John Brown- Terrorist or Freedom Fighter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

John Brown- Terrorist or Freedom Fighter - Essay ExampleUsing unrivalled of the most famous accounts of such a confrontation in America, the author illustrates the impact of humanitarians calls for abolition linking John Browns Raid as a possible origin of the American Civil War. However, the noble intentions of the raid are usually taken out of context to associate its consequences with acts of terrorism. In spite of the breakneck approach adopted by John Brown and his associates in the Harpers Ferry episode, abolition campaign was like a time bomb that would have besides exploded due to neglect and contempt of human rights issues. Flanked by this thesis statement, this essay will attempt to analyze the life of John Brown and the events at Harpers Ferry raid to pick a position on legality of his actions as reiterated in the accompanying conclusion.Inequality and slavery in the polarized American edict concerned John Brown to the extent that he found an alternative to peaceful ab olition campaign that had not delivered results. Besides his desire to have a successful campaign for a slave free country, he was angered by some abolition positions that did not advocate for equality to the marginalized slave corporation (Earle, 13). Terrible aggression had been observed against slaves who were also subjected to inhumane conditions, a matter that inspired John Brown to apply similar tactics on the perpetrators of the force out on slaves. Alternatively, there was an apparent division into two southern and northern juntos along hard-line positions on the issue of slavery. John Brown was a northerner, the faction that largely advocated for peaceful resolution of the American humanitarian concerns. Despite the fact that religious input into the campaign quelled application of any hostility tactic, the yield of certain abolition activists who were desperate for the continued suppression of slaves and minorities was on the rise. The hostile abolitionists had realize d that however dangerous it appeared, hostility

How did the war on drugs affect the African American Community Term Paper

How did the war on drugs affect the African American Community - Term Paper ExampleThesis avowal The war on drugs initiated by the US government affect the African American Community be grammatical case it leads to further problems in the society. The war on drugs The war on drugs is initiated by the US government, aiming to conduct campaigns against production, supply and abuse of harmful drugs. Friman opines that Among developed countries, the United States has adopted the strictest national control measures against illicit drugs and has played the most officious role in international enforcement (4). The war on drugs includes providing military support to reduce international level illegal drug trade. The subject area Prohibition roleplay of 1920, which prohibited the us eld of alcohol, is to be considered as the initial bill against the influence of harmful beverages. One can easily identify that this Act led to execution of instrument of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Preven tion and Control Act of 1970 in USA. The establishment of Drug Enforcement Administration in the year 1973 was another innovative step taken by the US government against drug abuse. In addition, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 paved the way for the theNational Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988, which created the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under the US government. The ONDCP conducts a number of media campaigns among the youngsters to create awareness against drug abuse. In short, the war on drugs is a continuation of drug policy in the US. How did drugs affect the African American Community? Almost all the racial groups in the US face the problem of drug addiction and related issues. Comparing to other racial groups, the African American Communities face more problem from drugs.... The tale of the African American Communities and their growth and development from slavery to freedom, gaining political, social and economic progress d id not help much to fight against drugs. Besides, an individuals gender, age and economic status are considerable factors which lead to drug addiction. From a different angle of view, the socioeconomic status is to be considered as a full of life factor which leads an individual towards drug addiction. When this idea is superimposed into the context of drug addiction among the African American Communities, one can easily identify that mendicancy originating from socioeconomic disparity is the most important factor which leads to drug addiction. The war on drugs resulted in rapid increase of prison population because the law enforcement part became more active and vigilant. Within this context, more African Americans were imprisoned and it resulted in further problems. For instance, the law enforcement agencies targeted the low income communities (say, the African American Communities) in the lower strata of the society. Roberts opines that though whites, given their numerical su periority in the population, make up the majority of drug users, African Americans have been the chief targets by police (30). The initiative undertaken by the US government reduced the negative influence of harmful drugs among the people but it affected the African American Communities. The grass root level cause of drug abuse or addiction among the African Americans is interconnected with their socio-economic status in the society. For instance, some of the African Americans consider drug abuse as an flaccid way to escape from the economic problems

Jackson Pollock's Painting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

capital of Mississippi Pollocks Painting - Assignment ExampleThe paper Jackson Pollocks Painting focuses on the paintings of Jackson Pollock. His artifice is considered as the modern art and shows how the modern artists contributed to a change in creating arts like paintings and sculptures legal transfer it to the international stage for Avant-garde art. Through Jackson Pollocks paint on convergence it shows an innovative method of the development in the history of painting. During that time of painting there was cold struggle between the United States and Russia convergence painting was a flair of expressing freedom of expression. Convergence art was a clear expression showing his feelings as it was an view on social realism and also overt political gestures as it showed realism. This art by Jackson Pollock shows simplicity in its creation as he mainly use the available art applicants like households paint, sand, syringes, knives. Through the convergence painting we can see tha t it is a way he used in expressing his feelings as he engages his body movement thereby bringing a new technology known as combat-ready painting in art. It can also be seen that his painting shows originality as he uses his own techniques inputting different light colors which blend well bringing out a great painting. Jackson Pollock developed a unique and by pouring and dripping paint on canvas he tried to create a new technique in painting which was later known as drip technique. He used households paints and did not rely on artists painting showing his creativity using different types of paint applicants.

