The Sonyericsson Alliance Essay Example for Free

The Sonyericsson Alliance Essay In 2001, the mobile phone terminal market world was shaken by the announcement of the agreement between two  « giants  » of their respective worlds. On one side the telecommunication reference Ericsson, on the other the entertainment and communications company Sony. As the result of the strategic alliance, an agreement focused on their respective mobile phone terminals businesses bringing to life a new joint venture aiming to gain consistent market shares during the next five years of operations. In this analysis I will start from an introduction of the respective companies, a short overview of their market positioning and a brief historical overview of the birth of their joint venture. Further on I will use the tools taken from (Jolly, 2001) to analyze the conditions and strategic management (steering) of this alliance. 1. Introduction 1.1 About the partners Ericsson : Ericsson, a Swedish based company, is the world-leading supplier in telecommunications systems with the largest customer base, including the worlds top 10 operators. The company provides total solutions covering the whole range, from systems and applications to mobile phones and other communications tools. Ericsson has been active worldwide for over 1 century and today operates in more than 140 countries, with 95,000 employees based in 24 countries. Annual investments in technical development average 15 percent of sales. These investments contribute to Ericssons leadership in mobile infrastructure and mobile Internet, with nearly twice the size of the closest competitor. Four out of every 10 mobile calls are handled by Ericsson equipment. Ericsson has a strong focus on RD and has filed 1,300 patent applications filed during 2000. Ericsson has set several standards to the mobile communication market, like CDMA2000, WCDMA or Bluetooth technology (see Appendix 1). Ericsson is thus the world leader in broadband technology.2/2 Ericsson supplies operators and service providers around the world with  end-to-end solutions in mobile and broadband Internet. Ericsson supplies solutions for all existing mobile systems, including future 3G mobile systems, as well as broadband multi-service networks and broadband access. The solutions include network infrastructure, access equipment and terminals, application enablers and global services to support both business and private communications. (For details see : www.ericsson.com) Ericsson achieved Net sales of 31 bUSD in 2001, but achieved a negative Net Income of -2.8 bUSD. (Financial Report 2001, Ericsson) Sony Founded in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kenkyujo (Tokyo Telecommunications Laboratory) by Mr. Ibuka , Sony has become the world-leading manufacturer of audio, video, games, communications and information technology products for personal and professional market. Sony has set several standards to the consumer electronics market and driven technology development (see Table 1).

