EGovernment: History, Causes and Trends

EGovernment: History, Causes and Trends BENCHMARKING EGOVERNMENT SERVICES Abstract: Governments around the world have embraced the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This represents a relatively new branch of study within the IT field. EGovernment Services are provided through many different means of access and to a variance of audiences, citizens, businesses or even other governmental entities. After clarifying the definitions and differences among similar terms (i.e. eGovernance and Digital Government, eDemocracy) this paper examines how eGovernment is measured by analyzing the dominating methodologies that are used. Furthermore, following specifically the eGovernment benchmarking methodology that is used by the European Commission, a greater focus in the evolution of eGovernment in Greece has been made. The finding through this assessment was far from satisfactory. Particularly, comparing the 20 Basic eGovernment Services offered in Greece, from 2007 to 2009, no development in terms of improvement, has taken place. Finally, the measures tha t governments need to undertake are discussed. Introduction In the past years, assisted by the invasion of Information Technology in everyday lives, governments all over the world have begun widely using information technologies for increasing the effectiveness and quality of the services they provide. These initiatives have become known as â€Å"electronic government† or eGovernment services. In most cases, when words gain that attractive â€Å"e-â€Å" in front of them, the popular belief is that they have become â€Å"electronic†, whatever that means, even though in some cases it does not make much sense. This confusion is much more obvious when the original word itself has conceptual and abstract meanings. Words like Government and Governance. Section I presents the most popular definitions, choosing the one that describe each term the best, and clarifies boundaries between the most common terms. Furthermore, the different ways that eGovernment can be classified, depending on the delivery model or the audience, is outlined. Although the definitions of eGovernment may vary widely, there an obvious shared theme emerges; eGovernment involves using information technology, and especially the Internet, to improve the delivery of government services to citizens, businesses, and other government agencies. It acts as enabler for citizens to interact and receive services from governments twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Monitoring eGovernment development and evaluating its effectiveness is a complex and challenging task, as the phenomenon is new and dynamic. In Section II, the basics of Benchmarking are presented and its structural elements are analyzed. Focusing on specific examples of methodology used, a set of four dominant practices that represent the longest running efforts for measuring eGovernment is chosen to be explored further. Using the reports publish by each one of them, on a periodical basis, their inner workings are analyzed and the various developments, changes and evolutions in the methods employed by each one are mentioned. Section III focuses at benchmarking of eGovernment Services in Europe. In order to recognize how eGovernment has evolved and matured within the European Union, the relevant European directives, initiatives and frameworks for the development of eGovernment Services in the region since 1999 are examined. Following that, the methodology used for benchmarking eGovernment the European Union is examined in detail. All measuring elements, including some that were used for the first time in the most recently published report are evaluated. Having established what eGovernment is, what Benchmarking is and how its methodologies function, Section IV uses the data from the latest European eGovernment Benchmarking Report, which was published in November 2009, to assess how the Greek eGovernment landscape evolved since the previous report in 2007. The results are disappointing. When comparing the 20 Basic eGovernment Services offered in Greece, there was no improvement, what so ever, from 2007 to 2009. Following that, Greek performance in the two new indices introduced in the latest report (EProcurement and User Experience) is reported and compared to the respective EU27+ average. Finally, in Section V, a general overview is provided along with the conclusions about the (lack of) progress in eGovernment in Greece. Scope and aims The scope of this project is to analyze how the meaning of eGovernment has evolved in the past few years and then review the current trends in benchmarking the penetration sophistication of eGovernment services in Europe and the rest of the world. Furthermore, this project reports and analyses the level of eGovernment services offered in Greece. The basic aims of this project are: Define the eGovernment ecosystem, typology and taxonomy. Analyse the dominant methodologies of benchmarking eGovernment services Gather and process existing results about eGovernment in Greece, regarding service penetration and sophistication, along with other relevant metrics. Resources This project relies heavily on research. In particular, a lot of research on what the different and sometimes contradicting terms that define eGovernment as well as the rest of the relevant terms in academic papers throughout the previous decade was made. Following that, further research about the current and past trends in benchmarking in general and eGovernment benchmarking in particular are is conducted. From there on, having established what eGovernment is and what the provided services should be, along with how they are measured, more research was conducted in order to reveal what the actual current level of provided eGovernment services is. To accomplish this, reports from many different parties are used. These include reports published both by well knows analyst firms or government bodies in various levels as well as reports issued at a global level such as the United Nations to local reports issued by the authorities of each country such as the IT Observatory in Greece. Typology Convention Throughout the bibliography, or any other sort of resource for that matter, â€Å"electronic† terms do not have a consistent representation. So, just like electronic mail can be found abbreviated in quite a few forms, â€Å"electronic† Government is abbreviated to eGovernment, e-Government, E-Government etc. To avoid this inconsistency, through this project the term eGovernment will be used (changed to EGovernment only in the beginning of sentences). This convention will apply to â€Å"electronic† terms that will be used such as eGovernance. I. EGovernment, eGovernance and Digital Governance EGovernment is one more of the recent years â€Å"buzzwords†. It is usually either paired with the word â€Å"services† at the end or other words like eGovernance and Digital Government. Like every other (relatively) new and cool â€Å"buzzword† they are used widely by a broad spectrum of individuals who represent mostly two different backgrounds. Information technology and politics. The first because it is a technological issue, the later because they have come to realize, even though a little late, that they represent an excellent vehicle for them to provide a better experience to anyone who interacts with the Government. But, what do these terms mean? Do they collide or conflict each other? How about covering or including one another? A. EGovernment Definitions There is not one, unique and commonly accepted definition for eGovernment. It is quite difficult to decide over a specific one but after the research made, the following definition from the World Bank (ÃŽ  ÃŽâ€˜ÃŽ ¡ÃŽâ€˜ÃŽ  ÃŽÅ¸ÃŽÅ"ÃŽ  ÃŽâ€") describes it best: â€Å"Government refers to the use by government agencies of information technologies (such as Wide Area Networks, the Internet, and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. These technologies can serve a variety of different ends: better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient government management. The resulting benefits can be less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and/or cost reductions ((AOEMA), 2004). Although other definitions have been provided, this definition is preferred. The reason is that it is the most concise and the easiest to be understood since apart describing in simple words how eGovernment is utilized, it goes on to offer a very brief, yet to the point, reference to its main advantages. EGovernment definitions various other sources as follows:  · United Nations definition ((AOEMA), 2004): â€Å"E-government is defined as utilizing the Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering government information and services to citizens.† * Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce GBDe definition ((AOEMA), 2004): â€Å"Electronic government (hereafter e-Government) refers to a situation in which administrative, legislative and judicial agencies (including both central and local governments) digitize their internal and external operations and utilize networked systems efficiently to realize better quality in the provision of public services.† * Gartner Groups definition: â€Å"the continuous optimization of service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet and new media.† * Definition of the Working Group on eGovernment in the Developing World: E-government is the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote more efficient and effective government, facilitate more accessible government services, allow greater public access to information, and make government more accountable to citizens. E-government might involve delivering services via the Internet, telephone, community centers (self-service or facilitated by others), wireless devices or other communications systems.