Law of Diminishing Marginal Return Essay

The Law of Diminishing Marginal Return suggests the inverse relationship of marginal utility that a person derives from the quantity of his/her consumption of that given good or commodity. In other words, the higher the number of quantities one consume for a particular good/commodity, his/her marginal utility from consuming that given good decreases, and vice versa. For instance, a person derives 10, 14, 16 units of utility from consuming 1 unit, 2 units, and 3 units respectively of Pepsi Cola. Given this, though the utility of the person is in increasing trend [10 to 16 utils], but the marginal utility exhibits a decreasing trend [4 to 2 additional utils] as the number of Pepsi Cola is consumed by the given individual. The Water-Diamond Paradox is considered a contradiction since, relatively, water is more essential to life compared to diamonds, yet, diamonds have higher price compared to water or the price of water is way cheaper compared to diamonds. In most cases, those things that have higher values are the ones with higher prices. But for the Water-Diamond Paradox, water, which has higher value, has lower price compared to diamonds, thereby not conforming to the above stated idea. The difference between ATC and AVC, given that the number of outputs increases, is equal to zero since increase in the level of output do not directly affects TFC, which is the difference of ATC and AVC. Oftentimes, it is the AVC that is immediately affected for a given increase on the number of output or level of production of a given firm. Economies of scale provide an illustration of the relationship of increase in the production efficiency and the production volume of a given firm. For instance, Pepsi Corporation purchased more equipment for its production line. The said purchase of new machineries improves the overall efficiency of Pepsi’s production line, which results to higher number of Pepsi Cola produced at a given period of time. On the other hand, Diseconomies of Scale provide an illustration of the relationship between the increase on the number of output produced and cost of production. Meaning, as the number of output produced increases; the cost of production also increases. For instance, Toyota is already efficient with 100 workers. Aiming to further extend their profits, Toyota management hired new 20 workers, making their workforce equal to 120. Those additional workers will only increase the production cost of Toyota, while the volume of cars produced will still be almost the same or equal to the time when workforce of Toyota was still 100. Fixed costs would be the computers, land, building that I will use for my internet business; while variable costs would be the electricity and labor cost. In order for my business to take advantage of economies of scale, I must increase the number of computers in the internet business in order for me to accommodate more customers. The event of increasing the number of computers will stop by the time the marginal profit starts to decline since my marginal cost become larger than my marginal revenue. Generally, businesses shut their operations down if the difference between total revenue of producing equilibrium quantity of good/service is less than the total variable cost of producing equilibrium quantity of good/service. Or, the business must shut down if price of producing equilibrium number of products is less than the average variable cost. On the other hand, the business will continue to operate if the price level is greater to the average variable cost. Answer #7a Sustainable development would be the economic principle which I think would determine how long firms producing ethanol from alcohol will survive can. Given the limited resources that we have today and the ever increasing consumption of every consumers, it is a must for ethanol producers the how status of sustainability of corn in the economy in order for them to have an idea the amount of corn that will be available in the next coming years [long run]. Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel which can be produced through utilizing corn, starch, woodchips to name a few. Given the rise of cellulosic ethanol in the market, the demand for corn in the market also increased, and so with its price (Cox 1). Therefore, in the long run, the rise of cellulosic ethanol will more likely to increase the cost of production of corn-based industry due to the price increase in corn caused by its high demand in the market. Works Cited Cox, Jeff. â€Å"Big Ethanol Shakeout Coming? † 21 August 2007. CNNmoney. com. 19 July 2008 .

The Use of Magical Realism in Gabriel-Garcia Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Gabriel-Garcia Marquez is an author known for the use of Magical Realism in his novels. Throughout the novel â€Å"Chronicle of a death foretold†, the novelist Gabriel-Garcia Marquez uses magical realism as a genre frequently. Magical Realism is defined as being the juxtaposition of realism with fantastic, mythic and magical/supernatural elements. Marquez reflects magical realism by exploring both natural and supernatural worlds and illustrating traces of the culture the characters have, which is Latin American. The magical elements that are present within the novel are: superstitions, exaggerations, dreams that come true and the coincidental bizarre situations. Exploring the use of magical realism will give an insight to the characters’ personality, thoughts and actions. On top of that, it will also give an insight to what the author’s thoughts are. Therefore, the thesis question will be answered and analyzed â€Å"The Use of Magical Realism in Gabriel-Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold†. Gabriel-Garcia Marquez uses magical realism in Chronicle of a Death Foretold to illustrate the narrative in prose and verse or details about character that are not relevant. In the opening of the novel, the narrator discusses the dream that Santiago Nasar has right before his death. The narrator states â€Å"He’d dreamed he was going through a grove of timber trees where a gentle drizzle was falling, and for an instant he was happy in his dream, but when he awoke he felt completely spattered with bird shit†[1]. This cynical detail does not support the style of narrative of investigative journalism.

