Interdisciplinary research opportunities are available requiring various academic specialties. If interested, contact dr.freedom@hotmail.ca.
The document analyzes the competitive strategies of International Latex Corporation over its first 15 years. It finds ILC initially followed a differentiation focus strategy in the children's products market by developing waterproof latex fabrics. It later expanded into women's girdles through product innovations and by exploiting fashion trends, though some marketing claims were misleading. ILC's success demonstrates how focus strategies and technological leadership can achieve differentiation, but unethical claims later hurt customer trust.
Hyundai is launching the new Genesis model to target the premium car market and move away from its past strategy of focusing on low cost. To gain a competitive advantage, firms can pursue either a low cost strategy, differentiation strategy, or focused strategy. Michael Porter's model outlines how firms can analyze their value chain activities to lower relative costs or create unique differentiation to deliver extra value for customers.
The document discusses the international product life cycle theory and its application to Aston Martin. It begins with an introduction to the international product life cycle model, which describes how industries and companies evolve their marketing strategies as a product moves through stages of introduction, growth, maturity, and decline in domestic and foreign markets. It then provides an overview of Aston Martin, including the company's history and evolution. The document analyzes the international product life cycle stages through which Aston Martin has progressed.
The document discusses how Du Pont extended the product life cycle of nylon through systematic strategies. It summarizes the four main strategies Du Pont used: 1) Promoting more frequent usage among current users by introducing colored and patterned nylon hosiery. 2) Developing more varied usage among current users through fashion-focused marketing. 3) Creating new users by targeting younger demographics. 4) Finding new material uses like tires, carpets, and others to drive continued sales growth beyond the original markets. Through continuous innovation and applying these strategies, Du Pont extended nylon consumption from 50 million pounds annually to over 500 million pounds, postponing saturation and maximizing profits over the product lifecycle.
The document discusses a field test of a wearable audio jacket concept conducted in the USA. It found that the concept had appeal, especially when seen working. However, respondents had concerns about theft, water damage, and cost. They wanted a smaller display and concealed controls. Respondents felt it should be marketed as a fashion item, not electronics, and could be sold for around $500 through fashion brands. The findings will guide further design and strategic work on wearables at Philips to create appeal for youth markets.
The document discusses the evolution of innovation through five generations of models from the 1950s to present. The first generation emphasized technology push through R&D. The second focused on market pull to meet needs. The third balanced technological opportunities with societal needs. The fourth optimized product life cycles through integrated processes. The fifth generation emphasizes open innovation through external partnerships and networks. The document then provides examples of open innovation through companies like InnoCentive that crowdsource solutions.
Nystrom (1990) described high tech markets as marketing dependent and technologically driven. Unfortunately, there is evidence that this linkage is not often recognized by organizations (Gupta, Ray and Wilemon 1985). High tech markets are characterized as complex. In addition, they exist under rapidly changing technological conditions which lead to shorter life cycles (Davidow 1986) and the need for rapid decisions (Bridges, Coughlan, and Kalish 1991). The importance of speed in high tech markets is driven by increasing competition and the continually evolving expectations of customers (Doyle and Saunders 1985). All of this is compounded by higher levels of risk for both the customer and the producer.
Hyundai is launching the new Genesis model to target the premium car market and move away from its past strategy of focusing on low cost. To gain a competitive advantage, firms can pursue either a low cost strategy, differentiation strategy, or focused strategy. Michael Porter's model outlines how firms can analyze their value chain activities to lower relative costs or create unique differentiation to deliver extra value for customers.
The document discusses the international product life cycle theory and its application to Aston Martin. It begins with an introduction to the international product life cycle model, which describes how industries and companies evolve their marketing strategies as a product moves through stages of introduction, growth, maturity, and decline in domestic and foreign markets. It then provides an overview of Aston Martin, including the company's history and evolution. The document analyzes the international product life cycle stages through which Aston Martin has progressed.
The document discusses how Du Pont extended the product life cycle of nylon through systematic strategies. It summarizes the four main strategies Du Pont used: 1) Promoting more frequent usage among current users by introducing colored and patterned nylon hosiery. 2) Developing more varied usage among current users through fashion-focused marketing. 3) Creating new users by targeting younger demographics. 4) Finding new material uses like tires, carpets, and others to drive continued sales growth beyond the original markets. Through continuous innovation and applying these strategies, Du Pont extended nylon consumption from 50 million pounds annually to over 500 million pounds, postponing saturation and maximizing profits over the product lifecycle.
The document discusses a field test of a wearable audio jacket concept conducted in the USA. It found that the concept had appeal, especially when seen working. However, respondents had concerns about theft, water damage, and cost. They wanted a smaller display and concealed controls. Respondents felt it should be marketed as a fashion item, not electronics, and could be sold for around $500 through fashion brands. The findings will guide further design and strategic work on wearables at Philips to create appeal for youth markets.
The document discusses the evolution of innovation through five generations of models from the 1950s to present. The first generation emphasized technology push through R&D. The second focused on market pull to meet needs. The third balanced technological opportunities with societal needs. The fourth optimized product life cycles through integrated processes. The fifth generation emphasizes open innovation through external partnerships and networks. The document then provides examples of open innovation through companies like InnoCentive that crowdsource solutions.