† EGovernment is in the first stages of development. Most governments have already taken or are taking initiatives offering government services online. However, for the true potential of eGovernment to be realized, government needs to restructure and transform its long entrenched business processes. EGovernment is not simply the process of moving existing government functions to an electronic platform. Rather, it calls for rethinking the way government functions are carried out today to improve some processes, to introduce new ones and to replace those that require it. The range of services that may be provided by e-government spans from simple information sites to fully interactive experiences where users and government engage in a dialog mediated by information technology. Internal information systems of Government agencies, information kiosks, automated telephone information services, SMS services and other systems all comprise e-Government services. All these are applications of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to improve the services of the Government towards its primary clients: the citizens. In the last few years, there has been much talk of mobile government or m-government. MGovernment refers to the use of wireless technologies like cellular/mobile phones, laptops and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) for offering and delivering government services. MGovernment is not a substitute for e-government, rather it complements it. 1. Benefits of eGovernment E-Government initiatives contribute to citizen empowerment by making information about government processes and decisions easily available, and allowing information-sharing among people and organizations, and between citizens and the civil service (Accenture and the Markle Foundation, 2001). Well-informed citizens are better able to hold their governments accountable. Governments are then compelled to improve the quality of services, expand accessibility of these services, and increase responsiveness to their constituents. Many Government services rely on information passed among different offices within a department or across departments. The large amount of information and paperwork required results in an environment where for red tape rips, the workforce is inefficient and bureaucratic, and the delivery of services is ineffective. With the usage of ICT, the government bureaucracy and citizens are both winners in the battle against the paper trail. eGovernment allows government kno wledge and data exchange to be accessed more easily (whether public or secure) by the appropriate offices or individuals. By this, it reduces redundancies of information flows, and resulting in overall increased productivity. Another result of the integration of operations of government agencies is the improvement of transparency in government. EGovernment minimizes redundant information flows, helps to eliminate duplications of functions, and improves the adherence of public servants to proper government procedures, thereby reducing opportunities for corruption. This, provided it is accompanied by well-informed and active citizens, will assist in limiting the relationship between bureaucracy and corruption and will help lead to a higher sense of accountability among officials. B. EGovernment Taxonomy EGovernment can be classified according to different criteria. It can be classified according to its level, its audience and last but certainly not least, according to the delivery mechanism used. 1. Reach EGovernment can be categorized in the following five distinct levels depending on how broad it is. The levels are: * International * National * Regional * State/Provisional * Local These levels are illustrated below (see 1 adapted from Heeks, 2006) 2. Audience The question of where eGovernment originates is pretty much self-explanatory. Nevertheless, the same does not apply when wondering about who is in the receiving end. The answer that first comes to mind is, the citizens. But isnt so. Apart from citizens, there are other entities that are benefited by eGovernment services. According to Backus, â€Å"the three main target groups that can be distinguished in eGovernment concepts are government, citizens and businesses/interest groups. The external strategic objectives focus on citizens and businesses and interest groups, the internal objectives focus on government itself† (Backus, 2001). a) Government to Citizens (G2C) Government to Citizen activities are those in which the government provides, on-line, one-stop access to information and services to citizens. G2C applications allow citizens to ask questions of government agencies and receive answers, such us: * File income taxes * Pay taxes * Arrange driving tests or renew drivers licenses * Pay traffic tickets * Make appointments for vehicle emission inspections and * Change their address In addition, a government could: * Distribute information on the web * Provide downloadable forms online * Conduct training (e.g., in some US States, the classes for the drivers tests are offered online) * Assist citizens in finding employment * Provide touristic and recreational information * Provide health advice about safety issues (e.g. warnings for epidemics like the recent H1N1 virus) * Allow transfer of benefits like food coupons * File natural disaster relief compensation electronically through the use of smart cards; and the list goes on. b) Government to Business (G2B) Government to Business activities refers to those where the government deals with businesses such as suppliers using the Internet and other ICTs. It is a bidirectional interaction and transaction: Government to Business (G2B) and Business to Government (B2G). B2G is about businesses selling products and services to government. The most important G2B areas are eProcurement (which essentially is actually a reverse auction) and the auction of government surpluses. c) Government to Government (G2G) Lastly, Government to Government refers to those activities that take place between different government organizations/agencies/entities. Many of these activities aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of overall government operations. One such example is the Intelink, an intranet that carries classified information shared by different U.S. intelligence agencies. 3. Delivery Mechanism EGovernment services are provided not only via the Internet. Instead, many other means are often used. In fact, studies and reports indicate that these â€Å"other† means of eGovernment services provision show in some cases extremely high utilization. For example: * Telephony dominates channel usage in some situations: Accenture (2005) reports 63% of industrialized country respondents contacting government by telephone; compared to 31% using the Internet over a 12-month period. * In-person visits dominate in other situations: an Australian survey reports half of government contacts to be face-to-face compared to one-fifth undertaken via the Internet (AGIMO 2005). * Survey data also reflects an ongoing preference for telephone or in-person channels especially for transactional, problem-solving, urgent and complex interactions (AGIMO 2005, Horrigan 2005). a) Multichannel Examples Some Governments have embraced this reality and adopted a multichannel approach to the services they offer. In its Progress Reports, the European Comission includes some specific examples: * In Malta, citizens can access their personal social security records and payments via the internet, and may also opt to be notified about their social security payments via SMS rather than receiving printed payment advice by post. However, the most innovative initiative is the introduction of eGovernment Agents that act as intermediaries to those without access. (ePractice eGovernment Factsheets Malta, 2009) * In Austria, all websites that belong to the .gv.at domain are available free of charge or connection fees via wireless hotspots (WLAN), and via public kiosks, thanks to an excellent cooperation between the Austrian Government and two major telecommunication providers. Similar to Malta, Austria also has legislation in place allowing officials to act as intermediaries for citizens who do not have online access or a citizen (ePractice eGovernment Factsheets Austria, 2009) * In Spain, 060 is the magic code providing a single access point. Many services provided by different administrations can be accessed via the 060 network, whether they are office-, internet-, or phone-based. Citizens can access the networks 2800 points of presence in the street or their office on the web, by the phone (060) or SMS. The 060 phone number is intended to replace over 1000 phone numbers available for citizens to access information of the General Administration of the State. The network is available 24/7 and currently offers 1225 national, regional and local public services. It is worth noting that In August 2007, only 15 months after its creation, the citizen information phoneline 060 had already dealt with 700000 enquiries. (ePractice eGovernment Factsheets Spain, 2009) C. EGovernance Definitions Just like eGovernment, there is not a single common definition to describe eGovernance. However, the UNESCO defines it best: â€Å"E-governance is the public sectors use of information and communication technologies with the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen participation in the decision-making process and making government more accountable, transparent and effective. E-governance involves new styles of leadership, new ways of debating and deciding policy and investment, new ways of accessing education, new ways of listening to citizens and new ways of organizing and delivering information and services. E-governance is generally considered as a wider concept than e-government, since it can bring about a change in the way citizens relate to governments and to each other. E-governance can bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of citizen needs and responsibilities. Its objective is to engage, enable and empower the citizen.† Other definitions include * â€Å"EGovernance, meaning ‘electronic governance is using information and communication technologies (ICTs) at various levels of the government and the public sector and beyond, for the purpose of enhancing governance.† (Bedi et all, 2001, Holmes , 2001 and Okot-Uma, 2000). * Whereas according to Backus (2001), eGovernance is defined as the, â€Å"application of electronic means in (1) the interaction between government and citizens and government and businesses, as well as (2) in internal government operations to simplify and improve democratic, government and business aspects of Governance.† D. Digital Government The term Digital Governance was introduced more than 7 years ago (McIver Elmargarmid, 2002). Notions such as eGovernment, eGovernance and any future technology of ICT (e.g. Web 2.0 applications), should fall under the Digital Governance umbrella (Schellong, 2009). This term has been preferred by other researchers as well, due to the excessive usage of adding letters like â€Å"e† (electronic), â€Å"m† (mobile), â€Å"u† (ubiquitous) or â€Å"2.0† to government-related terms. Schellong goes further to suggest a specific typology (2008) as illustrated below in 2: EGovernment contains the terms: * EAdministration Internal use of ICT * EServices. External use of ICT * EDemocracy. Use of ICT for direct public participation in government (decision making or voting) EGovernance is a completely different branch and deals with government, society and economy. E. Open Government In the last decade, there have been many efforts to promote eGovernment. A new initiative has emerged though, Open Government, or OpenGov as it is usually abbreviated. OpenGovernment efforts have begun not only in the US but also in other countries, like Greece. Although OpenGovernment and eGovernment have similar characteristics and share common goals, the greatest one being the promotion of transparency, they are not the same. Open Government can be argued to be an evolution of eGovernment (GUSTETIC, 2009), since the only reason that it exists as an initiative today is because of advances made by eGovernment along with various technological improvements and innovations. II. Benchmarking A. Definition Benchmarking is defined as the process of measuring the performance of an organization along with the practices it applies in key areas and subsequently comparing them to other organizations. It is widely accepted in the private sector and is being used as a practical tool in order to achieve positive results with unlimited potential. EGovernment benchmarking means undertaking a review of comparative performance of eGovernment between nations or agencies. These studies have two purposes: * Internal: Benefit the individual and/or organization