Interview With Toni Morrison :: essays papers

"I'm interested in the way in which the past affects the present and I think that if we understand a good deal more about history, we automatically understand a great more about contemporary life. Also, there's more of the past for imaginative purposes than there is of the future." Q. Beloved is dedicated to the 60 million who died as a result of slavery. A staggering number -- is this proved historically? A. Some historians told me 200 million died. The smallest number I got from anybody was 60 million. There were travel accounts of people who were in the Congo -- that's a wide river -- saying, ''We could not get the boat through the river, it was choked with bodies.'' That's like a logjam. A lot of people died. Half of them died in those ships. Slave trade was like cocaine is now -- even though it was against the law, that didn't stop anybody. Imagine getting $1,000 for a human being. That's a lot of money. There are fortunes in this country that were made that way. I thought this has got to be the least read of all the books I'd written because it is about something that the characters don't want to remember, I don't want to remember, black people don't want to remember, white people don't want to remember. I mean, it's national amnesia. Q. You gave new insight into the daily struggle of slaves. A. I was trying to make it a personal experience. The book was not about the institution -- Slavery with a capital S. It was about these anonymous people called slaves. What they do to keep on, how they make a life, what they're willing to risk, however long it lasts, in order to relate to one another -- that was incredible to me. For me, the torturous restraining devices became a hook on which to say what it was like in personal terms. I knew about them because slaves who wrote about their lives mentioned them, and white people wrote about them. There's a wonderful diary of the Burr family in which he talks about his daily life and says, ''Put the bit on Jenny today.'' He says that about 19 times in six months -- and he was presumably an enlightened slave owner.

civil war :: essays papers

civil war3 Albert Gallatin Brown, U.S. Senator from Mississippi, speaking with regard to the several filibuster expeditions to Central America: "I want Cuba . . . I want Tamaulipas, Potosi, and one or two other Mexican States; and I want them all for the same reason -- for the planting and spreading of slavery." [Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 106.] Richmond Enquirer, 1856: "Democratic liberty exists solely because we have slaves . . . freedom is not possible without slavery." Lawrence Keitt, Congressman from South Carolina, in a speech to the House on January 25, 1860: "African slavery is the corner-stone of the industrial, social, and political fabric of the South; and whatever wars against it, wars against her very existence. Strike down the institution of African slavery and you reduce the South to depopulation and barbarism." Later in the same speech he said, "The anti-slavery party contend that slavery is wrong in itself, and the Government is a consolidated national democracy. We of the South contend that slavery is right, and that this is a confederate Republic of sovereign States." Taken from a photocopy of the Congressional Globe supplied by Steve Miller. Methodist Rev. John T. Wightman, preaching at Yorkville, South Carolina: "The triumphs of Christianity rest this very hour upon slavery; and slavery depends on the triumphs of the South . . . This war is the servant of slavery." [The Glory of God, the Defence of the South (1861), cited in Eugene Genovese's Consuming Fire (1998).] Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, referring to the Confederate government: "Its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery . . . is his natural and normal condition." [Augusta, Georgia, Daily Constitutionalist, March 30, 1861.] Alfred P. Aldrich, South Carolina legislator from Barnwell: "If the Republican party with its platform of principles, the main feature of which is the abolition of slavery and, therefore, the destruction of the South, carries the country at the next Presidential election, shall we remain in the Union, or form a separate Confederacy? This is the great, grave issue. It is not who shall be President, it is not which party shall rule -- it is a question of political and social existence." [Steven Channing, Crisis of Fear, pp. 141-142.] Political divisions America was thus divided by economic structure, and was led into fratricidal warfare by a series of political clashes. civil war :: essays papers civil war3 Albert Gallatin Brown, U.S. Senator from Mississippi, speaking with regard to the several filibuster expeditions to Central America: "I want Cuba . . . I want Tamaulipas, Potosi, and one or two other Mexican States; and I want them all for the same reason -- for the planting and spreading of slavery." [Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 106.] Richmond Enquirer, 1856: "Democratic liberty exists solely because we have slaves . . . freedom is not possible without slavery." Lawrence Keitt, Congressman from South Carolina, in a speech to the House on January 25, 1860: "African slavery is the corner-stone of the industrial, social, and political fabric of the South; and whatever wars against it, wars against her very existence. Strike down the institution of African slavery and you reduce the South to depopulation and barbarism." Later in the same speech he said, "The anti-slavery party contend that slavery is wrong in itself, and the Government is a consolidated national democracy. We of the South contend that slavery is right, and that this is a confederate Republic of sovereign States." Taken from a photocopy of the Congressional Globe supplied by Steve Miller. Methodist Rev. John T. Wightman, preaching at Yorkville, South Carolina: "The triumphs of Christianity rest this very hour upon slavery; and slavery depends on the triumphs of the South . . . This war is the servant of slavery." [The Glory of God, the Defence of the South (1861), cited in Eugene Genovese's Consuming Fire (1998).] Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, referring to the Confederate government: "Its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery . . . is his natural and normal condition." [Augusta, Georgia, Daily Constitutionalist, March 30, 1861.] Alfred P. Aldrich, South Carolina legislator from Barnwell: "If the Republican party with its platform of principles, the main feature of which is the abolition of slavery and, therefore, the destruction of the South, carries the country at the next Presidential election, shall we remain in the Union, or form a separate Confederacy? This is the great, grave issue. It is not who shall be President, it is not which party shall rule -- it is a question of political and social existence." [Steven Channing, Crisis of Fear, pp. 141-142.] Political divisions America was thus divided by economic structure, and was led into fratricidal warfare by a series of political clashes.

