Climate change is one of the most contentious public policy issues facing the world today. While there is practically no argument challenging the reality of the ongoing global warming, what is essentially being contested is whether climate change is anthropogenic or simply a natural, cyclical phenomenon upon which human activities do not cast a major impact. This paper will attempt to compare these two opposing perspectives on climate change.

Science of Climate Change

A comparison of the differing perspectives on the obtaining global warming takes off from the basics of the new science of climate change. This field covers several disciplines including chemistry, meteorology, physics, biology, oceanography, biology, and even sociology (Global Climate Change).

The beginning of climate change science can be traced to Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist who concluded in his 1896 study that changes in of carbon dioxide or CO2 could produce effects on the climate. Later, in 1938, Guy Stewart. Callendar, an English engineer, asserted that the increased CO2 levels had given rise to a warming trend (Scheider).

Greenhouse Effect

Because of the transparency of the atmospheric gasses to visible light, sunlight is able to largely penetrate the earth’s atmosphere and reach the surface, where it is absorbed heated up, and thereafter re-emitted in the form of infrared radiation. In this form, this energy is not able to completely escape to space because clouds and certain other naturally-occurring particles and gases absorb infrared radiation. The trapped infrared energy is emitted again in opposing directions-towards the surface and back to space. The re-emission downwards particularly adds heat to the layers below, leading to the further warming of the surface of the earth. Ultimately, the presence of greenhouse gasses accounts for the higher surface temperature, with a difference of 33 °C (60 °F) between the actual surface air temperature and what would have been without the greenhouse gases (Schneider).

The presence of natural greenhouse gases has made the plant more habitable. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, and to a limited extent, also methane, constitute the most important of the naturally occurring greenhouse gases (Schneider). The fact that human activities contribute to the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere forms the crux of the global warming debate.

Anthropogenic Perspective

Humans, being part of the biosphere, have always influenced the earth’s climate system. This climate system is made up not only of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere but also of the cryosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Thousands of years ago, when nomadic humans discovered agriculture, they cleared vast tracts of land, thus casting considerable impact on regional climate-a development that will be sustained for centuries since. Humans would engage in slash-and-burn farming and other agricultural practices, inland water regulation or building development-activities that altered how the Earth’s surface and near-surface winds of the atmosphere back-scatter solar radiation (cited in Hillerbrand and Ghil 2132).

At the same time, human activities have been influenced by climatic variations, either promoting or constraining them. It is only rather very recently, with advances in science, technology and the resulting construction of sophisticated infrastructural systems have humans considerably lessened the impact of climatic variations on their activities (Schneider).

However, according to the anthropogenic paradigm of climate change, it is at the point when humans became less restrained by variations in climate that their activities began to considerably contribute to global warming, leading to the changes we now see around us. These changes include the erratic weather patterns and perhaps the more potentially dramatic effects on animals and plants. This came about beginning around the 1800s, the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, which is the point when human knowledge in science and technology allowed people to alter more the environment to conform more to their plans and establish new lifestyles.

This perspective holds that fossil fuel burning and other human activities have raised the levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, significantly contributing to global warming. According to the IPCC or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body formed by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, the average earth surface temperature has risen by about 0.60 in the 20th century. This temperature level is believed to be warmer than at any point in the past century, with the warmest years occurring within the last ten years (Global Climate Change). The IPCC in its updated 2007 report points to human activities as the likely cause of global warming, being cautious to point out that given the complexity of the workings of the earth’s climate, full certainty may not be reached (Weart and American Institute, Introduction).

While it is a historical fact that early on, people did not seriously consider the impact of human-induced CO2 on the world’s climate, military researches during World War II and the Cold War led to further understanding of the CO2 impact. Scientists began to understand that the absorption of CO2 by the oceans was slow, essentially owing to the exponential growth of industry and population (Feldman and Weart). In the 1950s, scientists discovered the possibility of global warming almost by accident (Weart and American Institute, The Carbon). In 1965, Lorenz, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, suggested during a conference that global warming could lead to disastrous ’surprises’ (Scheider). C.D. Keeling, for his part, found that atmospheric levels of CO2 were rapidly rising.

In contrast to the climate change of the past, the obtaining global warming is being initiated by human activities that add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Furthermore, the rise of temperature following increases gas levels involved a short time lag of only a few decades instead of centuries. Thus the rates of climate change are hugely faster than the shifts in orbit responsible for the ice ages of the past (Feldman and Weart).

The 2005 comparison of computer calculations with protracted ocean basin temperatures showed near matches of rising temperatures and calculated predictions of where greenhouse effects should be. This was seen as proof of temperature imbalance, with the planet absorbing close to an average of one watt per square meter of sunlight more than it was reflecting into space-caused by no less than greenhouse gases (Feldman and Weart).

It is worth noting that the global warming effects of worse droughts, heat waves, severe storms and floods were correctly predicted as early as the 1950s-to start manifesting sometime in the year 2000 (Feldman and Weart). Today, those who subscribe to this perspective hold just minor disagreements in terms of the details of the processes underlying the general themes (Global Climate Change). The projection is that by the close of this century, the average temperature of the earth can range from about 1.4-60C, depending on how successful the restrictions of greenhouse gas emissions will be (Weart and American Institute, Introduction).

Climate Change as Natural Phenomenon

In the United States, the science of climate change has been particularly politicized. The administration of George W. Bush has been criticized for the suppression of scientific reports on global warming, beginning with the deliberate withholding of the “National Assessment” report made during the Bill Clinton administration, which reported that on the whole, global warming can lead to some benefits but most of its impacts would be adverse. A 2003 bill proposing a weak system of carbon emissions trading was defeated following opposition from the administration and the denunciation by certain senators as to how its restrictions would ruin the economy. Later, Republican Senator James Inhofe tried to show that global warming was “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” by holding hearings in the hope of producing credible and scientific evidence or testimonies supporting his stand; however, it is said that even his fellow Republican lawmakers started to doubt the wisdom of his extreme position (Weart and American Institute, Government).

The position of Sen. Inhofe can be said to encapsulate the perspective that global warming is but a natural scheme of things and that the anthropogenic view is merely propaganda against the use of fossil fuels. The relatively fewer climatologists, public figures and adherents of the non-anthropogenic perspective do not actually contest the proposition that the earth is undergoing global warming. They acknowledge the reality of the presently occurring change in the global climate, beginning with the onset of the Industrial Age in the 1800s. The difference is that this perspective also cites the history or pattern of the recurring climate changes the planet has gone through while minimizing the role of human activities in the picture (Lupo).

According to this view, there are a number of major causes of global warming, including ocean circulation, volcanic eruptions, solar variations, and orbital variations. Herein, human-induced emissions of CO2 through fossil fuel burning, along with other greenhouse gases, constitute just one factor (National Academies). It holds that global warming is driven more by natural causes than by human-induced rise in greenhouse gases. This perspective points to the supposedly continuing debates in terms of (1) what role carbon dioxide plays in the carbon cycle; (2) how exactly the planet’s climate works; and (3) questions on the reliability of climate models, among others (National Academies).

This view of human activities not being the cause of global warming is nothing exactly new. After around the 1970s when science was just about only beginning to understand the intricacy of the earth’s climate even as improved computer models have already been developed, scientists argued over how deforestation and agriculture figure in the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels amidst the lack of information on the interaction of living ecosystems with the atmosphere.

Evolving Science

There remain a lot of questions to be answered in the science of climate change. The atmosphere, with its various layers of air having temperature patterns each, presents scientific challenges in terms of the understanding of whether temperature or air circulation changes comprise complex longer-term cycles. It is also not yet fully understood how the interconnection existing between the air, land and sea may multiply the effects of any climate change (Global Climate Change).

Herein, the oceans considerably figure in the regulation of climate, as bodies of water comprise over 70% of the planetary surface, absorbing great amounts of energy from the sun. As in the past, the oceans stand to greatly influence future changes in the global climate, bet they induced by natural cyclical changes or by anthropogenic activities (Global Climate Change).

The cryosphere will also continue to play an important role in climate change because its reduction/melting (or any expansion/polar water freezing) affects sea level, air temperature, storm patterns and ocean currents. The Polar Regions, it should be noted, present enormous significance to climate change science because these frozen masses contain detailed records of the earth’s past climates. Re biosphere, as global warming presents potential devastation on a number of species, given land developments that obstruct what would have been animals’ migration response option, the fossil and other records they leave can also help in the understanding or detection of climate change (Global Climate Change).

The study of climate change is a complex science. As it is, the interpretation of climate change data is difficult but predictions of future changes present even greater challenges (Global Climate Change). Climate models, which are complex computer-based simulations, are herein used but how reliable these are really depends on the number of variables and measurement accuracy.

Conclusion

The IPCC, the main body representing the consensus holding the anthropogenic perspective of climate change, was cautious enough to point out that climate change science may be understood with full certainty. The contrarian view seems to capitalize on this, in the process casting doubt on whether human activities indeed significantly contribute to global warming. In terms of the number of adherents, the anthropogenic perspective is definitely more of mainstream: while the IPCC-portrayed consensus may not be as solid, the fact is that there are fewer scientists who believe the obtaining climate change is merely a cyclical phenomenon. At any rate, both perspectives agree that global warming is happening now. The difference in the views of what mainly causes the warming of the planet will spell out the great divide between the public policies that they could give rise to.

Works Cited

Feldman, Theodore and Spencer Weart. Changing Sun, Changing Climate? Web. 25 Oct. 2009.

http://www.aip.org/history/climate/solar.htm

Global Climate Change. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. http://www.exploratorium.edu/climate/

Lupo, Anthony. Anthropogenic Global Warming: A Skeptical Point of View. Missouri Medicine.

105.2 (2008 March/April). Web. 25 Oct. 2009. http://weather.missouri.edu/

gcc/LupoMOMed.pdf

Schneider, Stephen. Climate Change. February 2005. Stanford University Site. Web. 25 Oct.

2009. http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Climate/ClimateFrameset.html

Hillerbrand, Rafaela and Michael Ghil. Anthropogenic Climate Change: Scientific Uncertainties

and Moral Dilemmas. 21 Feb. 2008. Physica D 237 (2008) 2131-2138. Web. 25 Oct.

2009. http://www.atmos.ucla.edu/tcd/PREPRINTS/RH&MG-Warming_ethics-

Physica_D’08.pdf

National Academy of Sciences. Global Warming Facts & Our Future. Web. 25 Oct. 2009.

http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhibitgcc/causes01.jsp

Weart, Spencer; and American Institute of Physics. Government: The View from Washington,

DC. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. http://www.aip.org/history/climate/Govt.htm

Weart, Spencer; and American Institute of Physics. Introduction: A Hyperlinked History of

Climate Change Science. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. http://www.aip.org/history/ climate/summary.htm

“Time Trends in Autism and in MMR Immunization Coverage in California” an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association written by Loring Dales, MD; Sandra Jo Hammer, RN,PHN; Natalie J. Smith, MD,MPH discuss the correlation of the vaccine MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) and the onset of Autism in children from 1980 to 1994.  This study was conducted in response to the belief that immunizations in general and the MMR immunization specifically is the central cause to the increase of the mental health disorder of Autism.

The study looked at the Kindergarten students in California that were born between 1980 and 1994 and their immunization records.  The immunization that was focused on was the MMR and it was given between 17 and 24 months of age.  The number of immunizations were tracked and compared to the number of children diagnosed with Autism and found that there were 44 cases of autism per 100,000 in 1980 and 208 cases of autism per 100,000 in 1994.

The authors of the study state the largest drawback to their study was not being able to talk to the students or their families to determine other factors that may have had an impact on the cause of the autism.  Concerns also about the heredity factor of the disorder were mentioned in the article.  These were all the elements that they were not privy to or able to investigate.  This writer agrees that the information is simply not known by the authors and could have a huge impact in their ability to make a solid conclusion with the collateral information.

Information is also lacking about the sex of the children being reviewed.  Concerns about the sex of the children should have been addressed.  The percentage of males with a mental health diagnosis of autism is higher than the female population.  One simply must question whether or not the numbers of females included in the statistics caused a faulty result of conclusion.  This is an area of concern as the conclusion of MMR immunizations not causing an increase of mental health diagnosis of autism in children from the years of 1980 to 1994.

