Discussion Questions Essay

1. Who is someone that you feel you have a positive relationship with? What role do you think openness and truthfulness have in making this relationship positive? Me and my friend Jeff have a very positive friendship. Openness and truthfulness play a big role because were always open and tell each other everything. Also we always tell each other the truth so we never have any arguing and have a positive friendship. 2. What effects do you think the various types of media (TV, Internet, newspapers, Facebook, etc.†¦) have on your own life and your family? Do you think the overall effect is negative or positive? How can parents reduce the negative effects? I think social media effects everyone in a bad way. I feel that pages like Twitter and Facebook make people feel like they aren’t good enough cause of what other people might say or post. People can be getting bullied and no one knows. Social media gives people low self-esteem. I think the overall effect is negative. Parents can reduce the negative effect by restricting the child from using social media pages until they are older.

An African American Fight for Respect Essay

For thousands of years women have been fighting for many things, one of the most important being respect. Some people may think respect for a woman is simply holding the door for her as she walks through, pulling her chair out for her before she is seated, or maybe just standing when she leaves the table; but respect is so much more than that. Respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Respect is a feeling that cannot just be given to someone, it is a feeling that must be earned, fought for, or rewarded. For the African American woman, respect did not come by so easily no matter how hard they fought or even if they earned it. Examples of the African American woman fighting for her respect, has once upon a time been one of the many themes during all literary periods. The two works that I chose have the similar theme of respect. The literary pieces are â€Å"Sweat† by Zora Neale Hurston and â€Å"The Color Purple† by Alice Walker. These two works show the same theme of respect for black women and the struggle for it from men. Though both stories have comparisons that could go on for days, they just as well have their differences by the way the handle the theme of respect. Alice Walker has been writing stories and poetry for many years. As a graduate of Spelman College she was given great opportunities and was given a solid education. Women’s rights and respect has always been two topics close to Alice’s heart. It has been said, that â€Å"Alice Walker expresses the struggles of black people, particularly women, and their lives in a racist, sexist, and violent society. † Her writings also lean more towards the roles of black women through culture and history. On March 3, 2008 Alice Walker was arrested on International Women’s Day for crossing the police line at a rally in front of The White House. Walker has set a standard and has never had any need or want to change it. Of the many stories that Alice Walker has written, the one that stands out the most to me dealing with the female struggle for respect is the story made movie and musical, â€Å"The Color Purple. † â€Å"The Color Purple,† is a story written in 1982 that has won multiple awards and recognitions for its not so classy taste and realistic views. Some of these awards being from the Blue Ribbon Awards, Black Movie Awards, Golden Globe Awards, eleven nominations during the Oscars, and plenty more. The main characters in â€Å"The Color Purple,† are Celie Harris Johnson and Mister Albert Johnson. Celie has been abused since she was just a young girl; she had two children by her father Leonard and she is forced to marry Albert, a young widower, by the age of fourteen. During her years of being married to Albert, she is taunted, disrespected, beaten, and abused up until she turns her life around when she meets Shug Avery, a well-known Jazz singer, who comes to live with the couple. Shug takes it upon herself to help Celie raise her self-confidence so she can not only stand up to her husband and demand respect, but to feel beautiful about herself inside and out. By the end of the story, Celie stands up to Avery and is finally reconnected with the family that was once taken away from her. Another great black female author who proudly carries the theme of respect in her stories is Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston, a graduate of Howard University, was a well-known author during the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston is most known for her famous literary piece entitled, â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† which caught the eyes of readers around the world. Like Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston has also won multiple awards for her fabulous novels, short stories, and poems. The story â€Å"Sweat† written by Zora Neale Hurston takes place in a small all black town located near Orlando, Florida. This story, like many others with disrespect towards the wife, starts off with husband Sykes taunting his wife Delia by tricking her into thinking that the whip he throws over her shoulders is a snake, knowing she is deadly terrified of them. Throughout the story, Delia deals with infidelity, abuse, rumors, and taunting from her husband. Towards the end of the story, her husband buys a rattlesnake and refuses to take it back where he found it from, knowing his wife is terrified. In the end, that very snake gets loose, bites, and kills him; Delia stands their watching him die. The website articlemyriad. com states â€Å"The reader can speculate on whether or not Delia was too afraid to move to get help for her husband, but it is the general consensus that she purposefully let him die. While you could argue both, if you are going to contend that she was just afraid, you’d better take a closer look at the text before trying to defend your point. † One of the greatest comparisons in this story is the lack of respect the husbands have for their wives, a marriage is supposed to be filled with trust, respect, love, and honesty, all of which the two marriages in â€Å"The Color Purple† and â€Å"Sweat† lacked. Although there are many comparisons, there were also contrasts in the two stories, although not exactly easy to find with a closed mind. A contrast in these two stories to me that stood out the most were the personalities of the two wives in the stories. In â€Å"The Color Purple,† Celie is abused and taken advantage of, but holds a quiet tongue until the end; Delia in â€Å"Sweat† is abused and taken advantage of , but she always speaks her mind and portrays her true feelings towards something. With these two stories I felt it was good to have the personalities of the women who wanted respect to be completely different so that I could compare and contrast just a bit more clearly. One was more hidden and kept feelings to herself, the other more outgoing and stronger like all women should be. In conclusion, respect for women, especially blacks, has been a subject that will always be discussed and fought for. Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker described the struggle for respect in many similar and different ways. I stated earlier that for thousands of years women have been fighting for many things, one of the most important being respect and that respect was a feeling that cannot just be given to someone, it is a feeling that must be earned, fought for, or rewarded. I am proud of the long way that not only African American women have come, but women all race and I am blessed to have such profound women to look up to. Women in the past who have fought for our rights set a high standard for the rest of us to follow and I look forward to doing just so. Works Cited 1. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature: Second Edition Henry Louis Gates Jr. & Nellie Y. McKay.

The Insider Essay

The Insider Ethics in the Capital Society Jeong Pyo Son 09/17/2012 Business Ethics Johns Hopkins University The Insider: Essay The Insider is a great example of the whistle blowing problem and way for us to discuss right – versus – right ethics. I would like to analyze the essay focusing on the two main characters and how they made their decisions when they are standing at their turning points. The main two characters are Jeffrey Wigand who is the whistle blower of Brown Williamson Corporation, and Rowell Bergman, who is a TV producer of the show 60 Minutes, who sets up an interview with Wigand, in the film.In the movie, I think both characters are facing defining moments. For Jeffrey, one right is consistent with his role as an honorable scientist who knows the misconduct his company is involved with; and the other is in his role as an executive member in his company who is obliged to keep confidentiality. His actions could impact a large number of stakeholders. Blowin g the whistle could have a serious impact on the company’s brand image. It would also affect competing companies since the problem involves the entire tobacco industry.Bergman is also frustrated because he is supposed to disclose the interview to the public as a producer but at the same time he is opposed by CBS, for the interview poses a high potential financial risk for the company. If CBS airs the film it could be liable for â€Å"tortuous interference† and be sued by Brown and Williamson. Eventually Wigand and Bergman both decide to become whistle blowers. So what factors would have made them make these decisions? The most difficult factor for Jeffrey making his decision is probably choosing between his personal/professional rights and duties.Personally he has a family to sustain. He has a mortgage to pay-off and has a sick daughter who needs expensive medical treatments. It was affordable for him to solve these problems while he was still working for Brown William son. He knows that by choosing to side with the press, revealing the dirty truth about his firm, his family’s safety would be put at stake. This is one of the major reasons why whistle blowing is particularly difficult for him. If he were alone, he would just have to worry about himself, but in this case he has to take responsible of his family.According to Sissela Bok(1980), although one is expected to show more loyalty to one’s country and for the public rather than other individuals or organizations, people are still afraid of losing their careers and the capability to support households. Emotionally, people want to dissent over wrongdoings, but they cannot do it rationally. It was as difficult for Bergman as Wigand to make his decision, but he only had his career at risk. His personal and professional values are centered on being an honest, straight forward journalist.These values conflict with his duties as an employee working for CBS, which might face a huge law suit if it airs the interview with Wigand that he has arranged. His whistle blowing was easier because he valued his career and his virtuous character more highly than his responsibilities to CBS, and he saw his character being destroyed in front of him by his company. People hold different values and reason about them in different ways. How did Wigand and Bergman think in philosophical terms we have learned in class?From a Utilitarian perspective, Wigand basically made the right choice. In the Utilitarian way of thinking, he needed to make decisions that could maximize the satisfaction, or happiness, or benefits for the largest number of stakeholders. (Hartman & DesJardins, 2011). In that case, his actions could be regarded as a success since he let the public know the truth and the benefit to the public would be greater than that to the company if he were not to disclose the inside information. It is the same for Bergman in making his decision.Insisting on airing the interview mig ht cause trouble for CBS, and certainly would damage the reputation of Brown and Williamson and the tobacco industry but along with Wigand he chose to reveal the truth to the world. Does the deontological way of thinking apply to Wigand’s decision? Deontology is a matter of principle. Legally thinking, Wigand broke the law for not keeping the confidentiality of his company. Even if the information he held was lethal to the public, a law is still a law and it is a principle promised in the society. It is mentioned n the textbook that the Deontological way of thinking creates duties for the person to follow. (Hartman & DesJardins, 2011) But Wigand not only has a duty as an executive who is banned from opening his mouth; he also has a duty as a father and as a scientist. His role in his family as a father is to maintain a secure household. Facing the company would leave his family in danger. Also his duty and principle as a scientist collides with his role as an employee in his company. It was one of the reasons he got fired from his company too.In this Deontological way of thinking, Bergman did not really have to have inner conflicts as Wigand because he did not break any important ethical principles. Although, he would have felt guilty for leaking information to another press, he still maintained his principle as a journalist to publish the facts out in the public. Also he did not have major damages for his family too. His wife is working in the same industry and would have understood him for his decisions. So did Wigand value his personal integrity more than his family and loyalty to his company?Can we say he is a good person and made the right decision? According to Kidder(1995), kind people make tough decisions too. Although their values are clearly defined, it is difficult for people to find the right thing to do. There is a good example introduced in the article of Kidder. A manager is taking charge of a broadcasting filming scene taken at his compa ny parking lot. After the film shooting was over, the film director tried to credit the manager for helping them borrow the location. The manager now is facing a decision making situation whether he should receive credits on behalf of the company or not.Kidder(1995) said, â€Å"For him, it was hardly that simple because of his core values of honesty, integrity, and fairness, and his desire to avoid even the appearance of evil. All in all, he felt that there was some right on both sides, which it was right for him to be compensated. †This explains that even when someone has a strong self integrated value; it is still tough for him or her to make ethical decisions. This also applies to Wigand and Bergman. Joseph Bardaracco(1997) made a term â€Å"Defining Moments† to illustrate the choice of right-versus-right problem. There are 3 characteristics of Defining Moments which are Reveal, Test, and Shape.Bardaracco(1997) said, â€Å"Right-versus-right decision can reveal a m anager’s basic values and, in some cases, those of an organization. At the same time, the decision tests the strength of the commitments that a person or an organization has made. Finally, the decision casts a shadow forward and shapes the character of the person or the organization. † So how did Wigand and Bergman decide their defining moments for the decision? Wigand was a person of honesty; however he was forced to keep the secret from his company. His family wanted to keep the secret and live safely.But after he and his family got threatened by Brown and Williamson, he decides to step out to the public. He thought Bergman and the press were on his side, so he got his courage to take action. This was Wigand’s defining moment and after it was finished, he needed some time to shape himself because his whole family had left him. After the defining moment passed, Wigand became a truthful and honest scientist as he wished to be from the beginning. In case of Bergma n, we could say that he already shaped his character relating this issue since the beginning of the movie. He was a professional journalist with integrated value of honesty.Unlike Wigand, he did not have much inner conflicts about making his decision. He argued with the CBS board members and revealed the interview to other presses and he was not as serious as Wigand making his decision. His priority was airing the interview and he had to make it happen as an honest journalist. In conclusion, I was very interested to discuss about this subject with this movie because I was grown in a family associated with the press. Both of my parents are journalists and I have seen them discuss about this subject once in a while. I thought that I should ask them when their defining moments were next time I meet them.It also made me think when my defining moments were and how they shaped my character. As Pinker(2008) questioned in his article about the Universal Morality, everyone’s moral val ue is different after our stirrings of morality emerge early in childhood. We all make decisions in our own life with our principle and value that has been shaped by defining moments. It is time for me to think what my true values are in my life. References Badaracco, J. (1997) Defining moments, when managers must choose between right and right. (pp. 5-24). Harvard Business Press. Bok, S. (1980). Whistleblowing and professional responsibility.In Donaldson, T. , & Werhane, P. H. (2008). Ethical issues in business, a philosophical approach. (8 ed. , p. 128,131). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Hartman, L. P. , & DesJardins, J. (2011). Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. (2 ed. , pp. 109-110). New York, NY: McGraw-Hll. Kidder, R. (1995). How good people make tough choices. (1st ed. , pp. 24-25). New York, NY: Fireside. Kidder, R. (1995). How good people make tough choices. (1st ed. , pp. 26). New York, NY: Fireside. Pinker, S. (2008, 01 13). Th e moral instinct. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com

