The Effects of a Neurotoxin on the Mammalian Brain free essay sample

A paper which studies the effects of the Superfund Neurotoxin Methylazoxymethanol (MAM) on brain dendritic spine density in long hooded Evans Rats Rattus norvegicus. The paper shows that in the study of structural development in the brain there have been several proposed biomarkers for quantifying brain plasticity. These include but are not limited to cortical thickness, dendritic length and branching, expression of neuronal proteins, and the presence of DNA adducts. The paper discusses the theory that a measure of brain plasticity emerging late in embryonic development will be a very sensitive biomarker for detecting subtle damage suffered by brain cells during earlier stages of brain development not detectable by other means. The paper shows that to test this, the effects of a neurotoxin on the late developing dendritic spines were studied. A significant decrease in spine density was observed as the neurotoxin, methylazoxymethanol, increased. The author of the paper shows how the implications are widespread in the study of neuro-degenerative disease. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of a Neurotoxin on the Mammalian Brain or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Fifty years ago, Donald Hebb demonstrated that the conditions under which laboratory rats were housed could significantly affect their performance in a variety of complex spatial tasks later in life (1). The complex environment rearing paradigm has been valuable in assessing plasticity of a variety of brain components including cerebral cortical microvasculature, astrocyetic morphology, dentritic branching patterns, synaptic number, and synaptic structure are all affected by complex environment rearing (2). It has been suggested that multiple synaptic contacts (spines) may play a role in the spread of the additive effect of learning known as potentiation, among neighboring unstimulated neurons. A lack of these spines and their connection with boutons of neighboring neurons could then result in a decrease in the capacity for learning. Some recent work has indicated that the presence of multiple synaptic contacts may be altered by experience. Most of this research has focused on struct ural changes in the hippocampus. Dendrtic spines show great variability in structure and connectivity, both within and across brain structures, including 10-fold differences in length and diameter as well as variations in the number of branches and spines per dendrite.

Private property

Private property Private property is a human concept that is interesting and raises several philosophical questions. Karl Marx presents important points at the way society and those with power view private property and the issues it leads to.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Private property specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The ownership of any property is consicidered to be private. The society and the industry of a nation have placed a certain limit and frame on the way private property is viewed. It is very much connected to wealth and its accumulation. The surrounding environment and the economical industry have made a person somewhat of a property. The labor that an individual produces is a product of someone’s efforts and can be quantified by the industry. All the objects or property that someone possesses exist outside of the body and personality and so, is without a doubt private property, if that person is the one who has contributed efforts in the acquisition of the products. Even though the politics and the economy think of a man as an entity in and of itself, in relation to property and ownership, the work and the effort that someone puts in towards the said economy has become its property. It is possible to assume that this concept has some validity. The work that is required of someone would be non-existent if there was no reason or purpose for someone to work. The fact that an idea and opportunity is given to work, which is created by the state or some industry, can be seen as a property that is lended to a person. Even though it is immaterial, it is symbolic and thus, can be thought of as the sole creation of the industry. As Karl Mark mentions, the earliest private property was land and other objects that someone had. Things were much simpler when the society was not as complex, as it is today. But the hardships of modern industry have distanced a person from the country because they are viewed as property themselves. They are almost forced to put in the time and effort, in order for the industry to use someone for personal goals or wealth. This has a straight connection to greed where a person is being used through violation of moral codes and all conduct with a particular interest in the end result. When someone is in possession of land and they work on it, grow crops and take care of animals that make products, which can be used or sold, the person is working for themselves. Their labor and its results are the private property of a person and this is considered to be the most clear cut definition of private property. It is a true form of ownership where an individual is the only owner of all the entities that they themselves produce. The natural order of things requires a person to be self efficient, which in turn leads to them being productive for their own purposes.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The industrialization has changed the perspective and definition where a person has become a part of the economy and is used only as means to reaching wealth for someone else. It can be aligned with feudalism and the person becomes de-personalized, a part of a bigger system where they are just a minor piece, in contrast to the structure of industry. Overall, a person can become private only in the comfort of their own property and not the society.

