Culture Change at Texaco - Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture Change at Texaco - - Case Study Example thical problems at Texaco by introducing complete culture change that highlighted stringent measures for implementing equity across the workforce at all levels of interaction. Most importantly, cultural dimension was seen as the central element of promoting equity which not only showed firm’s commitment towards diversity but also raised important question of organizational culture and business strategy that played vital role in promoting better work culture within and outside the firm. In the highly competing environment of rapid globalization, pluralistic society had increasingly become a norm. Organizational ethics and ethical consideration to socially relevant issues give significant leverage to the firm in the market as it tend to influence firm’s image amongst the public, impacting their overall performance (Trevino & Nelson, 2014). Thus, Texaco’s new diversity policy was made intrinsic part of its business strategy and organizational culture. It mainly targeted the behavior of employees and through harsh measures like dismissal from job, ensured that employees treated other employees coming from different color, race, gender and culture with respect. The diversity strategy was integrated within all spheres of firm’s operations including recruitment, promotion, retention, supply chain, customer service etc. The system was distinct in its lack of commitment towards diversity mainly due to low awareness regarding cultural values and cultural competencies. The initial focus of new diversity policy was important facilitator for encouraging better behavior and mode of communication. By introducing drastic changes, the managerial leadership was actually making efforts to develop better organizational culture that relied on building new workplace relationships based on better cross-cultural understanding and mutual respect. The strategic realignment of its business strategy and business goals would emerge as important catalyst for developing facilitating

Consider a particular real organization of your choice which has an Essay

Consider a particular real organization of your choice which has an international profile. Discuss how the organization is adopt - Essay Example The company is primarily engaged in manufacturing vehicles for the purpose of selling them to the general customers. The company was originally established in the year 1903 by Henry Ford and since then, the company has produced more than 260 millions of vehicles (Austin, 2001). It is worth mentioning that the automobile industry has grown to be much competitive in nature over the preceding few decades, particularly after the advent of the globalisation process. At the same time, the continuous advancement in the technological aspects has also contributed towards altering the business models and forcing the companies like Ford to incorporate radical changes in their respective supply chain and logistics operations for sustaining business in this competitive landscape. The company, during the year 1995 has initiated a plan to restructure its business model and other key areas of its activities such as Order to Delivery (OTD) and Ford Production System. The company with new structuring plan indented to reduce OTD and further desired to convert its supply chain based operations from push type to pull (Cao & et. al., 2010). In its structuring plan, it can be viewed that the ultimate aim of the company is to perform effectual supply chain along with logistics operations in a cost-effective manner (The Saylor Foundation, 2013; Ha, 2008). Correspondingly, this essay intends to discuss the sustainability and the green supply chain in the context of The Ford Motor Company. The Marketing Channels and Logistics Frameworks, Models and Theories and Latest Trends The marketing functions generally focus upon developing the tasks that are executed by the distribution systems and also the associated utilities of these functions. In this similar concern, marketing channels are viewed as the set of inter-reliant organisations that are engaged in the process of making certain products or services for consumption purpose. The marketing channels eventually draw attention to certain g roup of members such as wholesalers, distributors and retailers among the prime. These members are commonly engaged in the distribution system and are generally responsible for deliverance of products or services from the point of inception to the point of final consumption. It is worth mentioning that management of such marketing channels requires planning, organizing, coordinating, directing along with controlling efforts of channel members. For example, Ford Motor has articulated certain global terms and conditions especially for its suppliers that are duly required to be abided by them in order to conduct business with the company. Any supplier, who do not abide by the established sets of code of conduct which formulated by the company is liable to be terminated from the contractual arrangement (Borade & Bansod, 2007). In the contemporary business environment, most of the organisations are involved in providing customer-oriented view of marketing channels. The domain of marketin g channels typically includes market channel structure, governance and relationship management. In this regard, it can be firmly stated that the effort of one group in

Continuous Improvement as a Business Strategy