Feminist Elements in A Rose for Emily

Feminist Elements in A Rose for Emily A Rose for Emily is a short story written by William Faulkner, first published in the Forum paper in 1930 . It tells a story of Miss Emily Grierson, a noble old spinster, who lives in Jefferson fictional city located in the state of Mississippi. One day she falls in love with Homer Barron, a Yankee who in fact does not want to marry her. Therefore, later on Miss Emily kills him and for the next forty years has slept with the corpse of her lover. While interpreting this peculiar work, most of the literary critiques pay attention to the spectacular form of narration and play with the time. However, this story cannot be read merely as an experiment with narrative chronology. William Faulkner wrote about childhood, families, sex, race, obsession, () South and modern world.(Baym) He went very deeply into his characters minds reconstructing at the same time an entire southern society. A Rose for Emily is a peculiar social commentary which perfectly presents the role and demands of women d uring the early 20th century, and pressures of the society and ways in which it can wear people down. Therefore, I think we can find very interesting aspects of this story if we look at it from a feminist point of view. As Du Fang (2007) pointed out, this work comments on patriarchal chauvinism, puritan womanhood as well as the societys perception of the female. The first aspect I would like to focus on is the issue of patriarchal chauvinism which seems to prevail throughout the story. The patriarchal chauvinism means that it is the father who enjoys the absolute power in deciding every family affair. (Du Fang) In A Rose for Emily Faulkner presents the South as an area powerfully traditional, family-centred and with a clearly defined social roles. At the beginning of the 20th century women in the South were discriminated as well as docile to men. It was the man, most often, the father who had a dominant power, who was intolerant of any opposition. Miss Emily is a figure who lives in the shadow of her father. We had long thought of them as a tableau. Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the backflung front door. (Faulkner, 11) In this description, Mr. Grierson is big and tall, whereas Emily is small and frail. As Du Fang (2007) noted, having a horsewhip in the hand may suggest being harsh, strict and treating the daughter as a possession. Therefore, it is not a surprise when Mr. Grierson withdraws Miss Emily from the outside world and deprives her of potential womans happiness. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such.(Faulkner, 11) The father prevents any young gentlemen from marrying his daughter. He does not take into consideration her needs, innermost feelings as well as a sheer desire of being fulfilled as a woman. What is more, even after the fathers death Emily remains in his shadow. She does not agree on disposing Mr. Griersons body as it is the only way of not being left alone. The second aspect which is worth mentioning, is the issue of womanhood under puritan influence. The southerners regarded the religion as one of the most prevailing and influential factors in their lives. The South is known as the Bible Belt, the region of the country where the Bible still has a stronghold. (Hart, 1998) Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that southern men followed the Biblical conviction that a woman is the cause of all evils and problems in the world. Moreover, they implemented this belief so deeply in their lives that womens situation inconceivably deteriorated. Females were deprived of keeping their own individualities, discriminated and inhibited by men. Any desires concerning sex or everyday life were condemned and treated as whims. Miss Emily can be in a way regarded as a victim of the puritan womanhood, although not entirely. She is dominated by her tyrannical father, she never lives her own life. She controls her desires to not violate the norms and sta ndards imposed on her by the society. However, later on, after her fathers death Miss Emily enters into a love affair with Homer Barron, a Yankee. Such behaviour is inadmissible and sternly condemned in southern society. Due to that, her shift in the conduct may be interpreted as a protest against tradition, conventional set of decent human conduct. At this point Miss Emily does what all feminists do she rebels against the limitations, gender rules imposed by patriarchal social forces. It does not matter that later on she is left by Homer and her brave acting comes to nothing. What only counts is her defence against limitations and protection of her rights as a woman. The last angle I want to look at the A Rose for Emily would be the societys perception of female. Every human lives in a certain society and is influenced by its traditions and principles. A society is an institution which has a right to judge and sustain the pressure. Thus, people create a strong sense of ones responsibility for another. In A Rose for Emily, Miss Emily gets into this trap. Jeffersons community feels a great obligation to take care of her and control her actions. Throughout the story, she is perceived by her environment as a weak and dependent woman. When her father dies she is left alone. She does not have a man to care for her, so the town council decides to absolve her tax duties. The people of the town attempt to accommodate her needs by offering their help and sympathy. They also try to be lenient with her eccentricities dating with a Yankee, buying a poison or keeping corpse of her father. This caretaking of Miss Emily depicts the perception of woman during th at period of time. A woman without a man is helpless. She is not able earn her living as well as to remain mentally well and function properly in the society. A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner presents perfectly reconstructed panorama of southern society and its faults. This short, but at the same time, captivating story is a marvellous commentary on female position and her interaction with society. A woman is repressed and oppressed by men be it her father, lover or husband. She is taught and forced to live according to the well-established principles and rules. Disobedience results in condemnation, disrespect as well as in isolation. Therefore, woman remains in the shadow and does not go beyond her scope of work. To add fuel to the fire, a woman is regarded by her society as a weak, dependent and not self-sufficient. All this elements are strongly indicated in A Rose for Emily. Thanks to such intricate and multidimensional work we can interpret it on many levels and every time come up with different conclusions.

Comparing My Father and My Brother Essay -- comparison compare contras

Comparing My Father and My Brother To find extreme viewpoints, I need look no further than my own family. My family has members whose opinions vary widely. These opinions often result in interesting conversations, debates, and occasional disagreements at family gatherings. The differences in opinions appear relatively minor but often lead to hours of spirited, verbal exchanges. Some of these discussions are nothing more than good-natured kidding which helps pass the time during long vacation trips in the family car. Two contrasting members of my family are my brother and my father. I understand both of them fairly well, but their attempts to understand each other are less successful. My father and my older brother sometimes assume diametrically different viewpoints. My brother is artistic and creative while my father is pragmatic and technically minded. One of the more humorous differences between them is their taste in music. My brother is a born musician who loves music with soul. He is currently a Jazz Studies major at the University of North Texas. On the other hand, my father is a scientist, has no musical talent, and listens to "muzak." This situation often presents a problem during long car trips. The family often becomes polarized between those who want to listen to Mantovani and those who want to listen to something more tasteful. Compromises are usually reached by our first listening to Mantovani and then listening to something else. My father owns the car and manages to stay in the front seat most of the time. As a result, we hear a lot of Mantovani. Another often humorous difference between my father and brother is the way they wear their hair. My brother wears his hair down to his sh... ...eople in all walks of life. He studied music at an early age and was encouraged to develop his interest in the field. Although talented in math and science, my brother's true love was music. He was determined, upon graduating from high school, to make a career in music. Although my brother and father disagree on many things, they manage to get along very well. Both of them are open-minded and can appreciate each other's differences. Though they are different in many ways, they share a few interests, such as fishing and working on cars. They also enjoy lively discussions on topics about which they disagree. It is probably a good thing that all people are not born exactly like their parents. If everybody were alike, the world would be a very boring place. One thing is certain: long car rides would be less interesting without arguments about Mantovani.