KM Phase Project Report

Electronics (GAPE) to analyze their processes and to come up with a KM improvement plan to shorten their product development lead-time. We took a closer look at the key activities in the product development process and identified critical activities that had most impact on the development lead- time which is the focus for our study. We also got to learn development that did not go as planned as well as getting to know what is working well in product development.Completing the KM assessment has allowed us to draw the following results: GAPE should focus on Exchange, Combination and Colonization (for both Knowledge Sharing and Discovery). Attention should be given to Routine, Direction, Sterilization and Initialization. The majority of knowledge were captured through formal procedural processes and stored in the Exchange database. But it is not easy for engineers to find them. Knowledge locator may help to solve this problem.The current KM Infrastructure does not support colonization w ell enough and does not really exhibit knowledge sharing between development teams. This could improve by setting up community Of practices. The key to success is in getting the product design requirements right the first mime, perform thorough evaluations on all project risks and get the design right the first time. This goes with the reuse of knowledge (I. E. Past product development experiences, standard proven design, lessons learned from the past so that mistakes will not get repeated and the use of best practices).This calls for all internal as well as external brains together to approve design before proceeding to the next stage of development. [2] Company Background Information Gold Peak Industries GAP (Holdings) Limited -the parent company of GAPE- was established in 1964 and it has been in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 984. It is well known by the public for its battery products under the GAP Batteries brand. GAPE is in the design and manufacturing industry special ized in both consumer and professional audio products. Reduces developed range from personal audio system & HI Speakers to professional amplifiers & speakers use in cinemas, stadiums and concerts. Engineers take ideas from product concepts through to mass production, then leave the design in safe hands to their manufacturing colleagues in their Hough production plant. The Center of Engineering Department is located in downtown Sheehan and as over 135 Engineering staff. Located in the same site, there are over 65 staff from various associated activities to support the Engineering needs.The Engineering Department is organized into 3 main branches: Product Development Operation (65 persons) Technology (35 persons) Engineering Support Services (35 persons) Also the Acoustic Team at Hough factory has 44 persons And at Hong Kong office the RFC Team with 7 engineers. The Department Business Strategy is strong product development with dedicated functional teams – Electronics Teams, M echanical Teams, Software Teams, DSL Teams, RFC Teams, Quality Assurance Teams, Safety & Environmental Team, Test & Measurement Team, etc.For further information, please visit our client's websites: Gold Peak Group www. Galloped. Com Electronic Division: www. Gap-industries. Com [3] Assessment Scope and Objective Assessment Scope : Product Development Product Development is the primary task in the Engineering Department. Therefore, putting forward Product Development as our assessment scope came with no surprise. Assessment Objective : Shorten Product Development Lead-Time There are wow key strategic performances in product development, namely Quality and Time-to-Market.In order not to make our assessment too broad for this Knowledge Management project, we have chosen the latter as our assessment objective which is also the most important out of the TV'0 for GAPE. By improving Time-to-Market, in product development perspective, we are referring to shortening product development lead -time. The following are advantages from a shorten product development lead-time: Stay competitive in the increasing competition in the worldwide market Avoid back-orders and preventing lost sales. It may also lead to more orders and more sales if development is ahead of schedule. 4] Organization Chart Figure 1: Organization Chart In reference to Figure 1, we have the Department's organization chart. Sitting at the top of the chart, we have the Engineering Director and then branching down to sections Of functional teams. Starting from the left, we have the Product Development Section composed of a team of project managers and 4 Development Teams. Development teams are primarily consisted of Electronics engineers where they are responsible for electronics design and development as well as leading the verbal activities in Product Development.Next, we have the Mechanical Section consisting of Mechanical engineers. Mechanical Product development team support mechanical related design an d development of Product Development. Advance Mechanical section specialized in new design techniques and choice of materials, simulation and other tools that may help development. The Engineering Service Section provides support and services to other sections. It consists of the Safety, Environmental and Material Teams, The Artwork and workshop. Document Control takes care of all documents in & out of Engineering.The Technology Section consisting of Advance Engineering, Software Team, RFC Team and the DSL Team all working towards the same goal to maintain a competitive edge to compete with the others. These are the lucky group in the department whom will get to learn, design and develop first of the kind in both technologies and products (I . E. Technologies and products that are new to GAPE). Finally we have the Acoustic Team. This Team is responsible for design and development of drivers and speakers. 5] Product Development Process projects are initiated with feasibility and just ification with the introduction Of product design specification. In reference to the Product Design Specification Engineer, the engineers will review all past design in the Exchange system with similar specification and review all lessons learned from similar field. The engineers will then work on the initial draft design considering technical risk assessment, BOOM cost, tooling cost, development lead-time and Engineering hours and other investment that go with the project.Reuse existing design and components where appropriate. Tacit Sharing on design and progress are held on a weekly basis. Only the final sign proposal will be uploaded to their Exchange system when all criteria are met and ready for management approval. Formal procedures (routines) and document format are in place for uploading design document to the Exchange system at the end of each development stage. Design are checked according to design rules and approved by managers before the upload is approved. Please refer to the following figure for the Product Development Process Flow.Figure 2: Product Development Process The Product Development Process consists of 4 stages – Feasibility, Design & Realization, Industrialization and Mass Production. The items in the middle are key activities that we have identified in the product development process. At the bottom are the outcomes from each of these stages. Below is an explanation Of the activities in each Of the 4 Stages. Feasibility Stage The project typically starts with a set