Dr. Stephen Barrett, who operates the Quackwatch website that will address medical issues to determine if it is a legitimate medical conclusion and is supported by many other medical professionals in the particular field of medicine being discussed.  Dr. Barrett has looked into the claim that autism is caused by vaccines and all vaccines should be discontinued in children.  Dr. Barrett supports his conclusion that immunizations as a whole and MMR specifically does not cause autism to develop in children.  Dr. Barrett’s article included studies which looked into the children’s medical history far more deeply than the study by Dales et al.  This supported the Dales et al conclusion by bringing evidence that has been missing in the first study.

The Immunization Safety Review Committee published a report of their studies and their conclusion also indicated that there is no correlation between the immunizations specifically the MMR vaccine and the occurrence of autism.  While this could certainly be a non-surprising conclusion of a study conducted by an immunization safety review committee; however, the findings in their study also supported the findings of the other two studies listed in this paper.  Each one brings another component to the original study that adds support and validity to the conclusion that would otherwise be questioned for the lacking elements.

A point that all three articles make that is extremely crucial in the findings of the lack of cases of autism being recorded.  What this mean is simply, there were millions of MMR vaccines given to both male and female children during these years and in 1980 only 44 cases were found in this study.  In 1994 there was only 208 recorded in this study.  If the MMR vaccine was the cause of the increase in autism, the numbers would have been substantially higher.

What this tells the researchers in all the studies is the cause of the onset of autism is not the MMR vaccine.  The reason for the belief of MMR immunizations causing autism is the time frame the immunization is given.  It is given between 17 and 24 months.  Additional studies have been conducted and referenced in Dales et al and Dr. Barrett articles of other causes of the onset of autism.  One fact that was mentioned numerous times is the age in which autism often manifests itself in outward symptoms parents are able to notice as something different or wrong with their child.  The abilities the child had been developing during their first year to year and a half begin to decline.  This time frame is also the time frame of the MMR immunizations.  However, the studies point out that even in children who did not have the MMR immunizations between the ages of 17 months to 24 months began demonstrating the symptoms of autism.

This was crucial in their findings that MMR does not cause autism or autistic symptoms to begin to manifest themselves.  It is unfortunate that the symptoms begin to manifest themselves after the child had shown great promise in their lives, but the MMR immunization is not the cause. Parents with children who have been diagnosed with autism are faced with a lifetime of struggles for themselves and their children.  While the MMR immunization is not the cause, nor the absence of the vaccine the cure for autism, this article demonstrates the need for finding the cause and possible cure or vastly more successful treatment for this disorder.  This writer believes that by ruling out one cause will enable the researchers to move forward to find the cause.  Causing ones child to face the risk of a serious disease simply due to the belief of it causing autism is tantamount to child abuse.

References

Barrett, Dr. Stephen. “Misconceptions about Immunization, Misconception #9:Vaccines Cause Autism” Quackwatch, Your Guide to Quackery, Health Fraud, and Intelligent Decisions. Accessed October 19, 2009. http://www.quackwatch.com/03HealthPromotion/immu/autism.html.

Dales, MD Loring; Hammer,  RN, PHN Sandra Jo; Smith, MD, MPH Natalie. “Time Trends in Autism and in MMR Immunization Coverage in California”. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2001: 285:1183-1185. Accessed on October 19, 2009.  http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/285/9/1183.

Immunization Safety Review Committee.  “Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism

Released”. May 14, 2004. Accessed on October 19, 2009. Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice. http://www.iom.edu/en/Reports/2004/Immunization-Safety-Review-Vaccines-and-Autism.aspx.

Introduction

In the early 1800’s, Jeffersonian Republicans believed that the authority of the Federal government was based on a strict constitution. What was stated in the constitution was supposed to be strictly adhered to. The Federalists on the other hand believed in a loose and broader interpretation of the constitution. They could easily get to make decisions that were not supported by the constitution. This granted the government with more authority than it had within the constitution. Despite these differing views by the Jeffersonian republicans as compared to the Federalists, the characteristics on the interpretation of the constitution became contrary to what they were deemed to be during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison. It is in the era of these two presidents that the Jeffersonian Republicans opted for a loose interpretation of the constitution and the Federalists leaned towards a more strict interpretation of the constitution.

In many ways, President Jefferson and the Jefferson republicans swayed of from the policies of the republicans. At one time President Jefferson was a strict adherent to the constitution as stated in document A where he asserts that the theory of the constitution is the wisest. Later on though, He went against the constitution when he made the Louisiana Purchase. The constitution did not allow the president to purchase any land and by doing that He was behaving like a federalist. It is still evident of the wayward behavior of the republicans when he stated as in document F that the constitution should be changed to go on with the advancing man’s mind. From the three episodes we can evidently watch the changing characters of the Republican government. As stated in the constitution the government was not supposed to pass any trade embargo for a certain period of time but Jefferson withdrew trade from Europe after USA sailors were attacked. This vehemently attacked the European economy. Document F also supports our assertion of failed policies when we find that the government has increased some powers to the congress so that they could regulate tax.

On the other hand we had opposing ideas during the era of President Madison. Being Federalists, they in most times favored a loose constitution though this at times faltered. One of the times that they really got unlike federalists is like in document E where we can see changes being imposed in the constitution. It was anyway in their right to have a loose constitution. At times they however did not follow the federalist policies like in the Louisiana Purchase. At this time they became strict adherents to the constitution to a point of restricting the purchase. Some times during the Madison’s presidency, he strictly adhered to the constitution when he refused to sign a bill on building roads and canals. He strictly stated that the constitution did not state in any clause that the power set aside for regulation of commerce was not the same which meant that the roads and canals should be built. In contrary to the previous belief of republicans behaving otherwise, they totally rejected the war of 1812 between the British and the Americans. They all joined forces in rejecting the war which they later tried to take advantage of. This is clear when they elected Clinton to represent them in the presidential race but they came later to lose to Madison. It is also evident about the strict adherence of the federalists to the constitution.

Conclusion

As it can be gotten from the above excerpts, it is clear that there was an evident behavior among the Jefferson republicans and the times of the Madison’s presidency. The Jefferson’s presidency was supposed to be limited to strict adherence to the constitution but contrary we can see places where the Jefferson and the Jefferson republicans are going to the opposite side of the constitution and opt to support areas which are not at all conversant or in line with the constitution. On the other hand, the Madison’s government is behaving in federalistic ways as much as otherwise was expected. There are times when we can see them strictly adhering to the constitution as we can assert from the signing of the Hartford convention. We therefore support the assertion that for both parties it was extremely hard for someone to determine who true republicans were and who were supposed to be true supporters of federalism.

2.0 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

This section of the case study details the organization of the proposed plan. Sections detailed here are the software life cycle model, organizational structure, organizational boundaries and interface, and project responsibilities.

2.1 Software Life Cycle Model

This section details and justifies the decisions for the organizational model chosen for this project.

2.1.1 Chosen Life Cycle Model

The life cycle method chosen for this project plan is the Agile Life Cycle Model. This model was chosen after much deliberation due the cohesiveness of its capabilities and aims to our project’s goals. A graphical presentation of the Agile Life Cycle Model is noted below:

Figure 1: Agile Method Format in two-week time period intervals

2.1.2 Justification

In discussions we reviewed the dilemmas facing DropBy Bar and Restaurant. These were:

Repetition of Music Played

Types of Music Played

Choice in Music Played (determined by staff)

Loss of compact discs

Music Atmosphere Affects Business Potential

Therefore the new media management system to be created needed to provide ample customer interaction, replace the current, error-ridden compact disc music system, and have a limited degree of ‘trial and error’ on the system developed to gauge customer satisfaction. The constraints implemented by Mr. Barlow were:

Play Music and Videos

Development of Scheduled Playlists

Flexibility According to Clientele Choices

Advertisements Viewed upon End of Video Stream

Administrative Control by Mr. Barlow -music/videos, playlists, schedules

Staff can select Playlists and Individual Songs

Of these constraints, the administrative control held by Mr. Barlow was a non-negotiable requirement. Therefore this requirement was of the highest priority. Items that were reasonably negotiable were requirements for staff and clientele access to playlists and the development of scheduled playlists. Highly negotiable items were the system’s ability to play music and videos, and the viewing of advertisements.

This system of non-negotiable and negotiable requirements meant that a waterfall model would be too rigid for the implementation method required. However, utilization of prototyping was entirely inappropriate due to this model’s lack of control, inability to enforce certain standards, and the experience of our team made the prohibitions of this model unnecessary for our potential work.

The agile life cycle model was chosen due to its ability to:

Diversify Project with New Ideas

Customer Interaction Required through a Running System

Ability to Prioritize Requirements

Ability of Group to Work in Pairs (everyone equally experienced, increases productivity)

Mr. Barlow Retains Control of the Project

Quality Assurance Maintained

2.2 Organizational Structure

This section details how the project’s tasks will be divided. This section details internal management structure, external information, and the organizational chart of the company.

2.2.1 Internal Management Structure

2.2.2 External Information

The role of the project manager is to communicate with the client, Mr. Barlow, on the plans developed, schedule, progress, and on the completion of the project. The project manager is the leader of the project personnel. It is the project manager’s duty to review, control, plan and manage the team.

The role of the quality engineer implements service quality and control to the product system. The quality engneer must develop quality control systems, inspect procedures, evaluates methodology, evaluate cost concepts and techniques and administer information systems. The quality engineer also controls the output of the systems analyst designer and programmers.

The systems analyst designer evaluates systems to determine errors and other componenets. With this knowledge, systems can be modified to work efficiently.

The role of a progammer is to evaluate, create, fix and maintain systems. They often fix whatever is found to be in error by the systems analyst designer.

2.2.3 Organizational chart

2.3 Organizational Boundaries and Interfaces

The predominant relationship is that between the project team and Mr. Barlow, our company’s client. As the project is implemenented this relationship will extend to the staff of DropBy Bar and Restaurant, as well as the customers to this establishment. These relationships are crucial to the success of this project, and full cooperation is dire. Stakeholders in this project include the client, project sponsor company and its end users. As well, this includes from the project plan company the project manager, project team members, project company, and the project company employees.

2.4 Project Responsibilities

This section details the responsibilities administered to each member of the project team. These details are noted in the following sections of project manager, quality engineer, systems analyst designer and programmer.

2.4.1 Project Manager

The project manager is the leader of the project group. It is her job to develop, schedule, monitor, manage, and record the events within a project. Active communication between the project manager and client is necessary to maintain a strong professional relationship between the two parties. Upon completion of the project, it is the project manager’s job to detail the findings to the client and to determine any errors made. It is the responsibility of the project manager to review, control, plan and manage the project team. As a leader, if the team fails it is the project manager’s responsibility.

2.4.2 Quality Engineer

The quality engineer must insure that the greatest quality assurance is maintained within the project. This means that the quality engneer must develop quality control systems, inspect procedures, evaluates methodology, evaluate cost concepts and techniques and administer information systems. The quality engineer also controls the output of the systems analyst designer and programmers. The quality engineers job is important as he or she must maintain the highest standards in favour of the client’s goal.

2.4.3 Systems Analyst Designer

The systems analyst designer evaluates systems to determine errors and other componenets. There job is important as they maintain system efficiency and feasibility.

2.4.4 Programmer

The role of a programmer is to evaluate, create, fix and maintain systems. Without this exceptional role, the system cannot be implemented correctly, making the creation of the system impossible.

Introduction

Borenstein and Moritsugu (2004) indicate that the Exxon and Mobil companies merged at the end of November 30, 1999 (ExxonMobil, 1999) when they were the two leading oil companies in the US. Their merger was motivated by a need to cut costs through economies of scale, in the face of rising operation costs. I must be added that the two companies did originate fro the same company the Standard Oil Company, which was ordered in 1911 by the Supreme Court of the US to be split into 34 companies. Out of these splinter companies Exxon and later on, Mobil emerged. This historical piece however did not have anything to do with their eventual regrouping.

In all, there were some 2,600 mergers of smaller firms between 1990 and that year. It emerges here that the main drive for mergers was the need to cut costs by approaching the market and the logistics together (Cartwright & Schoenberg, 2006, p 11).

This paper sets to discuss the merits and demerits of such mergers with special emphasis on their benefits and demerits to the project teams, stakeholders and the public at large, with the aim of making recommendations on how management of such processes can be improve.

Background

Industry mergers are a phenomenon that has been commonplace for quite sometime now. They basically involve two organizations coming together to form on large corporate under which they operate. The new organization which may have a combination of the names of the merging components or a totally new name operates as a new entity. The new rules under which the new entity operates depends in the agreement on the terms of the merger.