Nystrom (1990) described high tech markets as marketing dependent and technologically driven. Unfortunately, there is evidence that this linkage is not often recognized by organizations (Gupta, Ray and Wilemon 1985). High tech markets are characterized as complex. In addition, they exist under rapidly changing technological conditions which lead to shorter life cycles (Davidow 1986) and the need for rapid decisions (Bridges, Coughlan, and Kalish 1991). The importance of speed in high tech markets is driven by increasing competition and the continually evolving expectations of customers (Doyle and Saunders 1985). All of this is compounded by higher levels of risk for both the customer and the producer.
This document discusses disruptive innovation and provides context and examples. It begins with an introduction to disruptive innovation theory and its origins. It then analyzes the field of innovation management and discusses frameworks for measuring innovation. The document focuses its research on disruptive innovation, exploring areas of debate and impact across several industries, including informal tourism (Airbnb), cloud computing, healthcare, and electric vehicles (Tesla).
The document discusses innovation in business and ethnographic opportunity analysis. It outlines Joseph Schumpeter's five types of innovation in business: introducing new goods or improving existing ones, new production methods, opening new markets, new sources of raw materials, and new types of business organization. It then discusses how to conduct ethnographic opportunity analysis through inductive observation of existing products/services to identify opportunities to improve the customer experience. Researchers are tasked with observing a routine task or service, thickly describing it, and suggesting an innovation that adds value in a one page pitch.
Current Issues Literature Review Full ReportKarren Quinio
This document discusses the paradoxical relationship between touch and technology in frontline retail and service encounters. It analyzes how technology infusion can both positively and negatively impact customer satisfaction and the customer experience based on marketing models like the Circle of Satisfaction and Holt's taxonomy of consumer behavior. While technology provides benefits like cost savings and new shopping experiences, too much reliance on technology over personal touch risks reducing consumption experiences related to pleasure, social interaction and self-identity. A balanced approach combining technology with human elements is suggested.
With CES 2015 around the corner, brands are giving increased attention to emerging technology. But how are brands to decipher which technologies are important and which are not? Furthermore, how do they find value in them? Find out in our latest thought paper.
Decisions which Influence Innovation Success.docxsdfghj21
The document discusses pre-launch decisions that can influence innovation success and new concept development at Philips lighting. It identifies factors like timing of launch, targeting, partnerships, product design, distribution, advertising, and pricing as important levers that influence adoption of innovations. It then describes exploratory projects at Philips lighting to identify new growth opportunities, including a vision team, automotive lighting project, and new business creation group. This led to the larger "Think the Lighting Future" project to develop concepts for 10% revenue growth in lighting.
IDEO faces a decision about whether to shortcut its product development process to meet a client's timeline or request an extension to do a complete development. The client, Handspring, wants IDEO to create a competitor to the Palm V, which IDEO previously developed. IDEO must decide how to reconfigure a palm-like product that meets Handspring's desire for a lower-cost device with interchangeable cards and an enhanced design to appeal to more customers. The team leader must decide whether to accept the timeline constraints.
This document provides an overview of interactive ideation and problem solving using TRIZ (the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving). It describes TRIZ, which was developed by Genrich Altshuller based on analysis of millions of patents. TRIZ uses 40 inventive principles and evolutionary trends to help identify innovative solutions. The document outlines the 10-step ANTRIZ process for structuring ideation, including defining an ideal final result, analyzing constraints, finding new resources, and combining ideas. It also introduces the ANTRIZ game which applies TRIZ techniques through role-playing project scenarios.
L8 - L9 - Convergence and Connected TelevisionNick Crafts
The internet and convergent technologies have transformed audience behavior by allowing people to migrate away from traditional TV consumption to more personalized online experiences. Products like connected TV and IPTV recognize this shift and aim to provide audiences the entertainment they want across multiple platforms. One example is BBC iPlayer, which more people now access on tablets than computers, showing how audiences prefer portable, on-demand viewing. Overall, new media have changed behavior by empowering audiences with more control over what and how they watch.
Relevancy of Levitt's views on Globalization in 21st centuryAnanya Jain
This essay aims at evaluating Theodore Levitt’s concept of homogenized needs and converging economy as a result of globalization. During the course of the essay, the main points of Levitt’s article are highlighted followed by major critiques and suggestions for global organisations in the end. Throughout the essay, the impact of information and communication technology is highlighted.
This document discusses emerging industries, open innovation, and innovation policies to support emerging industries using open innovation approaches. It defines emerging industries as new industries in the earliest stages of development involving new technologies. Open innovation is described as combining internal and external ideas and pathways to market. The document proposes that innovation policies aim to promote open innovation projects between firms, universities, and pioneers of new technologies in order to identify and develop promising new industries, rather than trying to predict specific industries. This approach could help emerging industries form through collaboration and pooling of resources.
Advertising model has been developed over the decades to try to quantify, scale and understanding the process that is very much complex because the consumers mind is constantly changing and evolving. The report will review and place context to the adverting models that are widely known within the industry. These model will then be applied the Nestle brand KitKat to show how macro PESTEL influences effected advertising.