of requirements listing out the required features, the industrial design and the target cost.The engineers will need to process this information, consider their Use Cases and their User Interface. They will then find out if there are any past projects and designs that can be used to meet some of these requirements. Reusing proven designs will minimize the development lead-time and impose minimal risk to the development. The engineers will then put together a proposal for customer to sign off the project. Often a time the proposal will get adjusted to better match with the end user's needs, cost target of the customer and time to market.Any new technology, new component needed and any performance specification required beyond those achieved in the past by the department had to be found, evaluated and learned. All risks will need to be assessed before committing to the project. These are conducted in the Technology Scouting & Evaluation activity. Once all risks are assessed and requirements are met per customer wish, Engineer can proceed with the Project planning activity to draw up the development schedule and plan all resources (both man power and equipment) for the development. The concept release will be granted after successfully completing all feasibility activities.Design and Realization This involves all knowledge from past projects, lessons learned and best practices together to come up with the solution. Design involves electronic circu its, software and mechanical design. Once the design is drawn, the engineers will conduct simulations to predict if the design conformed to performance requirement. Once the design passed simulation test, Engineer will design the circuit on PC. This is the PC Layout Design activity. They will also design a test plan to qualify the design at board level as well as at system level.The realization is a collection of activities in getting physical samples, build and design tested. These activities are the Prototype Sample Build, the Engineering Sample Build and the Tool Making. Only a few samples (typically 3 sets) will be built during the Prototype stage. The Engineering Sample Build mom after the Prototype Build involving a larger quantity (typically 1 5 sets) and it will have all design improvements in place from the prototype design. Engineer will initiate Tool Making once the mechanical design is mature enough and off-tool parts will be used on the Pilot Build.The design release is granted only when enough confidence is gained from the design during the Design and Realization stage. The engineers may proceed to the next stage of development after granting Design Release. Industrialization This stage consists of 2 key activities: the Pilot Build and the Pre-production Build. Both builds are conducted on the production floor with production flow, processes and test fixtures specifically designed for the product. The design for Manufacturing issues and Standard Operating Procedure gets verified and optimized on the Pre-production Build prior to Mass Production.The build quantity is considerably larger than previous builds. These processes are also very valuable in verifying design tolerances and production process variations. Mass production At this stage, all design and production processes would have been fully verified and qualified for production in huge quantities. Product Development Process Flow will come to an end after executing the first production lot . The engineers will then leave the design, repair and product know to their Manufacturing Engineers whom will have full responsibility of the product from there onward. 6] Learning from Past Product Developments Let's take a closer look on past product development and see if we find opportunities to shorten the development lead-time if we had been given another chance to do it again. We have reviewed 10 products developed in the past 12 months. We have observed there was no hold up on schedule urine the Industrialization Stage and the Mass Production Stage. The following activities typically are more procedural and time controlled and they did not show sign to have impact on the lead-time: Project Planning, Simulations, PC Layout, Test Plan, Prototype Build, Engineering Sample Build and Tool Making.We found issues that lead to a longer lead-time fall into the following categories: Technology Scouting and Evaluation Example: Risks are not thoroughly understood before committing to d evelopment. One of the projects had its USB Audio with intermittent audio while operating from Windows XP. This intermittent problem was unknown until the team got to the evaluation stage on the first prototype sample. The problem resides in the software driver design where the solution provider could not solve in a short time and the team has no access to the driver codes to solve it.The team had to find an alternative USB Audio solution to continue the development. This had resulted in a time loss of 2 months. Circuit, Software & Mechanical Design a) Example 1: Design from scratch where they could have reused an existing proven solution. We have identified one Of the project where the engineers ad designed an all new amplifier from scratch where they could have simply reuse design from a past project. This new amplifier had no performance, cost, weight or size advantage over the existing design.The reason for designing the new amplifier was because the team of engineers was not aw are that there was an equivalent amplifier design which they could have just copied. This has resulted in a time loss of 1 month and also in a waste of engineering effort. B) Example 2: Repeating problems that had been encountered and solved by another team in past developments. [7] Critical Activities Figure 3: Critical Activities in the Product Development Process After understanding what went on with past product developments, we have concluded that some Of the activities are less critical to our assessment objective.In reference to Figure 3, these non-critical activities are highlighted in grey colored text. Activities remained in black color text are areas we have targeted to focus our study to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in order to shorten the overall development lead-time. [8) KM Assessment [8. 1] Desire KM processes We have mapped out contingency factors to each of the 2 critical sub- recesses to determine their desired KM processes.These contingency factors come from informal interviews conducted with various experienced Engineers working on product development in the department. These factors reflected how they overall judge each of these activities based on their participation in current and past product developments. Figure 4: Chart to determine desire KM Processes Major Processes Us b-processes Task Characteristics Knowledge Characteristics Organizational Characteristics Environmental Uncertainty Desired KM Process(SE) Uncertainty InterdependentTIE DIP Size Strategy Feasibility Technology scouting & Evaluation Medium High D Combination Colonization for knowledge Discovery Design Circuit , Software , Mechanical Low Exchange Colonization for knowledge sharing Projects handle by the department vary considerably in complexity ranging from a simple audio docking system to a complex Audio Visual Receiver involving complex DSL processing. By averaging out these extremes, we have decided to weight Task Uncertainty as â€Å"Medium† f or both sub-processes. This weighting is more representative of the real situations.