Exchange Rate Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exchange Rate - Assignment Example Kerr Inc. may reduce its economic exposure to foreign exchange risk by using foreign exchange contracts. A foreign exchange contract will enable the company to make future transactions using the current exchange rate (Jacque & Jacque, 1996). Kerr Inc. can minimize its exposure to foreign exchange risk by expanding its investments to other foreign markets. For instance, the company may experience losses if the U.S dollar appreciates in value against the Japanese Yen. However, the company can recoup the losses if the U.S dollar depreciates or devalues against the currency of another country it exports to, which increases the money the company receives for the same volume of goods (Managing foreign exchange risk, 1986). Alternatively, Kerr Inc. can decide to accept payment for its exports in U.S dollars only. Using the U.S dollar as the only currency of transactions will enable the company to mitigate the exchange rate risk because the exchange rate between the U.S dollar and the Japanese Yen will no longer affect the transactions of Kerr Inc (Managing foreign exchange risk, 1986). Kerr Inc. may decide to charge more for its products in the Japanese market to carter for the foreign exchange risk. This strategy may require the company to study the Japanese Yen to determine the magnitude of the risk of exporting to the Japanese market. For instance, if the company discovers that the Yen fluctuates by about 8% annually, then it may decide to charge 8% more for its products (Jacque & Jacque, 1996). However, this strategy may fail to yield desires results if the exchange rate fluctuates more than anticipated. More so, market forces or government intervention may hinder the company’s move to raise prices for its products (Small Business - Chron.com, 2015). Small Business - Chron.com. (2015). How Do Companies Mitigate the Risk of Foreign Currency? Retrieved 2 May 2015, from

Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Globalisation - Essay Example Consequently, it has made a resounding effect on the picturesque of mankind playing a pivotal role in the social aspect and thereby making drastic changes in the welfare of the civilisation of mankind. Hence, globalisation can be referred as a process of amalgamation through which exchange of world views, products, ideas and different facets of cultures takes place (Lee & Vivarelli, 2006). Based on this context, the paper will be concentrated on explaining the concept of globalisation as an on-going phenomenon by critically discussing the major features of the terminology. Emphasising on the vividness of the term ‘globalisation’, an explanation will also be provided in the discussion henceforth, elaborating the theoretical context of the phenomenon. Concept of Globalisation Globalisation can be referred as one of the major outcomes of the continuous expansion of trade activities and exchanges taking place since ages in the progressively integrated and borderless internat ional economy. There have been extraordinary developments in the trade and exchange related activities, through services, production functions and also through the interaction of currencies in the capital movements (Ojeili & Hayden, 2006). Consequently, globalisation has emerged as one of the revolving strata, opening the doors in the international economy and leading towards the assimilation in relation to markets on a global basis. Although the phenomenon is much debated and illustrated in the economic sphere of the world economy, it has also been playing a crucial role in influencing the social sphere of mankind, interrelating and apparently comparing one culture with another. This also provides a broader scope of harmony and uniformity within the global social atmosphere. Hence, it is on the basis of these rudiments that globalisation has often been regarded as a ‘mega-phenomenon’ rather than a mere change process (Stefanovic, 2008; Houghton & Sheehan, 2000). It is in this context that globalisation process is often argued to facilitate ways for trade liberalisation as well as economic liberalisation heading towards the reduction of conservative and monopolistic trade contributing largely in the development of a liberal world. The description provided by Archibugi & Iammarino (2002) further illustrates that â€Å"the pace of globalisation and that of technological change have in fact been strictly interrelated and, from a long-term perspective, it appears less important to establish which one should be considered responsible for triggering the other rather than to establish that they mutually enforced each other† (pp. 99). Hence, globalisation can also termed as a change driver in today’s context. For instance, globalisation have often been observed to influences changes within organisations, economies, as well as social environment of various cultures facilitating technological changes through resource mobilisation rendering gre ater chances for innovation and development. Another vital dimension of globalisation, which has often been identified in its conceptual framework, is its role to augment better communication within the various participants. Contextually, the major communicators or drivers of globalisation have