Answer q Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer q - Research Paper Example The current managers did not seem to realize there was a current problem with theft. When she mentioned it to another student employee, he just shrugged it off. Should she tell on the others and risk being fired or should she wait it out until she was a manager and take care of it herself? Some of the strengths of the company are that they are a student run business on campus that offers convenience for food for them. The weaknesses are that they put other students in charge of business and they sometimes do not have training and since they are around peers, they are not seen as authority figures. Opportunities are that students can obtain management experience while in college so they might have better chances for jobs after graduation. They are in a hands-on learning situation. The threats of the company are that some authorities are not right there so cannot be looked to for help and the main managers are oblivious to the issue. As a consultant, in order to make the business more profitable, would be to hire one full time manager who is not a student. Let there be a few student managers that are part-time. All employees should have to follow a code of conduct and they would be let go if they did not follow it. People who notice problems should be rewarded and encouraged to report them to upper staff

In what ways can the philosophy and practice of cultural proficiency Essay

In what ways can the philosophy and practice of cultural proficiency offer solutions to unequal health outcomes for Indigenous Australians - Essay Example They still struggle against discrimination in all areas including health and social care. Australia’s Aboriginal population teaches two contrasting truths: â€Å"the crucial significance of culture in people’s lives† (O’Hagan, 2001, p.93), and the cultural insensitivity among those in authority including health care professionals towards minority cultural groups. According to the RACP (2004), the inequality in health status of indigenous populations in Australia is directly related to systemic discrimination. Health inequalities can be corrected only by achieving fundamental changes in the dominant Australian population’s behavior towards Aboriginal people. Ensuring equality in the indigenous groups is vital for the improvement of their health. Thus, â€Å"racist treatment should be recognised as a social determinant of health† (Larson et al, 2007, p.322), leading to inequalities in well-being and protection from diseases. (CSDH, 2008). Together, the conditions of daily life and the structural determinants consisting of distribution of power, income, goods and services, and the consequent unfairness in access to basic amenities such as health care are the major reasons for health inequities among indigenous groups (CSDH, 2008). Appropriate and adequate provisions are required for health care. For example, Kildea et al (2010) state that poor maternal and infant health outcomes can be improved for indigenous populations through an intensive, coordinated strategy to close the gap between the requirement and the provision of facilities to fulfill the requirement. Further, there is a lack of sensitivity to the crucial cultural philosophies and practices of the indigenous groups, with attempts to compel them into the mainstream population, while depriving them of access to basic amenities. Since the health outcomes of the indigenous

Guns, Germs, and Steel Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Movie Review Example For instance, if Eurasians develop resistance to common diseases like typhoid; it is because of geographical influences surrounding these people. The resistance is not in any way associated with the inherent Eurasian genomes. The preface commences with a conversation between Yali a politician from Guinea and Diamond. The dialogue is about the differences in technology and power. These differences are between the people of Yali and the Europeans who have dominated their land for two decades (Diamond 12). Diamond explains that these differences are not in any way associated with the genetic make up of the Europeans. The Europeans do not have superiority genes, but they dominate many regions because of their environmental differences with other people. Yali asks why white people develop a lot of cargo (manufactured goods and inventions) and bring to Africa whereas the Africans possess little cargo of their own (Diamond 4). This question made Diamond relate it to Eurasian people. According to Diamond, Eurasians have dominated wealth and power of the world for a long period of time whereas other people own little power and wealth despite the fact that they are no longer captivated in colonial powers (Diamond 15). This documentary’s title refers to various means used by farm-based societies to conquer and dominate other nations. Although these dominating nations were sometime outnumbered by the natives of the land, they had superior weapons like guns; which gave them military superiority. Diseases attacking Eurasian people made them weak and sometimes killing them. This simplified the Europeans work because they maintained control over the Eurasians who were germs. Steel is the durable mean of transport used by Europeans to travel around the world. Efficient travelling enabled them to achieve imperialism (Diamond 122). According to Diamond, environmental characteristics and climatic conditions favored the early development of

Reading and writing assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading and writing assignments - Essay Example Burke’s definition of beauty isonly limited to a personal level. These terms that he uses are more inclined towards effeminacy as they suggest passiveness and submission. This implies that his definition excludes males. A subjective definition of beauty looks at the impression created on the beholder and hence is said to be in the eyes of the beholder. The same is also echoed by St. Thomas Aquinasin the Summa Theologica in his development of the concept of beauty. Beauty should not only be looked at interms of the cognitive or emotive aspects. It, therefore, should not be stated as only lying in the eyes of the beholder. This is also because beauty can be defined interms of the goodness of a person and their personality which gives a perception of beauty to the general public. A person with adorable morals and enviable personality creates a feeling of passion from the public and so is stated to be beautiful. Thus, beauty is an appealpresented to the public but does not necessarily lie in one’s cognitive and emotive

Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Interview - Essay Example terview was hugely successful and general conclusions were drawn from the responces.The major talking point was that even though most interviewees honestly admitted to regularly using cell phones on the road, they indeed concurred that such behavior was one of the major causes of road accidents. The general agreement was the mental alertness and concentration of a driver who is talking on the phone and at the same time driving is hugely impaired. This poses a major threat to other road users like pedestrians. Consequently, a lot of traffic related deaths and injuries, most of which are completely avoidable have resulted due to these irresponsible drivers. About 85% of the drivers interviewed stated that these gadgets affected their ability to control the vehicle effectively. Another 45% of pedestrians admitted of instances where they were almost been killed by vehicles being driven by drivers who were distracted by these phones. From the responses I received, it was quite evident that they indeed agreed that cell phone distraction among road. Both drivers and pedestrians were in favor of rules and regulation being formulated to govern the use of cell phones on the road. Commitment by the concerned bodies to enforce these rules and regulations was also cited as a major measure to ensure that these rules and regulations are completely followed. The data collected is pertinent to traffic related bodies like the traffic patrol department.. The legislative bodies concerned with traffic issues can also use this data as a primary raw material for rules formulation. These bodies can use this data to come up with effective measures to curb this menace of unnecessary deaths resulting from cell phone use on the

Lies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lies - Essay Example It is a fact that lying leads to more lies. When a person tells a lie for some reason, he/she needs to tell many other lies to cover that lie. Lies do not have any moral ground or proper base. Although lies can benefit people for a short span of time but their long-term effects are never good for them. It is because a person has to lie several times in life to cover one false statement given by that person in some earlier part of life. Another fact regarding lying is that it makes many other people lie to save the liar. A liar not only performs the immoral act of lying himself/herself but also makes his/her friends and family members perform the same act in order to get their cover to escape from the worse scenarios. Lying is really a waste of time and energy. A person who lies for some reason needs to remember that lie and perpetrate it in order to escape from any unexpected situation. Remembering a lie and making efforts to hide the truth regarding that lie forever is a very tiring job. Lies make the life of a person very difficult and troublesome instead of bringing any sort of long-term relief. A person needs to spend a good amount of time thinking how to hide the truth in future. Sometimes liars start believing that the lie that they have spoken is the ultimate truth. They start opposing the reality and a fight between right and wrong starts in their minds. They try to escape from the immorality of lying by opposing the truth and reality. However, they do not succeed in that and a sense of guilt injects in their minds forever. Lies also cause mistrust between true relationships. Lies inject doubt between the relationships, which decrease the degree of love, harmony, and respect that exists between the relationships. Lies create troubles not only for the liars but also for the people who are in some sort of relationship with the liars. Summing it up, lies put a number of negative effects

To What Extent are Stock Market Anomalies Evidence of Market Essay

To What Extent are Stock Market Anomalies Evidence of Market Inefficiency - Essay Example Eugene Fama has taken the specific asset pricing model such as the APT (Asset Pricing Theory and the CAPM (Capital Asset Prising Model) as the standard paradigm. Since the stock prices of different firm over the markets is different, i.e. the market value for the riskier stocks are low providing higher rate of return and vice-versa but in a cross section market the inverse will be applicable. Thus based on the evaluation made by Fama we can analyse the factors responsible for the stock markets anomalies resulting from market inefficiency (Keim & Ziemba, 2000, pp.92-94) Momentum and Overreaction anomalies Through momentum of anomalies the short-term pattern of share pricing of the companies. According to the theory lead by Werner DeBondht and Richard Thaler the over reaction of investors to the public information is completely unnecessary as the stock prices are evaluated according to the past performance of the stock market which may not portray the true picture of the market informa tion. Thus the stock prices with inflated or depressed pricing may result in realising good or bad information which cannot be depended upon. Through the implementation of the overreaction strategy the investors were suggested to buy the â€Å"loser† portfolios while selling off the â€Å"winner† portfolios. But again a contradiction arises related to the weak-form of efficiency of the securities tends to earn high returns not only in the short-term but also in the subsequent periods. However the existence of the momentum is rational not contradicting the market efficiency due to the fact that that the presence of shocks in the growth rates of the cash flows of the shareholders which is induced to the serial correlation that is not only short lived but also rational (McMillan, et al., 2011, p.contents). Inferences from long term returns According to the inferences drawn by Fama is that the market efficiency of the market is based on the joint model testing for the expe cted normal returns. The problem that arises with the expected normal return whose description provided for the systematic pattern is incomplete related to the average returns during the testing period resulting in a bad-model problem. A bad model problem results in spurious average abnormal return which tends to become the CARs (Cumulative Abnormal Returns) because of the mean associated with the CAR increases summing to the standard error. Constant pricing errors can be seen in the ARRs (Average of monthly abnormal returns) with the respective standard error. Bad modelling problems are the main reason behind the long-term buy and hold abnormal returns which results in the multiplication of the expected return problem related to the short-term return explanation. Problems related to modelling The problems related to the modelling of the bad-model are of two types; the first is that the asset pricing model of any kind does not completely describe the expected return from the market. In a particular market is tilted towards the small stocks then in the calculation of the CAPM the risk adjustments made can project false returns. Even in the case of the true model where the deviation from the model are predicted a situation of spurious anomaly can arise after the risk adjustmen

September 11th the terrorist attack Essay Example for Free

September 11th the terrorist attack Essay The terrorist attack on September 11 will always be remember as the most terrifying day in American History. These attacks left people around the world with feeling of disbeliefs and anger. As consequences, many of American people are blaming all Muslim citizens for the attacks, accusing them as terrorists. There are an estimated of 3 million muslins living in the United States. The majority of them practice the Islam religion. Islam is a religion that means peace with ones heart, mind and soul. It also means peace with god and to live according to the sacred book. Unluckily, most Muslim people in America share the same religion as the terrorist organization, led by Osama bin Laden, who is the primary suspect for the September 11 attack. As result, many Muslim American are paying a high price for their similarities with the terrorist. They are being humiliated, harassed and discriminated against. There are more than 200 cases of hate crimes reported in Arabic American anti Discrimination Society since the attacks. For instance, a news station reported a week after the attack an Arab American passenger was kicked off the airplane because of the way she looks. In addition, some on these incident children are the most affected. Muslim children because they are more sensible and constantly interacting with their peers, especially on public school. I have seemed discrimination against Muslim people in my classroom at PCCC. One day after the attack a classmate thought it would be funny to point at on Muslim classmate. I did not find it funny, instead I found very insulting toward her, especially because I know her and I know she is not bad. All these case are true history and people live constantly in pain. Many of them are people with dream and ambition. On September 11 every one saw how destruction could be done in a powerful nation like America. Unfortunately, these events have left many loses including lives of people and economically impact. But we also learned that not all Muslim are terrorist. They are peaceful people like you and me.

