The Analysis of the Niagra Movement Essay Example for Free

The Analysis of the Niagra Movement Essay After reconstruction African American were still trying to recover from the inequality and the lack of education in the southern states. The nadir period was the time were African Americans aimed at eliminating racial discrimination, equal job opportunities, and improving their political power. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendment, reconstruction, plessy vs. Ferguson, and radical republicans were all factors that helped black folks advance in society. Booker T.Washington and W.E.B Dubois were to powerful civil rights activist who had two different views on the status of African Americans. The Declaration of Principles of the Niagara movement and Booker T.Washington’s Atlanta Exposition address that were two documents which explained the views of African Americans in the states. This paper will argue that the Atlanta exposition Address was a way to keep peace between the white and black race and that the Niagara Movement was a prime example of principles blacks work so hard to achieve. In the Atlanta Exposition Address Booker T Washington stated that African Americans should deal with accommodation and work on their industrial education. Also he stated that black folks should work and submit to white political power and eventually you will receive a basic education in a moment of time .He also proved us with a fact that states â€Å"We have proven our loyalty to you in the past† .This statement basically explains how African Americans were trusted to take care of the elderly and children .Africans took care of whites from birth to death .Sitting by a elder beside when death has struck. The loyalty of blacks should never be factors because they have been loyal for decade’s .Booker also argue that during reconstruction the advancement of blacks struck way to fast. You can’t expect to get the things you want immadiately you have to start from the bottom to get to the top .Meaning if you adjust to industrial education then you can receive basic edu cation. It is important to stay humble, loyal, and to contribute to the south industries stated Washington. In the Declaration of Niagara Movement the idea of the African American race to have equal education, political power, brotherhood and no racial discrimination was the main ideas .W.E.B Dubois stated that the black race should not submit to inequality and should protest for equal rights. Suffrage economic opportunity ,Civil liberty duties and education are all issues African Americans wanted and felt they had worked so hard and fought in wars for .Dubois states that to be racial prejudice hurts brotherhood and to segregate black men is unchristian and disgraceful. The bible talks about how you should be kind to your neighbor and be kind to others. When white folks so called they Christians the way they treated blacks was unchristian like and it made them question their relationship with god. Booker T .Washington wrote the Atlanta Exposition Address to explain industrial education as a representative of the Negro race during the nadir period. He approaches the southern whites as someone who wants a friendship between the two races .In the address Booker gave a great description of industrial education in relations to African Americans. When he uses the term us he is referring to the white and black race as a whole. When using me he refers to his own race .W.E.B Dubois Declaration of Principles was addressed to the members of the conference known as the Niagara Movement, Which assembled in an annual meeting in buffalo New York. His declaration was to end racial discrimination and to crown brotherhood .It was important for Dubois to let his people understand that accommodation and racial segregation was not something they were going to settle for .How can you fight for your countries when you don’t have rights in the states. After reconstruction ended African Americans went back to being segregated all that they had worked so hard for was gone .They lost political power, segregation was enforced, and a wide spread of violence on the black race had occurred .After Andrew Johnson was impeached radical republicans took over .At this time African Americans believed that since they didn’t get what they wanted immadiately they should work on themselves and accept inequality in hopes of a better future. Accommodation was a tragedy used to explain how industrial education was a good way to help blacks grow as a race. During the industrial education the philposher Booker T.Washingtion helped establish Tuskegee University which helped black learn how people how to be barbers, nurses, cooks, hair stylist etc jobs white folks didn’t want. The Atlanta Exposition Address was a state of address to show the struggle of the race and how blacks are willing adjust to industrial education in hopes of basic education. Even thou a lot of African Americans believed in accommodation it was some felt that accommodation it was some who felt that they deserve rights and quality immediately .The Niagara movement believed in protest and thought inequality was unconstitutional .The Movement believed that the economic life was a big social issues and affect most lower class families . Not having job avaliblites forced blacks to move up north .As blacks wanted to adjust and move in political powers they still faced segregation and unfair jobs. People of the Niagara movement believed that the United States should aid common school education. That trade school only to keep you in the slavery mind set. Having pride in your nation that all men were created equal and free but still blacks fought in war field and still got hunged by southern states soldiers. It made African Americans feel as if they were still being treated as a second-class citizen and no rights. The Declaration of Pringles was a document that declared to white folks that blacks were tired of inequality and boycotting riots were their only option left. The Atlanta Exposition Address and The Declaration Of prinples of the Niagara movement where two documents written by to civil rights activist who had two different views of African Americans fate in the states.Accomodation an d boycotting were two stragies presented in the documents. It is important that whites understand that equal rights,education,and jobs were things blacks had the desire to want and was going to gain eventually .This paper argues that the Address document was just a way to keep peace between two races. You can’t keep peace if one race is adjusting to the other .This document argued a good point that you have to start from the bottom to get to the top. During the reconstruction black folks were put in political office and congress .African Americans advanced really quickly in a few years and it was a lot to take in .A Booker T. Washington tragedy was logical but didn’t help blacks with their education, jobs, and civil rights. However the prinples of the Niagara was well written prime example of black people wanted .In the document education ,jobs, freedom ,and civil liberty were discussed and well discussed in the way African Americans wanted .During the nadir period African American were tired of inequality and felts as if they should have a basic education and quality like blacks. This document was a basic outline of what African Americans wanted and how they were no longer accepting inequality.