World Trade Organisation Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

World Trade Organisation Law - Essay Example Since 1947, many General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) panel reports proposed that "the burden of establishing a violation under Article XXIII: 1(a) of the GATT 1947 was on the complaining party"2. "As early as 1952, in Treatment by Germany of Imports of Sardines, concerning a complaint by Norway, the panel clearly put the burden of establishing a violation of the GATT 1947 obligations at issue on the complaining party."3 Many other panel reports followed to confirm this proposition. In 1978, in EEC - Measures on Animal Feed Proteins, the 1992 report in Canada - Import, Distribution and Sale of Certain Alcoholic Drinks by Provincial Marketing Agencies and the 1994 report in United States - Measures Affecting the Importation, Internal Sale and Use of Tobacco. Nevertheless, it is the 1997 panel report United States - Measures Affecting Imports of Woven Wool Shirts and Blouses from India which under the GATT 1994 constitutes the reference in the Burden of Proof issue and confirm ed that it is the complainant who should bring the proper pieces of evidence in order to prove his complaint. We will try in the following essay to explain the different rules that guide the admission, submitting and admissibility of evidence, and we will focus on the current system of Burden of Proof by analyz... Subsequently, and still at the same meeting, the party against which the complaint has been brought shall be asked to present its point of view."4 In the idea of the complainant having to show Burden of Proof, it is his duty to present the necessary evidence to prove his case. The complainant is the first party invited to do so and then the other party, the respondent, will have the possibility to present its own evidence. The evidences are usually presented at the first substantive meeting in order to build the case. This is the usual conduct of the dispute settlement procedure. Nevertheless, in Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes5, we are presented the Argentina - Textiles and Apparel dispute where Argentina has argued in his appeal that evidence should not have been accepted after this first substantive meeting and that it was inconsistent with Article 11 of the DSU. Argentina requested the evidence to be rejected but the Panel replied that it gave sufficient time to Argentina in order to prepare for this new submission. It finally stated: Article11 of the DSU does not establish time limits for the submission of evidence to a panel. Article12.1 of the DSU directs a panel to follow the Working Procedures set out in Appendix 3 of the DSU, but at the same time authorizes a panel to do otherwise after consulting the parties to the dispute. The Working Procedures in Appendix 3 also do not establish precise deadlines for the presentation of evidence by a party to the dispute. It is true that the Working Procedures 'do not prohibit' submission of additional evidence after the first

Development Strategies for Customer Relationship Management Case Study

Development Strategies for Customer Relationship Management - Case Study Example The identification of needs and behavior helps an enterprise to develop appropriate strategies that would strengthen relationships with customers. Customer Relationship Management is important because it helps businesses to survive in the market. Today's market condition requires businesses to fulfill customer needs' and not what the business thinks satisfies their needs. Thus, customer relationship management enables a firm to optimize profits through a customer-focused strategy and environment (White Papers). However, establishing long-lasting relationships with customers is not easy and requires meticulous planning, as a lot of finance is involved. Customer Relationship Management is approached in several ways, but we will consider three of the most common: Operational, Analytical, and Collaborative (Alexandrou, Marios). Operational Customer Relationship Management is when front office processes which are directly linked to customers are changed in a way that facilitates the relationship. For instance, sales staffs which are directly involved with the customer would be given proper sales training to handle sales. Training would focus on issues such as how to protect and further the enterprise's image, and how to best handle and resolve customer inquiries and questions. On the other hand, analytical customer relationship management approach is the back office work, which is associated with analyzing data and creating marketing strategies accordingly. For example, month to month changes i n sales data would be analyzed to prepare an appropriate market strategy, which would both be economical and reach the intended audience. Finally, the collaborative approach combines the operational and analytical approach. It is a way that facilitates interactions with customers through all channels (personal, letter, fax, phone, web, email) and supports the coordination of employees teams and channels. It is a solution that brings people, processes, and data together so companies can better serve and retain their customers. In today's shifting and unpredictable business climate, corporations need to constantly adapt to different situations and make customers happy. On paper, most companies satisfy their customers, but in reality, very few companies are doing what customers like. According to infoquestcrm.co.uk, customer satisfaction surveys get a 70-75% average rating (Infoquest). The customers giving an average rating are most likely to check out on competition in the market befo re coming back to buy a product. Therefore, a company needs to satisfy the customer totally. "Studies have shown that a totally satisfied customer is as much as ten times more likely to buy again than a customer who is mere 'somewhat satisfied'"(Infoquest). Hence, a totally satisfied customer would be loyal and come back without an eye to check for competition in the market. A business whether small or large needs to build a customer-centric strategy in order to survive and dig in the big rewards.