Running head MARKETING PLAN MARKETING PLANMarketi.docxcowinhelen
Running head: MARKETING PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
Marketing plan
Developing a marketing plan
William Fiedler
Columbia Southern University
Introduction
The scenario that I have selected for this project is IT to seniors. The company specializes in making the lives of senior citizens of over sixty-five years and older easier using technology. In the past twenty years, the world has experienced tremendous change due to technology. Technology has disrupted all industries and made it easier and more convenient to shop, work, bank, and relax among other activities (Noort, Willemsen, Kerkhof, & Verhoeven, 2015). However, for all the touted advantages of technology, Silicon Valley has neglected senior citizens. Technological advancements such as the smartphone hold plenty of potential for improving one’s life; however, senior citizens miss this potential because the technologies are often too complicated. IT for senior citizens aims to bring the benefits of technology to senior citizens by providing an array of gadgets and software tools that make it easier for old people to communicate, shop, and document their lives among other activities.
In the United States of America, the market for smartphones is saturated with almost all adults having a smartphone (Mooij, 2013). However, there is a disparity in how individuals use the smartphone. While young individuals are proficient with using smartphones and use a plethora of applications for communication, information, social media, and entertainment, the same is not true for old people. One of the products aimed towards making it easier for old people to interact with their smartphones is an application launcher that removes most of the complexity found in the android operating system interface and provides a clean layout with the most essential services. The launcher removes complexity by making the process of searching the internet or making a call only a one-step process. The launcher is just but one product that the company has in the pipeline, intended to help senior citizens benefit from the wave of technological changes.
Market research strategies
For the successful launch of any product, one of the most essential steps that a company must first engage in is market research. Market research helps outline the feasibility of the business model and the existence of a niche that a company can fill with innovative products. One of the market research analysis that IT for seniors will use to test new products is a focus group. A focus group helps assess the violability of a product and to iron out kinks in a product by presenting a prototype to a group of individuals (Babin & Zikmund, 2015). To test new products in the pipeline, IT for seniors will gather diverse groups of individuals over the age of sixty-five, present them with the product, and observe as they interact with it. The company factors the information from the focus group into the production and marketing of the produc ...
This document provides information about an innovation management course, including:
- The course consists of 6 sessions over 20 hours, covering various chapters on innovation theory and management.
- Evaluation includes an intermediate group case study assessment and a final individual exam.
- Resources include a textbook, lecture slides, and case studies.
- The course plan outlines the topics to be covered in each session, including chapters on national innovation systems, technology diffusion, and managing innovation within and across firms.
Innovating Recruitment in Traditional CulturesJeremy Russon
This document provides an overview of the academic literature on defining innovation. It discusses how definitions of innovation have evolved over time from focusing on creativity and chance elements in early papers to more structured approaches emerging between the wars. Recent literature has explored topics like the impact of corporate culture, industry sector, and firm size on innovation. The document also examines definitions and models of closed innovation, open innovation, and extensions of open innovation like crowdsourcing and open-source software. It concludes that while many attempts have been made to define innovation, the lack of a single consensus definition remains an issue due to the wide range of academic areas studying innovation.
Innovating Recruitment in Traditional CulturesJeremy Russon
Innovation has been studied academically since the 1960s, with definitions and models evolving over time. Early works described innovation descriptively, while later studies analyzed factors like corporate culture, industry sector, and firm size. Defining innovation precisely is important to understand how to exploit it. Schumpeter initially defined five types of innovation in the 1930s. More recent literature emphasizes the need for consensus on a definition to inform both research and practice. The passage then reviews various definitions of innovation from economists, business leaders, and politicians. It also discusses types of innovation like incremental, radical, and business model innovation. The review contrasts closed innovation, which is internally-focused, to open innovation, which incorporates external ideas and partnerships.
"Why Apple can create blockbusters?" ~ Re-think: Product PlanningTaka Kondo
Many companies conduct product management without product planning.
They copy a product which is originally designed by other companies, and modify it.
They strive to survey technology/market trends and roadmaps from leading companies/giant research firms.
And they enhance the variety of functions and/or the numbers to make their spec table better.
They love to swim in the ‘red ocean’.
Apple is one of the companies which is carrying out product planning as well as product management.
It often enters the market very late, but re-creates the market itself.
Apple strives to understand what the user-experiences the customer looks for, values, and needs,
and re-invents the product category to make customers’ lifestyle better.
Apple loves to make her heart sing with her product.
The document is a response to exam questions about innovation management. It discusses how Greece in the 1st century could have commercialized the aeolopile steam engine if they had an innovative culture and entrepreneurial people. This would have revolutionized shipping, mining and the global economy. The response also examines how new product development contributes to building the economy through commercial transactions, helps companies by allowing them to acquire new technologies to mitigate risks, and provides opportunities for individual success through the process of innovation.
La disruption n’est pas seulement un mot tendance. C’est aussi une réalité qui bouscule tous les grands acteurs du marché. Que signifie-t-elle exactement ? Quels sont ses effets positifs et négatifs et comment la gérer ?
