Category: Collaboration

Abstract

Relationships between companies and customers within supply chains are one of the most important aspects of conducting business. Achieving understanding and trust could outline a great potential for mutually profitable collaboration. One of the ways to reach it is to use organizational learning. In this study, organizational learning theory was examined to understand its relation to inter-organizational cooperation in supply chains settings and organization profits. Three different ways of the theory application were elaborated. The first approach implies the use of knowledge to yield benefit at the expense of others. Second infers a company utilizes it for self-development without harming others, and the third entails mutual data exchange. The application of the theory in the real world showed that the self-centred approach did not sever the relationships in large retail shops like Walmart. The two other methods, according to extensive analysis data, showed a positive correlation between the inoffensive and sharing-oriented organizational learning.

Introduction

The relationships between manufacturers, suppliers, and customers are vital for providing high-quality goods to the market and constant development of technologies and strategies. The price, terms of delivery, quality of the final product, and customer satisfaction rely heavily on the ways of cooperation between all said parties and the effectiveness of such cooperation (Singh and Power 189). Organizational learning is one of the aspects that can build strong and long-lasting relationships between companies, their partners, and customers (Alegre and Chiva 493). Investigating how it affects business relationships and whether it has a positive effect on collaboration within supply chains will allow boosting their effectiveness.

Background

Establishing relationships with partners and clients in a way that is beneficial for all parties is a challenging but also rewarding task. Effective communication could result in better deals, lower costs, loans on favourable conditions, discounts, and other benefits. All sides must yield profit from cooperation. Otherwise, the relationship will not last long. There are cases when companies find themselves in a position of power and start dictating their terms to their partners. On the one hand, competitive market will enable dependent organizations in the chain to adjust, remodel, and optimize their business operations making competitors do the same (Billington and Nie 3). This can benefit the supply chain, making it more efficient.

On the other hand, constant rearrangements require additional resources and can be quite costly. This could result in severing relationships or making a company bankrupt. Anderson, Britt, and Favre argue that a more innovational and sustainable approach is the “gain sharing” (46). Opting for a mutually beneficial development offers a more steady and reliable growth. Effective cooperation could also be hindered by overconcentration on selling the product at the best price (Prahalad and Ramaswamy 7). It is especially true in the field of supply chains as establishing an understanding and trust can matter a lot. For instance, if a manufacturer and a shipping company cannot come to terms with each other about the cost of transportation each hour of downtime results in millions of dollars in losses not only for both of them but also for the supplier and customer.

Therefore, establishing mutually beneficial relationships is one the most important part in the sphere of supply chains (Smith 4). If one of the links breaks as a result of a miscommunication, the whole chain stays idle and loses time and money. Collaboration is a two-way process that requires effort from both sides. If companies manage to reach an agreement and seek to uphold it, an understanding usually forms between them, which leads to prosperity.

Organizational Learning as a Way to Establish Sustainable Relationships within the Supply Chain

Organizational learning is a process, in which knowledge is generated and transferred between the structural divisions within the organizations. The knowledge is generated through changes in the environment and adaptation to it (Yu 347). It accumulates, becomes more sophisticated and, eventually, systematized and used to react to the various occurrences.

Almost each piece of information about players on the market, habits of the customers, seasonal changes, fluctuations of currency, and million other facts could potentially result in a profit if relied upon or used at the right moment (Kreiser 1028). In the modern fast-paced world where tons of information is generated each second finding the meaningful facts, sorting them, and most importantly, keeping them up to date becomes one of the most important pursuits.

Recently, the organizational learning theory became popular as a paradigm describing certain aspects of the relationships between companies (Singh and Power 190). One of the reasons for this is that companies, as stated above, not only accumulate knowledge simply to explain events and notions, but they also tend to make use of it when interacting with customers and each other.

There appear to be three ways of using the information when dealing with partners within the supply chain: self-centred, inoffensive, and sharing-oriented. One is to use it against others to gain profit for oneself. The other is to conceal the information using it only for sole advantage while intending no harm to partners and clients. The third way is to share it to benefit mutually. The first approach rarely supposes an acquisition of new information leading only to short-term benefits. For instance, when the manufacturer experiences a shortage of buyers and the informed supplier could try to lower the price for goods. In this situation, organizational learning works for the benefit of a supplier who uses the information to gain profit at the expense of the partner’s losses.

The obvious disadvantage of such approach for the supply chain relationships appears to be that the obstacles created for one of the members of the chain could result in short-term and long-term problems in the whole system. In the situation mentioned above, the manufacturer could either withdraw from the partnership with the supplier or lower the output of production to cover its losses. The first would force the supplier to seek for new partners, which takes time, and there is no guarantee that the new partner will offer same or better prices. This situation could lead to the supplier’s losses and negatively affect customers. The second case scenario leads to short-term issues within the manufacturing company, which can result in either bankruptcy or seeking to recoup for the financial damage at the expense of its employees reducing the staff population. Both situations sever the relationships within given supply chains and bring financial difficulties, which seems to speak against the usage of organizational learning for sole profit while harming others.

Accumulation of the verified information, synthesizing experience into knowledge, and using it all to develop as an organization seems to be a good choice (Mellat-Parast 511). However, in supply chains setting it can also pose some issues. If one of the partners’ outgrows the others, it could lead to the situation when the prospering company could not be satisfied with the terms of the past arrangements and develop the new ones, which requires adjustment to the new environment. For the less developed and successful members of the chain, this means that they need either to conform or to continue playing in their league. Some companies may not have the resources to facilitate such change at short notice.

Yu argues that the usage of organizational learning with a purpose of sharing knowledge and collaborating with the help of it provides an opportunity to strengthen the ties between partner organizations (347). Moreover, it positively affects the relationships with customers, who in turn, boost the financial performance of the company.

