is difficult to maintain your temper and a positive attitude when an irate customer directs their anger and frustration at you. Most people take the experience personally and immediately become defensive, and often this only exasperates a difficult situation and makes it worse. CVS â€Å"Samaritan Vans† Did you know that CVS has been patrolling the streets and highways for the past 30 years, looking to help stranded motorists? The Consumerist has a story of a woman stranded on a busy highway with a flat tire, and a CVS Good Samaritan van rolled up five minutes later and helped change her tire, and the cost for the service was only her sending in a comment card to CVS. Make it easy and convenient for customers and employees to offer feedback. I think that the best management information comes from the point of experience, where your customers and employees do their thing. For me this is where your company lives yet it’s something too many managers never see or hear or feel, I think. Capture this priceless information by creating easy and quick ways for your staff and customers to give you feedback, and then acknowledge the feedback you receive, appreciate it and do something with it or they’ll stop sending it your way. Feedback is priceless! How to cite Perspective on Customer Service Today, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Black American Culture free essay sample

Black American Culture Marilyn Blunt Cultural Anthropology Mrs.. Tristan Marble September 10, 2008 discussing things such as slavery, family relations, hairstyles, art forms, food, heath issues, symbolism, traditional beliefs and also why this topic is relevant to today culture and how this information can benefit Black American in today society. African American Culture in the United States refer to the cultural contributions of African ethnic groups to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American Culture.African American culture is rooted in Africa and is blend of huffily sub-Sahara African and Shelia cultures. African American traditions continue to flourish, as distinctive traditions or radical innovations: in music, art, literature. Religion, cuisine and other fields. As cited (humanitarianisms. Com) the history of African Americans begin in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought the first slaves from Africa to the shores of North America. Of all ethnic groups, the African Americans were the only ones that came down against there will. African American History Month celebrates the role African Americans have played in U.S. History. In 1913 Rose Parks an African American civil right activist, who is often called the Mother of the Civil Rights. Mrs.. Parks was arrested for disregarding an order to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a public bus and marked a historic turning point in the African American battle for civil rights. In 1920 to 1930 African American music, literature, and their Art gained world wide notice. These were some of the author of American Jazz: Zorn Neal Hurst, Nell Larsen and some of poets are: Longs Hughes, Claude McKay and Counted Culled wrote works describing theAfrican American Experience Jazz, swing blues, and other musical forms entered American popular Music. Among the notable African American political movements founded in the early 20th century are the United Negro Improvement Association and the National Association for the Advancement of colored people. In 1947, Major league Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodge became the first African American to be recognized by receiving the congressional award in the rotunda in the United States Capital building in Washington D. C. As cited in (humble. Com)the AfricanAmerican culture has become a significant part of American culture. You can see that they have retained their identity as well. The African Americans culture that is seen in the United States refers to all the contributions of the African ethnic groups to the culture of the United States. The African Americans culture has maintained its own distinctive appeal yet at the same time has found a major influence over the American cultures in dressing, music, and even hairstyles. The African American hairstyle is one of the distinctive factors of the culture and has held its own for many ears.African Americans hairstyles and image varies from other hair textures. Although, today you can see these trends are changing due to the different kind of hair products that are being used to create new looks. There are many types of hairstyles such as: Afro Hairstyles which is one where the hair is seen clouding and curly and therefore anybody can try it out. Afro hairstyle has extract volume added to it with various methods. Hair Braids is another hairstyle of African American. Sections of hair are plaited together and are worn by young children and adults as well. This kind of hair braiding is considered to be an art.Today, hair stylists that can style the perfect micro braids or even cornrows are very much in demand all over the world. Hair braiding requires a lot of time and patience in order to be done right. Braids can be done in various styles such as: micro braids, cornrow, box braids. Hair braids are sported by many who wish to make then look hip and look cool. Tight ponytails are and African American hairstyle which make a mark because of the tight curls. These curls are style different in order to create various hairstyles. Curly hair is often styles in ponytails. Crimped hair is very common and are tied up into ponytails or even left loose.All the braids are pulled towards the back of the head and wrapped in a satin scarf. Dreadlocks: have significant stories linked to them and have different meaning for many people. Dreadlocks are coils of hair that are interlocked and then form on there own. Dreadlocks rose in popularity with reggae music reaching new height. The Sheer Curl because very popular among the African American people. Sheer was given because the creator of this hairstyle was named Sheer Redding. This look was sporting a glossy look with loads of curls. There is certain chemical use with this hairstyle.There was certain African clothing wore such as dashiki. The African American aesthetic encourages personal pride and political awareness. Some of the song was lift every voice and sing in addition to The Star Spangled Banner. This song was written by James Weldon Johnson and John Roseland Johnson in 1900, to be performed for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the song was, and continues to be popular way for African Americans to recall past trudges and express ethnic solidarity, faith, and hope for the future. African American children were taught these songs: at school, church, or by the families.In the twenty century several musical forms with origins in the African American community had transformed American popular music. Aided by the Technological innovations of radio and phonograph records, ragtime, Jazz, blues, and swing also became popular overseas and the sasss became known as Jazz Age. As cited (wry. Perpendicularitys. Com) African American dance, like other aspects of African American Culture, find its earliest roots in the dance of the hundreds of African ethnic groups that mad e up African slaves in the Americans well influence from Europeans sources in the United States.Dance in the African tradition, and thus in the tradition of slaves was apart of both everyday life and special occasions. From the early origins in slave communities, through the end of the twentieth century African American art has made a vital contribution to the art of the United States. African American Museum Movement emerged during the sasss and 1960. To reserve the heritage of the African American experience and to ensure its proper place in American History. Museum devoted to African American History can be found in all African American neighborhoods.Generations of hardships imposed on the African American has created many languages patterns. Slave owners often mixed people who spoke different languages, in order to discouraged them from speaking their own language and only speak English. The cultural explosion of the fashion and West African traditional clothing to create an African-American style. Kent clothes are best known African textile. These festive woven patterns, which exist in numerous varieties, were originally made by Shanty and Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo. Kent strips are often sewn into liturgical and Academic robes or worn as stoles.Since the Black Arts Movement, traditional African clothing has become popular among African Americans for both formal and informal occasions. African American women are known for wearing vibrant dresses and suits. A famous passage from the bible every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.. . Has led to the tradition of wearing elaborate Sunday hats. Most African American participates in or attends Christmas plays. Aside from Christianity and Islam, there are also African Americans, who follow Judaism.There is a small but growing number of American Americans who participate in African traditional religions, such as voodoo and Sanitaria o Alfa and diasporas traditions like Rationalisms. Some African American still chose to Jump across the broom as a part of their wedding ceremony. Funeral traditions in African American are the gathering of families and friends. The spirituality of death is very important n African American culture. A clergy or members of the religions community, or both, are typically present with the family through the entire process.Death is often viewed as transitory as final. Many called this home goings. Some of the most popular foods with African Americans are: Yams, Peanuts, Rice, Okra, Grits, Watermelon, Indigo, and Cotton. Most inexpensive products are procured through farming, and hunting, fishing. Pig Intestines are boiled and sometimes battered and fried to make chitterlings, also known as chitins. Ham hocks and neck bones provides seasoning to beans, and greens. Other common foods are: fried chicken, fish, macaroni and cheese, and black eyes peas.Some of the holidays that African Americans celebrate are: Black History Month, Martin Luther King Birthday, and June 19th. These are some of the Black Americans people that have contribute to making African Americans people count today: Rose Parks, Jackie Robinson, Bill Cowboys, James Brown, Booker T. Washington, Will Smith, Opera Winfred, Jessie Jackson, Hank Aaron, Michael Jackson, Spike Lee, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Coleman, Harriet Tuba, Thomas Dorset, Mary Bethink, Muhammad All, Arthur Ash, Magic Johnson, Colic Powell, Malcolm X, Dry.Martin Luther King, Lena Horn, Maya Angelo, Marvin Gay, Richard Prior, Thorough Marshall, Michael Jordan, Andrew Young, Obama, and so many more. As cited (wry. Blackthorns. Com) these are some of the problems that African Americans people are facing: Coronary Heart Attacks, Strokes, Cancer, and Hypertension, Aids, Sickle Cell Anemia, and Asthma. It is my conclusion that our antecedents face many problems while being in slavery. Problems such as being held against their will, woman being took advance of by there slave master, and be forced o work in the garden from sun up to sun down and many more.But this is relevant to today culture because it let us known what your grandparent and great grandparent went through so that we could be free. And we today as being African Americans this should be a lesson for us to learn from no matter what color you are you are still human. And you deserved to be treated with respect and dignity and remember we are all equal in God sight. And Just remember the great speak that am Just as much as anyone else. References: www. Blackthorns. Com www. Puzzle. Com

Friday, November 29, 2019

Case Study Ideo Product Development Essay Example