Fallacies exercise Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fallacies exercise - Assignment Example proverbial cat is already out of the bag, the codification of such a thing as â€Å"animal rights† could potentially lead to consequences that all but the most careless rat-lover would find dire. Certainly if merely gouging a nickel-sized hole in an elephant’s shoulder is the act of a criminal, then hunters should be charged with murder, road kill is manslaughter, and owning a dog an act of involuntary servitude. Scott McPherson This statement commits the slippery slope fallacy, which means that the speaker interprets a simple statement in very general terms and exaggerating it in the process. The definition of animal rights here is exaggerated and its exceptions are not considered by the speaker in that even benevolent acts like owning a dog, unintentional acts like road kill, and purposeful acts for the benefit of mankind like hunting are all considered violations of animal rights. Although this statement also commits the other fallacies of begging the question, non sequitur and false analogy, it is clearly a hasty generalization. The claim of the speaker that the particular university is not recommended is obviously not valid for it is based on but two people. There must be a considerable number of students in a sample plus backing of research before one can make a valid claim that one university cannot be recommended. This statement is a sweeping generalization. Such a fallacy is committed in this statement because the speaker had already labeled all churchgoers as mindless and old even before the actual disadvantages of going to mass or going to church (if ever there are any) were underlined. As far as I know, this statement commits the Red herring fallacy. Instead of the speaker explaining the disadvantages of President Obama’s reversal of President Bush’s ruling on stem cell research, the speaker befogs the issue by tossing out the red herring of his support for President Bush. 8. â€Å"Ugandas controversial ethics and integrity minister†¦ said

Intro to research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intro to research - Essay Example Regardless of the varying requirements, it is an accurate assertion that change in the organization is inevitable. For this reason, the role of the manager should be developed to suit the requirements of change. The approach to change is not limited to one department of area of strategy. In an argument by Burke organizational change is an overall strategy in the workplace (287). The effort to implement change should be equal at the top and lower levels of the organization. This allows for the equal organization transformation at all departments. For instance, an organization may have the need to implement digital system for its operations. For the need to be effectively addressed, the digital platforms should be placed in all departments. The decision may allow for operational synchronization from the top level to the lower level departments (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins 49) In addition to the selection of a placement strategy, change requires proper selection of the needs of the organization. Myers, Hulks & Wiggins is of the assumption that the decision to create change should be placed at the responsibility of the executive members (263). The authors further point out that the decision, however, is reached after an effective scrutiny of the organizational performance (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins 263). The performance of the organization is measured against its set targets, goals and mission. In this approach to change, the executive analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the organization based on its performance. The market perception of the organization also influences the decision to influence change. The changing market and consumer trends are the major factors of influencing the decision to implement change in the organization (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins 22). The process of change implementation provides the most challenging task in organizational change. The task is provided to the executive. In an argument by Burke implementing

Vitamin B12 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vitamin B12 - Research Paper Example B12 is also known as coblamin, and the human body has large reserves of this type of vitamin inside it .The absorption of this vitamin is made possible through distil ileum; however the absorption depends on several factors, one of them is stomach, while the other is R binding factor. It is the only existent metabolite that contains cobalt. They are responsible for proper growth since they are cofactors in number of enzymes. Vitamin B12 helps in maturation of Deoxyribonucleic acid and is responsible for the proper working of both white blood cells and red blood cells. Mostly found in animal products, and are synthesized only by micro organisms. Very human body contains large reserve pool. It is primarily stored in the liver. It helps avoiding the heart diseases to large extent by keeping the blood level of amino acid homocysteine low. In elder age it helps preventing many diseases and problems (John.N.Hathcock, 2004). Vitamin B12 is found richly in meat, fish, cereals, eggs and other dairy foods. Coblamin is the largest and most complex vitamin. They are mostly manufactured by bacteria and found naturally in animal products, however, synthetic forms are widely available and added to many foods .They can be consumed in large doses because excess is excreted by the body or stored in the liver for use when supplies are scarce. Stores of B-12 can last for up to a year. Vitamin B12, along with vitamin B works to make our body’s building block D.N.A. Deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause many problems: in some cases the problems can lead to include anemia, while in others it can result in neural problems. It is essential for protecting the nerve cells from damage. Its deficiency is caused by mal absorption. Usage of vitamin b-12 in proper amount is very important, it can have serious negative repercussions incase it is taken excessively, it can have a negative impact on the nervous system, respiratory system, can result in hyperactivity. The following can result from

Definition of educaton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Definition of educaton - Essay Example The first and foremost important requirement for any educated person is knowledge as it is required in order to make any decisions about what to do, say or believe. This knowledge should encompass both fundamental or foundational knowledge as well as non-foundational knowledge. The former includes matters which are basic such as the earth we live in and the matter surrounding us. However this information may not be of any practical value but they will definitely help people to gain an understanding about reality and their surroundings and also will lead to further inquiries. The non-foundational knowledge is more specific, limited and detailed in nature such as knowing the composition of common salt or understanding the functioning of the human system. Individuals should definitely possess the foundational knowledge as it sows the seeds for further reasoning and inquiry. In addition to possessing knowledge educated people should also have the skills and abilities that will help them to apply their knowledge to practical use. This includes skills to do work, speak, listen and think. The right thinking skills will enable a person to make rational and intelligent decisions. The thinking skills include a general and a specific component.