Psychopathy - Brief Overview of Its Behavioral, Experimental, and Neural AspectsOleg Nekrassovski
This document provides an overview of psychopathy, including its behavioral and neural characteristics as well as differences between criminal and non-criminal psychopaths. There are two main theoretical camps that seek to explain psychopathy - emotion-focused models which propose a core fear deficit prevents psychopaths from appreciating consequences, and attention-focused models which view it as stemming from information processing deficits. A unified model called the Differential Amygdala Activation Model proposes an imbalance in two amygdala regions leads to psychopathic traits by altering associative and attentional processes. Criminal and non-criminal psychopaths are thought to share similar traits but differ in how interpersonal-affective features and antisocial behaviors manifest, potentially due to
This document discusses psychopathy and leadership. It summarizes research finding that psychopathic traits like boldness, charm, and lack of anxiety can benefit leaders and help them rise in organizations. However, psychopathy is still a controversial topic that requires more empirical study. The document reviews several studies that assessed traits of US presidents and found psychopathic traits like boldness correlated with effective leadership. It also discusses tools for measuring corporate psychopathy and traits common to transformational and servant leaders.
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This document discusses disruptive innovation and provides context and examples. It begins with an introduction to disruptive innovation theory and its origins. It then analyzes the field of innovation management and discusses frameworks for measuring innovation. The document focuses its research on disruptive innovation, exploring areas of debate and impact across several industries, including informal tourism (Airbnb), cloud computing, healthcare, and electric vehicles (Tesla).
The document discusses innovation in business and ethnographic opportunity analysis. It outlines Joseph Schumpeter's five types of innovation in business: introducing new goods or improving existing ones, new production methods, opening new markets, new sources of raw materials, and new types of business organization. It then discusses how to conduct ethnographic opportunity analysis through inductive observation of existing products/services to identify opportunities to improve the customer experience. Researchers are tasked with observing a routine task or service, thickly describing it, and suggesting an innovation that adds value in a one page pitch.
Current Issues Literature Review Full ReportKarren Quinio
This document discusses the paradoxical relationship between touch and technology in frontline retail and service encounters. It analyzes how technology infusion can both positively and negatively impact customer satisfaction and the customer experience based on marketing models like the Circle of Satisfaction and Holt's taxonomy of consumer behavior. While technology provides benefits like cost savings and new shopping experiences, too much reliance on technology over personal touch risks reducing consumption experiences related to pleasure, social interaction and self-identity. A balanced approach combining technology with human elements is suggested.
With CES 2015 around the corner, brands are giving increased attention to emerging technology. But how are brands to decipher which technologies are important and which are not? Furthermore, how do they find value in them? Find out in our latest thought paper.
Decisions which Influence Innovation Success.docxsdfghj21
The document discusses pre-launch decisions that can influence innovation success and new concept development at Philips lighting. It identifies factors like timing of launch, targeting, partnerships, product design, distribution, advertising, and pricing as important levers that influence adoption of innovations. It then describes exploratory projects at Philips lighting to identify new growth opportunities, including a vision team, automotive lighting project, and new business creation group. This led to the larger "Think the Lighting Future" project to develop concepts for 10% revenue growth in lighting.
IDEO faces a decision about whether to shortcut its product development process to meet a client's timeline or request an extension to do a complete development. The client, Handspring, wants IDEO to create a competitor to the Palm V, which IDEO previously developed. IDEO must decide how to reconfigure a palm-like product that meets Handspring's desire for a lower-cost device with interchangeable cards and an enhanced design to appeal to more customers. The team leader must decide whether to accept the timeline constraints.
This document provides an overview of interactive ideation and problem solving using TRIZ (the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving). It describes TRIZ, which was developed by Genrich Altshuller based on analysis of millions of patents. TRIZ uses 40 inventive principles and evolutionary trends to help identify innovative solutions. The document outlines the 10-step ANTRIZ process for structuring ideation, including defining an ideal final result, analyzing constraints, finding new resources, and combining ideas. It also introduces the ANTRIZ game which applies TRIZ techniques through role-playing project scenarios.
L8 - L9 - Convergence and Connected TelevisionNick Crafts
The internet and convergent technologies have transformed audience behavior by allowing people to migrate away from traditional TV consumption to more personalized online experiences. Products like connected TV and IPTV recognize this shift and aim to provide audiences the entertainment they want across multiple platforms. One example is BBC iPlayer, which more people now access on tablets than computers, showing how audiences prefer portable, on-demand viewing. Overall, new media have changed behavior by empowering audiences with more control over what and how they watch.
Relevancy of Levitt's views on Globalization in 21st centuryAnanya Jain
This essay aims at evaluating Theodore Levitt’s concept of homogenized needs and converging economy as a result of globalization. During the course of the essay, the main points of Levitt’s article are highlighted followed by major critiques and suggestions for global organisations in the end. Throughout the essay, the impact of information and communication technology is highlighted.
This document discusses emerging industries, open innovation, and innovation policies to support emerging industries using open innovation approaches. It defines emerging industries as new industries in the earliest stages of development involving new technologies. Open innovation is described as combining internal and external ideas and pathways to market. The document proposes that innovation policies aim to promote open innovation projects between firms, universities, and pioneers of new technologies in order to identify and develop promising new industries, rather than trying to predict specific industries. This approach could help emerging industries form through collaboration and pooling of resources.