Application of Organizational Learning Theory in Supply Chains Setting

The application of the organizational learning could illustrate how the three approaches work in the relationships between supply chain members. One of the examples of using knowledge for self-empowerment at the expense of others is the relationship between large retail shop network, Walmart, and its suppliers. After becoming one of the top players on the U.S. market and realizing it can negotiate using its strong sides, Walmart continues to create more and more demanding atmosphere for its partners.

It arranges deals with lower prices and better delivery conditions for itself forcing the suppliers and brands to optimize and adapt (Billington and Nie 3). Strong organizational learning allowed Walmart managers to assess the market, the customers’ demands, and organizational strengths using the latter to its advantage. Interestingly, though, the chain does not break and even prospers. The probable cause is that it is still beneficial for the suppliers to work with Walmart as it is a reliable partner with whom it is still possible to make profit despite the changing conditions.

The quantitative study conducted by Yu among Chinese companies showed the positive correlation between the levels of external integration or mutual organizational learning and the financial health of the company (354). These results are backed by another study performed by Singh and Power who measured the effects of collaboration in the relationships of the companies within supply chains (191). They also found productive trends and an increase in performance at multiple levels (Singh and Power 196).

Evidence collected by Zhao et al. (310) suggests that self-empowerment and mutual empowerment that result from the extensive use of organizational learning leads to gaining profit. An analysis of the responses collected from a sample comprised of 607 limited, joint-venture, and private manufacturing companies in China showed positive correlations between the sole and mutual knowledge creation and performance (Zhao et al. 311). Thus, the collaboration in the sphere of learning strengthens the ties between businesses, which leads to better financial outcomes.

Conclusion

All in all, organizational learning as a paradigm that emphasizes knowledge as a primary factor in business relationships seems to apply well in the supply chains set. Extensive evidence proves the fact that cooperation through knowledge use and exchange could lead to mutually profitable partnership. Even in the case when organizational learning is utilized in a self-centred way it does not seem to contribute to severing relationships.

Works Cited

Alegre, Joaquín, and Ricardo Chiva. “Linking Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firm Performance: The Role of Organizational Learning Capability and Innovation Performance.” Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 51, no. 4, 2013, pp. 491-507.

Anderson, David L., Frank F. Britt, and Donavon J. Favre. “The 7 Principles of Supply Chain Management.” Supply Chain Management Review, vol. 11, no. 3, 2007, pp. 41-46.

Billington, Corey, and Winter Nie. “The Customer Value Proposition Should Drive Supply Chain Design: An Example in Mass Retailing.” Perspectives for Managers, vol. 177, 2009, pp. 1-4.

Kreiser, Patrick M. “Entrepreneurial Orientation and Organizational Learning: The Impact of Network Range and Network Closure.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 35, no. 5, 2011, pp. 1025-1050.

Mellat-Parast, Mahour. “Supply Chain Quality Management: An Inter-Organizational Learning Perspective.” International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 30, no. 5, 2013, pp. 511-529.

Prahalad, Coimbatore K., and Venkat Ramaswamy. “Co-creation Experiences: The Next Practice in Value Creation.” Journal of Interactive Marketing, vol. 18, no. 3, 2004, pp. 5-14.

Singh, Prakash J., and Damien Power. “The Nature and Effectiveness of Collaboration between Firms, Their Customers and Suppliers: A Supply Chain Perspective.” Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 14, no. 3, 2009, pp. 189-200.

Smith, Peter A. “The Importance of Organizational Learning for Organizational Sustainability.” The Learning Organization, vol. 19, no. 1, 2012, pp. 4-10.

Yu, Wantao, et al. “The Effects of Supply Chain Integration on Customer Satisfaction and Financial Performance: An Organizational Learning Perspective.” International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 146, no. 1, 2013, pp. 346-358.

Zhao, Yongbin, et al. “Entrepreneurial Orientation, Organizational Learning, and Performance: Evidence from China.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 35, no. 2, 2011, pp. 293-317.

Our Background

The Hudson’s Bay Company is the world’s oldest trading company and the largest Canadian retail corporation. We are a huge multinational retailer with over 480 stores and 66,000 employees across the globe. The Company has a market cap of $ 1.5 billion, placing it on the Forbes Top Multinational Retailers list (Bryce 12). Today, our brand, renowned for its clothing, footwear, and homeware, plans to collaborate with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the local representational organization for the wellbeing of Inuits in Canada, to highlight Indigenous designers and craftsmanship (Wilkinson 107). We will expand this initiative through our new project that aims to promote the sustainable development of the Indigenous peoples.

Our Project

For several generations, we have tried to maintain human interest in natural unique landscapes and lifestyles in the natural environment. Now we are offering collaboration with the Inuit community in Canada through Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK). We plan to collaborate with this Nation since it is known for its art of sewing. In this case, they are guided by practical considerations to skillfully sew clothes. Inuits have passed these skills from mothers to daughters for millennia. In the 60s of the XX century, the traditional craftsmanship of women in sewing was first applied to the creation of decorative products in the village of Baker Lake in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut (Wilkinson 110). Centuries of experience passed into the modern art of embroidery and applique on fabrics. Tailors embody their character and craftsmanship in the modern art of wall hangings, displaying the wildlife of the Arctic, scenes from the life of the Inuit people, and the spiritual perception of the world inherent in ancestors.

Thus, in the framework of our new project in partnership with the Inuit Nation, an ethnic collection of unique clothes will be created. We will scope out the project and potential issues, starting with a draft. First, we plan to create a capsule collection for sale. This project will be oriented to the Canadian market and will become part of the distinctive culture of the Northern peoples. We plan to use our chain of stores to share Inuit craftsmanship and create opportunities for social entrepreneurship in Aboriginal communities in Canada (Wilkinson 112). Our Company has a goal of a long-term partnership with ITK to support the First Nations and for the mutual benefit.