undertaking the benchmarking study * External: Benefit achieved for users of the study. This project falls into the first category, as described in the Scope and Aims paragraph earlier in the document. B. Goals With new expectations about their performance, government entities are being encouraged to look at ways of implementing changes in their practices. Benchmarking provides them with one of their most useful options. In every industry, there are ways of doing things that are broadly recognized as standard practices for that industry. However, every industry has its leaders. These leaders are organizations that over perform when measured against those standards. They have achieved â€Å"best practices† as demonstrated by their results in quality, cost, customer satisfaction and responsiveness. Benchmarking aims to discover what the â€Å"best practices† are that lead to superior performance. In greater detail, the process of benchmarking e-Government : * Fosters accountability for eGovernment projects. * Helps meeting rising public expectations * Enables government officials to take more informed decisions and corrective actions * Validates the generated public value * Fosters projects interchange Moreover, benchmarking can be distinguished from other traditional forms of evaluation by its attempt to visualize â€Å"best practices† through normalizing comparison and by urging public entities to ask themselves what they can do to promote them. Benchmarking enables and motivates them to determine how well current practices compare to others practices, locate performance gaps, experience best practices in action, and prioritize areas for improvement or other opportunities. It is quite important to note that â€Å"Benchmarking is not the same as benchmarks. Benchmarks are performance measures and benchmarking is the action of conducting the evaluation.† (Yasin, 2002). C. Data Sources After establishing what benchmarking is, the most common data sources are evaluated.. 1. Calculated Indicators Quite a few benchmarking reports use composite indicators, for example, for the purposes of national rankings. Because it is not always clear how they are calculated or researched, composites have been criticized (UIS 2003) for their lack of transparency along for their subjectivity. Fortunately, a guide for good practice in use of composites has been developed (eGEP 2006a:45) and includes: * Developing a theoretical framework for the composite. * Identifying and developing relevant variables. * Standardizing variables to allow comparisons. * Weighting variables and groups of variables. * Conducting sensitivity tests on the robustness of aggregated variables. Other than the composite calculation of national rankings, there seems to be little use of calculated indicators in the benchmarking of e-government. The most commonly used indicators include: * Benefit/Cost Ratio. * Demand/Supply Match. * Comparative Service Development. * National Ranking Some examples along with the methods used for each indicator are illustrated in Table 1below (adapted from Heeks, 2006). Calculated Indicator Example Method Benefit/Cost Ratio Expected financial benefit (impact) / Financial cost (input) (NOIE 2003) Interview (internal self-assessment / internal administrative records) Demand/Supply Match Preference for online channel in particular services versus Online sophistication of that service (Graafland Essers Ettendgui 2003) Mass citizen survey Comparative Service Development Stage model level of citizen services versus business services (Capgemini 2005) Stage model level of different service cluster areas (Capgemini 2005) Third party Web assessment National Ranking Composite of features and stage model level for national websites (West 2005) Composite of ICT and human infrastructure with stage model level for national/other websites (UN 2005) Composite of stage model level, integration and personalization of national websites (Accenture 2005) Third party Web assessment Table 1 Calculated Indicators Used in eGovernment Benchmarking (Heeks, 2006). 2. Standard Public Sector Indicators Apart from calculated indicators, others (Flynn 2002) suggest using a standard indicator set for public sector performance. This set is displayed in Table 2 below (adapted from Flynn 2002). Indicator Explanation eGovernment Example Benchmark Economy The amount of inputs used Expenditure per capita on IT None Internal efficiency The ration of input intermediates Cost per website produced per year Minimization External efficiency The ratio of inputs: outputs (use) Cost per citizen user of government websites per year Minimization Internal effectiveness The fit between actual outputs (use) and organizational objectives or other set targets The extent to which underserved communities are users of e-government services Maximization External effectiveness The fit between actual impacts and organizational objectives or other set targets The extent to which citizens are gaining employment due to use of an eGovernment job search service Maximization Quality The quality of intermediates or, more typically outputs (use) The quality of eGovernent services as perceived by citizen users Maximization Equity The equitability of distribution of outputs and impacts The quality of time/money saved by eGovernment service use between rich and poor Maximization Table 2 Standard Indicators for eGovernment Performance (Flynn 2002) D. Methodologies Having described the methodologies used more commonly when benchmarking eGovernment services, the next step is to illustrate how the necessary data is gathered. There are a number of official methods (eGEP 2006b): * Focus groups * Internal administrative records * Internal self-assessment * Mass user surveys * Official statistics * Pop-up surveys * Third part web assessment * Web metrics and crawlers Each of these methods can be compared in four different and distinct factors (Heeks, 2006). Those are: * Cost: The time and financial cost of the method. * Value: The value of the method in producing data capable of assessing the downstream value of e-government. * Comparability: The ease with which data produced can be compared across nations or agencies. * Data Quality: The level of quality of the methods data. In particular, Heeks suggests using the CARTA (Complete, Accurate, Relevant, Timely, Appropriate) check list when assessing data quality (2006). There is also a set of methodologies that are not used as frequently as the ones mentioned earlier. These are: * Intermediary Surveys. * Intranet Assessment. * Public Domain Statistics. * Public Servant and Politician Surveys. 1. Automation With new eGovernment services being introduced by Governments every day, benchmarking is gradually becoming a more and more important mechanism for identifying best practices and keeping track of developments, but as the number of the offered services increase, data collection becomes more and more difficult. Apart from that, since eGovernment is being expanded to other eGovernment levels, as illustrated earlier in 1, it is only natural that the number of benchmarking studies is increasing fast. Thus, the traditional approach of fata collection has not only become a very challenging but also a very resource intensive task. In order to address this matter, there are projects (eGovMon) which attempt to automate the data collection (Research Council of Norway, 2009). In particular, the eGovMon project is co-funded by the Research Council of Norway and â€Å"is developing methodology and software for quality evaluation of web services, in particular eGovernment services, concerning four areas:†  · Accessibility  · Transparency  · Efficiency  · Impact Additionally eGovMon will provide a policy design tool Case study: SIGMUND FREUD Case study: SIGMUND FREUD Sigmund Freud  (1856-1939),  Austrian physician, neurologist, and founder of psychoanalysis, who created an entirely new approach to the understanding of human personality. Through his skill as a scientist, physician, and writer, Freud combined ideas prevalent at the time with his own observation and study to produce a major theory of psychology. Most importantly, he applied these ideas to medical practice in the treatment of mental illness. His newly created psychotherapy treatments and procedures, many of which in modified form are applied today, were based on his understanding of unconscious thought processes and their relationship to neurotic symptoms (see Neurosis). Regarded with skepticism at the time, Freuds ideas have waxed and waned in acceptance ever since. Nevertheless, he is regarded as one of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century. I. Freuds life Freud  was  born  into  a middle-class Jewish family in Freiberg, Moravia (now PÃ…â„ ¢Ãƒ ­bor, Czech Republic), on May 6, 1856. When he was three years old his family, fleeing from the anti-Semitic riots then raging in Freiberg, moved to the German city of Leipzig. Shortly thereafter, the family settled in Vienna, where Freud remained for most of his life. Although  Freuds  ambition from childhood had been a career in law, he became intrigued by the rapidly developing sciences of the day after reading the work of British scientist Charles Darwin. Freud decided to become a medical student shortly before he entered Vienna University in 1873. Inspired by the scientific investigations of the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Freud was driven by an intense desire to study natural science and to solve some of the challenging problems confronting contemporary scientists. In  his  third  year  at  the university Freud began research work on the central nervous system in the physiological laboratory under the direction of German physician Ernst Wilhelm von Brà ¼cke. Neurological research was so engrossing that Freud neglected the prescribed courses and as a result remained in medical school three years longer than was normally required to qualify as a physician. In 1881, after completing a year of compulsory military service, he received his medical degree. Unwilling to give up his experimental work, however, he remained at the university, working in the physiological laboratory. At Brà ¼ckes urging, he reluctantly abandoned theoretical research to gain practical experience. Freud  then  spent  three years at the General Hospital of Vienna, devoting himself successively to psychiatry, dermatology, and nervous diseases. In 1885, following his appointment as a lecturer in neuropathology at Vienna University, he left his post at the hospital. Later that year he worked in Paris with French neurologist Jean Charcot. On  his  return  to  Vienna in 1886 Freud began private practice in neurology. Also that year Freud married Martha Bernays, to whom he had become engaged four years earlier. The first of their children was born the following year. Their family would become complete with the birth of Anna in 1895, who herself would become an important psychoanalyst (see Anna Freud). In  1902  Freud  was  appointed professor of neuropathology at the University of Vienna, a post he held until 1938. In 1923 he developed cancer of the jaw. Although repeated operations and prosthetic appliances in his mouth made his life most uncomfortable, he continued working incessantly until his death. When the Germans occupied Austria in 1938, Freud was persuaded by friends