The history of mergers can be traced back to the 1895 to 1905 period in the US when the small companies with small market shares combined forces to form larger entities that dominated the target markets. In this way their collective value accounted for 20% of the total GDP (Cartwright & Schoenberg, 2006, p 3). Since then mergers have remained a popular way of market consolidation and strengthening of the capital base of the various firms involved.

The rise of globalization in the 1990s further increased the market for international mergers with firms located in different countries and continents coming together. These multinational mergers have resulted in huge conglomerates across borders with multibillion dollar financial bases and thousands of international shareholders.

The Exxon-Mobil Merger

The merger that took place between Exxon and Mobil falls into a broad category of mergers known as a Horizontal Merger. DePamphilis (2008, p740) states that this is where two competing companies with a similar product line and the same target market come together to fortify their presence. They turn all the energies that went into competition before to promote their joint product together. This kind of merger is easier than others since the two merging groups already understand their market and understand each others product perfectly.

In December 1 1988, the Exxon and Mobil oil companies announced their intent to carry out a horizontal merger valued at $80 billion (Cable News Network {CNN} Money, 1998). The aim of this merger was to “Create an oil entity rivaling the biggest in the world”. Under the terms of the agreement the new company would be called the Exxon Mobil Corp.

The two chief executives Exxon’s Lee Raymond and Mobil’s Lucio Noto announced then that the main motive of their merger was to compete more effectively in the face of sharp drops in oil prices. One objective the bigger company was set to achieve would be to cut costs of operation so as to maximize profit. Industry analysts said it was a good prospect for the two firms to merge since many organizations at the time were slashing the pay of employees and making capital spending plans to cut costs.

The new Company Exxon Mobil Corp indeed posted a profit of $ 9.8 billion in 1999 up from a joint $ 5.5 billion the year before, when the two firms were still separate entities (Slocum, 2009, p 8). So by all indicators the merger worked wonderfully for the two merger project teams. But the cost of merger to the other stakeholders was another story all together.

The Stakeholders

The stakeholders of this and the other similar mergers involving BP-Amoco, Chevron-Texaco, Total-Petrofina and Conoco-Phillips; are the project teams, the employees, the shareholders, the trading partners and the consumers. These stakeholders have been affected differently every time a merger of this magnitude is carried out (Kroger & Tram, 2000, pp 2-3).

Choices Facing The Project Teams

The main stakeholders in any merger are the project teams of both firms responsible for working out the merger. Much as mergers are profit and survival driven and just have to be done, there are many problems therein (Deans et al, 2002 pp 2-3). The issues to be faced include liability consolidation, welfare of all stakeholders, terms of engagement and planning for a joint future. All of these must be set into a game plan that can be executed swiftly and efficiently so that all those involved are not affected or disrupted for too long.

Those working out the merger must closely consider what their future partners are bringing on the table in terms of assets, liabilities, personnel, opportunities and previous profit margins (Kroger & Tram, 2000, p 30). This ensures that all cards are played on the table and no nasty ones are kept aside to be unleashed later. The past profitability, the market prospects, the scale of operations and the asset base and liabilities must all be declared to know the exact situation each party is getting into. This is usually easier said than dome since the temptation to hide weaknesses such as bad past business decisions usually very high on both sides.

Another challenge for both parties is to separate dreams from reality. The two companies always come together with the ego and vision of their directors and management teams. Consolidating these dreams into one solid vision may be a make or break issue for the two parties. It is imperative therefore to be able to balance dreams with reality. If one firm is wishing to expand its market presence while the other wishes to expand its capital infrastructure, then the two issues must be carefully synergized by considering the advantages and disadvantages of both against the background of the most urgent under the new circumstances. In fact, in most cases one of the parties is forced to take a backseat and give some space to the other.

One of the paradoxes is that while employees are being laid-off to cut costs, the costs of the laying-off exercise must be catered for instantaneously. The most direct way of doing this is to borrow the money to pay off employee gratuity so to borrow the money to pay off employee gratuity so as to spread the cost over many years of repaying the loan. Ultimately it is cheaper to have the employees out of the payroll, but the immediate cost of doing that is another undesirable albeit inevitable liability.

Another issue that faces the leaders of the firms is how to consolidate the disparate management practices and traditions of the two firms. It is usually tempting to ignore this factor but the outcome is almost always detrimental. Two organizations operating in the same field such as the oil giants may be completely different in their manner of operation. New rules and traditions have to be worked out that will work for both organizations (Cartwright, & Schoenberg, 2006 p 21). This involves policy and code of conduct. In many mergers those involved opt to leave such nitty- gritty for later, but this only elongates the duration of the merger unnecessarily. Employees and other operatives need to know the new rules as soon as possible since they have to resume work immediately the champagne bottles have been popped.

The other important consideration is that the welfare of the retained employees be looked into. Assuming that they have no role to play, as often happens, does not augur well for the future of the new company. The employees must be given an opportunity to invest in the future company so that they feel apart of it. If they are left floating then they may be disillusioned and disoriented by the whole merger process. When they are left at sea like yet they have a future role in the new company, is not good for its future prospects.

Both firms also have to face up to the fact that they have certain trading partners whose services may have to be terminated in the new setup. Most of these partners including suppliers and service organizations, always feel threatened by such mergers since they may be left out in preference of the firms previously serving the other merging partner. The pragmatics of cost cutting may actually ensure that this is actually the case. All the same, they have to be handled with great care. The partners usually know a plethora of weaknesses of the firms they have been dealing with and can therefore expose this knowledge on the public domain or launch nasty court cases that may delay or derail the merger altogether (Kroger & Tram 2000, p 8).

Problems Facing Trading Partners

The trading partners are all those people including suppliers, transporters, servicing and maintenance firms(Cartwright & Schoenberg, 2006, p 32). This group may have a history of serving either of the merging firms well in the past. The moment the issue of a merger comes up they immediately feel threatened. Unless they are assured by the new managers of the merged firm that they shall be retained or their outstanding credits shall be settled, life becomes very difficult for them. The prospects of going to court to settle certain matters becomes a grim reality since in many mergers they are totally left out to the equation.

The partners may find it really difficult to operate after their services are suddenly terminated as a cost cutting measure of the new arrangement. Some of them face the very real danger of going under especially if the terminated deals were their main lifeline.

Partners’ Gains

Those partners who are retained face real prospects of exponential growth, since they end up dealing with a bigger organization than they did before. They also gain from an expanded network which literally means dealing with more people and thus gaining more contacts. This is a really good prospect for business expansion.

The Employee Problems

The employees of the two companies in the merger find themselves being pushed rudely out of their comfort zones in various ways. First, they may be declared redundant. In the Exxon-Mobil Merger a total of 9000 jobs were set for cutting off out of the total of 123,000 the two firms had worldwide. This accounted for some 8% job cuts with all those workers being declared redundant. The impact of such job cuts are grave indeed on the employees who until then were comfortably working and managing their lives (Kroger & Tram 2000, p 16).

Indeed in the case of mergers it is very common for the welfare of the junior staff members who have kept the companies going for years, to be given the least priority since the main driving force of the merging groups is simply profit (Ferenczy, 2009, p 6). The problem is not just financial as they are usually given a handsome payoff for their dedicated labor. The problem is more about the fact that they have to plan their lives anew.

That is usually not the easiest thing. Getting another job usually means beginning to build up their careers from scratch, since the past experience they have accumulated may not be considered very much in the new appointment. Secondly, they are faced with the reality of having to take a pay cut if they find a firm that is no able to employ them at the same rate of payment. Thirdly, they find that that feeling of belonging that they shared in with others in the company is suddenly proved to be a cruel illusion. This may result in serious psychological consequences. Lastly, any plans they may have made for career advancement are suddenly rendered useless. This means that life has to begin from a lower level which they thought they had overcome in the past. For some the trauma and disillusionment usually mars all the gains to be made by the merger (Ferenczy, 2009, pp 6-8).

Even the employees who survive do not find it easy either. They suddenly find themselves operating with new bosses, colleagues and clients. They also have to adjust to new rules and more often than not sacrifice part of their pay in the name of cost cutting. In addition, their views may not be considered necessary when the mergers are being discussed. All these disruptions should be carefully taken into cognizance as when terms of merging are laid on the table, but unfortunately, in most cases they are not.

The Employee Gains

Among the gains of the employees are that those who survive usually end up working for higher wages once the merger picks up and the gains begin to be seen (Cartwright & Schoenberg, 2006 p 22). Higher pay packages are offered them and they experience and exciting career growth provided that the merger is successful. This offers them greater opportunities and personal development prospects than they had before.

Secondly, there is a better prognosis for career advancement. Promotion means handling more people over a larger scope. This increases the gains that go with career advancement. Generally speaking the pie is bigger and so the individual share increases as well.

The Shareholders’ Losses

Another group that is adversely affected during most mergers is the shareholders. After the big merger deal at Exxon-Mobil the shareholders found themselves left with the short end of the stick. They were compelled to take a drop in their share value due to consolidation of he new shares. When trading of the new shares opened, Exxon shareholders were staring at a drop in value of 3 points, while Mobil lost 2 points. The combined drop forced the merger value to come down to $ 76 billion from the projected $ 80 billion. This took most of the thrill out of the deal as far as shareholders are concerned (CNN Money).

Another problem that shareholders have to contend with immediately after such deals is the failure to declare dividends for ordinary shares (Cartwright & Schoenberg, 2006 p 23). The oft given excuse is that the new company is still restructuring and thus dividends will be declared later. No matter how big the firm, and how large its profit margin, there are always hidden costs in a merger that have to be attended to and so the stakeholders would be lucky to emerge with anything. Usually, only preferred shares are dealt with until the new forma settles down.

In some cases, shareholders are called upon to dig deeper into their pockets to help the new multinational take shape. This happens where certain pressing liabilities have to be taken care of first. Whatever name it may be given in such an instance, the shareholders are basically required to give more money to keep the firm running

Benefits to the Shareholders

The benefit in the long run to the shareholders is that they can gain when the merged company does grow as profit margins increase. This happens when the new firm finally settles into business and gains new ground by benefiting from the cost cutting measures.

Challenges Facing Consumers

Theses are members of the general public who buy the products of a company. They can do they can buy as individuals or as organizations. The main interests of consumers are availability of what they want at the right price and the correct quality (Kroger F. & Tram, 2000, p 20). Usually these three elements do not occur simultaneously, and so amends have to be made by sacrificing one for the other. One example of a time when such amends are made is when companies start merging.

According to Slocum (2009, p12) the merger of most United States based oil companies left a gaping hole in the pockets of consumers since the mergers meant higher pump prices at the  gas stations. The prices are usually a function of many factors, but among the most important is competition. When firms are in direct competition with each other, price manipulation is one important aspect they use to attract customers. These manipulations may not sometimes directly mean that customers pay less since there are usually hidden charges. However in general prices remain low since arbitrary price increases can be suicidal in an environment of cut-throat competition.

This advantage is lost to the customer once mergers take place. This is a direct consequence of the fact that the consumer’s money is the main target of the merging firms. When they turn their competition into partnership, they become a cartel that controls prices and thus increase it at the earliest sign of financial distress (Kroger & Tram, 2000, 21).

Advantages to Consumers

Even then, loyal consumers, especially the corporate ones are always considered when major decisions are being made. They are the ones who keep the companies going in the lean times, and with time, the companies learn that rubbing such customers the wrong way is economic suicide. So they do not emerge as losers even in a merger.

The main advantage to consumers is the improvement in quality that results from the outstanding features of each individual company’s products being consolidated into one better whole. Apart from that the consumer benefits from wide ranging products over and above what they had in the individual company before, especially in areas where only one of the partner companies was represented.

Managing Mergers

Mergers are inevitable especially when markets become saturated and competition reaches its peak (Deans et al, 2002, p2). The main means of survival in those circumstances is to ensure that the merger is well managed so that the attendant problems that may come with it are avoided. Many mergers fail not because those merging have the worst intentions but because they are complacent on certain factors which look unimportant at that point but turn out to be crucial later.

The first thing to bear in mind when handling a merger is how it will affect all the stakeholders and the general public (Baron, 2008, p 17). If all parties are brought on board throughout the merging process, such that all their views are taken into cognizance, then the whole process will be smoother. ExxonMobil set a poor precedent here that saw oil and oil products rises steeply in price in a manner that blighted their reputation. It was this same fall from grace with the public that had caused the forced split of the original mother company, Standard Oil, which had fallen afoul of the public mood with environmentally damaging practices and mistreatment of employees. So the outcry that followed the steep oil price increases was quite reminiscent of the gloomy past.