Case Study: Ideo Product Development Essay Abstract This report is based on a case presented by Harvard Business School, titled â€Å"IDEO Product Development. † The goal of this report is to examine whether an engineering design company, IDEO, should have requested more time to complete a design for a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) that was to be called the Handspring Visor. The key events take place between March 1996 and September 1999. IDEO is an unconventional Silicone Valley based company, and the hiring company was the then newly formed PDA manufacturer Handspring. IDEO was in the process of completing a related and competing PDA design, the â€Å"Palm V,† for 3Com’s Palm division, when they were approached by Handspring. Additionally, the founders of Handspring worked for 3Com and closely with IDEO in creating Palm’s â€Å"Palm V† design before they left 3Com to found Handspring. This report concludes that IDEO should not have asked for more time to complete the Handspring Visor design. This conclusion was reached due to the risk that the PDA market would only become more crowded with direct competitors as more time passed. ? Table of Contents 1. Introduction5 2. IDEO Company Description5 2. 1. IDEO’s Work Culture5 2. 2. IDEO Design Process6 2. 2. 1. Phase 0 – Understand/Observe7 2. 2. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize7 2. 2. 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining7 2. 2. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering7 2. 2. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison)7 2. 3. More on Prototyping8 3. Palm V Project8 3. 1. Predecessors to the Palm V8 3. 2. IDEO’s Design of the Palm V9 3. 3. Palm V Design Phases9 3. 3. 1. Phase 0: Understand/Observe9 3. 3. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize9 3. . 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining10 3. 3. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering10 3. 3. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison10 4. Handspring Project11 4. 1. Product Development12 4. 2. Market Research/Analysis12 5. SWOT Analysis of Handspring Project13 5. 1. Strengths13 5. 2. Weaknesses13 5. 3. Opportunities14 5. 4. Threats14 6. Conclusion14 References16 ? Table of Figures Figure 1: Early to pre-pr oduction Palm V prototypes11 Figure 2: Timeline of Palm V and Visor design development13 Figure 3: Views of Handspring Visor15 ? 1. Introduction We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study: Ideo Product Development specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study: Ideo Product Development specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study: Ideo Product Development specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer IDEO is a product development firm based in Silicon Valley. While helping other companies create products and build their brands, IDEO has effectively branded itself. IDEO’s brand of design is iconoclastic and built on the freewheeling creativity of individuals. IDEO provides an environment where the designers are allowed and expected to follow the muse or muses of their choice. The design process that IDEO employs and the work environment that IDEO fosters probably looks like anarchy to individuals from other companies, but they have also built a reputation for being dependable, as emonstrated by the many successful products that they have designed. An IDEO team that worked on 3Com’s Palm V PDA design applied all of IDEO’s unorthodox approaches in completing that project. IDEO was subsequently asked to work on Handspring’s Palm-compatible Visor PDA project, with some overlap in time between the Palm V and Handspring efforts. However, Handspring’s p roposed schedule would not allow for IDEO to perform a full version of their design process. This report examines the circumstances surrounding the Palm V project and prospective Handspring Visor project. With respect to the Visor project, this report seeks to answer the question: Should IDEO ask for a longer schedule so that they can apply all of their design know-how in order to create the best product possible, or should IDEO accept the Handspring project as a â€Å"design to cost and schedule,† job with minimal need for creative design? 2. IDEO Company Description 2. 1. IDEO’s Work Culture IDEO’s corporate philosophy is a significant departure from the typical business’s standards for behavior, attitude, expectations and status. IDEO takes the norms of the nine-to-five business attitude and turns them upside down by enacting a â€Å"no policy† policy, with the ultimate goal being creativity and innovation. This â€Å"no rules† attitude strips the mandatory dress code, allowing them to come to work in whatever outfit will spur the most creativity. Employees are encouraged to get up and walk around in order to avoid creative slumps. Furthermore, employees are allowed to design their own offices. General Manager David Kelley even goes as far as to say that he may become suspicious of employees if they remain at their desk all day. IDEO has established such an open floor for all ideas, that to be a productive and innovative member of a team requires constant communication of ideas and information with other team members. Expanding on their â€Å"no policy† policy, employees of IDEO share the idea that traditional business status labels only hurt productivity and innovation. Team members share responsibilities and are evaluated only on the quality of their input toward a project. Teams may be lead by a designer who has only a few years of experience. A team leader is selected because he or she is good at organizing a team and working with people, not because he or she is the most experienced or has the highest status. IDEO’s flat organizational structure facilitates their main goals as a company, which are creativity and innovation. Given IDEO’s unique operational attitude, employees are challenged in unique ways. Because there are very few â€Å"bosses† that walk around and lay orders upon designers, the motivation and direction comes from within the design teams instead of being filtered down from above. Team members are influenced and pressured by their peers to complete assignments. Within this culture, team members share information and ideas constantly, so it is easy to see when an employee’s performance is subpar. This does not necessarily mean that underperforming employees will lose their jobs. In fact, very few employees are ever fired, because there is nowhere for them to hide. If an employee is an underperformer, the employee knows it and the rest of the team knows it, so there is a tremendous amount of pressure to remain in stride with the rest of the team. If a team member is unable to perform to everyone else’s expectations, that employee will often leave far before they need to be let go. The hiring of an underperforming individual is a rare occurrence because IDEO takes great pain in selecting the perfect applicants for the job. The hiring process at IDEO is very long and in depth. An applicant may expect up to ten interviews before a position is offered to them. To ensure fresh perspectives, IDEO hires many young but experienced individuals who come from other internship programs. Another method that the company uses to maintain its innovative spirit is the nature and composition of the design teams. First, designers rarely hold on to one specific job assignment for very long. Designers are continually challenged by different projects, and different assignments within said projects. Second, the composition of the teams also helps lead to creative flow, in that every team includes individuals that are not engineers. IDEO’s design teams feature businessmen, psychologists, biologists, marketing and individuals from other various disciplines. Through the synergy provided by teams such as these, and the environment IDEO maintains in which the teams work, IDEO is able to produce quality innovations that set their designs above those of their competitors. This is what IDEO prides its self on, and it is what makes the company special. 2. 2. IDEO Design Process Although IDEO maintains a wide open corporate structure with few restrictions, the design procedure itself operates on a few very key principles. Posters that IDEO management keep hung on the wall describe how their design teams are so successful in turning out original and creative designs. The posters convey these ideas: stay focused on the topic, encourage wild ideas, defer judgment to avoid limiting ideas, build on the idea of others, and hold one conversation at a time. The design process is divided into the following five phases, starting with phase zero: ? 2. 2. 1. Phase 0 – Understand/Observe During Phase 0 design teams research every aspect of the clients company and their competing market. They determine what innovations may be most beneficial for their client. 2. 2. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize In Phase I design teams choose the direction of a potential product and potential solutions to the problems that are identified. Design teams will systematically pump out hundreds of initial ideas that eventually boil down to one great product. Teams encourage wild and crazy ideas because those are the ideas that end up being refined and shaped into new and exciting products. If a team becomes creatively blocked, the team leader institutes what IDEO calls a Deep Dive. During a Deep Dive, the team devotes an entire day to generating a large number of ideas. From these ideas, team members can vote on which ones hold potential while the weaker ideas are weeded out. 2. 2. 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining Phase II involves refining of the ideas through rigorous prototyping and testing. Once an appropriate number of the most promising ideas have been established in the previous phase, team members break up into groups and prototype those ideas. The prototyping involves the production of three dimensional models, so that particular design aspects may be tested and flaws may be uncovered. Each prototype is examined and judged by the rest of the team. As different prototypes are compared to each other, both good and bad parts of each design are able to stand out. The team takes the good aspects of each design and bundles them into a final functional prototype and a final â€Å"looks like† prototype. . 2. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering Phase III is where the complete design is finalized and proved to work. The product is handed over many times to the technical teams that make sure the various components and subsystems function properly. Then the team takes this final prototype and supporting documentation, and moves forward to the next phase. 2. 2. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison) In Phase IV the product is released for production. Often an IDEO representative will stay with the product through this phase in order to handle various production issues that may arise. 2. 3. More on Prototyping The concept of prototyping is not a new one by any means, but IDEO has redefined how prototyping can be effectively used within their industry. IDEO uses prototypes in every phase of their design process after the initial research in Phase 0. Team leaders are instructed to bring at least one prototype to every client meeting because it deepens the clients understanding of the product’s progress as well as bolstering the client’s faith in IDEO’s dedication to their product development. The IDEO prototype philosophy follows three R’s: Rough, Rapid, and Right. Rough prototyping is used often; daily or even hourly. These prototypes can be made from cardboard, Styrofoam, or wood; whatever allows the designer to express a particular idea in a speedy manner. Rapid prototyping acts in tandem with the rough prototyping because rough prototypes are used to express small details of a product and they can be made and remade very quickly. The third R, right, describes their end goal for the product. By prototyping nearly every aspect of a project many times and exploring every angle, products are designed right because every option has been explored and only the best ideas remain. During this process obviously not every idea can be a successful one. IDEO not only understands this but embraces this idea. Kelley states that â€Å"failure is part of the culture†. By failing early and often, teams are able to learn what does not work and then progress from there. 3. Palm V Project 3. 1. Predecessors to the Palm V Before addressing the Palm V effort, it is useful to describe its context with respect to some preceding PDAs, as conveyed by Thomke and Nimgade. In the early 1990s, an early attempt at creating a mass-market PDA that would be recognizable by contemporary standards was Apple’s Newton pad. The Newton was not very successful due to its inaccurate handwriting interface, and its relatively large size. Then in 1996 the Palm Pilot PDA was introduced by California-based engineer Jeff Hawkins. The Palm Pilot was commercially successful due to â€Å"†¦the development of critical technologies, including the†¦Graffiti program for handwriting recognition and†¦the capability to synchronize data between the PDA and a home computer (8). Hawkins’s design for the Palm Pilot focused on simplicity. As described by Thomke and Nimgade, while conceptualizing the form factor and usage profile of the Palm Pilot, Hawkins carried around a wooden pocket-sized prototype. He intended the Palm Pilot to compete with paper rather than large computers (Thomke and Nimgade 8). As noted by P. E. Teague, Hawkins’ resulting des ign made the Palm Pilot â€Å"the fastest-selling computer product ever† (cited in Thomke and Nimgade 8-9). ? 3. 2. IDEO’s Design of the Palm V As described by Thomke and Nimgade, despite the introduction by competitors of more complex and feature laden PDAs, Hawkins took a different approach for the follow-on to the Palm Pilot. Hawkins wanted to keep the next Palm PDA model, which was to be the Palm V, simple and to make it more attractive to female users. For this effort, Palm chose IDEO, and within IDEO Dennis Boyle was chosen as the senior product leader (Thomke and Nimgade 9). 3. 3. Palm V Design Phases Thomke and Nimgade recounted IDEO’s design phases for the Palm V project as follows (10-12). 3. 3. 1. Phase 0: Understand/Observe The Palm V project started late in 1996. This phase lasted approximately 10 to 12 weeks. Boyle realized that despite the popularity of the Palm III, little data existed on user preferences (Thomke and Nimgade may have meant to reference the Palm Pilot, since the Palm III was not released until 1998, as reported in Palm’s â€Å"Support resources for older Palm products† Web page). So Boyle created a source for such observations by purchasing dozens of palm pilots and passing them out to everyone he knew. He was then able to get valuable feedback through emails and casual hallway conversations. The team became aware of problems such as breaking due to being dropped, case rigidity, battery and memory doors placement, and the stylus holder location. 3. 3. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize Starting in March 1997, many staff members with different nationalities, including Taiwan, the Netherlands and Israel, became involved in the project. Additionally two female designers were added to the team, with the hope that they would provide insights that would make the resulting product more attractive to women. At that time 95% of the existing Palm users were men. The female team members got feedback from 15 other women. Their inputs led to a more curvy design with tapering edges, which was a big difference from the blocky and rectangular designs of previous handheld devices. It was in this Phase, that the project got the code name â€Å"RAZOR† because they want to create a â€Å"razor thin† product. The IDEO team held weekly meeting with the Palm division to get feedback. They always brought a prototype to demonstrate different possible button configurations, lengths, thicknesses, etc. This ensured that even very small design details would be considered. ? 