to escape with his family to England. He died in London on September 23, 1939. II. Freuds work Freud  was  by  training a research scientist and a physician. His decision to devote himself to the neglected and poorly understood area of emotional disorders has to do with currents of the time as well as his own interests. Chief among these was the prevailing attitude toward scientific endeavor at the time. Scientists were looking for causes and for connections between previously unrelated phenomena. Although Jewish by birth and cultural tradition, Freud saw all religion as illusory and was non-practicing. Instead, he can be seen as a determinist, viewing the world and human experience as understandable in terms of cause and effect. A. Hypnosis and the influence of Charcot In  1885  Freud  was  awarded a government grant enabling him to spend 19 weeks in Paris as a student of French neurologist Jean Charcot. Charcot, who was the director of the clinic at the mental hospital, the Salpà ªtrià ¨re, was then treating nervous disorders by the use of hypnotic suggestion. Fascinated by the apparent success of these treatments, Freud met and studied with several of the leading figures in the field. Charcots  group  had  been tackling the problem of hysteria, a term derived from the Greek word for womb. Hysteria traditionally was seen as a condition of women and was characterized by unexplained fainting, paralysis, loss of sensation, tics, and tremors. In time, Charcot came to see that men could also be so troubled. Although the mechanism of hysteria was not understood, Charcot and his contemporaries showed that its symptoms could be cured by hypnosis. Freuds studies under Charcot influenced him greatly in channeling his interests to psychopathology (the study and treatment of disorders of the mind). In  his  practice  in  Vienna, Freud met many patients with nervous disorders for which there was no apparent physical cause. Their symptoms included paralyzed limbs, tics, tremors, loss of consciousness, memory impairment, and numbness that could not be explained. These unexplained cases were labeled as neurotic, meaning that they were similar to neurological conditions. In time they became known collectively as neuroses. Freuds  observation  of Charcots use of hypnosis in the treatment of similar disorders led him to conclude that there could be powerful mental processes operating that remain hidden from conscious understanding. He began to employ hypnosis in his own practice, publishing articles on the subject in 1892. Freud came to understand hysterical neurotic symptoms as the product of a conflict between opposing mental forces. Conscious forces representing will were balanced by unconscious opposing forces representing counterwill. He understood hypnosis to act on the side of will to subjugate the counterwill, thus obliterating the symptom. The idea of conflict proposed in the 1892 paper A Case of Successful Treatment by Hypnotism: With Some Remarks on the Origin of Hysterical Symptoms Through Counterwill' was to become a fundamental principle of psychoanalysis. B. The beginnings of psychoanalysts The  next  important  development in Freuds theory of psychology came out of work he conducted with his friend and colleague Josef Breuer, a Viennese physician who was involved in the treatment of a young woman who was distressed while caring for her dying father. The patient had developed a number of hysterical symptoms, which Breuer initially treated by hypnotic suggestion. Initial success gave way to disappointment when on her fathers death her symptoms returned with increased severity. Somewhat at a loss as to how to proceed, Breuer had continued to talk to his patient on a daily basis and in time she began to talk about various reminiscences from the past and about her daydreams. Remarkably, as her narrative revisited memories from the past, which were associated with the onset of a particular symptom, each symptom disappeared when accompanied by an emotional outburst. Breuer made use of this discovery to eliminate her symptoms one at a time. He called the treatment the ca thartic technique (from the Greek katharsis meaning purgation). The treatment was time consuming and required considerable effort to reach dimly recalled and otherwise inaccessible memories. Freud  and  Breuer  published the case and several others in 1895 under the title Studies on Hysteria. Their view was summed up in the statement Hysterics suffer mainly from reminiscences. They proposed that when faced with emotionally traumatic memories, hysterics subjugate them from conscious appreciation to prevent the unbearable emotional pain and suffering that they cause. Rather than being driven out of the mind, however, these memories are driven into an area of the mind that is unconscious and inaccessible. Here the memories may be redirected from the emotional system into the somatic (bodily) system and appear as apparently unexplained physical symptoms. The cases that constitute Studies on Hysteria outline the transition from treatment by hypnotic suggestion to the earliest descriptions of what is now known as psychoanalysis. Working  on  his  own  Freud hypothesized that hysterical symptoms were most likely to arise when repressed traumatic memories related to adverse childhood sexual experiences. This view generated tremendous controversy at the time because the existence of childhood sexuality was not widely accepted. In time Freud was forced to reconsider this aspect of his theory, instead relating the repressed memories to childhood fantasies of sexuality and their relationship to parental figures. 1. Dreams The  next  development  in Freuds theory stemmed from his observations on dreaming. He came to see that many of the characteristics of dreams were shared with the symptomatic memories recalled by his patients in the narrative of free association. In his therapeutic relationship with his patients, Freud had abandoned hypnotic suggestion in favor of encouraging the person to speak freely about whatever came into his or her mind. Unintentionally, the patient would bring order to these free associations, whose structure and content Freud used to try to understand underlying unconscious processes. In  dreams  Freud  noted  the same apparently unstructured experiences of thoughts and images coming into the mind that seemed to be representative of some underlying unconscious process. To explain these phenomena, he suggested the existence of an inner censor that effected a compromise between conflicting mental forces and in the process disguised their meaning from conscious appreciation. He defined resistance as the unconscious defense against awareness of repressed experiences in order to avoid the resulting anxiety. He traced the operation of unconscious processes, using the free associations of the patient to guide him in the interpretation of dreams and slips of speech. Slips of speech or parapraxes, now known as Freudian slips, Freud claimed, were revelations of unconscious wishes. His 1904 publication, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, discusses these ideas. Freud  came  to  understand the mind as a series of layers, with the most superficial layers in conscious appreciation and the deeper layers containing repressed memories and remaining unavailable to conscious thought. He termed this the topographical model and likened it to an iceberg, a small part of which is visible above the surface while the greater submerged part remains obscured from view. These ideas were published in 1900 in The Interpretation of Dreams. During  the  first  two  decades of the 1900s Freud concentrated on modifying and improving his theory of psychoanalysis. He defined a number of principles and described a model of personality development. 2. The unconscious Perhaps  Freuds  greatest contribution was to describe the unconscious and to postulate that it obeys the principle of psychic determinism, which holds that human thoughts, feelings, and impulses, rather than being random, are linked in a system of causally related phenomena, behind which lies some reason or meaning. Freud concluded that on this basis unconscious processes could be investigated and understood. Some experiences that are not immediately accessible to conscious appreciation can be brought into the conscious mind by the process of remembering. Freud referred to these experiences as the preconscious. Still-deeper thoughts cannot be remembered and are actively repressed in the unconscious. Unconscious  experiences, according to Freud, are not subject to the same logic characteristic of conscious experience. Unconscious ideas, images, thoughts, and feelings can be condensed or dramatized in the form of abstract concepts and imagery. Often the relationship between the original experience and the unconscious symbolic representation can seem obscure. 3. Role of conflict The  central  theme  of  conflict had arisen early in Freuds work. Conflict arises in a persons conscious mind when one set of beliefs impacts adversely on another area of belief, causing emotional suffering felt as disappointment, anger, or frustration. Freud was interested in the unconscious aspect of mental conflict. He described the pleasure principle as another fundamental of psychoanalytic theory. This holds that human beings have a tendency to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The principle is said to dominate in early life, bringing the developing individual into conflict with the external world. These conflicts are retained in the unconscious. Freuds  original  concept held that the conflicts of early life arose as a result of innate human drives or instincts. He conceptualized how development might occur in terms of the drives and their satisfaction according to the pleasure principle. Among the chief drives was the libidinal, or sexual, drive, which serves the human species by directing individuals to reproduce. Awareness of a need to keep rein on the free expression of drives gradually develops, and failure to rein in these drives (and fantasies about their expression) is felt as guilt. Life becomes an equilibrium between drives, conflicts, and reality.  Freud  believed  that  by understanding the crucial events and fantasy wishes of childhood, psychoanalysis could shed understanding on later adult character development with its attendant conflicts and neurotic symptoms. Later, he extended his model to include psychoses (serious mental disorders in which people have a distorted view of reality). Conflicts  repressed  into the unconscious are retained, according to Freud. From time to time they may overcome repression and reemerge into conscious appreciation, precipitating anxiety or panic. To counteract this, the individual unconsciously produces various defense mechanisms, which become part of that persons character. Examples of defense mechanisms include projection, where the individual ascribes to others his or her own unconscious desires (I hate you, for example, becomes You hate me), and reaction formation, where the individual adopts a pattern of behavior directly opposed to a strong unconscious drive.  