Capital Asset Pricing Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Capital Asset Pricing Model - Essay Example The underlying theme associated with CAPM is investor’s relationship and the advantages which an investor can attain by the application of this model. The investors are linked in two ways with this technique; one is the time value of money and the other is the risk factor involved in a project. The time value of money can be depicted using the risk-free (Rf) rate in the formula which can then be compensated with the investors for placing money in any investment after a certain period of time. The risk part of CAPM formula is used for representation of risk and calculates only the amount of compensation which any investor can undertake for facing any additional risk. These financials can be calculated using the risk measurement tool i.e. beta, which has the ability to compare the returns of the asset towards the market after a certain period of time having definite market premium. According to the CAPM tool, the expected return of a security calculated on a portfolio is equal t o the rate of a risk-free security, which is further raised by including a risk premium. If this is expected return is not able to be ascertained or is not able to even beat the expected return then the required return and the investment will not be undertaken. Practical Implementation of CAPM This pricing model which is regarded as CAPM was put forwarded in the year 1960 and since then it is under deep influence of criticisms. The argument of such critics involves hypothesis that CAPM does not put forward realistic market conditions.

Death of a Salesman Idealism and Truth Essay Example for Free

Death of a Salesman Idealism and Truth Essay ?Idealism describes the belief or pursuit of a perfect vision often based upon unrealistic principles. This pursuit is often contrasted and opposed by truth. The truth and reality in an individual’s life is what enables this person to remain grounded and down to earth. An individual must set themselves high expectations in order to be their best, but they must also acknowledge the fact that everything they desire is not achievable. The imbalance of idealism and truth in an individual’s life can have calamitous effects. It is significant in an individual’s life because it can lead to the deterioration of an individual’s sanity, destruction of family relationships and ultimately death. This is exemplified in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, by Willy Loman. Willy spends his whole life pursuing the American Dream. This pursuit leaves him in debt and lacking less than a sliver of sanity. This man lacks the capacity to face the truth; the reality of his situation. The negative effect that his dream has on his family and life is simply overlooked and ignored. As Willy’s life swerves out of control, he tumbles deeper into the abyss of his idealism, to a point of no return. The inability for an individual to achieve a single-minded dream can lead to the deterioration of their sanity. In Willy’s case, he has spent his whole life pursuing the American Dream; a dream that is impossible to achieve. His inability to cope with the failure of his life at first simply causes him to feel lost, but eventually causes him to go insane. Ironically enough this man, so set on having the perfect life, has an affair with a secretary of one of the buyer. This is simply a financial transaction of gifts for sex and access to the buyers. Willy does this to escape the truth of his life, and in the process completely contradicts his goals. In an attempt to protect himself from the reality of his life, he goes into self-protection mode. His own mind morphs his memories to achieve and establish his desires. Willy’s constant flashbacks lay the groundwork to support that he is becoming senile and that his idealistic tendencies caused him to lose the ability to recognize reality from illusion. Willy is a very insecure individual, and he tries to make himself look better by lying to himself and his family. In his world of delusion, Willy is a hugely successful man. He disguises his profound anxiety and self-doubt with extreme arrogance. Biff nails it on the head when he points out the fact that Willy â€Å"had all the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong. † The overpowering pursuit of idealism over truth can lead an individual to lack the ability to cope with reality. Willy has a lot of potential, but he also has a whopping case of self-deception paired with misguided life goals. He has based his whole life on supporting others and does not know how to live any other way. The effect of lacking a manly figure during his youthful development is substantial effect in how Willy raises his own sons. In Willy’s pursuit of the American Dream, he clearly instills in his sons that being well-liked is more important than character. By emphasizing likability as being the most desirable quality for success he places a higher premium on outward projection over inner strength of character. He simply passes on these unrealistic qualities to his sons. â€Å"I never in my life told him anything but decent things. † Willy’s memories reveal that the values with which he raised his sons has made Biff comes to consider himself exceptional and entitled to whatever he wants regardless of how hard he works or whether it harms others. Biff’s perfect illusion is shattered when he discovers that his father is having an affair and he feels hateful and confused about his father’s actions. His excessive pursuit of idealism shatters Willy’s relationship with his son; this is something that he does not have the ability to repair. Willy’s pursuit of idealism in his life was extremely unrealistic and eventually prevented him from having the ability to see the truth in life. He spent his whole life trying to provide for his family. He wanted the life of a salesman. To be well-liked and have a massive funeral when he dies. The reality is that he spent his whole life pursuing unrealistic dreams based on negative personal values. Willy himself points out that he’s â€Å"worth more dead than alive. † It’s quite tragic that Willy believes he has to kill himself to feel that he is worth something to his family. The reality of the situation is that his death is in vain. The Loman’s only had one more payment left on the house, and don’t actually need the money anymore. But in his blinded illusion, Willy cannot see through or cope with his failure. This causes him to believe that he is worth nothing more alive and kills himself to enable his family to collect his life insurance money. The unevenness of idealism and truth in an individual’s life can lead to the loss of sanity, deterioration of relationships and even death. By having a good balanced of idealism and truth, there is a greater potential that an individual will discover contentment in life. While pursuing an ideal, an individual may be confronted with truth that must be recognized, and if ignored will have cataclysmic effect. Idealism provides a good source of motivation to strive for excellence and truth reminds us that we are all flawed. Together, with an appropriate balance of both, you have the tools to live a life happy.