Our partners must be prepared to commit to reasonable timelines and deliverables. Contract arrangements will be mutually beneficial if ITK provides good employees, and the Inuit designers get jobs and training (Nelson 3). We will review the interests of all parties concerning the Benefit Sharing Agreement. In addition to revenue-sharing, our partners will sign service contracts, perhaps with preferred bidding. We will also take into account Freedom of Information laws and First Nation laws about protecting culture and knowledge.

Our Structure

We will organize our collaboration as a Joint Venture on the principle of paid provision of services under the contract. Our principle of free, prior, and informed consent will ensure a partnership between the Company and the local community. Transparency will be a priority maintained for the duration of our collaboration. The Joint Venture will have its independent legal and accounting services (Nelson 5). The partners will participate in meetings and the whole process of decision-making. Therefore, the time allocated for discussions with the partners, the conformity of the way information is presented to their cultural traditions, and the participation of the community in this process, is important for the Company. The competent organization of the process will contribute to ensuring the right of everyone to self-determination since it allows our partners to participate in making decisions that affect their interests.

Our Process

Our collaboration will become an integral part of our business growth. Choosing a strategic partnership with Indigenous people is critical to creating a competitive advantage. It starts with two basic prerequisites: both parties will receive meaningful market benefits and profits from working together. Our partners have key skills that we will leverage that can both drive profitability and build scalable partnerships.

The organization of our partnership will go through a number of mandatory steps:

• the development of communication strategy with our future partners;
• the clarification of joint tasks of future partners;
• the agreement on mutual goals;
• the development of action plan;
• the assessment of needed resources;
• economic analysis of a potential contractual Joint Venture: the calculation of costs and possible profits, calculation of profitability, payback period of financial investments;
• the identification of risk factors for the collaboration;
• signing a contract with our partners;
• the development of constituent documents of the Joint Venture being created;
• the registration of a Joint Venture in accordance with the law.

Our Opportunities

For our new collection of ethnic clothes, we will develop a design of unique costumes in collaboration with Inuit craftswomen and tailors. Our new project will be focused on mutual interest and mutual desire of partners for effective and long-term cooperation. Our main opportunity will be an increase in the competitiveness of our products. Attracting additional human resources, the ability to use the resources of our partners at relatively low prices will be beneficial for the Company. During this collaboration, we will share knowledge, experience, connections, customer base, image, etc. The Company will have the opportunity to deeply study the new market and gain the experience necessary to expand its activities in it in the long term.

Moreover, this exclusive collection will be designed to create social entrepreneurship opportunities for the Inuit people. Our partners will use our global platform to showcase their exceptional craftsmanship and unique designs. In many ways, this new collaboration will celebrate the craft traditions of the Inuits and the rich cultural heritage of their community. We will join forces to create a long-term profitable business. The establishment of a Joint Venture will be based on a Benefit Sharing Agreement that will define the rights and obligations of partners in relation to each other. An important sign of our cooperation will be the joint ownership for the final product.

Our Strategy

Indigenous Business Strategy will be part of the Company’s sustainable development strategy. Our project aims to provide long-term strategy and operations support for Indigenous businesses, enabling them to significantly expand their operations over 5 years. First, we will create and facilitate tailored capacity-building programs for Indigenous people. Second, we will link the Indigenous business to networks of advisors, contacts, governance support, and functional experts. Third, we will provide mentorship to the Inuits and help to commercialize Indigenous knowledge, to create a larger economy of Indigenous services (Reed et al. 1284). It will help to incorporate collaboration into the design and implementation of projects and programs, ensuring that the rights of indigenous peoples are properly respected.

Our Verification

The Company’s obligations are included in the Corporate Sustainable Development Policy. We make a significant contribution to the sustainable development of Canada, including programs to support environmental, social, and cultural projects (Reed et al. 1284). We pay special attention to the development of strategic partnerships. Our goal is to develop sustainable and mutually beneficial cooperation with the Indigenous people within the framework of the Joint Venture Agreement. According to the Company’s Human Rights Policy, priority is given to issues related to vulnerable groups, which include, in particular, the Inuit people.

We are committed to respecting the rights of Indigenous people and their participation in economic development. We will pay particular attention to preventing any potential negative impact on culture, peculiarities of the way of life, and customs. To ensure we are respectful, collaborative, and inclusive, we will keep minutes of all meetings, record the results of discussions, and make them available to all parties (Reed et al. 1284). The institutions and individuals chosen by the Inuit people for decision-making may differ from the institutions and individuals involved in the preliminary negotiations, so documenting each meeting will help maintain consistency in all the discussions throughout the project, even if the composition of the participants changes.

Our Risks

The creation of a Joint Venture with the Indigenous community not only provides various benefits but also increases the risks of losing part of the likely income due to limited freedom of action. The most important risks for the Company may include the risks associated with the new business environment, which can be ranked as financial, reputational, and operational. These risks lead to issues with access to capital (high risk), damage to the brand, license to operate (medium risk), and the threat of litigation and increased regulation (law risk).

Ignoring the rights of Indigenous people and failing to get free, prior, and informed consent can be costly to the Company due to delays and disruptions in operations, as well as reputational and operational damage that can drive away customers. In general, the strategic implications of Joint Venture activities go beyond the reached cooperative agreements (La Salle et al. 21). As a rule, the benefits of this business organization exceed the direct and indirect costs of its functioning, in particular, the costs associated with the strengthening of the competitive position of one of the partners at the expense of the other.

Our Relationship

The company is committed to ensuring constructive, effective, and informed stakeholder participation in the design and implementation of the project. Stakeholders are the communities affected by the project, national, and local authorities, and, as appropriate, other stakeholders. We will consult with all community representatives, groups, and civil society representatives whose interests may be affected. Stakeholder engagement is an ongoing process that, to varying degrees, involves disclosing information and creating a mechanism through which people can comment on project proposals and results (La Salle et al. 42). We will ensure that the Inuit people concerned are properly informed about the project that the Company would like to implement. This will be done openly and publicly so that they have the freedom to make a decision. We will organize effective communication with them at all stages of the process to ensure that there is a full awareness of the Agreement.