Continuous Improvement as a Business Strategy The case study focuses on Corus, Europes second largest steel manufacturing company and their efforts in following the path of Continuous Improvement to produce quality product in a timely manner by streamlining their processes and reducing the wastage of resources. Corus is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one of worlds top ten steelmakers. In their own words, Corus aspires to be the worlds steel industry benchmark for value creation and corporate citizenship. Corus is a leading supplier to most of the demanding markets around the world including construction, automotives, packaging, mechanical and electrical engineering, metal goods, and oil gas. With innovation and continuous improvement at the heart of its business performance, Corus aims to create value by offering a differentiated product range supported by unrivalled customer service. 1 The challenge that Corus faces in differentiating its products from that of its rivals is that, steel is a relatively inexpensive product and in major building projects, the cost of steel can be as little as 5% of the overall cost of the project. It is also a challenging task to meet the rising demand for steel, at increasing levels of quality and to comply with challenging delivery requirements. While it would be an easy task to meet these challenges using brand-new facilities, an investment of more than 300 million Pounds to build a ‘Greenfield Site steel mill is an impediment. Therefore, Corus decided to focus on the path of Continuous Improvement, commonly known as CI, at its steel plate manufacturing mill in Scunthorpe, to achieve process efficiency, quality and delivery improvements with its existing manufacturing setup. What is Continuous Improvement? Continuous improvement, with respect to organizational quality and performance, focuses on improving customer satisfaction through continuous and incremental improvement processes, removing or minimizing unnecessary activities and delays in product delivery and also minimizing defects in the products being delivered. Several organizations have gained a competitive edge by implementing Kaizen, commonly known as continuous improvement (CI). The philosophy of Kaizen was spearheaded by Masaaki Imai, and is constituted of two words, kai which means ‘change and zen which means ‘good as well as ‘wisdom. Hence we can conclude that Kaizen implies ‘changes for the better and covers all processes in an organization like Engineering, Information Technology, Finance, Procurement and Supply, Customer Service and Manufacturing. CI can be initiated either at Top Management level or at Process level based on effective feedback system. The most important factor is that, all employees should be responsible to make improvements and must work together to identify the steps needed to improve the efficiency of the overall process, in an iterative manner. This requires thorough supervision, flexible work force and technology to improve business efficiency. When an established organization like Corus attempts to differentiate its products or services from its competitors in the industry, CI can be the â€Å"Differentiation† or â€Å"Focus† competitive strategies which can help the organization grow. Corus has implemented CI of ‘flow where the products are pulled through a carefully planned production process from the supply of raw steel to the finished steel plate. The process is paced and scheduled to control the amount of product in each stage of the process, to keep bottlenecks to a minimum and to maintain high quality. A part of the CI process involves the measurement of improvements to gauge, whether the improvements have resulted in benefits. These results can be reducing waste time, saving money and efforts, or better utilization of available resources. These are the tangible benefits of the implementation of a CI process. The intangible benefits will include greater staff motivation and increased job satisfaction3. In Corus, improvement is gauged with the help of a set of new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) focused on meeting customer deadlines, such as zero backlog of customer orders and meeting targets for rolling steel plate in its allotted week. Thus benchmark level can be set and attempts can be made to better that level in an iterative manner. When Why CI need to be implemented? It is human nature to feel secure in ones comfortable environment of a â€Å"CASH COW† organization and therefore people are hesitant towards big changes. Some of the most common excuses that people give to avoid changes at workplace are: 1) Its been done in this way for a long time2) We know theres a better way but theres not enough time to fix things3) I dont get paid extra to think4) Its not my problem but someone elses problem However, a key aspect of implementing CI is the fact that it does not deal with big changes, but with smaller ones that take less time to implement at minimal cost. Also, an interesting aspect would be that it gradually transforms and brings about what one can call a big change without people being hesitant and overcoming their apprehensions. The objective is to minimize cost by leveraging the existing knowledge pool and gradually implementing changes. The key of effectively implementing CI is that it has to become a part of the organizations culture and gain consensus from the work force and stake holders. Like in the Corus case, moving from Tonnage, the traditional key measure of productivity to the smooth paced process of CI involved a significant work culture change for the employees. Initiation and integration of CI 1. Collect feedback from the horses mouth It is imperative to understand the operations at the ground level from the people who perform the tasks on a regular basis. By asking for ideas and by listening to those that know how the job is currently performed you will achieve a much greater buy-in from your teams 2. Place checks and implement improvement process cycle Not jumping to conclusions is the key here. Put into practice the steps of Plan, Do, Check and Act known as PDCA Model PDCA a simple model for CI implementation Plan the plan phase constitutes of setting objectives and goals that would form the guiding path for the entire process of improvement.Do the Do phase requires the testing of possible alternatives and arriving at a solution that would comply with best practices and industry benchmarksCheck In this phase, the effectiveness