How Similes Work

How Similes Work A simile is a direct comparison of two different and often unrelated objects. Similes  are useful for making creative writing come to life. Common similes include run like the wind, busy as a bee, or as happy as a clam. Before looking at any examples, you should try a little brainstorming exercise. First, jot down a list of characteristics of the subject youre writing about. For example, is it noisy, dense, or annoying? Once you have a shortlist completed, look over those characteristics and try to imagine an unrelated object that shares those characteristics. This list of similes will help you come up with your own examples. Similes That Include the Word Like Many similes are easy to identify because they include the word like. The cat slipped through the crack like liquid.The delicious smell meandered through the house like a stream.That bed was like a pile of rocks.My heart is racing like a frightened rabbit.The fire alarm was like a screaming baby.Watching that movie was like watching paint dry.The winter air was like a cold razor.The hotel was like a castle.My brain was like a sun-baked brick during the exam.I shook like a rattlesnakes tail.Being grounded is like living in an empty desert.The alarm was like a doorbell in my head.My feet were like frozen turkeys.His breath was like a fog from a haunted bog. As-As Similes Some similes use the word as to compare two objects.   That kid can run as fast as a cheetah.Hes as cute as a frogs dimple.This sauce is as hot as the sun.My tongue is as dry as burnt toast.Your face is as red as hot coals.His feet were as big as a tree.The air was as cold as the inside of a freezer.These bed sheets are as scratchy as sandpaper.The sky is as dark as ink.I was as cold as a snowman.Im as hungry as a bear in springtime.That dog is as messy as a tornado.My sister is as shy as a newborn fawn.His words were as soft as snowflakes on a leaf. Similes can add a creative flourish to your paper, but they can be tricky to get right. And remember:  similes are great for creative essays, but not really appropriate for academic papers.

Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches Essays

Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches Essays Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches Paper Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches Paper Essay Topic: Film During World War I the government and army officials constantly endeavoured to project a positive image of the war effort and any attempt to show negative aspects of the war were discouraged as it was felt that this would lower morale and discourage patriotism and recruitment to the army. Therefore it is always hard to know whether any source is reliable, especially those from official sources, and these should always be backed up by cross-referencing. One of these sources is the film The Battle Of The Somme which shows footage of soldiers recorded actually behind the lines of British fire. Now, you would assume as it was filmed in the trenches, and shows real soldiers, that it would al be true and there would be no need of cross-referencing to see if it is accurate. However, as it was filmed for the purpose of showing during war-time back at home and was obviously approved by officials, it was therefore intended to show war tactics, trench conditions and general life as a soldier in an extremely positive light, and can not always be taken at face value. For instance, the film portrays lots of soldiers with clean clothes, good food and in a generally happy environment, with no major hardships smiling and going about daily life. However, various sources challenge this view of trench life including Aftermath by Siegfried Sassoon which asks: Do you remember the rats, and the stench of corpses rotting on the front line trench? which is quite a contrast to the images put forward by the film. And a poem of Sidney Chaplain says: you stand in a trench of vile stinking mud, and the bitter cold wind freezes your blood. These poems, and many others show that the trenches in fact werent the comfortable place the film suggests. The diaries and memoirs of soldiers also express a different view of trench life. Seargeant S. V. Britten says: Left at 6. 30 for reserve trenches. Just rat holes! found Germans feet sticking up through the ground. The Gurkhas had actually used human bodies instead of sandbags. Beside the stream where we were working, stench something awful and dead all around. However, this is not to say that the film was lying, but maybe it was hard to show the discomfort the troops were put through and the directors and producers have decided to show the good times in the trenches as the audience wanted an action film about brave soldiers, and did not want to see the trivialities of daily life. Also, if the film had shown the soldiers in major discomfort this may have been upsetting for friends or relatives back home. This theory is also supported by the fact that while, in their own poems or diaries the soldiers may have been less positive about trench conditions, in letters home to loved ones they usually tried to convey a positive attitude and not discuss hardships, as in this extract a letter of Rifleman Bert Bailey to his wife shows: I am still in the trenches and in good health. Although all day and night on Monday it rained steadily, yesterday it broke fair and fine and we had a nice day except that underneath was a l mud and slosh which shows how he is downplaying the discomfort of the trenches. Although, the film does have one scene showing British soldiers scrambling over the trenches with most making it but one of two being shot down. This was, in fact just a replication of a battle, as due to the unwieldy nature of the cameras it would have been impossible to get this during actual warfare. But though this may seem to be contradicting the films earlier messages about the safety of the British soldiers it says that the Germans would be blown up with massive guns, and a few brave soldiers would die. Of course, the film shows none of the slow, painful deaths of soldiers from infected wounds or hypothermia and the like. Many soldiers going in to war also shared this romanticised view of death in the army, as the poem The Soldier by Rupert Brooke shows when he says if I should die, think only this of me: that theres some corner in a foreign field that is for ever England. He obviously had a fairly positive view of the army and was extremely patriotic. However, the films attempts at making it appear that the British tactics were so effective are not supported by the fact the first day of the battle was a complete disaster, the worst day in British military history with casualty figures over 60,000 and 21,000 killed. The Allies had been confident that nothing would survive the bombardment mentioned in the intertitles and sent an order for the British soldiers to go over the top, essentially to their deaths. One extract from the memoirs of George Coppard shows the