Conclusion

The Hudson’s Bay Company has interacted with the First Nations since its inception. For many years, we have been working with the Indigenous people in Canada and taking their views into account in our programs. Now is the time to take the Indigenous Collaboration one step further with a more systematic approach. Through this collaboration, we must develop a common approach to the inclusion of the Inuit collaborators. In this case, the Company will apply a structured and systematic approach to managing corporate social responsibility and sustainable development issues. This process will increase the chances of getting a successful outcome. In its turn, the Company will meet the requirements of the new opportunity without compromising the existing business.

Works Cited

Bryce, George. The Remarkable History of the Hudson’s Bay Company. BoD–Books on Demand, 2020.

La Salle, Marina, et al. ‘What Could Be More Reasonable?’ Collaboration in Colonial Contexts. Oxford University Press, 2018.

Nelson, Rodney. “Beyond Dependency: Economic Development, Capacity Building, and Generational Sustainability for Indigenous People in Canada.” SAGE Open, vol. 9, no. 3, 2019, pp. 1-8.

Reed, Graeme, Nicolas D. Brunet, and David C. Natcher. “Can Indigenous Community-Based Monitoring Act as a Tool for Sustainable Self-Determination?.” The Extractive Industries and Society, vol. 7, no. 4, 2020, pp. 1283-1291.

Wilkinson, Lori. “A Demographic Overview of Ethnic Diversity in Canada.” Immigration, Racial and Ethnic Studies in 150 Years of Canada. Brill Sense, 2018, 103-128.

The articles highlighting interprofessional collaboration in conjunction with the chosen topic, which is catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), include those by Hendricks et al. (2018) and Johnson, Gilman, Lintner, and Buckner (2016). Here, the two studies will be analyzed to determine their strengths, weaknesses, and the significance of their findings. The critique of such articles can yield helpful information for a practicum project that will be dedicated to preventing CAUTIs.

The article by Hendricks et al. (2018) reports the results of action research that tested an interprofessional collaborative practice (academic partnership). The study was longitudinal (three years) and employed multiple objectives (healthcare outcomes) and subjective (surveys) methods of evaluation. From the perspective of the report, the methodology and analysis results were very detailed. All these factors can be considered the strengths of the study.

The sample was rather large (four medical units; 130 professionals), but it remains the project’s limitation because only one hospital system was involved. Also, only post-intervention changes were recorded without any pre-intervention data. Still, the findings showed that certain outcomes, including CAUTI rates (p=0.0128), were improved by the end of the project (based on regression analysis). Thus, the article tested academic partnership, which consisted of feedback, coaching, and support, and the results showed that it could be associated with better care outcomes, including those related to patient safety.

The article by Johnson et al. (2016) reports the results of an interprofessional, collaborative quality improvement effort that involved the development and testing of a CAUTI protocol by an action team. The project used a pre-and post-test research design that presupposed collecting data for eight months before and after the intervention. Descriptive statistics methods were used; specifically, the information about CAUTI incidence determined that CAUTI rates were reduced by 36% after the intervention. No inferential tests were used, which is a disadvantage that prevents the article from stating that the project’s impact was statistically significant.

Still, the effort had strengths, including its focus on evidence-based practice and continuous improvement. The article’s strengths are its thorough description of the methodology and the presentation of the intervention materials. The primary weakness is that the results of one project which was carried out within a particular setting are not generalizable. Still, the article demonstrates that interprofessional collaboration can take the form of action teams and might be associated with patient safety improvements.

Thus, the articles demonstrate the advantages of particular methods of interprofessional collaboration, including academic partnership and action teams. One of the studies shows a statistically significant decrease in CAUTI incidence, and the other one suggests a similar outcome-based on descriptive statistics. For the CAUTI-dedicated practicum project, this evidence is important because interprofessional collaboration may affect its results. Consequently, it is feasible to employ the collaboration methods, including the approaches to their development, that is described by Hendricks et al. (2018) and Johnson et al. (2016). Thus, the analysis of the two studies contributes some helpful information to the planned project.

References

Hendricks, S., LaMothe, V. J., Halstead, J. A., Taylor, J., Ofner, S., Chase, L.,… Priest, C. (2018). Fostering interprofessional collaborative practice in acute care through an academic-practice partnership. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 32(5), 613-620.

Johnson, P., Gilman, A., Lintner, A., & Buckner, E. (2016). Nurse-driven catheter-associated urinary tract infection reduction process and protocol. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 39(4), 352-362.

Collaboration is an integral element of working in an organization, and this activity can be beneficial for employees. For example, I participated in such cooperation a few months ago when an older employee and I were asked to assess the performance of an 8-member group. This man was a Baby Boomer, which denoted that he had more education and experience compared to me. That collaboration was valuable because it taught me to interact with representatives of older generations. In particular, I learned a specific example that better emotional intelligence (EQ) led to more effective performance. According to Bradberry and Greaves (2009), Baby Boomers impress with higher self-management, which allows them to stay objective and under control. The rationale behind this statement is that EQ scores tend to increase from year to year (Bradberyy & Greaves, 2009). That is why I like to collaborate with older individuals because I can learn useful information and skills from them.

The cooperation under discussion was positive for me because it affected my decision-making process. The older colleague helped me understand that emotions could significantly affect our decisions. Stein (2018) supports this idea and mentions that positive or negative feelings can determine what people think or do. That is why I understand that it is necessary to develop self-management skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace. In addition to that, the presented example changed my thoughts regarding older employees. I previously considered them ignorant and arrogant in relation to younger individuals. However, our collaboration revealed that Baby Boomers could be experienced, skillful, competent, and friendly. That is why I am sure that it is necessary to promote intergeneration cooperation in the workplace.

References

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Stein, S. (2018). The EQ leader: Instilling passion, creating shared goals, and building meaningful organizations through emotional intelligence. Wiley and Sons.