Guilt, Shame and Community

Guilt, Shame and Community A shame community is described as a society whose main tool for ruling over is gaining having power over children and continued control over adults in the perpetration of shame and corresponding threat of social rejection. A guilt society is described as a society that is maintained by creating control and consistently strengthening the sense of guilt and the anticipation of reprimanding now for predestined behaviors. Raimond Gaita carefully explains that there is moral challenge in the Australian society in the contemporary society. He arguably disagrees that by keenly depriving the indigenous inhabitants their land the Australian government the most important part of their humanity thereby denying them a chance to enjoy their lives to fullest. In report of bringing them home and Mabo are associated to legal and historical symbols that bring back to what was not given to inhabitants of Torres Strait and Aborigal Islands by taking away the land that formed part of their humanity. Professor Raimond also explains that refuting peoples their humanity is terrible and that it calls a change of attitude and language for the society to remain intact. The drawing on Simone Weil Love sees what is invisible, the professoer recognizes that some ideasÂÂ   can only be understood by the heart. Raimond, sees the Australian High court instituting ruling using wild language and describes the judgment as shameful to those who pay attention with their hearts. There is racial discrimination in the Australian society which is depicted by the phrase, Terra nullius, which is used to imply that Aboriginal people are not full human as the invaders. The latest decisions of Australian High court have been done to bring an end to past injustices and the court had affirmed the full and the same humanity of native people. According to Raimond, those people who were involved in refuting indigenous people their humanity felt guilty, and there was shame to all the members of the Australian society. Raimond belives that just as society should be conceited about national achievements in which people have not been directly involved, the society should also express shame for what wronging its inhabitants and develop a method of amendment to manage the nation shame. Raimond views that if there is no shaming and its consequences, then justice cannot be possible. According to Raimond, true shame societies are reliant on outside sanctions for good behavior not as true guilt societies on an internalized fervor of transgressions. Shame is depicted as an effect to other peoples condemnation. Raimond claims that a society is openly scorned and rejected by fantasying to it that make it ludicrous. According to Raimond, when shame is viewed as a heteronymous forced or involved with issues that are deemed morally irrelevant or insignificant it becomes as a subject of psychological evaluation. Raimond views familiarity of guilt to be socially induced or associated to be ethically irrelevant. Raimond believes that torture, should not be applied to human race during interrogation. But he further adds that in circumstance s where there is a potential threat of terrorism then use of torture should be advocated. Raimond believes the fact that many Australians do not understand what has been substantiated in the report of bringing them home requires to be put in a wider social context. The Australian communitys comment that they never cared enough about Aborigines humanity demonstrates the scope of racial discrimination inAustralia.

