Thursday, November 28, 2019

Chapter 17 Essay Example

Chapter 17 Paper How did the merchant class in northern Italy influence the Renaissance? Merchants belief in individual merit would become a recurring theme in the renaissance; they were patrons of the arts In what ways did literature and the arts change during the Renaissance? Art-Realistic style, new techniques Artists and writers-chose secular and classical and Christian subjects Writers-used the vernacular What did northern European rulers do to encourage the spread of Renaissance ideas? They purchased Renaissance art supported Italian and northern artists How were the Christian humanists different from the humanists of the Italian Renaissance? Christian humanists were slightly different because they adopted ideas from humanists but put a religious slant on it and interpreted the ideals based on christian principles On what three teachings did Martin Luther rest his Reformation movement? 1.) people could win salvation only through faith, not good works. 2.) church teachings should be based on the bible, not the bible church traditions) 3.) people did not need priests to interpret the bible for them Why did the Holy Roman emperor go to war against Protestant German princes? He wanted to force the Protestant German Princes to rejoin the Catholic church Why did Henry VIII create his own church? Refer to the time line on pages 492-493. Henry wanted a male heir. That pushed him to split with the church (they would not give him a divorce) and create the Church of England In what ways was John Calvins church different from the Lutheran Church? John Calvins church: believed in predestination, followed strict rules, and promoted theocracy What was the goal of the Catholic Reformation? Was for the Catholic Church to reform itself so that it could retain loyal catholic What are three legacies of the Reformation? 1.) religion no longer united Europe 2.) paved the way for modern nation-states 3.) laid the groundwork for later rejection of Christian beliefs 4.)new schools were founded (education becoming more valued) 5.)Catholic Church became more unified Religious, political, and social effects of the reformation Religious- Catholic Church became more unified Christianity split Church of England Protestants divided Political- Monarchs gained power Modern nation states developed Social- End of serfdom Peasant revolts What role did the printing press play in the spread of the reformation and the spread of democracy? Printing press allowed people to read more information. This caused less dependence won the church. It caused more ideas about democracy and government structure How did the Renaissance and Reformation expand cultural interaction both within Europe and outside of it? Italian artists inspired northern artists and writers. Through trade and exploration. What conditions needed to exist before the Renaissance could occur? Artists and writers had to be supported in ancillary and be open to new ideas and thoughts. Europe had to be stable and at a time of peace We will write a custom essay sample on Chapter 17 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Chapter 17 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Chapter 17 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Innovative Strategy in Royal Dutch Shell The WritePass Journal