Introduction

In modern competitive business environments, companies are coming up with policies that assist them to remain competitive. Technological development and advancement have enabled communication among organizations where they use the modernized method of communication to share business information for the benefit of the parties involved. As management gurus take their time and effort to develop effective business management approaches, they have devised e-collaboration among organizations.

E-collaboration is a business management approach where cooperation, collaboration, alliancing, and doing business together is highly emphasized. With the approach, companies either in the same industry, complementary industry, or in different sectors of the economy embark on coming up with policies that build friendship among them instead of hostility (Sheila 2004). This paper discusses the emergence and the effect that e-collaboration has on different businesses.

E-collaboration

Collaboration involves taking measures and practices that facilitate the development of friendship and cooperation among companies or industries. It can be very effective and reasonable in many situations. The style of business management focuses on improving the relationship that exists among companies as well as the perception and attitude they have amongst each other. For example in Nokia and Apple Inc are two competitors in the electronics industry, if the two companies were to embrace e-communication, they would join efforts to develop new methods, products, and operating procedures that can facilitate their business.

The development and origin of e-cooperation can be traced with multinationals that were sharing information with others regarding the state of business in different parts; with the sharing, there was the birth of accountability and either of the party felt is responsible for offering quality researched information for the other.

For example, we can have a company in the United Kingdom that is planning to diversify its product line in African countries like South Africa, the company has the option of undertaking research in the country to determine its potential, business opportunities, business threats, and risks or it can opt to seek an e-collaboration with a company in the country (Sheila 2004). In the event the company decides to undertake its own research, there are high chances that it will fail to grasp the pillars that hold the business environment in the country and still end up using a lot of funds.

Collaboration means that one business gets the chance to share some information with the other with the aim of assisting it made an effective decision when confronted by a situation similar to the advising company. When using e-collaboration, there is much emphasis on information sharing that may involve using the Internet to share and give one’s opinions on a certain situation prevailing in the market. It involves using management tools like virtue teams that are made of professionals in different areas and discuss challenges over the internet for the benefit of all the companies to the team.

The main trigger of e-collaboration is the need to share insight information with others in the efforts of attaining or seeking the most effective method of producing. The approach has both cost management attributes in mind as well as seeking to improve the profits that a company derives from different operations. When information is shared, there is a high possibility that effective and informed decisions will be made as people have different views, experiences and understand issues differently.

With e-collaboration, there has been the growth in marketing communication; the system denotes planned activity of disseminating certain information to a target audience in order to create a favorable and receptive scenario for certain a product, service, or idea; the sharing is extended further to involve sharing of market information among companies. With the advent of competitive corporate culture, the relevance and urgency of marketing communication have become even more conspicuous (Sheila 2004).

Management gurus state that a well-designed and thoroughly crafted marketing communication strategy can provide a definite competitive advantage to an organization; if we look at the prevailing corporate scenario, we can conclude very amicably that there are numerous instances where a certain product failed because it was introduced in the market through an ineffective marketing strategy.

The notion that the management guru brings forth is that when information on certain areas is shared among corporations, there is a high tendency that they will come up with a uniform system of operating that will benefit the parties involved. The Russian automobile products are classic examples in this regard. They fail in the market just because of their weak marketing communication strategies. It is essential to understand the dynamics of a market in which the proposed marketing strategy is going to be launched.

Marketing communication does not only contribute towards the maximization of the organization’s profit, but it also creates awareness among the masses regarding the choice of available products. So an effective market communication strategy can benefit the manufacturers as well as the consumers. Every marketing strategy should involve meticulous comprehension and research regarding the internal and external environment.

Some other factors like social, technological, and economic conditions also fall in the domain of external environment study. Any successful marketing strategy should incorporate these aspects to achieve the optimum success. For an effective marketing campaign, correlation between the organisation’s mission statement and its marketing communication strategy is also very significant. It is very interesting to see how a unidirectional approach of all the departments of an organisation yields the maximum advantage to a certain organisation.

The first and foremost essential for an organisation is to select the most suitable and viable source of advertising to achieve the maximum level of reach ability and acceptance. The budgetary restrictions can also be a hindrance in the choice of the medium to communicate. Scholars state very conspicuously that it is an uphill task for the organisations to select an appropriate channel of communication in this era of multifarious availabilities.

In the present scenario, it has become almost impossible to rely on a single source of communication. Every organisation tends to follow a suitable combination of communication options. The various communication tools and programmes should be blended with an expertise for the promotion and enhancement of a certain product or the service. They emphasize the significance of marketing communication in the success or failure of a brand (Keri and Saunders 2009). The proper designing and implementation of the marketing programme is a vital and potent force behind the image of a company or brand. The necessity of integrated market communication has been stressed in this document at an elaborate level.

Scholars try to explore some new and novel dimensions of the marketing communication. They state that the long term relationship of customers with the organisation is another aspect of company’s strengthened reputation. Although this concept has been recognised by the customer relationship practitioners long ago yet in this study it has been proposed that the combination of integrated marketing communication and CRM based activities can really create a wonderful fusion to succeed in the market. This study has not only discussed the prevalent trends of marketing communication but also added some new dimensions to the concept. Apart from alluring new customers, the company’s central data base should be used to communicate with the existing customers.

Additionally, the instruments and mechanisms which have been developed in this study can go a long way for the organisations and managers to measure their success and fruit ability of their marketing communication strategies more accurately. This study has contributed immensely towards the subject of integrated marketing communication because there is still a state of confusion as far as the definition and impact of the IMC is concerned (Keri and Saunders 2009).

Scholars refer towards the image perception of the companies and their country of origin phenomenon. In their study, it has been proposed that the companies can capitalize upon the corporate reputation of their respective countries while framing and launching their marketing communication strategies. In the recent marketing communication trends, some multinational organisations tend to conceal their country of origin because it can hinder their penetration into a certain market.