blatant foolishness of the commanders: hundreds of dead were strung out like wreckage How did out planners imagine that the Tommies, having survived all the other hazards would get past the German wire? Any Tommy could have told them that shell fire lifts wire up and drops it down, often in a worse tangle than before. The film however fails to highlight these extremely important facts. This is the day of one of the worst leadership blunders in British military history. Another message that the film tries to convey to the audience is that the medical facilities were extremely good and that all wounded soldiers were quickly attended to. There are various sources supporting this, and some that oppose this view. Many poems tell of wounded being flung in to carts, which shows that they were at least cared for and not left to die. There is also a photo of two nurses tending to a wounded soldier, showing that care was so good there could be two nurses to a bed. However, this photograph was probably commissioned by the army, so could not have been expressing negative views about the care the soldiers received. Several paintings, such as Gassed by Singer Sargent, or The Harvest of Battle by C. R. W. Nevinson show wounded men being led back to the trenches by those who were able to help. So these are obviously supporting the evidence given in the film. However, an extract from the Diary of a Dead Officer, the memoirs of A. West reads: Doctors looked on every man as a skrim-shanker en wounded and minus an arm forced to have electric treatment. Knocked down and held on the bed people nearly crying with pain. Gloomy buildings meals never hot, worse than ordinary camp food. So this obviously shows the darker side to the armys medical service. Overall, I feel that this film, though a valuable piece of evidence from the point of view for technical reference, to see what kind of equipment the soldiers carried and so on and is a piece of World War I history, you have to bear in mind the situation under which it was created. The war office allowed a small group of camera men to cover the war on the Western front, all the footage of which was edited and produced by a team for the War Office. Indeed, the film was considered so important and expressive of the views the army wanted to promote, that at the first screening of the film a letter by David Lloyd George, Secretary of State for the War was read saying: You are invited here to witness by far the most important picture of the war our staff has yet procured I am convinced that when you have seen this wonderful picture, every heart will beat in sympathy with its purpose Now, gentlemen, be up and doing also! This letter clearly implies that the main point of the film is to increase patriotic feelings and rally civilian support for the war effort, and states very clearly that another aim is to encourage the signing up of other men. Therefore we have had to treat every area of this film with caution before stating the reliability. I have tried to do this and feel that while some of the basic facts are right, this is obviously an air-brushed view of the battle, and the government and army failed to inform of the massive losses incurred, which I feel was neglectful of their duty to keep the public informed with a realistic picture of events, and also ignores the duties carried out by the thousands of soldiers that gave their lives. This neglect of the facts also indicates the way other areas of the film, such as showing the comfort of the men, may have been skimmed over to give a better view of the army and I think that as this was the main purpose of the film from the beginning, it provides us with an extremely imprecise view of the lives the soldiers in the trenches actually experienced.

Entrepreneurial Management Innovation at WIPRO The WritePass Journal

Entrepreneurial Management Innovation at WIPRO Entrepreneurial Management Innovation at WIPRO Introduction to the organizationApproach to the documentDefinition of termsFrom 1945 – 2000 individual entrepreneurshipValue based leadershipCorporate entrepreneurship from 2000 onwardsWorking framework for innovation at WiproApplied innovation frameworkProcess innovationDelivery InnovationTechnology innovationBusiness innovationThe outcomes of corporate entrepreneurshipInternal organizational factors to consider for successful innovationEffect of leadershipInnovation CultureManagement practicesValue systemOrganizational structureInnovation strategyA few hindrances to effective innovationCompetitive rivalryNational cultureRecommendationsTop down approachTeam based activitiesA new perspectiveConclusionReferencesRelated Introduction to the organization Wipro was founded in 1945 in India and is currently diversified from producing vanaspati oil during its initial set up to Information technology, consumer care, lighting, engineering and health care sectors. The company has a long history of budding from independent entrepreneurship to corporate entrepreneurship after its diversification. Though founded during the early 20th Century, this company came before economic liberalization and adroitly used the opportunities offered by deregulation to grow businesses. At the same time, they built strong organizational capabilities such as project management, quality of execution and speed. Arguably it is one of the few companies in India that changed its products and services with the pace of technological change and need. Wipro deals with business in IT services, Product engineering solutions, Technology infrastructure services, Business Process Outsourcing and other consulting related services.   As of 2010 the company has employee stren gth of more than 100,000 and is classified as a large company in the IT sector. Currently the organization is diversified into many businesses with Information Technology services playing a major role in Wipro’s success. Today the Indian IT companies namely TCS, Wipro, HCL are renowned in the global market for their services. The various external factors leading to this situation include the Indian education system, high quality engineers, low cost of creation and high technological infrastructure. Approach to the document This report defines the various kinds of innovative outcomes in Wipro and how it evolved over 50 years to its current state that can be classified into the OECD innovation model. After this a few factors that have led to these innovative outcomes have been discussed and further classified as facilitators or barriers. Based on these observations a few recommendations are also provided to improve corporate entrepreneurship at Wipro. Definition of terms Academicians and practitioners have defined corporate entrepreneurship in many different ways in the existing literature. A number of authors emphasize that entrepreneurship primarily acts in underpinning innovation (Drucker, 1985b; McGrath, 1996; Stevenson and Jarillo, 1990). According to Schumpeter (1934) Innovation is 1) The introduction of a new good or a