Gangs Essay -- Gang Essays

Gangs Since the beginning of the decade, teenage homicides increased by one hundred and fifty percent (Strout, Brian 1996). This sharp increase is largely due to the rapid formation of gang activity throughout the United States (Strout, Brian, 1996). In today's larger cities, gang violence is a reality that people have to deal with every day. As gang related crimes increase, officials are trying to find out why people join and remain loyal to gangs. Unfortunately, experts can only hypothesize explanations for gang involvement. However, by studying societys influence on humans, there is evidence to blame several forces. These speculations include the forces of peer pressure, broken families, gang loyalty, protection, and the media. First of all, most teens become attracted to gangs by peer pressure and greed. Estimamates show that forty percent of all gang members joined because their friends influenced them (Solution for a new year 1996). Teen gangsters will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it sound glamorous. Recruiters will often promise popularity in exchange for their loyalty. Although most gang members find popularity, it often means losing close friends to rival gangs. Another crucial factor is the need for money. A 6 year old kid, who is not yet a member, receives impressions that he or she could make $200 to $400 for a small gang job. In August of 1996, an eleven year old Compton child received $400 for killing a rival classmate (Wesbrach, 1996). Although money and popularity are important factors, they are not strong enough to persuade kids to do things that are strongly against their morals. Other stronger force such as broken families and the media, along with peer pressure, works together to persuade young kids to join a gang. Second of all, the formation of gangs in cities, and most recently in suburbs, is facilitated by the lack of community upbringing among parents. In a fully developed community, a network of relations can be found among several parents. The relationship could be a parent, teacher, and minister, depending on the child's circumstances. In South Central Los Angeles, this communication can not be found, so students turn to gangs for companionship. In a classroom with no security, students could be distracted from learning, and thus distraced from the network. Furthermore, in poor families with many child... ... a stronger propensity to becoming a violent gang member or 'violent-acceptant' person. So, as anyone can see, if TV leads a child to believe that violence is the norm this will manifest itself in the actions of a child in a gang situation. This is especially the case when parents do not spend much time with their kids explaining what is right and what is wrong in front of a TV. Quite often newer books and some types of music will enforce this type of thought and ideas. In order to curve violence, the system must change. So, as stated, gangs are a product of the environment the world has created for ourselves. Some of these factors include peer pressure, broken families, gang loyalty, protection, and the media. There seems to be no way to end the problem of gangs without totally restructuring the modern media and value system. Since the chance of this happening is minimal, we must learn to cope with gangs and try to keep their following to a minimum. Unfortunately, there is no organized force to effectively help fight gangs. As a community, people must bond, talk to children, enforce positive peer pressure, and censor the media in order to prevent gang growth in America's cities.

