Joint Venture Essay Example

Joint Venture Essay Research Limitations/laminations ? Further research might examine other examples of public-private partnerships nice the research reported here comprises only a single case study the major limitation of this research. While utilizing the findings of this research may improve the chances of a successful venture, they cannot of their own accord guarantee success since other factors are at play. Originality/value The paper presents a valuable Insight for both academics and practitioners who are keen to appreciate executives concerns that can arise In evolving a Joint venture between a public and a private sector organization. Keywords Partnership, Joint ventures, Public sector organizations, Private sector organizations, Communication, Project planning Paper type Research paper Introduction Collaboration between different organizations enables them to compensate for gaps In their knowledge and capacity to provide goods or services (Walker and Johannes, 2003). These collaborative efforts can take the form of partnerships, alliances and joint ventures. In a public service context, a partnership is a relationship involving the sharing of power, work, support and/or information with others for the achievement of joint goals and/or mutual benefits (Kernighan, 1993). Partnership arrangements between the public and private sectors illustrate how the traditional role of the government as n employer and service provider is being transformed (Cm 4310, 1999; Institute for Public Policy Research, 2001; Lowness and Squelcher, 1998; Kelly, 2000; Robinson et al. , 2000). The idea is that boundary-less, or network organizations strengthen opportunities for innovation through closer collaboration and also reduce costs through the mutual achievement of business objectives based on cooperation around respective competitive strengths. We will write a custom essay sample on Joint Venture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Joint Venture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Joint Venture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Unfortunately, the shift away from bureaucracy and the creation of numerous providers has itself produced problems or collaboration and co-ordination as well as making it harder to provide a unified approach to service delivery. To be effective, clarity about the role and purpose of a network is required. Without this, the participation of its individual members is constrained by the hierarchical organization to which they belong, and issues relating to accountability and autonomy may come into conflict. Networks inevitably have to compromise and bridge the gap between action and discussion (Huzzah, Bibb). Strategically, networks are more difficult to steer in any coherent direction. Indeed, it might be argued that competition and the contract culture have promoted self-interested behavior rather than the public interest, and produced low trust relationships. The concept of networks and collective strategies has laid the foundation for an outbreak of writing and research on strategic alliances. Indeed, there is a vast literature on the subject. During the sass there was significant research conducted relating to the management of public private partnerships commenting on such matters as their governance (Huzzah and Avenge, 1996; Kickers, 1997; Martin, 1998), the structure of such partnerships and why they succeed r fail (Osborne, 1998; Scott, 1998), and the potential of partnerships to promote inclusion in local communities (Geodes, 1998). In addition, there is a substantial literature on various forms of inter-organizational partnerships, both public and private (see, for example, Osborne, 2000, for a substantial review of the literature on public-private partnerships). Alongside the development of partnerships and networks, a new type AT organization to emerge NAS Eden ten virtual organization. David and Malone (1992) defined the virtual organization as a co-operation teens several independent partners (companies or individuals) who share their resources, skills and knowledge in order to produce a best customer solution. Such cooperation can provide a basis with which to gain access to vital resources and knowledge beyond one organizations boundaries (see Miles et al. , 2000). Without geographical or physical constraints, networked organizations can add value through superior core competences. Significance for public-private partnerships Tony Blair (1998) argues that the days of the all-purpose authority that plans and delivers everything are gone (see also Riddle, 1988). It is in partnership with others public agencies, private companies, community groups and voluntary organizations that local governments future lies. Partnership plays a key role in the governments Modernizing Government agenda. It recognizes that one has to approach a bewildering number of agencies simply to deal with the challenges of everyday life. Modernizing Government aims to: . Ensure that policy making is coordinated and strategic in nature; . Ensure that public service users, not providers, are the focus of attention, by matching services closely to peoples lives; and . Liver high-quality, efficient public services. The research question and its Justification Many studies have focused on Joint venture partnerships, but little empirical research has been conducted into what makes an alliance successful. Previous research has articulated a linkage between inter-partner fit and venture performance. It has been suggested that the main barriers to the development of these kinds of structures are not so much technological ones as cultural ones (Manchester, 1997). However, fit has been postulated using different notions such as strategic symmetry (Harridan, 1985), inter- rim diversity (Parke, 1991), match of partner characteristics (Grinner, 1988), and inter-partner compatibility/complementary (Beamers, 1988; Hill and Helloing, 1994). The result of this operational confusion has led to a lack of consistency in empirical findings. Perhaps quite significantly, however, as Huzzah and Avenge (1996) have shown, action by the more powerful participant in a relationship is at the core of successful partnership. There seems little doubt that in the future public sector management will need to be able to possess the skills, processes, structures, genealogy and tools required for working across organizational boundaries (Huzzah and Avenge, 2000). Partnerships create a new form of accountability between their members which rests primarily on trust. Where there is mistrust or hostility between some or all of the partners, then the effective operation of their partnership may be difficult to achieve (Bennett et al. , 2004). Huzzah (1995, AAA), in discussions on collaborative activities within and between organizations, points to the potential problems and pitfalls associated with collaboration and, by association, with partnership. These are: . As of control the inability to take action if things seem to be going wrong or differently from expectations: shared decision-making may be problematic; . Multiple goals stakeholders are likely to want to achieve their own particular goals which may not relate to the stated purpose of the partnership; and . Tension between autonomy and accountability members may be accountable to their stakeholder groups, which may mean checking back before committing to a calicles. I Nils teen leads u s on to quest want concertmasters cutlets or less successful Joint venture partnerships. The partnership and the views of its members In the illustration we are using here, the City Council agreed to seek a Joint venture partner to help develop CIT and other service areas such as payroll, revenues and 119 120 benefits, a contact centre and human resource management. The aim was to achieve a level of service with a technical vision built around intelligence-led local government. This vision, it was thought, would help to achieve high service standards and help deliver enhanced levels of value for money. The focus on customer service and quality of service were the critical drivers, and staff from the City Council and the riveter sector organization were seconded into the new Joint venture company. Those contacted in the research were asked for their personal views, attitudes, values, beliefs, experiences and motivations in relationship to the partnership. Subsequent research revealed five significant problem areas of concern or interest. These were: (1) communication; (2) openness; (3) planning; (4) ethos; and (5) direction. The study An initial pool of 30 subjects was identified for the study. Subjects chosen for the case study were senior managers, middle managers, and operational staff employed by the City Council, the private sector organization and he Joint venture company. Subjects were identified as being part of the initial task teams who were instrumental in the formulation of the Joint venture and those senior managers and operational staff who were employed in managing the day-to- day operation of the partnerships. In total, consultation in the form of interviews or discussions was held with 13 senior managers, nine middle managers and the remainder with operational staff. There were 14 in-depth interviews lasting 90 minutes and three group discussion sessions (16 staff in total participated in the group discussions). Five senior managers were employed by the partnership organization; four senior managers, three middle managers and three operational staff had been seconded to the partnership organization; and the remaining staff were employed by the Council. In-depth interviews were conducted during which subjects were given an overview of the background of the Joint venture partnership in preparation for discussion. The interview discussions were guided by the use of a question pool. These questions were organized across relevant areas of inquiry and focused on developing an understanding of how the Joint venture partnership was progressing, what issues there were, if any, and what components they felt were accessory to contribute to the success and maintenance of the partnership arrangement. This, it was felt, would give both an introduction and an initial focus for discussion and was based on the common-sense reasoning of a need to explain the Docudrama Ana purpose AT ten research. I nee data generated Trot Interviews Ana group discussions was explored without a predetermined theoretical or descriptive framework. This strategy reflected a grounded theory approach. This process was based on analysis and theoretical understanding of the substance of what was said in discussions and interviews. The rationale behind the reduction of the data elected was based on the commonality of the words, themes and concepts being produced by the respondents through the written and oral research data. From this analysis the five concepts discussed below emerged as critical themes relating to the topic of the research. In our discussions below we examine pertinent literature relating to the five concepts that emerged from the research. Discussion of the findings Communication Many business alliances fail to meet expectations because little attention is given to nurturing the close working relationships and interpersonal connections that unite the partnering organizations (Waite and Jape, 1995). An awareness of communication processes is essential within alliances if maximum efforts are to be coordinated and directed towards the success of strategic alliances. The comprehensive review by Mohr and Nevi (1990) concluded that the major omission in this area concerned studies of how communication relates to the overall performance of alliances. Ineffective communication can reduce the effectiveness of a strategic alliance and thus lead to conflict between partners Cain, 1987). There is an assumption that organizations will function better if communication is open, if relationships are based on mutual understanding and trust, if relationships are co-operative rather than competitive, if people work together in teams, and if decisions are reached in a participative way (Husking and Buchanan, 2001). These conditions, however, are not observed in many organizational situations. Some of the main barriers to communication concern: . Power differences; . Gender differences; . Physical surroundings; . Language; and . Cultural diversity. Canter (1999) examines how, in the course of communication, the proactive exchange of information can strengthen co-operative relationships. However, in the case study under examination here, there was no Achaeans in place to facilitate discussion on issues between the partners. An awareness of communication processes is essential within alliances if maximum efforts are to be coordinated and directed towards the success of strategic alliances (Mohr and Nevi, 1990). In our research, we identified that motives were often misunderstood and that people had a tendency to assume the Joint venture partners motives. Clearly, good communication between different levels of management and units is essential in order to foster shared purpose and common understandings. In a related context, Jobber (1995) suggests that internal marketing is an important implementation tool. It aids communication by informing and involving all staff in new initiatives and strategies. Our research uncovered that information which was necessary for the accurate understanding of reasons for the partnership was not available to all parties. Communication and a level of interpersonal understanding appeared to occur only among a small group of people. Others outside the immediate circle did not share this. Puddle-private partnerships 121 According to Canter (1999), effective collaboration requires connections at three levels across collaborating organizations, represented by continuing contact among: 1) top management to develop broad goals and monitor progress; (2) middle managers to develop plans for Joint activities; and (3) operational personnel, who carry out the day-to-day work of the alliance. Openness Trust is considered a prerequisite for alliance success (Byrne, 1993) and lack of trust is a major reason for alliance failures (Penn and Sheehan, 2002). There is evidence to point to the fact that strategic alliances may be unstable and their success rate poor (Gang, 1995). The implication is that there is a need to appreciate that trust and control are inextricably interlinked with risk in strategic alliances. Partner firms need to manage this risk adequately by understanding the conjoint roles of trust and control. The establishment of a new relationship between members of the organization at all levels a relationship based on trust is an issue that is becoming increasingly important to organizations (Handy, 1995). An inward focus seemed to be pervasive within the organizations we studied. There was a distinct lack of openness and trust between the partners. In fact, the indications were that a blame culture (biz. Handy, 1995) existed. The establishment of a new relationship between members of the organization at all levels a relationship based on trust is an issue that is becoming increasingly important to organizations. Planning Many strategic alliances lack alliance strategies. A coherent alliance strategy has four elements: (1) a business strategy to shape the logic and design of the alliance; (2) a dynamic view to guide the management and evolution of the alliance; (3) a portfolio approach to enable co- ordination among the alliance to enhance flexibility; and (4) an internal infrastructure that supports and strives to maximize the value of external collaboration (Gomes- Caresser, 2000). When managed well, the above elements can create tremendous value. At the wrong time and when managed poorly, they can be costly distractions (Gomes-Caresser, 2000). The good intentions and rational motives behind alliances are not congruent with the strategic direction of either firm on its own, let alone the strategic direction of both in unison. Consequently, Joint venture companies are frequently plagued with high degrees of instability and poor performance (Parke, 1993; Gout, 1991). A lack of coherent strategies existed in our case study organization. A coherent alliance strategy should possess the four elements listed above. In the organization we examined, there was no apparent plan or method to identify success or failure in terms of attaining objectives. Parke (1993) and Gout (1991) observe that often the good intentions and rational motives behind these alliances are not congruent with the strategic direction of either firm on its own, let alone the strategic direction of both in unison. Our findings seemed to provide some evidence as to why this might be the case. In particular, the priorities of the organization were not obvious. According to Hill and Jones (2001), the strategic planning process can be Rosen down into five main steps: (1) mission and objectives; (2) environmental scanning; (3) strategy formation; (4) strategy implementation; and (5) evaluation and control. In the organization we studied there