Advertising model has been developed over the decades to try to quantify, scale and understanding the process that is very much complex because the consumers mind is constantly changing and evolving. The report will review and place context to the adverting models that are widely known within the industry. These model will then be applied the Nestle brand KitKat to show how macro PESTEL influences effected advertising.
Running head MARKETING PLAN MARKETING PLANMarketi.docxcowinhelen
Running head: MARKETING PLAN
MARKETING PLAN
Marketing plan
Developing a marketing plan
William Fiedler
Columbia Southern University
Introduction
The scenario that I have selected for this project is IT to seniors. The company specializes in making the lives of senior citizens of over sixty-five years and older easier using technology. In the past twenty years, the world has experienced tremendous change due to technology. Technology has disrupted all industries and made it easier and more convenient to shop, work, bank, and relax among other activities (Noort, Willemsen, Kerkhof, & Verhoeven, 2015). However, for all the touted advantages of technology, Silicon Valley has neglected senior citizens. Technological advancements such as the smartphone hold plenty of potential for improving one’s life; however, senior citizens miss this potential because the technologies are often too complicated. IT for senior citizens aims to bring the benefits of technology to senior citizens by providing an array of gadgets and software tools that make it easier for old people to communicate, shop, and document their lives among other activities.
In the United States of America, the market for smartphones is saturated with almost all adults having a smartphone (Mooij, 2013). However, there is a disparity in how individuals use the smartphone. While young individuals are proficient with using smartphones and use a plethora of applications for communication, information, social media, and entertainment, the same is not true for old people. One of the products aimed towards making it easier for old people to interact with their smartphones is an application launcher that removes most of the complexity found in the android operating system interface and provides a clean layout with the most essential services. The launcher removes complexity by making the process of searching the internet or making a call only a one-step process. The launcher is just but one product that the company has in the pipeline, intended to help senior citizens benefit from the wave of technological changes.
Market research strategies
For the successful launch of any product, one of the most essential steps that a company must first engage in is market research. Market research helps outline the feasibility of the business model and the existence of a niche that a company can fill with innovative products. One of the market research analysis that IT for seniors will use to test new products is a focus group. A focus group helps assess the violability of a product and to iron out kinks in a product by presenting a prototype to a group of individuals (Babin & Zikmund, 2015). To test new products in the pipeline, IT for seniors will gather diverse groups of individuals over the age of sixty-five, present them with the product, and observe as they interact with it. The company factors the information from the focus group into the production and marketing of the produc ...
This document provides information about an innovation management course, including:
- The course consists of 6 sessions over 20 hours, covering various chapters on innovation theory and management.
- Evaluation includes an intermediate group case study assessment and a final individual exam.
- Resources include a textbook, lecture slides, and case studies.
- The course plan outlines the topics to be covered in each session, including chapters on national innovation systems, technology diffusion, and managing innovation within and across firms.
Innovating Recruitment in Traditional CulturesJeremy Russon
This document provides an overview of the academic literature on defining innovation. It discusses how definitions of innovation have evolved over time from focusing on creativity and chance elements in early papers to more structured approaches emerging between the wars. Recent literature has explored topics like the impact of corporate culture, industry sector, and firm size on innovation. The document also examines definitions and models of closed innovation, open innovation, and extensions of open innovation like crowdsourcing and open-source software. It concludes that while many attempts have been made to define innovation, the lack of a single consensus definition remains an issue due to the wide range of academic areas studying innovation.
Innovating Recruitment in Traditional CulturesJeremy Russon
Innovation has been studied academically since the 1960s, with definitions and models evolving over time. Early works described innovation descriptively, while later studies analyzed factors like corporate culture, industry sector, and firm size. Defining innovation precisely is important to understand how to exploit it. Schumpeter initially defined five types of innovation in the 1930s. More recent literature emphasizes the need for consensus on a definition to inform both research and practice. The passage then reviews various definitions of innovation from economists, business leaders, and politicians. It also discusses types of innovation like incremental, radical, and business model innovation. The review contrasts closed innovation, which is internally-focused, to open innovation, which incorporates external ideas and partnerships.
"Why Apple can create blockbusters?" ~ Re-think: Product PlanningTaka Kondo
Many companies conduct product management without product planning.
They copy a product which is originally designed by other companies, and modify it.
They strive to survey technology/market trends and roadmaps from leading companies/giant research firms.
And they enhance the variety of functions and/or the numbers to make their spec table better.
They love to swim in the ‘red ocean’.
Apple is one of the companies which is carrying out product planning as well as product management.
It often enters the market very late, but re-creates the market itself.
Apple strives to understand what the user-experiences the customer looks for, values, and needs,
and re-invents the product category to make customers’ lifestyle better.
Apple loves to make her heart sing with her product.
The document is a response to exam questions about innovation management. It discusses how Greece in the 1st century could have commercialized the aeolopile steam engine if they had an innovative culture and entrepreneurial people. This would have revolutionized shipping, mining and the global economy. The response also examines how new product development contributes to building the economy through commercial transactions, helps companies by allowing them to acquire new technologies to mitigate risks, and provides opportunities for individual success through the process of innovation.