Innovative Strategy in Royal Dutch Shell Innovative Strategy in Royal Dutch Shell . Shell is involved in every aspect of the oil and gas industry, with a large amount of vertical integration from the initial exploration through to the end trading, giving it potentially a large amount of power within the industry. The purpose of this paper is to look at the innovative strategy of Shell, with particular reference to its general corporate strategy, its structure, mission and vision, as well as looking at how its corporate culture encourages innovation at every stage of the operation. As noted by Shell itself, the company aims to meet with growing demand from customers to produce more power, but with less impact on society and the environment. As a result, the company has placed a great deal of emphasis on investment in research and development, in order to create greater efficiencies, so that the company can produce more energy, without incurring greater costs, either financially or environmentally (Burdon et al., 2008). The generic strategies employed by Shell are seen to be focused on differentiation by looking towards innovation in its exploration and production, with a focus on renewable and trading arrangements, as well as the more recent introduction of Shell Global Solutions International which includes technology services within the industry. It therefore has an overall advantage which has been gained by establishing new technologies, while also reducing the threat from new entrants or the threat from substitutes (Maharaj and Herremans, 2008).   Mission Statement and Vision Shell has established several general business principles as part of its day-to-day operations. However, despite having a myriad of different activities and business units, it has a set of 8 business principles which are applied at every stage. These are the combination of the three core values, namely honesty, integrity and respect for people which established 8 core business principles economic competition, business integrity, political activity, health and safety, security and the environment, local communities, communication and engagement, and compliance (Davenport, et al., 2007). As part of the business strategy, the organisation is openly committed to sustainable development, which requires the team to look at balancing short- and long-term interests and integrating a broad range of responsibilities with a broad range of stakeholders. Corporate Culture towards Innovation Bearing in mind these principles, Shell is following an ethos of innovation, recognising that sustainable development and the new technologies that achieve this are central. One of the main strategies pursued by Shell is that of encouraging innovation and, as part of its shareholder mission, the organisation recognises that it cannot develop innovation alone and has therefore encouraged individuals to submit ideas as to how they can overcome challenges within the energy sector, in such a way that will enable companies such as Shell to meet with future global demand. Shell also works in partnership with many other organisations in order to tackle some of the major challenges facing the industry. Furthermore, it recognises that developing specialist in-house skills by recruiting the top scientists and researchers to work at its technology centre to tackle all of these problems will mean that Shell’s long-term agenda will ultimately be achieved (Shell, 2013). A team of nine Chief Scientists work within the organisation, each with their own specialist area. For example, Jose Bravo is the Shell Chief Scientist Separations and is currently looking at developing new equipment to work in the refinery in order to facilitate more efficient separation. He states: â€Å"†¦we see technology as a way that Shell is going to carry on into the future. It is a fundamental part of our business strategy and the people that deliver that technology are the key resource for the company for the future†. This statement shows the type of culture that is emerging within the organisation and the importance is placed on innovation at every stage (Verburg, et al., 2006). Processes of Innovation, Stages of New Product Development The Chief Technical Officer, Gerald Schotman, goes one step further in his statement saying: â€Å"Technology underpins our ability to shape the future of energy. But we must have a clear vision of the future to know what technology we must develop today†. There are three key regional technology centres, the first in Amsterdam, the second in Houston and the third in Bangalore. The centre in Houston houses over 2,000 scientists, with six of the Chief Scientist also being resident here. Several projects are being undertaken within the technical centre, including looking at new technologies which will enable the company to unlock trapped natural gas and also to develop catalysts which will enable them to speed up chemical reaction, thus making the overall process considerably more efficient and gaining access to natural gases that would otherwise be wasted (Sparrow and Ringland, 010). The centre in Amsterdam was the first technology centre established in 1914 and it currently works closely with local universities in order to share expertise; it has also been responsible for some major developments such as the ability to turn natural gas into transport fuel.   Overall Rewards for Innovation Shell relies almost entirely on its ability to innovate and develop new efficiencies and new products within the oil and gas industry. By being one of the largest companies in the world, Shell is able to capitalise on this by investing in long-term development. Scientists are perceived to be vitally important to the organisation and the culture is very much towards achieving long-term development in line with the business strategy (Ortt, and Van der Duin, 2008). Vertical integration is also a key part of the strategy which enables the company to make the most of efficiency and share expertise and resources, where appropriate, thus providing greater technological innovation in the long run. An innovation strategy is central to Shell and has become an ingrained part of its mission, vision and values, as well as the underlying culture among the workforce. In doing so and by encouraging partnership with other organisations and higher education establishments, this innovation strategy is likely to be the key to the long-term success of this growing organisation. References Burdon, S., Chelliah, J. and Bhalla, A (2009) Structuring enduring strategic alliances: the case of Shell Australia and Transfield Services, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 30 Iss: 4, pp.42 – 51 Davenport, T., Leibold, M. and Voelpel. S (2007) Strategic Management in the Innovation Economy: Strategic Approaches and Tools for Dynamic Innovation Capabilities, John Wiley Sons. p.367 Maharaj, R and Herremans, I (2008) Shell Canada: over a decade of sustainable development reporting experience, Corporate Governance, Vol. 8 Iss: 3, pp.235 – 247 Ortt, J and Van der Duin, P (2008) The evolution of innovation management towards contextual innovation, European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 11 Iss: 4, pp.522 – 538 Shell, (2013) Available at shell.com/global/future-energy/innovation/researching-around-the-world.html Sparrow, O and Ringland, G (2010) A system for continuous organizational renewal, Strategy Leadership, Vol. 38 Iss: 4, pp.34 – 41 Verburg, R., Ortt, R and Dicke, W. (2006) Managing Technology and Innovation: An Introduction, Routledge p.341

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Global marketing management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Global marketing management - Essay Example For example, PESTLE doesn’t measure the impact of information, demographics and ethics variables in the macro-environment. Importance of PESTLE can only be realized if it is applied for practical purposes otherwise the model might be viewed as another management utopia. For example, suppose a multinational company X of Europe wants to expand business in a Latin American country but they do not have any knowledge about the environment of the country. The multinational company X can face six different challenges such as, 1- P- unstable political environment which can disrupt their operation in the country or even create confusion regarding entry strategy, 2- E- poor economic growth of the country might result lack of purchasing parity of consumers which negatively affect the demand for the product of company X, 3- S- lack of understanding of socio-cultural context of the country can create problem for the company X to design effective product-marketing strategy and 4- T- lack of technological growth and infrastructural support in the country can hamper the potentiality of internationalization strategy of X. Kaufmann and Van Witteloostuijn (2012) stated that companies can use PEST instead of PESTLE to measure global business environment in those cases where environment and legal proceedings play very little role. Research scholars such as Porter & Siggelkow (2008) and Heijltjes & Van Witteloostuijn (2003) stated that international companies should try to understand the global business opportunities in terms of both macro and micro environmental context. Ghemawat (2004 & 2007) pointed out that ignoring market need while developing globalization strategy is probably the greatest mistake that can be committed by an international company....Another important thing is that there is hardly any difference exists between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore when it comes to culture and demographic aspect hence following growth strategy in Singapore and Malaysia will h elp IKEA to design product mix in accordance to demand of Indonesian customers. Taking help of the research York of Ying (2005), it can be said that IKEA should design products as per seasonal and communal requirement. For example, offering green shaded furniture during Ramjan and Eid al-Fitr would definitely help IKEA to attract Muslim customers. On the other hand, the company should increase the size of the furniture in order to attract family customers in the country. IKEA should offer the assembling and transportation facilities with its furniture products in order to target wealthy Chinese family customers. Recalibration of forward and backward integration of the logistics and supply chain activities will definitely decrease value chain operation cost for IKEA. Decrease in value chain cost would help IKEA to follow competitive pricing strategy in order to penetrate in Indonesian furniture market.