Geothermal Energy is the Solution to the Energy Crisis Essay examples -

Geothermal Energy: A Solution to the Energy Crisis Abstract So far, scientists have not found a successful substitute for fossil fuels that can handle both the large demand for energy and solve the global warming problem. I propose that geothermal energy is a clean, widely available, and renewable alternative to the usage of fossil fuels. In this paper, I will explain how use of geothermal resources can be energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective. I believe that the US government should increase funding for geothermal energy research. This may be the solution to our present energy crisis and global warming. Introduction There is a call of action to solve today’s energy crisis. What we need urgently is a clean, abundant, and reliable source of energy. Geothermal energy may be the solution. Geothermal energy does not produce CO2 and is inexpensive compared to the unbelievably high gas prices. This type of energy is also renewable so it can continue to feed the growing population of the world. â€Å"New [geothermal] facilities can produce electricity for being between 4.5 and 7.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, making it competitive with new conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants.† (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2) This shows that if there is more research focused onto this topic, geothermal energy may become the solution to our energy crisis. Current Energy Consumption Currently, the energy consumption has been increasing exponentially. Energy consumption increases by 2% each year causing a doubling in only 35 years. As of 2003, the energy consumptions in quadrillion BTU (British Thermal Unit= 1055.06 Joules) are: North America- 118.3, Europe- 127.4, Asia- 120.2, Middle East- 19.6, Central/South America- 21.9, ... ...y source." 22 Jan. 2007. 27 June 2008 . Moore, Bill. "Sustainble Iceland: Geothermal Wonderland." 25 July 2008 . Sandoval, Steve. "Valles Caldera Geothermal focus of talk Thursday at Laboratory's Bradbury Science Museum." 26 July 2008 . Solar4Scholars. "Geothermal Energy." 25 July 2008 . Union of Concerned Scientists. How Geothermal Energy Works. 21 July 2008 . World Chancing Team. ""Hot Rocks" for Home Energy." Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future. 21 July 2008 .

Language and Communication Needs Essay

You are one of the support workers for a ten year old child who has learning disabilities and needs support at school. The child has language and communication needs. Describe the methods and strategies you might use to enable him to communicate with you. How to use specific methods of communication? Some children need particular help in order to communicate and interact. Speech alone may be difficult for them and they may require special methods of communication. There are several of these and usually advice will be given by a speech therapist in consultation with parents as to which one to use and how to use it. Over the past few years, the range of methods has increased and technology is increasingly being used. Voice simulation has, for example, meant that children can press a picture or type in a computer or handheld device and have ‘their voices’ heard. In the same way, for children who find in hard to write, voice recognition can put their words into writing. Below are some examples of the methods that might be used. – Visual systems Some children need visual cues in order to make sense of language. If the child you are working with uses a system of visual communication, you will need to spend time learning how to use it quickly and fluently. – Picture representations Some children benefit from using pictures to supplement communication. You may show a child a picture of an apron and at the same time say the word so that the child knows that they need to get their apron. – Picture exchange system This system, based on pictures, not only helps children to understand the meaning of words but also help them to learn about the way in which communication is a shared and a two-way process. The child takes and receives pictures and so learns how to interact. – Sign representations Some children’s cognitive development is the reason why they find it hard to talk and communicate. At first, babies learn about language through seeing the object that the adult is talking about at the same time as hearing the word. For example, an adult may point to a cat and say ‘cat’. The child than remembers the word and so eventually does not need the cat to be around to know what the word means. For some children, sounds alone are not enough and they need to have their language supported by signs. A common sigh system is Makaton. It helps children link the word to an action or object and so is easier for them to understand. Makaton is not a language in itself but a tool to help language. It is important not to confuse Makaton with British sigh language, which is not used for the same purpose. – British sign language British sign language is an alternative form of communication. It is a complete language and is used instead of speech. Users if sign language do not have learning difficulties. Most users have significant hearing loss and so need a different way of communicating. Music can be an incredibly effective therapeutic and educational medium for young children and individuals with special needs. Singing can stimulate growth in many areas of a child’s development and in several areas simultaneously. By singing with children, we may help stimulate language and communication skills, encourage interaction, assist in learning academic concepts, encourage self expression, increase self esteem, help him relax, and help establish routines. How to remove barriers in communication: A child might not be able to hear instructions or what other children are saying – Write down instructions or show pictures to help children understand what is happening. – Encourage other children to face the child so that it is easier for them to hear. – Use pictures or signs to help children to communicate with each other. – Plan games in which action is more important than hearing or talk. Useful strategies Try to: †¢ speak in clear, short, simple sentences †¢ simplify instructions †¢ support speech with visual prompts, signs or gestures †¢ use pictures/symbols to aid understanding †¢ ensure prompt referral to a speech and language therapist, or the provision of specialist speech and language intervention within the educational setting †¢ encourage regular, constant reinforcement of skills introduced at speech and language sessions. Strategies for or those with language impairment/delay It helps to: †¢ use simple sentences and instructions, reinforcing key words †¢ ask a child to tell you in their own words what they have been asked to do †¢ reinforce learning by