Another factor that must be borne in mind is the envisaged gains to be made by the merger. Just like one company succeeds because it has a clear vision set in clear achievable and time-bound objectives; so do two or more companies that merge into one. With this in mind, there must be a clear vision that must apply to all parties. The Exxon-Mobil merger clearly had this in mind. The vision of the two oil giants was to cut down on the costs of production, to consolidate their two markets, to strengthen their presence in the stock market and to eliminate the competition between them (ExxonMobil, 1999). Obviously they had their problems while pursuing the merger, but the end result has been splendid so far.

The two managed to cut down on production costs by laying-off a total of 9000 workers and thus having a leaner operation which soon started showing results. They also took care of the issue by putting together their wide international reach and their immense equipment base to control their production and reach an expanded clientele. All these factors worked to their advantage (DePamphilis, 2008, p16).

On the issue of competition, the two companies were accused of causing a steep rise in petroleum and gasoline prices. They were the two hugest oil companies even before their merger save for the BP-Amoco group that had merged before. They therefore had quite a clout in the market. They took full control of the market and dictated prices and supply. Eventually they emerged just as well off as they had planned.

Another issue that is important for the merging companies that they took into full account was the issue of stock markets (Baron, 2008, p 18). Apart from banks, the stock market is an important source of revenue for a company. The self-worth of the company is also seen in terms of its market capitalization. Ignoring this aspect is always misguided and that is a path that the two giants did not take. Instead they consolidated their market base such that ExxonMobil remains to date the true claimant to being the largest company in the world.

One issue that has almost completely eluded the ExxonMobil merger is to have in place environmentally friendly policies. There have been public outcries from such organization as Greenpeace. The oil giant has been accused of carrying out environmentally unfriendly practices and opposing the popular stand on global warming. In fact they have been accused of funding initiatives opposed to the cessation of global warming. Considering that this was one of the issues that faced its great ancestor Standard Oil Company almost two centuries ago, one can only conclude that old habits really die hard.

Conclusion

As time continues to pass and competition tightens between companies competing for the same markets, the drive to merge will continue taking precedence. Because of this it is very crucial the merging companies take into consideration all the factors and stakeholders involved if they are to merge successfully. As Deans et al (2009) warn, if the merger is not properly managed, it will end up in disaster.

References

Baron,  D. P., 2008. Business and the organisation. 6th ed. Chester (CT): Pearson. Borenstein S. & Moritsugu K., 2004. Wave of oil industry mergers helped push up gas prices. The San Diego Union Tribune, 28 May. p 4.

Cartwright, S. & Schoenberg, R., 2006. “Thirty Years of Mergers and Acquisitions Research: Recent Advances and Future Opportunities”. British Journal of Management 17.

Deans K.G., Kroeger F. & Zeisel S.,  2002.  Winning the Merger Endgame: A Playbook for Profiting From Industry Consolidation. New York: McGraw Hill.

DePamphilis, D., 2008. Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities. New York: Elsevier, Academic Press.

ExxonMobil, (1999).”Our History.” Last updated November 30, 1999. Retrieved on: August 17, 2009.     <http://www.exxonmobil.com/history>

Ferenczy, I., 2009. Employee Benefits in Mergers & Acquisitions, 2008-2009. New Delhi: Infibeam.

Kroger F. & Tram M., 2000. After the Merger. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Slocum, T., 2009. No Competition: Oil Industry Mergers Provide Higher Profits, Leave

Consumers with Fewer Choices. New York: Public Citizen.

Change is an essential factor for development and a leader who is committed to change can act as a catalyst in the development process. Obama is equipped with a catalytic leadership style and therefore he is capable of coming up with effective solutions in difficult situations, by inspiring diverse constituencies. Through his powerful and natural leadership abilities, he is able to coordinate the diverse constituencies in the process of decision making. The leadership style followed by Obama is against the forcing of his will upon others. Instead, consultation with opposing voices is always given priority by him (Obama-profoundly-catalytic-leader, weneedobama.blogspot.com).

The multi cultural background and the excellent communication skill are some of the important personal characteristics of Obama as a successful leader. Through Obama, a new style of American leadership is projected to the world. Obama’s promise regarding the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison reflects his dynamic vision towards the future political decisions. His optimistic approach and positive attitude make him more courageous leader (voanews.com).

We can hope that the social conflicts and adverse environmental conditions will be approached positively by Obama, with an aim of reducing the social stratification. Stratification can be on the basis of social as well as racial factors, and economic inequality. In analyzing the social inequalities on the basis of economic, racial, and social factors the social theory of conflicts is effective. As the 44th president of the United State, Barrack Obama is expected to constructively interfere in these social issues with creative and revolutionary ideas, so that social stratification and the associated conflicts are reduced for the common benefit of the nation and its people. A gutsy and creative leader like Obama can manage the conflicts effectively.

During the campaign for the US Presidential election 2008, Obama was able to approach the voters with strong and innovative political ideas. He criticized his opponents on the basis of their unproductive and destructive policies. .As a democrat candidate he accused the Bush administration for the current economic crisis faced by the country. He also expressed his sincere views against foreign policies followed by the Bush administration, especially about the war on Iraq. Obama also had advantage being an African American who a leader is standing for the cause of working class. His opposition to policies leading to economic inequality and social stratification made him a good leader for the majority (Obama-campaign-manager, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com).

With the positive approach to his style of leadership, Obama is able to act as catalyst in the development process of the entire nation, by safeguarding the greater common interest of the mass. As a leader he is nurturing the qualities of consultative and participative leadership, thereby upholding the democratic values. A good leader can only motivate his followers through his sincere words and actions. By ensuring the participation of the maximum possible number of people in the processes of decision making and implementation of programs will enhance the productive development. A bad leader will not tolerate discussions and may also use coercive power while imposing his decision on others. Such type of leadership styles may adversely affect the participation of the people in the process of nation building.

A positive leader can ensure the constructive participation of his followers in the organization functions, because a leader with positive ideas can motivate the people by creating a feeling of responsibility by providing them independence as individuals. A leader is always expected to do right things and for doing right things a leader should possess good leadership qualities   such as empathy, rational thinking,   communication skills, and interpersonal relationship. A positive approach to change and an ability to promote team work through the transparent policies will make the leader more effective in leading the community or nation forward. A good leader will prefer to use reward power than using coercive power while getting the work done. The resources can be utilized to the optimum level by the clarity attained through participation and consultation.

Both power and team are very important for a leader while dealing with various issues in the political context. While motivating his followers to accomplish the task of achieving the objective, a leader can exert this influence through the power he enjoys. He may use coercive power, reward power, expert power or legitimate power, as per the situation and style of functioning. Along with these aspects the dynamics of teamwork also operate. The synergy involved in the formation of a team is associated with increased level of inter personal interactions and relationships. An effective leader must be able to analyze and understand the process of team formation.  In decision making and implementation of programs a good leader must be able to carefully analyze the individual issues as well as the social issues. A good leader with positive approach will always try to avoid using coercive power. He will make use of the opportunities of consultation and participation to solve the issues through transparent communication process. In order to motivate the followers a good leader will make use of his reward power and expert power.

Emotional maturity, stability, experience, and innovative ideas will enable a leader to deal with complex situations.  While working as a team the process of sharing the needs and feelings are important and a good leader can explore the productive ideas to the maximum possible level by understanding the feelings of individual members as well as that of the entire group. A leader should be able encourage sharing the sharing of knowledge, experience, and culture of his followers who constitute various groups.

In a very dynamic world scenario the risk taking capacity of a leader is vital while dealing with change. The courage of the leader is an important factor in risk taking and it will also be a great deciding factor in the process of initiating change. A gutsy leader will be able to ease the resistance to change. The modern day political parties must therefore, while developing it leaders, consider the guts factor as a necessary skill. As far as Obama is concerned the courage is an important characteristic possessed by him. He emerged from great challenges in his life by taking the great leaders, Roosevelt and Lincoln as his role models (timesonline.co.uk).

Obama, with his qualities enriched with factors such as human approach, empathy, positive attitude, guts to take risk, and courage to face challenges is a great leader, particularly for the US and generally for the world. His multicultural background and experiences in life combined with dynamic qualities of a good leader, makes him great and universally acceptable.

References:

1. (Obama-profoundly-catalytic-leader, weneedobama.blogspot.com):04 July2009,

http://weneedobama.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-profoundly-catalytic-leader.html

2. (voanews.com):04 July2009,

http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-01/2009-01-14-voa43.cfm?CFID=263447265&CFTOKEN=15072402&jsessionid=0030a35d90de91874996507b7054515a4946

3. (Obama-campaign-manager, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com):04 July2009,

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/25/obama-campaign-manager-outlines-victory-strategy/

4. (timesonline.co.uk):04 July2009, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/william_rees_mogg/article5542558.ece

Innovation means a new way of doing something (New Oxford English Dictionary, 2008, P. 103). Over time businessmen establish methods and techniques of management, distribution, promotion and marketing. These innovations work for a given duration before they are overtaken by other innovations. An example of innovation is the fairly new concept of Business Intelligence (BI). BI is a set of technologies and processes that enable people at all levels of an organization to access and analyze data (Howson 2007, pp1-3).  This allows for faster decision making as everyone is aware of what is going on in the company, and above all has very accurate information.

Creativity on the other hand, is the ability to innovate. People who are creative are ever looking for new ways, new designs, new fashion, new challenges and new frontiers to tackle. This paper is set out to discuss how employees in any organization, can handle innovation, in a rapidly changing economic environment, to enhance production.

Newcomers and Innovation

Innovators are mostly newcomers. People and companies which arrive usually carry with them new technology, fresh ideas and a new way of solving problems. So in many ways technology actually favors the newcomer. Well aware of this fact, Microsoft Corporation has three Research Centers and six research labs located on different parts of the globe. Tens of computer scientists, sociologists, psychologists, mathematicians, physicists and engineers, cover over 55 areas of research for the sake of new software programs to keep them ahead and competitive in the market. But whereas they easily outpaced the likes of Sony and Nintendo in the computer game market in 2001, they never sit on their laurels. Instead they keep inventing in order to keep ahead of the competition (Chapman 2009).

The danger for the pre existing individuals and organizations is that a whole new playfield governed by new rules is introduced. The latest innovation comes in to compete with old established one using its own rules that the incumbents do not understand. This is the kind of scenario that was envisaged by the Innovation Standard Model. This is where a brand new company comes along to replace and take over the niche of another one; and that competition tends to favor the newcomer.

An example is that of Toyota Motors versus General Motors (GM). GM had to be bailed out by The US Federal Reserve after seriously suffering the effects of 2009 worldwide recession. But its deterioration started much earlier Toyota started chipping away at its market in the 1980s. The Japanese knew that if they tried to outdo their rivals in the realms of motor vehicle design and performance, they were doomed to fail. So they resorted to designing and selling cars that were cheaper and simpler than their rivals. The idea paid off handsomely and cut for them a niche in the US market, something that many people could not have thought possible. By marketing simplicity, durability and competitive price, they managed to cut a niche for themselves. After that they also adjusted their products to fit into the luxury class of their rivals (Tuomi 2002, p 48).

Business organizations are by their very nature, always involved in competition with others for opportunities and resources. In order to enhance their competitiveness, they have to invest heavily in modern technology and ideas. Such technology as computer networking improves the speed at which work is done and the quality of that work. But the most important single resource in the organization is the manpower. Human beings have a distinct great advantage over machines in that they think and make choices while machines can only follow laid down programs or human instructions.

On many occasions firms are forced to face emergent competition.  Such competition is as old as business itself. One form of such competition is where Company A is merchandizing a certain product. Then Company B arrives on the scene with a similar product. The customers then leave their old company to try the product from B. Such a scenario plays out again and again in the business world.

According to Von Hippel (1988, p.4) innovation begins with individuals in the organization. He classifies the sources of innovation as manufacturers, end users and suppliers. There are organizations whose work is to manufacture products for the market. These are the main innovators known by most people. Then there are suppliers who adjust the products they buy before selling it. In contemporary parlance, this practice has come to be termed as value addition. In between are the people who discover for themselves what to use if they feel that what has been supplied in the market is not good enough for them. These are the end users.