Parent Firms of Joint Ventures

Parent Firms of Joint Ventures Are joint-ventures and their parent firms more closely related in terms of skill-relatedness than in terms of value-chain? Abstract The distance between joint-ventures and their parent firms is a fairly new topic of research in the field of diversification. In the process of determining the actual parent firm of a joint-venture out of all alternative industries, it turned our that both vertical- and skill-relatedness proved to be significant. The results indicate further that skill-relatedness is more predictive in this process than vertical relatedness and that joint-ventures are more likely to have parents that have skill overlap to their primary activity than industries that do not. These results hold for the entire sample and a subsample of manufacturing firms. Another finding is that joint-ventures and their parents tend to be more closely related in skills than their parents active in the joint-venture. Suggesting that joint-venture are a mechanism to reduce cognitive distance and increase the absorptive capacity of the new knowledge being transferred. 1. Introduction Diversification and relatedness between firms has been widely researched and finds their theoretical foundation in Coase (1937); Penrose (1959) and others. Coase (1937) can be regarded as one of the first to address the transaction costs theory, while Penrose (1959) addressed the resource based view of the firm. Both theories form the basis of many empirical research to understand more about diversification behavior of firms. These theories therefore form a basis for further research in diversification and especially in the distance between joint-ventures and their parents for this paper. Output produced by one industry often form the basis of production in other industries. It makes economic sense to integrate these activities into already existing activities to improve efficiency, make the company less dependable on their primary activity and expand the company, in order to achieve growth. Fan and Lang (2000) found this already before in their research about diversification. Firms tend to have secondary segments that are related in terms of in-output. This vertical integration of activities is most likely to occur when facing high market transaction costs. Neffke and Henning (2010) also investigated diversification behavior of firms using in-output relatedness. Their research however introduced a new measure of skill-relatedness, which turned out to be dominant in predicting diversification behavior of firms. Conform the resource based view, regarding human capital as the prime asset of the firm, their research firstly compared observed job switchers against the predicted job switchers between certain industries. Individuals gain, certain specific skills during their working life and can only redeploy this knowledge (â€Å"know-how†) in other industries which posses some degree of knowledge overlap. If this is not the case, switching will only hurt the individual, since he or she will be not valued for all acquired skills during his working life. This measure of skill-relatedness between industries proved to outperform in-output relatedness and supported the resource based view in diversification activities of firms. While diversification behavior and relatedness is widely researched, this is not the case for the relationship between joint-ventures and their parents. A joint-venture is a separate legal entity (Harrigan, 1988) and has at least two parents, who are in joint-control and reliable for their equity share in the joint-venture. This paper will discuss, why a joint-venture might be preferred over alternatives and how this might influence the distance between joint-ventures and their parent firms. This will provide new insights in the relationship between joint-ventures and their parent firms. In order to investigate the relationship between joint-ventures and their parent firms and testing for dominant mode in this relationship, this paper used a sample of 237 German joint-ventures between 2005-2011 and constructed an average vertical relatedness according to Fan and Lang (2000) for German industries between 2005-2007. It than included the skill-relatedness of Neffke and Henning (2010) based on Swedish labor switchers between 2004-2007. These data allowed us to make an overview of all joint-ventures and all industries in which it can have their parents. We then tagged the actual parent firms of the joint-ventures with a one and all other industries with a zero, allowing us to run a logit regression with the actual parent firms as our dependent variables. The findings indicate, that the resource based view is the dominant mode in explaining distance between joint-ventures and their parent firms. This provides more insight in the importance of close relatedness in terms of skills over other forms of relatedness. In the following chapter, we start with a theoretical framework about diversification and argue that the resource based view can be regarded as the most important in diversification moves. We will then discuss the alternative diversification possibilities and the limitations of diversification. This will be followed by a discussion of the most important strategic motives on joint-ventures choice. These strategic motives and the theoretical framework will be summarized at the end of chapter 2 and we will explain how this all will relate on the distance between joint-ventures and their parents. In chapter 3 we will discuss empirical evidence on diversification and joint-ventures and their implications on our research. Then we will follow with a data discussion and our method of research in chapter 4 and 5. The results and out findings will be presented in chapter 6 and the final chapter will discuss our outcomes, provides some more insight in the distance between both parents active in the joint-venture, limitations, policy implications and future research. 