3. 3. 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining Phase II began in May 1997. This phase involved computer-aided design (CAD) engineering, in support of the creation of accurate industrial models that resemble the proposed end product. Observed usage patterns were taken into account regarding such things as allowing for short and incomplete charge cycles without harming the battery. During this phase, the team was close to defining the final model, and they were choosing suppliers for the materials that would allow it to be manufactured. By the time this phase had ended, between 20 and 25 prototypes had been created. . 3. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering Starting in the fall of 1997, every component for Palm V was engineered to be functional in terms of electronics and software. From three to five production prototypes were created to test everything, including that the product would comply with government regulations. Toward the end of Phase III, prototype models could cost more than $30,00 0. It was during this phase that responsibilities gradually shifted away from IDEO and toward the growing Palm team, as Palm geared up for production and product promotion. 3. 3. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison Phase IV ended with â€Å"Razor† being released for production. The Palm division retained some IDEO personnel for another six months, leading up to the expected market release in February 1999. During this period the Palm team worked on perfecting the manufacturing process in order to allow for production of up to 5,000 units per day. Palm’s manufacturing team still had many problems to solve, including cracked displays, electrostatic charge, procurement of supplies, etc. The loss of a day of production would cost the Palm division a few hundred thousand dollars. Figure 1: Early to pre-production Palm V prototypes (Thomke and Nimgade 19) 4. Handspring Project The Handspring project was born in 1996 when Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky resigned from 3com, the producers of the Palm V. Hawkins decided to part from 3com because he wanted to start a company with greater autonomy. Although 3com was performing well as a company, they were still unable to reward personnel with stock options. Because of this, Hawkins along with Dubinsky parted amicably with 3com and went to start a new company, Handspring. The goal of this new company was simple, to produce a clone of 3com’s Palm V. This clone would address many of Palm’s main design flaws. The new product would be smaller, less expensive, and hopefully add functionally that the Palm lacked. This endeavor started out with two very key advantages. Handspring was able to sign a licensing agreement with 3com for the use of the Palm operating system. This was a major advantage for Handspring because their PDA would be able to run to all of the applications that were available for the Palm. This was a major component that would help cut the overall cost of the product, and save a significant amount of development time. Another benefit for Hawkins was that the remaining designers from 3com, which had previously worked on the Palm, joined him at Handspring. These two factors placed Handspring in a very opportune position. Armed with the Palm operating system and the wealth of knowledge from the previous Palm design team, it seemed almost impossible for Handspring to fail. ? 4. 1. Product Development At the onset of the product development, Hawkins again approached IDEO to design the new Palm clone. The product development strategy was to get a Handspring PDA into as many hands as quickly as possible. This statement seems simple enough but it was a bold statement for the product in question. The Palm, priced at $450, was held mainly by wealthy businessmen or other prominent people. Handspring aimed to change this trend. The new product was to be priced at $150, and it was going to be designed for and marketed to a wide variety of people, including women who had been particularly absent from the Palm demographic. Handspring aimed to allow users to add functionality to their PDAs while keeping the product simple to use. It was difficult, if not impossible, to upgrade or personalize the Palm to perform tasks that were not native to its original design. Handspring’s proposed â€Å"ROM† cards that would effectively add functionality without adding any complication. The idea was derived from the Nintendo game console concept that allowed for a game to be changed through a slot and then played immediately after. This concept was to be transferred to Handspring’s new product in hopes of allowing users to add to the functionality of their PDAs without requiring the installation of new software or hardware internally. The ROM cards would allow for the device to operate as a cell phone, GPS, pager, voice recorder, wireless modem, MP3 player, digital camera, or even a graphing calculator. This ROM card concept became known as â€Å"Springboard. † The PDA would have a slot on the back, and matchbook sized modules would be inserted into the device to run any number of programs or peripherals. Following this development, the product also received its name, this time from Hawkins’ daughter. She suggested it be called â€Å"Visor†, short for Advisor. . 2. Market Research/Analysis Initially the Visor designers saw little need to conduct market research for their new product. Their view was that all of the market research has already been done with respect to the Palm V. Any extra time devoted to investigating the potential effectiveness of the Visor within its market would be redundant because the research prior to the launch of the Palm product still applies to the Visor. Any deficie ncies of the Palm have already been accounted for (e. g. , price, simplicity). As Dubinsky explains, â€Å"We felt we understood the marketplace pretty well. After all, we invented the product and the category†¦ You can’t test the concept of a slot; it’s too major†. This means that the only major change to the Visor, the Springboard slot, cannot be tested because the only way to test the effectiveness of the slots is to build a product and measure the response. Therefore, the Visor management team insisted that Boyle and his IDEO team develop their Visor product without performing all the phases of the IDEO design process. This comes to be a pressing issue with Boyle and his IDEO team because this is the process that makes their company different from the rest of the product development firms. The question that Boyle must ask himself is if he is willing to sacrifice IDEO’s steps toward innovation, or if he should persuade Hawkins to push his aggressive deadline back so that the IDEO design teams can perform the necessary research to make this product a booming success. Figure 2: Timeline of Palm V and Visor design development 5. SWOT Analysis of Handspring Project The case study presents the question of whether or not IDEO’s management should ask for more time, so that they can apply their full development process. The case study does not really suggest that refusing the Handspring Visor project is an option. However, it does seem implicit that one of the possible outcomes is that IDEO either does not accept or is not awarded the Handspring Visor project. 5. 1. Strengths †¢The staff is intimately familiar with the preceding Palm V product. The Handspring Visor will be very similar in form-factor and usage profile to the Palm V, except for the addition of a ROM card slot. oThe Visor project should require less human factor engineering. †¢Much of the Visor’s componentry should be commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS). †¢The organization already has a track record of successfully working with Handspring’s management during the Palm V effort. †¢Taking on a strictly budgeted an d scheduled project will provide useful experience within the IDEO organization for the kinds of work that might be available during leaner economic times. IDEO’s Dennis Boyle is â€Å"†¦not worried about meeting this challenging deadline,† so IDEO’s ability to succeed within Handspring’s constraints is not in question (Thomke and Nimgade 13). 5. 2. Weaknesses †¢Handspring’s requested product development schedule will not allow for all the steps of IDEO’s â€Å"legendary† product development process. †¢The specificity of Handspring’s design requirements and the associated cost constraints may be de-motivational within IDEO’s design culture. †¢There is always the possibility of failure on the part of IDEO, even if the risk is minimal. ? 5. 3. Opportunities The Handspring founders left 3Com on good terms (Thomke and Nigade 12). †¢Handspring apparently has at least tacit approval from 3Com to produc e a product that will potentially compete with 3Com’s Palm line of PDAs. †¢If IDEO accepts Handspring’s short product schedule, then potentially greater market penetration can be achieved. oRecall that the Palm V is about to be launched, and the Visor is supposed to be a direct and less expensive competitor with even greater capabilities. 5. 4. Threats †¢Taking this sort of â€Å"design to cost and schedule† work could â€Å"water down† IDEO’s maverick brand. Appearance of conflict of interest by working with Handspring on a competing product while still supporting the Palm V effort. †¢Due to the close working relationship with Handspring’s management during the Palm V design effort; if IDEO does not take the job then Handspring may take a substantial amount of IDEO’s expertise about PDA design to competitor. †¢If IDEO pushes for more product development time: oHandspring could lose confidence and take the Visor pr oject elsewhere. oThe time window in which it will be possible for Handspring to significantly penetrate the PDA market could pass. . Conclusion IDEO should take the Handspring Visor job and it should support Handspring’s shortened time schedule for creation of the final design. First, the Harvard Business School case does not question whether IDEO should decline to work with Handspring on the Visor project. It only poses the question of whether or not IDEO should lobby Handspring to allow more time for the full and fairly extravagant IDEO development process. According to IDEO’s Dennis Boyle, there does not seem to be significant risk of failure by IDEO regarding this project. Therefore, the potential downside of possibly perturbing IDEO’s culture in a fairly localized way is outweighed by the loss of profit that IDEO could earn by taking the job. More importantly, IDEO’s expertise gained from designing the Palm V could potentially be implicitly conveyed by Handspring’s management to an IDEO competitor. Or as a corollary, if IDEO takes the work, then IDEO will remain involved in the growing PDA market. Second, there is the primary question of whether IDEO should push Handspring to allow time in the schedule for all of IDEO’s design phases. Given the speed with which the PDA market could potentially progress, it seems more important to get the Handspring Visor out quickly. The longer it takes to get the Visor to market, the more likely that there would be other competing PDAs on the market at the same time. Furthermore, delaying would allow preexisting PDAs to soak up market share that would then not be available for Handspring to claim. E. g. , it is harder to sell a Visor to someone if they already own a Palm V. Furthermore, if the initial Visor PDA is a success, then it is likely that IDEO will be poised to work with Handspring on it next PDA design iteration. Ultimately, IDEO did take the Handspring Visor design project, as reported by IDEO’s web site. The project produced a PDA that had the features that Handspring’s management envisioned, including a $150 dollar entry-level cost, a â€Å"Springboard† ROM card expansion slot, and an on-time product launch date of September 14, 1999, as reported by Shawn Barnett in Pen Computing Magazine. Figure 3: Views of Handspring Visor, including Springboard example, lower right (images from Pen Computing Magazine) Wikipedia’s â€Å"Handspring (company)† article reports that the Visor product line has been out of production since 2002, and has otherwise been superseded by newer more advanced products (especially smart phones). However, Wikipedia reports that the Visor PDAs still have a significant and loyal user base, although the authors of this report were unable to confirm this via primary sources. It is likely that interest has fallen off over the last few years with the introduction of ever more powerful smart phones and ultraportable laptops. In 2003 Visor was acquired by Palm, which is fitting since the formation of Handspring seemed almost like a spinoff from Palm in the first place. In April 2010 Hewlett-Packard announced that they would purchase Palm. References Barnett, Shawn. â€Å"Handspring Visor. † Pen Computing Magazine. May 10, 2000. Jun 12 2010 . â€Å"The Deep Dive. † Narr. Jack Smith. Niteline, ABC. Jul. 13, 1999. May 31, 2010 . â€Å"Handspring (company). † Wikipedia. May 29, 2010. Jun. 12, 2010 . â€Å"HP to Acquire Palm for $1. 2 Billion. † News release. Hewlett-Packard Company. Apr. 28, 2010. Jun. 13, 2010 . Morse, Lucy C. and Daniel L. Babcock, Managing Engineering and Technology. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. â€Å"Palm Announces Acquisition of Handspring to Bolster Industry Leadership; Board Approves PalmSource Spin-off. † News release. Palm Inc. Jun. 4, 2003. Jun. 13, 2010 . â€Å"Support resources for older Palm products. † Product sup port. Palm Inc. Article ID: 47831. Jun. 13 2010 . Thomke, Stefan, and Ashok Nimgade, M. D. â€Å"IDEO Product Development. † Case. Harvard Business School. 9-600-143 (rev. Apr. 26, 2007): 1-21. â€Å"Visor for Handspring. † Case study. IDEO. Jun. 13 2010 . Case Study Ideo Product Development Essay Example Case Study: Ideo Product Development Paper Abstract This report is based on a case presented by Harvard Business School, titled â€Å"IDEO Product Development. † The goal of this report is to examine whether an engineering design company, IDEO, should have requested more time to complete a design for a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) that was to be called the Handspring Visor. The key events take place between March 1996 and September 1999. IDEO is an unconventional Silicone Valley based company, and the hiring company was the then newly formed PDA manufacturer Handspring. IDEO was in the process of completing a related and competing PDA design, the â€Å"Palm V,† for 3Com’s Palm division, when they were approached by Handspring. Additionally, the founders of Handspring worked for 3Com and closely with IDEO in creating Palm’s â€Å"Palm V† design before they left 3Com to found Handspring. This report concludes that IDEO should not have asked for more time to complete the Handspring Visor design. This conclusion was reached due to the risk that the PDA market would only become more crowded with direct competitors as more time passed. ? Table of Contents 1. Introduction5 2. IDEO Company Description5 2. 1. IDEO’s Work Culture5 2. 2. IDEO Design Process6 2. 2. 1. Phase 0 – Understand/Observe7 2. 2. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize7 2. 2. 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining7 2. 2. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering7 2. 2. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison)7 2. 3. More on Prototyping8 3. Palm V Project8 3. 1. Predecessors to the Palm V8 3. 2. IDEO’s Design of the Palm V9 3. 3. Palm V Design Phases9 3. 3. 1. Phase 0: Understand/Observe9 3. 3. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize9 3. . 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining10 3. 3. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering10 3. 3. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison10 4. Handspring Project11 4. 1. Product Development12 4. 2. Market Research/Analysis12 5. SWOT Analysis of Handspring Project13 5. 1. Strengths13 5. 2. Weaknesses13 5. 3. Opportunities14 5. 4. Threats14 6. Conclusion14 References16 ? Table of Figures Figure 1: Early to pre-pr oduction Palm V prototypes11 Figure 2: Timeline of Palm V and Visor design development13 Figure 3: Views of Handspring Visor15 ? 1. Introduction We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study: Ideo Product Development specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study: Ideo Product Development specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study: Ideo Product Development specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer IDEO is a product development firm based in Silicon Valley. While helping other companies create products and build their brands, IDEO has effectively branded itself. IDEO’s brand of design is iconoclastic and built on the freewheeling creativity of individuals. IDEO provides an environment where the designers are allowed and expected to follow the muse or muses of their choice. The design process that IDEO employs and the work environment that IDEO fosters probably looks like anarchy to individuals from other companies, but they have also built a reputation for being dependable, as emonstrated by the many successful products that they have designed. An IDEO team that worked on 3Com’s Palm V PDA design applied all of IDEO’s unorthodox approaches in completing that project. IDEO was subsequently asked to work on Handspring’s Palm-compatible Visor PDA project, with some overlap in time between the Palm V and Handspring efforts. However, Handspring’s p roposed schedule would not allow for IDEO to perform a full version of their design process. This report examines the circumstances surrounding the Palm V project and prospective Handspring Visor project. With respect to the Visor project, this report seeks to answer the question: Should IDEO ask for a longer schedule so that they can apply all of their design know-how in order to create the best product possible, or should IDEO accept the Handspring project as a â€Å"design to cost and schedule,† job with minimal need for creative design? 2. IDEO Company Description 2. 1. IDEO’s Work Culture IDEO’s corporate philosophy is a significant departure from the typical business’s standards for behavior, attitude, expectations and status. IDEO takes the norms of the nine-to-five business attitude and turns them upside down by enacting a â€Å"no policy† policy, with the ultimate goal being creativity and innovation. This â€Å"no rules† attitude strips the mandatory dress code, allowing them to come to work in whatever outfit will spur the most creativity. Employees are encouraged to get up and walk around in order to avoid creative slumps. Furthermore, employees are allowed to design their own offices. General Manager David Kelley even goes as far as to say that he may become suspicious of employees if they remain at their desk all day. IDEO has established such an open floor for all ideas, that to be a productive and innovative member of a team requires constant communication of ideas and information with other team members. Expanding on their â€Å"no policy† policy, employees of IDEO share the idea that traditional business status labels only hurt productivity and innovation. Team members share responsibilities and are evaluated only on the quality of their input toward a project. Teams may be lead by a designer who has only a few years of experience. A team leader is selected because he or she is good at organizing a team and working with people, not because he or she is the most experienced or has the highest status. IDEO’s flat organizational structure facilitates their main goals as a company, which are creativity and innovation. Given IDEO’s unique operational attitude, employees are challenged in unique ways. Because there are very few â€Å"bosses† that walk around and lay orders upon designers, the motivation and direction comes from within the design teams instead of being filtered down from above. Team members are influenced and pressured by their peers to complete assignments. Within this culture, team members share information and ideas constantly, so it is easy to see when an employee’s performance is subpar. This does not necessarily mean that underperforming employees will lose their jobs. In fact, very few employees are ever fired, because there is nowhere for them to hide. If an employee is an underperformer, the employee knows it and the rest of the team knows it, so there is a tremendous amount of pressure to remain in stride with the rest of the team. If a team member is unable to perform to everyone else’s expectations, that employee will often leave far before they need to be let go. The hiring of an underperforming individual is a rare occurrence because IDEO takes great pain in selecting the perfect applicants for the job. The hiring process at IDEO is very long and in depth. An applicant may expect up to ten interviews before a position is offered to them. To ensure fresh perspectives, IDEO hires many young but experienced individuals who come from other internship programs. Another method that the company uses to maintain its innovative spirit is the nature and composition of the design teams. First, designers rarely hold on to one specific job assignment for very long. Designers are continually challenged by different projects, and different assignments within said projects. Second, the composition of the teams also helps lead to creative flow, in that every team includes individuals that are not engineers. IDEO’s design teams feature businessmen, psychologists, biologists, marketing and individuals from other various disciplines. Through the synergy provided by teams such as these, and the environment IDEO maintains in which the teams work, IDEO is able to produce quality innovations that set their designs above those of their competitors. This is what IDEO prides its self on, and it is what makes the company special. 2. 2. IDEO Design Process Although IDEO maintains a wide open corporate structure with few restrictions, the design procedure itself operates on a few very key principles. Posters that IDEO management keep hung on the wall describe how their design teams are so successful in turning out original and creative designs. The posters convey these ideas: stay focused on the topic, encourage wild ideas, defer judgment to avoid limiting ideas, build on the idea of others, and hold one conversation at a time. The design process is divided into the following five phases, starting with phase zero: ? 2. 2. 1. Phase 0 – Understand/Observe During Phase 0 design teams research every aspect of the clients company and their competing market. They determine what innovations may be most beneficial for their client. 2. 2. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize In Phase I design teams choose the direction of a potential product and potential solutions to the problems that are identified. Design teams will systematically pump out hundreds of initial ideas that eventually boil down to one great product. Teams encourage wild and crazy ideas because those are the ideas that end up being refined and shaped into new and exciting products. If a team becomes creatively blocked, the team leader institutes what IDEO calls a Deep Dive. During a Deep Dive, the team devotes an entire day to generating a large number of ideas. From these ideas, team members can vote on which ones hold potential while the weaker ideas are weeded out. 2. 2. 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining Phase II involves refining of the ideas through rigorous prototyping and testing. Once an appropriate number of the most promising ideas have been established in the previous phase, team members break up into groups and prototype those ideas. The prototyping involves the production of three dimensional models, so that particular design aspects may be tested and flaws may be uncovered. Each prototype is examined and judged by the rest of the team. As different prototypes are compared to each other, both good and bad parts of each design are able to stand out. The team takes the good aspects of each design and bundles them into a final functional prototype and a final â€Å"looks like† prototype. . 2. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering Phase III is where the complete design is finalized and proved to work. The product is handed over many times to the technical teams that make sure the various components and subsystems function properly. Then the team takes this final prototype and supporting documentation, and moves forward to the next phase. 2. 2. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison) In Phase IV the product is released for production. Often an IDEO representative will stay with the product through this phase in order to handle various production issues that may arise. 2. 3. More on Prototyping The concept of prototyping is not a new one by any means, but IDEO has redefined how prototyping can be effectively used within their industry. IDEO uses prototypes in every phase of their design process after the initial research in Phase 0. Team leaders are instructed to bring at least one prototype to every client meeting because it deepens the clients understanding of the product’s progress as well as bolstering the client’s faith in IDEO’s dedication to their product development. The IDEO prototype philosophy follows three R’s: Rough, Rapid, and Right. Rough prototyping is used often; daily or even hourly. These prototypes can be made from cardboard, Styrofoam, or wood; whatever allows the designer to express a particular idea in a speedy manner. Rapid prototyping acts in tandem with the rough prototyping because rough prototypes are used to express small details of a product and they can be made and remade very quickly. The third R, right, describes their end goal for the product. By prototyping nearly every aspect of a project many times and exploring every angle, products are designed right because every option has been explored and only the best ideas remain. During this process obviously not every idea can be a successful one. IDEO not only understands this but embraces this idea. Kelley states that â€Å"failure is part of the culture†. By failing early and often, teams are able to learn what does not work and then progress from there. 3. Palm V Project 3. 1. Predecessors to the Palm V Before addressing the Palm V effort, it is useful to describe its context with respect to some preceding PDAs, as conveyed by Thomke and Nimgade. In the early 1990s, an early attempt at creating a mass-market PDA that would be recognizable by contemporary standards was Apple’s Newton pad. The Newton was not very successful due to its inaccurate handwriting interface, and its relatively large size. Then in 1996 the Palm Pilot PDA was introduced by California-based engineer Jeff Hawkins. The Palm Pilot was commercially successful due to â€Å"†¦the development of critical technologies, including the†¦Graffiti program for handwriting recognition and†¦the capability to synchronize data between the PDA and a home computer (8). Hawkins’s design for the Palm Pilot focused on simplicity. As described by Thomke and Nimgade, while conceptualizing the form factor and usage profile of the Palm Pilot, Hawkins carried around a wooden pocket-sized prototype. He intended the Palm Pilot to compete with paper rather than large computers (Thomke and Nimgade 8). As noted by P. E. Teague, Hawkins’ resulting des ign made the Palm Pilot â€Å"the fastest-selling computer product ever† (cited in Thomke and Nimgade 8-9). ? 