People who have grown used to routine roles such as filling in forms, doing manual work, running machines or auditing soon develop a standard way of carrying out the tasks. These routines then become sort of an extension of their character. They tackle the same task the same way day in, day out. If their way of doing it is new and not used before, it may be classified as an innovation. The new method is then adopted by other people in the organization and used in the same way for a long time until another innovator comes along and introduces a new method. Tools too are innovated in this way. Individuals who are dissatisfied with that which is available may feel that they need to come up with something on their own.

In a world that is increasingly becoming smaller by the day, in terms of international business and communication, there is a need to innovate in order to survive. Success ratings of different organizations depend heavily on their ability to innovate and tackle upcoming challenges. Subsequently, there is a large market for innovations. In 1962, 30% of the entire US population was employed by the information industry. This figure shot up to 50% by 1977 (Freeman 1982, p 4). The numbers show just how many organizations are out there that are interested in purchasing information rather than goods. Many Organizations for instance, spend a substantial amount of their income in carrying out research. The aim of this endless search is to gather knowledge that will help them innovate ways of surviving in the market.

This well developed world of information processing is simply a world of innovation. It involves research organizations, the media, computer software manufacturers and advertisers. Though many individuals are still oriented towards regarding only tangible things as an industry, they are being overtaken by actual events as more and more people are employed by the information age.

Importance of Innovation

Modern times are really challenging times to live in. News breaks out in Teheran and reaches all corners of the world an instant later. When the government there tries to use the age old technique of gagging the press, the internet interaction sites come in handy to help ordinary Iranians get the news out thus circumventing the government.

The example above shows us just how difficult it is to try and survive in a modern age with old ideas. Any government that wishes to retain control in modern times must keep abreast with changes in technology. The situation is even worse for a business organization competing with numerous others that have kept abreast with the times on such matters.

It is much worse for an individual employee in a company. The danger that new employees who are better informed on current issues may just come in and render him redundant, is always there. It is of great importance that such an employee be able to keep abreast with modern developments. Most employees will not, because they find the time tested path of routine easier and more reliable than the risky road to innovation. To console themselves, they tend to retreat into certain comfort zones.

One of the best comfort zones is their masters degree or PhD. The argument that one went to Harvard in the 1970’s and is thus irreplaceable, is a sick joke when it turns out the guy cannot even retrieve a message from the inbox of his e-mail account. Other comfort zones include, “I am too old”, “I am almost retiring” and “It is not that important.” In order to understand this scenario, it is imperative to look at the circumstances that make an individual try to avoid an exercise that is so important.

Talking of comfort Zones, (International Business Machines) IBM shook the entire American racial policy in 1953. The circular announcement by its CEO Thomas Watson that IBM intended to hire the best experts despite their gender, ethnic origin or race caught the likes of Hewlett Packard) HP totally off guard. This was a highly sensitive statement in the highly racially segregated and gender insensitive America of the time. His rationale was that he would have the competitive advantage of hiring sharp brains that had been rejected by the competition. As it turned out he was right. The new policy saw the company experience a steep growth (Slater 1999, pp.14-24). This is an example of a highly daring and innovative project that paid off handsomely.

According to Christensen (2002, pp.10, 32-38) in “The Rules of Innovation”, the main reason of avoiding innovation is the risk factor. Human beings instinctively have an in built fear of the unknown. Among the most outstanding of these fears is that of the consequences of failure. People may inwardly believe that they will really not be able to crack the new technology even if they tried. This fear is however baseless and without any factual foundation.

Christensen explains that, there are some rules to innovation. First, every undesired outcome has a cause. It is up to the organization or individual to find out what the cause is. In other words an innovation cannot just fail. There must be a reason for that failure, even where concerned parties do not wish to find out what it is. Secondly, he also points out that it is important to know all the variables that lead to the outcomes of innovative practices. Once the variables at play are identified, innovation cannot be half as risky as it seems. So what he is saying is that a new innovation always comes with an implicit risk value. This risk may discourage one from adapting such innovations. As a result they end up being left behind.

Many employees also come face to face with the fact that their expertise has suddenly been rendered obsolete. In such a case if they were not making any serious effort to acquire other skills then they are declared redundant.  Several people in the printing press industry are fast being put out of business by the computer. Departments like that have been declared superfluous in quite a number of organizations. In cases like this adapting new technology or innovating new ways of surviving may be the only way out for such individuals. The folly of not having adjusted to the computer whole there was still then comes out clearly.

In “The Innovator’s Dilemma” (2003, pp. 1-4) Christensen explains that the main reason for the success of many business firms is the fact that they listen to their customers. The main reason for their failure as well is that they listen to their customers. He therefore points out that a customer may lead a firm to its success or failure, depending on how it interprets the customer’s demands.

He gives the example of Compact Disc (CD) manufacturing companies in which some 75% of the companies fail every year.  He attributes this failure rate to the fact that the CD manufacturing industry is one of the fastest changing industries eve created. Not only is the size and capacity of the disks in constant change, but their function and price as well.

There are two clear issues that come out of these arguments. The first is that too much innovation within a limited period is not only confusing to the customers but to the organizations as well. Innovation is a continuous process no doubt. Conversely, moving it too fast can turn out to be suicidal for two reasons. First, customers may get so used to change that they get addicted to it. So they will demand more and more change even when it is not really necessary. Secondly the industry never really settles. When the industry fails to settle down, then naturally the number of casualties is as high as those in a speeding train that derails.

On the other hand, not listening to the customers is suicide. When they ask for a certain kind of disk, they should get it. That is the only practical way of surviving in the business. So the entrepreneur has to balance the need to please customers and the need to stay in business. That is what he refers to as the innovators dilemma. Whatever the case, the firms that survive in the business are the ones which know when to listen to their customers and when not to.

Another problem identified in this highly innovative market is the fluidity in prices. Some of the products lose as much as 50% of their price value within a duration of less than one year. As disks which are smaller and more versatile are innovated, the prices of the old ones fall steeply thus totally disrupting sale value and immediately putting some of the companies in the red. So this is a highly competitive industry with a high turnover. It shows innovation at its best and at its worst.

Advantages of Innovation

As has been noted earlier, innovation is the doorway to progress in any field. Doing things in a new way not only allows industry to develop but also breaths in a fresh new lease of life into the world of entrepreneurship. Without it industry will stagnate and no new things will be there to be found. This kind of stagnation does not auger well for a human race that faces new and increasingly complex challenges in a world that does not bother to respect any kind of rules human beings would like to put for it.

Secondly, innovation enables workers to remain relevant in an ever changing work environment. New demands are place on their shoulders everyday which call for fresh new approaches. Employees who are not willing to take the gauntlet on this will surely soon find themselves becoming irrelevant and thus redundant.

Another thing is that there is a whole industry that runs purely on innovation. This is a mass employing industry that takes in all sorts of people including salespersons, broadcasters, sportspersons, researchers and even preachers. It is an industry abuzz with money that is reducing the problem of unemployment and enabling young people to learn large amounts of money.  A cursory glance into the lifestyles of American Basketball players and Europe based footballers indicates just how much money they are earning and clearly proves why they are super earning superstars. Innovators brought advertisers and the media into the mix. The result was a fast expanding industry kept afloat by consumers who could not just resist products advertised by their favorite idols.

Another advantage is the way a huge market has been created for fast moving products that are easily perishable or disposable. This has resulted in sales that have pushed many organizations faster up the economic larder in the past two decades alone than it ever did before.  There is a lot of money in circulation which has been put to use in more innovative ideas. With better and faster communication channels propped up by the fast innovations in technology, the market for products produced anywhere in the world can be found at the furthest corner at the touch of a button.

Another issue that is of paramount importance is that innovations have made the era of an information superhighway a reality. Apart from the rioters in Tehran, it is possible to know of job opportunities or research material in a country far away from ones own. Internet communication has enabled people to get employed without ever leaving the country, to have academic conference discussions with scholars across the world without ever leaving their own living rooms.

Gadgets such as the mobile phone have proved to be useful in activities such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA. Many families used mobile phones to locate their relatives at times even communicating to those who were buried under the rubble. Quite a number of people were confirmed to be alive by this means. Another instance was in 2008 during the American Presidential campaigns when highly innovative fundraising programs using the cell phones and the internet were used to raise the largest amount of money ever for the democratic Candidate Barrack Obama.

Without innovation then no more discoveries will be made that will add to the knowledge of humanity. It is the responsibility of the current generation to come up with solutions that will be applied by future generations to survive in a world with new challenges, some of which have been created by the current generation. Such new challenges include global worming, environmental degradation, depletion of the ozone layer and over exploitation of the non- renewable energy sources. It remains the role of the entrepreneur to contribute his share by enterprisingly distributing ideas and resources for the enablement of this process of innovation for the survival of the entire species.

Innovation keeps many undisclosed truths increasingly available to people so that they can expand ideas and opportunities. Inventions must not only keep coming up, but the channels must also be kept open to ensure that more discoveries are made. In any case if our immediate predecessors were not innovative, we would not be enjoying some of the benefits we do today.

Disadvantages

Most innovations end up in failure. The few that do succeed sometimes do not justify the cost of the investment put into the ones that fail. Research organizations charge large amounts of money to support their activities. In many companies a fully fledged research department with permanent employees is in place that continually carries out studies and what they need is just an assurance of continuous funding. This is cheaper than outsourcing. Sometimes people set off to research on one thing but end with something entirely different that does not add any value at all.

Innovations are very expensive. They use up a lot of resources which could be used for other pressing needs. The numerous excursions into outer space have cost trillions of dollars yet they have so far yielded very little that can further the cause of humanity so far. Many organizations find themselves in a situation where they invest so much in the field of research which sometimes ends up revealing nothing.

Innovation is also a high risk exercise that is replete with accidents and incurable diseases unlocked by the ever inquisitive nature of man. Allegations have been made that certain individuals must have performed experimented that bequeathed us with terrible problems in the past. Nuclear weapons caused damage to people in the Second World War which have transcended generations. The Russian Kalashnikov cannot bear to look at his innovation the AK 47 for all the damages it has done to humanity. Though he insists that he only had good intentions, some said thank you and immediately put the gun to use for performing evil tasks.

Innovations may also create disruptive technologies. This kind of technology disrupts the way people look at markets and thus causing a new demand. This new demand disrupts the existing products in the market thus causing sudden falls in prices. The effect of this is many companies with stocks that do no seem to move.  The end result is that companies cannot keep up since they produce a lot of redundant material that forms a huge backlog of dead stock (Thomke 2003, pp 1-2).

There is generally a high failure rate of innovations that result in a waste of funds. Companies set aside a lot of funds and time for innovations whose findings do not see the light of day. This is precisely what has discouraged certain organizations from venturing into this field for fear of failure.

Another major problem with innovation is the way it encourages consumerism. There are people who replace their machinery and electronics ever year. In this way they end up using cash they would have spent on something else again and again. This practice has led to the stagnation of certain important domestic projects like provision proper housing for the family and higher education. When people put aside such crucial projects just to keep up with consumer trends, then there is something seriously amiss.

Yet as Albert Einstein so ably put it: Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. So whereas these experiments are expensive and time consuming, they are also inevitable. One can surely not hope to succeed without trying. Those who do not venture do not get hurt, but they do not discover anything either.

Many companies have also taken to the shortcut of discussing issues instead of experimenting. Such are terrified into self-deterrence by the fear of failure. It is all too common to hear of high profile meetings in five star hotels in which experts in different fields facilitate discussion on well known and well documented knowledge. Ultimately, they feel that they have done something useful.  They believe that they have boosted the betterment of their welfare as a company.

Experiments on the other hand, generally underline the success of many big companies. These are the ones who keep on probing without any fear about failing since they have accepted constant failure as part of the show, provided that every effort is made to conduct the experiment itself correctly. These are the innovators who keep on popping up with new technology such as plasma television and digital Global Positioning System. They will keep on coming up with more and more to help us tame our wild planet and liven up our existence on it.

As Schumpeter (1996, p 4) puts it, it would be wrong to assume that the laws we have at the moment are the correct and perfect ones as so we do not need to find out any more. Experimentation and inquiry must continue to take place. People who become complacent with their level of knowledge do not add anything to the knowledge of humanity and should not complain when they are left out. This he says applies both to individuals and organizations.

To take this argument further, let us take the case of cloning. For years it has been believed that it takes a man to impregnate a woman. The whole idea of a physician fulfilling that purpose medically was unheard of.  Today it is a reality, albeit with hiccups here and there.  There is no doubt in the minds of many observers that with time and persistence, the persons involved will make it work. Arguments about morality from indignant self-righteous campaigners notwithstanding, so long as they keep at it, they will get something out of it (Tuomi 2002).