History of Psycology Essay Example for Free

History of Psycology EssayBefore psychology there was philosophy. Descartes was about during the end of the Renaissance and in the era of revolutionary developments in science. Born in 1596 to a French lawyer, Descartes could understand more than most. When he was in his belated 20s, he resembled more of a scientist than a philosopher since he had studied physics, optics, geometry as well as physiology.The offset to discover that lenses in ones eyes ar inverted by removing an oxs eye, Descartes also believed in truth and was an active rationalist, meaning he believed the truth would emerge by careful use of reason and it became his modus operandi. This way to truth was also through the human capacity to reason. He created four rules he used to arrive at truth. He also was the best-known example of a dualist, giving way to accepting a clear partition between mind or individual and body. He believed that the body was like a well-oiled machine and the mind could have a direct i nfluence on it. John Locke followed Descartes in 1632. He treasured to take epistemology, the study of human knowledge and obtaining it, to a more experimental based group of discipline. Locke spurned the idea of innate ideas, only faculties.Some ideas appeared so early in life that they used to believe they were innate but Locke declared that all of our knowledge was derived from experiences. Locke stated that the mind was like a purity sheet of paper, blank but able to become something great.Experiences add to the paper by sensations and reflections. George Berkeley was other philosopher born in 1685. His work on vision was the first example of how empiricist thinking could be applied to the study of perception. Lastly there is David Hume. He built his knowledge around the base premise that all of our spirit is rooted in experience, or impressions vs.ideas.Impressions are basic sensations experienced daily such as feeling pain, seeing yellow or tasting saltiness. Ideas are fai nt copies of impressions but are not as vivid. Hume also offered three laws of association resemblance, contiguity, and feat/effect. Resemblance meaning the look of one object stop bring back memories or ideas of another item. Contiguity means intertwining two things together such as the smell of oranges and the west coast. The greatest of the laws is the law of cause/effect.If one idea causes another idea or holding, the cause reminds you of the effect i.e. burning your hand on the stove while making muffins. When seeing the scar, the memory of muffins bequeath reappear. Hume also suggested that to conclude that A causes B, one must know 1. When A occurs, B must occur regularly, 2. A occurs before B, and 3. B doesnt occur without being preceded by A. In the 19th century, psychology shifted from being philosophically based to being more scientific. Scientists and physiologists tried to show the world the reasons potty psychology were in fact based on the senses and the nervous system. One example is the Bell-Magendie law.Both Sir Charles Bell and Francois Magendie both were studying the grow of the postierior and anterior roots of the spinal cord and their functions. Bell was credited with the law because his research was published earlier, though limited, and Bell did not conduct an experiment like Magendie did on puppies. They discovered that the posterior roots control sensation where there is movement still but no sensation. Magendie then severed the anterior root in another animal and the limb was flaccid and unable to move though it still had sensation.To conclude, the science of psychology has always been a changing domain from philosophy to the sciences. It will continue to grow and develop as the world changes and shifts. Descartes started the ball rolling by studying optics and how to arrive at the truth with his four laws. Locke showed the world that it is treasure vs. nature that shapes a person. Hume gave us the three laws of association. In the 19th century psychology developed to include sciences. All of these philosophers and scientists shaped the psychology field to what it is today.