was no evidence of these steps being followed. Ethos Ethos is the characteristic spirit or attitudes of a community, or people (Webster, 1992). It comes very much to the fore in strategic alliances when the co-operating firms continue to be independent organizations and a new situation appears in which an interaction is established between two firms with different organizational cultures. This usually implies different leadership styles and different objectives, which may lead to lack of trust between the parties and to conflicts which may arise when the time comes to make decisions (Bono, 1991). Similarly, cultural conflicts are more common in Joint ventures, where a closer contact between the partners is required, than in contractual alliances (Schultz, 1998). Employees were seconded from the private sector organization and from the City Council into the newly formed organization of the Joint venture company. These people came from a variety of backgrounds and had very different experiences, and this was reflected in heir different social ways and beliefs. There was a feeling of lack of identity amongst staff working for the Joint venture company, in accord with the comments put forward and discussed by Czarinas (1997). Indeed, the identity of the organization should allow members to speak about themselves as an organization not only to themselves but also to others, but this did not seem possible in this case. There was a failure to learn and understand about the cultural differences of the two organizations that had come together to form the Joint venture company. Not only id cultural differences exist, but the corporate cultures were also different. Dimension (1990) observed that organizational culture can be defined as an organizations values, beliefs, principles, practices, and behaviors. Direction The public sector is under pressure to improve service delivery and cooperate more effectively (Cabinet Office, 2003). There is a growing demand for leaders able to carry out these tasks, and to see through fundamental processes of change. However, the public sector does not have a clear idea of what constitutes good leadership. The analysis that goes exist suggests that good leadership remains too rare a quality. The implication is that we need to take careful notice of the precise environment within which leadership is constructed and deployed. The appointment, monitoring, reward and accountability structures and processes all play some part in inhibiting and/or encouraging certain forms of leadership. Multiple and often conflicting accountabilities that prevail upon public sector 123 leaders necessitate greater training, support and skill than that required in most private-sector positions Cabinet Office (2003). In the case of the organization searched here, there was a lack of iron-clad commitment to succeed. According to Hoffmann and Closer (2001) and Ninepin and Ross (2001), the participation of senior managers should go beyond the formulation of a strategy based on alliances. These managers should personally take part in the co-operative management process and show their commitment and enthusiasm both to and in the operation of the alliance. Weak organizational leadership has helped to contribute to lack of clear vision and direction. Slater (2003) observes that tomorrows leaders must raise issues, debate them, and resolve them. They must rally around a vision of what a business can become. Leaders had not set the tone of the organization in this case. Strategic leadership refers to the ability to articulate a strategic vision for the organization, or a part of it, and to motivate others to buy into that vision (Hill and Jones, 2001). Research has shown that the partners must work extremely hard at understanding each other, developing common objectives, and being truly committed to achieving a mutually desired and acceptable outcome. Otherwise, the relationship will never truly succeed. The key to making partnerships work comprises common sense, trust, pen communication, the right environment, and a good plan and strong leadership. Table I outlines some of the statements obtained from in-depth interviews in the course of the research. The statements are grouped according to the COPED element identified and indicate some of the problems, inadequacies and concerns faced by the partnership organization. While most of these elements were identified as requiring attention in some way or another, arguably they may not be all the factors that guarantee a successful partnership. Nevertheless, they could be regarded as important factors in enabling partnerships to be successful. We suggest that the success of a Joint venture may be influenced by five important characteristics. These characteristics are illustrated as building blocks in a model which we have termed the COPED model. This model reflects a collection of underpinning factors (see Figure 1). Conclusion Results from the research indicate the existence of five helpful characteristics identified under the heading of Communication, Openness, Planning, Ethos and Direction, which may be present in a successful partnership venture. It proposes a theoretical framework model, the COPED model, for building more impressive and productive relationships between public sector organizations and private sector companies. The elements of the COPED model emerged from the analysis of data and lent support for the various pointers for successful partnerships and networks. The elements, in fact, could be identified as ways in which the older bureaucratic sector organizations failed to accomplish their mission to serve their stakeholders. It is contended that the elements of the COPED model are required to ensure some degree of success, and in the organization studied here they were often found often to be lacking in many respects. COPE element Communication statements we are crap at communications we nave not allowed ourselves time to promote the partnership organization We need to improve upon communication We have a weakness which manifests a lack of understanding I think its strange that we dont have briefings on the progress of partnership organization There seems to be a lack of discussion around future financial planning I think there is a lack of understanding around the political regulatory We need to market the partnership organization We need to have a firm understanding of the Councils vision We need to remote the branding of the partnership organization No clear understanding of the contract There is a distinct lack of communication There is a blockage, not enough information on budgets I think there is a flaw in communications There Just seems to be a real lack of communication Its difficult to know if the partnership organization staff understands the requirements of the Council We need to be bri efed on a regular basis regarding progress of the partnership organizations projects I dont think the partner organizations staff really understands the history of the Council

Free Essays on Force 10 From Navarone

Alistair Maclean has written a lot of books. Force 10 from Navarone, which is the follower to:  «The guns of Navarone », is one of Macleans best known works among The guns of Navarone, H.M.S. Ulysses, Where eagles dare and Bear Island. Alistair Maclean was born in 1922 in Scotland. His first novel: H.M.S. Ulysses, was published in 1955. It was a documentary novel describing war at sea. Force 10 from Navarone was published a couple of years after The guns of Navarone which was published in 1957. Maclean died in 1987 as the unthroned king of writing thrillers. Many of his novels has been filmed. The action in Force 10 from Navarone mainly takes place is Yugoslavia. Mallory, Miller and Andrea, all men, has just got home from Navarone when they are sent into another mission. The mission is in Yugoslavia. The main-character in this story is Mallory. Along with Miller and Andrea they are the people who is mentioned most. Mallory, Miller and Andrea are three men working for the allied intelligence. The new mission that they get is in Neretva. The valley of Neretva is a vital sector of the main north-south route through Yugoslavia. Miller, Mallory and Andrea takes on themselves parachutes and after some time with flying they are dropped somewhere over Neretva close by to the Partisans headquarters. This book is divided into chapters according to which day and time it was. Maclean goes chronological forward in this book from Thursday 00.00 to Sunday 02.15. This period is divided into almost 15 chapters with timeperiods like Friday 02.00- 