Shiloh Essay example -- essays papers

Shiloh After Shiloh the South would never smile again. Known originally as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, The Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle fought in North America up to that time. Pittsburg Landing was an area from where the Yankees planned to attack the Confederates who had moved from Fort Donelson to Corinth, Mississippi. The North was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant and the South by General Albert Sydney Johnston. The Union army was taken by surprise the first day when the Confederate Army unexpectedly attacked, but after Union reinforcements arrived the fighting virtually ended in a tie. Lasting for two days, April 6 and 7 of 1862, casualties for both sides exceeded 20,000. The Battle of Shiloh was a message to both the North and South that the Civil War was for real. General Grant was anxious to maintain the momentum of his victory at Fort Donelson. His army had moved up to a port on the Tennessee River called Pittsburg Landing in preparation for an attack on Corinth, Mississippi, where the Confederate troops were located. General Halleck, Western U.S. Army commander, had ordered Grant to stay put and wait for reinforcements. Grant had given command of the Pittsburg Landing encampment to General William T. Sherman while he waited at his camp in Savannah, Tennessee. (1) At Corinth, Confederate Generals Albert Sydney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard worked feverishly to ready the 40,000 plus troops there for an attack on the Union Army at Pittsburg Landing before U.S. Army General Buell and reinforcements could arrive from Nashville. The officers appointed as corps commanders for the South were Major General John Breckinridge, Major General William J. Hardee, Major General Braxton Bragg, and Major General Leonidas Polk. The South headed for Pittsburg Landing on April 4, 1862 but because of several delays the attack was postponed until April 6. The Battle of Shiloh began early the morning of April 6. Johnston’s men burst out of the woods so early that Union soldiers came out of their tents to fight. The Confederate army drove the Yankees back eight miles that day. One area that was especially troublesome for the South was nicknamed the Hornet’s Nest and was commanded by Union General Prentiss. The area was a sunken road that Federal troops rallied behind and mowed down wave after wave of Rebel attackers until General ... ...fternoon of April 7. "It was now, however, only about one o’clock†¦and Buell’s fresh men numbering 30,000 in all were still coming in. Gen. Beauregard knew there was a limit to human endurance†¦and after proper consideration, thought it wise to retire" (New Orleans, Times-Picayune, 1862). The Confederate Army retreated to Corinth. The Union Army didn’t follow them and was glad to see them go.(5) After the Battle of Shiloh both sides reported that the war would be long and drawn out. When asked, after he was captured, if he thought Shiloh would lead to peace, General Prentiss stated "Never, till the Union is restored. If we do not whip you with the men we have, we will bring more (New Orleans, Times-Picayune, 1862). Though the price of battle at Pittsburg Landing was high for both sides, it was only the beginning of the destructiveness that lay ahead. WORKS CITED Crist, Lynda Lasswell 1995. The Papers of Jefferson Davis. Louisiana State University Press. Volume VIII. Moore, Frank 1865. The Rebellion Record. Arno Press. Volume XXII. H.P. Special Correspondant, "The Battle of Shiloh." April 11, 1862. New Orleans The Times-Picayune. Volume XXVI Number 65.

The main paper -- Essays Papers

The main paper In response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, there has been renewed interest in the creation of a national identification system, typically embodied in a "smart" ID card, as a component of a national counter-terrorism strategy. National ID cards have been advocated as a means to enhance national security, unmask potential terrorists, and guard against illegal immigrants. "The core issue can be expressed as a question: What actions should the federal government take to certify the identity of its citizens and other persons in its jurisdiction, and what role should computing technology play in that process? To deal with questions like this, lawmakers, leaders, and government agencies often begin the policymaking process by seeking the advice of expert panels"(CSC4735 Forum). In overall, there are many opinions that people agree with the national ID card; also many of them disagree with it too. In my opinion the national ID card system would not protect us from terrorism, but it would create a system of internal passports that would significantly diminish the freedom and privacy of law-abiding citizens. Larry Ellison, head of Oracle Corporation, the California based software company, has called for the development a national identification system and offered to donate the technology to make this possible. He proposed ID cards with embedded digitized thumbprints and photographs of all legal residents in the United States (Black). In recent ideas, ID cards have been linked to national registration systems, which in turn form the basis of government administration. In such systems the ID card becomes merely one visible component of a much larger system, with the advent of magnetic stripes and microprocess... ...debates over health are reform, the Clinton Administration also constantly stressed that it was opposed a national identifier. In 1999 Congress repealed a controversial provision in the Legal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which gave authorization to include Social Security Numbers on drivers' licenses. For conclusion, there are some reasons that discussed in this paper. I think the national ID card system would not protect us from terrorism, but it would create a system of internal passports that would significantly diminish the freedom and privacy of law-abiding citizens. So now imagine this. A police officer stops you in your car. Scan your license, matches your fingerprint with a central database and has immediate access to a plethora of information, including whether you are on a terrorist watch list. What would you think?