2. Theory on diversification: an introduction This paper investigates the distance between joint-ventures and their parents. Before we can have a look at this relation, we start with a theoretical framework about diversification and the implications of this framework for our research. Thereafter, we will explain more about diversification motives and the problems and limitations firms might face when diversifying. We then summarize all this and discuss how this all relate to our expected findings on joint-ventures and the relatedness with their parents. 2.1 Theoretical framework behind diversification strategies A theoretical framework behind diversification strategies will be discussed in the coming chapter. This theoretical framework provides more insights in the diversification motives of firms. After these motives have been discussed, we can discuss their influence on the distance between joint-ventures and their parents at the end of chapter 2. 2.1.1. Transaction cost theory The transaction cost view is a theory of Coase (1937) and Williamson (1975, 1985) and addresses the view that economizing is the core problem of economic organizations. The core of these problems in organizational context lay in the assumptions of incomplete information and self interest seeking firms / people. Incomplete information in contracts implies that it is impossible for individuals and firms to predict each future event, therefore all contracts are incomplete and exposed to uncertainty of future situation not foreseen by firms and individuals. If these future states / conditions change, the incentives for the individuals and firms involved might also change. In other words, there is room for self-interest of individuals. In the transaction cost theory, these assumptions of bounded rationality and self-interest seeking are paired and as a result there is room for fraud or guile of economic agents. Economic agents are driven by self-interest and the transaction costs theory a llows these agents to deceive, disguise and confuse in order to maximize their self interest. Opportunistic behavior and moral hazard are thus included in the theory of transaction costs. These assumptions are the basis for the theory of transaction cost and have some consequences, especially when it comes to contract modes and thus joint-ventures. Due to bounded rationality and opportunistic behavior of economic agents, all contracts are incomplete (Williamson, 2006). This means, economic agents have an incentive to behave to their own optimal ex post outcome if situations change which cannot be contracted. The second assumption is contract as promise (Williamson, 2006). This assumes that economic agents will fulfill contracts as promised. However, this will not be obtained if these agents are given opportunistic opportunities. â€Å"The transaction costs analysis entails an examination of the comparative costs of planning, adapting, and monitoring task completion under alternative governance structures† (Williamson, 2006, p. 58). The transaction will become the basic unit of analysis and minimizing transaction cost will result in the most efficient governance structure. Transactions differ in three ways from each other; (1) frequency at which transactions recur; (2) level of uncertainty to which they are subjected; (3) level of asset specificity involved. Since asset specificity is of crucial importance, we elaborate some more about the characteristics of asset specificity. â€Å"Asset specificity has reference to the degree to which an asset can be redeployed to alternative uses and by alternative users without sacrifice of productive value† (Williamson, 2006, p. 59). This asset specificity becomes of importance in the context of incomplete contracts, while asset specificity can take different forms; (1) physical asset specificity; (2) site specificity; (3) dedicated asset specificity and (4) human asset specificity. The complexity of a transaction is therefore highly dependent on the asset specificity (k) of the asset and investments in that asset. A supplier can for example use a general purpose technology with low asset specificity (k=0) or it might invest in a specialized technology with high asset specificity (k=1). High asset specificity is likely to involve high bilateral dependency between the parties in the transaction. Since the parties involved in the contract become vulnerable of each other, switching is difficult and costly option due to the mutual dependency and the investments done in specific assets. The buyers cannot easily turn to an alternative supplier and the current supplier is highly dependable on the demand of its current buyer. Therefore the higher the asset specificity, the more likely it become that higher contract costs have to be faced. Both parties have more incentives to devise safeguards to protect the investment in the transaction if asset specificity is high. How ever, if there is low asset specificity (k=0) and we thus have a general purpose asset, contract are easily monitored and market transactions will be preferred. Back to the diversification decision, minimizing transaction costs is regarded of crucial importance for the choice in governance mode. This implies that firms choose between a wholly owned subsidiary, a simple market transaction or a hybrid made, as a joint-venture for example. This trade-off between a joint-venture and other governance modes has been widely researched. Hennart (1991) for example found that; Japanese firms start joint-ventures with U.S. counterparts to combine intermediate inputs when they are subjected to high market transactions costs. This paper uses a relatedness in terms of in-output and can therefore measure the distance in terms of the use of intermediate products between industries. The influence on joint-ventures and partner distance will be discussed at the end of chapter 2. At this point of the paper, it is however important to understand that high relatedness in the use of intermediate products is likely to be caused due to high transaction costs. This w ould imply that if diversification has a high level of relatedness in value-chain and are thus closely relatedness in terms of vertical relatedness, this is most likely caused by high transaction costs and supports the transaction costs view of diversification.. 