In 1923 Freud reformulated his ideas in a structural model of the mind that postulated the existence of the id, the ego, and the superego. Freud  gave  the  name  id to unconscious drives. The id knows nothing of morality or reality. It seeks only to gratify the instinctual drives, and it operates solely according to the pleasure principle. Freud held that the biological drives of a young person are often frustrated by delays and restricted by the demands of parents and other older members of the family. As time passes, the demands of the community or society also become important obstacles to id gratification. In adapting to the environment, the child begins to acquire an ego, or set of conscious perceptions, memories, and thoughts that enable the person to deal effectively with reality. Thus, according to Freud, the ego obeys the reality principle. As the individual absorbs the teachings of family and society, he develops a superego, or conscience, that frequently conflicts with the drives of the id. In many cases the ego reduces the conflict by at least partially fulfilling the id impulses through socially ac ceptable behavior. Often, however, the conflict disappears on the conscious level as unfulfilled impulses are repressed into the unconscious mind. Freuds  therapy  consisted of listening to the patient relate a narrative of free associations over many sessions. By listening to the patients associations, Freudian slips, contents of dreams, and thoughts, he linked and interpreted these experiences to the patients conscious world. He came to understand the nature of transference, in which the patient develops feelings for the therapist that are in fact representative of previous feelings toward other important figures in the patients life. These thoughts and feelings Freud interpreted and linked to the patients current emotional state.   C. Major influences Freuds  early  psychological work shows the influence of the sciences of the day on his thinking. Ideas from physics, chemistry, and evolutionary theory occur regularly in his writing. At the time,  Charles Darwins writings, especially the theory of evolution, were challenging contemporary Judeo-Christian belief. Indeed it was Darwin who emphasized instincts for survival and reproduction, formulated in Freuds theory as basic drives.   Freuds  ideas  can  be  seen in the same context as Darwins. Freud, too, challenged philosophical and religious thinking by suggesting that human beings were rather less in control of their own thoughts and actions than previously believed. His contention that unconscious thoughts and actions had to arise from within the self rather than from God conflicted with the contemporary notion of soul. From Freuds time on, the disciplines of philosophy and psychology developed separately. Freud  was  particularly interested in the association school of psychology, which included Johann Friedrich Herbart and Wilhelm Max Wundt, the former of whom may have contributed to free association as a therapeutic technique. Psychodynamic theory-the model of conflicting forces influencing the subconscious-also has its origins in the physical concepts of opposing forces and vector analysis. Freuds theory that unresolved conflicts can be converted into physical symptoms reflects the principle of conservation of energy held by the first law of thermodynamics. Yet  Freuds  ideas  were new and radical, and it is easy to see why Freud came into conflict so readily with the society and establishment of his time. He relied on the support of friends such as Breuer. By 1906, however, a small number of pupils and followers had gathered around Freud, including Austrians William Stekel, Alfred Adler, and Otto Rank; American Abraham Brill; and Eugen Bleuler and Carl Jung from Switzerland. Other notable associates, who joined the circle in 1908, were Hungarian Sà ¡ndor Ferenczi and Briton Ernest Jones. Pakistan: Deep inside the World’s Most Frightening State Pakistan: Deep inside the World’s Most Frightening State BOOK REVIEW â€Å"PAKISTAN DEEP INSIDE THE WORLD’S MOST FRIGHTENING STATE† Author: Mary Anne Weaver Mary Anne Weaver, the writer of â€Å"Pakistan Deep inside the World’s Most Frightening State† has been a long time foreign correspondent for the New Yorker magazine. She is an expert in South Asian and Middle Eastern affairs and political and militant Islam. She has also written on the rise of militant Islam. She has reported from over thirty countries of the world, and currently resides in New York. She has won many writing awards including Citation, the Cornelious Ryan Award for the best non-fiction book on international affairs. Moreover, she has worked for The Sunday Times of London, London Times, Washington Post, and some other groups. She is Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Journalism from Pennsylvania State University and Master of Arts in Arab Affairs from the American University in Cairo. The other important book that she has written is A Portrait of Egypt: A Journey Through the world of Militant Islam. She has written article on the consequences of S audi and American funding and Egyptian support of Islamic militants fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. She has also written â€Å"India’s Bandit Queen†. The author’s political and philosophical viewpoint is based on years of experience as a journalist and personal vignettes overseas. She is quite critical on the rise of Militant Islam and the dire need of Pakistan to the United States. General Summary: The book is basically about a country which is surrounded by such challenging and complex circumstances that we can find no parallel of. The country is one and only Pakistan. The author has given a classical account of the situation the country has passed through. A nuclear armed state sandwiched between Afghanistan and India, having militant influence inside has been elaborated by her as the most dangerous place on Earth. The country’s integration is an utmost requirement for the world peace. The book gives an account of the most important factors, i.e. Militancy, Nuclear Arsenal, Neighbors, Role in the War on Terror and the shifting policies in different Dictatorial tenures. Moreover, the role of United States and Saudi Arabia has been discussed and the Baloch Tribal Culture and Kashmir, that has been the main bone of contention between Pakistan and India has been utmost importance in the book. Author’s Thesis or Conclusion: The author during the journey of writing this book met many important figures of the time, such as General Pervez Musharraf, the then President and Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, Benazir Bhutto, G.M.Syed, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, and some more. The author has given an account of the circumstances in which General Musharraf took over. There was an overall policy shift after he came into the chair, as his takeover was followed by the 9/11. According to her, there was a huge difference in Zia and Musharraf policies. She elaborates the role of Saudi Arabia and Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan in Afghanistan and explains how both contradict their interference. The event of 9/11 led Pakistan into circumstances that it had to become an ally of the United States in the War on Terror. The point of concern for her was that if they counter the Taliban, how they will manage the Jihadis then. Initially, Pakistan benefitted from the United States, as sanctions were removed and aid pac kages were received. She also highlights the role of nationalists like G.M.Syed. She tells that Osama bin Laden had popular support in Pakistan. People were ready to come out on streets for him. He received help from many tribal elders of Balochistan. The tribal elders of Balochistan were against the education and development in their province, as they see reduction in their influence. Further, she talks about the role of Mullahs in the society and most importantly the politics of Pakistan. Arabs are very close to Pakistan. They mostly come there for hunting purposes with the approval of the authorities. Then she talks about Benazir. She tells that at that time Benazir Bhutto seemed a serious threat to Musharraf, as intelligence agencies at that time had the view that she was the most popular leader of the country. She gives an account of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s death and Benazir and family’s condition at that time. She gives a comparison of Musharraf’s liberal an d Zia-ul-Haq’s conservative tenures. She also talks about the role of military in politics. The tussle between India and Pakistan has also been discussed. India blames Pakistan for any incident happening inside its territory and so does Pakistan. India claims that organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, etc. are being operated from Pakistan. The objective of United States was to carry out attacks and limit the members of Al-Qaeda, whereas she gives some indication of Pakistani reluctance also. Regarding Kashmir, the major bone of contention between Pakistan and India, she tells the views of both sides. Pakistan forces for a plebiscite as decided by the United Nations, whereas India has a stance that it is a bilateral issue after the Simla Agreement. There is a major deadlock between both the nations, and none of them can afford to lose Kashmir. For this reason, both sides remain on maximum military alert. She highlights a very important aspect that the organizations which were once formed and trained by the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, like Jaish-e-Muhammad, twice tried to assassinate General Musharraf. This is a point of high concern. Pakistan is hence elaborated as one of the most difficult and tough countries of the world. My Reaction to Author’s Views: I agree with the author’s views in most of the aspects she has given. She is absolutely correct about the difference in the approaches, i.e. liberal and fundamentalist of Musharraf and Zia ul Haq. She correctly tells about the support and sympathies Osama bin Laden had in the country. The Baloch tribal elders themselves do not want economic and educational empowerment in their province, in order to keep in order their influence. The aspect of Arabs which she has discussed is in my point of view correct and having a line in order with Arabs is a basic compulsion on Pakistan, for financial, economic and political reasons. The role of military in politics is a truth, and still politics is not free of their influence. Moreover, the most important aspect in my point of view is that of the organizations that were formed under the influence of our security agencies and now they are our own enemies. This has been clearly witnessed by the whole world. So, her view of Pakistan, one of t he most difficult states in the world is correct, as the complexity of problems that can be witnessed here, are not that common in the world. Summary and General Recommendations: The book is well written, and covers many of the problems and, complexities of the problems, that Pakistan is facing today. The author has herself met many bigwigs and then mentioned the experiences on the basis of those meetings and travels that she had in the country. The book includes index, map, but lacks pictures. As far as referring the book is concerned, yes, I will refer the book to others, for the reason that it contains a whole analysis along with the background of the problems that the country is surrounded by today. This book is a good read for the general reader.