La disruption n’est pas seulement un mot tendance. C’est aussi une réalité qui bouscule tous les grands acteurs du marché. Que signifie-t-elle exactement ? Quels sont ses effets positifs et négatifs et comment la gérer ?
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Psychopathy - Brief Overview of Its Behavioral, Experimental, and Neural AspectsOleg Nekrassovski
This document provides an overview of psychopathy, including its behavioral and neural characteristics as well as differences between criminal and non-criminal psychopaths. There are two main theoretical camps that seek to explain psychopathy - emotion-focused models which propose a core fear deficit prevents psychopaths from appreciating consequences, and attention-focused models which view it as stemming from information processing deficits. A unified model called the Differential Amygdala Activation Model proposes an imbalance in two amygdala regions leads to psychopathic traits by altering associative and attentional processes. Criminal and non-criminal psychopaths are thought to share similar traits but differ in how interpersonal-affective features and antisocial behaviors manifest, potentially due to
This document discusses psychopathy and leadership. It summarizes research finding that psychopathic traits like boldness, charm, and lack of anxiety can benefit leaders and help them rise in organizations. However, psychopathy is still a controversial topic that requires more empirical study. The document reviews several studies that assessed traits of US presidents and found psychopathic traits like boldness correlated with effective leadership. It also discusses tools for measuring corporate psychopathy and traits common to transformational and servant leaders.
Californian vs. Federal Marijuana Laws, and HealthcareOleg Nekrassovski
This document contrasts California's Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act with federal marijuana laws. California's law aims to regulate the medical marijuana industry, while federal law still prohibits marijuana. The laws could affect healthcare in different ways. California's law may financially benefit organizations investing in marijuana, but federal law could sanction physicians, undermining organizations. Both laws may raise ethical issues regarding investing in or prohibiting the marijuana industry.
Details and Implementation Plan of a Code of Ethics for a Proposed Lunar ColonyOleg Nekrassovski
This document provides details and an implementation plan for a proposed code of ethics for a lunar colony called Selenex. The code of ethics includes a code of values and code of conduct. The implementation plan describes how the code will be launched, enforced, evaluated, and how success will be assured. The code and plan aim to optimize employee health and performance in the harsh lunar environment through values like empathy, teamwork and evidence-based decision making. The plan involves training employees on the code, incorporating ethics into evaluations, and a formal process for reporting violations without retaliation.
The Politics of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and the Canadian Forces, between ...Oleg Nekrassovski
This document summarizes the treatment of gender and sexual orientation issues in the Canadian Forces between the 1960s and 1990s. It discusses how the revival of feminism and establishment of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in the 1960s-1970s led to recommendations to open all trades to women in the Canadian Forces. It also discusses how the passage of the Canadian Human Rights Act in 1978 forced the Canadian Forces to reassess its personnel policies to prohibit discrimination against women. The document outlines the ongoing debates between feminist and anti-feminist groups during this period and how legal and policy changes gradually opened more roles to women in the Canadian Forces. Similarly, it discusses the emergence of gay liberation groups advocating for equal rights for
Learning, Insight, and Innovation in Animals in the Context of EvolutionOleg Nekrassovski
This document summarizes the historical progress of research on learning, insight, and innovation in animals from an evolutionary context. It discusses key figures like Darwin, Romanes, Thorndike, and Pavlov and their major contributions. Darwin's works in the 1870s laid the groundwork for later studies by emphasizing associative learning and social learning in animals. Romanes collected many anecdotes about animal behavior but his evidence was unreliable. Thorndike established experimental methods to study learning processes like trial-and-error and imitation, refuting ideas of animal insight. Pavlov introduced new objective methods to study brain functions and conditioned reflexes.
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This document summarizes key themes from 5 sources regarding leadership and organizational function. It finds that:
1) Leadership is essential for organizational success as leaders provide incentives, goals, and resources for members. However, removing some leaders does not always collapse groups as smaller factions may form.
2) Leaders with unique qualities like charisma are crucial for continued success by inspiring loyalty and innovation.
3) Leaders are more important for hierarchical than decentralized groups as they directly plan activities and have more social ties, though removing hubs in decentralized groups can also weaken them.
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The document summarizes a book review of "The New American Militarism" by Andrew Bacevich. The book argues that American political leaders intend to reshape the world according to American values through military means. It claims Americans have become skeptical of non-military solutions and define national strength through military preparedness. The book aims to criticize this "new American militarism" and the dangers it poses. However, the reviewer found the book to be poorly organized and its arguments sometimes contradictory, making its main points unconvincing.