new quality of the good 2) The introduction of a new method of production 3) The opening of a new market 4) The conquest of a new source of supply 5) The carrying out of the new organization of an industry It can be differentiated between 4 types of innovations, namely Product Innovation, Process Innovation, Marketing Innovation, and Organisational Innovation (OECD, 2007). Corporate entrepreneurship is defined as the effort of promoting innovation from an internal organization perspective, through the assessment of potential new opportunities, alignment of resources, exploitation and commercialisation of said opportunities (McFadzean et al 2005). Corporate Entrepreneurship (McFadzean, 2005) From 1945 – 2000 individual entrepreneurship Azim Hasham Premji, the chairman of Wipro, was called upon to manage Wipro when he was 21 years old at the sudden demise of his father in 1966. He has steered the company to a rapid growth since then. In the 70s, he realized a growing demand for computers in India with a few manufacturers. The company had no knowledge about computer manufacturing but Premji decided to venture into this and decided to collaborate with scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IIS) to manufacture hardware and later software (when the Indian market was liberalized in 1991). Under his leadership, the fledgling US$ 2 million hydrogenated cooking fat company has grown to a US$1.76 billion IT Services organization serving customers across the globe. Value based leadership Premji has established a strong value system in Wipro and believed that values not only helped in achieving success but also made that success more enduring and lasting (2003). Based on the vision created by the leader the organization made its path towards diversifying into various sectors and successfully innovating. Below are the milestones in the value based leadership that led to its growth until 2000 1977 – WIPRO was renamed to Wipro products limited due to its wide range of products 1970’s – First Indian company to manufacture mini computers 1980 – Wipro Technologies was created to manufacture computer hardware and related software 1988 – Wipro Biomed was established to market and service bio-analytical and diagnostics instruments. In 1989 it turned into a joint venture with GE and launched Wipro GE Medical systems limited 1998 Premji decided to undertake an image building exercise for Wipro and adopted the rainbow sunflower logo and the tag line Applying Thought 1999 First Indian company to receive the SEI-CMM level 5 certification which would help the company in global business development. All these initiatives led by the leader made Premji one of the top 30 all time great entrepreneurs in the world (Business week, July 2007). The magazine said, After making the company profitable and expanding from food oil to other consumer goods, Premji led Wipro into the nascent tech economy in the 1970s. Premji is also a hands-on manager involved in day-to-day operations, even making sales calls himself. He believed in empowering people allowing them to express their ideas and raise voices freely. There revolutionary policies would help shape the leaders of tomorrow. Employees were free to give feedback in a transparent system and the management at Wipro learnt what was hampering team performance and what could be done to rectify any problems. Corporate entrepreneurship from 2000 onwards From 2000 onwards the company focussed on innovation as a measure to sustain its competitive advantage. Since the launch of innovation initiatives in 2000, Wipro had emerged as one of the strongest players in the Information Technology (IT) industry. The company offered a comprehensive portfolio of products based on innovative solutions. Innovation was a prerequisite at Wipro since it believed that this was essential to achieve growth and competitive advantage. It was one of the values on Wipros promise statement that said, With utmost respect to human values, we promise to serve our customers with integrity through innovative, value for money solutions, by applying thought day after day. 2000 In September Wipro established ePeripherals Limited (Wep) diversifying into IT related businesses. 2004 Wipros innovation initiatives focused on the publishing industry resulted in huge success thus expanding the solutions to other areas finance, insurance, and manufacturing. 900 employees working towards developing innovative business solutions (Business Week, 2006) 2007 As of March 2007, innovative initiatives contributed to 7.5% of the toal revenues. Had a target of 10% by 2009 and successfully achieved it. Innovation council Soon the innovation council was formed and the approach aimed at soliciting ideas from the employees. The collected ideas from employees were discussed at the IC with top management reviewing the proposed ideas and analyzing how they would help the company accelerate growth and increase the quality of its new products. Thus it offered a bottom up approach to innovation although the feasibility was considered by the top management. And with selected ones, the company granted funding, technology and resources to bring into action. This encouraged the employees to suggest more innovative ideas and by the end of 2006 the council had 200 permanent employees to handle requests. Working framework for innovation at Wipro The innovation initiative at Wipro began with in depth study of successfully innovating companies like Nike, 3M Technologies and Home Depot. A 2 member team was formed to consult with academicians, experts, industrialists to chart out an innovation initiative. However after thorough examination it was observed that no existing innovation models could be replicated at Wipro. Hence by adopting a ground-up approach a focussed innovation model was built based on the requirements of the company also considering authorized customer ideas. According to Oslo Manual for measuring innovation there are 4 types of innovation product innovation; process innovation; marketing innovation and organisational innovation. However the working framework of innovation at Wipro classifies innovation at Wipro as Process Innovation, Technology Innovation, Delivery Innovation and Business Innovation. Applied innovation framework Wipros applied innovation was a 360 degree approach to business that focussed on four domains business, process, technology and delivery. This would help Wipro technologies work collaboratively with its clients to reduce the cost of a project, speed up the process of delivery and identify new opportunities for business. Innovation at Wipro (Divakaran Mangalath, 2006) Process innovation As part of its innovation process Wipro applied the principles of lean manufacturing and six sigma to its process of software design and development. This helped it increase productivity by 10% since it reused tools and components. It was evident that after lean principles of engineering were applied to over 700 projects, 20-30% savings were recovered