3. 2. IDEO’s Design of the Palm V As described by Thomke and Nimgade, despite the introduction by competitors of more complex and feature laden PDAs, Hawkins took a different approach for the follow-on to the Palm Pilot. Hawkins wanted to keep the next Palm PDA model, which was to be the Palm V, simple and to make it more attractive to female users. For this effort, Palm chose IDEO, and within IDEO Dennis Boyle was chosen as the senior product leader (Thomke and Nimgade 9). 3. 3. Palm V Design Phases Thomke and Nimgade recounted IDEO’s design phases for the Palm V project as follows (10-12). 3. 3. 1. Phase 0: Understand/Observe The Palm V project started late in 1996. This phase lasted approximately 10 to 12 weeks. Boyle realized that despite the popularity of the Palm III, little data existed on user preferences (Thomke and Nimgade may have meant to reference the Palm Pilot, since the Palm III was not released until 1998, as reported in Palm’s â€Å"Support resources for older Palm products† Web page). So Boyle created a source for such observations by purchasing dozens of palm pilots and passing them out to everyone he knew. He was then able to get valuable feedback through emails and casual hallway conversations. The team became aware of problems such as breaking due to being dropped, case rigidity, battery and memory doors placement, and the stylus holder location. 3. 3. 2. Phase I: Visualize/Realize Starting in March 1997, many staff members with different nationalities, including Taiwan, the Netherlands and Israel, became involved in the project. Additionally two female designers were added to the team, with the hope that they would provide insights that would make the resulting product more attractive to women. At that time 95% of the existing Palm users were men. The female team members got feedback from 15 other women. Their inputs led to a more curvy design with tapering edges, which was a big difference from the blocky and rectangular designs of previous handheld devices. It was in this Phase, that the project got the code name â€Å"RAZOR† because they want to create a â€Å"razor thin† product. The IDEO team held weekly meeting with the Palm division to get feedback. They always brought a prototype to demonstrate different possible button configurations, lengths, thicknesses, etc. This ensured that even very small design details would be considered. ? 3. 3. 3. Phase II: Evaluating/Refining Phase II began in May 1997. This phase involved computer-aided design (CAD) engineering, in support of the creation of accurate industrial models that resemble the proposed end product. Observed usage patterns were taken into account regarding such things as allowing for short and incomplete charge cycles without harming the battery. During this phase, the team was close to defining the final model, and they were choosing suppliers for the materials that would allow it to be manufactured. By the time this phase had ended, between 20 and 25 prototypes had been created. . 3. 4. Phase III: Implement/Detailed Engineering Starting in the fall of 1997, every component for Palm V was engineered to be functional in terms of electronics and software. From three to five production prototypes were created to test everything, including that the product would comply with government regulations. Toward the end of Phase III, prototype models could cost more than $30,00 0. It was during this phase that responsibilities gradually shifted away from IDEO and toward the growing Palm team, as Palm geared up for production and product promotion. 3. 3. 5. Phase IV: Implement/Manufacturing Liaison Phase IV ended with â€Å"Razor† being released for production. The Palm division retained some IDEO personnel for another six months, leading up to the expected market release in February 1999. During this period the Palm team worked on perfecting the manufacturing process in order to allow for production of up to 5,000 units per day. Palm’s manufacturing team still had many problems to solve, including cracked displays, electrostatic charge, procurement of supplies, etc. The loss of a day of production would cost the Palm division a few hundred thousand dollars. Figure 1: Early to pre-production Palm V prototypes (Thomke and Nimgade 19) 4. Handspring Project The Handspring project was born in 1996 when Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky resigned from 3com, the producers of the Palm V. Hawkins decided to part from 3com because he wanted to start a company with greater autonomy. Although 3com was performing well as a company, they were still unable to reward personnel with stock options. Because of this, Hawkins along with Dubinsky parted amicably with 3com and went to start a new company, Handspring. The goal of this new company was simple, to produce a clone of 3com’s Palm V. This clone would address many of Palm’s main design flaws. The new product would be smaller, less expensive, and hopefully add functionally that the Palm lacked. This endeavor started out with two very key advantages. Handspring was able to sign a licensing agreement with 3com for the use of the Palm operating system. This was a major advantage for Handspring because their PDA would be able to run to all of the applications that were available for the Palm. This was a major component that would help cut the overall cost of the product, and save a significant amount of development time. Another benefit for Hawkins was that the remaining designers from 3com, which had previously worked on the Palm, joined him at Handspring. These two factors placed Handspring in a very opportune position. Armed with the Palm operating system and the wealth of knowledge from the previous Palm design team, it seemed almost impossible for Handspring to fail. ? 4. 1. Product Development At the onset of the product development, Hawkins again approached IDEO to design the new Palm clone. The product development strategy was to get a Handspring PDA into as many hands as quickly as possible. This statement seems simple enough but it was a bold statement for the product in question. The Palm, priced at $450, was held mainly by wealthy businessmen or other prominent people. Handspring aimed to change this trend. The new product was to be priced at $150, and it was going to be designed for and marketed to a wide variety of people, including women who had been particularly absent from the Palm demographic. Handspring aimed to allow users to add functionality to their PDAs while keeping the product simple to use. It was difficult, if not impossible, to upgrade or personalize the Palm to perform tasks that were not native to its original design. Handspring’s proposed â€Å"ROM† cards that would effectively add functionality without adding any complication. The idea was derived from the Nintendo game console concept that allowed for a game to be changed through a slot and then played immediately after. This concept was to be transferred to Handspring’s new product in hopes of allowing users to add to the functionality of their PDAs without requiring the installation of new software or hardware internally. The ROM cards would allow for the device to operate as a cell phone, GPS, pager, voice recorder, wireless modem, MP3 player, digital camera, or even a graphing calculator. This ROM card concept became known as â€Å"Springboard. † The PDA would have a slot on the back, and matchbook sized modules would be inserted into the device to run any number of programs or peripherals. Following this development, the product also received its name, this time from Hawkins’ daughter. She suggested it be called â€Å"Visor†, short for Advisor. . 2. Market Research/Analysis Initially the Visor designers saw little need to conduct market research for their new product. Their view was that all of the market research has already been done with respect to the Palm V. Any extra time devoted to investigating the potential effectiveness of the Visor within its market would be redundant because the research prior to the launch of the Palm product still applies to the Visor. Any deficie ncies of the Palm have already been accounted for (e. g. , price, simplicity). As Dubinsky explains, â€Å"We felt we understood the marketplace pretty well. After all, we invented the product and the category†¦ You can’t test the concept of a slot; it’s too major†. This means that the only major change to the Visor, the Springboard slot, cannot be tested because the only way to test the effectiveness of the slots is to build a product and measure the response. Therefore, the Visor management team insisted that Boyle and his IDEO team develop their Visor product without performing all the phases of the IDEO design process. This comes to be a pressing issue with Boyle and his IDEO team because this is the process that makes their company different from the rest of the product development firms. The question that Boyle must ask himself is if he is willing to sacrifice IDEO’s steps toward innovation, or if he should persuade Hawkins to push his aggressive deadline back so that the IDEO design teams can perform the necessary research to make this product a booming success. Figure 2: Timeline of Palm V and Visor design development 5. SWOT Analysis of Handspring Project The case study presents the question of whether or not IDEO’s management should ask for more time, so that they can apply their full development process. The case study does not really suggest that refusing the Handspring Visor project is an option. However, it does seem implicit that one of the possible outcomes is that IDEO either does not accept or is not awarded the Handspring Visor project. 5. 1. Strengths †¢The staff is intimately familiar with the preceding Palm V product. The Handspring Visor will be very similar in form-factor and usage profile to the Palm V, except for the addition of a ROM card slot. oThe Visor project should require less human factor engineering. †¢Much of the Visor’s componentry should be commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS). †¢The organization already has a track record of successfully working with Handspring’s management during the Palm V effort. †¢Taking on a strictly budgeted an d scheduled project will provide useful experience within the IDEO organization for the kinds of work that might be available during leaner economic times. IDEO’s Dennis Boyle is â€Å"†¦not worried about meeting this challenging deadline,† so IDEO’s ability to succeed within Handspring’s constraints is not in question (Thomke and Nimgade 13). 5. 2. Weaknesses †¢Handspring’s requested product development schedule will not allow for all the steps of IDEO’s â€Å"legendary† product development process. †¢The specificity of Handspring’s design requirements and the associated cost constraints may be de-motivational within IDEO’s design culture. †¢There is always the possibility of failure on the part of IDEO, even if the risk is minimal. ? 5. 3. Opportunities The Handspring founders left 3Com on good terms (Thomke and Nigade 12). †¢Handspring apparently has at least tacit approval from 3Com to produc e a product that will potentially compete with 3Com’s Palm line of PDAs. †¢If IDEO accepts Handspring’s short product schedule, then potentially greater market penetration can be achieved. oRecall that the Palm V is about to be launched, and the Visor is supposed to be a direct and less expensive competitor with even greater capabilities. 5. 