The Mafia Theory Essay Example for Free

The Mafia Theory EssayDavid E. Scheim has published two books claiming that the Mafia were responsible for the character assassination of fast one F. Kennedy. He believes that it was unionized by Carlos Marcello, Santos Trafficante and Jimmy Hoffa. This theory is based on the idea that the Mafia were angry with both John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy for their attempts to destroy organized crime. Scheims theory was supported by Trafficantes lawyer, Frank Ragano, who published the book Mob Lawyer, in 1994. The theory is also supported by the investigative journalist, Jack Anderson. G. Robert Blakey, foreland counsel and staff director to the House Select Committee on Assassinations from 1977 to 1979, published The Plot to Kill the President in 1981. In the book Blakey argues that leeward Harvey Oswald was involved but believes that there was at least one gunmilitary personnel firing from the Grassy Knoll. Blakey came to the conclusion that the Mafia boss, Carlos Marcello, organ ized the assassination.Anthony Summers is the author of The Kennedy Conspiracy. He believes that Kennedy was killed by a group of anti-Castro activists, funded by Mafia mobsters that had been ousted from Cuba. Summers believes that some members of the CIA took part in this camarilla. In his book, JFK The Second Plot (1992), Matthew Smith points out that Thomas H. Killam, a man who worked for Jack Ruby, claimed that there was a link between his former employer, Lee Harvey Oswald and the Mafia. He told his brother, I am a dead man, but I switch run as far as I am running. Killam was found dead in an alley with his throat cut in March, 1964. In October, 1991, Chauncey Holt confessed to John Craig, Phillip Rogers and Gary Shaw about his role in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.He claimed Peter Licavoli, a leading figure in the Mafia in Detroit, had organized the conspiracy and named Charlie Nicoletti, Charles Harrelson and Charles Rogers as the gunmen. In 1992 the nephew of Sam Gi ancana published Double Cross The Story of the Man Who Controlled America. The book attempted to establish that Giancana had rigged the 1960 Presidential election right to vote in Cook County on John Kennedys behalf, which effectively gave Kennedy the election. It is argued that Kennedy reneged on the deal and therefore Giancana had him killed. The next crime figure to confess to the crime was James Files. He claimed that two Mafia leaders, Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli organized the assassination. Charlie Nicoletti was identified as the other gunman.

Effect of Art Essay Example for Free

Effect of imposture EssayTraditionally, we have believed that art imitates life. The painter represents what he or she sees by producing a scene on a canvas. The carver does the same with bronze or stone. A photographer or film maker does it even more directly. A writer describes life in his or her books. This simple concept is known as mimesis. further some have questioned the one-way nature of mimesis by arguing that art also changes the way we find the world, and in fact, life sometimes imitates art rather than the other way around. The person who first articulated this belief achievementively was Oscar Wilde. Speaking about the foggy conditions in London in the late 19th century, he wrote that the way we perceive them changed because of art. Referring to the wonderful brown fogs that come creeping down our streets, blurring the gas lamps and bit houses into shadows he argued that poets and painters have taught people the loveliness of such effects. According to Wilde, They did not exist till Art had invented them.And you dont have to look too remote to see anti-mimesis in our lives. To what extent is our outlook on life altered by ideas we read in books? The portrayal of people in films? The styles we see in fashion photography? One great example of this is the TV series The Sopranos, and how it affected both the Mafia in the USA and the FBI.Arts baffle on society propaganda and censorshipThroughout history, it has always been the case that art has the power to change society, especially when new media are used to express an idea. During the offset printing World War, for example, movie cameras were used for the first time to record trench warfare when the film was shown in cinemas in Britain, audiences ran out screaming. This light-emitting diode to the government censor further such use of such a powerful medium. And in government censorship, and use of art as propaganda, we see how seriously governments take the effect of art.All of the m ajor dictators of the C20th understood the power of art to influence the population. In Nazi Ger some(prenominal), Hitler set up the Ministry of Propaganda and National Enlightenment. It was headed by Goebbels, who made sure that nix was publish, performed, or exhibited without his approval. When this happens, you know there isnt going to be a happy ending.And what Goebbels approved, of course, only fit in with Nazi ideology and ideas. In footh obsolete of art, this meant no modern and abstract art, certainly nothing hostile to the regime, and nothing that featured images other than the stereotypical blonde-haired, blue eyed set in perfect pastoral scenes of blissful happiness.In Stalinist Russia, there was also a keen understanding of the power of art. Art portrayed contented peasants, industrious workers, and Stalin himself. In fact, Stalin was shown god-like in many an(prenominal) paintings, a phenomenon known as the Cult of Stalin. Just as in Germany, gigantic architectural projects expressed the power of the state.However, there is no doubt that in Russia there were greater artistic achievements than in Nazi Germany. Composers worked with fewer hindrances as seen in the works by Prokoviev and Shostakovich, and film-makers such as Eisenstein emerged. Arts influence on society the trial of Lady Chatterleys Lover But even under less oppressive governments, the artistic mien of certain ideas can be subject to control. One great example is the book Lady Chatterleys Lover by DH Lawrence, which was deemed offensive on many levels. In this book, Constance Reid, a woman from a progressive liberal middle class family marries a minor member of the aristocracy, Lord Clifford Chatterley, and takes the title Lady Chatterley.But her husband is injured in the