telecommunications :: essays research papers

Networking and Telecommunications Table of Contents Introduction Technology Involved Telephone System Network Setup Cost Sampling of Companies Possible Future Trends Global Implications Conclusion Introduction We have been hired to design a small network for a company that will utilize the newest technology out there and give each person the capability to work from the office as well as on the road. This company has ten people and will be working from home and on the road quite often. The best solution would be to set up a wireless network with additional security and the use if Internet Protocol phones. We will also make a push to hire a full time systems administrator to handle all the security issues and the overall maintenance of the network. First we need to stress the importance of a full time systems administrator to work from the site as well as on call 24 hours a day. We are going to use a wireless network as well as IP phones and from time to time they are going to experience connectivity issues as well as authentication problems logging into the servers remotely. The main point we must stress to the customer is the security issues that affect every network. The network will need constant monitoring and updates due to the nature of the business and the virtual private network that will be utilized for off site connectivity. Technology Involved The proposed hardware list will contain 3 physical servers, a Cisco router, 2 black and white laser printers, a color laser printer, 12 laptops, 12 IP phones, a server rack, cabling, and wireless PCMCIA cards. We want to make sure there are a few laptops and phones configured for users who are experiencing problems. This list will continue to grow as we start to install the network and get everything configured properly and continue on with the testing. We must also ensure we have the proper licensing for all the servers to include Microsoft Server 2003 and Microsoft Exchange. We will run Symantec Antivirus software on each of the laptops as well. Telephone System The telephone system that we are going to put into place is a Mitel system consisting of twelve 5220 IP phones. This system will consist of a voice mail system, and the ability to take your phone home and all your calls will be forwarded to that phone making it easier for our staff to work from home without the customers knowing. The hardware involved in the setup of this system is a PC for voice mail administration, and two switches. telecommunications :: essays research papers Networking and Telecommunications Table of Contents Introduction Technology Involved Telephone System Network Setup Cost Sampling of Companies Possible Future Trends Global Implications Conclusion Introduction We have been hired to design a small network for a company that will utilize the newest technology out there and give each person the capability to work from the office as well as on the road. This company has ten people and will be working from home and on the road quite often. The best solution would be to set up a wireless network with additional security and the use if Internet Protocol phones. We will also make a push to hire a full time systems administrator to handle all the security issues and the overall maintenance of the network. First we need to stress the importance of a full time systems administrator to work from the site as well as on call 24 hours a day. We are going to use a wireless network as well as IP phones and from time to time they are going to experience connectivity issues as well as authentication problems logging into the servers remotely. The main point we must stress to the customer is the security issues that affect every network. The network will need constant monitoring and updates due to the nature of the business and the virtual private network that will be utilized for off site connectivity. Technology Involved The proposed hardware list will contain 3 physical servers, a Cisco router, 2 black and white laser printers, a color laser printer, 12 laptops, 12 IP phones, a server rack, cabling, and wireless PCMCIA cards. We want to make sure there are a few laptops and phones configured for users who are experiencing problems. This list will continue to grow as we start to install the network and get everything configured properly and continue on with the testing. We must also ensure we have the proper licensing for all the servers to include Microsoft Server 2003 and Microsoft Exchange. We will run Symantec Antivirus software on each of the laptops as well. Telephone System The telephone system that we are going to put into place is a Mitel system consisting of twelve 5220 IP phones. This system will consist of a voice mail system, and the ability to take your phone home and all your calls will be forwarded to that phone making it easier for our staff to work from home without the customers knowing. The hardware involved in the setup of this system is a PC for voice mail administration, and two switches.

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Through all these years I always think of the American Revolution as customary rebellion which the parties involved fight for something like a parcel of land or for political divisions, i. e. territorial expansion. They deliberately fight against each other head-to-head just to get what they wanted. Maybe it is the result of watching classical movies that defy true essence of revolution that I came to think this way about the ancient wars. However, reading the book entitled The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution written by Bernard Bailyn, renewed my traditional view of the revolution as a whole.It was astoundingly compact yet the message the author conveyed was crystal clear. Bailyn vividly presented his idea that â€Å"power must be watched and restrained tightly† else, liberty will no longer take hold of the situation and much worse, slavery and other forms of oppression will occur. I learned to view the American Revolution from a different perspective in what he called the â€Å"ideological origins†. In effect, I was able to draw critical analysis based from Bailyn’s work of other cases of rebellion here and abroad.The purpose of the author in writing the book, as I comprehended it, is basically to tell everyone that wars happened because of radical minds that drew political ideology from social and traditional outlooks and screened by past experiences. They are explicitly called as radical libertarians who focused on the effort of freeing the individual from tyranny of the state. Bailyn traced their ideological background and found one important piece of the puzzle that he presented in the first part of the book: the pamphlet story.He told us that those pamphlets â€Å"had peculiar virtues as a medium of communication† among the proponents who drafted of the American Revolution. It was in this method (and many others following it) that radical minds gained power and support from the commoners and so the revolution was given birth. But of course, the main event still laid in the messages that the radicals were sending out. The American Revolution was indeed initiated and maintained by radical libertarians until it reached its final destination.The author showed in the book that the American Revolution was â€Å"a cluster of convictions focused on the effort to free the individual from the oppressive misuse of power† by the state. He did not just a compile these convictions but also the analyzed each of them point-by-point as those were his premises in the logical structure of the book. It was the product of years of constant search of relevant information that pertains to the American Revolution. The book was overwhelming with researched ideas which the author found useful.The book was organized into six parts beginning from the Literature of Revolution down to the Contagion of Liberty. In the Literature of Revolution, he explained the method of communication between the radicals who insti gated to the public the idea of revolution. Part II of the book talked about the Sources and Traditions which he identified the ideological background of the radical libertarians. In Part III, entitled Power and Liberty: A Theory of Politics, Bailyn discussed the issues concerning power and liberty, i.e. how should the state treat the underprivileged, the oppressed, the people who were exploited by tyrants. He showed the premises in Part IV the Logic of Rebellion—the only option that the libertarians can have. Here he talked about conspiracies and how the rebellion happened during the Great American Revolution. In Part V, Bailyn discussed the history on the Transformations resulting from the revolution. The areas he tackled were the issues on Representation and Consent, Constitution and Rights, and the Sovereignty.These transformations were the fruits of the radical libertarians’ efforts. The last but not the least, Bailyn discussed in Part VI entitled The Contagion of Liberty the privileges that the underprivileged were able to uphold after the revolution. The discussion talked about the long-term issues of slavery, religion, respect, that all in all summed into the new concept, the concept of democracy that gave every person the right to exercise his freedom in the country. However, Bailyn did not end the book here.He also included an essay entitled â€Å"Fulfillment: A Commentary on the Constitution† which described the existing constitution as the ‘fulfillment’ of the libertarians’ dreams. Bernard Bailyn is widely and deservedly identified as â€Å"our finest historian of the colonial period†. He was an Emeritus Professor at Adams University and professor of Early American History at Harvard University. He wrote many award-winning books including The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution which garnered him both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes.This book first published in the 1960’s was a brea kthrough for the whole mankind. He wrote the book in such a way that radical ideologies were seen as the main reason for the American Revolution to ensue. The book also proved to be applicable not just in the American societal and political transformations but also to majority of revolutions lead by radical leaders of such revolution. After all, there was no trouble understanding his ideas despite the fact that it was written from literally hundreds of sources compressed into a 416-page book.In conclusion, the Bailyn’s The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution was the possibly the best book ever written that pertains to the subject of ideological origins or backgrounds of radical libertarians who aimed to â€Å"free the individual from oppressive misuse of power† by the state. Also, he did not end his discussion to the accounts of the first half of the century but rather commented on the existing laws that he called â€Å"Fulfillment† of the hopes and d reams of the leaders of the American Revolution. Reference: Bailyn, Bernard (1992). The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