Innovation of Apple

MBA A Case Study on â€Å"Innovation on Apple† Course Code : MBA Cohort 22 Lecturer : Mr. D. L. Allen Student Name : Wong Man Pan Student ID : Submission Date : 18 July, 2012 No of words :3,092 1. Executive summary This article contains four main sections; in the first section, the characteristics of innovation Company are defined, mainly the ideas which follow Barry, John and Richard, 2011 and the overview of Apple Inc innovation would be evaluated based on the factors found. In the second section, the affecting factors in management (Amabile, 1998 ) and climate (Ekvall, 1996) based on Apple Inc would be discussed.Hence, two innovative companies such as HP and 3M performance would also be brought out . These three companies would be identified according to the three strategies suggested by Barry, John and Richard, 2011. Moreover, four actions framework from Kim and Mauborgne, 2005 would be analyzed with respect to one application from Apple — â€Å"Siri†. Finall y, recommendation would be made for future development and challenge especially since the key man [Steve Jobs] passed away in 2011. 2. Content 1. Executive summary2 2. Content2 3. Introduction3 4.Five elements of innovative company – Apple Inc5 5. Creativity7 6. Managerial practices and organization climate for creativity7 7. â€Å"Siri† Four Actions Framework11 8. Conclusion and recommendation12 9. Reference14 3. Introduction Among the enterprises pursue innovation, Apple Inc is recognized as the most successful case. In 2011, Barry, John and Richard, 2011 conducted the survey and concluded that Apple Inc is the most innovative companies worldwide and the Exxon Mobil Corporation has been replaced by Apple as the most valuable company in the U.S by market capitalization. Always there is a misconception for most people, as heavy investment is the fundamental requirement to be the most innovative company. However it was found that Apple spend only around 2. 7% of revenue annually on R&D, comparing with Microsoft whom spend 14% of revenue, there is a big gap. It implies that the findings from Barry, John and Richard, 2011- spending more on R&D does not necessary drive results, the most crucial factors are strategic alignment and cultural influences that support innovation.Therefore, this article mainly focuses on managerial practices, such as organizational and environmental support, rather than how the investment was allocated. In the article of Barry, John and Richard, 2011, the innovative organization should focus on innovative strategy, effective overall business strategy, deep customer insight, great talent and the right set of capabilities to achieve successful execution, all of these factors are critical when identify the way of Apple Inc in performing innovation.Simultaneously, creativity is the inspiration of organization and it is easily affected by management and cultures. Two more innovative companies would be analyzed based on Amabile, 1998 and Ekvall, 1996, Apple would be defined as need seekers and technology drives based on Barry, John and Richard, 2011. Innovation would be resulted as strong identification with customer experiences and passion for products; this would drive the products with superior performance and quality.After the management and culture of Apple Inc is analyzed, one product – Siri would be taken into account to show the result of innovation based on the four actions framework suggested by Kim and Mauborgne, 2005. Although Apple Inc stands for the top innovative company, it is essential to review the strategy and make change especially when top management is altered. 4. Five elements of innovative company – Apple Inc In the article of Barry, John and Richard, 2011, it is clear that innovation is not determined by the amount on R&D spending, the most vital factors are strategic alignment and cultures which support innovation.In this section, five elements issued by Barry, John a nd Richard, 2011 would be studied. Focused innovation strategy of Apple would be started from the key element in Apple’s approach to innovation (Walter, 2011), focus on where you think you can make a significant contribution recognized and it was further confirmed by Steve Jobs when he returned to Apple in 1997, Steve cut the unnecessary product line, minimized the number of developing products from 15 to 4.At that moment, only one or two new products were limited to launch into the market annually, it attempted to obtain the team power to concentrate on specific products development. Besides Apple Inc which only heavenly focuses on design and development, all the component and product assembly are outsourced, where it needs to share the profit with the supplier and the vendor, but Apple inevitably takes the largest portion.Effective overall business strategy is the combination of effective resources allocation and business model, Apple Inc, not like other electronic device c ompanies, it is the pioneer to perform value chain integration. In the figure of Apple, 2011, it showed that only 40% of revenue is generated from the consumer electronic products like iphone and ipad, the large portion are generated from the Apps store and advertising agent. This means that the business model is no longer relied on buy-off product; it keeps the financial stability by ongoing sales from Apps store and advertising agent platform.The crucial point for Apple is that they do not need to invest tremendously on platform development as they are run by users and new apps are not developed by Apple itself but it shares the profit. This overall strategy is effective and sustainable to the whole group. Deep customer insight is defined as customer relationship quality, in other words, it is determined by products and services where customer orientated. One of the innovation strategies from Apple was customer eccentric; end users can not realize the needs until the products of A pple launched.The structure of the products chain is constructed by end users plus application, users get the electronic hardware from Apple which allows them to share and personalize their software of products through the Apps store and iTunes, and this also helps the group to diversify the income base. Moreover through the breakthrough of mp3 and Discman player, it is easy to observe that Apple products like ipod and iphone, the feature is user friendly, such as users are easily to find the particular song within a minute among 1,000 stored file.Furthermore, looking at the environment Apple store, it successfully created a fairly comfortable atmosphere for customers, where a number of well trained staff would solve whatever problems from the products and always equipped with well manners and technical support. Great talent in Apple Inc could be said to be influenced by the company key man – Steve Jobs, it is the dedicated person who make Apple as an icon of innovation. Acco rding to Purkayastha and Syeda Qumer, 2011, most of the decisions of product development came from Steve.Also he inspired every staff in Apple to design and develop the products by thinking differently and create an environment in which the people working in Apple would believe that they are better than the rest (Purkayastha and Syeda Qumer, 2011). In recruiting staff, Steve put a large effort and resources on selecting the most outstanding talent on hardware, software, design and management. In the mind set of Steve Jobs, he believed that hire people who want to make the best things in the world and innovation comes from passionate, dedicated people.Indeed, there is no specific R&D team in Apple Inc, all the development is based on objective orientation, featuring the right person and forming the team. The right set of capabilities to achieve successful execution, although there is no variety product from Apple, but it provides a total package to the customer. Apple has all self ow ned necessaries in the execution which is included but not limited to electronic device, operation system development (iOS) and itunes platform with alliance with media company and apps developer, Apple does not need to rely on another company on the operations. . Creativity The presence of both individual and organizational creativity mechanisms led to the highest level of innovation performance (Sundar and Anil, 2000), it is essential to investigate the creativity in Apple, there are three components of creativity suggested by Amabile, 1998, they are expertise, creativity thinking skills and motivation. (i) Expertise means every professional knowledge that people acquired and perform in the duties.Information technologies is the main core of Apple, hire people who want to make the best things in the world is one of the key elements in Apple approach mentioned at Walter, 2011, it implied that there are many experts in Apple. Apart from I. T and design area, Apple also provides corp orate service to different industries; the team of consultant is required to have a variety of industries knowledge in order to offer the total consultative solution in different area to different types of customer. ii) Creativity thinking skills are defined as the flexibility and imagination of people to solve the problems, many Apple products are originated from another companies, like ipod, the idea was come from Tony Fadell (Ping and Yuan-hong, 2012), after the modification of design with creativity thinking skills, the outcomes equipped the pocket size devices would be store 1,000 songs and quick search function that is far advance than other type mp3 players. (iii) Motivation  drives people to behave actively toward a desired goal and initiates, controls, and sustains certain goal.Apple  attracts and retains employees in part owing to the benefits, or expected and non-performance related incentives, it offers, such as product discounts or insurances, executives are rewarde d by giving them a recognition bonus of 3 to 5 percent of their base salary. 6. Managerial practices and organization climate for creativity In Barry, John and Richard, 2011 findings – spending more on R&D won’t drive results; the most crucial factors are strategic alignment and a culture.Inevitably, managerial practices affect creativity of whole organization, per Amabile, 1998 suggested that six general categories are challenge, freedom, resources, work-group features, supervisory encouragement and organization support. Apple Inc would be analyzed together with two more innovative companies in order to obtain a better understanding on the way management of Apple encourage and develop innovation within the organization comparing with another innovative companies. | Apple Inc| HP| 3M|Challenge| Apple followed 10:3:1 approach, 10 entirely different mock up of the new design is required to provide by designer, only three designs would be selected, then engineer would wor k on the designs before the final stage. Although the process is harsh and consuming, Steve Jobs would drop all the finished concepts at very last minutes. | Researchers are not limited to work in R&D area; they can work across the different team and department on variety of projects like engineering and marketing team. Under the performance rating system, the salaries of individuals are determined by comparing with their peers performance. Salaries and promotions are tied to the product’s progress, for any new product, when the sales grow to USD5M, the product’s originator becomes a project manager, at USD20-30, a department manager, in USD75M range, division manager. 