4. Threats †¢Taking this sort of â€Å"design to cost and schedule† work could â€Å"water down† IDEO’s maverick brand. Appearance of conflict of interest by working with Handspring on a competing product while still supporting the Palm V effort. †¢Due to the close working relationship with Handspring’s management during the Palm V design effort; if IDEO does not take the job then Handspring may take a substantial amount of IDEO’s expertise about PDA design to competitor. †¢If IDEO pushes for more product development time: oHandspring could lose confidence and take the Visor pr oject elsewhere. oThe time window in which it will be possible for Handspring to significantly penetrate the PDA market could pass. . Conclusion IDEO should take the Handspring Visor job and it should support Handspring’s shortened time schedule for creation of the final design. First, the Harvard Business School case does not question whether IDEO should decline to work with Handspring on the Visor project. It only poses the question of whether or not IDEO should lobby Handspring to allow more time for the full and fairly extravagant IDEO development process. According to IDEO’s Dennis Boyle, there does not seem to be significant risk of failure by IDEO regarding this project. Therefore, the potential downside of possibly perturbing IDEO’s culture in a fairly localized way is outweighed by the loss of profit that IDEO could earn by taking the job. More importantly, IDEO’s expertise gained from designing the Palm V could potentially be implicitly conveyed by Handspring’s management to an IDEO competitor. Or as a corollary, if IDEO takes the work, then IDEO will remain involved in the growing PDA market. Second, there is the primary question of whether IDEO should push Handspring to allow time in the schedule for all of IDEO’s design phases. Given the speed with which the PDA market could potentially progress, it seems more important to get the Handspring Visor out quickly. The longer it takes to get the Visor to market, the more likely that there would be other competing PDAs on the market at the same time. Furthermore, delaying would allow preexisting PDAs to soak up market share that would then not be available for Handspring to claim. E. g. , it is harder to sell a Visor to someone if they already own a Palm V. Furthermore, if the initial Visor PDA is a success, then it is likely that IDEO will be poised to work with Handspring on it next PDA design iteration. Ultimately, IDEO did take the Handspring Visor design project, as reported by IDEO’s web site. The project produced a PDA that had the features that Handspring’s management envisioned, including a $150 dollar entry-level cost, a â€Å"Springboard† ROM card expansion slot, and an on-time product launch date of September 14, 1999, as reported by Shawn Barnett in Pen Computing Magazine. Figure 3: Views of Handspring Visor, including Springboard example, lower right (images from Pen Computing Magazine) Wikipedia’s â€Å"Handspring (company)† article reports that the Visor product line has been out of production since 2002, and has otherwise been superseded by newer more advanced products (especially smart phones). However, Wikipedia reports that the Visor PDAs still have a significant and loyal user base, although the authors of this report were unable to confirm this via primary sources. It is likely that interest has fallen off over the last few years with the introduction of ever more powerful smart phones and ultraportable laptops. In 2003 Visor was acquired by Palm, which is fitting since the formation of Handspring seemed almost like a spinoff from Palm in the first place. In April 2010 Hewlett-Packard announced that they would purchase Palm. References Barnett, Shawn. â€Å"Handspring Visor. † Pen Computing Magazine. May 10, 2000. Jun 12 2010 . â€Å"The Deep Dive. † Narr. Jack Smith. Niteline, ABC. Jul. 13, 1999. May 31, 2010 . â€Å"Handspring (company). † Wikipedia. May 29, 2010. Jun. 12, 2010 . â€Å"HP to Acquire Palm for $1. 2 Billion. † News release. Hewlett-Packard Company. Apr. 28, 2010. Jun. 13, 2010 . Morse, Lucy C. and Daniel L. Babcock, Managing Engineering and Technology. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. â€Å"Palm Announces Acquisition of Handspring to Bolster Industry Leadership; Board Approves PalmSource Spin-off. † News release. Palm Inc. Jun. 4, 2003. Jun. 13, 2010 . â€Å"Support resources for older Palm products. † Product sup port. Palm Inc. Article ID: 47831. Jun. 13 2010 . Thomke, Stefan, and Ashok Nimgade, M. D. â€Å"IDEO Product Development. † Case. Harvard Business School. 9-600-143 (rev. Apr. 26, 2007): 1-21. â€Å"Visor for Handspring. † Case study. IDEO. Jun. 13 2010 .

Monday, November 25, 2019

Film Reveiw-Two Can Play at that Game essays

Film Reveiw-Two Can Play at that Game essays STARRING: Vivica .A. Fox, Morris Chestnut CRITICS WARNING: Sexual References, little offensive language, but great storyline. Colour 123 minutes Is your man playing up? Showing signs of infidelity or as Shante Smith (Vivica. A. Fox) would say... Is Your Man Showing His Ass? Director Mark Brown certainly knows how to entertain the female sex with a boy punching plot to capture any womans mind on a revenge pursuit to get back at her unfaithful man. An interesting style to this film is the narration of the storyline by the main character Shante Smith. It is a fun humorous film where black Americans and their comical ways deal with relationships set in the rich area of America Suburbia. Shante Smith- Senior Advertising executive from Parker and Law has a great life with no worries. Shante is the envy of her three best friends (Carla, Dianne, Leslie) as their relationships are failing. She uses their experiences with men as examples to relate advice to women. One example she provides is that the most common excuse from men, for a woman to know her man is cheating, is Im Working late! One night when she and the girls get together to have a few drinks her man Keith (Morris Chestnut) calls to say he cant make it because hes Working Late! Now Shante is forced to launch her 10 day plan to get him back into her arms using some very intriguing tactics. It is a captivating story of a woman who thought she had it all. Now she must use her own advice for her own experiences. It is a very easy film to follow as it transforms into in a 10 day sequence. The drama of Shantes efforts to retrieve her man is very entertaining. Set in the wealthy areas of America, there is more focus on the attractive actors than any scenery within the film. Fox plays an excellent role as the dominant female, leading the way, until she meets rival Conn ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

SUMMARY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SUMMARY - Essay Example Before the Revolution erupted in the United States, the planning and designing of the community -- in the spatial/physical sense -- in the Colonial America were largely held by an individual grantee. An imitation of the 17th-century (or much earlier) European urban planning, the structuring and/or restructuring of places or towns in the pre-revolutionary America was under the sole power of an individual person. The grantor or donor was usually a high ranking official -- with respect to Europe, it was the royal king/queen who made and dispensed land ownership to certain person -- who gave to an individual an authority to configure or reconfigure a particular municipality or town. In the early 18th-century America, for instance, a man named James Oglethorpe was given a land grant wherein he created or recreated the Savannah landscape. In Oglethorpe’s design plan, the configuration is prominently four-sided. Drawn in vertical and horizontal lines that converge as square blocks, O glethorpe’s Savannah is a type of urban planning which is a characteristic of his time. It is noteworthy that Oglethorpe’s planning design is almost symmetrical to William Penn’s 1682 Philadelphia plan. Of their similarities are the street patterns, presence of the public open spaces, and grid-block designs. And of their differences are the specific location of open spaces and the particular spatial dimension of primary and secondary roadways. As it seems, the municipal and/or urban landscape visible in the Colonial America in the pre-revolution era was greatly determined or decided by an individual grantee. In the process, he possessed the capacity or legitimacy to shape or form the place according to his taste and liking. In the Revolution era, on the other hand, the town/urban planners shifted from the grantee to a specific group orientation -- particularly the commercial elite. The monarchy or its representation in the former Colonial America essentially los t its power to grant or award a piece of land to a single person. In this historical period, individualism or commercialism dominated over the system of monarchy or hierarchy. In general, the municipal power or political grip was greatly overridden by the â€Å"enormous growth pressures.† With the American Revolution also came the emergence of the industrial revolution in America. As a consequence, business and commerce seemed to rule in the newly born land of the free -- which included the free trade. It is noteworthy that the role of the state or political institution marked in the United States in the early period of the Revolution era was apparently undefined, if not ambiguous, in relation to the urban planning. That is to say, the U.S. Government, in its early establishment and institutionalization, significantly lacks the authority or arguably the will to control the spatial/physical configuration of the American landscape, seascape, and air-scape. Perhaps the absence o f political control or authority in the design and plan of the communities -- in the artistic or architectural strand -- was due largely to the fundamental principles held dearly by the American revolutionists: individualism or liberal politics. Indeed, liberalism became the popular philosophical system in the revolutionary America. Thence, the group of elite -- those who are well-off in the American society -- was able to secure the power or control over land and land

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Analysis paper of MAMMA MIA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis paper of MAMMA MIA - Essay Example Sophies mother, Donna, invited the three men that he suspected might be the father of her daughter. Donna was an independent woman who did all she could to take care of her daughter. Sophie grew up without a father figure in her life. Donna was running a successful business on a small Greek Island. She had ventured into the hotel business in the area and it helped her to raise her daughter. The time has come when she needs to stand by her daughter as she gets married. Donna has never talked to Sophie about her father and it left her distressed. In addition, she had narrowed down potential candidates to three men. Sophie tells her best friends of how she plans to find out the identity of her real father. She invites the potential men to her wedding without the consent of her mother. The three men responded by coming to the island and she hides them from her mother. Donna finds out that Sophie had invited the men she had dated around the time she had conceived. Donna panics and tells the men to leave the island. Donna did not have the capacity to handle the memories of the three men. Three of her friends come to reassure her that everything will be fine. Mamma Mia is one of the top musical movies produced in 2008. It was a global enjoying massive play in most countries. ABBA was a Swedish musical group that was popular in the 1970s. The name of the group came from the initials of the name of the duo. The duos were married to each other and they were more popular in Europe than in the United States. The producer decides to use ABBA music because they concluded the narration themselves. Early songs by ABBA indicate that they were young and naive. The songs they do much later were mature and reflected on various issues affecting the society. Dancing queen was a good song that brought life into the movie. Dancing queen by ABBA brought a sugary vibe into the movie and it makes the movie enjoyable to watch. Abba music is popular in Europe

Monday, November 18, 2019

Can Barack Obama deliver the change (in foreign policy) he promises Research Paper

Can Barack Obama deliver the change (in foreign policy) he promises - Research Paper Example 5. The federal budget is balanced, therefore allowing the President more time to work on foreign policy. CON: No, President Obama can not deliver the change in foreign policy he promises. 1. Barack Obama is defeated by Governor Mitt Romney, who becomes the next President of the United States of America on 6 November 2012. 2. The legislative branch of the United States government continues to bicker among themselves, therefore not agreeing on policy. 3. The countries that have historically been allies of the United States decide to cut ties politically with the United States. 4. The war in Afghanistan continues for more than four years therefore occupying most of President Obama’s attention. 5. The United States continues to go into debt, therefore decreasing the ability that the United States to create foreign policy as well as not allowing time to manage foreign policy with an ever nearing depression. Due to the interconnectedness of the world, foreign policy is now an import ant aspect of any politicians’ job. This is even more so for the President of the Unites States of America, a position that has numerous levels of responsibility. The President has to maintain internal peace of prosperity, as well as international concerns. The United States in recent decades has taken on responsibilities that most countries would not. Being a leader in world politics, world economics, and being a world super power takes a toll on a country as well as a leader. This has especially been true for the United States that has seen in the last two decades almost constant international warfare, a struggling economy, and increased numbers of adversaries. To achieve what needs to be accomplished internationally, the President must have a strong stance on foreign policy and the ability to enact change. When Barack Obama was elected President in 2008 the nation was embroiled in two large conflicts, the national debt was increasing, and the rate of employment was decreas ing. Foreign policy while important was not on the top list of things to do. However, now that the unemployment rates are stable, and the United States is out of one of the conflict zones, a look at if President Obama can achieve any significant change to Foreign policy is appropriate. The main hurdles that President Obama is facing are the upcoming elections, which parties controls the legislative branch, our international allies start to falter, the current war in Afghanistan continues, and there is no relief in sight for the national budget to be balanced. All five of these things could affect foreign policy. In addition to each of these being a detriment to the success, the opposite will be beneficial in accomplishing effective and long lasting change. The election that is taking place on November 6, 2012 is one of the most divisive elections in the last 50 years. Many bloggers have realized this and started to write about what this election is doing to the country. Due to this divisiveness both #1 and #2 are going to be dependent on the results of the election. Daniel Greenfield, in a very conservative blog believes that it was the intention of the candidates to divide the country, to spread fear and loathing among the population.i This division was done not to support the United States, but to show how bad it could be. The latest polls show that there is a chance of either party to win the Presidency.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Mcdonalds Risk And Risk Management