2.1.2. Knowledge and resource based view In the resource based view, knowledge (â€Å"know-how†) is regarded as the most important production factor within the firm. The origin of the resource based view goes back to the work of Penrose (1959), who inspired the discussion of the resource based view of the firm and the importance of resources to achieve firm growth. Penrose stated that: â€Å"the firm is a collection of productive resources (human and non-human) under administrative coordination and authoritative communication that produces goods and services for sale in the market for a profit† (Penrose, 1959, p. xvii).† â€Å"The administrative coordination and authorities communication define the boundaries of the firm† (Penrose, 1959, p. xvii). The firm specific human resources are regarded as the most important of all resources within the firm. Without these human knowledge, there can be no operating firm. As a result, the firm cannot make decisions, long-term planning, run operations and it c an certainly not make any expansions. From this point of view Penrose (1959) indentified two major causes of firm growth. First of all, causes external to the firm and secondly those causes that are internal to the firm. â€Å"External causes for firm growth, as capital constraints, cannot be fully understood without an examination of the nature of the firm itself† (Penrose, 1959, p. 532). We may therefore conclude that firm growth is endogenous to the firm; this is a result of two reasons mentioned by Penrose (1959). In order to execute plans and strategic action, human capital is required. After completion of the project/action, managerial resources will be released with increased knowledge. These resources gained experience and knowledge during the time of the expansion and can be redeployed at alternative use after the time of the expansion. The redeployed individuals with an increased knowledge and skills might improve efficiency and organization of the firm, but might also be able to development new or speci alized services. Depending on the expansion, individuals involved might also gain ‘unique knowledge of their experience; this is particularly true for certain forms of tacit knowledge, which are more difficult to transmit. The theory of firm growth of Penrose (1959) has been regarded as one of the earliest contributions to the resources based view of the firm, stressing the importance of knowledge as the key production factor within a firm. The drive of firms for growth, is a drive for new knowledge that is not accessible to the firm before their diversification. However, the motives and goals of each diversification differ and so do the resources possessed by each firm in a diversification. These differences and similarities in knowledge are of crucial importance in the resource based view, where acquiring new knowledge is the ultimate goal for achieving growth. Acquiring knowledge comes with certain problems; the â€Å"fundamental paradox† of knowledge and the difficulty arising from transferring tacit knowledge are two of those problems. In the fundamental paradox of information it is extreme difficult to determine the value of the knowledge for the buyer of the knowledge, which causes high c ontract costs. Since it is impossible for the buyer of knowledge to estimate ex ante the characteristics of what is being bought. On the other hand, if the seller of the knowledge provides this information, he will be revealing important information and transferring his â€Å"know-how† free of charge (Arrow, 1959). If the targeted knowledge, is a certain â€Å"know-how† which cannot be patented and protected against spillovers to competitive firms and other industries it become far more difficult. Certain types of knowledge cannot be put on paper and granted a patent. Firms experiences in manufacturing, distribution, and country-specific knowledge, knowledge of markets, customers and especially high educated employees cannot be patented but are of crucial importance of a firms success in the resource based view. â€Å"This type of knowledge that cannot embody specifications, designs and drawings, but instead is embedded in the individual is called ‘tacit knowledge†. (Polanyi, 1959; Hennart, 1988, p. 366). These individual characteristics of experience and social nature make transfer, coordination and spread of knowledge between firms, extreme complex and difficult (Lam, 2006). The transfer and spread of this tacit knowledge is one of the difficulties when facing diversificat ion decisions. The transfer and spread of this tacit knowledge can be done in different alliance forms, which will be discussed later in this paper. However, for now, it is important to know that diversification is undertaking to gain new knowledge, which must be for same part related to the knowledge of the firm. This is the case since the new resources must be redeployed at alternative use after a project, which might be a joint-venture for example. As for distance in diversification, higher skill-relatedness and thus diversification activities that are more closely related in skills stresses the importance of the resource based view. 2.1.3. Portfolio management theory A third and final theory behind diversification motives is the portfolio theory of Markowitz (1952). Diversification decisions of firms are important decisions taken by firms management in order to maximize the expected returns of their portfolio of investments. These investors are the shareholders of the firm and have a claim on the residual value of the company assets, when debt has been paid. In order to maximize this expected return of the firm outstanding shares, the law of large numbers will ensure that the actual yield of the