Human Resources department in William Hill Essay Example for Free

Human Resources department in William Hill Essay Human Resources department in William Hill are important because they have a connection with the quality of employees and market success. William Hill will not be able to work effectively if workers are not committed to meeting corporate objectives so it is the HR management job to ensure this quality by recruiting, developing and retaining these staff. In order to do the above it is essential for HR department to look at various information internally and externally to plan for human resource. Internal and external information is important for William Hill as they need it to determine what they are doing, what they should have done, and what they are about to do. For this company to be the best and to strive to the highest levels they should make sure that they know all legislations that they need to follow in order to stay on the same side of the law. Internal in formation consist of what is happening in the business such as below: Labour Turnover This means the number of employees that leave over a period of time, are replaced and the average length of time workers stay and reason for staff wastage. This can either be advantage or become a disadvantage to William Hill. This is because it can either bring in new employees with new ideas and skills, or it can be expensive to recruit new staff. Due to high costs that it will produce, this can also become time consuming. Employees may leave because of poor career prospects, allowing little chance of promotion or simply better opportunities elsewhere. The way to measure labour turnover is: Wastage rate: No. of leavers in a period * 100 Average number of employees in the period Average No. Employees at start of period + Employees at end of period of employees: 2 Companies including William Hill can use this calculation on a yearly basis for the whole organisation or just the department. This is highly useful when used as a comparison with previous years. One disadvantage is that the equation (wastage rate) doesnt measure the length of service of the employees that leave. Stability Index means that means how long an employee has been with the firm. It can be measure by using this formula: No. of employees with one or more years or service * 100 No. of employees at the start of the year This equation shows the stability of more loyal and settled workers. It ignores short-term workers or those most likely to leave. William Hill Labour turnover for Evelyn Street Branch is: Labour turnover = 3 * 100 = 20% 15 This result includes the amount of part time and full time workers employed in my branch. This is a really good indication that numerous workers love their job and want to stay employed in William Hill. As there is high retention levels it makes planning for human resource easier because it seems that more workers are staying. The amount of people leaving one branch would require the attention of the HR department, this is because the company can observe what is wrong and try to find ways to fix it. This would help the department as it can grow from the results of the turnover. Being able to put back into working order the things that became a problem in the past would make the company more successful from within. Age, Skills and Qualifications According to studies the older you are the more experience you would have. Analysing the age of the workers at William Hill it would show that mostly young and middle age groups are being employed. William Hill tend to take staff during night racing and hiring people around these times would be essential for the company but not for the employee, this is because in that short space of time the workers will not gain the qualifications that they need. William Hills most reliable staff would be the middle age groups. This is because they would be more experienced and have been in that trade for such longer period. In addition to this they will gain maximum experience and qualifications to match. Where this is rewarded by annual pay they will be more expensive to employ, their length of service may make them more expensive to make redundant. Younger staff may lack experience but they may be more receptive to change and new ideas, also they may inexpensive to recruit. When looking at the gender of William Hill you will find that most of the employees are female: FEMALE 60% MALE 40% There are more women on the shop floors than in the Head Office of William. Also the male population tend to be the betters and it means that the female will tend to serve them especially when it comes to individual betting shops. William Hill is a company that employ regardless of qualification or skills in providing their services to customers however it would aid employment if you had rather good maths skills, good communication skills and working with other workers as a team. But William Hill do offer training where it is needed to new or previous staff because it essential time is not wasted in not knowing what to do but being productive and offering good Customer Service. Staff Absences or sickness Staff absences cost industries in terms of money and time due to less productivity. Staff absences is not only included in absences but also bad time keeping such as arriving late and leaving early but also due to industrial accidents. Accidents at work can be avoided by the use of common sense and consideration. Hazards caused by leaving paper on the floor, having the ladder obstructing the way, blocked entrances and exits with boxes and trailing leads. So it is part of the Human Resource to keep sure that safety is kept by each shop and that appropriate planning is made for training in First Aid in case of accidents caused by other individuals. Apart from accidents the workplace can cause illness to workers in a variety of ways especially those that are doing night shift also due to constant smoking by workers and customers it may lead to further health problems in the future so this may cause absences. The staff absences in the Evelyn Branch of William Hill yearly are: Part time employees 18% Full time employees 32% Full time workers have the highest Training This can be done within the business or outside, according to the training needs of the employee. There are different types of training: Induction, Mentoring, Coaching, Apprenticeships, and Off and On the job training. Staff training is required if William Hill are to continue and to be successful to be the best in their market. The process of training is to help employees reach their maximum efficiency. William Hill will need to meet their annual targets therefore employees would need to develop their skills. At the beginning of your employment at William Hill or any other workplace you will have to have an induction. This is an introduction to the business for new employees. This can be used to familiarise the new recruits with the organisation. Based on a good induction the employee will feel at ease with the organisation and some of the employees. Your skills and qualifications may be based on your training. Your ability to gain as much knowledge as you can will be reflected in your skills to do certain jobs. Employees of William Hill will be trained to suit any area no mater what the task in question is. This will then help the company to strive to be the finest it can be. Succession and Promotion of Staff Succession is the process of staff that has left being trained and promoted although it has become common for William Hill to recruit experienced staff from outside the business it would be advantageous to start promoting those within the organisation. So in order for employees to stay and require less human resource planning it helps to encourage staff to remain loyal by giving them good career prospects. Promoting within William Hill will ensure continuity of style and culture of the organisation so that everyone watching out for each other style will still exists to continue increasing productivity. The human resource department do not always approach staff for promotion but teletexting is placed on Managers betting screen to tell staff or posters are placed out side individual LBO if they need certain staff. Nevertheless there is always that problem that internal staffs are not suitable so advertising the need for staff will have to be done for William HR department for planning for the future. External information relates to the information outside of the business and these tend to be things which are beyond William Hills control. So in order to overcome these problems it helps to use the PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) analysis which looks at all aspects of the external influences which will prove crucial to the outcome of William Hill in coming years. Political With there being a stable political environment it enables William Hill to make predictions about their future because they have that degree of certainty due to knowing that the Labour government will be in power for another four years and hopefully they will stick to the same economic policies. If there was an increase in company taxation levels, this could mean that William Hill will have more cost to pay and may not be able to recruit as many staff as they previously would. For the Human Resource department it means that they may have to recruit staffs that are less expensive such as those that dont have as much experience as someone that may have been in the industry for 10 years. Changes to taxation levels in general would have an affect on William Hill as certain things such as concessions and incentives given to workers could increase or decrease. However some of the company expenses are tax deductible meaning that William Hill can set these off against tax burdens and may make them more willing to recruit workers if costs can be cut through not giving away company cars. The level of protectionism that the government have could affect trade and could affect demand for William Hill services hence demand for labour to supply services could fall or ascend depending on their restrictions. Economic Economic forces affect both the organisation and its customers. Depending on the sector that the business lies on the economic influences will be different. The economic environment may change, William Hill will need to understand how their suppliers and customers will be affected if they are to successfully adjust to change. Unemployment has a relationship with the demand of product or products in general. With a high unemployment level the demand for products will go down as people have less disposable income. If William Hill were to set up in an area that has low employment levels then they could make the percentage level increase thus giving the company more sales as unemployment is low. If interest rates are high then it becomes a lot more expensive for companies like William Hill to borrow money from banks, meaning that William Hill will refrain from expanding and less staff will be needed. The Human Resources Planning department may have to delayer the hierarchy of the company leaving some without a job. With high interest rates people in general will become hostile to purchasing luxury or high priced products or services therefore the demand for them will decrease. The Human Resources department would need to invent ways for this to change in their favour. Social Peoples spending habits may vary during different seasons because of various races during the course of the year such as Cheltenham, The Grand National and many more. William Hill will realise this and take advantage for it. When recruiting staff WH Smith would need to think carefully on whom to take on. Taking in the knowledge that younger employees would be more responsive to change. However someone of the senior generation may offer more years of service. This will effect the HR department of WH Smith because they will need to consider a lot. Since younger people may have new skills and new ideas they may be beneficial to the company, and older employees would stay with the company longer. Technological As technology is advancing WH Smith need to move with the times by using technology They may want to make sure that their products are of the highest standards so WH Smith would use technical equipment thereby reducing the amount of staff required. If WH Smith engages in Internet sales it may also cut down the staffs that is needed. The Human Resources department will take into consideration the affect that this would have on WH Smith and they will use this to interpret the outcome for their future. Environmental Environmental issues are a very big part of all industries as everyone wants to be environmentally friendly. Some of WH Smiths customers would like to buy recyclable products to be kind to the environment. If WH Smith were to be concerned with the environment they could buy more recyclable stationery enabling this to be part of their policy concerning the environment. There may be some customers (like me) that dont really mind whether their goods are recyclable. To them they may think that just because they can be recycled they are not good quality, therefore they would not buy it. The HR department would need to analyse this area and make sure they know and understand the ramifications that may occur from their decisions. This could have an effect on staff as they may need to employ more people to assist with sales or not employ anyone at all. Legal All companies follow an equal opportunity policy as it is part of a legislation that all businesses should follow. For legal reasons William Hill may have to pay one employee more money than another, this would not be because ones a man and the other is a woman, but, because one is a minor (under 16) and the other is above 18. With this policy people under 18 yrs would be paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.60 and anyone older would get à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4.20. Within this company they do not discriminate against people, this could be from sex discrimination to racial. This could effect the HR department as it could higher the cost of labour that they recruit, meaning that they would reduce the amount of staff.