It has been empirically proved in this study that the consumers are usually influenced by the corporate reputation of the country rather than by some political leanings and preferences. This study includes the examples of Japan, Korea and America to prove the effect. The most vital aspect of this study is to maintain the corporate reputation for global marketing communication strategies (Keri and Saunders 2009).

When we talk about the market communication tools, then it becomes utmost urgent to select the most persuasive, penetrative and socially acceptable medium to communicate with the market. Scholars delineate the effectiveness of the television when it comes to advertising or the marketing communication tools. No marketing campaign can squeeze out the best potential of a market if it does not select the effective and influential media tool. Although the advent of the electronic era has completely revolutionised the concept of advertising yet television is still a very effective tool for any marketing communication strategy.

This article tends to refute the very common notion that the emergence of so many digital channels has minimised the supremacy of television advertising. Although, the effectiveness of a particular advertising tool varies from market to market yet the various audits presented in this paper clearly depicts that television is still a very powerful medium of advertising. Although television is a very powerful medium to communicate, yet the nature and demand of the product determines the choice of communication medium. Moreover, a single medium is also not recommendable in this current era of diverse cultures and regions. It is highly recommended for a company to devise different plans of marketing for different regions and cultures.

Scholars try to establish that since selective attention is crucial as far as the effective advertising is concerned. This article contributes tremendously towards the establishment of the theory of effective and successful semantic onset. The semantic onset has been defined as a concrete emotional response towards a provocation. This article expresses the efficacy of semantic onset against the immediate visual onset.

It was commonly believed before this theory that advertisement with physical properties such as colours and contrasts can only enthral the target people more rapidly and suddenly. But this article demonstrates the convincing force of the semantic onsets that can really revolutionise the concept of modern advertising. It has been proved very assertively that the properly used words can play a very effective role in the process of communication as compared to the conventional or earlier substitutes.

The significance of effective message content, media mixture and previous behaviour, There is no single message content recommended for every advertising campaign and market. The content of the message depends upon the campaign goal and market scenario. The article suggests that the previous behaviour has a lot of influence upon the customer buying behaviour. Moreover, the study of previous behaviour is also recommended when the effects of an advertising campaign are to be studied.

The question arises why companies are focusing too much on advertising and communicating the product information to the customers rather than a strong focus on quality of product and reliability itself. If the focus on the product is being taken as a primary objective for the company then the impact of marketing communication can be measured more precisely.

With globalization of business, there is need for developing international ethical standards and codes to be applicable to all companies in the world. With advances in information communication technology, it will be easy to internationalize and communicate these standards and codes. There is a precedent to go by. The International Accounting Standards Board has been able to develop international financial preparation and reporting standards that are being used all over the world today in preparing financial statements by companies worldwide (Cypher and Dietz 2088).

They were previously not applicable in American companies, but since the recent corporate sea is, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is requiring that they be made applicable to American companies too. With globalization, information can be shared and dispersed easily among nations. Innovators get a platform for borrowing ideas to assist them in their inventions. This can be from previous records where they are able to analysis them and extra the useful ones (Cypher and Dietz 2088).

Conclusion

Globalization has opened countries to trade together. This has enabled people to know their rights. People are aware of the quality that they should be getting for a certain product. This has been enabled by globalization. The rights of human beings have been protected by globalization and thus businesses are compelled to act ethically in this effect. There are some set rules that are followed by trading countries; this is rules that protect and set the way of doing business. There are some set rules that affect the way a certain business was conducted and thus unethical issues that had been practiced by some companies come out.

With e-collaboration, there has been the growth in marketing communication; the system denotes planned activity of disseminating certain information to a target audience in order to create a favorable and receptive scenario for certain a product, service or idea; the sharing is extended further to involve sharing of market information among companies. With the advent of competitive corporate culture, the relevance and urgency of marketing communication has become even more conspicuous.

Works Cited

Cypher, James, and Dietz, James. The process of economic development. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2008. Print.

Keri Pearlson and Carol S. Saunders, Strategic management of information systems (4th ed.). Wiley Publisher, 2009. Print.

Sheila, Lucy. Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. Print.

The works of Peter Jackson always amaze people by their richness, fascination, and beauty. His famous trilogy The Lord of the Rings made him recognizable all over the world by people of different age and race. The adventures of a young hobbit, the creation of the Fellowship of the Ring, and the land of Mordor – all this is a small part of the story, created by J. R. R. Tolkien and produced by Jackson. On my opinion, the production of the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was enhanced considerably by means collaboration between different departments, detailed planning, and moving storyboards; Peter Jackson’s faithful and painstaking job may serve as a good outcome of this collaboration, and fans’ obsession with Tolkien and the movie becomes one of the most powerful evidence of this work’s success.

The movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is based on the Tolkien’s first volume of The Lord of the Rings. The peculiar feature of the book is Tolkien’s unique style of writing, desire to underline the darkest times and the problems that living beings may face with. However, Jackson’s approach to the production of the movie was a bit different to the Tolkien’s ideas. He wanted to introduce something lively, kind, and friendly. In spite of the fact that this very gesture was not inherent to Tolkien, his fans evaluated Jackson’s attempts and fell in love with this movie.

There were three significant things, which influenced the production of the movie. One of them was a detailed plan created by Jackson to introduce each piece of work in accordance with certain order and sense. Jackson’s purpose was to re-invent this magnificent fantasy; his actions have been planned for a certain period of time to transport people to one more reality, to the world of hobbits, magic, and elves. The book itself was published about 60 years ago, and Jackson decided to represent or even to reborn this story on the screen.

Considerable help of Christian Rivers promoted storyboarding of the trilogy. Jackson offered to accept this Middle-earth from a historical perspective as if it existed actually one day, influenced evolution, and promoted the war between good and evil. The use of storyboarding was another important means that improved the movie’s production and helped to discover potential problems in advance in order not to spoil the whole work.