First World War, confined to a wheelchair, and left impotent. Despite this, he becomes a successful writer and businessman. It is more his infantile fixation with financial success and fame rather than any p hysical difficulties which come in the midst of him and his wife, and she begins an affair with their gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. The largely aristocratic establishment of Britain at the time the book was published in Italy in 1928 were shocked by many aspects of the book. First, there was the fact that the book was obscene, in the way it went into explicit detail the affair that took arse (see below).Second, there was the fact that a women was breaking her marriage vows, something considered far worse than a man behaving in the same way. Finally, it represented an intimate relationship between a member of the lower classes (although it emerges during the story that Mellors is actually well-educated, and became an officer in the army during the First World War) and the upper classes, a concept that was totally verboten in Britain at that time. The book was duly banned.But the book was republished by Penguin books in 1960. The attorney general, Reginald Manningham-Buller (dubbed Bullying-Manners by the journalist and author Bernard Levin) had to read only quad chapters to decide to prosecute Penguin books for publishing it. What annoyed him was not just the content, but the fact that the price of the book meant it was affordable to women and members of the lower classes (remember that only few women worked at this time, and husbands were generally in charge of family finances). The trial was a disaster for Manningham-Buller and the prosecution.They had failed to find any experts to support their case, in stark contrast to Penguins defence team, which had brought in authors, journalists, academics, and even members of the clergy to defend the book. Manningham-Buller and his team had very little idea of what Lawrence had been trying to express in his book, regularly being caught out by the superior keenness of the witnesses they were trying to catch out. And although they tried to shock the jury in his opening speech, Manningham-Buller announced The word fuck or fucking appears no less than 30 times . . . Cunt 14 times balls 13 times shit and arse six times apiece cock four times pissing three times, and so on. they were unable to prove that the book would have a negative influence on the readers it was aimed at.According to the GuardianNo other jury verdict in British history has had such a deep social impact. Over the next three months Penguin sold 3m copies of the book an example of what many years later was described as the Spycatcher effect, by which the attempt to suppress a book through unsuccessful litigation serves only to promote commodious sales. The jury that iconic representative of democratic society had given its imprimatur to ending the taboo on sexual discussion in art and entertainment. in spite of appearance a few years the stifling censorship of the theatre by the lord chamberlain had been abolished, and a gritty realism emerged in British cinema and drama. (Saturday night and Sunday Morning came out at the same time as the unexpurgated Lady Chatterley, and very soon Peter Finch was commenting on Glenda Jacksons tired old tits in Sunday Bloody Sunday and Ken Tynan said the first fuck on the BBC.)Homosexuality was decriminalised, abortions were available on reasonable demand, and in effectuate to obtain a divorce it was unnecessary to prove that a spouse had committed the matrimonial crime of adultery. Judges no longer put on black caps to sentence prisoners to hang by the neck until dead. Can we say, though, that it was art in this case that changed society, or was it an interaction between human sciences (ie, the law) and the arts (the book) that led to change? This is from the same Guardian article the message of Lady Chatterleys Lover, half a century after the trial, is that literature in itself does no harm at all. The damage that gets attributed to books and to plays and movies and cartoons is caused by the actions of people who try to suppress them.

Resource Based View Of Firms Competitive Advantage

Re root word Based View Of Firms rivalrous profitThe nature of competition constitutes the basis of a regular s success or failure. Quality straightaway no foresightfuler constitutes a belligerent weapon. Organisations long term success in a trade is determined by its ability to expand and maintain a large number of loyal client bases. insertion has always been at the focus of free-enterprise(a)ness. Innovation often occurs in sudden dynamic shifts. It is these sudden war-ridden changing intentions that open up and close out vast beas of argumentationes.A impregn fitted s core competences is dependent on its capacity to creatively combine core skills (Prahalad, 1993), from both within and out side the organisation. However, what matters is the creative bundling of a hard s core competency (Prahalad, 1993) and thus, the hold for a focus on the factors that signal value to the customers.Firms atomic number 18 required non only to improve, barely to present products and services and anticipate customer needs on a continuous basis. In order to maintain a long-term relationship with the customer, planetary houses need to licence their ability to think for the customer, and to conceive and implement new ways to serve them better.Table of contentsExecutive Summary 11.0 Introduction An Overview of the Resource-Based View (RBV)2.0 Competitive Advantage and Innovation 3-73.0 International Business Machines Corporation IBM4.0 SONY 85.0 Procter Gamble 116.0 Conclusion 14References 15-18Bibliography and Appendices 19-211.0 Introduction An Overview of the Resource-Based View (RBV)RBV is a strategic guess for understanding wherefore some firms outperform others. It is a widely adopted analytical tool of assessing a firm s internal strengths and weaknesses and a pipeline management tool used to determine the strategic imagings available to a firm. The fundamental principle of the RBV is that the basis for a competitive reward of a firm lies primaril y in the application of the bundle of valuable resources at the firms disposal (Wernerfelt, 1984, p172). It provides an explanation of competitive heterogeneity between firms. To transform a short-run competitive advantage into a sustained competitive