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Canada, and the US Ballistic Missile Defence ProgramOleg Nekrassovski
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Achieving Competitive Advantage: The Rise of the International Latex Corporation
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Achieving Competitive Advantage: The Rise of the International Latex
Corporation
By Oleg Nekrassovski
Introduction
The present paper will look at the first 15 years of business of the International Latex
Corporation (ILC). First, it will be argued that the competitive strategy followed by ILC, in the
early and mid 1930s, was that of focus. In particular, an attempt will be made to demonstrate
that ILC followed the strategy of differentiation focus. The paper will also take a look at ILC’s
technology strategy, and argue that ILC engaged in developing product technology and sought
technological leadership. Next, ILC’s move into a new market segment in the late 1930s, some
aspects of its accompanying marketing strategy, and the relevant fashion trends of the time,
will be described. And it will be argued that prior to entering this new market segment, ILC
likely engaged in careful collection and analysis of marketing information, using some tool
similar to situation analysis, and in researching the buyer behaviour of its actual and potential
consumers. Finally, it will be argued that some of the specifics of the initial marketing strategy,
that ILC used to enter this new market segment, were unethical. So, an attempt will be made to
see whether ILC suffered any negative consequences, as a result.
The Early Years
In 1932, in response to a sudden and radical drop in the price of latex rubber on the
world commodity market, an already highly successful American entrepreneur, named A. N.
Spanel, founded the International Latex Corporation (ILC) (de Monchaux, 2011). At first,
Spanel’s company focused on, and succeeded in producing and marketing latex textiles to the
consumer market, by taking advantage of the waterproof, elastic nature of latex-impregnated
fabric to produce underwear, bed sheets, bibs and sunhats, for children and infants. Spanel
chose the brand name “Playtex” for his line of consumer products (de Monchaux, 2011).
By the late 1930s, ILC’s success, in the children’s consumer market, won Spanel great
praise for his innovative production of latex textiles, and for his innovations in advertisement
packaging (even earning him a marketing award) (de Monchaux, 2011).
The Focus Strategy
Thus, based on the above, it appears that, in its early years, the competitive strategy
followed by ILC was that of focus. Focus is a generic competitive strategy which involves
selecting a segment or a group of segments of an industry, and focusing exclusively on serving
those segments (Porter, 1985). ILC’s industrial segment of choice was, of course, the market for
children’s underwear and a few related products.
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The focus strategy has two variants, the cost focus and the differentiation focus. As their
names suggest, the cost focus involves seeking a cost advantage in the targeted segment of the
industry; while the differentiation focus involves seeking differentiation in the targeted
segment (Porter, 1985). And it appears that ILC’s focus strategy, in the market for children’s
underwear and related products, was that of differentiation focus; because differentiation
focus exploits the special needs of buyers in the target segment (Porter, 1985).
So, what were the special needs of buyers of children’s underwear and related products
that ILC’s unique products so successfully met? Apparently, given that small children often wet
their underwear and bed sheets and get wet whenever moisture gets on their bibs and hats
(which is often the case), there was a strong demand for waterproof underwear, bed sheets,
bibs, and hats for children and infants. And only ILC’s new, waterproof products managed to
satisfy this demand.
All of this reflects the fact that the focus strategy can be successfully employed only
when target segments are poorly served by competitors that have a much a broader focus, and
attempt to serve multiple industrial segments simultaneously. This allows the attainment of
competitive advantage by focusing, exclusively, on providing services to the poorly served
segments of the industry (Porter, 1985). ILC’s rapid success, in the market for children’s
underwear and related products, appears to underscore this idea.
Technology Strategy
The above, brief description of ILC’s early years, also illustrates its technology strategy.
As the name implies, the way a firm approaches the development and use of technology,
constitutes its technology strategy (Porter, 1985). And in order to achieve competitive
advantage, the firm should focus on developing those technologies that would most contribute
to its generic competitive strategy. However, the type of the optimal technology strategy would
vary considerably based on the generic strategy the firm is trying to follow (Porter, 1985).
We have already established, above, that ILC’s generic strategy appears to have been
that of differentiation focus. At the same time, the above, brief description of ILC’s early years
illustrates its focus on developing its product technology, rather than process technology. And
according to Porter (1985), a firm that focuses on developing its product technology in order to
enhance its strategy of differentiation focus, should work on designing products that would
meet the needs of a particular segment of the market, better than more broadly-focused
competitors. But, while an earlier discussion suggests that this is what ILC likely did; it is hard to
say, based on the presented information about ILC, whether its founder, Spanel, first decided to
pursue a differentiation focus strategy and then decided to support it by developing
appropriate product technology; or whether he started by developing an innovative product
technology and then decided to use it to pursue the differentiation focus strategy.
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Another broad aspect, of the technology strategy, is whether or not to pursue
technological leadership. As the name implies, the strategy of technological leadership involves
a firm seeking to introduce new technological changes that support its generic strategy; while
the strategy of technological followership involves a firm consciously and deliberately choosing
not to be the first to innovate (Porter, 1985).
Pursuing the strategy of technological leadership or followership can be used to achieve
either cost advantage or differentiation (Porter, 1985). And during the period of its history,
described so far, as well as to be described next, ILC obviously pursued technological
leadership, rather than followership, and did so in order to achieve differentiation. In fact, a
strategy of technological leadership, which seeks to achieve differentiation, involves pioneering
a unique product that will be perceived as being more valuable, than the offerings of
competitors, by the buyer (Porter, 1985).