of the action phase is evaluated to ascertain the success of the plans and also to see if any negative consequences have arisen.Act The act phase is to implement the tried and tested processes and form the new standards. If the processes are unsuccessful, then the cycle is repeated till the time desirable results are attained. Even after the process has been established, the implementation of CI is not over. The goal of CI is to set newer and more efficient benchmarks. This philosophy has to become a part of the organizations culture. For example, in the Scunthorpe plant of Corus, a CI manager co-ordinates the process and 40 CI coaches chosen from the workforce received training to facilitate improvements. A toolbox of techniques has been put together to help managers, employees and operators understand where and how they can improve their work and come up with new ideas to change processes for better. Scunthorpe plate mill has set out a 5-year vision improvement plan which will help in the process of developing a CI culture for the business and has held workshops for employees to understand the vision and change since it was recognized that people might be resistant and cling to old ways of working. The 5 year-plan, established a timeline for the thorough acceptance and implementation of the CI culture among employees so that by the end of the 5-year period, the team and individuals are empowered to take responsibility and make decisions for themselves. Tradeoffs in implementing Continuous Improvement: Although several companies have benefitted from implementing CI, its quite interesting to see that something this innovative and cost effective could also derail the organization from its path to success or even create a new bottleneck in the entire process. At times CI may lead to a trade-off between self-management and discipline 5. Over engagement and a lack of prioritization in implementing new wave CI manufacturing strategies by front line managers and operations staff has actually led to a tradeoff between their core operations related work and CI related activities. Often, CI strategies led by an over-enthusiastic HR has caused them to over strategize which is a new bottle neck in itself and often goes unnoticed. Thus it is quite important to make sure that less than 7% of the total work time may be spent by such key operational personnel on CI oriented strategy development so that their core operational responsibilities may not be diluted beyond an acceptable limit. Another very interesting drawback that has been noticed is the invert effect of over emphasis on the implementation of CI Practices on the price v/s quality competitive strategy model 6. In her study, Barbara Flynn has very effectively shown that an uninterrupted iteration of CI programs for the reduction of cost price would ultimately result in increasing price since perfection always comes at a premium. Secondly it was also observed that in the quest to achieve the goal of CI within its designated time period, the complex untested assumptions about the relation between process and outcome are often deliberately not studied in depth. Managers prematurely conclude that any detrimental effects of implementing the new plan would be taken care of in subsequent CI programs 7. Thus such complacency could result in mission failure at the nth hour. But still, careful and well planned implementation of CI strategy is effective because it keeps production processes under control, rapidly trains production personnel to effectively manage production and possesses the flexibility to slot improvements into production schedules with minimum disruptions and at least effective cost. 8 Continuous Improvement in action at FORD India (A firsthand account) 9: Cost Reduction activity has become one of the major activities in any industry especially in Automobile field with ever increasing competition. The following is a firsthand account of Continuous Improvement initiate undertaken at Ford India for Cost Reduction. The Front End Module of the car is a plastic molded steel reinforced part, supplied to Ford by a Vendor X. The Input weight of the steel portion in that is 4.0 Kg and its output weight is 1.0 Kg. With 25% yield, Ford saw the scope for cost reduction in the above module. Normally for any steel part, yield of at least 40 to 50% is expected. Hence, the only way to reduce the cost would by reducing the input weight. After several discussions with technical department, Ford decided to optimize the design to reduce the input weight and proposed the modified design to the vendor. Various trials were conducted and accordingly the design was altered without compromising on the quality of the final part. After several iterations, the new design was approved by the quality team. Minor modifications were made to existing tools in order to work with new design. This Continuous Improvement initiative not only reduced cost but also reduced the scrap content and process time. Suggestions for Corus Corus has implemented lean manufacturing method of CI, which has really improved its deliveries and quality but only in an internal manner. Yet another dimension which can be facilitated through external feedback is available in the form of â€Å"WOWing the customer†. What we feel is that, Corus should start to simultaneously work upon gaining better customer feedback to facilitate continued product design improvement. This combined effort will enable them to suggest improvements in the product demanded by the customers which may exceed the customers expectation and will make them feel that they are getting a value for money preposition. Thus this would add to their customer satisfaction, retention and self sustainable associations which would be mutually beneficial. References and Bibliography http://www.corusgroup.com/en/company/about_corus/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen http://www.helium.com/items/558484-what-is-a-continuous-improvement-plan?page=3 http://www.helium.com/items/558484-what-is-a-continuous-improvement-plan?page=2 Continuous improvement: the trade-off between self-management and discipline Author(s):Alan Harrison Journal:Integrated Manufacturing Systems 6, 7, 8- Achieving simultaneous cost and differentiation competitive advantages through continuous Publication: Journal of Managerial Issues by Flynn, Barbara B. 9. From actual work experience of Santhosh Srinivasan