repeating answers (from the child or others) †¢ encourage ‘good listening’ †¢ encouraging the child to (learn to) read †¢ use visual timetables/prompts gestures, signing eg Makaton or written instructions to reinforce the spoken word provide visual clues, don’t just talk about a cylinder, let them see it, feel it, play with it, find different cylinders †¢ teach word association skills †¢ teach the nuances of language, meanings of jokes, idioms, body language, facial expressions etc †¢ make use of books, role play, drama, singing, social stories to explain social situations and develop social skills and understanding †¢ play games that encourage listening and/or social skills †¢ plan the careful use of computers and ICT to facilitate learning. Types of disorders Speech disorders Speech disorders involve difficulties producing speech sounds or problems with voice quality. They might be characterised by an interruption in the flow or rhythm of speech, such as stuttering (which is called dysfluency). Speech disorders include problems with articulation (the way sounds are formed), or phonological disorders, or difficulties with the pitch, volume or quality of the voice. There may be a combination of several problems. Experiencing difficulty with some speech sounds may be a symptom of a delay, or of a hearing impairment. It can be difficult to understand what someone with a speech disorder is trying to say. Language disorders Language disorder is an impairment in the ability to understand and/or use words in context, both verbally and non-verbally. Characteristics of language disorders include improper use of words and their meanings, problems with sentence structure, inappropriate grammatical patterns, reduced vocabulary and inability to express ideas, or follow directions. One or a combination of these may occur in children who are affected by language-learning disabilities (such as dyslexia) or developmental language delay. Children may hear or see a word, but not be able to understand its meaning. Often, being unable to communicate frustrates them. The effects of language difficulties vary from mild and transient, perhaps requiring some short-term specialist intervention, to severe and long-term, requiring continual specialist input. Some children have specific language problems others have additional difficulties such as hearing impairments.

Achieving A Successful Knowledge Transfer In Strategic Alliances - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4913 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Knowledge was closely investigated by academic researchers for the last few decades. It is nowadays considered as one of the most important strategic assets (Winter, 1987) that contribute to the competitive advantage of the firms (Kogut and Zander, 1992); this perspective is associated with the knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"based view (Grant, 1996). Resulting from that numerous studies exist about knowledge. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Achieving A Successful Knowledge Transfer In Strategic Alliances" essay for you Create order As Winter (1987) suggests, knowledge can be created, stored and transmitted (transferred), exploited and the ability to success in these activities represents the essence of the firm. Different studies consider these various stages. However, the process of transfer is very interesting to reflect on because it is precisely knowledge transfer that has been established by several academics as having a major impact on performance (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; Osterloh and Frey 2000). Some literature analyzes the process of knowledge transfer itself (Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Dell and Grayson, 1998; Szulanski, 2000), and its determinants (Grant and Baden- Fuller, 2000), other its boundaries (Szulanski, 1996; Salk, 1996; Hennart et al. 1999; Dyer and Hatch, 2006; Heiman and Nickerson, 2004). Together the authors try to shed light on the stages of knowledge transfer and factors that can positively or negatively contribute to it. Despite the abundance of studies, some researchers like Wagner (2005) call for the investigation of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“soft issuesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? such as absorptive capacity and culture in successful knowledge sharing. Moreover, different researchers (Inkpen, 2000; Mowery et al. 1996), studied knowledge in the context of a strategic alliance. Some studies convey the idea that this might be the most appropriate form of collaboration in order to share (transfer) knowledge because of several advantages (Grant and Baden-Fuller, 2004). Other academics, as Simonin (1999), define difficulties that alliances face in the process of knowledge transfer. Therefore it might be useful to combine these ideas and see what makes alliances being so unique and how knowledge can be transferred in these structures. This literature review is meant to integrate various studies to make a clear picture of what makes the transfer of knowledge successful in-between partners of strategic alliance by reviewing determinants of knowledge transfer, particularities of alliances and possible strategies to follow in order to achieve the transfer. Problem statement The problem indication brings us to delimitate the following area of research: Successful knowledge transfer in a strategic alliance Research Questions Since knowledge becomes an essential asset, and its manipulation might have strong impact on the wellbeing and performance of the firm, it is interesting to investigate the knowledge transfer. Our inquiry will be done by first looking at what is knowledge and its different kinds. Then the models of knowledge transfer (in general) will be considered to see how knowledge is shared, finishing with the factors that can impact positively or negatively (barriers) on this process, this includes the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“soft issuesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? sited previously. Research question 1: What are the key determinants in the process of knowledge transfer? Strategic alliances are often used by firms to transfer knowledge. Several studies might convey the idea that alliances is the most appropriate form of cooperation in order to transfer knowledge, that is why in the second research question we are going to discuss characteristics and particularities of alliances that contribute to build a solid ground for knowledge transfer. Research question 2: What characteristics and particularities of the strategic alliance might shape the process of knowledge transfer in this form of cooperation? Perhaps the most practical issue for organizations involved in the process of knowledge transfer within a strategic alliance is the one that deals with practices to implement and strategies