By means of storyboards, Jackson got an opportunity to evaluate the layouts of events and the ways of how these layouts could be observed through cameras. The development of this trilogy took much time, and storyboarding became a winning idea to save this time and prevent certain challenges.

The idea to join different departments and to create a worthwhile piece of work made the final improvement of the work. Peter Jackson made a decision to represent a fantasy on the screen, and the work on different levels and of different directions became crucial for successful results.

The work of design department, special effects’ department, costume designer department, and, of course, make-up department needed to be common and considered. The mistake of one department could influence the rest of the work. Jackson found enough powers and skills to organize this work and this collaboration in a proper way.

The collaboration of departments, proper storyboarding, and detailed plan of the work were the three signs of success of Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This professional director comprehended that the failure of one point could lead to the failure of the rest of the work. This is why a proper evaluation of each step and attention to Tolkien’s intentions made this movie one of the most remarkable in the film industry.

Summary

The year 1968 saw the founding of the TCS in India. The founders of the company had an aim of rendering solutions to businesses, outsourcing, and IT-services. Additionally, the firm offers customers all over the world with different IT services. This company offers different services through a variety of domains. The company as well as the geographic domain commonly uses vertical domain. There are 47countries that enjoy the presence of TCS in their markets. In terms of revenues, TCS remains to be one of the largest IT service firms in India. The KM concept came to be in 1995. During that time, KM had covered most of the functions in TCS. TCS started formal KM efforts in the late 1990s. Later the Process Asset Libraries that contained relevant information were developed. The company later combined portal library, Kbases and Ultimatix. TCS also developed training programs that targeted both experienced and new employees. The company also enhanced the transfer of knowledge by encouraging employees to attain widespread experience through the process of rotating them in different divisions as well as in its group firms. A Microsoft server developed the Knowmax. TCS initiated propel sessions in order to maintain the work-life balance of its employees. Overall, TCS used KM tools as a key strategic resource for the company.

Using the KM value chain model, TCS knowledge management efforts comprise of different activities. Below is the analysis of the activities.

Knowledge Acquisition

The company acquires most of its knowledge through the process of ensuring that its employees’ are rotated in most of its divisions as well as across its group firms so that they gain widespread body of experience. This helps employees in attaining a variety of knowledge applicable in the business. TCS also encouraged its people to participate in other bodies such as the IEEE. In addition, certifications were a requirement for the employees (Laudon & Laudon, 2012).

Knowledge Storage

TCS developed a number of repository tools that helped in the storage of company knowledge. They comprised of KnowMax, process asset libraries, Kbases and Ultimatix (Laudon & Laudon, 2012).

Knowledge Dissemination

This refers to the extent to which knowledge moved among the people in the business. TCS disseminated knowledge using several techniques. The techniques include;

• The use of portals known as the ultimatix which managed knowledge electronically,
• The grouping of individuals who had similar interests through the propel session,
• Use of emails in sharing human as well as technical skills within the business and
• Making sure that during projects knowledge transition was effectively used (Laudon & Laudon, 2012).

Knowledge Application

The use of the intranet of the company made it possible for the employees to access the available knowledge database from different servers. The company website contained several established capabilities in which different people explored. Individuals can as well relate such developments to the accumulated knowledge about the markets, technologies, customers and systems development (Laudon & Laudon, 2012).

Knowledge exists in the form of tacit as well as explicit. Various activities and tools, manage these knowledge’s in TCS. The company used a number of tools to manage tacit knowledge. The company commonly used propels session tools as well as the communities of practice. Sessions for transitioning knowledge were also in use. The redesigning of centers for knowledge management also helped in managing tacit knowledge. Tools for managing explicit knowledge included KnowMax, Process Asset Libraries, Kbases and Ultimatix (Laudon & Laudon, 2012).

TCS initially introduced Knowledge management as a concept in the year 1995. In 1998, knowledge management formed a team referred to as the “Corporate Groupware”. In the year 1999, the TCS team launched the knowledge management pilot. As of this time, various TCS functions had been covered by the KM. Some of the covered divisions included human resource management and finance (Raman, 2003). Employees were able to access knowledge repository using intranet from both branch and corporate servers. Different information was contained in the Kbases. The information related to processes and other projects. After the formation of Kbases, the creation of Process Asset Libraries followed (Raman, 2003).

These repositories contained information concerning processes, technology and case studies. TCS then merged the Kbases and portal library later with Ultimatix. Sub-portals helped the company in storing training materials for improving productivity (Raman, 2003). The use of Microsoft portal server aided in developing Knowmax. This enabled TCS consultants to gain access to the experience as well as best practices of about 40 years. The experiences followed an arrangement in terms of customer requirements, the used technology and the type of engagement (Raman, 2003). Knowmax supported numerous assets of KM. Knowledge assets accessibility through the Ultimatix was of much help to the firm associates. The associates played the role of contributing relevant information to the knowledge bank (Raman, 2003). The knowledge officers regulated content quality. Various business activities in the firm advanced due to use of these systems. For instance, the KM systems have increased the success rate in project execution and bidding. KM systems allow consultants to gather information related to the client, thereby rendering better service to them (Raman, 2003).

TCS used several collaboration tools. The Mysite and video conferencing tools were very common in the company business. In addition, the wiki as well as the IdeaStorm was also in use. Other tools comprised of the blogs and the IP telephony.

Benefits

They led to the improvement of local and overseas collaborations because the use of instant messaging dealt with cultural and pronunciation challenges that many people encountered through use of phone. Costs of travelling and telecommunication decreased immensely after adoption of the tools (Holsapple, 2003). The corporate communications enabled all offices of the company to receive news broadcasts internally. Additionally, other tools led to the improvement in communication, knowledge sharing and collaboration among the employees (Holsapple, 2003).