advantage requires that these resources are heterogeneous in nature and non perfectly mobile (Peteraf, 1993, p180).Classical RBV opening was contributed by Penrose (1959) almost half a century ago. She argued that a firm is much than an administrative unit. It is in any case a collection of productive resources. The disposal of the resources between antithetical users over time is determined by administrative decision. Penrose contributed to our knowledge of the trigger of competitive advantage, sustaining competitive advantage, isolating mechanisms, and competitive advantage and economic rents (Kor and Mahoney, 2004). Modern RBV theory of the firm was introduced by Barney (1986, 1991), Dierickx and Cool (1989), and Peteraf (199 3). Their works assumed that each firm is a collection of key resources and capabilities that determines a firm s scheme. Above-average returns are illumine when the firm uses its core competencies to establish a competitive advantage over its rivals. With the progress in the research on RBV, it has become clear that the RBV extends beyond the assets of an government activity and reaches into its capabilities which throw more relation with surgical operation and activities.According to Barney (1991), for a firm to defecate the potential to sire competitive advantage firm resources moldiness have four attributes. First, the firm must be valuable, in the sense that it exploits opportunities and or neutralizes threats in a firm s environment. Secondly, it must be rare among a firm s current and potential competition. Thirdly, it must be imperfectly imitable. Finally, there finishnot be strategically equivalent substitutes for this resource .Identify the firm s potential key r esources.Evaluate whether these resources fulfill the following (VRIN) criteriaValuable A resource must enable a firm to employ a value-creating strategy, by either outperforming its competitors or reduce its own weaknesses (p99p36). Relevant in this perspective is that the transaction costs associated with the investment in the resource cannot be higher than the discounted approaching rents that flow out of the value-creating strategy (Mahoney and Prahalad, 1992, p370 Conner, 1992, p131).Rare To be of value, a resource must be by definition rare. In a perfectly competitive strategic factor market for a resource, the price of the resource will be a reflection of the expected discounted future above-average returns (Barney, 1986a, p1232-1233 Dierickx and Cool, 1989, p15041p100).In-imitable If a valuable resource is controlled by only one firm it could be a source of a competitive advantage (1p107). This advantage could be sustainable if competitors are not able to duplicate this strategic asset perfectly (Peteraf, 1993, p183 Barney, 1986b, p658). The term isolating mechanism was introduced by Rumelt (1984, p567) to explain why firms might not be able to imitate a resource to the degree that they are able to compete with the firm having the valuable resource (Peteraf, 1993, p182-183 Mahoney and Pandian, 1992, p371). An important underlying factor of inimitability is causal ambiguity, which occurs if the source from which a firm s competitive advantage stems is unknown (Peteraf, 1993, p182 Lippman and Rumelt, 1982, p420). If the resource in question is knowledge-based or socially complex, causal ambiguity is more likely to occur as these types of resources are more likely to be idiosyncratic to the firm in which it resides (Peteraf, 1993, p183 Mahoney and Pandian, 1992, p3651p110). Conner and Prahalad go so far as to say knowledge-based resources are the essence of the resource-based perspective (1996, p477).Non-substitutable Even if a resource is rare, pot entially value-creating and imperfectly imitable, an equally important aspect is lack of substitutability (Dierickx and Cool, 1989, p15091p111). If competitors are able to look to the firm s value-creating strategy with a substitute, prices are driven down to the point that the price equals the discounted future rents (Barney, 1986a, p1233 sheikh, 1991, p137), resulting in zero economic profits.1.1 Competitive AdvantageA firm can attain competitive advantage if the current strategy is value-creating, and not currently being implemented by present or possible future competitors. Competitive advantage has the ability to become sustained, however, this is not necessarily the case always. A competing firm can enter the market with a resource that has the ability to invalidate the prior firms competitive advantage, which results in reduced rents (Barney, 1986b, p658). Sustainability in the context of a sustainable competitive advantage is independent with regards to the time-frame. When the onomatopoeic actions have come to an end without disrupting the firm s competitive advantage, the firm s strategy can be called sustainable. This is contrary to other views that a competitive advantage is sustained when it provides above-average returns in the long run. (Porter, 1985).2.0 Competitive Advantage done InnovationA convenient definition of launching from an organizational perspective is presumption by Luecke and Katz (2003), who wroteInnovation . . . is generally understood as the successful introduction of a new thing or method . . . Innovation is the embodiment, combination, or deductive reasoning of knowledge in original, relevant, valued new products, processes, or services.A content analysis on the term innovation carried out by Baregheh et al. (2009) within the organizational context, defines innovation asInnovation is the multi-stage process whereby organizations transform ideas into new/improved products, service or processes, in order to advance, compe te and differentiate themselves successfully in their marketplace.3Innovation typically involves creativity, but is not identical to it innovation involves acting on the creative ideas to sterilize some specific and tangible difference in the domain in which the innovation occurs. For poser, Amabile et al. (1996) propose all told innovation begins with creative ideas . . . We define innovation as the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. In this view, creativity by individuals and groups is a starting point for innovation the initiatory is necessary but not sufficient condition for the second.For innovation to occur, something more than the times of a creative idea or insight is required the insight must be put into action to