portfolio will be almost the same as the expected yield. In any case, holding a diversified portfolio would be preferred over all non-diversified portfolios (Markowitz, 1952). Increasing variance in your portfolio would mean an increase in the number of projects, since each project would be successful / unsuccessful at a certain probability, which is referred to as risk. Holding a large variety, in other words, betting on more than one horse, increases yo ur probability on having a winning project. The portfolio management theory suggests that diversification tends to take place in activities that are unrelated to the primary activity of the firm. If this is the case, diversification activities (such as a joint-venture) would be unrelated to the primary activity of the firm. There would be a large distance between the firm and its diversification activities, while transaction costs and the resource based view are stressing the importance diversification in more closely related activities, although for different motives. 2.2 Different diversification alternatives In all theories discussed, the main driver for diversification is in order to achieve growth. Either, by minimizing transaction costs in the transaction costs economy or by diversification of risk, which increases the probability of a winning innovation. In all these theories is explained how they might influence the distance between diversification activities. Is there however any limit to firm growth in their challenge to innovate and to expand? According to Penrose (1959) there is no limit on the size of a firm, however the growth of the firm has some limits it can reach. In the Hercules Powder Company case study Penrose claimed: â€Å"Growth is governed by a creative and dynamic interaction between a firms productive resources and its market opportunities. Available resources limit expansion; unused resources (including technological and entrepreneurial) stimulate and largely determine the direction of expansion. While product demand may exert a predominant short-term influence, over the long term any distinction between ‘supply and ‘demand determinants of growth becomes arbitrary† (Penrose, 1959, p.1) How does this reflect to diversification strategies? Penrose (1959) distinguished between different areas of diversification. The firm can be divided into different productive activities, that consist of machines, processes, skills and materials, all closely and complementary associated in the production process, which Penrose (1959) calls the production/technology base. The firm now faces the decision to diversify into a new market using the existing technology base. It might prefer entering an existing market using a new technology base, which is referred to as horizontal/complementary expansion. The last scenario would be to enter a new market using a new technology base. As described above, the ability of a firm to expand and grow is limited by its internal resources, from which human resources is regarded as the most important. Diversification increases the creative and dynamic interaction of a firm and its resources. All these forms of diversification have implications on the expected distance between the diversification activities and thus joint-ventures and our research. Entering a new market using a new technology would probably have a larger distance in terms of skills from its primary activity than entering a new market with an existing technology. In this latest case, the technology and specific knowledge can be partially redeployed at alternative use, while this is not the case in the first alternative. The main implication from Penrose (1959) famous work is that firms diversify in order to achieve growth. According to Penrose (1959) the resource based view of the firm is the dominant view in order to achieve this growth by diversification. This would suggest that the distance between diversification activities would be more closely related in terms of skills and less closely in vertical relatedness, used as a measure for the transaction costs theory. If diversification is undertaken in order to diversify risk, conform the portfolio management theory diversification activities would not be related at all. 2.3 Limits on diversification and diversification distance? There are different diversification forms as discussed in the previous chapter. It is important to understand that firm growth is limited by its human capital (Penrose, 1959). A firm should therefore carefully choose its diversification activities. A clear understanding of these limits and where these limits depend on is extremely important to understand the distance between firms diversification activities. Since this implicitly answers the question, to what extent firms diversify and is there a limit on the distance between partners and their diversification activity? Cohen and Levinthal (1990) discuss the ‘absorptive capacity of a firm, which indicates: â€Å"the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new, external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends, which is critical to its innovative capacity† (Cohen and Levinthal (1990), p. 128). This absorptive capacity puts limits on the commercialization of new knowledge and boundaries on diversification. Cohen and Levinthal (1990) assume that a firms absorptive capacity and the individual absorptive capacities of its employers are largely a function of the firms level of prior related knowledge. Earlier research suggest that absorptive capacity might be a byproduct of a firms RD investments and others suggest that firms can also invest directly in absorptive capacity while investing in specialized educ ation/training. The key to absorptive capacity is that organizations needs prior related knowledge to assimilate and use new knowledge for exploitation. This is very important for the resource based view in our paper, since this implies that diversification activities of firms should be related in terms of skills. Since, the