An integral part of teaching

An integral part of teaching How and why we assess our children has a massive impact on their life in education and consequently on how and what we plan and teach, and how children learn. The National Curriculum defines assessment as an integral part of teaching and learning (1999, p.17), emphasising the value of assessing the process of learning and teaching as well as the outcome. Suggestions on a range of assessment strategies and tools are included in the curriculum but to enable teachers and schools to continue the development of good assessment practice, more detailed guidance is necessary. To begin with it is perhaps necessary to define assessment as any process used to inform teachers as to a pupils progress and learning. There are many different types of assessment, usually discussed as different purposes of assessment while these assessments certainly differ in several significant aspects; they are united in their aspirations of making a positive contribution to bringing about learning. There are two main forms of assessment; formative and summative. I have observed both types in the classroom, recognising that the key to excellent assessment practice is to understand what each form and their methods contribute. From these observations I understand that in order to become successful in my pedagogy I need to construct my teaching to maximise the success of both formative and summative assessment in my classroom. To allow me competently use both assessment for learning and assessment of learning I must develop a range and knowledge of assessment purposes and strategies which I will now discuss. Formative assessment can provide a snapshot moment by moment picture of the success of teaching and learning. It provides the two way dialogue between educator and child, the knowledge which enhances pedagogy allowing teaching to become relevant and timely. Assessment for Learning in particular will be a clear focus for me as I look for opportunities to strengthen my own teaching practice, having observed first hand the strong contribution AfL, which the National Strategies defines as a natural, integral and essential part of effective learning and teaching and is a key element of personalised learning. Teachers and children continually reflect on how learning is progressing, see where improvements can be and identify the next steps to take (2004), can make towards effective teaching. It makes the difference between self-assured and stimulated pupils, and disenfranchised pupils who are uncertain of the rationale behind the learning objective. The case for clearly communicating the learning outcome to the class is picked up on by Clarke (2006). In my own experience and observation, this results in making learning relevant especially when the learning intention is placed in the context of previous and future learning. It also helps to illuminate which areas of subject knowledge are required to teach at which time and how this information or teaching of skills is to be structured. Clarke also recommends that the teacher works with children to identify success criteria. These are used to supply feedback to both pupils and the teacher regarding the extent to which the learning objective has been met. Consequently, the use of formative assessment enriches the process of teaching, planning and curriculum development. It can inform not only the short term goals for the class, but also the negotiated curriculum, as children are encouraged to become active learners by reflecting on their own progress and motivation. It must be stressed that not all assessment needs to be quantitative, nor does it need to be recorded .The teachers own reflective process is a vital part of assessment. The purpose of summative assessment is to illustrate that pupils have met their learning goals or reached a certain standard of accomplishment. Formative assessment in basic definition is the collection and use of evidence about the learning in relation to the explicit objectives and outcomes of a lesson. This type of assessment can then be used and interpreted by the teacher to identify what the pupil has achieved, any gaps in knowledge and to decide what steps are needed to enable the pupil to reach their potential and unit outcome. I have observed formative assessment being used to inform teachers of pupil progress and to enable them to adapt their planning and teaching to their childrens needs. The aim of formative assessment is to impact positively on pupil learning and effective pedagogy. There is a growing amount of evidence suggesting that formative assessment raises both progress and attainment levels Assessment begins in this way in the Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS), where in 2003; the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) was introduced. The FSP consists of 13 scales relating to creative development, knowledge and understanding of the world, personal, social and emotional development, physical development, language and literacy and mathematical development. Children are assessed on each scale and their progress towards achieving early learning goals is judged. During my previous experience in my base school, I have observed how a pupil profile is built up over the EYFS, so that evidence can be used formatively and later summarised against the performance descriptions of the scales for reporting at the end of each term. Through my experience of the EYFS I have seen how teacher-based this form of assessment is, as the evidence accumulated for each child is derived from on-going learning activities. This normally takes place through the use of observation sheets and post-its. Occasi onally, a more formal assessment takes place where the teacher asks the child in question if they can perform a specific task, the evidence from which is then logged and used as assessment data, however these are still situated within the normal day to day routines of the children and no cause of distress. (Q 11 12) In comparison to the FSP, the assessment children experience in Key Stages 1 and 2 varies greatly and summative assessment plays a greater role. Summative assessment is the assessment of learning and is used to record the achievements of individuals at a particular point in their learning (usually at the end of a topic, term or year). Rather than a steady trickle of specific learning goals, it refers to a broader learning outcome which has been achieved over a longer period of time. In contrast to the singular outcomes of formative assessment, summative assessments are used in several different ways, some relating to individual pupils and some to aggregated results of groups of pupils. At the end of both Y2 and Y6, children are expected to undertake external tasks and tests in mathematics and English (SATS). The results of Key Stage 2 SATS in particular are a cause of immense pressure for both pupils and teachers, as they are reported and used to inform national statistics. It is only at the end of each Key Stage that pupil attainment must be reported in terms of national curriculum levels; however there is also a statutory requirement to provide parents with a summative report once each year. Many schools choose to include within this the levels children have reached during the academic year this trend has been reinforced by the use of optional SATS for years between 2 and 6. In addition to the assessment and tracking of individual pupils, test results (KS1 and KS2 SATS) are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the education provided by teachers, schools and local authorities and compared nationally. The results of these examinations have huge implications and c onsiderable importance for teachers as the results are used to inform targets which schools must take accountability for meeting. There are established Government national targets for the percentage of children achieving a level 4 in the key stage 2 tasks which schools are required to set targets for. The consequences of not achieving these targets are severe, with schools become subject to OFSTED inspections and categories, with lack of attainment becoming the main cause of a school being placed in special measures. (Q 11 12 13) In order to avoid such consequences, teachers are facing constant pressure to ensure children are achieving age related expectations, amid fears that they will fail to hit Government targets. Children in our primary schools are in danger of being taught a limited timetable as some schools and teachers focus on teaching to the test. This is despite recommendations by OFSTED that while à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦some schools are able to prepare pupils for tests without sacrificing the wider curriculumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but an emphasis on the core subjects limits what pupils do, particularly as teachers prepare them for key stage 2 exams (Marley 2008) As well as placing pressure upon teachers, national testing has a huge impact on pupils. It can cause a lack of motivation for lower ability children, as well as a view of learning as product rather than process for all children. There is much attention focussed on those children who are performing just beneath age related levels, while those who are either too far above or below the target level suffering a lack of attention. For my son, and for most 10-year olds in the country, the next nine months will be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a sterile, narrow and meaningless exercise in drilling and cramming. Its nothing to do with the skills of his teacher who seems outstanding. Nor do I blame the school. Its called preparing for Key Stage 2 SATS (2006) It is clear that the emphasis has to be placed back on teaching rather than targets and tests. How then do we ensure the progress and attainment of the children in our schools without narrowing the curriculum? Assessing pupil progress (APP) has been accepted as recognising the differing purposes and audiences for assessment on both a day-to-day and periodic time scale. On a day-to-day capacity it provides a closer view of pupils, enabling teachers to support childrens learning through use of effective classroom intervention. Periodically it reviews a broader range of pupils work, which in turn can inform planning and enable teachers to monitor progress and attainment. The purpose of APP is to support effective planning; teaching and learning, The use of informed and consistent target setting will continue to play a crucial part in ensuring that teachers know what to teach to allow children to achieve their aims by guiding and challenging them. In my base school APP is used to support this aim, ensuring that targets are both appropriate and relevant to individuals. Similarly APP can be used to identify gaps in a pupils learning, allowing teachers to reflect upon their own teaching, especial ly in those cases where there are common mistakes and misconceptions on the part of the pupils. APP also reinforces Assessment for Learning (AfL) as a daily occurrence, leading to a more constructive impact on teaching and learning. In national guidance there is an increasing emphasis on the role of APP in tracking and recording performance. Whilst most schools recognise the opportunities to increase their teacher assessments consistency and reliability, it will take time for APP to become second nature to staff. However, the overarching aim of APP is clear it aims to enable us to recognize and celebrate overall progress in an aspect of learning, rather than just assessing learning of the most recently taught and learned. (Q 12 13 26a) As well as internal methods of assessment, schools have access to national and local data in forms of the raiseonline and national and local benchmarking data. This enables schools to pinpoint how well they are doing and any improvements they could and should make. Schools can make comparisons, not only on a national level but also against schools with similar levels of deprivation (eligibility for free school meals) or schools with similar levels of contextual value added. Supporting all schools improvement processes by providing a variety of methods to analyse their performance data as part of the self evaluation form (SEF). It is necessary however to interpret benchmarking data with care as rather than providing schools with the answers it is more likely that it would help them identify questions and issues that may need to be investigated. Whilst comparing data between schools may give accurate portrayals of a schools performance, it does not necessarily account for it. (Q 13) It is my opinion, after research and school based observations, that a successful assessment is an open one, where everyone involved, from staff to pupils are aware to some extent of what and how evidence is to be assessed. It is essential that we are completely transparent about the need for and purpose of assessment and why it is carried out in particular ways. Feedback to pupils is key in formative assessment, as it is only by showing pupils the steps they need to take in order to reach the next steps in their learning that we as teachers can bring about learning. While we cannot learn for the students, we can use feedback to make adjustments to our planning and teaching, enabling students to access the curriculum with all the tools they require. Even the very youngest pupils can be given some explanation of the assessment process, which in turns enables children to both self and peer assess. Self and peer assessment includes pupil involvement in both setting the success criteria and how they will show that they have been successful, empowering them to take control of their own learning. There are huge advantages to this type of assessment, the most significant of which are that it develops lifelong evaluation skills whilst supporting independent learning increases pupil motivation by involving them in the assessment process treats assessment as part of learning, so mistakes are seen as opportunities rather than a sign of failure. reduces the amount of teacher assessment but improves the quality. In my base school I have observed a number of self and peer assessment strategies including children marking each others work, the use of a traffic lighting system, suggesting improvements to each others work and reflecting upon their own. Of course there are possible issues surrounding the use of peer and self assessment, with many believing that it should be used only for formative assessment as it is possible that children may allow friendships to affect their objectivity. It is necessary that teachers use peer and self assessment to support their own assessment, teaching and planning rather that relying upon it completely. (Q 28) Through my reading and observations during my time in school, it has become clear to me that there is no part of interaction which is not assessed. Though this may not seem manageable, the variation of assessment strategies that I have witnessed, I have come to the realisation that assessment does not always have to have a written outcome. Instead, it suggests to me that assessment can bring about conscious teaching and informed planning. My developing understanding of a range of assessment strategies including APP, self and peer assessment , AfL among others, will enable me to use day-to-day assessment to provide the pupils in my care with instant feedback, relevant next steps, appropriate support and individual targets, allowing me to adjust my planning in line with the needs of those in my care. (Q 26a, 12, 13, 19) Although I believe that some form of summative assessment is necessary in schools, I believe that on many occasions grades, marks and levels are assigned to pupils work more often than strictly necessary when it may be more appropriate to provide formative feedback. This is something I intend to avoid in my own practice, especially as I have experienced the use of excellent formative assessment in my base school. I have found that feedback given in this way to inform a target is highly effective in motivating pupils, and goes some way towards personalising learning. Furthermore it builds confidence and the long-term aim of helping children to become independent learners. It is essential then, to ensure good teaching and learning, that assessment involves a great deal more than just testing. It should be a continuing process that encompasses many activities, both formal and informal, designed to monitor and improve teaching and in turn the bringing about of learning across all areas o f the curriculum.(Q22, 25a) Teaching will inevitably be focused on what s assessed. When conducted by testing this impact is bound to have a narrowing effect on what is taught because tests only sample the learning outcomes and include those outcomes more easily assessed by tests. If teachers use a much wider range of assessment methods, the result can be much more positive.

computer graphics :: essays research papers

Computer Graphics When I think of art I think of great artists of the past. Artists that have spent practically all their lives to produce visually stunning pieces of work. Artists such as Michelangelo, who spent 15 years of his life to finalize a painting on the ceiling of the St. Peter’s Cathedral. When I think of art, I think of the legendary sculptures of the classical era. Artists then envisioned a final work from a block of stone. However, It is very difficult for me to consider a person who sits in front of a computer and plays with a pre-programmed software as an artist. As narrow as that statement may sound, In my opinion, it seems true and to the point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My sophmore year at Seton Hall I assumed an art class, Art of the Western World. I took the class because like most classes at the University, I needed it fulfill my requirements. However, by the end of the semester I was amazed about art, more so then I ever was. In fact, I have never cared about art before in my life. But the class acquired my eyes to appreciate artistic objects around me. I began to realize that art is a long and difficult process. A skill that requires great determination and perfection. Early painters had to face the difficulties of paint drying too fast or the paper fading. Besides that, I witnessed how the great sculptures imagined the final work before it was even begun. Initially, they started from a block of stone or marble, having to carve out each and every layer. I was amazed, I could not imagine how long or difficult this could be. How long it must have took to create certain final works was incredible and for what, the mere satisfac tion and thrill?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maybe it is because artists of the past did not have breakthrough technology like we do today. Because if they did, then it is possible they would have taken easier routes to complete their work. But, today’s computer graphic designers have it much easier in my opinion. Granted, they too have to spend long hours learning the functions of a program. However, the software has been premade by other programmers. So how can u consider yourself an artist when you are using someone else’s program in which you are limited to what the programmer has installed.

Essay on the Art of Chaos :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Art of Chaos Abstract:Â   In this paper, I will attempt to explain the nature of Fractals. Both natural and computer generated fractals will be explained. At the end, I hope the reader has a rudimentary sense of fractals in terms of both art and geometry. Most people live in a state of semi-chaos. Isn't your cluttered desk an example of the chaos in the world? The words chaos and pattern seem to be a dichotomy, but fractals are both of these things. Basic definitions of fractals include the words self-similar, chaotic, and infinitely complex. Before I go on, let me first define the previous terms in order that the reader will understand their meanings as I will use them. Self-similarity is the idea of an object where there is an apparent pattern in some visual or non-visual way. Sometimes, self-similarity is found with the naked eye, and other times a pattern appears under a microscope, or even when a significant change occurs. The major presumption of self-similarity is some type of pattern. Chaos has been defined many ways through literature, philosophy, or even daily life. As I stated before, chaos is often used to describe disorder. The way I would like to use it is in terms of a certain unpredictability. Random events or iterations of the same even should cause a chaotic effect. Later, I will show how this is not the case. The last term we need to define is infinitely complex. As the term itself implies, fractals are things that go on forever. Why this is will be discussed later, as well. In an ideal world, all types of fractals are self-similar, chaotic, and infinitely complex, but in the real world most natural objects are self-similar and chaotic, but not infinitely complex. Some examples of things that are self-similar and chaotic, but not infinitely complex are fern leaves, bronchial tubes, snowflakes, blood vessels, and clouds. Only one example in the world satisfies the three characteristics of a fractal, a coastline. Coastlines are unique, because the length of a coastline is infinite, but the area within the coastline in finite. The theory of the interaction between infinity and finality is described by a fractal called the Koch Curve. Like coastlines, the length of the shape is infinite, but the area inside of it is finite. The shape of the Koch Curve is a triangle where a triangle one third of the size of the original triangle is placed on the middle of each side of the triangle.

R.C. Sherriffs Journeys End :: Sherriff Journeys End Essays

R.C. Sherriff's "Journey's End" 'Journey's End' was written in 1928, ten years after the end of the First World War. The author, R. C. Sherriff, was injured during action in World War 1 and therefore got a ticket home. Sherriff was trying to raise money for a new boat club and so decided to write this play and perform it. The other club members refused to act out this play because it was too like the World War. There had been a tendency for men returning from the front not to discuss their experiences as they were too horrific and they did not wish their womenfolk to know the truth. So Sherriff went to the 'Incorporated Stage Society'. They agreed, after a while of asking, to have one Sunday performance at the Savoy Theatre in London. They were to judge the play and see if it was successful. It was very successful and then ran for another 600 shows. Sherriff then became a full time writer and died in November 1975. After 'Journey's End', many other books and plays were written and performed about World War 1, but Journey's End had been the first. In the play Sherriff uses many ways to portray the horrors of war and because it is set in a dugout the audience is brought right to the front line for the entire play. The conditions are conveyed in great detail and they are introduced at the very beginning of the play with Hardy trying to dry his sock out over a candle in a dugout. Sometimes the men could not get dry for days and the condition known as trench foot took its name from an infection of the feet resulting from being constantly wet. Lice affected the soldiers very badly in the trenches. The soldiers were on duty at the front for six days and then got time off to rest and be de-loused. The lice would be everywhere and even if the soldiers were clean they would be re-infested very quickly. Stanhope said the dugout 'reeked of candle-grease, and rats - and whisky' and like 'cess-pits'. During the play it was said by Hardy that there probably is over two million rats in and around No man's land. Hardy advised Osbourne not to sleep with his legs hanging too low 'or the rats gnaw your boots'. During the six days at the front the soldiers very rarely took their uniform off, not even for bed, except their shoes and wet items of clothing. They slept on beds sometimes with no bottoms, in the dugouts. They were bunk beds and had a frame and a few cross bars.

Four Elements of Transformational Leadership Essay

Organizations emphasize the concept of leadership in training managers or group leaders to propel a team or the organization forward. Within leadership, the effectiveness of the transformational versus transactional leader is often debated. Transactional leadership relies more on a â€Å"give and take† understanding, whereby subordinates have a sense of duty to the leader in exchange for some reward. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, involves a committed relationship between the leader and his followers. In 1985, industrial psychologist Bernard Bass identified and wrote about four basic elements that underlie transformational leadership. Ads by Google Stanford Exec. Leadership Where innovation and visionary leadership meet. Learn More. gsb.stanford.edu​/​SeniorLeadership Idealized Influence Transformational leaders act as role models and display a charismatic personality that influences others to want to become more like the leader. Idealized influence can be most expressed through a transformational leader’s willingness to take risks and follow a core set of values, convictions and ethical principles in the actions he takes. It is through this concept of idealized influence that the leader builds trust with his followers and the followers, in turn, develop confidence in their leader. Inspirational Motivation Inspirational motivation refers to the leader’s ability to inspire confidence, motivation and a sense of purpose in his followers. The transformational leader must articulate a clear vision for the future, communicate expectations of the group and demonstrate a commitment to the goals that have been laid out. This aspect of transformational leadership requires superb communication skills as the leader must convey his messages with precision, power and a sense of authority. Other important behaviors of  the leader include his continued optimism, enthusiasm and ability to point out the positive.