ILC’s First “Girdle”
Spanel’s initial focus on children’s wear also happened, in no small part, because latex
had a tendency for sudden failure, by splitting along the grain of its manufacture – something
that adult wearers would not tolerate (de Monchaux, 2011). However, soon after 1937, along
with the new investments in production, Spanel developed and patented new methods of
shaping and curing of thin latex surfaces, which solved the problem of sudden failure of latex-
based textiles. This innovation allowed ILC to introduce its first foundation garment for women
in 1940 (de Monchaux, 2011).
The foundation garment that ILC introduced in 1940, was the “girdle” – a new
alternative to older corsets. ILC’s introduction of a girdle in 1940 did not happen by accident.
Instead it was clearly done because it was a very opportune time to do so (de Monchaux, 2011).
In fact, despite a move away from corsets in the 1910s and 1920s, constriction of women’s
waists and hips again became very popular at the end of 1930s. Not surprisingly, most
contemporary women were unused to wearing traditional constrictive corsets and were scared
of experiencing discomfort from this “new” fashion trend (de Monchaux, 2011). So, ILC’s
advertisement for its girdles successfully exploited this fear by claiming that its new product
wasn’t a corset, but a new, revolutionary method of curve control. Hence, women were
promised the stylish figure of a corset without the corset’s discomfort. And this marketing
strategy soon proved to be enormously successful, even though the actual experience of
wearing ILC’s girdle was far from comfortable (de Monchaux, 2011).
Collecting and Analyzing Marketing Information
ILC’s success in marketing its first girdle clearly stemmed from its successful collection
and analysis of marketing information relevant to its proposed new product. Marketing
information is often collected and analyzed using the situation analysis, which evaluates the
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internal environment of the firm, its customer environment, and its external environment
(Ferrell and Hartline, 2014). In its collection and analysis of marketing information relevant to
its girdle, ILC must have focused on the issue of why customers do (or will) select their products
(an aspect of customer environment), as well as on sociocultural trends (an aspect of external
environment), especially in women’s fashion. After all, properly assessing the issue of why
customers do (or will) select company’s products requires identifying unsatisfied or
undersatisfied customer needs, as well as potential current and future changes in these needs
(Ferrell and Hartline, 2014). At the same time, the renewed popularity of constricted women’s
waists and hips was clearly a ‘new’ sociocultural trend in women’s fashion.
Buyer Behaviour
ILC also must have researched the buyer behaviour of its actual and potential
consumers prior to introducing its first girdle. One of the key issues in understanding buyer
behaviour is the ability of the firm to recognize the needs and wants of its customers (Ferrell
and Hartline, 2014). And as has already been described, ILC did an excellent job of finding out
the needs and wants of consumers who may be interested in its new product. Another key
issue in understanding buyer behaviour is the ability of the firm to understand how its
customers evaluate alternatives (Ferrell and Hartline, 2014). ILC has clearly managed to
understand that, since its advertisements successfully exploited contemporary women’s
tendency to choose any foundation garment which promised comfort to the wearer, over any
competing product which made no such promises. However, the fact that this promise was
false, indicates that ILC’s marketing strategy ignored every firm’s implied ethical responsibility
to its customers. And since research indicates that firms who ignore ethical responsibilities can
destroy the trust of their stakeholders and even provoke government intervention (Ferrell and
Hartline, 2014), did ILC suffer any such consequences?
The 1940s
In the years immediately following the introduction of its first girdle, ILC nearly went out
of business, in no small part because Japanese takeover of Malaysia in 1942 cut off the US from
its major source of latex. And by 1944, the company was able to remain afloat only because it
managed to land contracts for producing inflatable boats and life rafts for the US Navy (de
Monchaux, 2011). However, even when the company returned to production in 1946, its
owner, Spanel, decided to create a separate branch of ILC, which would be dedicated to
developing products targeted at the government, rather than mass consumers. Also, while ILC
continued to advertise its girdle in the years following WWII, its marketing strategy shifted
towards making assertions, which customers would not be able to dispute even after trying
their product – such as the alleged connection of ILC’s girdles to contemporary fashion (de
Monchaux, 2011).
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Thus, it appears that ILC did suffer some loss of customer trust, and was apparently
aware of that. However, confounding variables brought about by WWII make it difficult to
judge the consequences and magnitude of that loss of customer trust.
Conclusion
Thus, we have seen that the differentiation focus strategy can be very effective
whenever certain segments of the industry are poorly served. And that the development of
appropriate product technology can further enhance the effectiveness of this strategy. Also,
ILC’s success illustrates the effectiveness of technological leadership strategy in achieving
differentiation; as well as that successful collection and analysis of marketing information
relevant to a proposed new product, especially using the situation analysis, is essential for
successful marketing of that product. In addition, researching the buyer behaviour of one’s
actual and potential consumers, prior to introducing a new product, is also essential for a
successful marketing strategy. On the other hand, making false or misleading statements about
one’s product is likely to lead to a loss of customer trust and a consequent drop in sales, that
ILC apparently suffered from its initial, unethical approach to advertising its first girdle.
References
de Monchaux, N. (2011). Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Ferrell, O. C., and Hartline, M. D. (2014). Marketing strategy: Text and cases. Mason, OH: South-
Western.
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance.
New York: The Free Press.