Powerful Symbols and Symbolism of The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Powerful Symbol of the Scarlet Letter      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne's scarlet token liberates her more than it punishes her.   First of all, Hester's soul is freed by her admission of her crime; by enduring her earthly punishment, Hester is assured of a place in the heavens.   Also, though her appearance is much hampered by the scarlet letter, her mind is freed by it, that an intellectual passion rises from her isolation and suffering.   Finally, it defines her identity, for the letter makes Hester the woman that she is; it gives her roots, character, and a uniqueness to her being that sets her apart from the other Puritans.   The scarlet letter is indeed a blessing to Hester Prynne, more than the curse she believes it to be.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The scarlet symbol of ignominy may have defiled Hester's public image, yet it has been a benefit rather than a bane to her soul, for by admitting her crime to the crowd, her soul is freed from two hells:   first, the fiery pit where she would otherwise go after death, and second, the own personal hell Hester will create for herself if she had chosen to hide her sin in her heart. Though it was ordered for Hester to wear the letter, it was still her own choice to make it in a vivid scarlet, "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom."   Hester chose red as the color of her brand of shame, to declare to the rest of the townspeople that she is prepared to acknowledge her sin, instead of denying it; she could have chosen to wear her "A" in a plain and nondistinct color, to escape the townspeople's disdain.   By displaying her guilt however, she is granted the opportunity to face her punishment bravely, thus through her public humiliation, she achieves freedom from the personal guilt of not suffering enough for her crimes.   Furthermore, "the scarlet letter, forthwith seemed to scorch into Hester's breast, as if it had been red-hot." The scarlet A's glowing embers, scorching they may be, also serve to heal, for the pain they inflict on Hester enables her to properly atone for her sin; by devoting this lifetime to repentance and expiation, she would receive relief in Powerful Symbols and Symbolism of The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays The Powerful Symbol of the Scarlet Letter      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne's scarlet token liberates her more than it punishes her.   First of all, Hester's soul is freed by her admission of her crime; by enduring her earthly punishment, Hester is assured of a place in the heavens.   Also, though her appearance is much hampered by the scarlet letter, her mind is freed by it, that an intellectual passion rises from her isolation and suffering.   Finally, it defines her identity, for the letter makes Hester the woman that she is; it gives her roots, character, and a uniqueness to her being that sets her apart from the other Puritans.   The scarlet letter is indeed a blessing to Hester Prynne, more than the curse she believes it to be.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The scarlet symbol of ignominy may have defiled Hester's public image, yet it has been a benefit rather than a bane to her soul, for by admitting her crime to the crowd, her soul is freed from two hells:   first, the fiery pit where she would otherwise go after death, and second, the own personal hell Hester will create for herself if she had chosen to hide her sin in her heart. Though it was ordered for Hester to wear the letter, it was still her own choice to make it in a vivid scarlet, "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom."   Hester chose red as the color of her brand of shame, to declare to the rest of the townspeople that she is prepared to acknowledge her sin, instead of denying it; she could have chosen to wear her "A" in a plain and nondistinct color, to escape the townspeople's disdain.   By displaying her guilt however, she is granted the opportunity to face her punishment bravely, thus through her public humiliation, she achieves freedom from the personal guilt of not suffering enough for her crimes.   Furthermore, "the scarlet letter, forthwith seemed to scorch into Hester's breast, as if it had been red-hot." The scarlet A's glowing embers, scorching they may be, also serve to heal, for the pain they inflict on Hester enables her to properly atone for her sin; by devoting this lifetime to repentance and expiation, she would receive relief in

Descartes and Skepticism

Descartes and the problem of skepticism| Question: In Meditation III, Descartes argues that his idea of God could not have come from him, and so God must exist. How does this argument go? | Overview Rene Descartes was a great scientist, mathematician and philosopher. He was known for his extensive work on skepticism, and in particular a piece called â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy† (written in 1641) which is still widely used by modern philosophers. In this publication, Descartes’ aim was to demonstrate that a persons’ soul is eternal and that God exists. He explains in Meditation One that it is possible to question the existence of all things; in Meditation two he goes on to give details regarding the existence of the mind and the soul. In the Third Meditation he gives arguments of proof of Gods’ existence; and in Meditation Four he explains the difference between truth and error. In the Fifth Meditation Descartes provides further arguments to prove the existence of God and in the Sixth and final meditation he brings it all together as he demonstrates how knowledge of the mind can be guided by God and therefore validates the knowledge we have of physical world. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2010). This essay will explain Descartes argument of the existence of God with specific reference to the Third Meditation discussed in the class handout- ‘Descartes and the problem of Skepticism’. Meditation ?- God’s Existence In the Third Meditation, subtitled â€Å"On God’s existence,† Descartes is certain that he is a â€Å"thinking thing† (pg 142) and sets out to prove God’s Existence. There were two major standpoints noted in his argument, though they were found to be closely linked. Firstly, he tackles the idea that his own existence and thoughts must have come from somewhere or something. He goes on to explain that the thought he has of God is one of an â€Å"eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipotent, creator of all things† (pg 143). As a result, Descartes argues that the idea of God must therefore be far more complex than his mind alone can perceive- since his idea of God is that of an infinite, perfect being and Descartes himself is a finite being lacking enough formal reality to create such an idea on his own will. Put simply, Descartes believes that the idea of God could not have been created in his own limited mind; and he establishes that God must be the originator of his thoughts and therefore God exists. Secondly, Descartes battles with the idea that his existence must have a cause. He discusses the various possibilities that might have caused his existence including that he might have created himself; he might have always existed; his parents created him; that he was created by something less benevolent and perfect than God; and lastly, that it was God who created him. Descartes takes on an elimination process to figure out which one of these possibilities are likely true. He discusses that he could not have created himself because as he says â€Å"I would have given myself every perfection† (pg 146). Next he dismisses the idea that he always existed simply because as he describes that he is a dependent being that needs to be continually sustained by another. Descartes establishes that the idea of his parents being his creator only reintroduces the same problem regarding their own existence. He then thought of the possibility of a less than perfect God being his creator- but he argues that the idea of perfection that exists in his mind could not have originated from a non-perfect being. With this established, Descartes concludes that there must be a perfect God who is the cause of his existence and his perfect idea of God. In analysis of Descartes position, the observation is made that the basis of his argument is causal reasoning. This is shown when he suggests that there must be a cause of the idea of a perfect God and that this perfect idea must come from God himself. In my own reflection, I thought that living a predominantly Christian society might be the cause of my own idea of God. I have learnt all that I know about God from my parents and by extension the society. It therefore follows, that my parents' idea of God might have come from their parents also, whose idea somewhere along the line came from the church- which is also made up of men who has parents. Descartes argument supports that at the end of this causal chain, there has to be a first cause, which is God. Since there is no direct of evidence proving or disproving the existence of God, the belief in his existence is widely ccepted today, and the search for such a proof would always be a highly debatable and controversial topic. While there is still disagreement over Descartes argument as to whether or not God exists, it is generally agreed that God's existence cannot be proved through the capacity of the mind and therefore we rely on such concepts as skepticism and reasoning to guid e what we choose to believe of God. References * Smith, K. (2010, September 20). Descartes' life and works. Retrieved October 11, 2011from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/descartes-works * Class Handout- Descartes and The Problem of Skepticism

Innovation Strategy Essay

Team C has chosen Apple Corporation to use for this assignment.â€Å"Apple is the innovator for consumer technology† according to a March 2013 article on Forbes.com titled â€Å"Apple Cash, Margins And Innovation: The Obvious Strategy.† Apple did not invent the music player, computer nor cellular phone but has made their products so recognizable that is difficult to have a conversation regarding the latter without including the Apple brand. Their innovation strategies have resulted in the popularity of iPods, iPhones, iPads and iTunes. As this company continues to push boundaries, â€Å"it is anticipated that Apple will introduce an iWatch which is speculated to provide alert messages such as texts, emails or incoming calls this year and an iTelevision with IOS interface next year†(â€Å"Apple Cash, Margins And Innovation: The Obvious Strategy†, 2013). Apple has built an Innovation Factory – one that harnesses creativity in its people, stimulating new ideas, and launching successful, profitable new innovations†¦Apple leverages its diverse culture, innovation processes, partners and networks to seize the new opportunities in the marketplace and grow its business, exponentially (â€Å"Apple’S Innovation Strategy, Innovation Process & Innovation Model†, n.d.). Incremental and breakthrough innovation and approaches have resulted in continuous improvements as Apple has become a trusted household name. Incremental and Breakthrough Innovation The Apple Corporation has had many innovations throughout the life of the firm. Some of the innovations were incremental or small improvements to a current product offered by the company while other changes are breakthroughs in their technology. Apple’s innovation strategy