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 25

elena Matt swung his gaze in horror between Bonnie's prone figure, the name on the floor, and Elena's pale face. After a few shocked minutes, Elena spun and left the room. Stefan and Matt fol owed her as Meredith and the others moved to Bonnie's side. Out in the hal way, Elena pounced on Stefan. â€Å"You were supposed to look after them. If you had been here, Bonnie would have had some protection.† Matt, trailing Stefan out of Bonnie's bedroom, balked. Elena's teeth were bared, her dark blue eyes flashed, and she and Stefan both looked furious. â€Å"It wasn't Stefan's fault, Elena,† Matt protested gently. â€Å"Alaric and Mrs. Flowers had set magical protections. Nothing ought to have been able to get in. Even if Stefan had been here, he wouldn't have been in Bonnie's room with her al night.† â€Å"He should have been, if that's what it took to protect her,† Elena said bitterly. Her face was tight with anger as she looked at Stefan. Even as Matt stood up for Stefan, he couldn't suppress a glow of satisfaction at seeing trouble between Elena and Stefan at last. It's about time Elena realized Stefan isn't perfect, the worst part of him said gleeful y. Mrs. Flowers and Alaric hurried out of the room, breaking the tension between Elena and Stefan. Mrs. Flowers shook her head. â€Å"It seems that Bonnie was very foolishly trying to contact the dead, but I don't see how she could have done this to herself. This must be the result of whatever has been endangering you. Meredith is going to stay by Bonnie's bedside for the time being while we investigate.† Matt glanced at Elena and Stefan. â€Å"I thought you said that Caleb was out of the picture.† â€Å"I thought he was!† Stefan said as they al headed downstairs. â€Å"Maybe this is something he started before we fought.† Alaric frowned. â€Å"If that's true and it's stil going, Caleb himself might not be able to stop it. Even if he died, that wouldn't interrupt a self-perpetuating curse.† Elena strode out to the hal and ripped into the first of the trash bags, her jaw set. â€Å"We need to figure out what he did.† She dug out a stack of notebooks and shoved them into the others' hands. â€Å"Look for the actual steps of a spel . If we know how he did it, maybe Alaric or Mrs. Flowers can figure out how to reverse it.† â€Å"The spel book Bonnie was using is one of mine,† Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"Nothing in it should have had this effect on her, but I'l examine it just in case.† They each took a notebook and a pile of papers and spread out around the kitchen table. â€Å"There are diagrams in mine,† Stefan said after a minute. â€Å"There's a pentagram, but I don't think it's the same as the one we saw on the floor.† Alaric took the notebook and peered at it, then shook his head. â€Å"I'm not an expert, but that looks like part of a standard protection spel .† The notebook in front of Matt was mostly scribbled notes. Tanner first death? it asked. Halloween? Elena, Bonnie, Meredith, Matt, Tyler, Stefan all present. He could hear Meredith's feet upstairs, restlessly pacing by Bonnie's bedside, and the words blurred before him. He scrubbed the back of his fist against his eyes before he could embarrass himself by crying. This was useless. And even if there was something helpful in here, he would never recognize it. â€Å"Does it strike you guys as weird,† Elena asked, â€Å"that Celia was the first one affected by whatever this evil is? There wasn't anything about her in the shed. And she never met Tyler, let alone Caleb. If Caleb was trying to get revenge on us for Tyler's disappearance, why would he attack Celia first? Or at al , real y.† That was a real y good point, Matt thought, and he was about to say so when he spotted Mrs. Flowers. She was standing stick-straight, staring off past his left ear and nodding slightly. â€Å"Do you real y think so?† she said softly. â€Å"Oh, that does make a difference. Yes, I see. Thank you.† By the time she had finished and her eyes snapped back to focus on them, the others had also noticed her one-sided conversation and grown silent, watching her. â€Å"Does your mother know what happened to Bonnie?† Matt asked her eagerly. He had stayed in Fel ‘s Church fighting the kitsune with Mrs. Flowers when his friends had traveled to the Dark Dimension, and their time as comrades in arms had made him familiar with Mrs. Flowers's casual exchanges with the spirit realm. If Mrs. Flowers's mother had interrupted their conversation, she probably had something useful and important to say. â€Å"Yes,† said Mrs. Flowers, smiling at him. â€Å"Yes, indeed, Mama was very helpful.† Her face grew serious as she glanced around. â€Å"Mama was able to sense the thing that took Bonnie's spirit. Once it had entered the house, she could observe it, although she was powerless to fight it herself. She's upset that she wasn't able to save Bonnie. She's quite fond of her.† â€Å"Is Bonnie going to be okay?† Matt asked, over the others' questions of, â€Å"So what is it?† and â€Å"It's a demon or something, then, not a curse?† Mrs. Flowers looked at Matt first. â€Å"We may be able to save Bonnie. We wil certainly try. But we wil have to defeat the thing that took her. And the rest of you are stil very much in danger.† She looked around at them al . â€Å"It's a phantom.† There was a little pause. â€Å"What's a phantom?† Elena asked. â€Å"Do you mean a ghost?† â€Å"A phantom, of course,† Stefan said quietly, shaking his head like he couldn't believe the idea hadn't occurred to him earlier. â€Å"There was a town I heard of once back in Italy many years ago, where they said a phantom stalked the streets of Umbria. It wasn't a ghost, but a being created by strong emotions. The story was that a man became so enraged at his unfaithful lover that he kil ed her and her paramour, and then himself. And these actions released something, a being made out of their emotions. One by one people living nearby went mad. They did terrible things.† Stefan looked shaken to his core. â€Å"Is that what we're facing? Some kind of demon created out of anger that wil drive people mad?† Elena turned to Mrs. Flowers imploringly. â€Å"Because frankly I think this town has had enough of that.† â€Å"It can't happen again,† Matt said. He was also looking at Mrs. Flowers. She was the only one who had seen the neardestruction of Fel ‘s Church with him. The others had been there for the beginning, sure, but when things got real y awful, when they were at their worst, the girls and the vampires had been off in the Dark Dimension, fighting their own battles to fix it. Mrs. Flowers met his eyes and nodded firmly, like she was making a pledge. â€Å"It won't,† she said. â€Å"Stefan, what you're describing probably was a rage phantom, but it sounds like the popular explanation of what was going on wasn't quite accurate. According to Mama, phantoms feed on emotions like vampires do on blood. The stronger an emotion is, the better fed and more active they are. They're attracted to people or communities that already have these strong emotions, and they create almost a feedback loop, encouraging and nurturing thoughts that wil make the emotion stronger so that they can continue to feed. They're quite psychical y powerful, but they can survive only as long as their victims keep feeding them.† Elena was listening careful y. â€Å"But what about Bonnie?† She looked at Stefan. â€Å"In this town in Umbria, did people fal into comas because of the phantom?† Stefan shook his head. â€Å"Not that I ever heard of,† he said. â€Å"Maybe that's where Caleb comes in.† â€Å"I'l cal Celia,† said Alaric. â€Å"This wil help focus her research. If anyone has any material at al on this, it'l be Dr. Beltram.† â€Å"Could your mother tel what kind of phantom it was?† Stefan asked Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"If we know what emotion it feeds on, we could cut off its supply.† â€Å"She didn't know,† she said. â€Å"And she doesn't know how to defeat a phantom either. And there's one more thing we should take into consideration: Bonnie's got a lot of innate psychic power of her own. If the phantom has taken her, it's probably tapped into that.† Matt nodded, fol owing her train of thought. â€Å"And if that's so,† he finished grimly, â€Å"then this thing is only going to get stronger and more dangerous.†