He further postulates that future survival of all of us may depend on that one experiment some of us are so vehemently opposed to. More importantly, the survival of the automotive engineer depends on how quickly and efficiently he modifies his car. Sitting back and marveling at their innovative design of three years ago means getting slowly out of business.

Conclusion

All factors considered, it is fairly difficult to live in the modern world without being ready to innovate or learn to use other people’s innovations. The only way to avoid redundancy altogether is to keep sharpening oneself through research, education, discussion and a little bit of experimentation. Claiming that one is too old does not work anymore since the world is changing at such a high speed that simply taking a break for one minute can be very costly.

References

Chapman M R 2009, In search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of Marketing High-Tech Disasters. London: Apress.

Christensen, C 2003, The Innovator’s Dilemma, Harper Paperbacks, New York.

Christensen, C 2002, 23 September, The Rules of Innovation, Technology Review 105 (5).

Freeman, C 1982, The Economics of Industrial Innovation, Frances Pinter, London.

Howson, C 2007, Successful Business Intelligence: Secrets to Making BI a Killer Application, New York: McGraw Hill.

New Oxford English Dictionary,2008, OUP, London.

Schumpeter, J 1996, History of Economic Analysis, Harvard University Press, Boston.

Slater R1999,  Saving Big Blue: IBM’s Lou Gerstner, New York: McGraw Hill

Tuomi, I 2002, Networks of Innovation. Oxford University Press, UK.

Thomke,SH 2003, Experimentation Matters, UnlockingthePotentialofNewTechnologiesfor

Innovation, Harvard Business School Press, Harvard.

Von Hippel, E 1988, The Sources of Innovation. University Press. Oxford.

Introduction

This report was prepared independently by me and was commissioned by BT as part of their expansion plan in India.

Internationalization was a restricted enterprise for most of the companies till very recent times. Only big firms could afford to go international for the enormous cost involved in international ventures. However, the process of globalization, and coming in existence of regional and global trade bodies have created a level playing field for the companies to enter into global business. The entire world has become a common market with dilution of cross-national trade barriers. As a result the companies - big and small - are globalizing at an unprecedented scale.

There are a number of factors that have made the task of internationalization easier. The nations across the world are constructing duty free zones, and exclusive economic zones offering unmatched infrastructural facilities to foreign and domestic businesses. The internet technology combined with revolutionary advances in telecommunications has facilitated the task of international marketing as never before. Small and medium businesses can now take full advantage of these technologies at a very low cost. However, going international despite the political, social, and technological changes in recent years, needs careful planning and strategizing to avoid unexpected and unforeseen consequences.

We have prepared a strategic business plan for a British telecommunication company venturing into a culturally different territory.

As an international business consultant, I have been commissioned to evaluate the business opportunities for BT Group Plc also referred to as British Telecom that wishes to expand its operations in India. We have made a detailed strategic plan for its venture in India.

BT Group Plc is the privatized telecommunications operator and internet provider in the UK. The company has already established its presence in global markets across the world. This report assesses the feasibility and attractiveness of its operation in the Indian market.

Stages of Internationalization: Overcoming cultural barriers

Companies today recognize that international opportunities can ultimately define success or failure. However, there are cultural and psychic barriers to international marketing. Nonetheless, our project defines the stages through which BT can successfully internationalize their operations in India.

In context of international business, while cultural assimilation may be difficult, if not impossible, it is more important to avoid cultural blunders. The identification of cultural distance/difference might help the executives to avoid these blunders, while identifying the cultural similarities can enhance closeness to the market. Consequently, culture becomes the site of both bridge and barrier in off shore market penetration. Most of the sources acknowledge similarities of cultural background leading to greater likelihood of achieving market closeness. According to Swift, if a relationship between cultural closeness and cultural liking could be shown to exist or proven, it would validate the hypothesis that cultural closeness (indirectly) determined psychic success. His study found “a moderate, but statistically significant positive correlation between a respondent’s liking for a particular culture, and the degree to which they perceive the overseas market culture to be similar to that of Great Britain. This being the case, it can be claimed that cultural similarity or closeness is a contributory factor to cultural affinity. It is likely, therefore, that those countries which engender the greatest level of psychic distance as far as British executives are concerned, are those that are culturally most different to Great Britain. Broadly speaking these are to be found in the Far East (Asia), the Middle East (the Arab world), and the “Latin” cultures of Southern Europe and America.” (Swift 196).

Culturally, India and Britain are quite unlike that is likely to hinder cross-cultural business relationship. However, commitment, trust and empathy can be developed in gradual stages. In other words, it will take some time before a high level of trust develops between BT and their customers in India.

Scazoni (1979) postulates three stages of development, while Levitt (1983) and Dwyer et al (1987) offer five stages of development of a relationship. The three stages of involvement include: (1) Exploration (2) Expansion; and (3) Commitment

While the five stages are: (1) Awareness (2) Exploration (3) Expansion (4) Commitment and (5) Dissolution.

While India and Britain are culturally different, British companies may have certain advantages in India in comparison to the cultures they are completely unaware of. Britain had the colonial experience in India as a consequence of which there has been much cultural exchange between the two nations for over a century. English is among the official languages in India.

Along with these, some variables go on to determine relationship. These variables are Commitment, Trust, Customer Orientation/empathy, Experience/satisfaction, and Communication (Conway & Swift, 1999:1393).

Psychic distance itself is a consequence of a number of factors among which perception is of critical significance. However, perception is highly subjective and a result of value system associated with culture. In other words, culture plays a crucial role in determining psychic distance (Swift, 1998:182). Hallen and Weidershiem-Paul (1984) have explored the concept of ‘cultural affinity’ as one of the three key determinants of psychic distance. According to Holden and Burgess (1996, p.33) ‘psychic closeness’ is achieved through cultural affinity, trust and experience. “…cultural affinity is an important determinant of a firms’ ability to estimate the needs and requirements of the other party. High cultural affinity is a major factor in reducing psychic distance between two parties…” (p.33). Trust, at the organizational level is an important an important consideration in business. “…many aspects of relations between customers and sevice providers  cannot be formalised or based on legal criteria. Instead relationships have to be on mutual trust. Experience operates purely at the cultural level and is not necessarily an expression of cultural factor. None the less, it is a powerful determinant of psychic distance as it influences attitude formation. “Individual experience can result in preconceptions regarding suppliers and customers…These prejudices will affect attitudes and behaviours towards those suppliers and buyers (Hallen and Weidershiem-Paul: 1984: 18)

According to Swift (1998:184), culture has a pre-eminent role in determining psychic distance and comes prior to trust and experience. Interaction is presupposed in trust and experience. Trust develops through interaction and experience comes through repeated interaction. Cultural affinity, on the other hand, can be significant even before interaction begins.

The term ‘affinity’ has been interpreted to mean ‘liking’ and ‘empathy’ i.e. the ability to see something from the perspective of the other.

Cultural empathy, according to Phillips et al (1994, 104) is defined as: “…the ability to place yourself in the position of the buyer from another culture. In this way a strong attempt is made to the thinking approaches, the decision making process and the interaction between this and the cultural and other forces influencing the buyer.”  The International Marketing and Purchasing group found “liking” as a major factor in the development of business relationship, as for instance, 31 percent of French buyers did not like dealing with UK suppliers (Swift 185). Therefore, a correlation may be said to exist between cultural similarity and cultural affinity.

In context of international business, while cultural assimilation may be difficult, if not impossible, it is more important to avoid cultural blunders. The identification of cultural distance/difference might help the executives to avoid these blunders, while identifying the cultural similarities can enhance closeness to the market. Consequently, culture becomes the site of both bridge and barrier in off shore market penetration. Most of the sources acknowledge similarities of cultural background leading to greater likelihood of achieving market closeness. According to Swift, if a relationship between cultural closeness and cultural liking could be shown to exist or proven, it would validate the hypothesis that cultural closeness (indirectly) determined psychic success. His study found “a moderate, but statistically significant positive correlation between a respondent’s liking for a particular culture, and the degree to which they perceive the overseas market culture to be similar to that of Great Britain. This being the case, it can be claimed that cultural similarity or closeness is a contributory factor to cultural affinity. It is likely, therefore, that those countries which engender the greatest level of psychic distance as far as British executives are concerned, are those that are culturally most different to Great Britain. Broadly speaking these are to be found in the Far East (Asia), the Middle East (the Arab world), and the “Latin” cultures of Southern Europe and America” (Swift 196).

While cultural differences emerge as barriers to success, it is probably the only major barrier for BT’s operation in India. Moreover this barrier can be easily overcome through strategies outlined above. Also, the British Telecom has the experience of operating in more than 150 nations which is a distinctly positive factor in overcoming the cultural barrier.

India offers a big market

India is on a high growth trajectory even during the current recession. The telecom segment - third largest network in the world after USA and China - is among the fastest growing sectors in India with nearly 200 million telephone lines. And yet, this sector is not saturated as it enjoys a growth rate of 45 percent, the highest in the world. Moreover, of the 1.5 billion people with internet access by 2011, according to a new report, the biggest growth rate will be witnessed in Russia, India, and China (Aun, Fred 2007).

Other factors: PESTEL Analysis

Political: There exists the threat of political instability in India. However, on the positive side India is the largest democracy, and politically the most stable nation in south Asia. There is the fear of law and order in India among investors. However, India has a strong military, paramilitary, police, and administrative systems. Since its independence, India has successively elected representative governments through democratic process, and there was only a brief phase of internal emergency in India for 18 months during 1975-77. The Indian call centre industry has the complete backing of the government  that has initiated a slew of political and economic measures to protect and encourage this industry.

Economic: Economically, India is among the fastest growing nations today with its economic growth rate at 8 to 9 percent. Only China has a higher economic growth rate than India. India has a sound industrial infrastructure, a vibrant public and pricvate sector co-existing on the model of mixed economy. The telecom revenue in India was $19.5 billion in 2006 up from $17.5 billion a year earlier and is poised to touch $30 billion by 2013. The growth rate of telecom revenue was 14.7 percent. There were 100 million telephone subscribers growing at 66 percent and 1.47 million broadband subscribers growing at 56 percent in financial year 2007-08 in India (Source: Voice & Data, TRAI).

Social: India is a plural and multicultural society. The Constitution of India has recognised English as the second language and it also serves as a link language between the centre and states, and among the states for administrative purposes. The multicultural and plural background will tend to promote call centres in India. However, there are cultural aspects in India that doesn’t go well with call centre Industry. Nevertheless, culture exists at various levels in India such as ‘universal’ and ‘parochial’. The culture in India is characterised by tolerance and accomodation. Therefore, foreign companies should not be seen as hindrance to Indian society and cultural values.

Technological: India is among the top IT and software powers in the world. Telecom Industry is highly dependent on IT. Therefore, technologically India is conducive for the growth of telecommunications. On the negative side, however, Indian software industry is not acknowledged for its innovativeness, and that could be a concern for Indian telecom industry. Nevertheless, Indian telecom industry is more human resource driven rather than technologically driven. This means India cannot offer state of the art communication technologies but can make the best use of these outside technologies because Indian telecom workforce is known for easily learning and adapting the world class technology.

Environmental: India faces environmental challenges in the forms of lack of sound infrastructure, and technology. However, since the government of India is focused to rapid infrastructural advancement, and support to IT industry there appears likelihood of India soon catching up with the world class facilities. India has already developed world class facilities in its various technoparks. The IT offices and call centres are located in these zones in Indi’s best cities. However, the challenges are likely to be faced in the second-tier cities where the telecom centres in India are moving today.

Legal: India has a separate ministry of law and company affairs. It boasts of a three-tiered modern judiciary that is independent. In recent years India has passed a series of laws against cyber crimes that ensures safety and privcacy of clients interests. A lot of legal measures have been initiated in India in keeping with the WTO requirements that is comparable to the best in the world. However, law enforcement machinery is not as pro-active in India as law themselves. The judiciary is over burdened and it takes years for cases to be legally resolved. Nonetheless, all necessary legal frame work that might promote call centre industry exist in India.