Motivations and Emotions VS Formal and Informal Power

Virtually all of our reading (Chapters 6, 7, and 8) has either a formal or informal power theme associated with them because in essence power is: intangible. Popular perspective is that power is considered a personal characteristic. Frequently people refer to power as the means to how one person exhibits domination or influence over another individual. In an organization, power is purely a structural characteristic required to mass control or procedurally influence the actions of the various employees or processes. It is vital to my analysis to reflect upon the motivations and emotions of the collective mind-frame and how informal and formal power in organization manipulates these psychological aspects in order to accomplish a goal.This comparative research paper shall initially focus on the conceptual understanding of power at an organizational level. When referring to an organization, people see organizations as bureaucratic entities created to fulfill a function using a variety of tools, hierarchical leadership, team ownership, process completion styles, and institutionalized rules or procedures. As organizations are often large and complex structures with large employee counts it is vital that a hierarchy be in place to organize tasks and indicate which employee needs to be assigned to which project.As a hierarchy is a formal process there are individuals aligned to various positions in the leadership chain. Power along this chain typically transfers downwards in order to assure that orders are carried out as requested. This authority along the vertical chain is accepted by people through an organization. Employees accept that top executives and project managers have the legitimate right to make key decisions required for a projects completion. Employees also accept that goals must be set by leadership in order to provide direction and procedures which everyone can follow and comprehend.This directing of activities enables workers to see that power througho ut the organizational structure helps control the decision making process itself. In addition, it clearly allows for ownership and helps manager become accountable for projects or processes. As orders can be accepted or denied in an organization there is always an underlying emotion associated with the actual outcome. In addition, as some tasks or processes are considered more important then others there is also a certain amount of access to greater tools or resources granted to individuals assigned to those organizational contributions. These individuals are usually considered Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and are crucial to the continued prosperity or success of a division, department, or process flow.Rationally and politically, organizations must focus on enhancing people relationships in order to obtain a desired level of success in projects. Formally an organization wields power by striving to pool individual strengths to produce a result. Logically, organizations need to be co nsidered a centralized power which lays out procedures, rules, and the foundation for which it upholds its mission, value system, and produces a product (whether it be physical or intellectual).Informally, an organization seeks to empower workers so they can participate in decision making roles. In general, an organization prefers to have satisfied employees versus disgruntled ones. In pursuit of this goal, organizations have taken to comprehending what motivates the every-day employee. Organizations have bestowed upon their management the responsibility of determining on an individual employee level the wants and needs of an employee which can motivate the employee. As there are many process theories associated with this motivation we shall be focusing on several aspects of this emotional and psychological requirements.Based upon Boons and Kurtz, the Motivation Theory can be categorized under 2 distinct approaches. The first approach is a holistic evaluation of factors within a per son’s personality or psychology which reinforces appropriate behavior or stops inappropriate behavior. The second approach focuses on how, why, and what the actual behavior itself needs to be sustained or stopped. The second approach is consisted more analytical then the first.Within the first approach lie’s Maslow’s 5 level need hierarchy, Alderder’s 3 level ERG Theory and Hierarchy, and Herzberg’s two factor theory known as hygiene and motivators. Included in the second approach is Vroom’s VIE Expectancy as a theory of personal choice, Adam’s Equity Theory which correlates individual choice as they compare work practices/environments,   and the goal-setting theory that emphasizes that conscious goals and intentions are considered the detriments of behavior; though I will include only a few of these theories in this paper.These two approaches informally play on motivating and emotional factors. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs , psychologists have established that motivated individuals are more likely to exhibit consistent satisfactory performance. Based upon this hierarchy the first rang of the hierarchy is the importance of the basic and psychological needs such as food, shelter, exercise, social interaction, and sleep. Psychologists have determined that it is human desire to have these basic needs fulfilled in order to be motivated to do a good job.These fulfillment needs are not true motivators though but necessities. Following this satisfaction, an employee needs to feel secure and protected from economic insecurities and protected from harm, violence, and disease exposure which enables them to be self-motivated and willing to accept self-management as the basic necessity is cared for. For instance, organizations must play a key role in securing dangerous materials which can potentially harm an employee. Often security and safety in the workforce goes hand-in hand and is considered a formal power tha t organization uses to control decisions. In terms of security, the most common ‘security’ is job security. If a project is nearing completion there is a level of apprehension from workers about their continued role in the company.Following this fulfilled need, is the comfort zone of social needs or requirements. These needs are vital in the informal organization as they include belonging, approval, and group membership. For instance, it is not uncommon for individuals who have been promoted to be concerned about ‘fitting-in’ with employees who were once on their own functional level. Thus, project managers should always build upon the team spirit and any opportunity for social activities to reinforce unity and emotional ties to the organization. Organizations sometimes become lost in the hierarchy of decision-making and must consider the emotional welfare of their employees.The last two needs based upon the Maslow’s hierarchy are esteem and self-act ualization, and these two needs differ based upon personality types as well. In the capacity of these two needs, recognition and self-confidence are important to any professional whose role requires creation of a project or product. Self-actualization is acquired when employees are performing projects which interest, intrigue, or challenge their skill-set.Managers can informally motivate by using self-actualization and esteem techniques to provide employees with opportunities for career growth, chance for promotion or raises, recognition in the team for well-done work, job security, plenty of open communication, opportunity for growth in technical expertise, challenging projects, and proper management control measures. This informal power wielded by managers incites employees to continue to produce good work while been stimulated by a good work environment.Similarly, Alderfer’s ERG theory contains a set of 3 needs: Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. Based upon this theory th e existence needs are Maslow’s first and second needs combined, the relatedness is Maslow’s third and fourth needs, and growth is Maslow’s fourth and fifth levels. Unlike Maslow who believed that each hierarchy skipped leads to more motivation, Alderfer insisted that each of these needs must be fulfilled at the organizational level and focusing on simply one need at a time does not sufficiently motivate the employee.In addition the ERG theory states that should the higher need remain fulfilled; the employee will regress to a lower level known as the frustration-regression theory. For example, if career growth or non-challenging work is provided coworkers might instead proceed to socializing with coworkers instead of working on projects. In addition, ample learning opportunities should be provided for employees to progress from one role to another if desired. Managers in this theory need to address each need separately and be aware that it differs from person to person.Interestingly Herberg’s Two-Factor Theory, also referred to as the dissatisfiers-satisfiers, are hygiene motivators or the extrinsic-intrinsic factors. The Extrinsic factors are job security, salary, working conditions, status, company procedures, quality of technical supervision, and quality of interpersonal relation. Intrinsic are achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, the work itself, and the possibility of growth. Though the theory of hygiene does not motivate employees it does negate any opportunity for dissatisfaction in the work environment and it empowers employers to seek good leadership, control, and leadership in the organization.These better conditions leave room for motivation for both project managers and employees to receive recognition, strive for achievement, advancement in roles, and further an interest in the project requiring completion. Project managers must adopt a positive attitude and provide each employee with the attention he o r she requires. This power that managers have can be shown as they give assignments that provide challenges, provide a good working environment complete with team spirit, define performance expectations clearly and consistently, and provide honest critic as well as give credit for job well done.In all tasks, people weigh the value of their input to what they obtain as an output. In Adam’s Equity Theory, employees have a need for evenhandedness and equality at work and they strive to ensure that this occurs. For instance, if an employee believe himself or herself underpaid then the quality of work produced goes down as does the quantity of work produced and the vice versa for overpaid feelings.Therefore, it is up to the manager to provide market rates or ranges for a role, and empower workers to research how much they can make in particular roles. This is an incentive and motivation to pursue growth in the company. This communication of rates invites employees to take time to learn, communicate professional expectations, and grow with the company.Formally, an organization exercises the opportunity for a great deal of power by using a variety of methods to influence behavior and promote motivation of employees. In action, organizations can motivate employees using performance driven pay increases, merit pay, team awards as an encouragement method, team recognition, goal-setting methods, continued education, and positive reinforcement.These methods are drivers for motivation and enable growth in a company. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that an organization is run by individuals and motivations and emotions will never become completed forgotten. It is up to management to exercise power and control to help employees remain satisfied that their needs are being met and considered at all levels of management.Reference:Robbins, Stephen P. and Judge, Timothy A. `Organizational Behavior.` 12th Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall. 2007