Mcdonalds Risk And Risk Management Introduction to risk management The only thing we know about future is that we do not know what is going to happen. This is related to definition of risk in general. Miles Wilson (1998) define risk as being an exposure or a probability of occurrence of a loss. Risk can also be viewed as having a positive effect. PMBOK (2004) defines risk as an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on business objectives. Risks have a huge influence on the success or failure of business. However, risks cannot be avoided, but they can be managed. They must be managed by applying effort to their reduction or elimination. Not all risks need to be eliminated. They are sometimes sufficient to reduce the projects exposure to a level that is acceptable to the project. Risk management costs time and effort, but the impacts can be significant. Without risk management, the chances of danger of failure will be high. Effective strategic risk management can minimise of weaknesses within organisations causing damage. However, effective strategic risk management tools became harder to implement as business operations grow, become more complex, and operate in multiple locations. Risk management is increasingly recognised as being concerned with both positive and negative aspects of risk. Potentially, there are the opportunities for benefit or threats to success as a result of risk. Risk in financial climate arises through countless transactions of an economic nature, including sales and purchases, investments and loans, and various other business activities. Therefore, risk management can provide a solution to making individual and company less in danger. Identifying strategy for risks as soon as possible is particularly important. There are common approaches to risk which take alternative action when risks exposure, removal as insure risk, measure opportunities to risk may occur and make plan to control and acceptation of risk. According to Mills (2001), the systematic approach makes the risks clear, formally describing them and making them easier to manage. In other words, systematic risk management is a management tool, which requires practical experience and training in the use of the techniques. Appropriate responses to risk must be prepared to all the risks that would significantly affect the strategy or returns of the company if they were to occur. Background of McDonald According to McDonald (2010), McDonald is the worlds largest chain of quick service restaurants organisation in the world, serving tens of millions of customers daily worldwide. There are more than 30,000 restaurants in 120 countries worldwide. According to McDonalds Corporation Annual Report (2009), revenue has reached a record more than US$20 billion and US$6.8 billion income and 390,000 employees. McDonalds operates according to four values which are quality, service, convenience and value. Part of organisational culture is the quality of the food and service wherever the branch is located. The good reputation of the company and the expectation of an excellent service no matter which branch people eat is a marketing strategy of McDonalds. McDonalds set a standard applicable to all branches worldwide. However the company also gives a way for innovation by allowing the branches to integrate culture into food and service increasing market share. McDonalds tries to operate on a cost leadership basis by offering low priced goods with higher profit margins. Most of the efficient strategies adopted by McDonalds associate with this strategy of low cost. Since McDonalds operates in 120 countries on 6 different continents, they offer different food selections because of different needs in each country, due to religion, diets, and resources of each individual country. This flexibility and knowledge allows McDonalds to achieve global targets and compete with the other competitors. It shows that the company predict customer needs and handled well to risk. The PESTLE analysis of the macro environment According to BADU (2002), many of organisations success or failure, profit or loss, growth or decline depends on how well they respond to macro political, economic, social, technological and regulatory changes which is the external macro environment. Johnson Scholes (2005) support that the external factors can be divided into six categories which political, environment, social, technology, environment and legal. These external factors usually are out of the organisations control and sometimes present themselves as threats. The macro environment analysis is usually the first step of a strategic analysis. It is sometimes referred to as an external analysis or a PESTLE analysis. In other words, it can be analysed with the many different factors in an organisations macro environment by using the PESTEL framework. The purpose of the macro environment analysis is to identify possible opportunities and threats in the industry as a whole that are outside the control of the industry. According to Kotler (1984), the macro environment consists of the larger societal forces that affect micro environment. The micro environment, on the other hand, consists of the forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its stakeholders. Firstly, the macro economic environment analysis will identify trends such as changes in personal disposable income as rises in living standards or the general level of demand, rises or falls in interest rates, unemployment rates and inflation. According to Luffman Sanderson (1988), the economic environment consists of the current and future state of key economic variables used to describe wealth, purchasing power, savings and consumption, together with government economic policy deployed to affect those variables. For examples, Gross National Product (GNP) or disposable income are key determinants of demand. The distribution of income in society provides opportunities for organisations to separate product or service offerings in terms of levels of disposable income. The rate of inflation and government policy towards it can really affect consumers attitudes to consumption. As a result, company strategy in the economic environment can be not simply threat for organisation, but oppor tunities for improvement that company can do better. Moreover, Tchankova (2002) states that the economic environment usually is hardly influenced by the political environment in a single country, but the globalisation of the market creates a market that is greater than a single market and needs to be considered separately. Although a particular activity of the government can affect the international capital market, the control of the market is impossible for a single government. Examples of sources of risk generated from the economic environment in global are economic recession and depression and current exchange rate. McDonald could suffer in country where the economy of the respective states is hit by inflation and changes in the exchange rates. Secondly, the macro political and legal environment analysis will identify changes in government, or a change in government policy. As a result, legislation will be made such as minimum age discrimination and disability discrimination and minimum wages. Moreover, political decisions can impact on many essential areas for business such as the environmental regulations, the employment laws, trade restrictions and tariffs, political stability for internally and externally and decision making structures. Luffman Sanderson support that Government at both national and local levels can affect companies not only on a day-to-day basis through laws, policies and its authority, but also at a strategic level by creating opportunities and threats. Furthermore, Tchankova states that the political environment is a more complex and important source of risk in an international aspect. The difference in the ruling system raises different attitudes and policies toward business. For example, foreign investment might be confiscated, or taxation systems might change significantly, which will hurt the investors interests. The political environment can present opportunities as well. McDonald is the international operations which greatly influenced by the government policies such as regulations and new legislations for tax, trade, product safety, health care and labour. Thirdly, the macro technological environment analysis will identify changes in the application of technology. It is related with the application of new inventions and ideas such as the development of the internet or websites as McDonald company business marketing tools. Luffman Sanderson support that the technological environment is compounded of the impact of science and technology in product and process innovation. Technology can improve quality, reduce costs and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organisations providing the products and service. Fourthly, the macro social and cultural environment analysis will identify trends in religion, beliefs, behaviours, values and standard such as changes in lifestyles like more women going out to work, changes in tastes and buying patterns. Furthermore, the number of part time workers and attitudes and diverse working environment are also related with changes in society. The speed of change in the social environment may be slow, but its effects are unstoppable. Generally, the companys strategies need time to evaluate the corporate response to social changes. Besides, Tchankova states that the changes in human behaviour and state of social structures are cause of risk. The level of employee and loyalty to the organisation determine to a large extent the success of the organisation. At the same time the changes of culture create opportunities. Lastly, the macro environmental analysis will identify factors such as natural disaster or global warming. For example, volcanic eruption that occur few weeks ago impact on many industries including airline, farming and insurance because of volcanic ash. Also, McDonald recycle standard is result of environment analysis. Oxford University Press (2007) supports that with the weather and climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. Micro environment analysis This environment influences the organisation directly. According to Beamish Ashford (2005), simple approach to this analysis will be to break it down into 5 elements which are business, customers, suppliers, stakeholders and competitors. These are internal factors close to the company that have a direct impact on the organisations and strategic planning. First of all, in terms of customers, organisations should focus on meeting what customer needs and wants and providing benefits for their customers. Success of business depends on how well organisation analysis of their customer. This analysis can be the basis of organisation provides the right product at right price and to the right place at the right time. Otherwise, business strategy will be failed as a result. Customers are a major environmental factor for McDonalds. Nearly 54 billion customers served by McDonald daily basis. McDonalds customers are mostly young generation. Thats way, company always conscious about their choice. For this reason, customers demand, their choice, what they like is impacting McDonalds. In terms of competitors, restaurant industry is extremely competitive. McDonald is one of them and very successful company. They are doing everything in their power to make sure that they attract to their customers. Therefore, competitor such as KFC and Burger King analysing and monitoring is critical if an organisation is to maintain its position within the market. As the competition increase, there are more advantages to the customers. As a result, McDonald is up to date with customer taste and preference. Also, employing the proper staff and keeping these staff motivated is a vital part of the strategic planning process of an organisation. Training and development are essential, particularly in service sector, in order to gain a competitive advantage. McDonald has maintained a huge commitment to their employees and their training, which includes making available to all entitled employees and a consistent management and training programme. In terms of supplier, Beamish Ashford states that supplier relationships are a further critical component to the success of any organisation. It is important to many organisations to ensure consistent supplies in order to meet consistent demand for their product ensuring competitive and quality products for an organisation. Therefore, supplier analysis is essential. As a result, organisation must review some factors such as costs, quality, warranty, financial stability and the relationship suppliers have with competitors. For example, increasing beef prices will have affect on the strategy of McDonald. Prices may be going up as a result. In terms of stakeholders, they are individual or group that can greatly influence the performance of the company. Stakeholders support makes company successful. They have in turn certain expectation from the company. Therefore, to analysed stakeholder expectation is fundamental. According to Beamish Ashford, the role of stakeholders in any organisation seems to have an increasing influence in which organisation can do business. Shareholders are one of typical stakeholders who require a certain level of return