25% rules introduced: A quarter of division’s sales come from the products introduced within the past five years. | Freedom| There is no restriction in the brain storm meeting, team member of development team is free to express their creativity then pass the proposal for further investigate on the feasibility and effectiveness. The management philosophy of HP is mutual trust and respect for individuals, everyone can make decisions on almost everything idea which related to their research work. Staffs in HP lab have flexible working hours. | Staffs in 3M tend to be self-policing. There is no restriction for the staff moving from one business to another. | Resources| | Diversity network associations offer employees an opportunity to engage in professional support and networking activities. | HP invest a lot on its R&D section and put R&D as the centre of business.The resources are come from HP Labs Bristol and their big partner like UK government. It provides advanced office building and world class facilities for research staff to perform their technological work. The researcher would grant special research funds to set up new projects | USD 50,000 would be granted for the project pass the idea stage, a panel of technical experts and scientists awards as many as 90 grants eac h year. | Work-group features| Apple worked on the concept of informal corporate culture flat organizational structure is established.No matter the job post is high or low, they share the same open spaces for creativity. | HP lab consists of many small units, individuals take responsibilities and work together as a team. The lab operates a flat organizational hierarchy, only three layers of management, scientist, manager and director. | Every division are kept small, on average about USD200M in sales| Supervisory encouragement| Management in Apple especially Steve Jobs created an environment in which employees were encouraged to believe that they are better than the others.The employee also would gain the benefits in the coaching and mentoring arrangement. | With the trust and respect philosophy, the staffs do not have much interference from management and only simple regulations in the HP lab. Senior researcher would be assigned as a mentor for the new comers. Supervisor is easily be found in HP lab as they would participate in the regular coffee meeting and spending leisure time with researcher to get more idea on the on going activities. Tolerance of mistakes and all technical staff at coporate labs dedicate about 15% of their efforts toward learning and training programs in areas outside their responsibilities. | Organization support| Developmental program in Apple Inc is included 16structured on-the-job training. | Workshops and training program is opened for everyone. Renowned experts would be invited in regular public lecture and give talks to the staff. Recognized award in form of financial rewards would be encouraged to the staff that make particular contributions to the innovation, even the output is not suitable for commercialization would still be patented. 15% rule allows anyone in 3M to spend up to 15% of work week on anything they wants, as long as it is product related. Small meeting rooms allows a small group of staff from different divisions even customer to exchange ideas. | These six elements are similar to what Ekvall, 1996 suggested organization climate for creativity and innovation, and it plays an impact variable which interferes the results of organization operations.Based on the three strategies suggested by Barry, John and Richard, 2011, need seekers, market readers and technology drivers and then comparing with three innovative companies analyzed, it is induced that Apple Inc strategy is belonged to need seekers, with respect to the pioneer concept and ideas like itunes, apps store and siri, it satisfy the characteristic of shaping new products/services and being a leader to the market. At the same time, the technological capabilities allows them to have the whole product integration, range from operating system iOS to hardware, it would be also defined as technology driver.In reviewing 3M innovation and new concept is come from customer and market needs with incremental change to the products and being the fa st followers in the market place, so 3M takes the market readers strategy. Finally with the advanced laboratory support and customer orientated, HP would be recognized as market readers and technology drivers. 7. â€Å"Siri† Four Actions Framework Creativity is easily found on every Apple’s product, the innovation involvement on one of the latest products â€Å"Siri† would be investigated based on the Kim and Mauborgne, 2005.Four actions framework suggested by Kim and Mauborgne, 2005 included (i) reducing factors which below the industry’s standard; by applying voice recognized analysis technology in Siri, it simplifies the end user key in process and reduce the hardware and software application. (ii) Creating the products that the industry has never offered; Siri offers accurate result through â€Å"Voice to result† to end users which is the pioneer to the market. (iii) Raising the factors above the industry’s standard; Siri allows users do not have any knowledge on computing which enhance the number of users from any background. iv) Eliminating the items that industry takes for granted, by applying â€Å"Siri†, keyboard, mouse and even touch screen would be eliminated. 8. Conclusion and recommendation According to the analytical result of the five elements on innovative company, managerial practices and four action framework on both Apple Inc and its product, it is identified that strategies of Apple Inc are need seekers and technology drivers, the products including but not limited to â€Å"Siri† totally reflect the result from individual and organizational creativity.There are many people worried about Apple future as the matter of fact that the key person [Steve Jobs] has resigned and pass away in 2010, although there is no immediately impact as innovation plan is normally lasted for 5-10 years, it is difficult to replace [Steve] who acted as spiritual leader and final decision makers in short period of time. It would be a golden chance for the company to readjust the policy especially on the decision making; the decision power would be distributed to different project leader by absorbing more idea from the staff and redefining the standpoint.It would enhance the freedom in the whole organization and it is easily recognized the importance of freedom to the effect of creativity from the analysis of HP and 3M. No doubt, [Steve] is a symbol of Apple Inc, he was not only CEO, and he was also a new product pitchman. Now when Steve was passed away, people included investor and consumer would unilaterally associate the innovation and advanced technologies are all gone simultaneously, the confidential level of Apple’s products would be dropped.To put a stop, it would be grateful that the message of team spirit and performance be demonstrated to the public by putting focus on how individual and team affecting the result. The new product presentation should be introduced in form o f team which allows the public forget the past image of Apple but it is important that keeping the spirit of [Steve] eternally in form of brand image in order to consolidate the cohesion internally and externally.It is truly believed that Apple Inc is the most successful innovation company throughout the investigation base on theories suggested by Barry, John and Richard, 2011, Amabile, 1998, Ekvall, 1996, Kim and Mauborgne, 2005 and Sundar and Anil, 2000. Inevitably Apple Inc would face a great challenge as the change is necessary with the top management movement, with the best wishes on smooth passing the transitional period and sustaining the long established innovative image. 9. Reference 1. Barry, John and Richard, 2011: Barry,J, John,L and Richard,H. 2011, The global innovation 1000 why culture is key.New York: Booz & Company Inc. 2. Amabile, 1998: Amabile, TM. 1998, How to kill creativity, Harvard business review. 76(5), pp. 77 – 87 3. Ekvall, 1996: Ekvall, J. 1996, Or ganization climate for creativity and innovation. European journal of work and organizational psychology. 5(1), pp. 105-123 4. Kim and Mauborgne, 2005: Kim, W. C and Mauborgne,R. 2005, Blue ocean strategy. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard business school press. 5. Walter, 2011: Walter, I. 2011, Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster. 6. Ping and Yuan-hong, 2012: Ping,C and Yuan-Hong,L. 012, Comparison on innovation of high-tech corporation, Technoeconomics & management research. 292(5), pp50-54 7. Purkayastha and Syeda Qumer, 2011: Purkayastha,D and Syeda Qumer, M. 2011, Innovation at Apple, India: IBS Center for management research. 8. Apple, 2011: Annual report 2010-2011. California: Apple Inc. 9. Sundar and Anil, 2000: Sundar, B and Anil, M. 2000, Making Innovation Happen in Organizations: Individual Creativity Mechanisms, Organizational Creativity Mechanisms or Both? , Journal of product innovation management. 17(6), pp424-434

Pros And Cons Of Technology - 1631 Words

Many of us wonder if technology is affecting society for the better, or for the worse. I believe there are major issues on the rise with today’s trending technologies. However, like most thing’s, there are both pro’s and con’s to the way technology affects our society. It has a way of giving us new experiences, but in some situations technology can actually take away certain experiences. I’d like to explain my reasoning for those beliefs, and better explain that it’s not that technology is good or bad, it just depends what we choose to do with it, and how we let it affect our daily lives. Technology has advanced so much throughout the years. With our current generation, and those to come, technology is becoming something we are unable to†¦show more content†¦I know I’ve seen this happen, and I understand why, but I couldn’t help but think to myself â€Å"what the hell†, I just don’t think it’s right in my opinion. I look at it this way, you are teaching your toddler that communication is almost frowned upon, â€Å"just keep quiet, and play with mommy’s phone†. It’s much easier than explaining table manners, and right from wrong, right? These are just a couple of example’s of the negative things about having such easy access to too much technology. The accuracy of those point’s would be, there’s good and bad in those situations. The good being the fact that children and toddler’s are becoming so smart with technology that they are able to navigate through a tablet and have access to numerous educational games, and information. Also that our children have phones to get in touch with their parent’s or anyone else, whether they are in danger, or maybe they just missed their bus home from school. As I stated above, technology is amazing, and when talking about negativity, one of the first thing’s that come’s to my mind is, you could be sitting in a room full of your friend’s and family, and majority of the time you have your mind focused on your cellphone’s, potentially texting someone in the very same room. You might be ordering your food online to avoid any human interaction at all. As sad as it is to say, I am one of those people. I consider myself to be anti-social, and I do believe it isShow MoreRelatedPros And Cons Of Technology1137 Words   |  5 Pages Technology in the past three decades has developed at such an increasingly rapid rate that the last decade’s generation is defined as â€Å"being born in the technological age†. People born in the 1990s are considered the last kids to have known a life without smartphones and computer technology creeping into every aspect of their lives. There are pros and cons to technology, with most of the cons being discovered ever increasingly as people become more and more intertwined with their own personal devicesRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Technology733 Words   |  3 PagesTechnology is a distraction â€Å"Among the worst offenders were students at Queen Mary University of London, where there were 54 instances of  cheating  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ two-thirds of which involved technology. At the University of Surrey, 19 students were caught in 2016, 12 of them with devices. Newcastle University, one the bigger institutions to provide data, reported 91 cases of cheating – 43% of which involved technology.