04.45. This mission that these three men are assigned to is very secret. It has a such high rank of confidentiality that they kept it a secret to even their own allies. In Neretva there is a huge dam. South to the Neretva river is General Zimmermanns two armoured divisions. This is the Germans who is trying very soon to invade all Yugoslavia. This place is very important to have control over and it mustn`... Free Essays on Force 10 From Navarone Free Essays on Force 10 From Navarone Alistair Maclean has written a lot of books. Force 10 from Navarone, which is the follower to:  «The guns of Navarone », is one of Macleans best known works among The guns of Navarone, H.M.S. Ulysses, Where eagles dare and Bear Island. Alistair Maclean was born in 1922 in Scotland. His first novel: H.M.S. Ulysses, was published in 1955. It was a documentary novel describing war at sea. Force 10 from Navarone was published a couple of years after The guns of Navarone which was published in 1957. Maclean died in 1987 as the unthroned king of writing thrillers. Many of his novels has been filmed. The action in Force 10 from Navarone mainly takes place is Yugoslavia. Mallory, Miller and Andrea, all men, has just got home from Navarone when they are sent into another mission. The mission is in Yugoslavia. The main-character in this story is Mallory. Along with Miller and Andrea they are the people who is mentioned most. Mallory, Miller and Andrea are three men working for the allied intelligence. The new mission that they get is in Neretva. The valley of Neretva is a vital sector of the main north-south route through Yugoslavia. Miller, Mallory and Andrea takes on themselves parachutes and after some time with flying they are dropped somewhere over Neretva close by to the Partisans headquarters. This book is divided into chapters according to which day and time it was. Maclean goes chronological forward in this book from Thursday 00.00 to Sunday 02.15. This period is divided into almost 15 chapters with timeperiods like Friday 02.00- 04.45. This mission that these three men are assigned to is very secret. It has a such high rank of confidentiality that they kept it a secret to even their own allies. In Neretva there is a huge dam. South to the Neretva river is General Zimmermanns two armoured divisions. This is the Germans who is trying very soon to invade all Yugoslavia. This place is very important to have control over and it mustn`...

An understanding of promotion is essential for effective marketing Essay

An understanding of promotion is essential for effective marketing. Discuss - Essay Example In order to keep the customers, there is need to entice them through incentives such as promotions, the reason why this essay seeks to critically analyse the link between effective marketing as well as promotion. As a point of departure, it is imperative to begin by explaining the two major concepts in this discussion which are; marketing and promotion. According to Cant et al (2000), â€Å"marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, marketing communication and distribution of ideas, products, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational goals.† The ultimate goal of marketing activities will be to facilitate mutually satisfying exchanges between the parties involved. The aim of the business will be to make profits while at the same time striving to satisfy the needs of the customers. If the marketer does a good job of understanding the needs of the consumers, develop products that develop value to the customer and prices, distributes and promotes them effectively, these products will sell very easily. In this regard, the function of marketing is to identify the customers’ needs then try to satisfy them profitably. E ffective marketing may not be very easy to attain without implementing certain strategies such as promotion that are meant to appeal to more customers. On the other hand, promotion is an element of the marketing mix. Lancaster & Reynolds (1999) suggest that promotion has a wider implication than the term implies. In the context of the four Ps, promotion includes advertising, sales promotional activities such as consumer competitions or a free quantity for the regular price, public relations and selling. This is called the promotional mix or more correctly nowadays, the communication mix (Lancaster & Reynolds 1999). Marketing has some direction over the customers but this control is

Reviewing the Literature and Applying Theory Essay - 1

Reviewing the Literature and Applying Theory - Essay Example Ideally, high-quality research evidence helps clinicians to offer the most effective and efficient patient treatment. Indeed, critical appraisal aims at informing health policy and nursing practice by allowing researchers, health administrators, and medical practitioners to compare and assess the quality of the research evidence (Carter, 2010). Through critical appraisal, clinicians establish the most reliable high-quality research evidence for nursing practice. In performing critical appraisal of articles selected for my topic, I will rely on the recommended structured process of analyzing fundamental aspects of the published articles (Jones, Crookes, & Johnson, 2011). I will assess the articles with regard to the quality of evidence, appropriateness of research design, suitability of the research methodology, and usefulness of research evidence to the nursing practice. Assessing whether the articles address the research topic and whether they contain valid, relevant, and reliable evidence will also be paramount (Fineout-Overholt, Melnyk, Stillwell, & Williamson, 2010). I will also derive whether I can generalize the findings of the research article to my practice based on the homogeneity and stability of the contained research evidence. Moreover, I will assess the presence of potential conflicts of interest in my research articles. Fineout-Overholt E., Melnyk B.M., Stillwell S.B., & Williamson K. M. (2010). Evidence-based practice step by step: Critical appraisal of the evidence: part I. American Journal of Nursing, 110(7),

Criminal Justice-Crime Victims (Victimology) Research Paper

Criminal Justice-Crime Victims (Victimology) - Research Paper Example These are just a few examples of how victims of crime are revictimized by society and by the court justice system. Discussion According to Von Hentig and Mendelsohn, crime victims put themselves into the position of being victimized (Siegel & Senna, 2009, p. 15). Mendelsohn believed that victims had an unconscious desire to be victimized, and he had typology of victims, putting them into six different categories. Only one of the categories, that of the â€Å"innocent† victim was blameless in the actual crime, and the innocent is a victim who is seen as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The other five typologies all contributed in some way to the crime, and this represented victim precipitation. The other categories were a victim with minor guilt, an example of which is the provocative woman; the victim who is as guilty as the offender, eg. those guilty of euthanasia; the victim who is more guilty then the offender, eg. those who induce crime; the most guilty victim, eg. a person who is attempting murder who is killed in self-defense; and the simulating victim, those who claim to be victimized, but actually were not (Mendelsohn, 1963). Von Hentig, similarly, viewed victims as being participatory in the crimes, stating that they may either be depressive, which means that they are careless and unsuspecting, therefore are an easy mark; greedy, who is looking for an easy gain, so they are less suspicious (a good example would be individuals who fall for Internet scams offering quick, easy money); wanton, which means that the victim is vulnerable to attack because of his or he life cycle, such as juveniles or the elderly; and the tormentor, which means that the person abuses another and thus becomes the victim of an attack, such as with battered women (Von Hentig, 1948). Cohen & Felson also have a view called the routine activity theory, which means that there are certain activities which lend themselves to crimes being committed, and that there are three variables which makes the criminal and the victim both participants in the crime – the availability of suitable targets, the absence of capable guardians and the presence of motivated offenders. This makes the likelihood that a predatory crime will occur, and the routin activities approach gives equal weight to the role of both the victim and the offender. â€Å"Criminal opportunity is significantly influenced by the victim’s lifestyle and behavior; the greater the opportunity for criminals and victims to interact, the greater the probability of crime. Reduce the interaction and the opportunity for crime will decline† (Siegel & Senna, 2009, p. 83). There are a host of victims who are considered by experts in the field to be predisposed to being victims, and this is known as â€Å"victim precipitation† (Dunn, 2010, p. 85). This is one of the areas that victimologists, such as Von Hentig and Mendelsonh, was interested in, for they were looking for the characteristics and the types of crimes which would have a victim who is precipitated towards crime. The categories in which victims are seen as precipitated their own victomology are rape, battered women and incest survivors. With rape victims, Menachem Amir used data obtained from the Philadelphia police files that showed that victims’ behavior was seen as an invitation to have sex, and that this was an excuse for rape. Amir