Disruptive Innovation

1 Introduction This assignment provides the study on Disruptive Innovation using Clayton Christensen’s framework. Apart from this, this assignment also tells how the companies should react to the upcoming technologies and what should be the course of action for the same. 1. 1 Innovation There is no specific definition for innovation as such. But, according to me, innovation is creating something new or changing the old to achieve the competitive advantage and meet the increasing customer demands.This is achieved either by introducing new products, new ideas, and processes or just by changing the design of the product or the processes as per the customer demands. Innovating and creating new products and services has become very important topic of concern for all the organizations in today’s rapidly changing world. If you are not innovative, you may never know when your products become obsolete. 1. 2 Types of Innovation There are three main types of Innovations: Sustainin g innovation: This type of innovation needs to be developed to ensure that the customers are satisfied with the products and services and to stay in the game.For example upgrading the processor from dual core to Intel core i3 to i5 and enhancing the performance of computers. Breakthrough Innovations: These innovations upgrade the level of existing category of products or services. For example I phone was a breakthrough innovation in the world of mobile market. It changed the perspective of the customers and eventually other companies started following the trend. Disruptive Innovation: In this type of innovation a new product or a sevice is introduced that creates a new market or massively alters an old one so that old players cannot compete.They are called disruptive because they disrupt the current behavior of the market. For example Introduction of computers was a disruptive innovation for companies who manufactured typewriters. According to Clayton Christensen Disruptive innovati on offers lower performance initially as per the current market demand. But, at the same time it provides some new attributes which prosper in some different market. After conquering different markets, it eventually displaces the former market. Here we will talk about the hydrogen fuel Cell vehicle a disruptive innovation.How the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will disrupt the market for oil industry, current internal combustion engine manufacturers and many others. At the same time we shall talk about how the companies are responding to this upcoming technology and how are they coping up with the new technology. Before going into the statistic part let us know in brief how the hydrogen fuel cell works, how it is different from internal combustion engine and what the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell are. 2 Hydrogen Fuel Cell a disruptive InnovationA fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts chemical energy into electrical energy. It uses hydrogen and oxygen fro m air to produce electricity. Since no combustion is involved, it does not emit harmful gases and the efficiency of such device is much higher than an internal combustion engine. Apart from this it does not involve any moving part hence making it more silent and reliable source of energy. 2. 1 Working Hydrogen fuel cell consists of two catalysts anode and cathode, and an electrolyte. Hydrogen is fed to anode and oxygen from air is fed to cathode.At anode, catalyst causes hydrogen to split into positively charged ions protons and negatively charged ions electrons. The electrolyte, that is polymer electrolyte membrane allows only positive ion to flow through it. So the protons pass through membrane towards cathode and electrons pass through the external circuit towards the cathode. The flow of electron from the external circuit causes the current and eventually it goes to cathode and combines with positive ion and oxygen to emit water or water vapor. Hydrogen is is a fuel of great pot ential.Thought it is not an energy source, but it is an energy carrier. Hydrogen can be manufactured using renewable energy resources such as wind, solar etc. the research is still on on how to produce hydrogen on a larger scale. Following Figure show the working of a hydrogen Fuel Cell. Figure 1: Working of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell 2. 2 Benefits of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Following are the benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell Zero green house gas Emissions: As water is the byproduct of the fuel cell, the emissions of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur monoxide, etc is not there.Hence, it is a zero emission product. Though some amount of carbon dioxide is produced during manufacturing hydrogen, but research is on to manufacture hydrogen using renewable energy resources. Reduced Air Pollution: As there are no harmful gases emission involved in fuel cell, air pollution will be reduced considerably. Improved efficiency: Fuel cells are more efficient than internal combustion engine. A c onventional combustion egine generates efficiency up to 40% whereas a fuel cell generates efficiency more than 50% and has the potential to reach 85%.Other Benefits: the transportation will be oil independent, since there are no moving part, it is more reliable. 2. 3 Applications Fuel cells have wide range of applications. Following are the applications of a fuel cell: Transportation system: currently oil industry and internal combustion engine dominates the transportation system. But keeping environment and diminishing resources of fuel in mind it is predicted that by 2025 – 2030, hydrogen fuel cell will dominate the transportation sector. Power Generation: Fuel cell can also be used to generate power.It can be stationary power or a portable power. 2. 4 Challenges Following are the challenges that a fuel cell faces today: Cost: Cost of a fuel cell is a major concern right now. Due to expensive materials like platinum is used as a catalyst, the cost of fuel cell shoots up. bu t the research is on and it is most likely that the cost of a fuel cell will come down to $30 – $50/KW for transportation and $1500/KW for stationery power. Storage: Storage of hydrogen is again another concern especially for the transportation system since it has very low density in terms of volume.Research in this area is also going on to store the hydrogen fuel at high pressure. Infrastructure: Again to develop infrastructure for hydrogen is a big challenge cost wise. To develop infrastructure a collaboration will be required between automotive and energy companies. Other challenges include the safety issues to carry hydrogen, Durability of the fuel cell and public acceptance. But research I going on in all the areas and there will definitely be a solution to all the challenges. 3 Clayton Christensen’s Theory of disruptive technologyChristensen developed a framework that could be applied to any market at any point of time so long as the attributes to be measured qua lify for the characteristics presented in his framework. According to Christensen, companies fail because of the following reasons: Companies depend on customers and investors for resources: if the company doesn’t satisfy the customers or the shareholders, it will be difficult for the company to survive Small market cannot provide the growth needed by large companies: Large companies concentrate their efforts where the returns are high and often concentrate where the cost of sales is high.Technology supply exceeds the demand: Rapidly developing technology may often outpace the customer’s needs. When such thing happens opportunity for new entrants develop to enter into the market and come with a new product. Companies with best technology tend to improve the existing product often incrementally. And while focusing on the top end customers, a lower end market remains unserved until a new entrant comes with a potentially disruptive technology. And eventually new market be gins to grow. And once this new market starts gaining the footage, it causes the existing technology to become obsolete.Following graph will help us understand Christensens framework more clearly. Figure 2: Clayton Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology The market is always divided into tiers the higher end market that represents the main customers who buy the product and the lower end market represents the customers who are least to buy the products. And performance is the main criteria by which customers buy the product. Sustaining innovation: As explained earlier, it could be incremental or radical that improves product performance for the main customers.The focus is mainly on improving the performance of the existing products and satisfying the main customers. Disruptive Innovation: It enters in the lower tier of the market with lower cost and attractive value for the lower market customers. Following are the charecteristics of a disruptive technology. * Offers low performance * Targets small market * It is tied with uncertainties * It introduces a new performance criteria in a new dimension * Generally non market leaders introduce such new products in a lower tier market with attributes to benefit lower end market.Moving back to the graph on Christensen’s framework for disruptive innovation, disruptive technology with an innovation enters at point ‘a’ with a lower rate for lower end market. At the same time market leaders are improvising their product using sustaining technologies and satisfying the mainline customers. And when the sustaining technology reaches point ‘b’, it is the peak time for the sustaining technology and after that the market gets saturated. This is the time when the market leaders need to innovate something new and create the new market. After point ‘b’, supply crosses demand.On the other hand, disruptive innovation enters at point ‘a’ satisfies the lower end customers and after improvising it reaches point ‘c’ the main stream customers. At point ‘c’ now, it is very late for sustaining technology to develop a new product for the main stream customers. Here it is very important to distinguish between different types of innovation. Incremental innovation occurs when small improvements are made to products/services. These, basically strengthens the market position of the firm and entrenches the industry. Radical Innovation occurs when major improvements are made to the products/services.These changes require new marketing channels and often put other firms out of competition and at the same time make old technologies obsolete. Transformational innovation occurs when the innovation is of such a nature that it destroys whole industry and changes the nature of the market. So if we have to summarize Christensen’s framework it would be, as the sustaining technology improves along the mainstream customer, disrupt ive technology enters at the lower end market, improvises along the existing dimensions and enters the main stream market.It eventually changes the basis of the competition from functionality to reliability and from reliability to convenience and eventually to price. Now, let’s apply this Christensen’s framework to today’s automotive world that is internal combustion engine as the sustaining technology and the hydrogen fuel cell as the disruptive technology. 3. 1 Comparison of Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology with the Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology Let us compare the performance of fuel economy and green house gas emissions of internal combustion engine and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.From the graph, we can agree that internal combustion engine is a sustaining technology incrementally improving its performance. Initially let’s say in 1980’s the fuel economy of a vehicle was around 4-6 km/l of gasoline and now it is around 12-1 5 km/l. green house gas emissions have also reduced by introducing hybrid option. But it is predicted that internal combustion engine will reach the point ‘b’ somewhere by 2015. That is it will reach the saturation level of innovation. Further development in internal combustion engine will result in more of supply than demand.This is the time when people will anticipate the change, and the change of disruptive technology in our case it is hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Initially it keeps emerging and improves the performance in new dimension and tries to attract the main market stream. During the time emergence hydrogen fuel cell through experimentation seeks commercialization. And it is predicted by 2020 it will seek commercialization. Meanwhile, the internal combustion engine will steadily grow beyond the customer demand and will start losing its hold in the main market.In 2020, at point ‘c’, the market is ready to accept high performance vehicle, in terms o f fuel economy. And beyond this point, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle keeps on improving rapidly. This will eventually bring the phase out of an internal combustion engine and forcing it out of the market by 2030 – 2040 completely and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle becoming the base technology. Beyond this it will improve incrementally until the new disruptive comes and phase out the hydrogen fuel cell technology. Green House Gas EmissionGlobal warming is one of the prime reasons fro shifting the paradigm from internal combustion engine to hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Following graph shows the global warming potential of gasoline, flex fuels and hydrogen fuel cell in various stages from manufacturing to the end of life of a vehicle. Figure 3: Global Warming potential comparison of 3 different types of Engine. It is clear from the graph global warming potential that is emission of harmful gases from a fuel cell vehicle is less than a gasoline and the flex fuel vehicle.From the grap h, it is seen that only while production for the fuel of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the emission of harmful gases is high, but it is very less compared to the gasoline and flex fuels. Apart from that, research is also going on for producing hydrogen using renewably resources such as wind, solar and nuclear. 3. 2 Conclusion It is evident that hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is a disruptive technology and will cause a phase out for the internal combustion engine. But when we compare it to the Christensen’s framework, it slightly contradicts.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in literal sense are not targeting the lower market initially. The cost of the product is not low. But all other parameters remain the same. It is focusing on the new dimension and at the same time it is threat to the internal combustion engine world. Apart from this slight difference, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is definitely a disruptive innovation, and will definitely lead to transformation of technologies and will change the basis of competition from fuel economy to green house gas reductions with the environmental pressure. 4 Current ScenarioIf we talk about hydrogen fuel cell in today’s world, it is still an emerging technology which looks solid and promising in terms of fuel economy and reduction in green house gas emission. Research in this particular area is going on all around the world since the global warming level is increasing and the environmental pressure is acting on all the governments. In this scenario, the companies who are already into research in this area will survive and the companies that are still not doing any kind of research or innovation and still trying to improve the sustaining technology might just phase out of the competition.Further we will see cases and findings of various companies in this area including oil industry, automotive industry and the industries related to this huge sector of industries. 4. 1 Oil Industry: Today, the energy sector is run majo rly by oil industry. And majorly oil after refining is consumed by transportation industry. Around 90%of the oil is consumed by the transportation industry, and out of that around 50% of the industry consumes gasoline and the rest is diesel, LPG, Naphtha etc. Major players in this oil industry today are Saudi aramco, shell, BP, Exxon Mobil and chevron.Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)is the major producer of the oil today and has the maximum exports all over the world, then it is followed by other companies. Apart from green house gas emissions and environmental pressure, the increasing rate of oil so frequently gives us an idea that even the oil reserves are diminishing day by day. Now increasing research and development in this area poses threat on oil industry as well. Even the oil industries have started doing research in this area. Basically these companies are doing research on how to produce hydrogen using the existing technologies in large scale.Following are some of the findings of the oil companies in this area. 4. 1. 1 Saudi Aramco (Source: http://www. keei. re. kr/keei/download/seminar/101117/II101118_b02. pdf, www. saudiaramco. com, www. mbifoundation. com/media/18961/final%20bpr. pdf) Following are some of the conclusion made by research and development department of Saudi Aramco. : * H2 production using existing petroleum infrastructure will be a potential economical option compared to other technologies. * Need to integrate the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies along with hydrogen production for efficient carbon management. Alternate hydrogen production technologies, such as electrolysis and renewable sources, have significant technical and economical challenges (energy intensive and high capital). * Significant progress made in the demonstration of liquid hydrocarbons to hydrogen. Apart from this, Saudi Aramco has also filed a patent in US office for the naphtha based fuels which can also be used for vehicular purpose. 4. 1. 2 Shell ( So urce: http://www. shell. com/home/content/environment_society/environment/climate_change/biofuels_alternative_energies_transport/hydrogen/, http://articles. atimes. com and http://www. thelivingmoon. com/41pegasus/02files/Alternate_Fuel_Shell_Oil_Hydrogen. html) Shell had started its research on this topic since 1999 and had anticipated the change in the world of automotive industry and power sector long back. Shell has joined hands with the leading car making companies and power companies and working on this project. Shell is already working in collaboration with Siemens, Toyota, Daimler Chrysler and has reached a long way in this area. It has also opened various hydrogen fuel stations in United States of America, Europe and Asia.And it is offering free fillips at various fueling station just to promote the upcoming technology. Following picture is one of the fueling station in United States of America where hydrogen fueling is provided. Figure 4: Hydrogen fuel Station by Shell 4. 1. 3 BP: (Source: http://www. bp. com) Like Shell, BP is also one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy.In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing. As one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy. In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing.Apart from this BP has joined hands with the leading companies like Daimler Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Solarex and working on various projects like fuel efficiency, CO2 management, Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Apar t from the companies all these companies also join their hands with various Universities who help the in doing their research. 4. 1. 