British Telecommunication is a well established brand. Its current logo “connected world” gives it a brand personality that would be acceptable abroad. The success of any international marketing campaign depends on how cross cultural research insights translate into cross cultural strategies that can be effectively used. A new brand positioning strategy designed to assist international managers is based on globally shared meaning in an increasingly competitive market place (Alden, Steenkamp, & Batra 1999). Brands such as Sony and Philips have used such strategies. McDonalds also uses similar strategies. Their slogans emphasize globally shared meaning in their advertisements.

Indian Networking Industry

However, Indian networking industry may be said to have entered the global intelligent network era in a big way when Tata Teleservices, Ltd., a leading wireless operator in India,  selected Telcordia to support its long-term evolution of prepaid and postpaid convergent solutions effectively jumpstarting the global telecommunication industry’s move toward convergence in 1995. Tata Teleservices, was the first company in India to launch CDMA mobile services. Even today it continues to be at the forefront of technological roll-outs (findarticles.com).

Even prior to Tata Teleservices, Ericsson was awarded a contract in 2004 by Bharti to supply India’s first nationwide single vendor Intelligent Network (IN) solution and prepaid system to provide functionality such as realtime cost and spending control. The agreement covered all of Bharti’s existing as well as soon to be launched mobile systems in India (www.ericsson.com).

BT’s partnership recommendations

Bharti Enterprises is among the top telecommunication players in Indian market. BT can enter the Indian market in active collaboration with the Bharti group. Bharti group of companies has Internet division and Cellular operations. Since this Indian company is actively looking forward to collaborative expansion within the country, BT can take advantage and enter into partnership with them.

BT is in an advantageous position compared to the other telecom majors as it has its own presence in India through its branch office of BT Worldwide. This office may  support the current joint ventures in India and look for new business opportunities in India for BT. BT may undertake studies and pilots for outsourced Call Centres and back office operations based on its experience of software outsourcing in India.

Strategic benefits: Some of the strategic benefits BT joint venture will have in their India operations are as under:

- Free up resources to focus on the core business

- Guarantee significant cost reductions for the duration of the contract

- Guarantee performance levels based on service level agreements (SLAs)

- Lower upfront investment required

- Faster time to market/steady state than in-sourcing

- Gain increased access to innovative technology without major capital investment

- Maintain flexibility in tight labor markets

- Ability to leverage multi-client scale advantages

SWOT Analysis of BT’s India operation

Conclusion and Recommendations

At the end of this project, we are in a position to take a broader look at India’s telecom sector and their strengths and weaknesses. Thomas Friedman’s bestseller The World is Flat published in 2005 speculated upon the rapidly shrinking and flattening globe. It proved to be a sky-rocketing success. The author appeared pro-Indian right from the beginning. He clearly demonstrated a penchant for India and for things ‘Indian’. He was moved by the success of India and viewed his journey to telecommunication in the high-tech city of Bangalore as emblematic of a major shift in global economic processes. Friedman, came to witness a resurgence or renaissance in India based on his experience. India to him was the ‘land of jewels’ in the past but presently hindered by third world characteristics. Nonetheless, the nation was on rise once again as it came to share “the same level playing field as the other global giants. The global economic progress has in the language of Friedman, meant the world has ‘flattened’.

Friedman may be right in one sense that globalization has meant globalization of businesses as witnessed through expansions to underdeveloped  nations like India. There is a stiff competition among even the developed world to corner the most of the jobs.

India took the first mover advantage in this industry and the global business leaders acknowledged Indis’s intellectual capital in IT sector. India has several advantages appropriate to this industry as:

English Speaking pool of labour

Quantitative and qualitative superiority

Developed IT sector

Governmental and institutional promotion

And several others including time-zone advantage, cultural affinity due to British colonial experience, etc.

There are however, glaring deficiencies with India as a destination that too must be acknowledged. These include:

Fledgling industry

Mediocre talents

Cultural and value system clash

High turnover

Health related insecurities

Emerging health problems.

However, despite all the drawbacks with the Indian market there is no denying that India is the fastest growing market next only to China in terms of revenue in telecom and growth. However, China poses severe cultural and political challenges to a British company, in comparison to which Indian destination is politically, culturally and economically more safe,

References

Alden, S., & and Batra, R. (1999). Brand positioning through advertising in Asia, North America and Europe: The Role of global consumer culture. Journal of Marketing, 63, 75-87.

Aun,Fred “Brazil, Russia, India and China to Lead Internet Growth Through 2011″

Jun 26, 2007. Retrieved on July 31, 2009 from http://www.clickz.com/3626274

Conway, T. & Swift, Jonathan S. (1999) “International Relationship Marketing: The importance of psychic distance” European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 34 No.11/12, pp.1391-1413

“Ericsson Awarded Nationwide Intelligent Network Contract in India by Bharati” June 22, 2004. Retrieved on July 31, 2009 from http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/releases/20040622-949772.shtml

Hallen, L. & Weidershiem-Paul, F.(1984) “The evolution of psychic distance in international business relationships in Haag, L & Weidersheim-Paul, F. (eds.) Between Market and Hierarchy, University of Uppsala, Department of Business Administration, pp.15-27.

Levitt, T.(1983), “After the sale is over” Harvard Business Review, Vol.61. No.5, pp.87-93

Phillips, C., Doole, I. and Lowe, R. (1994), International Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation, Routledge, London.

Scanzoni, J. (1979), “Social exchange and behavioural independence”, in Burgess R.L. and Hudson T.L.(eds.), Social Exchange in Developing Relationships, Academic Press, New York, NY, pp.61-99

Swift, J.S. (1998), “Cultural closeness as a facet of cultural affinity: a contribution to the theory of psychic distance in international marketing”, International Marketing Review, Vol. 16, No. 2/3, pp. 182-201.

“Tata Taps Telcordia Intelligent Network Evolution; First Major Transformation Deal in India Inked”. Business Wire. Sept 14, 2005. FindArticles.com. Retrieved on July 31, 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_Sept_14/ai_n15389225

Introduction: Wal-Mart Inc.

Wal-Mart Inc. is presently the biggest retail store chain in the world. Sam Walton in 1940 founded Wal-Mart starting with only a single store that has grown to more than 4000 stores and present in over 14 countries. Wal-Mart is a big success story in the retail industry. The success is attributed to the management strategies as well as marketing strategies that the corporation has put in place (www.walmartstores.com). This section undertakes to examine the management strategies of Wal-Mart in particular, its vision, mission, objectives, goals and market strategy.

Purpose:

Sam Walton stated that, if all employees of Wal-Mart together with there, shareholders and customers, Wal-Mart can reduce the cost of living for each one. Wal-Mart will offer the world a chance to realize what it feels to save as well as have an improved life (www.walmartstores.com)

Mission/vision of Wal-Mart

As Hay (1990) explains mission statements as well as vision statements are formulated for the employees and also the customers of a company. A mission statement normally is a sentence or a brief paragraph that is written by an organization which underlines its primary purpose, values, principles and identity. Wal-Mart’s mission statement is underlined below:

“Wal-Mart’s mission is: To help people save money so they can live better.” (www.walmartstores.com)

The mission of Wal-Mart underlines it commitment to provide the ordinary people with an opportunity to buy similar things as wealth people. Sam Walton’s mission when founding Wal-Mart was to sell products low prices than his competitor, a mission that until now the Wal-Mart still strives to achieve (www.walmartstores.com).

Save money

Wal-Mart understands that price of products matters a lot to their customers, at any place they are. That is the reason why all Wal-Mart stores offer high quality products at lowest prices. Saving for Wal-Mart goes beyond money; it involves other aspects like offering energy efficient items that cut down on what customers use (www.walmartstores.com).

Better Life

The means of making its customers’ lives better is through saving money, through offering the lowest possible prices on its products; Wal-Mart understands that it can afford its customers something extra from what they have saved.

Wal-Mart as well see the opportunity to assist people have  a better live go beyond its stores and prices, that it’s the reason it supports projects that are important to neighboring committees such as education and conserving the environment. This is indicated by Wal-Mart joint projects with Mercy Corps in helping small scale farmers in Guatemala, more so that is why Wal-Mart stock fair trade coffee  on its shelves.

Saving customers’ money so that they can have a better live as stated by Wal-Mart’s mission is thus is the center of everything that Wal-Mart does.

Wal-Mart’s Slogan

A slogan is a brief, unforgettable catch word, motto or a tagline that is applied to identify an organization or it’s product in advertisements Morrisey and Acomb (1990). As for Wal-Mart its slogan is:

“Wal-Mart. Always low price. Always.” (www.walmartstores.com).

Wal-Mart’s Values

Wal-Mart values are founded on its founder values and morals. These values have assisted Wal-Mart to become the world’s number one retail store. The following are Wal-Mart’s values:

Respect:

At the center of every rule and custom of Wal-Mart is the fundamental value of respect. The company respects its customers, its associates (employees) and its suppliers. Respect is the centerpiece that Wal-Mart uses to build its relationships. Respect assists Wal-Mart to serve the communities within its stores, and in building a business that is dedicated to excellence (www.walmartstores.com).

Services to its customers

Wal-Mart has a belief that it’s their customers that makes them to be in business, thus Wal-Mart aims at treating them as the most important people in their business. Wal-Mart offers high quality products at the lowest prices possible, not forgetting to offer the excellent customer services. Wal-Mart looks at every opening where it can exceed its customers’ expectations. To be at its best, Wal-Mart strives exceed customers’ expectations (www.walmartstores.com).

Striving for excellence

Wal-Mart is proud of what it has achieved, but it is never contended to be there. Thus, it constantly strives to incorporate fresh ideas and objectives of life. Wal-Mart as an organization follows the footsteps of its founder Sam Walton, who kept on looking for improvements. Thus Wal-Mart for example is never satisfied until it lowers its prices to the lowest possible price, or until it improves its product to the highest possible quality for its customer. Wal-Mart constantly asks, “Is this the best that can be down.” This is the zeal of Wal-Mart for its business, its customers and the community as whole. Table I in the appendix shows aspects of each value.

Wal-Mart’s Objectives

The long-standing objectives of Wal-Mart stores are:

Growth

Constant adaptation.

Lee Scott the CEO of Wal-Mart, hugely contributed to these two objectives by emphasizing international growth and venturing into new retail strategies; establishing Super centers. These two objectives are long term objectives and keep on growing through addition of more stores, acquisition of businesses in foreign countries and creating joint ventures with various corporations ((www.walmartstores.com).

Selected Strategies used by Wal-Mart

For Wal-Mart to achieve its objectives, which are international growth and new retail formats or plans, Wal-Mart has used several strategies; we shall examine two of these strategies:

Dominate the industry strategy

Hayden, et al (2002) states that, one of the main strategies of Wal-Mart stores is to dominate the retail industry. The founder of Wal-Mart established a retail philosophy that is still followed by the Wal-Mart. Indeed, Wal-Mart is mainly a discount retailer store since they sell their merchandize at the lowest price possible. Through selling products at the lowest price, Wal-Mart underlines that the core of success for a discount retailing store is to reduce the prices on a product to the lowest end possible, reducing the profit and earning profit on high volume of sales made.

Another aspect of this strategy is seen in the competitiveness of each store. Every store is given an encouragement to aggressively compete against other stores around its customer base until such a Wal-Mart store dominates the local competitors. Presently, Wal-Mart is the world leading retailer store and the leading company allover the world in regards to sales with a record of over $200 billion sales as indicated on the Fortune 500 list (www.fortune.com). As stated the main strategy of Wal-Mart is to dominate the industry, to achieve this, the company uses the power of its size as well as its volume purchasing power to successful carry out this strategy (www.walmart.com)

Expansion strategy

A strategic objective of Wal-Mart is expansion to new markets, which it has managed to successfully. A close look at facts and figures reveals Wal-Mart’s dominance and influence. Presently Wal-Mart has a workforce of more than 1.3 million, one million employees working in US Wal-Mart stores alone. In addition Wal-Mart has more than 4000 stores; more than 1200 of these are located in foreign countries. Locally, as stated Wal-Mart has more than 3,000 stores and over 70 distribution centers in the US alone (Hayden, et al, 2002). Wal-Mart serves over 100 millions in a week in 50 states of America, Puerto Rico and in other countries where Wal-Mart stores exists.