to follow for both partners. Therefore the third research question will deal with possible behavior and ways of doing that can facilitate the knowledge transfer within a strategic alliance. Research question3: What strategies and behavior could the parties of the strategic alliance adopt  (implement) to enhance the transfer of knowledge and cope with the difficulties alliance might face? Research methods This is a descriptive research that will be done in the form of literature review. The data sources are the existing academic literature in the field of management, strategy and organization science. The literature includes top journals such as Journal of Management Studies, Strategic Management Journal, Knowledge and Process Management, Academy of Management Journal Structure of the thesis In the second chapter the investigation will be done in order to gain knowledge of what could be the determinants of the knowledge transfer in general (without considering the context of the strategic alliances). To do this, first of all, knowledge and its different kinds have to be defined. Following that the review of the literature about the process of knowledge transfer itself will be made. Chapter 2 will end with the review of possible factors that can affect the process by whether contributing to its success or by creating barriers to it. In the third chapter we are going to take a closer look on the strategic alliances. Following the definition, the discussion will pursue in order to understand why certain researchers think that strategic alliances are the most appropriate form of collaboration between firms for the process of knowledge transfer. Moreover, in this chapter we are going to look if certain characteristics of the alliance can ameliorate the transfer (i.e. firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s similarities, orientation, strategy, resources). The last research question will be answered in the fourth chapter by examining the possible strategies and behaviors that companies involved in the alliance could undertake to enable a successful knowledge transfer, while they might face several challenges. At the end, conclusions will summarize this literature review bringing up possible questions for future discussion and useful recommendations about knowledge transfer within a strategic alliance. Chapter 2: The determinants in the process of knowledge transfer 1/ What is knowledge In general knowledge is considered to be gained by observation, study and experiences. It is the mixture of values, context information, expert insight (Davenport and Prusak, 1998) that resides within the person. It can be accumulated and subjected to improvements unlimited number of times. It is difficult to distinguish knowledge in itself from data and from information. Knowledge is neither of these two. Data results from transactions and information is derived from data. Fransman (1998) clearly underlines the fact that knowledge is indeed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“processed informationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. In this sense it is also possible to say that knowledge is socially constructed (Pentland 1995): individuals produce knowledge by processing information through their intellect. They act on knowledge by their actions and going through experiences, meanwhile their perspectives and insights change creating the opportunity to proceed differently in new situations, when new sets of information are available (Quinn et al. 1998; Weick 1995). 2/ Types of knowledge Another approach to introduce knowledge would be to state its different kinds: tacit and explicit. The observation of the existence of the explicit knowledge goes back to Polanyi (1966). Later the number of terms used were substantially enlarged to: formal, verbal knowledge (Corsini, 1987), declarative knowledge (Kogut and Zander, 1992), theoretical kind of knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995), articulated or articulable knowledge (Hedlund, 1994; Winter, 1987), a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"know-whyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ knowledge (Sanchez 1997). To Polanyi (1966) explicit knowledge is easily subjected to codification in a formal language (can be stated or written down). Winter (1987, p. 171) agrees on that definition by saying that this type of knowledge can à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"be communicated from its possessor to another person in symbolic form and the recipient of the communication becomes as much à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“in the knowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? as the originatorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Sobol and Lei (1994) identified two ways in which one can think about explicit knowledge. The first one in terms of communicability: it is easily written down, encoded, explained, or understoodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Sobol and Lei, 1994, p. 170). Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s also possible to think about this kind of knowledge in terms of possession: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"such knowledge is not specific or idiosyncratic to the firm or person possessing ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (p. 170). Perhaps for this research the most interesting type of knowledge is the tacit knowledge because it is the one that largely contributes to competitive advantage of the firm. In fact, it was determined by several scholars (Delios and Beamish, 2001; Fang et al., 2007; Pisano, 1994) that tacit (as well as complex and specific) knowledge brings organizations to better-quality performance if its transfer was successfully accomplished. Also it is the type of knowledge that is considered to bring substantial competitive advantage by several academics (Nonaka, 1991; Grant, 1993; Spender, 1993). Polanyi (1966) wrote that tacit knowledge is non-verbalizable, intuitive and unarticulated. Consequently it is hard to replicate and share. Deeper understanding was brought by Nonaka (1994) and (Sternberg, 1994) who both support the fact that tacit knowledge is context-specific: it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"is a knowledge typically acquired on the job or in the situation where it is usedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Sternberg, 1994, p. 28). Nonaka (1994) as other researchers also wrote that tacit knowledge is personal (Sanchez 1997), difficult to articulate, and highly linked with action (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995). Therefore, on the one hand tacit knowledge is very difficult to transfer but on the other hand this same characteristic makes it being a critical and strategic resource of the firm and its competitive advantage, because competitors can hardly replicate it (Grant,1993; Sobal and Lei, 1994). 