for the company (directors report, 2007). Delivery Innovation This included the software factory model and the global delivery model. The factory model integrated several IT functions into a centralized supply chain allowing common areas of work to be grouped for better quality and time saving. Wipro observed 10-15% reduction in cycle time of demand to delivery of products. It was globally used across projects and Wipro was credited with pioneering the virtual distributed software development model that enabled companies to manage large projects through virtually distributed teams. Technology innovation The company was involved in creating IPs (Intellectual Properties) that effectively enabled its customers to reduce time in the product life cycle and improve the success rates of the products. Eg: the company developed a plug-n-play patent and IP that helped reduce the products time-to-market by 20-25%. Also they were the largest bank of patents in bluetooth, wireless LAN and IEEE 1394. Business innovation To improve its relation with customers, the company focussed on business solutions that were specific to the related industry. Wipros business innovations included Data Privacy and Master Data Management, Clinical Data Management, Integrated Publishing platform, vendor managed inventory, retail pharmacy, etc. Wipro also developed the GCC (Global command center) with IT infrastructure for its customers. The customers were happy to monitor, diagnose, store and secure applications as and when needed. The outcomes of corporate entrepreneurship In 8 years, by the end of 2008, innovation became an integral part of product development process. Since the cyclic processs has been inculcated in the employees, the time-to-market was significantly decreased for new products and also the products used leading-edge technology. A work flow solution Flow-Brix was estimated to generate revenues in the range US$ 75,000 US$ 1 million. Innovation had spread across all sectors of the organization and i-Desk was the first one to enable easy HR management by a collaborating workplace tool for workflow solutions for publishing. All these innovation initiatives have been fruitful and also helped the company attract prospective employees to fill 29% of vacancies in 2006 (Business week, 2006) Hence it was certain that the innovation process enabled a strong product portfolio and also brought good revenue streams. In Wipro technologies, the company was focussing on consultancy services which would further enhance its image in the global software industry. Internal organizational factors to consider for successful innovation Effect of leadership In Wipro it was not only recruiting the right kind of people, but also in proper training of its people. Employees were mandated to frequent internal training sessions with major responsibilities showered on them although they may not seem well prepared for the role. Premji (2005) defined 8 leadership qualities which were made a standard against which new employees would be recruited and trained. He believed that training and development at various stages were designed by mapping peoples competencies to specific roles in the Life Cycle Stage Development Plan. Innovation Culture Premji also placed utmost importance on innovation and creativity in developing a successful organization. Stressing the importance of innovation for the overall development of the organization, Premji said, Innovation is essentially the application of high creativity. It need not be restricted to just products; it applies to services, employee attitude and across all levels. Innovation is a fundamental mindset pursued seriously by an organization. It is imperative to imbibe the culture of innovation(Manu B. 2006). Analysts report that the open and supportive culture at Wipro gives employees the opportunity to develop their skills and as a result, contribute more to the organization. Management practices In order to come out with innovative products and services, the top management at Wipro committed itself to fostering innovation in the organization and encouraging employees to come out with innovative ideas. Value system The company also strove to make it more customers centric. The company believes in the objective of customer-in where the voice of the customers is built in the products rather than being product-out where the products are sold by marketing its features to the customer. Premji also believed that this value system has to remain intact even after his tenure which was openly admired by the competitors. Organizational structure In Wipro the organizational structure was also responsible for carrying out innovation initiative in selected projects. The company emphasized the commercial viability of an idea along with innovation. The concept was to create components with Intellectual Properties (IP) that would generate revenues over a period of time rather than one-time revenue from projects. Innovation strategy Another approach to innovation involved executives of several industry vertical business units identifying new technologies that would be of importance to their clients in the near future. The objective was to have expertise in the new technologies and come up with the products and productive services that could be patented by Wipro. These centres also work with research institutes, technology providers and also provide a platform for the growth of the employees. The company was able to launch new products continuously due to its innovation strategy, which considerably reduced the time between idea-generation and final product development. A few hindrances to effective innovation Competitive rivalry WIPRO was able to produce hardware and software for the domestic market, however due to high competition and low quality; they decided that they could not export their products in a market that had the niche products from the big companies. They were not ready to take the risk of competing with IBM, Intel, and Apple and decided to use the opportunity where doors were open in the Indian market. If in the process, they were able to attain the quality as these giants, they could have made it to the bigger markets in no time and could have proven cost effective than other options. But due to unavailability of high quality raw material and skilled resources, they had to limit to the domestic market. National culture India is a developing nation and it takes time for technological changes to occur. Also the initial cost of hardware and software related to new technology is very high and not affordable to most projects. Hence although the Innovation council decides on feasible innovative ideas posted by employees, quite often they are rejected due to unavailability of resources in the country. However the company is striving to compete with global competitors in the technological field and this barrier can cause a major impact on the innovation strategy. Recommendations Top down approach An entrepreneurial vision indicates the