† According to www.guardian.com Technology gets in the way of learning. The issue is thatRead MorePros And Cons Of Technology986 Words   |  4 PagesIs technology a curse or blessing? Technology has a dramatic effect on the way we gather and use information. It has impacted daily lives and changed the way people perceive and process information. Many articles have been written about the effects on humans of having so much information immediately available to them. Clive Thompson, a Canadian freelance a journalist and technology writer, discusses the pros and cons of technology use in his book â€Å"Smarter than you think: How Technology is ChangingRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Technology1591 Words   |  7 PagesYes: In the world we live in, technology is advancing everywhere from software to machines and even cooking utensils. Improvements to our lives, by technology, include electricity, medical technology, fast productions and, Access to information and education. Without technology the world would be different and it would leave us at a disadvantage. Imagine a world without internet where your teacher assigns you an essay to research nuclear fission. Without the internet, you would have to go toRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Technology1289 Words   |  6 PagesIs the technology in today’s world a positive advancement? Over the past few years technology has basically taken over our society. It isn’t just young people that use technology, it is all groups of people, that includes toddlers all the way up to elders. Technology is a major part of today’s society and makes many tasks a lot easier. One major issue with technology is that it’s abused and many people rely on it. Technology is â€Å"dumbing down† today’s society. Technology has not only been a benefitRead MorePros And Cons Of Technology874 Words   |  4 PagesModern humanity can hardly imagine life without technology. Technologies have become an integral part of people’s lives. Every day, people invent new devices or improve the existing ones. Humanity differs by their attitudes to new inventions. Some people believe that sophisticated gadgets are actually useful and necessary, while others concentrate on the negative impact on people and their lives. Similar technologies are specially created for performing the hardest and most monotonous work. EvenRead MoreTechnology : The Pros And Cons Of Technology1668 Words   |  7 Pagespast 10 years technology has changed a drastic amount. Its now more common to have a smart phone then to have a flip phone. It’s also more common to text some rather then call them. Now there is a lot of benefits that can come from technology and I am a strong supported of using it, but its also importa nt to use it the correct way. We all have to limit how much time we spend on technology and if you’re a parent its your reasonability to limit how much time your kids spend on technology. After spendingRead More The Pros and Cons of Technology Essay1525 Words   |  7 PagesThe Pros and Cons of Technology As far back as I can remember my family and I have taken advantage of technology. The types of technology have changed over the years, along with our usage and dependence on it. Technology is a fundamental part of our lifestyle, including both work and play. What is interesting is that we also have many friends who use very little technology in their day-to-day living. This drastic difference makes one wonder how necessary the technology really is, and whether orRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Technology Integration958 Words   |  4 PagesTechnology in K-12 Schools This article discusses the pros and cons of technology integration. There are many arguments and fair points on each end of the spectrum, but it all comes down to how we must progress with technology. Public schools in the United States have more than 5.8 million computers in the schools, and that equals to one computer per nine students, and while seems like a lot, it does not allow every student access, so teachers are less likely to use computers in their lessons (Wurster)Read MorePro And Cons Of Technology Essay1287 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction For the 21-century learner, learning how to navigate technology is essential to success in life. In addition to reading, math, social studies, and science, technology is becoming an important part of curriculum. Integration of technology into already existing curriculum is necessary to maximum instructional time. In addition to preparing learners for technology use in future occupations, technology can enhance a student’s learning especially in reading. With the invention of many

Essay on The 1920’s and 30’s - Difficult Times for Blacks...

The 1920’s and 30’s - Difficult Times for Blacks in America The 1920’s and 30’s were some troublesome times for many blacks living in the United States. Even though they were free men, a lot of blacks were still treated like slaves. They were subject to unfair trials, beatings, lynchings, the presumption of guilty before trial, and were also least in priority to whites. Harper Lee also shows these same acts of prejudice in her book To Kill A Mockingbird. It was much easier for a white man to go on trial than a colored man. In 1918, white troops from Illinois, in broad daylight, under the eyes of tens of thousands of people, shot, wounded and killed over one hundred Negroes without any reasonable or apparent provocation from†¦show more content†¦Many times, the men of the law were even involved in these mobs that would lynch and beat the accused suspect. In 1926 a mob took three colored people from a local jail, dragged them about a mile away, and then proceeded to shoot them to death. A couple days later, the Assistant Secretary wrote a letter to the Governor letting him know who all was involved in this mob incident. There were twenty-two names of people involved in this mob; this included the sheriff, his two deputies, local policemen, cousins of the Governor, and two members of the Grand Jury (which were investigating this lynching) (Aptheker 512-514). Now wonder that the whites got away with so much in court; most of the people involved with the lynchings were men of the law. Later on, the Aiken County Grand Jury failed to return and indictments of these publicly know mob members. If this story had happened the other way the results would have been different. If there was a black mob that went and killed three white people, the law would of prosecuted and put to death every single member of the black mob. This shows that there truly was a huge difference on the way the law viewed the human worth of whites and blacks. Lynchings were a very common and accepted practice during this time period. Most of the people lynched were black males. There had been 4951 lynchings and only 1438 of these people were white (White 610). Blacks were alsoShow MoreRelatedEssay on Sula1337 Words   |  6 Pagespre-determined societal roles. African Americans during the 1920’s were experiencing great social injustices and mistreatment, along with the likes of women who were also experiencing inequali ty to a lesser degree during this time as well. In her novel Sula, by addressing and shedding light on the many acts of racism and sexism that occurred during the 1920’s, Toni Morrison shows how African American women experienced the most hardship and injustice in America over any other demographics of people. FromRead MoreThe Culture of the 1920s in America Essay1707 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1920s, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great change and a time of powerful enthusiasm in many areas of society. The world had just finished the biggest war in history, the First World War, and the United States was left almost unharmed by the war. The United States was able to experience a decade of peace and success following the war. During this decade, America became the wealthiest country in the world (Trueman, 2000). The people in the United States went through aRead MoreWhite And Black People s Influence On American Culture And Society2445 Words   |  10 PagesThroughout the 1920s and 1930s, a number of demographic, political, and economic changes greatly impacted American culture and society. (Patterson Carney, 2003.) White and black people in America were still segregated and African Americans were treated as inferior (â€Å"BBC - Higher Bitesize History - Race rel ations between the wars,† n.d.), though they began to fight against discrimination in this period. (â€Å"Jazz Exacerbates Racial Tension,† n.d.) Music both reflected and played a role in the changingRead More Factors Effecting the Success of The Ku Klux Klan in America1355 Words   |  6 PagesFactors Effecting the Success of The Ku Klux Klan in America A hate group can never be explained, only accepted and fought against. For an unjustified reason in 1915, The Ku Klux Klan was born and spread its hate across the United States. The Klan started small, but gained millions of members in just a few short years. The Klan preached its beliefs to all Americans and urged everyone to join for the good of their country. Thousands of innocent people were slain because of their backgrounds.Read MoreAge of Reform in America1218 Words   |  5 Pages1800#8217;s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and women#8217;s rights. These movements were the result of our nation#8217;s self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in. Between the 1820#8217;s and 1860#8217;sRead MoreAnalysis Of Langston Hughes s Poem I, Too978 Words   |  4 Pages Langston Hughes America, the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. This is what everyone was told, what the Declaration of Independence states. But, Langston Hughes a black American poet in the Harlem Renaissance period saw the truth. Being an African American in the United States during the early 1900’s was difficult. Many lived a life full of hardships; segregation, prejudice and economic hardships, viewed as second-class citizensRead MoreHis 105 Assignment 21361 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Industrialization after the Civil War John E. Brown Strayer University HIS 105- Contemporary U. S. History Professor Anthony McCormack November 9, 2014 Industrialization after the Civil War When the Civil War was declared over, the United States became a better nation because of the Constitutional Amendments that were passed outlawing slavery and giving the government as well as the state the ability to serve and protect everyone. This paper will also show major aspects ofRead More Age Of Reform In America Essay1142 Words   |  5 PagesAmerican reform movements in the early to mid 1800amp;#8217;s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and womenamp;#8217;s rights. These movements were the result of our nationamp;#8217;s self-determination and interest in improving the societyRead MoreThe Childhood Of Fatherless Homes1196 Words   |  5 PagesFatherless Homes What happens to the fatherless child? Will this child be afforded the same opportunities as a child raised in a two parent homes? The growing epidemic of fatherless homes in America is a vastly growing trend. How far back through out American History can we trace this epidemic? Is there a close correlation between the absence of the father in the home, and likely hood of a child growing up to be a criminal? My primary focus will be on the affect this issue has on African AmericanRead MoreThe Great Depression And Its Effects1166 Words   |  5 Pageseffects of and leading to the Great Depression lasted for several years (Shindo). The great depression was a very difficult time in the time that it occurred. It hit people hard and left an everlasting memory (Shindo.) It would lead to a lot of devastating events better all over would feel the affect of this crisis. It was a very unexpected and sudden event that would change America forever. The Great Depression actually started in the summer of 1929, and lasted until 1933 (Shindo.) In 1929 the