3/ Models: How to transmit knowledge Before getting to discussion in which the transfer of knowledge involves strategic alliances, it is useful to look at the process itself. Several models attempt to explain the basics of knowledge transfer. Some of them identify key elements that play a role this process, other present stages and steps, finally some conditions are also acknowledged. In order to understand how knowledge is transferred it is possible to first look at the definitions in cognitive psychology. At the individual level, the transfer was defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“how knowledge acquired in one situation applies (or fails to apply) to anotherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? by Singley and Anderson (1989). The transfer of knowledge in the organizational context also involves transfer at the individual level because the evolution of knowledge merely occurs when individuals express the will to share their experiences and insights with others (Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Kim and Mauborgne, 1998). This movement of knowledge through various levels of organization from individual, through group, up to organizational was identified by Nonaka (1994) as the concept of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“spiral of knowledge creationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The same process as on individual level occurs also at other levels such as group, department, divisionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Here the transfer of knowledge is the process in which knowledge and experience of one unit (company, group or department) affects another. Szulanski (2000, p.10) supports this vision: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Knowledge transfer is seen as a process in which an organization recreates and maintains a complex, causally ambiguous set of routines (i.e. knowledge and expe riences) in a new setting (i.e. another company, department, divisionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Knowledge transfer can be regarded as process which is composed of basic elements. Szulanski (2000) identified them as: source, channel, message, recipient, and context. Obviously, source is the unit from which the message (knowledge) will flow to the recipient by the channel and the whole process will be considered in a particular organizational context which can be fertile (facilitates knowledge transfer) or barren (problems occur with transfer). In the same research he explained several stages of the process of knowledge transfer. The process usually starts by the initiation. Then comes the implementation phase divided into several stages: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"the initial implementation effort, the ramp-up to satisfactory performance, and subsequent follow-through and evaluation efforts to integrate the practice with other practices of the recipientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Szulanski 2000, p.12) Furthermore, Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Dell and Grayson (1998) elaborated six steps in the knowledge transfer. Primary the identification of important knowledge is necessary. From this point on it is essential to collect the knowledge systematically and then organize the knowledge. When knowledge has been organized it can be shared (transferred), but before the final stage of usage of knowledge to solve problems, it has to be adapted. A number of conditions of knowledge transfer were presented by Grant and Baden-Fuller (2000). There are three main conditions of knowledge transfer. Firstly, the transmitterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s knowledge must be capable of being expressed in a communicable form. It is effortlessly done with explicit knowledge, however tacit knowledge has to be made explicit with the help of an expert system or be shared trough à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"process of observation and imitationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (p.122). What is more, transferred knowledge must be understandable to the source and the recipient. Therefore both have to use à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“common knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? which can be expressed in terms of the same language, information technology skills and culture. Finally, the new knowledge transferred from the source to recipient must be capable of aggregation which means that it would be possible to add to already existing knowledge. 4/What factors can influence the transfer of knowledge (positive and negative) Several features may play a substantial role in the process of knowledge transfer. When looking at the literature the most obvious in terms of determinants of knowledge transfer, might be the type of knowledge that is transferred. Explicit knowledge is easy to codify and to transfer. Conversely, a large number of studies, like Grant (1996), report the negative influence of knowledge tacitness on its transfer. In general it is considered that tacit knowledge is very difficult to share because of the complexity of its codification (Reed and DeFillippi, 1990) and organizational embeddedness (Kogut and Zander 1992) and that it contributes to creating ambiguity which can most of the times create barriers to the process of transfer. Simonin (1999, 2004) proposed a model in which knowledge tacitness indirectly influences knowledge transfer through ambiguity; it nevertheless specifies the importance of knowledge tacitness as critical factor which makes knowledge transfer difficult. Academics like Grant (1996), Reed and DeFillippi (1990) and Zander and Kogut (1995) raise the issue of complexity of knowledge. Complexity may appear for example when different kinds of skills and wide range of knowledge (individual, team-based experiences, technologies) have to be shared. The more complex the knowledge, the more difficult it is to share. Reed and DeFillippi (1990) also considered the influence of the specificity on knowledge transfer. The term refers to knowledge which is related only to certain kind of transaction relations. Williamson (1999) defined specificity as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"the ease with which an asset can be redeployed to alternative uses and by alternative users without loss of productive value.