4 Exxon Mobil: (Source: http://www. exxonmobil. com, http://www. dutchdailynews. com/air-products-and-exxonmobil-start-up-new-world-scale-hydrogen-production-plant-in-rotterdam/) Exxon Mobil again is not left ehind in the research of hydrogen fuel cell and the production of hydrogen on a large scale. Following are some of the research that Exxon Mobil is working on * It is conducting breakthrough research on Hydrogen Production Technology * It is also trying to improve its existing technology at the same time by continuously improving the efficiency of internal combustion engine and reducing the emission of harmful gases. * On 10th Feb 2012 Air products and Exxon Mobil started a large scale Hydrogen Production Plant in Rotterdam. Apart from this, ExxonMobil is also developing an innovative on-board hydrogen-powered fuel cell system that converts conven tional hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline or diesel into hydrogen for a fuel cell right under a vehicle’s hood. Apart from this there are various other small industries that are into this hydrogen fuel cell research for example Reliance from India is also doing its bit in this area. 4. 2 Automotive Industry We have seen the response and reaction of oil Industry so far, Now let us see the response of automotive industry worldwide.We shall go country wise in this case to know the response of various industries and development in various countries in this specific area. 4. 2. 1 United States Of America: United States of America is spending millions of dollars every year in the research of hydrogen fuel Cell. They have demonstrations with many private companies. Daimler Chrysler Company developed its first fuel cell truck in 2000. The main aim of USA is to make Fuel Cell Vehicle available at an affordable cost. General Motors: General motors one of the oldest companies of USA is planning to get 1000 fuel cell vehicles on road by 2013-2015.Ford Motor Company: Ford is also planning to launch its commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2015. 4. 2. 2 Japan: One can say Japan is the very first to start the research in this area and it is since 1981. It was in Japan in Tokyo electric Company, Toshiba and an American based company fuel cell company manufactured and installed an 11 MW power plant (Source: www. platinummetalsreview. com/pdf/pmr-v33-i1-010-012. pdf). Apart from this the major Japanese automotive companies look promising in terms of Hydrogen uel cell vehicle compared to other companies in the world. Toyota: Toyota has promised in its recent Autocar show that it will start selling the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in USA specifically in California, since by 2015 it is predicted that there will be 68 hydrogen fueling stations in California. (Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-c ar-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Honda: CEO Takanobu Ito just announced that Honda will launch a new fuel-cell electric car in the U.S. and Europe starting in 2015. It will â€Å"showcase further technological advancement and significant cost reduction. † Honda has already been letting consumers test its fleet of FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell cars for a couple of years (Source: http://www. firstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) Nissan: Nissan has also announced its interest in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and has declared that it is ready to mass produce hydrogen fuel cell cars by 2015 (Source: http://www. irstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) 4. 2. 3 Europe: Europe is not left behind in this research. All the major brands BMW, Mercedes Volkswagen etc have shown interest in hydrogen fuel cell, but at the same time have said hydrogen fuel cell will take at least 10 more year s to commercialize. 4. 2. 4 India: India is the place where we can say Christensen’s framework is applicable perfectly. Here the auto rickshaw for the lower end market has been made using hydrogen fuel cell. t was displayed at pragati maidan in January 2012 and is expected to hit the road by 2015. Source: http://www. nytimes. com/2012/10/02/business/energy-environment/hydrogen-fuels-autorickshaws-and-dreams-of-cleaner-air. html? pagewanted=all&_r=0) Apart from this biggies like TATA Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra have shown interest in this area. Tata Motors have manufactured the bus based on hydrogen fuel cell technology known as starbus. Following figure shows the Auto Rickshaw and the Hydrogen fuel cell BusFigure 5: Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in india Following are some of the comments from various high profile executives from various companies: * Executives from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Volkswagen see fuel-cell vehicles as being further out, and most have not said when they'll have vehicles on the market. * â€Å"We don't see it as early as Toyota does,† said Oliver Schmidt, general manager of engineering with the VW Group. â€Å"We see it in the 2020 time frame. * Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of powertrain engineering, said, â€Å"The question is when (will) fuel-cell vehicles become affordable to customers,† specifically when the fuel-cell stack competes with the battery pack on cost. * â€Å"Within 10 years, I think they will be as affordable as full battery vehicles, and the fuel cell will have a big advantage in range,† Bakaj said. â€Å"We think it will happen in the next 10 years. † * Gary Smyth, GM executive director working on global research and development, said he sees little commitment in the U. S. to the necessary infrastructure by 2015. Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Part from all this various other countries and companies have shown immense amount of interest in hydrogen fuel cell Recently Korea and Korean company Hyundai has also announced an hydrogen fuel cell vehicle launch by 2015. So the major companies all around the world and the allied companies are responding really well to the upcoming technology of hydrogen fuel cell and all of them are doing their bit to save the environment. 5 Conclusion:It is very clear from the above assignment that hydrogen fuel cell is the future of the world. It is definitely one of the biggest disruptive technologies of all time. Biggest because, once the technology is commercialized, many big players all around the world will have to change their base of technology. Technology innovation and upcoming technologies are posing threat on the current industry and are eventually forcing companies out of business. New technologies are exerting power to shape the market and change the basis of the competition. Hence, it is import ant for the companies to continuously assess the technologies and capabilities. Disruptive Innovation In order to remain afloat in this ever changing market, companies must have a sound proof strategy. According to Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble and Strickland, a company’s strategy is its action plan for outperforming its competitors and achieving superior profitability. (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble and Strickland p. 4) One well known strategy or theory of many companies is a term called disruptive innovation. Disruptive innovation was coined by Clayton Christensen.It explains the process of a product or service preliminary application initiating from the bottom of the market that replaces an already established product or service. This theory has created a significant impact on management practices in all types of industries. It has created debates of how â€Å"executives and managers are in need of research that will elevate the pursuit of successful innovations from a gut-level, intuition-driven art to something more closely resembling a science based on repeatable processes with predictable results.† (Raynor, p. 27)In doing so, it has also created a sense of conflict between entrants, incumbents and disrupters to see which organization will remain the top supplier. Innovation is always on the top mind for all CEOs. Understanding how to identify disruptive innovations before they become mainstream and take advantage of the ‘†white space† is a skill to cultivate. Disruptive Innovation patterns are always changing and sometimes are very difficult to see because of it’s rapid growth. Similarities; Raynor:Disruption theory can be used to shape existing innovation ideas in ways consistent with the theory's prescriptions. As of now the disruption theory of innovation is the only one with evidence to support the assertion that it can improve predictive accuracy. 1. Used to shape existing innovation ideas in ways consistent with the theory’s prescriptions 2. a particular perspective on innovation – is based on its superi or explanatory and predictive power 3. entrants attacked successful incumbents by adopting the incumbents' models and technological solutions – what he called a â€Å"sustaining† strategy-they tended to fail.However, driven by their desire to grow, the upstart entrants were strongly motivated to improve their initial offerings in ways that would allow them to compete effectively for the larger, more lucrative mainstream markets. This was the entrants' â€Å"upmarket march,† and entrants that marched upmarket successfully eventually captured the customers that had been the incumbents' mainstay. Differences: Whatever ambiguities might remain in making the relevant categorizations (incumbent vs. entrant; sustaining vs. disruptive) the data reveal that overall; disruption theory makes better prediction possible.In contrast, entrants tended to succeed by combining a business model tailored to the needs of a relatively less attractive market – the entrants' foo thold – with an ability to improve their original solutions in ways that allowed them to provide superior performance that incumbents were unable to replicate – the upmarket march In contrast, I make a more limited and modest claim: disruption theory can deliver statistically significant and practically material improvement in the ability to innovate successfully.Christensen and Overdorf 1. ? Difference – Managers lack thinking about their organizations capapbilities as they think about individual peoples capabilities. Pg 68 2. Our research suggests that three factors affect what an organization can and cannot do; its resources, its processes and its values pg 68 3. Differences;or similarities . As companies become large, they lose the ability to enter small emerging markets. Cause by an evolution of values. Pg 70 4.Disruptive innovation can create an entirely new market through the introduction of a new kind of product or service, one that is actually worst. Pg 72 5. Differences: Sustaining innovation are nearly always developed and introduced by established industry leaders. But do not cope well with disruptive innovations. Pg 72 6. Similarity: DI occurs so intermittently that no company has a routine process for handling them. Inconsistent with the company’s value. Disruptive Innovation (1) Catalytic innovation involves the process wherein companies and industries take actions within a particular society to create and enhance social changes on certain issues. It is said that â€Å"catalytic innovations can surpass the status quo by providing good enough solutions to inadequately address social problems. † (Christensen et. al. , 2006, p. 96) (2) One important difference and distinction between disruptive innovation and catalytic innovation is its scope.It has been mentioned that catalytic innovation mainly focuses on the issue of creating societal change. On the other hand, disruptive innovation caters to the creation of alternatives of goods and services. The two are similar due to its efforts to create changes in the status quo and market. â€Å"Catalytic innovations are a subset of disruptive innovations, distinguished by their primary focus on social change, often on a national scale. † (Christensen et. al. , 2006, p. 96)(3)There had been efforts in the health care sector to improve the services they give to ordinary people. This has been manifested by the creation of cutting-edge care facilities, insurance and walk-in clinics that offer cheaper and convenient opportunities for sick individuals. The success has been described by the article in the overall satisfaction gained by such walk-in clinics and the other two facets. One vital component of such success is the degree of patronage by the locals on such ideas.Patronage is one clear indicator of preference and satisfaction compared to the original practices. (4) Microlending involves the process of giving capital to small and medium enterprises to start up their own businesses. Since the creation of microlending facilities, it has spurred growth and development among members of the middle strata of several societies. â€Å"In turn, microlending helps sustain borrowers who are paying back loans and creates an economic environment that attracts other lenders looking to start a new business.† (Christensen et. al. , 2006, p. 96)Such benefits have paved the way for the development of social and economic status. (5) Microlending had a positive impact on KickStart because the initiative provided means and capital for small African farmers to acquire technological innovation and create better lives. By providing capital to these farmers, KickStart products somehow alleviated the way labor and work is done in the farms.In addition, due to microlending mechanisms, KickStart was able to expand its market and continued to target small scale farmers with the pursuit of improving their harvests. (6) Analyzing the article, it can be argued that catalytic innovations fall under the bottom of the technology S-curve due to its capability to create changes in society and alter the status quo. Seeing this, it can be surmised they also have the possibility and potential of ‘segment-zero’ products due to its relative ease and capability to access a mark et not envisioned by the normal competitors. References Christensen, C.M., Bauman, H., Ruggles, R. and Sadtler, T.M. (December 2006) Disruptive Innovation for Social Change in Harvard Business Review. pp. 94 – 101. Disruptive Innovation 1 Introduction This assignment provides the study on Disruptive Innovation using Clayton Christensen’s framework. Apart from this, this assignment also tells how the companies should react to the upcoming technologies and what should be the course of action for the same. 1. 1 Innovation There is no specific definition for innovation as such. But, according to me, innovation is creating something new or changing the old to achieve the competitive advantage and meet the increasing customer demands.This is achieved either by introducing new products, new ideas, and processes or just by changing the design of the product or the processes as per the customer demands. Innovating and creating new products and services has become very important topic of concern for all the organizations in today’s rapidly changing world. If you are not innovative, you may never know when your products become obsolete. 1. 2 Types of Innovation There are three main types of Innovations: Sustainin g innovation: This type of innovation needs to be developed to ensure that the customers are satisfied with the products and services and to stay in the game.For example upgrading the processor from dual core to Intel core i3 to i5 and enhancing the performance of computers. Breakthrough Innovations: These innovations upgrade the level of existing category of products or services. For example I phone was a breakthrough innovation in the world of mobile market. It changed the perspective of the customers and eventually other companies started following the trend. Disruptive Innovation: In this type of innovation a new product or a sevice is introduced that creates a new market or massively alters an old one so that old players cannot compete.They are called disruptive because they disrupt the current behavior of the market. For example Introduction of computers was a disruptive innovation for companies who manufactured typewriters. According to Clayton Christensen Disruptive innovati on offers lower performance initially as per the current market demand. But, at the same time it provides some new attributes which prosper in some different market. After conquering different markets, it eventually displaces the former market. Here we will talk about the hydrogen fuel Cell vehicle a disruptive innovation.How the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will disrupt the market for oil industry, current internal combustion engine manufacturers and many others. At the same time we shall talk about how the companies are responding to this upcoming technology and how are they coping up with the new technology. Before going into the statistic part let us know in brief how the hydrogen fuel cell works, how it is different from internal combustion engine and what the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell are. 2 Hydrogen Fuel Cell a disruptive InnovationA fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts chemical energy into electrical energy. It uses hydrogen and oxygen fro m air to produce electricity. Since no combustion is involved, it does not emit harmful gases and the efficiency of such device is much higher than an internal combustion engine. Apart from this it does not involve any moving part hence making it more silent and reliable source of energy. 2. 1 Working Hydrogen fuel cell consists of two catalysts anode and cathode, and an electrolyte. Hydrogen is fed to anode and oxygen from air is fed to cathode.At anode, catalyst causes hydrogen to split into positively charged ions protons and negatively charged ions electrons. The electrolyte, that is polymer electrolyte membrane allows only positive ion to flow through it. So the protons pass through membrane towards cathode and electrons pass through the external circuit towards the cathode. The flow of electron from the external circuit causes the current and eventually it goes to cathode and combines with positive ion and oxygen to emit water or water vapor. Hydrogen is is a fuel of great pot ential.Thought it is not an energy source, but it is an energy carrier. Hydrogen can be manufactured using renewable energy resources such as wind, solar etc. the research is still on on how to produce hydrogen on a larger scale. Following Figure show the working of a hydrogen Fuel Cell. Figure 1: Working of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell 2. 2 Benefits of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Following are the benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell Zero green house gas Emissions: As water is the byproduct of the fuel cell, the emissions of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur monoxide, etc is not there.Hence, it is a zero emission product. Though some amount of carbon dioxide is produced during manufacturing hydrogen, but research is on to manufacture hydrogen using renewable energy resources. Reduced Air Pollution: As there are no harmful gases emission involved in fuel cell, air pollution will be reduced considerably. Improved efficiency: Fuel cells are more efficient than internal combustion engine. A c onventional combustion egine generates efficiency up to 40% whereas a fuel cell generates efficiency more than 50% and has the potential to reach 85%.Other Benefits: the transportation will be oil independent, since there are no moving part, it is more reliable. 2. 3 Applications Fuel cells have wide range of applications. Following are the applications of a fuel cell: Transportation system: currently oil industry and internal combustion engine dominates the transportation system. But keeping environment and diminishing resources of fuel in mind it is predicted that by 2025 – 2030, hydrogen fuel cell will dominate the transportation sector. Power Generation: Fuel cell can also be used to generate power.It can be stationary power or a portable power. 2. 4 Challenges Following are the challenges that a fuel cell faces today: Cost: Cost of a fuel cell is a major concern right now. Due to expensive materials like platinum is used as a catalyst, the cost of fuel cell shoots up. bu t the research is on and it is most likely that the cost of a fuel cell will come down to $30 – $50/KW for transportation and $1500/KW for stationery power. Storage: Storage of hydrogen is again another concern especially for the transportation system since it has very low density in terms of volume.Research in this area is also going on to store the hydrogen fuel at high pressure. Infrastructure: Again to develop infrastructure for hydrogen is a big challenge cost wise. To develop infrastructure a collaboration will be required between automotive and energy companies. Other challenges include the safety issues to carry hydrogen, Durability of the fuel cell and public acceptance. But research I going on in all the areas and there will definitely be a solution to all the challenges. 