has been to have a healthy balance of both incremental and breakthrough innovations to the product offerings, but the key to their success has been the building of anticipation for each kind of release. Incremental innovations to Apple Technologies include the upgrade to the technology and the minimizing or shrinking of the iPod line of products. Apple released the iPod in 2001 and offered small changes like making the iPod compatible with Windows in 2002, the offering of the iTunes store in 2003, the iPod mini in 2004, and incrementally changing size as well with the iPod Nano, or iPod Touch for example. (â€Å"Ipod + Itunes Timeline†, 2013). Incremental changes to product offerings by companies are a great way to keep a product that is currently familiar to consumers, fresh and exciting without pushing them to use something completely new and different. For a company to remain competitive in the market place though they must also offer something new, or a breakthrough in technology offering on the market at that time. Apple has been successful because the company releases both types of innovations regularly. In 2007 Apple followed up the incremental updates to the iPod with a breakthrough technology release of the Apple iPhone. As stated in an article by Pimo (2012), â€Å"When first released, the iPhone was a breakthrough in mobile technology boasting unprecedented sensor technology, a brand new operating system, which actually fits the operations of a computer inside the attractive body of a phone. iPhone as we know today has restructured the entire world of Mobile gadgets and was Apple’s ace in the world of technology† (8). Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement is important within any organization in order to keep running effectively and efficiently. Such improvement begins up at the top with management and trickles down the organization. Apple knows that its employees must work together in order to continuously improve work practices and remain a competitive firm. â€Å"Continuous improvement requires the mindset that improvement never ends and that you may never achieve perfection† (Page, 2010, p. 229). Apple has proven time again and again that continuous improvement is a necessity. Innovation is a huge aspect that helps drive this company and has helped it remain on top. As apple continuously improves itself from within as well as externally it is able to achieve incremental goals. By constantly having a drive to improve Apple is able to locate areas and processes that may need improvement. This is an essential step to solutions regarding improvement. Competition does not sleep which is what makes companies like Apple have an initiative to continuously improve. Continuous improvement can lead to improved customer satisfaction, lower costs, better quality, and the list keeps going on. The key is to think of continuous improvement as long-term rather than short-term with one-time accomplishments. Improvements are incremental which ultimately enhance sustainability and profitability of Apple. Products and processes, for the most part, can always be improved to better a company as whole. Incremental versus Breakthrough Approach A company must consider the importance of both an incremental and a breakthrough innovation. Focusing on just one of these approaches can limit the company in the marketplace and ultimately lead to a negative consumer opinion. If a company continues to focus on breakthrough technologies then they are not focusing on ways to improve their previously released products. Failure to maintain and update products out on the market will frustrate users as the competition maybe be making slick new but subtle changes all the time. If Apple for example were to have released the iPhone and never followed up with software updates or new options like iMessage and Siri then the glamour and awe surrounding the release of the phone would have died out and consumers would have moved on to the competition for those incremental improvements. On the other hand if a company focuses only on incremental innovation then they could be seen as slow to keep up with the industry or even out dated. If Apple had continued to only update the iPod line slowly with changes in software and maybe adjustments to buttons or size then they would have eventually been passed by other companies that created exciting new media players or smartphones. Ultimately, consumers would have stopped purchasing from Apple and moved on to the competition. A healthy balance of incremental and breakthrough innovation at a company is vital to the company ability to compete in the marketplace and in the end to its success. Conclusion The Apple Corporation has had many innovations throughout the life of the company and has been able to stay competitive in the market place. They have done this because the innovations were incremental or small improvements to a current product offered by the company while other changes are breakthroughs in their technology. Apple has proven time again and again that continuous improvement is a necessity and it can lead to improved customer satisfaction, lower costs, better quality, and the list keeps going on. References Apple Cash, Margins And Innovation: The Obvious Strategy. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/darcytravlos/2013/03/24/apple-cash-margins-and-innovation-the-obvious-strategy/ Apple’s Innovation Strategy, Innovation Process & Innovation Model. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://appleinnovation.blogspot.com/p/apple-innovation-ebook_9768.html iPod + iTunes Timeline. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/pr/products/ipodhistory/ Page, S. (2010). The Power of Business Process Improvement: 10 Simple Steps to Increase Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Adaptability. New York, NY. Pimo. (2012). 11 Tech and Science Breakthroughs of the 2000s. Retrieved from http://listverse.com/2012/01/08/11-tech-and-science-breakthroughs-of-the-2000s/