Globally, Wal-Mart has its presence in Mexico, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Brazil, Germany and Korea. Its global expansion strategy has been forceful and powerful. The most recent expansion strategy of Wal-Mart is to gain entry into a foreign market through corporate takeover of a leading retailer. After buying a retailer chain, Wal-Mart changes the stores to its own. Three countries, where in the past did not have Wal-Mart stores, have become part of Wal-Mart’s international existence when local retail chains were taken-over. Wal-Mart in 1994, took-over 122 Woolco stores in Canada, presently there are 196 Wal-Mart stores in Canada. Again, in 1998 Wal-Mart entered Germany by buying 21 stores of Wetkauf, today Wal-Mart has 94 stores in Germany. Similarly, Wal-Mart bought ASDA in the United Kingdom and acquired 229 stores in 1999; presently there are over 250 Wal-Mart stores in UK (www.walmartstores.com).

This specific strategy of taking over other corporate gives Wal-Mart an advantage upon entering new market, in one moment a big competitor is removed, giving Wal-Mart real estate, employees and a huge presence in the new market. This shows effective application of Wal-Mart’s size and financial power, since only some if any of its competitors are capable of doing this successful. Wal-Mart creates brand familiarity, whilst retaining the previous common outlets. Slowly as the domestic Wal-Mart starts to make profit, and the local management evaluates their competition situation, Wal-Mart starts to re-decorate the acquired stores so that they look similar to “Wal-Mart’s”, later Wal-Mart starts to build bigger stores in the new market. The success of this strategy can be attested by the fact that presently, Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer chain in UK and Canada (www.walmartstores.com).

Has the strategies of Wal-Mart worked?

The proof that the strategies taken by Wal-Mart worked continued growth and rise to be the top most retail store not in America but in the world. Wal-Mart has shown that it is possible to sell all products on low prices. And that it is also possible to have Super Centers that stock almost all items. Wal-Mart’s management style and marketing strategies has led the way in retail industry. Table II in the appendix shows (Five year average 1995 -2000) comparative financial performance of selected retail stores.

One action plan for Wal-Mart

Even though, Wal-Mart has been very successful, there have been a number of issues regarding its human resources management. Bearing that human resource is the most important asset of an organization Wal-Mart should improve its human resources management. Issues have been raised regarding Wal-Mart’s employees reluctance to join organizations that are anti-unions, its widespread foreign product outsourcing, gender issues, particularly discrimination against female workers. Thus, for high success, Wal-Mart needs to improve these areas.

Conclusion

As Mintzberg and Quinn, (1992) notes, in present day business environment that is characterized high competition, budget-centered planning or projected-centered planning approaches are not enough for big corporations to survive and thrive. Companies must undertake strategic planning, to clearly identify objectives and evaluate the internal and external environment to create a strategy, carry out the strategy, assess its progress and make the needed modifications to remain on the right track. Wal-Mart Inc. has been able to understanding this concept of strategic management and utilized it well to achieve the success it enjoys today.

Reference:

Canales, J.; Kibble, B. and Terk, N (2000): One Step Beyond Strategic Planning: Foundation News & Commentary, Vol.41 Issue 5; p 78-83

Hay, R (1990):  Strategic management in non-profit organizations, Westport: Greenwood Press,

Hayden, P; Lee, S; McMahon, K & Pereira, M (2002): A Case Study on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart: Staying on Top of the Fortune 500 Accessed on 22/7/2009 from: http://mike-pereira.com/subpage/docs/walmartcs.htm

Lichtenstein, N. (2006) Wal-Mart: The Face of Twenty-First-Century Capitalism. New Press

Mintzberg, H & Quinn, J (1992): The Strategy Process:- Concepts and Contexts: Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Morrisey, G & Acomb, B (1990): The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning: Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

Wal-Mart (2009): About Us (Wal-Mart): http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/

Appendix

Table I: Wal-Mart values and some of their elements (www.walmartstores.com )

Table II: Comparative Financial Performance of selected retail stores (Five year average 1995 -2000) source: www.mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pdf/2002-2-0013.pdf

The Role of Dopamine on the Brain:

Dopamine is one of the three most studied monoamines of in the field of psychiatry along with norepinephrine and serotonin. It has a huge impact on brain activities in its role as a neurotransmitter.  Dopamine has a single amine (-NH2-) group as do norepinephrine and serotonin and it is further subcategorized as a catecholamine because of its molecular structure that includes a catechol group (Keltner et al, 2000). Dopamine is distributed in a concentrated manner in several discrete neural pathways as well as more diffusely in the brain.  These pathways are often linked to important regions in the brain that mediate important behaviors and there is theory and evidence that dopamine levels cause intense changes in behavior mainly due to their role as neurotransmitters in the brain. Dopamine pathways in the brain explain behavioral phenomena such as syntax production and probability reasoning to activation of specific motor programs and learning of motor programs. For example, Parkinson’s patients who have depleted levels of dopamine in the brain have problems with ordinary syntax and motor control (Schulkin, 2004). Thus, the role of dopamine in the brain is one that is worth study and investigation.

Neurotransmitters such as dopamine are chemical messengers released by neurons to surrounding regions in the brain to signal them to fire nerve impulses or initiate metabolic changes (Foltynie et al, 2003). The release of these neurotransmitters is carefully regulated by the body through receptors and transporters. Receptors are located on nerve cells and when they receive a neurotransmitter such as dopamine, they cause the neuron to fire a nerve impulse. Transporters which are present on the surface of the transmitting neuron help to bring back the neurotransmitters to the nerve cell so that it is ready for the next burst. The neurotransmitter dopamine is stored in tiny hollow spheres, called vesicles which are tiny buds on the nerve cell’s surface. When the nerve impulse travels and reaches the end of a nerve process, the transmitting neuron is triggered to release dopamine into the narrow space between neurons called the synapse (Foltynie et al, 2003). When the dopamine reaches the receiving neuron, it binds to specific dopamine receptors, thereby triggering a response in that neuron. Almost immediately, the dopamine transporter scavenges excess dopamine from the synapse to terminate the signal. However, in the absence of dopamine receptors dopamine will have no action.

There are five types of dopamine receptors –D1 to D5 and they are located at different places in the brain. D1 receptors are located in the cortex and in the extrapyramidal system; D2 receptors are located in limbic structures, motor centers, and the pituitary. D3 receptors are located in limbic areas. D4 receptors are located on cortical neurons that influence thought processes. D5 receptors are located in the limbic system, including the nucleus accumbens, which is a major component of the reward pathway (Keltner et al, 2001). By knowing the type of dopamine receptor it is possible to know its location and thereby understand various drug effects and discover new receptor specific drugs. For example, Bezchlibnyk-Butler and Jeffries (1997) have observed that blocking the D1 receptors may mediate the antipsychotic effects of neuroleptics while blocking D2 receptors controls positive symptoms, causes extrapyramidal symptoms, and causes prolactin elevation (Keltner et al, 2001, p. 65). Likewise, blockade of D3 receptors and D4 receptors can exacerbate the antipsychotic effect on negative symptoms and positive symptoms respectively; blockade of D5 receptors is predicted to create an antipleasure response.

As a result of such specific reactions to dopamine receptor stimulation and antagonism, there have been many scientific deductions. Studies show that the efficiency of traditional antipsychotics is highest when 70% to 80% of D2 receptors are blocked (Hertel, Fagerquist, & Svensson, 1999).  Agents that block D3 receptors can have an ameliorating effect on Type II schizophrenia due to its association with negative symptoms. The drug clozapine has a stronger attraction for D4 than D3 and hence there can be both positive and negative effects (Keltner et al, 2001).   Of all the dopamine receptor information, the D2 receptor information has been most applied in clinical settings. The other receptors have been found to play smaller roles in the treatment of schizophrenia (Keltner et al, 2001).

Generally, it has been found that dopamine receptor stimulation can cause “positive symptoms of schizophrenia, psychoses, Huntington’s disease, dyskinesias, hallucinations, delusions, nausea, vomiting, addictive behaviors and sexual function enhancement” whereas dopamine receptor antagonism can cause “negative symptoms of schizophrenia, temperature dysregulation, antiemetic effects, Parkinson’s and related disorders, dystonias, akathisias, cognitive problems, sexual dysfunction and neuroendocrine dysregulation” (Keltner et al, 2001, p. 68). Dopamine receptors are targets of drug therapy for schizophrenia and other dopamine-related disorders. The original biochemical model of schizophrenia was called the dopamine hypothesis, and for many years drug treatment was aimed at antagonizing these receptors. Both this theory and antischizophrenic medications have been modified over the years. In people with Parkinson’s disease, dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra start to die off, and the brain gradually loses control of physical movements. Tremors and eventually paralysis result (Keltner et al, 2001).

Dopamine is concentrated in four brain systems or pathways, where the cell bodies are in one location and long fibers extend from these locations to terminate elsewhere in the brain. The nigrostriatal dopamine tract is the most studied of the brain’s dopamine systems (Heinrichs, 2001). It rises from the sustantia nigra and stretches to the neostriatus, which is part of the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia region is responsible for the modulation of movement and action and the learning of motor skills and procedures. Disorders like Parkinsonism deplete the tract’s dopamine and result in rapid shaking or resting tremor that recedes with voluntary movement (Heinrichs, 2001). Moreover, patients show muscular rigidity, an inflexible expressionless face and general slowing of motor activity that affects walking and speaking. Treatment of Parkinsonism has focused on increasing dopamine activity in the brain. Though Dopamine  is present in the blood supply, it is prevented from entering the brain by the blood brain barrier - a network of cells that transport nutrients to neurons but filter out certain substances (Heinrichs, 2001). However dihydrozyphylalanine of DOPA, the immediate precursor of dopamine has the ability to enter the brain from the bloodstream and therefore it is used in treating Parkinson’s disease.

A second major dopamine tract in the brain is the mesolimbic pathway which rises up from the ventrotegmental area of the midbrain to the nucleus accumbens, septum, amygdala and entorhinal cortex and these areas have been associated with reward, fear, anxiety and some aspects of memory. A third pathway is the mesocortical tract that rises to the prefrontal cortex that is associated with activities such as planning and self regulation (Heinrichs, 2001). A final pathway occurs in the hypothalamus and extends to the pituitary gland. The effect of blocking dopamine activity in this system can be seen to interfere with the activity of the pituitary and cause weight gain, lower sex drive and excessive prolactin release (Heinrichs, 2001).

It has been found that a gene called Sry that is found on the Y chromosome and hence exclusively found in men - is the key to dopamine regulation in the brain (Gramling, 2006). This finding explains why men are more often likely to suffer from dopamine-related illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and addiction. Together with another new study, the work suggests that women and men have distinctive dopamine-regulating systems. Men are 1.5 times as likely as women to develop Parkinson’s disease (Gramling, 2006). A recent study on dopamine neurons in the brains of macaques has shows that this dopamine can predict rewarding events as one of its functions in specific regions of the brain (Schulkin, 2004). Once prediction is made, the dopamine neurons tend to fire more in anticipation of rewarding events. In this experiment involving macaques, before a reward is fully predictable, dopamine neurons are activated each time the reward is given. However one the reward is predictable, dopamine is no longer activated to the same degree. And if the predicted award does not happen, dopamine release is again activated - the greater the uncertainty of reward occurrence the greater activation of the dopamine neuronal population (Schulkin, 2004). This is a model of expectancy and learning and the model of dopamine release should have some application to aesthetic appreciation and perception of beauty. Thus, dopamine is a neurotransmitter that serves the dual purpose of organizing movement and organizing thought by the prediction of events (Schulkin, 2004).  Moreover, it has been found that dopamine expression is essential for incentive motivation - it provides the list of objects to approach and list of objects to avoid.  As dopamine is released whenever rewarding acts are performed such as eating, shopping, sex, etc, there is a sense of pleasure and this feeling of pleasure can lead to an addiction in some cases (The Mail on Sunday, 2008). According to a very recent study, in the case of patients with fibromyalgia, changes in the levels of dopamine can cause lowering of gray matter density in areas of the brain where dopamine is known to control neurological activity (Forbes.com, 2009). The dopamine system does not function in isolation. Rather, it functions along with a number of other neurotransmitters and neuropeptides in a variety of locations in the brain.

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Gramling, C. (2006). Gender Gap: Male-Only Gene Affects Men’s Dopamine Levels. Science News, 169 (9): 4 March 2006, p. 132+

Hertel, P., Fagerquist, M.V., & Svensson, T.H. (1999). Enhanced cortical dopamine output and antipsychotic-like effects of raclopride by alpha-2 adrenoreceptor blockade. Science, 286, 105-107.

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Schulkin, Jay (2004). Bodily sensibility: intelligent action. Oxford University Press US, 2004

The Mail on Sunday (2008). How Drug Makes You Addicted to Sex and Betting.  6 July 2008, p. 22