International Corporate Entrepreneurship And Role Of Middle Management

International Corporate Entrepreneurship And Role Of Middle Management Middle management has crucial importance in the corporate entrepreneurial process but unexpectedly it has got little attention in the past research and academic literature. Middle management has great influence on organisational decision making, strategy making and in implementation of these strategies due to their central place in the management hierarchy. This chapter encompasses the academic literature relevant to middle management and their role in the process of corporate entrepreneurship (CE). It will begin with basic concepts of middle management and corporate entrepreneurial processes, their definitions and explanations. Past literature will be presented later on in this section regarding middle management to justify the both positive and negative sides of middle managements role and influence on the corporate entrepreneurial activities by the researchers. This will then follow a counter argument to discuss the role played other forces (higher management, first level managers and employees) in order to influence the CE process. The corporate entrepreneurial process requires innovation and change in order to remain effective in the business and this will be review in the light of previous literature to examine the process of organisational transformation. The last part of this section will concentrate on the issues like change implementation and their failure in organisation. Also literature will be reviewed regarding drivers like organisational citizenship, organisational innovation and ambidexterity that influence organisational changes indirectly. What is Entrepreneurship? The term entrepreneurship was used as an economic term in the mid eighteen century and described as a process bearing a risk of buying and selling products or services at certain and uncertain prices by Cantillon (1855) as cited in Grebel et al. (2003). Grebel et al. (2003) further broadened the term by including and bringing together the production factors in it. But this definition raises few questions whether there was any uniqueness about the entrepreneurial functions or it was just another form of management. Later the definition of entrepreneurship was added with the concept of innovation which includes the product innovation, process innovation, market innovation or even organisational innovation. This definition broadens the concept of entrepreneurship and describes it as the creator of new enterprises and pictures the entrepreneur as founder and innovator. Defining Corporate Entrepreneurship Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) was described as a process that can be used by individuals within an organisation to create opportunities without regard to the resources they are holding (Stevenson et al., 1999). Many researchers defined CE as a process of organisational renewal (Peterson and Berger 1972; Hill and Hlavacek 1972; Hannan 1976; Quinn 1979, and Sathe 1989), while others described it as the combined entrepreneurial efforts based on the organisational resources and commitments in order to perform the innovative functions of organisation in order to develop the product, process or innovation (Covin and Miles 1999; Naman and slevin 1993, Miller and Friesen 1982; Burgleman 1984; Kanter 1985; Alterowitz 1988; and Zahra and Covin 1995). According to Sharma and Chrisman (1999) there are three types of phenomena into existence for CE that may or may not be related. These are: a) Creation of new business from an existing one b) Transformation or renewal of an organisation c) Innovation The creation of new business was described as the internal corporate venturing by Zajac, Golden and Shortell (1991) while Pinchot (1985) called it intrapreneurship. On the other hand the process of renewal of organisation was regarded as strategic renewal (Guth and Ginsberg, 1990), organisational renewal (Baden and Stopford, 1994) and strategic change, transformation and revival of organisation (Shendel, 1990). By enlightening these ideas Sharma and Chrisman (1999) defines CE as the process where individuals or group of individuals create new organisation within an existing organisation or find innovation in that organisation. The entrepreneurial efforts that result in the creation of new business organisation are known as corporate venturing and the resulted innovation could exploit the ways of product offering in the existing or new market. The analysis of these different dimensions and approaches of CE can be concluded with the study of Gartner (1988) who describe it as a multifaceted concept that requires some major transformational changes in order to develop the whole idea of CE. Middle Management and the Organisation Dobson and Stewart (1993) and Turbalull (1998) stressed on the need of a clearer definition for the term middle mangers, as the levels of middle management in a company as poorly outlined as a unit of analysis. Middle management is basically used as a tactical work force to eliminate the gaps between the senior management and the sub-ordinates at the lower end of organisational hierarchy and also to implement the organisational policies made by the senior management. Two types of middle managers were identified by Currie (1999) in organisations: specialist middle managers for the roles like marketing, HR or finance; operation middle managers that coordinate operations between departments. Although both management types are important for any organisation but the specialist functions or boundary spanning activities get the priority. The participation of specialist middle managers in organisational activities appears more often as compared to the operations managers who focus on internal operations more (Wooldridge, 1997). The importance of middle management and their role as an agent in bringing the change in contemporary organisation was first drawn into attention by Bower (1970). However, the next decade or two came with a little systematic research in order to define the scope and nature of middle management and their contribution towards the organisational innovation and entrepreneurship. Although many researchers and authors (Peters and Waterman, 1982; Kanter, 1983; Pinchott, 1985; Drucker, 1985; Burgelman and Sayles, 1986) have argued on the different aspects of middle managements contributions towards CE while others (Schuler, 1986; Woolridge and Floyd, 1990) discussed their role in the companys strategy which is another important variable of CE (Guth and Ginsberg, 1990; Zahra, 1991). Middle Managements Role in Operations According to Floyd and Lane (2000) operating-level managers absorbs the relevant ideas and information from outside the firm while also giving a positive response to the middle level managements information which is based on the top-level management strategic ideas. Every managerial role is different from other and different actions are associated with each of them (Miller and Camp, 1985) but here the discussion will revolve around the middle management, their corporate entrepreneurial activities and their behaviour towards CE. In other words, once commitment is made by the all management levels in order to pursue the CE related activities, then its middle managers responsibility to communicate through all organisational level for the effective flow of information for the implementation and development of project. The role middle management and their importance in the innovation process in an organisation were recognised by