3 Clayton Christensen’s Theory of disruptive technologyChristensen developed a framework that could be applied to any market at any point of time so long as the attributes to be measured qua lify for the characteristics presented in his framework. According to Christensen, companies fail because of the following reasons: Companies depend on customers and investors for resources: if the company doesn’t satisfy the customers or the shareholders, it will be difficult for the company to survive Small market cannot provide the growth needed by large companies: Large companies concentrate their efforts where the returns are high and often concentrate where the cost of sales is high.Technology supply exceeds the demand: Rapidly developing technology may often outpace the customer’s needs. When such thing happens opportunity for new entrants develop to enter into the market and come with a new product. Companies with best technology tend to improve the existing product often incrementally. And while focusing on the top end customers, a lower end market remains unserved until a new entrant comes with a potentially disruptive technology. And eventually new market be gins to grow. And once this new market starts gaining the footage, it causes the existing technology to become obsolete.Following graph will help us understand Christensens framework more clearly. Figure 2: Clayton Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology The market is always divided into tiers the higher end market that represents the main customers who buy the product and the lower end market represents the customers who are least to buy the products. And performance is the main criteria by which customers buy the product. Sustaining innovation: As explained earlier, it could be incremental or radical that improves product performance for the main customers.The focus is mainly on improving the performance of the existing products and satisfying the main customers. Disruptive Innovation: It enters in the lower tier of the market with lower cost and attractive value for the lower market customers. Following are the charecteristics of a disruptive technology. * Offers low performance * Targets small market * It is tied with uncertainties * It introduces a new performance criteria in a new dimension * Generally non market leaders introduce such new products in a lower tier market with attributes to benefit lower end market.Moving back to the graph on Christensen’s framework for disruptive innovation, disruptive technology with an innovation enters at point ‘a’ with a lower rate for lower end market. At the same time market leaders are improvising their product using sustaining technologies and satisfying the mainline customers. And when the sustaining technology reaches point ‘b’, it is the peak time for the sustaining technology and after that the market gets saturated. This is the time when the market leaders need to innovate something new and create the new market. After point ‘b’, supply crosses demand.On the other hand, disruptive innovation enters at point ‘a’ satisfies the lower end customers and after improvising it reaches point ‘c’ the main stream customers. At point ‘c’ now, it is very late for sustaining technology to develop a new product for the main stream customers. Here it is very important to distinguish between different types of innovation. Incremental innovation occurs when small improvements are made to products/services. These, basically strengthens the market position of the firm and entrenches the industry. Radical Innovation occurs when major improvements are made to the products/services.These changes require new marketing channels and often put other firms out of competition and at the same time make old technologies obsolete. Transformational innovation occurs when the innovation is of such a nature that it destroys whole industry and changes the nature of the market. So if we have to summarize Christensen’s framework it would be, as the sustaining technology improves along the mainstream customer, disrupt ive technology enters at the lower end market, improvises along the existing dimensions and enters the main stream market.It eventually changes the basis of the competition from functionality to reliability and from reliability to convenience and eventually to price. Now, let’s apply this Christensen’s framework to today’s automotive world that is internal combustion engine as the sustaining technology and the hydrogen fuel cell as the disruptive technology. 3. 1 Comparison of Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology with the Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology Let us compare the performance of fuel economy and green house gas emissions of internal combustion engine and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.From the graph, we can agree that internal combustion engine is a sustaining technology incrementally improving its performance. Initially let’s say in 1980’s the fuel economy of a vehicle was around 4-6 km/l of gasoline and now it is around 12-1 5 km/l. green house gas emissions have also reduced by introducing hybrid option. But it is predicted that internal combustion engine will reach the point ‘b’ somewhere by 2015. That is it will reach the saturation level of innovation. Further development in internal combustion engine will result in more of supply than demand.This is the time when people will anticipate the change, and the change of disruptive technology in our case it is hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Initially it keeps emerging and improves the performance in new dimension and tries to attract the main market stream. During the time emergence hydrogen fuel cell through experimentation seeks commercialization. And it is predicted by 2020 it will seek commercialization. Meanwhile, the internal combustion engine will steadily grow beyond the customer demand and will start losing its hold in the main market.In 2020, at point ‘c’, the market is ready to accept high performance vehicle, in terms o f fuel economy. And beyond this point, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle keeps on improving rapidly. This will eventually bring the phase out of an internal combustion engine and forcing it out of the market by 2030 – 2040 completely and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle becoming the base technology. Beyond this it will improve incrementally until the new disruptive comes and phase out the hydrogen fuel cell technology. Green House Gas EmissionGlobal warming is one of the prime reasons fro shifting the paradigm from internal combustion engine to hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Following graph shows the global warming potential of gasoline, flex fuels and hydrogen fuel cell in various stages from manufacturing to the end of life of a vehicle. Figure 3: Global Warming potential comparison of 3 different types of Engine. It is clear from the graph global warming potential that is emission of harmful gases from a fuel cell vehicle is less than a gasoline and the flex fuel vehicle.From the grap h, it is seen that only while production for the fuel of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the emission of harmful gases is high, but it is very less compared to the gasoline and flex fuels. Apart from that, research is also going on for producing hydrogen using renewably resources such as wind, solar and nuclear. 3. 2 Conclusion It is evident that hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is a disruptive technology and will cause a phase out for the internal combustion engine. But when we compare it to the Christensen’s framework, it slightly contradicts.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in literal sense are not targeting the lower market initially. The cost of the product is not low. But all other parameters remain the same. It is focusing on the new dimension and at the same time it is threat to the internal combustion engine world. Apart from this slight difference, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is definitely a disruptive innovation, and will definitely lead to transformation of technologies and will change the basis of competition from fuel economy to green house gas reductions with the environmental pressure. 4 Current ScenarioIf we talk about hydrogen fuel cell in today’s world, it is still an emerging technology which looks solid and promising in terms of fuel economy and reduction in green house gas emission. Research in this particular area is going on all around the world since the global warming level is increasing and the environmental pressure is acting on all the governments. In this scenario, the companies who are already into research in this area will survive and the companies that are still not doing any kind of research or innovation and still trying to improve the sustaining technology might just phase out of the competition.Further we will see cases and findings of various companies in this area including oil industry, automotive industry and the industries related to this huge sector of industries. 4. 1 Oil Industry: Today, the energy sector is run majo rly by oil industry. And majorly oil after refining is consumed by transportation industry. Around 90%of the oil is consumed by the transportation industry, and out of that around 50% of the industry consumes gasoline and the rest is diesel, LPG, Naphtha etc. Major players in this oil industry today are Saudi aramco, shell, BP, Exxon Mobil and chevron.Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)is the major producer of the oil today and has the maximum exports all over the world, then it is followed by other companies. Apart from green house gas emissions and environmental pressure, the increasing rate of oil so frequently gives us an idea that even the oil reserves are diminishing day by day. Now increasing research and development in this area poses threat on oil industry as well. Even the oil industries have started doing research in this area. Basically these companies are doing research on how to produce hydrogen using the existing technologies in large scale.Following are some of the findings of the oil companies in this area. 4. 1. 1 Saudi Aramco (Source: http://www. keei. re. kr/keei/download/seminar/101117/II101118_b02. pdf, www. saudiaramco. com, www. mbifoundation. com/media/18961/final%20bpr. pdf) Following are some of the conclusion made by research and development department of Saudi Aramco. : * H2 production using existing petroleum infrastructure will be a potential economical option compared to other technologies. * Need to integrate the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies along with hydrogen production for efficient carbon management. Alternate hydrogen production technologies, such as electrolysis and renewable sources, have significant technical and economical challenges (energy intensive and high capital). * Significant progress made in the demonstration of liquid hydrocarbons to hydrogen. Apart from this, Saudi Aramco has also filed a patent in US office for the naphtha based fuels which can also be used for vehicular purpose. 4. 1. 2 Shell ( So urce: http://www. shell. com/home/content/environment_society/environment/climate_change/biofuels_alternative_energies_transport/hydrogen/, http://articles. atimes. com and http://www. thelivingmoon. com/41pegasus/02files/Alternate_Fuel_Shell_Oil_Hydrogen. html) Shell had started its research on this topic since 1999 and had anticipated the change in the world of automotive industry and power sector long back. Shell has joined hands with the leading car making companies and power companies and working on this project. Shell is already working in collaboration with Siemens, Toyota, Daimler Chrysler and has reached a long way in this area. It has also opened various hydrogen fuel stations in United States of America, Europe and Asia.And it is offering free fillips at various fueling station just to promote the upcoming technology. Following picture is one of the fueling station in United States of America where hydrogen fueling is provided. Figure 4: Hydrogen fuel Station by Shell 4. 1. 3 BP: (Source: http://www. bp. com) Like Shell, BP is also one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy.In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing. As one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy. In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing.Apart from this BP has joined hands with the leading companies like Daimler Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Solarex and working on various projects like fuel efficiency, CO2 management, Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Apar t from the companies all these companies also join their hands with various Universities who help the in doing their research. 4. 1. 4 Exxon Mobil: (Source: http://www. exxonmobil. com, http://www. dutchdailynews. com/air-products-and-exxonmobil-start-up-new-world-scale-hydrogen-production-plant-in-rotterdam/) Exxon Mobil again is not left ehind in the research of hydrogen fuel cell and the production of hydrogen on a large scale. Following are some of the research that Exxon Mobil is working on * It is conducting breakthrough research on Hydrogen Production Technology * It is also trying to improve its existing technology at the same time by continuously improving the efficiency of internal combustion engine and reducing the emission of harmful gases. * On 10th Feb 2012 Air products and Exxon Mobil started a large scale Hydrogen Production Plant in Rotterdam. Apart from this, ExxonMobil is also developing an innovative on-board hydrogen-powered fuel cell system that converts conven tional hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline or diesel into hydrogen for a fuel cell right under a vehicle’s hood. Apart from this there are various other small industries that are into this hydrogen fuel cell research for example Reliance from India is also doing its bit in this area. 4. 2 Automotive Industry We have seen the response and reaction of oil Industry so far, Now let us see the response of automotive industry worldwide.We shall go country wise in this case to know the response of various industries and development in various countries in this specific area. 4. 2. 1 United States Of America: United States of America is spending millions of dollars every year in the research of hydrogen fuel Cell. They have demonstrations with many private companies. Daimler Chrysler Company developed its first fuel cell truck in 2000. The main aim of USA is to make Fuel Cell Vehicle available at an affordable cost. General Motors: General motors one of the oldest companies of USA is planning to get 1000 fuel cell vehicles on road by 2013-2015.Ford Motor Company: Ford is also planning to launch its commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2015. 4. 2. 2 Japan: One can say Japan is the very first to start the research in this area and it is since 1981. It was in Japan in Tokyo electric Company, Toshiba and an American based company fuel cell company manufactured and installed an 11 MW power plant (Source: www. platinummetalsreview. com/pdf/pmr-v33-i1-010-012. pdf). Apart from this the major Japanese automotive companies look promising in terms of Hydrogen uel cell vehicle compared to other companies in the world. Toyota: Toyota has promised in its recent Autocar show that it will start selling the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in USA specifically in California, since by 2015 it is predicted that there will be 68 hydrogen fueling stations in California. (Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-c ar-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Honda: CEO Takanobu Ito just announced that Honda will launch a new fuel-cell electric car in the U.S. and Europe starting in 2015. It will â€Å"showcase further technological advancement and significant cost reduction. † Honda has already been letting consumers test its fleet of FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell cars for a couple of years (Source: http://www. firstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) Nissan: Nissan has also announced its interest in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and has declared that it is ready to mass produce hydrogen fuel cell cars by 2015 (Source: http://www. irstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) 4. 2. 3 Europe: Europe is not left behind in this research. All the major brands BMW, Mercedes Volkswagen etc have shown interest in hydrogen fuel cell, but at the same time have said hydrogen fuel cell will take at least 10 more year s to commercialize. 4. 2. 4 India: India is the place where we can say Christensen’s framework is applicable perfectly. Here the auto rickshaw for the lower end market has been made using hydrogen fuel cell. t was displayed at pragati maidan in January 2012 and is expected to hit the road by 2015. Source: http://www. nytimes. com/2012/10/02/business/energy-environment/hydrogen-fuels-autorickshaws-and-dreams-of-cleaner-air. html? pagewanted=all&_r=0) Apart from this biggies like TATA Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra have shown interest in this area. Tata Motors have manufactured the bus based on hydrogen fuel cell technology known as starbus. Following figure shows the Auto Rickshaw and the Hydrogen fuel cell BusFigure 5: Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in india Following are some of the comments from various high profile executives from various companies: * Executives from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Volkswagen see fuel-cell vehicles as being further out, and most have not said when they'll have vehicles on the market. * â€Å"We don't see it as early as Toyota does,† said Oliver Schmidt, general manager of engineering with the VW Group. â€Å"We see it in the 2020 time frame. * Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of powertrain engineering, said, â€Å"The question is when (will) fuel-cell vehicles become affordable to customers,† specifically when the fuel-cell stack competes with the battery pack on cost. * â€Å"Within 10 years, I think they will be as affordable as full battery vehicles, and the fuel cell will have a big advantage in range,† Bakaj said. â€Å"We think it will happen in the next 10 years. † * Gary Smyth, GM executive director working on global research and development, said he sees little commitment in the U. S. to the necessary infrastructure by 2015. Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Part from all this various other countries and companies have shown immense amount of interest in hydrogen fuel cell Recently Korea and Korean company Hyundai has also announced an hydrogen fuel cell vehicle launch by 2015. So the major companies all around the world and the allied companies are responding really well to the upcoming technology of hydrogen fuel cell and all of them are doing their bit to save the environment. 5 Conclusion:It is very clear from the above assignment that hydrogen fuel cell is the future of the world. It is definitely one of the biggest disruptive technologies of all time. Biggest because, once the technology is commercialized, many big players all around the world will have to change their base of technology. Technology innovation and upcoming technologies are posing threat on the current industry and are eventually forcing companies out of business. New technologies are exerting power to shape the market and change the basis of the competition. Hence, it is import ant for the companies to continuously assess the technologies and capabilities.