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ From these studies it is now clear that tacitness, complexity and specificity impedes to knowledge transfer by creating ambiguity. According to Simonin (1999) tacitness has the greatest influence in this relationship, followed by specificity, which is much less significant and finally complexity. It seems that culture and willingness to share, elements often cited as factors that can influence knowledge transfer, are interrelated. Willingness to share is one of the key determinants of knowledge transfer; this means that one must be willing to share and the other one to receive. It is not always easy to let go from knowledge. As Bernstein (2000) suggests that willingness to share is influenced by identity because an individual might have a psychological ownership over the knowledge he possesses. Furthermore, Alavi and Leidner (1999) made a good remark about the fact that it will be difficult for organizations to share knowledge and integrate knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"based systems without primary having the information sharing culture (i.e. valuing information sharing). Davenport (1997) describes this as open versus closed culture. Very similar to the concept of willingness to share, Szulanski (1996, p.12) argued that lack of motivation also has to be considered as one of the barriers to the process of knowledge transfer because it may à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"result in procrastination, passivity, feigned acceptance, sabotage, or outright rejection in the implementation and use of new knowledge.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Szulanski (1996) also noticed another barrier of knowledge transfer. Absorptive capacity is one of the very well known elements that influence the transfer of knowledge. It is the ability to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"exploit outside sources of knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Cohen Levinthal, 1990, p. 128) and integrate it by replacing old practices by new ones, which is not always effortless (Glaser, Abelson, Garrison, 1983). Chapter 3: Particularities of strategic alliances shaping the process of knowledge transfer Combining resources is the logical response to the harshness of nowadays competition. Other factors as the increase in customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations and the less strict regulatory barriers also led companies to form alliances (Gomes-Casseres 1994; Harrigan 1988; Kogut 1988; Nielsen 1988). Reid, Bussiere, Greenaway 2001 (alliance formation issues) Moreover, scholars have identified several key reasons for firms to form alliances. Among these usually appears risk mitigation, economies of scale/scope, entries to new markets (Inkpen 2000; Hennart, 1988; Kogut, 1988), and facilitated flows of technology-based capabilities (Mowery et al. 1996; Kogut, 1988; Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; Hamel, 1991) + (Mariti and Smiley, 1983; Hamel et al., 1989; Shan, 1990; Powell and Brantley, 1992; Mody, 1993; Khanna, 1996) Mowery 1996. However these are not the only possibilities alliances are able to provide. Alliances can be considered as one of the means for knowledge gaining and sharing, besides mergers and acquisitions. According to Inkpen (2000) there exist several possibilities for companies to transfer and gain knowledge: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“internalization within the firm, market contracts, and relational contractsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. He considers individual strategic alliances as relational contracts that permit knowledge acquisition and transfer, suitable in the context where knowledge is complex and hard to codify, whereas market based transfers are considered to be more efficient for product related (embodied) knowledge. Number of other researchers also supported the fact that alliances permit firms to share knowledge and ultimately to learn from the partners (Grant, 1996; Hamel, 1991; Khanna et al., 1998; Kogut, 1998). Inkpen (2000, p.1019) wrote: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Through the shared execution of the alliance task, mutual interdependence and problem solving, and observation of alliance activities and outcomes, firms can learn from their partners.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ 1/ Definition strategic alliance In the literature it is possible to find several key characteristics of an alliance. An alliance is usually created between two or more firms that cooperate together in order to achieve some strategic objective, create value that they would not be able to achieve on their own (Borys and Jemison, 1989) and pursue a set of goals (Harrigan 1988; Yoshino and Rangan 1995). Partners are complementary and contribute with their resources and capabilities (Teece, 1992); they are involved in a range of interdependent activities (Contractor and Lorange 19882002) and share benefits and risks of the alliance. Dussauge et al. (2000, p.99) described an alliance between two Knowledge Based Enterprises as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"an arrangement between two or more independent companies that choose to carry out a project or operate in a specific business area by co-coordinating the necessary skills and resources jointly rather than either operating alone or merging their operationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Some academics consider alliances to be arrangements in which firms establish exchange relationship without joint ownership being considered as a form of alliance (Dickson Weaver, 1997); others consider equity alliances such as joint ventures, also be a form of alliance (Mowery et al. 1996). In this research all possible forms of alliances are considered: a non-equity alliance (co-operation without creation of new organization or exchange of equity); an equity alliance (unilateral or bilateral equity holding among partners without creation of the a new firm); a joint venture (new firm is created, involving joint resources, where partners share ownership and control) Reid, Bussiere, Greenaway 2001 (alliance formation issues) Mowery et al. (1996) have as well identified various types of alliances: equity joint venture, license agreement, cross-licensing and technology sharing, customer-supplier partnership, mixed modes, RD contract, and joint development agreement. 2/ Why strategic alliance can be considered (by certain researchers) the most appropriate form of collaboration for knowledge transfer? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Accordingly, of all approaches to knowledge imitability between a knowledge holder and a knowledge seeker, strategic alliances constitute perhaps the most adequate, but nevertheless challenging vehicle for internalizing the otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s competencyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Simonin (1999, 595). There are several forms of interorganizational exchange that enable firms to protect valuable resources including mergers and acquisitions, licensing and alliances (Coff, 1997). There are two kinds of knowledge explicit and tacit (Polanyi, 1966), therefore if two firms share knowledge, it will be explicit explicit, explicit tacit or tacit tacit. Licensing can provide a solution for the first two combinations. Yet, it is very hard to gain competitive advantage with explicit knowledge resources, because they might be sold to other companies. By contrast, competitive advantage occurs when tacit knowledge assets are combined, provided their ambiguity, complexity and inimitability (Barney 1991; Dierickx and Cool 1989). This is done through alliances or mergers and acquisitions. Reid, Bussiere, Greenaway 2001 (alliance formation issues) Conventional sale contracts, markets, mergers and acquisitions seem to be less attractive structures for knowledge transfer in comparison with alliances. Coff (1997) found that it is not easy to evaluate the value of knowledge based resources, primary because of their tacitness (Mowery, 1983; Pisano, 1990). Firms that want to acquire new knowledge will have to face uncertainty concerning its characteristics and difficulties to determine its quality and to be certain of the transferability of the knowledge held by another firm. Some researchers raise a concern about the fact that in some cases the firm that will acquire knowledge is not certain to be able to deploy it (Flamholtz and Coff 1994; Haspeslagh and Jemison 1991; Polanyi 1966; Zander and Kogut 1995). In this sense, alliance permits to mitigate risks of bad investments. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"indigestibilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ problem of MA, quite the opposite of alliances, was discussed by several academics (Hennart and Reddy, 1997; Inkpen and Beamish, 1997; Dunning, 1997). Indigestible assets are those who come with valuable assets during the transaction (Nonaka 1994). In fact, for some of these assets (in this case knowledge) the aftermarket may not exist after the acquisition. Within an alliance the company does not have to pay for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"digestionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ of non-valuable assets and has access to important knowledge resources held by the partner. Reid, Bussiere, Greenaway 2001 (alliance formation issues) Grant and Baden-Fuller (2004) identified some advantages of alliances related to knowledge like possibility to achieve à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“early-moverà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? advantage and risk spreading. Early-mover advantage signifies recombining knowledge into innovative products in a quickly advancing knowledge environment. More precisely, this means à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"to quickly identify, access, and integrate across new knowledge combinationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. In this situation strategic alliances enable company to quickly access knowledge necessary for introduction of new products to market. Grant and Baden-Fuller (2004) wrote: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The greater the benefits of early-mover advantage in technologically-dynamic environments, the greater the propensity for firms to establish interfirm collaborative arrangements in order to access new knowledge.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ A risk exists in terms that sometimes a company might be uncertain about the future knowledge requirements and knowledge acquisition and integration takes time, the investments are risky (Grant and Baden-Fuller, 2004): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The greater the uncertainty as to the future knowledge requirements of a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s product range, the greater its propensity to engage in interfirm collaborations as a means of accessing and integrating additional knowledge.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Powell (1987) also noticed that alliance formation diminishes the risk that knowledge will dissipate quickly. 3/ Which characteristics and capabilities of alliance partners can ameliorate the transfer of knowledge? Before considering the transfer of knowledge, it is important to underline, that both partners of an alliance are expected to possess valuable knowledge (Eisenhardt and Schoonhoven 1996). Ahuja (2000) considered such knowledge possession as opportunity for linkage-formation. He also identified three categories of valuable knowledge assets that are: technical capital (capability to create new products, technology and processes), commercial capital (supporting resources) and social capital (useful networks). Throughout the literature it is possible to distinguish some capabilities that are important for proper functioning of the knowledge based alliance: absorptive capacity, combinative capability, experience with alliances, suitable design for knowledge exchange, and choice of alliance structure. In numerous studies, absorptive capacity plays an essential role in the process of knowledge transfer and learning within strategic alliances (Lane and Lubatkin, 1998). Van den Bosch et al. (1999) wrote that it combined the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"evaluation, acquisition integration and commercial utilization of knowledge obtained from sources exogenous to the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Absorptive capacity is susceptible to evolve and augment through activity (Barringer and Harrison, 2000) because it is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"historical and path dependent in natureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ as was defined by Cohen and Levinthal (1990). Grant (1996) recognized that knowledge absorption capability can be influenced by: the degree to which the expert knowledge held by organizational members is utilized; the width of specialized knowledge required from firm members; the degree to which a capability can access additional knowledge and reconfigure existing knowledge. Defined by Kogut and Zander (1992) combinative capability refers to the ability of the parties of an alliance to extend, interpret, apply, current and acquired knowledge with the goal of generating new applications from existing knowledge base. Collaborative know-how affects firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ability to form a successful partnership and create a solid ground for knowledge transfer. Simonin (1997) refers to it as to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"ability to institutionalize organizational routines as a result of previous experiencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Pennings et al. (1994) supports that firms tend to reproduce the behavior from their past experiences. When firms have previous experiences of collaboration within alliance, they acquire knowledge that helps them to effectively design future alliances (Lyles, 1988) and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"develop superior