Quinn (1985) and who was also among the first to point out the valued part played by the middle management CE. He also recognised that the top-level management is isolated from the daily floor operations and it is important for middle management to play crucial role in fostering the company goals and targets. This importance in the organisational structure gives them an opportunity to interact with the employees and encourage them towards innovation while taking the calculated risk. Middle management and the Corporate Entrepreneurship The literature (Floyd Lane, 2000; Ireland, Hitt, Vaidyanath, 2002) suggests that in any organisation managers play vital role at all levels of organisational structure and contribute towards company success. In simple context, the top level management involves in strategic role where their job is to deal with strategic decision making and set clear direction towards companys goals and objectives. On the other hand, middle managers job is to bridge the gap between two distinct ends of management hierarchy i.e. top-level managers and operating-level managers and their focus is the effective communication between both channels. This is not an easy job and to fulfil the requirements of their job the communication should be carried to both ends of hierarchy efficiently in order to create the innovativeness of all business units including product and service. According to Ghoshal and Bartlett (1994) the middle managers are not only enable the entrepreneurial actions like creating new opportunities for organisation or engage in organisational renewal but also keeping the innovativeness of also these entrepreneurial actions . Other researchers (Kanter, 1985; Ginsberg Hay, 1994; Pearce, Kramer, Robbins, 1997; Floyd Lane, 2000) described the middle managers as facilitator between the two managerial levels and how they play their role to shape the entrepreneurial action set by the top-level management for them. Due to the demand of their role middle managers have to reconcile the top-level strategies and implementation issues at the bottom end of hierarchy as these determine the competencies and also the performance of organisation. There is strong link between the firms performance and middle managers perception about the characteristics of competency (tactics, consensus and embeddedness) and this differentiates them from the first-level m anagers and take them closer to higher end of organisation hierarchy (King et al., 2001). The importance of middle managers as innovators is emphasized by the Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) who suggested that their central position in organisation is key for them to absorb and collect the information, ideas and innovation from both inside and outside of organisation. This flow of information and ideas between both ends of organisation influence the middle-level mangers to shape their entrepreneurial skills as their experience and knowledge grow. The only comment that can conclude this whole discussion on the importance of middle managements role in CE is that all the organisational and entrepreneurial functions are associated with them. Thus, the presence of middle management is there where CE functions are most likely to happen. Middle managers in Strategic Roles Middle managers have played a frequent role in providing strategic alternatives for firms and making those alternative ideas accessible for higher management (Floyd and Woolridge, 1992). The nature of middle managers job requires them to integrate and synthesize the information and resources by crystallizing the strategic issues faced by the organisation and also setting a platform for these strategic changes; by enhancing the old structure of organisation through implementation of formal strategy and giving feedback. This feedback can be used to make future changes in the strategy and for organisational renewal. The findings of Floyd and Woolridge (1992) gives a clearer picture when compared with the earlier work of Burgelman and Sayles (1986) that how middle management play key role in an organisation by shaping the strategic issues and influencing the entrepreneurial activities. The observations of other authors (Peters and Waterman, 1982; Pinchott, 1985) have seen the middle management playing important in encouraging other employees to take risks while working towards innovation. Quinn (1985) and Kanter (1988) also observed similar role of middle managers in promoting the CE activities across the organisation. This can be done by introducing reward schemes that encourage employees to experiment with their innovative ideas. Also different approaches can be used by the middle management to make the whole structure of organisation less resistant towards future changes and allowing the CE activities to flourish. Corporate Entrepreneurship and Other Forces (Actors) Most of literature on the CE and middle management either ignored or failed to identify the important role played by other forces to gain the CE in any organisation and widely criticised by Floyd (1999). According to McMillan (1993) as far as the power is concerned both middle management and other players have equal importance in bringing the CE to the organisational structure. Burgelman (1983) insist that the heart of CE activities is always dependent on the initiative taken at the operational levels of a firm. He insists on the importance of the factors that play towards the success of internal corporate activities by the operational level management, middle managements ability to effectively communicate between both ends of organisational hierarchy and the higher managements trust on the lower sub-ordinates in order to flourish the CE in the organisation. According to Burgelman (1993) operative managers have more importance in organisational structure than middle managers as they have more experience and involvement in dealing with RD and research related activities and are more aware of the corporate culture, market needs and demands. On the other hand Quin (1980 and 1982) has also argued on different occasion about the importance of middle management but he pointed towards the power asserted by the top management to control actions of middle management. Although the organisational operation flow is bottom up but the final decisions are always in top managements hand in either acceptance or rejection of these initiatives. Although Floyd (1999) has insisted towards the importance of middle management is vital due to their central position in the organisational hierarchy. But this literature review is evident that the other organisational forces as important as the middle management in the central role in the organisation and have equal influence on the CE related activities. Organisational Change Implementation Innovation in any organisation does not takes place on its own or in isolation and neither in a vacuum but it happens in a system where the employees and processes work together to achieve it. According to Joe (2005) it is all about the organisation and its employees and their approach towards the implementation of change in organisation. Hornsby et al. (2002) argued on the same note and suggested that the all organisations look for change and they implement these changes strategically through the help of CE. Two types of organisational changes can be found as a result of innovation and are known as deliberate strategic change and emergent strategic change and have their affect dependent on the role of middle management in them. Types of Organisational Change The first approach towards change is deliberate (Ansoff, 1965) and the top managements motive behind this strategy is to maximise both the organisational interest and profits at the same time. Middle management has a limited role in the deliberate or top-down change strategy and they have a very little influence upwards in order to make any change policy. On the other hand, the incremental change approach is a vice versa of top-down change strategy (Whittinghton, 1993) and it is based on the idea that change should be unplanned and unintentional rather that deliberate. This approach is based on the knowledge and outcomes of past policies which lacks in the deliberate change (Lindblom, 1959). He further argued the important role played by the middle management in order to formulate and implement the change in the organisation. On different occasions Quinn (1882, 1978 and 1980) suggested that incremental change strategy can be considered through the implementation of sub-systems before addressing any major change issues. But