which means it is important for any organisations to focus on making decisions that satisfy and maximise this return. Satisfying shareholder needs may result in a change in strategy employed by an organisation. McDonalds stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an interest in the organisation and how it operates. McDonald take into account the needs and requirements of stakeholders. In addition, microenvironment also provides organisations possible threats in the market place that would reduce their profit or rate at which consumers purchasing their products. One of those threats is that consumers use as a substitute to their products. These threats usually come from competitor organisations. Global company and risk management Brindley (2004) suggest that global competition, technological change and the continuous search for competitive advantage are the primary motives behind organisations turning towards risk management approaches in the international chain industry. Furthermore, the increase in economic activity at the global level encourages business organisations to seek a competitive advantage by accessing new markets and expanding their operations. According to Porter (1990), the term competitive advantage refers to the strategies that allow successful companies to create profits in their sector of economic activity which is main objective and goal of most organisations. Dalgleish Cooper (2005) support that organisations manage their operations on a day-to-day basis and risk management does not naturally add value to this activity. Its application is, however, becoming more focussed with organisations identifying a sense of purpose and making proper use of the assessments. This has resulted in its adoption within the internal control systems of organisations in making informed decisions, improving communication with the board and improving their understanding of the risks and controls within the business. Therefore, risk identification is the first stage in any organisations risk management. It is a base for correct future work of the organisation with regards to developing and implementing new programmes for risk control. According to George (2009), risk management is the process of planning, organising, directing, and controlling resources to achieve given objectives. Brown (2000) recommends that boards or responsible directors should consider the key risks and assess how they have been identified, evaluated and managed, and assess the effectiveness of the system of internal control. As a result, directors should have responsibility for all aspects of control and a duty to establish a strong system of risk management, designed to identify and evaluate potential risks in every aspect of the business operation. Risk management is fundamental process in every organisation, which includes control systems to inform managers that organisation has being exposure to risks, and guarantee that strategic risk management is properly implementing. Financial risk According to Jorion GARP (2009), financial risk includes market risk, credit risk and operational risk. Market risk is the risk of losses due to movement in financial market prices or volatilities. This usually includes liquidity risk which is the risk of losses due to the need to liquidate positions to meet funding requirement. Liquidity risk is not amendable to formal quantification. Credit risk is the risk of losses due to the fact that counterparties may be unwilling or unable to fulfil their contractual obligations. Operational risk is the risk of less resulting from failed or inadequate internal processes, system and people or from external events. Financial risk is that a company will not have sufficient cash flow to meet financial obligations. Wikipedia (2010) supports that financial risk is the additional risk a shareholder bears when a company uses debt in addition to equity financing. Companies that issue more debt instruments would have higher financial risk than companies financed mostly or entirely by equity. Therefore, the financial risk management process must not be involve avoidance of risks, but designed at identifying and managing these risks instead. For example, according to McDonald, McDonalds restaurants worldwide, contribute 7% of global profits, making the UK a very important financial market for McDonalds shareholders. Each individual McDonalds restaurant is structured as an independent business, with restaurant management responsible for its financial performance. McDonalds financial reporting and management accounting ensures the best financial position for the company now and for the future. Market risk According to Monetary Authority of Singapore (2006), market risk refers to the risk to an organisation resulting from movements in market prices, in particular, changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and equity and commodity prices. The market risk strategy should first determine the level of market risk the organisation is prepared to assume. This level should be set with consideration given to, among other factors, the amount of market risk capital set aside by the organisation. The organisation should develop a strategy that balances its business goals with its market risk appetite. Accessing to all current operative cash flows and to all financial transactions is indispensable for complete risk management. In order to determine and control risks, the information from these two sources needs to be brought to together. Currency exchange rate risk for McDonald According to Mathur Loy (1984), in a world of increased uncertainty about the future value of exchange rates and increased visibility of foreign exchange gains and losses, it is not surprising that global companies have become more concerned about minimising foreign exchange risks. Exchange rate risk may strongly affect firms profitability and it can be hedged. Once a company becomes involved in international trade, it consequently becomes subject to foreign exchange risk exposure. In other words, because of the increased globalisation, exchange rate has become an important source of risk for an organisation operating in international environment. McDonald is international franchise fast food restaurant. Lashley Morrison (2000) support that franchising business format has become an established global enterprise trend within the service sector. They indicate further that franchising has become a mature industry in the USA and well established in the UK. According to Edwards (2006), the reasons why company is going for international are build more brand and shareholder value, add revenue sources and growth markets, reduce dependence on home market and leverage existing corporate technology, supply chains, know-how and intellectual property. However, certainly, some risks are exposure for those reasons. Exchange rate risk is one of them which unavoidable for global company. According to FinancialCAD Corporation (2009), in 1967, McDonalds opened its first foreign country franchise in Canada. Today, more than 65% of total revenue is derived internationally, as more and more restaurants are opened in countries outside the United States, with increasing McDonalds foreign exchange and interest rate risks. McDonald is challenged with managing these risks as hedging the interest rate and foreign exchange risks for operations based in foreign countries is complex. As a result, McDonalds warned their investors of the potential changes in currency exchange rates to impact company profits, but that the company has tried to reduce these risks. FinancialCAD Corporation continously states that the McDonald financial markets group is responsible for hedging the balance sheet and income statement against foreign exchange and interest rate risks, while funding the growth of global operations. They often fund assets locally, but in many markets this is challenging. The assets are funded by more than $8 billion in debt, with over 50% of the debt denominated in a foreign currency. According to Abor (2005), foreign exchange risk is the risk that an entity will be required to pay more or less than expected as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate between its currency and the foreign currency in which payment must be made. Foreign exchange risk is commonly defined as the additional variability experienced by a multinational corporation in its worldwide consolidated earnings that results from unexpected currency fluctuations. It is generally understood that this considerable earnings variability can be eliminated partially or fully at a cost, the cost of foreign exchange risk. Companies are exposed to foreign exchange risk if the results of their projects depend on future exchange rates and if exchange rate changes cannot be fully anticipated. According to Madura (2003), companies are generally exposed to three types of foreign exchange risk which are transaction (commitment) exposure, economic (operational, competitive or cash flow) exposure and translation (accounting) exposure. Transaction risk occurs where the value of existing obligations are worsened by movements in foreign exchange rates. Economic risk relates to adverse impact on equity or income for both domestic and foreign operations because of sharp, unexpected change in exchange rate. Translation risk is also related to assets or income derived from offshore enterprise. Foreign exchange risk can be managed in various ways. There are techniques used for hedging against risk. According to Prindl (1976), hedging can be defined as all actions taken to change the exposed positions of a company in one currency or in multiple currencies. Clark, Levasseur, Rousseau (1993) argue that hedging refers to the technique of making offsetting commitments in order to minimise the impact of unfavourable potential outcomes. The risk managers choice of the different types of hedging techniques may be influenced by costs, taxes, effects on accounting conventions and regulation. Foreign exchange risk is mainly managed by adjusting prices to reflect changes in import prices resulting from currency fluctuation and also by buying and saving foreign currency in advance. The main problems firms face are the frequent appreciation of foreign currencies against the local currency and the difficulty in retaining local customers because of the high prices of imported inputs which tend to affect the prices of final products sold locally. Investing in a foreign stock market is equivalent to investing in two assets: foreign stocks and foreign currency. Therefore, the return-risk outcome of a foreign investment can be separated into contributions from the local market factors and the currency factor. The currency impact on the return outcome can be positive or negative, and can be a substantial part of the total return. According to Fatemi (2000), the objectives of risk management include minimise foreign exchange losses, reduce the volatility of cash flows, protect earnings fluctuations, increase profitability and ensure survival of the firm. Conclusion and Recommendation Risk taking is essential for any organisation in the global environment. Therefore, organisations need to understand the nature of the risks they meet and prepare to manage them appropriately. Evaluating significance by estimating potential damage and possibility of events is often not an exact science, and sometimes based on best guesses. However, monitoring and managing significant exposures of risk is vital in globalisation of today business strategy as many factors in our environment are changing with extreme speed. McDonald is one of the biggest and most successful international franchise companies in the world. The research indicates that the way of how company manage risk is outstanding compared to other global companies. Burger King has just imitated what McDonald has done for risk management. Excellent risk management might be the best reason that McDonald has become successful business in the field. In other word, it is hard to find unmanaged area to be in risk in organisation. As a result, well prepared risk management of company and flexibility for changing environment are bringing to organisation benefits. However, there are some unanticipated other risks still may occur. For example, McDonalds size of business could be obstacle of effective hedging. International service organisation such as McDonald must consider the opportunity cost of international expansion. Being more flexible and international expansion might be a benefit to get wider market customers. On the other hand, this might cause of taking risks. It therefore certainly requires a thorough analysis of the factors such as the details on key current economic environment for the country, the main competitors, demand characteristics and trends, contribution of the project to shareholder value, the level of risk and potential difficulty for the organisation. Moreover, the company need to consider that competitors are not just other fast food chain restaurant. It means that company should put lots of effort for analysing other companies. For example, variety of more relevant menu can be developed. Furthermore, the research indicates that the company should be well aware of importance that steady rise of profitability and share price. Therefore, company manage for financial strength by reducing capital spending and using the money remaining after capital expenditures to pay debt and return cash to shareholders. The research also shows that changes in exchange rates generally impact the outcomes negatively. That is why it needs to be managed properly. Therefore, global organisation management must consider commitments for innovation and flexibility to enhance positive risk management effects.