make a genuine difference, resulting for example in new or altered business processes within the organization, or changes in the products and services provided.Innovation, like many business functions, is a management process that requires specific tools, rules, and discipline.Innovation is an instinctive behavior in certain companies. It does not emerge overnight, and will not be developed unless the firm is placed in with the right structure. This means that the firms need to spot and make senseress their weakness, decide upon a strategic direction and determine what type of growth innovation will stimulate.In order for firms to survive intensive competition that exist about the globe, firms must be innovative. It is essential to understand what makes a firm innovative and the kind of resources make a significant contribution to a firm s innovation capabilities. We do know that good technical resources and rich innovation resources result in quicker innovation capabilities.Companies need to introduce architectural or business- model breakthroughs in order to develop new strategies to attack competitors and enter new markets. They must identify the gaps in industrial organisation and go into filling these gaps by finding ways to turn them into juicy markets. They need to find new customers, new products or new ways of promoting, producing or distributing them.strategic innovation goes beyond just product innovation. It links resources and efforts to an overall business strategy and involves making knowledge creation and innovative action a way of life. It seeks to create and expand markets, rather than to react to customer demand and then redirecting its resources from profitable lines to more potentially profitable lines. According to Abraham and Knight (2001), for those managers who know about the strategic innovation approach, the approach serves as a part of intelligence-gene transplant , enabling them to leverage resources to achieve superordinate word growth or competitive advantage.Innovation remains a management dilemma long-term survival requires a commitment to alteration and change through disrupting growth, but it s a strategy few companies survive. In order to so lve the dilemma, leaders must address its inherent conflict. The need to innovate is universally perceived as the key to organizational survival, but it s not enough for companies to merely need better. They need to be more differentiated not just through extensions of existing businesses, but mainly through a commitment to continuous growth. Such transformational innovation is a necessity, not an optionStrategic innovation process has become such an essential element due to the speed of change and increased competition. According to Abraham and Knight (2001), The process is based on repetitions of the five phase strategic innovation cycle as illustrated in the diagram below.Source Abraham, J.L, and Knight, D.J, (2001) Strategic Innovation leveraging creative action for more profitable growth. Strategy Leadership 29, pp 24Abraham and Knight (2001), states that This cycle helps transform difficult-to-describe tacit knowledge and experiences into more explicit form and enables a le ader to by choice and systematically create results-oriented knowledge and innovative action.Abraham and Knight (2001) identifies the five phases as per of the strategic innovation cycle. It is illustrated in Appendix 1.Abraham and Knight (2001) as well as identified a strategic innovation cycleIn the below diagram, the strategic innovation cycle is recurring, generating an increased knowledge and innovation, spiraling up and across an organization and still reaching outside the organizations boundariesSource Abraham, J.L, and Knight, D.J, (2001) Strategic Innovation leveraging creative action for more profitable growth. Strategy Leadership 29, pp 242.1 Criticism of innovationIt is often considered that firms often resist to change, both within and outside the organisation. Virtually ein truth large smart set that has got into trouble has been criticized for not changing rapidly enough. some(prenominal) firms fail to anticipate change and its subsequent ramifications renders them unprepared, reactionary and lacking the drive necessary to respond to the market s demands. It has become increasingly important for firms today to introduce innovation and flexibility into their core competence (Peters, 1987). Moreover, in order to influence an organisation s potential resources, Prahalad (1993) argues for the development of a proactive mannikin in which innovation can be planned and managed.3.0 Over view of International Business Machines Corporation IBM.The building block of IBM reach back into the middle 1880s, however, the company was officially founded in 1911 by Charles F. Flint, as he engineered the merger of Holleriths Tabulating Machine Company, Computing Scale Company of America and International Time enter Company. The agreed upon name was Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company or C-T-R. C-T-R soon found itself struggling do to over diversification of its product. In 1914 Thomas J. Watson, Sr. was brought in to help homogenize the company. wit hout the Great Depression IBM was able to continue to grow and innovate even when demand for their products began to drop. In the 1940s IBM completed the scratch ever Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also called the Mark I. In the 1950s IBMs computers became smaller and more practical for business applications such as billing, payroll and size up control. IBM was the first computing company to sell computers without software bundled into the package, this move generated the multi-billion dollar software industry that exist today, of which IBM is still an industry leader.In the 1970s and 80s IBM worked to get the computer smaller and more convenient for the household format. Floppy disks were introduced to the public market as personal self storage devices. IBM also developed the first Intranet in the mid 80s and created the foundations for what would later become the internet. In the late 1980s and early 90s IBM was soft on(p) with turmoil as the PC revolution exploded I BMs long standing relationships with big business saw the company struggling to survive, averaging annual losses of 8 billion. Personal consumers were all the rage not big business consumers. Soon IBM was able to use their intranet