there is power culture involved in Quinns approach and points towards the higher management in order to decide which sub-system to be implemented and hence limits the role of middle management to some extent. All this discussion leads to one conclusion that there is no single approach which can completely benefit the middle managements role towards the organisational change but the incremental approach is more suited to them as compared to the deliberate change approach and enhances their role in change process. Middle Managements Role in Organisational Change There is plenty of pragmatic evidence in the past literature (Bower 1979; Kanter 1983; Burgelman 1983a, 1983b, 1983c, 1991 and 1994; Schilit and Paine 1987; Dutton and Ashford 1993; Nonaka 1988; Sayles 1993; and Schilit 1993) which shows a significant influence of middle management towards organisational change. On the same note Floyd and Wooldridge (1990) pointed towards the significant relationship between performance of an organisation and involvement of management. They further argued how middle management is involved in both directions of organisational hierarchy; with its upward influence on policy development could help the organisation by setting up a road map for change and innovation. While downward influence sets up a smooth ground to implement the organisational strategies effectively (Shendel and Hofer 1979 and Nutt 1987). Thus it shows the importance of middle management to influence the change in the organisation in the both directions at the same time. Human Nature, Top Management And the Organisational Change According to Strebel (1996) and Siegal (1996) almost two third of efforts made towards organisational change see failure as a result of top management negligence and lack of ability to recognise the human nature of change. This negligence by the top management is often seen as psychological differences between employees at individual level (Coghlan, 1993). The uncertainty and difference of opinion shows how employees look at organisational change at individual levels. The organisational change and all of its processes have direct or indirect link with the employees personal influence towards change and it is regarded as a personal change for them (Bovey, 2001). Evan (1994) has also argued on the same note by saying that employees work for OC in order to make it successful so that it can be a success for them too. According to Prastacos (2002) the OC is dependent on the acceptance and resistance levels of employees. Bovey (2001) noted that technical changes are often seen as bit easier to approach by the top management and are more predictable towards the change issues like developing action plans, making strategies, estimating profit level and resource analysis. The communication process in another key to keep the resistance level in control among employees against the change but if the resistance against change is higher from employee then it shows the poor communication and the inability of the top management (Elving, 2005). The organisational change is not a one way procedure but a two way understanding between management and employee (Bulogun, 2006). He also stressed on the need of mutual consensus between both parties to implement change across organisation and this is only possible through a good communication channel. It is almost impossible for top management to identify, control or prepare for every change before it happens due to the quick nature of change and they have act while it is happening. So, the above suggests that the top management remains isolated during the change mechanism due to hierarchal structure within organisational but on the other hand, middle management remains important during this process and act as communication channel between employees and top management. Thus, middle management has more importance during the implementation of organisational change than top management. Middle Managements Role in Political Nature of Change The top management has all the authorities in an organisation but this is not the case when it comes to organisational change policies and it affects their whole vision about it. The political nature of organisational structure makes the idea of change uncertain and difficult to implement. For the knowledge management the networks are often used as mechanism for to gain the required information and are used for political nature of change. The idea behind the formation of these networks is to use them politically for the change process. Hislop et al. (2000) agree with the fact there is a relation between these political networks and knowledge because of the need of appropriate knowledge is needed to form and use these network. This study shows that due to political nature of change it is vital for middle management to gain knowledge through these networks inside as well as the outside of firm to make a ground for the change acceptance. Organisational Change and Other Drivers There are few other drivers of change that are worth looking at in the literature including the organisational innovation, organisational citizenship and ambidexterity. These change drivers have important link with middle managements role in corporate entrepreneurial activities and CE process too. The Importance of Organisational Improvisation Organisational improvisational is another issue considered important in the reviewed literature that is connected directly with the change implementation in organisations. Different approach was adopted by the Ryle (1979) who described the process of improvisation as thought refining and most of things happen during this process are unique, hard to predict and probably might not get repeated in future. But this process is seen as an outcome from failure of first approach and is a product by accident described by Lebourne (2006). The literature from last two decades considered is another feature of organisational activities that contribute towards the change process of an organisation (Lewin, 1998). Thus the idea of organisational improvisation contributes in the form innovation and by keeping up the market up-to-date. As far as the middle management is concerned they get the opportunity to influence the whole process of improvisation from formulation stage to implementation stage through their time management skills. Relationship between Organisational Change and Organisational Citizenship There is plenty of discussion in the literature about organisational citizenship and behavioural interactions (Katz, 1964; Katz and Kahn, 1966; Organ, 1988; Cohen and Vigoda, 2000; and Padsakoff et al., 2000). Most of this literature has focused on describing the organisational behaviour and there is no discussion about organisational citizenship in the context of corporate entrepreneurship. For example Padsakoff et al. (2000) has identified seven different themes that can fit all dimensions of organisational citizenship while Katz (1964) mentioned four in his work. Although all the literature reviewed prescribes the importance of organisational citizenship behaviour and stresses on the presence of these behaviour for the effectiveness of organisational functions. However, it needs further exploration in the context of corporate entrepreneurship and this will remain the focus throughout this research. Ambidexterity Observations from Literature Review This section outlines the key observation made during the literature review and their summary of whole debate about the corporate entrepreneurship and role of middle management in the context of CE. The corporate entrepreneurship is noted as a complex concept that requires careful consideration towards the change implementation as well as the extra care when dealing with the strategic planning. There are two types of middle management is identified during this literature review; specialist managers who deal with functions like finance, marketing and HR; and non-specialist or operational manager who coordinate functions or activities within their own department or with other departments. The role of middle management and their future in the organisation is rather unclear in the argument by the researcher. Some of them deny the importance of middle management in the CE and point towards other forces that act in flourishing the CE activities. While other think the middle management has an enhanced future as well as importance in organisational corporate entrepreneurial activities and have more positive attitude towards their part in CE functions. But the whole debate of past literature is not sure on the role of