capabilities at managing particular organizational forms such as alliancesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Kale et al., 2002, p. 748). This experience permits avoiding various difficulties (Doz, 1996; Powell et al., 1996). Teece (2000) stressed the importance of the design of the firm to enhance performance and knowledge sharing. He identified distinctive characteristics of design in successful firms. Among these, entrepreneurial orientation and flexibility expressed in rapid responses to ephemeral market opportunities flexible boundaries (outsourcing and alliances). They were also characterized by their non-bureaucratic decision making and rapid internal knowledge sharing owing to the not really strict hierarchies. The choice of alliance structure should be determined considering the perspective of gaining valuable resources (knowledge) from a partner without losing its own (Das and Teng, 2000). Different views exist as to effectiveness of equity joint venture form of alliance for successful knowledge transfer. Several researchers find that this form is the most suitable for the transfer of tacit knowledge and complex capabilities (Kogut, 1988, Mowery et al., 1996). However, Das and Teng (2000) think that this structure is too risky for partnership based on knowledge-based contribution, and that it is more suitable for contributing property-based resources. Inkpen (2002) identifies five categories of antecedents of alliance learning: learning partner characteristics; teaching partner characteristics; knowledge characteristics; relationship factors; and alliance form. Two key characteristics of the learning partner, identified by Nielsen and Nielsen (2009), are important, namely collaborative know-how (same as previous experience of alliances) and knowledge protectiveness (Simonin, 1997, 1999). Protectiveness matches the concept of openness and the degree to which partners are protective of their knowledge. How well do the support the risk of knowledge leakage or spillover (Inkpen, 2000). Chapter 4: potential strategies and behavior that parties of the strategic alliance might adopt to enhance the transfer of knowledge and to cope with difficulties alliances might face Strategic alliances might face a number of difficulties. The first thing that comes out from the numerous literature on strategic alliance and knowledge sharing, is the fear of knowledge spillovers, that are assumed to be inevitable consequence of alliance involvement, despite the efforts companies make in order to protect their valuable knowledge assets (Inkpen, 2000). Therefore, it immediately comes to the issue of trust. In the late 90à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ a discussion was raised about the possibility that some firms use strategic alliance as a Trojan Horse in order to steal knowledge from its partners. This was especially thought about Japanese partners. However empirical studies do not find support for this hypothesis (Hennart et al. 1999; Mowery 1996). The literature elaborates on so called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“learning racesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Khanna et al. 1998) when one partner (acts opportunistically) tries to gain more knowledge in the alliance exchange, than he shares. Hamel (1991, 86) described alliances as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"transitional devices where the primary objective was the internalization of partner skillsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. This creates a significant challenge for strategic alliance. To deal with with this issue, norms and systems can be designed; functional rules can be developed to structure partner engagement (QuÃÆ' ©lin, 1997). to be continued. When little trust is involved, this may lead to knowledge protectiveness from one or both of the partners. Nielsen and Nielsen (2009) wrote that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"protectiveness not only may lead to uncertainty and conflict but it also reduces the amount of information exchangedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. They also add, that explicit knowledge protective policies and procedures by one partner, harmfully influence the perception the other partner might have on honest and open cooperation: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"For instance, not revealing relevant information and knowledge may be perceived as unwillingness to devote adequate resources to the allianceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. This is in line with Simonin (1999) way of thinking, where knowledge protectiveness is positively related to ambiguity, which in turn impacts negatively on knowledge transfer. Therefore for successful knowledge transfer partners might be willing to cooperate and minimize knowledge protectiveness (Pisano, 1988). Lee et al. (2007) suggest t hat knowledge protectiveness (still necessary if reasonably employed) should be accompanied with building up relational capital (trust, communication and commitment). Therefore one does not have to fear to trust in an alliance. In the contrary, established trust relationship between partners has been shown to bring positive outcomes for transfer of knowledge and learning. Relational capital can be also expressed as social exchanges (social exchanges view). From this view, learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances are also positively influenced by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"commitment, trust and mutual influence between partnersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Senthil et al., 2005). The results of their study show that reciprocal commitment between partners enhances interfirm learning because moral obligation of partners permits to build mutual commitment. They explain further, that interdependence and joint coordination increase due to the mutual resource commitment. To them trust is built progressively as knowledge, skills and competences are gained through alliance interactions. Trustworthiness, as well as goodwill, is shown to be key factors influencing effective transfer of knowledge in well functioning alliance. To be continued with: Gulati (1996) and others about the obstacles to interfirm knowledge transfer created by distance, cultural differences, and other factors. David C. Mowery, Joanne E. Oxley, Brian S. Silverman 1996 Strategic Alliances and Interfirm Knowledge Transfer Davenport and Prusak (1998) eight critical success factors for knowledge transfer: effective knowledge measurement, technical architecture, flexible organizational structure, knowledge-friendly culture, clear vision, a performance-based reward system, multi-channel knowledge transfer and senior management support. Gao Riley 2010 others Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusion Discussion Academic and practical recommendations