experiences of the past and harness the emerging information age using their line of top end servers and integrated business solutions.Today, IBM is a world leading research organisation boasting a track record for breakthrough developments that many other envy and we can match. IBM has an impressive enumeration of ideas due to their reliance on in-house expertise. The company has been forging closer links with a range of external engineering developers due to changing market demands.To IBM, technology equals participation and interaction, whose prime motive is how it can be more widely applied. IBM employs a breakthrough tool to enhance the aggroup creation process.IBMs future looks strong as they are the underlying producers of servers and business so lutions for the e-business industry, which is maturation at an incredible rate.4.0 Procter and GambleProcter Gamble is a company with more than 100 years on business, and is a clear example of a successful company. Procter and Gamble was founded in 1837 and incorporated in Ohio on May 5, 1905. It began as a small family operated strap and candle company, and now provides products and services of greater quality and value to consumers in over 180 countries.Procter Gamble has one of the largest and strongest portfolios of trusted brands. Procter and Gamble is the producer of products in nearly 50 categories. Because of this, they have been able to bond technologies within the categories in various astonishing ways. Over the years, Procter Gamble s Research and Development team has revolutionized home care. Many breakthroughs originate in the Procter Gamble s laboratories. Procter Gamble operates in more than 80 countries worldwide, which makes for one of the largest global comp anies around.Procter Gamble s strategy is mostly focused on innovation. They use this strategy to approach consumers more easily, and to obtain the most effective results towards the market share in the industry.Procter Gamble is also strongly committed to the concept of sustainable development, and continues to lead its industry in that regard. The company views sustainability as an opportunity to innovate products that improve the lives of the worlds consumers. Procter Gamble centers its sustainability efforts largely on its core activities. In particular, two key themes are significant to a number of Procter Gambles businesses water purification technology products and sanitation hygiene. In that context, Procter Gamble emphasizes on innovation in products that serve basic needs of consumers in the least developed countries. The companys high scores in the criteria of product impact and strategies for emerging economies is a reflection of that fact. In developed markets, P rocter Gamble focuses on environmental excellence, innovating in products such as cold-water cleaning technologies that provide good procedure as intimately as energy savings and eco-efficiencyProcter and Gamble s Innovation strategy is called Connect + Develop. This strategy is seeking to build a global innovation network. Through Connect + Develop relationships, the company continually searches for products, packaging, technologies and commercial opportunities that can be reapplied to brands and rapidly introduced to better meet consumers diverse needs. This strategy seeks to leverage the ideas, talents and innovation assets of individuals, institutes and companies around the world.Innovation ExamplesReady-to-go Technologies Procter Gamble introduced Bounce, the worlds first dryer added softener, after acquiring the product technology from the independent inventor who developed the innovative fabric-care solution.Ready-to-go Products In this instance, the deal was struck when Procter Gamble acquired Dr. Johns Spin brush business and added the Crest brand name to the innovation.Ready-to-go Packaging Several of the Olay Skin Care products now utilize new consumer-preferred manage dispensers originally developed by a European packaging products company.Commercial Partnerships Procter Gamble found the perfect complement to the Swiffer brand in a handheld duster developed by a Japanese competitor.The VRIO analysis provides a deep look into Procter Gamble which helps to analyze what makes or does not make this company so unique. Procter and Gamble s physical resources are valuable but not rare, and are costly to imitate. The Procter Gamble Company has over 138,000 employees. Managing this many employees is not an easy task. Training these masses alone is an unprecedented task. Having all these employees work in conjunction is something that is not easy to imitate. Procter Gamble s research team is made up of 7,500 Ph.D.s and researchers. Within Research and Development, there is a strong commitment to find the best researchers, and retain them with a culture designed to reinforcer success, stimulate learning, challenge complacency, and nurture innovation. It is this common goal, which in instilled in those who work in the department, that the company gets its extra vigor and motivation.CriticismProcter Gamble could focus more on the Research and Development department, which has the task of analyzing and preparing potential products for such a complex market. It is also important to mention that India and China are the fastest growing economies, and so this factor represents an opportunity for growth. In the marketing aspect, Procter Gamble has to focus more on demographics and how to target effectively the Asian market.Procter Gamble is a very strong competitive company within the markets that it resides. This company will most likely continue to prosper for some time but always has the supposition of a down fall. As long as Procter Gamble continues to implement their strategies and effectively revise them along with the changes in the markets Procter Gamble will continue to have a prosperous outlook.5.0 Overview of Sony CorporationSony is a company which managed to become an established name in the electronics market. It exists of a mix of businesses ranging from Hollywood studios to high-definition televisions. It is the company which created the forever-famous Walkman, as well(p) as the highly popular Playstation gaming devises. The Sony brand is often seen as cool , hip .It is a company with very high heights, but also very low lows. Not only on the subject of products, but also regarding management and structure.Sony s Play Station video