middle management as operational managers as well as the extent of their importance in this role. The literature has pointed towards quite a few middle management functions including the functions of communication, innovation, change implementation, motivation, behaviour towards risk, business strategy etc. However, middle managements association with these functions is due to their central position in the organisational hierarchy. The middle management has independence of decision making in organisational innovation to reduce the strategy making period and also save the process of implementation time. This self-sufficiency of decision making is one of feature of contextual ambidexterity and make easier for organisations to implement innovation or change. The contextual ambidexterity is also a step closer to implement innovation in organisations and also allow middle management to improve their role in process of organisational change. Due to explore and develop nature of structural ambidexterity which divide these functions between organisational departments and bound middle management not to raise their voice as it might be outside their job scope and thus limits the role of middle management. But organisations with behavioural citizenship are more likely to have structural ambidexterity as there will be no or little clash due to the separate organisational functions. On the other hand, the contextual ambidex terity results in the form of difference of opinion and rivalry among middle management to get the innovation and thats the reason it doesnt go with the contextual ambidexterity. During the literature review another thing was noticed that the up-down change strategy do not allow middle management to exert their weight upwards to formulate the change development. It is also noticed that for the improved role of middle management requires a vital approach towards change and it should be emergent as well as the intentional. Thus the implementation of change process need to be combination of both approaches and political elements should also be considered in change process. As mentioned earlier in the reviewed literature which points the improved conditions and role of middle management organisational citizenship. It also stresses on the need of deliberate and emergent strategic approach for the organisational citizenship which allows middle management to work independently in a flatter organisation with more freedom of networking across departments. The diplomacy of using these departmental networking allow the middle management to spot the change and innovation in the organisation. The organisational change or transformation through corporate entrepreneurship is always main motive for many organisations and leader use social networking to implement this change across organisation. But many of these efforts fail due to the lack of ability of top management to understand human nature towards change implementation and poor communication between hierarchal levels. Weaknesses Observed in Understanding of CE The literature reviewed earlier shows that there are number of areas in the CE which need further clarification and the research need to be more focussed on the issues of CE which are currently have a weak understanding. There are few issues that need particular focus including the understanding of CE issues including the issue how CE it is managed, encouraged as well as sustained and according to Hornsby et al. (2002) this issue is not well understood. He also emphasise on the need of research to be more focused on the dimensions that can shape and predict the environment where CE can flourish. It was noticed during the literature review is lack of appreciation for the middle management in the processes of corporate entrepreneurship even though they have central importance in corporate entrepreneurial activities. Floyds (1999) argument about the flatter structured organisation where nobody has a central importance and everybody exchange information between themselves free was ignored in the reviewed literature. There is no such discussion in the literature that who gets the influence in CE initiatives in the organisation in such flat organisations. Finally, the relation between corporate entrepreneurship and indirectly related change drivers were not studied in the existing literature and their effects on the CE related activities. The relationship between the corporate entrepreneurship and the organisation citizenship is also ignored in the current literature. Research Focus Research Question The gaps in the literature needs a thorough understanding of concept of CE and needs a further exploration of the ways the organisations respond towards the implementation of CE and also how firms react for the sustainability of corporate entrepreneurial activities. So, there are few questions that will be answered during the course of this research and are as follows: How Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) is managed, sustained, and encouraged within the automobile industry? How CE and Organisational Citizenship are inter-related? What is the relationship between middle management and Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE)? How does the hierarchal structure of an organisation influence or affect the decision making role of middle management? How middle mangers add value in the decision making process of CE? Concluding Comments The research and theories regarding the role of middle management in corporate entrepreneurship was explored during the literature review. The literature reviewed has pointed towards the presence and importance of middle management in corporate entrepreneurial processes. Although the middle managements engagement and interaction with the different interest group both inside and the outside of the organisation makes the whole process of CE complex and shows its political nature. The whole idea behind this research is to identify and fill these gaps found during the literature review and not only to contribute towards the literature on CE and also by providing clearer understanding of CE. The followed chapter will give an understanding of the methodology used to carry out the research and also the justification behind the choice of case studies.

Lord Capulet in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: Romeo and Juliet Essays

In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Lord Capulet is a very prominent character. He is wealthy and a leader in his community. He is a very loving father to his daughter Juliet, he is a very contradictory person, and he trusts everyone to do as they are told and to act appropriately. Lord Capulet is a loving father who deeply cares for Juliet. When he arranges the marriage between her and Paris, he is just trying to do what he feels is best for her. He knows Paris, being handsome and rich, will make a good husband to Juliet. When she refuses to marry Paris he goes into a violent rage, saying things he doesn’t mean. â€Å"Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch! / I tell thee what: get thee to church o’Thursday, / Or never after look me in the face.†(3.5.166-168). He feels that the marriage of the two will be beneficial for Juliet and he loves her so much that he doesn’t mean to hurt her feelings. When Juliet â€Å"dies† he laments. â€Å"Despised, distressed, hated, martyred, killed! / Uncomfortable time, why cam’st thou now/ To murder, murder our solemnity? / O child! O child! My soul and not my child! / Dead art thou! Alack, my child is dead, / And with my child my joys are buried.† (4.5.65-70). He cries out in a pain and anguish for his lost daughter Juliet. By showing emotion on account of her death and for her disobedience, Capulet shows that he really does care for Juliet and that he is a good father, wanting the best for her. Lord Capulet is a very trusting. He trusts Paris with his daughter, knowing that he would be a good husband to her. â€Å"Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender / Of my child’s love. I think she will be ruled / In all respects by me. Nay, more, I doubt it not-â€Å" (3.5.13-15). He believes that Paris will keep his word and love Juliet. After the death of Tybalt, he is sorrowful, and I think that is one of the reasons he trusts that Juliet will agree with this marriage. When Romeo, at the beginning of the play, shows up at the Capulet party, Tybalt is angered. He tells Capulet that he would kill Romeo if he had his permission. Even though Romeo was of the Montague family, he still trusted him not to do anything bad at the party.