Discipline, Suspension & Termination

Terminating is not anything to lose sleep over nor is it a rocket science if you have done your job. There are many reasons behind termination of an employee for example theft, gross insubordination, and severe economic difficulties. When an organization let’s some one go because of their poor performance, they tend to avoid the situation as long as they can. When finally they do talk to the individual after agonizing endlessly ultimately deliver the bad news. In the end even the organization’s management feels guilty and angry and so is the employee all angry and confused.In my opinion, the organization handled the situation in a very unprofessional manner. As even the vice president did not even bother to comment on the case of Peter Oiler. The right procedure was to sit and discuss with the employee first, as he was an hard working individual who did his job thoroughly, but it was due to his misconduct after work for which he was terminated. And this led to job insec urity among the other employees of the organization, because now they would think that if they can terminate san employee so easily, it might be their turn next.The organization did win in the court of law but they did lose in the court of public and employee opinion. But, then again the organization did stick to its decision of terminating the employee and they followed through it even though they had no support of the public or the employees. The organization should have had a proper disciplinary policy, clearly stating the off duty behaviour that can lead to termination, this would have definitely made their decision easier and also would have helped them in court.The employee should always be given a second chance and if they still don’t improve or don’t change their behavior then the organization has the right to terminate an employee. But all employees of the organization should be provided with a copy of the disciplinary policy which includes the on duty and off duty behaviour and if they act against it the organization definitely has all the right to terminate the employee. Not only should appropriate steps be taken during the course of termination, but before and after as well.Make sure the employee is being terminated for the right reasons. The reasons for terminating an employee must always be legally defensible one. For example if an employee’s job performance is sub-par or they have engaged in improper behavior, a termination decision would be legitimate. As long as the organization has documentation to support their decision, they are in the clear. Secondly, before discharging an employee make sure that the organization has fully documented their history of poor performance or conduct.This will help in defending legal claims easier. An organization should always consider the alternatives to termination. In some cases of course termination is necessary, but if work quality issues, work relationships, or outside personal proble ms appear to be the source of an employee’s poor performance or misconduct considers alternatives such as reassignment or counseling. It is never easy to decide what to do in matters which involve off duty conduct. There is no right or wrong answer for that.What HR can provide is fair policies that should be strictly followed. Although terminating an employee is an unpleasant task, not to mention tricky, following the few guidelines listed above will definitely help to simplify the process and defend the organization from any legal liability. Putting some extra effort and thought into the decision, as well as indoctrinating your managers with proper termination procedures, will go a long way in ensuring that the termination procedure goes efficiently.