game locker is just one of a string of imaginative hit products that include the Trinition colour television and the Walkman personal stereo player. The company s creative, somewhat quirly, scrap engineer-focussed corporate culture, where ideas and enthusiasm are valued over and above seniority, experience and university degrees, has been the main reason for its success.Consumer electronics industry is changing, competition is becoming intense and product lines are moving closer together. With complacency settting in at Sony, resources became stretched too thinly, managers becamse less demanding and creativity was made over complicated.The case of Sony questions whether efficiency and productivity really go hand in hand with creativity and innovation. Sony is struggling to find a balance between the drive to stay innovative and the cooperate need to not fall behind the competition in key markets. It must decide whether it is leading, following or simply standing still.CriticismSony could afford to concentrate on product quality and can have a more rigorous project management structure.First mover advantage is active in evolutionary technological transitions which are technological innovations based on previous developments (Kim and Park 2006, p, 45, Cottam et al. 2001, p. 142). Late entrants may comply with the technological innovativeness and increase pressure of competition, hence, seek for a competitive advantage through making the existing competences and resources of early entrants invalid or outdated. In other words innovative technological implications will significantly change the landscape of the industry and the market, making early mover s advantage minimum. However, in a market where technology does not play a dynamic role, early mover advantage may prevail.6.0 Critiques of Resource Based View.The RBV s lack of clarity regarding its core premise and its lack of any clear boundary impedes fruitful debate. Given the theory s lack of specificity, one can invoke the definition-based or hypothesis-based logic any time. Again, we argue that resources are but one potential source of competitive heterogeneity. Competitive heterogeneity can obtain for reasons other than sticky resources (or capabilities) (Hoope s et al. 2003 891). Competitive heterogeneity refers to enduring and systematic performance differences among close competitors (Hoopes et al., 2003 890).The limitations of RBV are mainly in two aspects. First, RBV alone does not capture all the essences of competitive advantage of the firms. RBV provides no perspective on why and how some firms rather than others accumulated valuable and inimitable resources, or indeed what made these resources valuable and inimitable (Lazonick, 2002). In order to explain competitive advantage, the RBV must incorporate the evolution over time of the resources and capabilities that form the basis of competitive advantage (Helfat and Peteraf, 2003).Second, RBV ignores the external elements and focuses on the internal. A complete model of strategic advantage should adopt both the internal dimension which is based on periodic reviews of the fitness of the firm s current resources and the external dimension which is oriented towards an judgement of the resource endowments of outsiders such as competitors, customers, suppliers and so on.Furthermore, it is also important and relevant to briefly discuss the concept of resource and capability. A firm s resources can be classified into two categories tangible resources and intangible resources. Tangible resources are assets that can be seen and quantified.Intangible resources are rooted deeply in the firm s history and that have accumulated over time. Barney (1991) and Grant (1991) classified tangible resources into four forms fiscal resources, organizational structure, physical resources and technological resources. Grant (1991) and mansion (1992) identified three kinds of intangible resources human resources, innovation resources and reputation resources.Priem and Butler (2001) made four key criticismsThe RBV is self-verifying. Barney has defined a competitive advantage as a value-creating strategy that is based on resources that are, among other characteristics, valuable (1991, p1 06). This reasoning is circular and therefore operationally invalid (Priem and Butler, 2001a, p31).Different resource configurations can generate the same value for firms and thus would not be competitive advantageThe role of product markets is underdeveloped in the argumentThe theory has limited normative implicationsHowever, Barney (2001) provided counter-arguments to these points of criticism.7.0 ConclusionIn order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, firms will have to out-innovate the competition continuously so that it is the customer who constitutes the ultimate beneficiary. All too often firms lose sight of their primary goal their customers needs, wants and values in pursuit of innovations that appear to promise improved efficiency and augmented financial benefits. Thinking for the customer , it is argued, implies that innovation derives from customer orientation the firm s desire to serve and reward their customers.Furthermore, beyond a firm s technological in novations, what has become increasingly important is the firm s service innovations. Service innovation is the process through which a firm undertakes changes in its philosophy, culture, operations and procedures to add value to the result of the service/product for the benefit of the customer. It requires an understanding of the complex nature of customers needs and the values attributed to combined product and service offerings (service package). Essentially, therefore, service innovation depends on a firm s ability to use this understanding to evolve, collaborate and enter partnerships that effectively fulfil their customers holistic needs and, thereby, increase the opportunities for customer allegiance (relationship).A number of issues have emerged from this study which have important contributions in both innovation as a competitive advantage and how resource based view is applied in the real world . While the above arguments tender theoretical understanding and explanation, it is recommended that future empirical research need to be done to complement this study, particularly in terms of identifying the various analytical tools for understanding and developing competitive advantage.