higher the prior knowledge in ones memory, the higher their ability to acquire new knowledge and the ability to recall and use that knowledge. What is often the case in organizations and especially expected in joint-ventures is the transfer of learning skills across bodies of knowledge that are organized and expressed in similar ways. Mowery et al. (1996) indicated that joint-ventures are the most efficient alliance form for transferring tacit knowledge, which could certainly human specific skills. As a consequence, experience or performance on one learning task may influence and improve performance on some subsequent learning task (Ellis, 1965). Cohen and Levin thal (1990) make two important assumptions about knowledge, important for diversification strategies. â€Å"Firstly, knowledge is cumulative and secondly, learning performance is greatest when the object of learning is related to what is already known† (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990, p. 131). This implicit that learning is more difficult in novel domains, in other words radical exploration of new ideas, products, technologies and standards. Diversification might offer an advantage, since with diversification comes a wider knowledge base and as a results an increasing probability that the new knowledge is already / partially known to the organization. The absorptive capacity of an organization however, does not only exist off the aggregated absorptive capacity of its individuals, but also on the ability to exploit this knowledge. Cohen and Levinthal (1990) mention there is a trade-off between high levels of absorptive capacity of an organization and the ability to exploit this. They describe this as a trade-off between inward-looking (specialization) versus outward-looking (diversify) trade-off, where excessive dominance by one or the other will be suboptimal. Exploitation can best been seen as specialization of old familiar ideas and certainties in organizational learning, while exploration can best be described as the invention of new technologies, standards, products or ideas in an organization. Cohen and Levinthal (1990) discuss also the importance for innovation of close relationship with both buyers and suppliers, suggesting a vertical relatedness would be beneficial for innovation performance. In the trade-off described, Co hen and Levinthal (1990) suggest that to the keep an effective, creative utilization of new knowledge a portion of prior knowledge should be closely related with a the firm new knowledge, and another part should be fairly diverse, although still related. If this is the case, firm diversification activities should be closely related in terms of skills supporting the resource based view of the firm. Why is it important to have both creative utilization and a portion of prior knowledge is best described by March (1991), who distinguishes between exploration and exploitation. Returns of exploration are systematically less certain than those of exploitation (March, 1991), this might influence the choice for diversification for the long term however, exploration has long run positive return although this outcome is certainly not always the case in the short run. Exploration activities therefore capture much more risk taking, uncertainty, variation, flexibility, discovery and innovation than exploitation. Exploitation is more focused on production, choice, efficiency, marketing, costs and benefits (March, 1991). The importance of exploration is best described in a model of mutual learning in an closed organization and its personnel in it (March, 1991). The organization is regarded as a storage of knowledge (consisting of procedures, norms, rules and tacit assets) and the organization, accumulate knowledge over time by learning from their personnel. â€Å"Individuals (personnel) however, are socializing the organizational beliefs, which are diffused to individuals through various forms of instruction, indoctrination, and exemplification† (March, 1991, p. 74). This mutual learning approach between organizations and individuals has implications for the choice between exploitation and exploration in organizations and has therefore consequences for the short-run and long-run incentives. In this model of mutual learning organizational code is affected by the beliefs of their personnel, the other way around, the individuals are influenced by the organizational code / norm. Important to know is, that individuals can not influence each other, the influence each other through the organizational code. What will happen in this closed model? In this organization, each adjustment in beliefs is served to eliminate the difference between the organizational code and the individual beliefs. If the individuals over time become more knowledgeable about the code, they become also more homogeneous with respect to knowledge and in the end will find an equilibrium. In this equilibrium the individuals beliefs share the same organizational code. It is therefore important to keep a portion of new knowledge in order to increase the organizational code. March (1991) also describes a second model, evaluating the role of personnel turnover in the organization and turbulence environment are considered. The length of service of an individual in an organization has a positive effect on the knowledge of the individual and therefore also a positive effect on the average knowledge of the individuals. A recruit therefore has a negative effect on the average knowledge of the individuals. The role of turnover on the organization knowledge is more complicated and is a problem of learning rates versus turnover rates. As described in model of mutual learning the strength of the recruit is, the diversity in knowledge, since the recruit posses on average less knowledge than the individual it replaces. Long serving individuals, on average know more, but their knowledge is already reflected in the organizational code over time and therefore they are less likely to contribute to the