strategic intent of the organization. Stein (2002) proposed that the most admired companies set challenging goals. This vision encourages individuals to hold informal discussion with colleagues, friends and share the knowledge that they bring with different project experiences. This helps refine the idea based on the critical analysis by more than one person. Thus the vision setter actually motivates employees to strive to excel beyond their capabilities and routines. Although innovation and creativity cannot be forced on employees, this provides a platform to discuss, relate and generate new ideas. This continuous innovation is also possible only when the employee understands and accepts the vision and strives to deliver it. Team based activities In Wipro technologies project work is also carried out in teams. This inculcates an team based culture for working among employees. Although the employee is not forced to discuss innovative ideas within his team he can depend upon forums to find people with similar interests. As part of knowledge sharing the company encourages participation in forums and blogging. Thus a webbed structure is created in sharing ideas. For example, people working for different projects but with similar technological backgrounds can rely upon the forums for their needed expertise. In this way simple tools created in one project can be easily passed on to other projects with similar requirements effectively reducing time to collaborate with the Innovation council. This can also be seen as a knowledge management initiative that fosters innovation. A new perspective The organization can look upon innovative ideas as a change management process. The organization has keenly created the Innovation council to take care of the process. However the acceptability of existing teams to these new ideas is not calculated as a risk. People could be inflexible in accepting a novel way of doing business. They are more comfortable with the routine methods and could prove a failure to the case. Along with innovation management the organization should also consider change management as part of the culture. This would improve acceptability of ideas and keep the cyclic process of innovation going on. Conclusion Wipro which began with the success of an individual entrepreneur has matured to a corporate entrepreneur that fosters innovation. The innovation discussed about Wipro technologies in particular can be applied to other industries too. Analysts feel that these internal organizational factors – culture, leadership, strategy give employees the environment conducive for continuous innovation and contribute more to the organization. However, the company has to rethink of its methods since close competitors like TCS, Infosys and CTS are also making huge investments in innovation. Hence with increased competition, it is a challenge for Wipro to sustain the current position of the innovation leader in the Indian market. References Azim Premji, â€Å"8 Steps to Excellence†, The Smart Manager, January 2005. Azim Premjis Interview with IIM Bangalores S.Krishna, www.azimpremjifoundation.com, March 2003. â€Å"Director’s Report,† www.moneycontrol.com, March 2007. Divakaran Mangalath, â€Å"What Makes Innovation Work,† www.wipro.com, December 2006. Drucker, P.F. (1985b), Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles, Heinemann, London. Elspeth McFadzean, Andrew OLoughlin, Elizabeth Shaw, (2005) Corporate entrepreneurship and innovation part 1: the missing link, European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 8 Iss: 3, pp.350 – 372 Gupta, A.K. and Govindarajan, V. (2000), â€Å"Knowledge flows within multinational corporations†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 473-96. Jon Tozzi, â€Å"The Greatest Entrepreneurs of All Time,† Business Week, July 2007. Manu A B, â€Å"Premji on Innovation, Creativity,† www.rediff.com, February 16, 2006. McGrath, R.G. (1996), â€Å"Options and the entrepreneur: towards a strategic theory of wealth creation†, Academy of Management Proceedings, pp. 101-5. OECD (2007): OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2007, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, p. 94. Stein, J.C. (2002), â€Å"Information production and capital allocation: decentralized versus hierarchical firms†, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 57 No. 5, pp. 1891-922. Stevenson, H.H. and Jarillo, J.C. (1990), â€Å"A paradigm of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial management†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 11, pp. 17-27. Schumpeter, J.A. (1934): The Theory of Economic Development, 13th Printing 2007, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Wiklund, J. and Shepherd, D. (2003), â€Å"Knowledge-based resources, entrepreneurial orientation, and the performance of small and medium-sized businesses†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 24, pp. 1307-14. Wipros New Groove, www.businessweek.com, February 17, 2006. â€Å"QA with Wipro’s Azim Premji,† www.businessweek.com, November 27, 2006.

Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Culture - Essay Example I also realized that I belong to this cultural group because I abide by its beliefs and customs, which determines the way of life that we practice on a daily basis. Before analyzing how this culture affects my life, it is crucial to define vast aspects of our culture and how it is practiced. Firstly, the Hispanic, Mexican culture is strongly based on family matters where everyone in the family becomes his brothers’ keepers (Merrim 150). The above is depicted by the fact that the Mexican families are very wide open and largely spread outside of the cities within; thus, we care for each other and live as one society. This aspect positively affects my life because it planted a seed of care in my daily life practices. For this reason, it means that by being a part of this culture, I have become a caring person who is always concerned about issues faced by friends, family, and the entire society. Prior to living together and caring for each other as a family, we also love celebrations and feasts that occur subsequently during the year. These parties and celebrations unite the extended families, who are usually invited to the celebration venues (156). These celebrations are highly embraced because they remind us of the past times and at the same time remind us the reason for embracing values and customs. In this regard, the celebrations positively affect my sense of originality and roots because it offers me a platform of knowing who I am. More so, these celebrations increase my patriotism because it gives me the reason to love my background. The other culture that we adhere to is the family setting, where the father is considered as the head of the family, or the authority of the home (198). The mother is perceived as the home manager, who runs the home. This cultural practice has slightly been affected by globalization because women currently engage in vast