The wikis promoted communication among different people in the business. The blogs improved employees’ productivity. The wikis also offered other support services to the company. The wikis facilitated the presentations developments as well as supporting other essential sessions. Blogs assisted in gathering input to use in solving problems encountered in projects (Holsapple, 2003). The Mysite helped employees in improving communication amongst one another. IdeaStorm assisted corporate groups in coming up with creative topics. The TIP was used in product innovation, helped in solving problems and assisted the management in gathering ideas for product and service innovation. JustAsk System enabled workers to ask questions as well as enabling them to get answers from colleagues (Holsapple, 2003).

TCS accomplishes most of its activities more efficiently and timely. Some of the effective activities include implementation issues of systems as well as their development. Highly innovative solutions provided by the TCS in order to resolve any queries from the customer originate from ideas generated from the KM repositories. Such ideas come from other industries and assist in knowing customer requirements (Holsapple, 2003). It is through the development of KM tools that TCS has improved its value chain. This has led to the improvements in project bidding. TCS now serves clients more efficiently through the KM repositories that improve the performance in project’s practices. It is through this that there is an improved execution in TCS. Accumulated knowledge assists in the coming up with capabilities for understanding methods of strategically servicing people. The use of KM tools has helped TCS in moving higher up, thereby bidding for more strategic projects (Holsapple, 2003).

References

Holsapple, C. W. (2003). Handbook on knowledge management 2, Berlin: Springer.

Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2012). Management information systems: Managing the digital firm, Boston; Munich [u.a.: Pearson.

Raman, A. T. (2003). Knowledge management: A resource book. New Delhi: Excel books.

There a lot of different music styles and directions appeared recently. And the number of musicians is constantly appearing. And it is not a surprise. People try to express their feelings and emotions through their music, and different styles and directions only prove it. It is not a secret that people are different, they have different points of view in different questions and they want to look different from others when they compose some new pieces of music.

Benny Jonas Nilsen was born in 1975 in Sweden. His other names are BJ Nilsen, BJNilsen, and Hazard. He is a Swedish sound artist who spends his life and creates his music in Stockholm, Sweden, the place where he was born (BJ Nilsen: Biography). Nilsen began to work with experimental music at the very beginning of his professional career as musician. “He was influenced by the early tape movements with the pioneers of sonic assault and released his first recordings at the age of 15” (Icon Group International 2008). Now he specializes on the sounds of nature, he is interested on the effect which nature music creates on people.

Chris Watson was the pioneer of electronic outfit. He specializes in established wildlife records. He has his three albums for Touch. Chris Watson worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He used his experience in recording nature for different programs on wildlife topics for the BBC. Several years he did not take part into music scene. But in 1996 he returned with his first solo album for Touch “Stepping into the Dark”. This album was created with the help of recordings which he had made all around the world during the years of his traveling. (Themilkfactory 1999)

Their music album “Storm” had a real success. The music critiques began to quarrel whether it is music, what its aim is, what people listen and many others. Some critiques said that “mixing, editing and collaging his material into soundscapes that are more akin to music than anything else” (Marsh 2007).

“Storm” combines in itself three extended tracks. The Watson’s track “No Man’s Land” opens the album. Nilsen’s “Austrveg” closes it. These two solo tracks of Watson and Nilsen give the sound for more than fifteen minutes each. And the third, the middle track, give sound for more than nineteen minutes. Every track is based on a series of different nature recordings from wildlife to sea conditions, wind and storms.

Watson and Nilsen created their music differently; they recorded and collected it for some years and only then decided to compose a common project, the album, which can combine the nature sounds.

The materials, which were presented in the album, were collected in different parts of the world. Watson’s recordings were gathered on the North East coast of England and Scotland, during October and November, between 2000 and 2005. His material presents the active and dynamic series of soundscapes, “with vast colonies of sea birds drowned in an increasing cacophony as they get more agitated, rough seas and animal noises” (Themilkfactory 1999). The second part of the track was recorded in a cave.

Nilsen collected his music in Gotland and Öland. These are two neighboring islands, which are situated in the South East of Sweden. He focuses mostly on the weather. We hear the sounds of “waves breaking on the shores, strong winds and rain” (Themilkfactory 1999)

The “Storm” is a very unusual and fantastic creation. The nature music makes us relax and enjoy the wildlife even the closed room.

Works Cited

“BJ Nilsen: Biography”. Web.

Icon Group International,Inc. Banding:Webster’s Quotations,Facts and Phrases.ICON Group International,Inc., 2008

Marsh, Peter. “At the finish I was expecting to open my eyes and find the living room overrun with…” 2007.

Themilkfactory. 1999.

It is a well-known fact that Aubrey Beardsley was drawing illustrations for different books and magazines by English writers. However, one of his most interesting collaborations was with a famous writer, Alexander Pope. Beardsley was requested to draw an illustration to the Pope’s book under the title of The Rape of the Lock.

The expectations that are created when a person reads some of the Pope’s mock-heroic writings are very individual. Nevertheless, the writer was always expected to mock particular stereotypes of various heroes and literature in general. Almost all his creations in this style were identifying a particular hero as an object of derision, either exaggerating one’s heroic behavior and qualities. The aforementioned expectations can be compared to some of the Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations due to the artist’s caricature style.

Both Pope and Beardsley were satirizing some characters that they depicted or described. This style is especially evident in the illustration Belinda confronts the Baron, where each character is mocked due to his or her natural behavior. Such details as characters’ positions, interior, and atmosphere identify the author’s attitude towards the depicted episode. Moreover, the situation in the text that corresponds to this illustration is absurd.

Beardsley was not accidentally chosen to draw illustrations for the Pope’s book. Their mutual works were overwhelmed with similarities between their creators, such as an informal style of writing/painting, which also implied a significant meaning. Nevertheless, there were minor differences between Pope’s and Beardsley’s works. For instance, Pope’s characters did not exist in real life, whereas Beardsley always wanted to satirize people who he knew or was acquainted with. The aforementioned similarities and differences are essential to recognize and to obtain the full image of both Pope’s and Beardsley’s works because their creations supplemented and supported each other’s meaning and significance.