organizations knowledge base. Now consider environmental turbulence t o the organization, this can be the case of processes involving lags in adjustment rates. Consider an organization without personnel turnover, in this organization the beliefs reflected by the individual and these beliefs do not change, although the environment is changing. After some time the organizational code is systematically degraded through changes in reality and a much lower equilibrium is reached. Organizations with a moderate personnel turnover however, are resistant to these environmental shocks and adjust to the new knowledge of the recruits (diversified knowledge). March (1991) extent this model of competitive ecology in a model to compete for scarce resources and opportunities. Assuming the performance of a firm is a measure of the average value (x) and some measure of variability (v), which are normally distributed. An increase in both will increase the probability to gain competitive advantages over competitors. In this part there consist a trade-off between an increase in the mean and the variance. Which supports earlier literature, that diversification is undertaken to gain excess to new knowledge to some extent, but is expected to be related to prior knowledge of the firm. March (1991) conclude that exploration firms compete far more on variance than exploitation firms. 2.4 Implications and differences between the theories discussed The main difference between the management portfolio theory and the resource based view and the transaction costs view is that the management portfolio expect that diversification tends to take place in unrelated industries, while this is not the case for the other two theories, although at different level of relatedness. The resource based view stresses the importance of knowledge gain and the benefits of this new knowledge in diversification. Transaction costs theory however focuses more on the cost side of the transaction.Leaving the transaction costs as basic unit of analysis to determine an appropriate alliance form, which will minimizes the transaction costs of the firm. According to Wang (2007), a firm shoul

Hatchet :: essays research papers

Within reading the first few pages of Hatchet, I knew I was going to enjoy the book. Hatchet was a story about bravery, courage, and strength. I enjoyed reading this great novel by Gary Paulsen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story begins when Brian, a thirteen-year-old boy, is traveling on an airplane. Brian is from the city, and is traveling to Canada to visit his Father. The setting is in the Canadian wilderness and is most important because Brian’s adventure would have been impossible in a city. Brian was very upset about his parents separation, but was excited to be visiting his father. However â€Å"The Secret,† as Brian refers to it, is always in the back of his mind. Brian has seen his mother with another man. He wants desperately to tell his father, but knows his father would be crushed. I think that this situation is something that could happen in real life. Brian is totally distraught. If I were in his place, I would be also. But instead of worrying about telling my father, I think I would be worrying about confronting my mother with the situation. I would feel I needed to stop the affair before my father did find out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brian’s trip is very unexpectedly interrupted, when the plane’s pilot has a heart attack. Brian tries to continue the flight, with help from men over the radio. Unfortunately, the radio dies, and the plane runs out of gas. I think this part of the story, is very unrealistic. If the plane were supposed to make it all the way to the destination, why would it suddenly run out of gas? Also, why would the radios suddenly become broken? I realize this was the whole point of the novel but it doesn’t seem realistic.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brian then spends exactly Fifty-four days by an L-shaped lake. He faces many conflicts. He is put in a situation like the â€Å"Survivor† television show. He needs to find a way to survive, unlike on the show, by himself. He needed protection from the weather, so he built shelter. He was hungry, so he hunted for food. He discovered how to catch fish, rabbit, and discovered bushes of nuts. He also had a bad encount er with â€Å"Poison berries,† as he called them, which made his stomach sick. Brian also had encounters with wild animals, such as, a porcupine, and a moose. Brian needed warmth, so he made fire, without any matches.

Intro to Internet Essay

Although it is true that professional web designers prefer using raw html codes when creating a web page, they admit that using HTML editors such as DreamWeaver, Frontpage, and Netscape Composer has advantages. The beauty these programs lies in its ease of use. Unlike raw html where in the designer must remember raw html coding , the HTML editor allows the same work to be done with a few mouse clicks or image inserts onto the page. Every professional web page designer first created a page using an HTML editor. Later on learning the more complex rudiments of raw HTML page coding. HTML editors allow the user to create a web page that looks like it has a complex feel and design because the editor has all the coding built into it for the designer to use even though he does not know the raw html tags and syntaxes to use. Usually, the basic programs used in a web page such as Javascript can already be activated by the simple touch of a button. The biggest benefit of using an html editor is the feature known as HTML previewing. It allows us to view the webpage in real time format. Work Cited Evans, Tim. (1998). HTML 4: 10 Minute Guide. Indianapolis, Indiana: QUE Web Developer’s Notes. (2007). What Are WYSIWYG HTML Editors – Their Advantages and Disadvantages. Retrieved September 8, 2007 from http://www. webdevelopersnotes. com/design/wysiwyg_html_editors_advantages_disadvantages. php3