Energy Drinks Essay

Something I learned in my last Health class is the ever-increasing use of today’s new â€Å"Energy Drinks. † Caffeine is the single most used drug in America. How many of us must have that morning cup of coffee before heading out the door? How many college students are staying up late at night preparing for a mid-term or final exam by drink these new, all natural, safe, energy drinks? You may want to read their labels and adjust your thinking. You may want to include a little research in regards to these drinks. At this time there is no long-term research to report on in regards to energy drinks. What we do know is that these drinks have a variety of ingredients such as ginseng, amino acids, ginkgo, various vitamins, and high amounts of sugar. However, the primary active energy ingredient is caffeine. At this time, the FDA does not regulate the amounts of caffeine that are in these drinks. They suggest that within a 12-ounce beverage serving the amount of caffeine should be 68 milligrams or less. A report published by the Journal of Analytical Toxicology showed that of ten of the most popular energy drinks had as high as 141 milligrams in one 16-ounce serving. The following 12-ounce energy drinks showed, Monster at 120 milligrams, Red Bull at 116 milligrams, and Amp contained 107 milligrams of caffeine. To give a comparison, look at Coke and Pepsi. They only contain between 34 to 38 milligrams of caffeine. Energy drinks have risen significantly in popularity in the last few years with revenues exceeding $3. 5 billion a year and growing. One report states that with the new found popularity there are growing concerns of the possible health effects among children, adolescents, and young adults. It states that 30 to 50 percent of America drinks energy drinks. Of this amount they report that one third are from the ages of 12 to 24 consume these beverages on a daily basis. Due to these beverages being chilled makes them easier to consume quickly. High doses of caffeine have been linked to seizures, cardiac problems, mood or behavioral disorders, and diabetes. Additionally, these problems have been linked specifically to the consumption of energy drinks among children, teens, and young adults. There has been a growing concern amongst the medical community, parents, and school officials in regards to these energy drinks on our youth. Numerous reports are being found to the adverse affects these high caffeine drinks are responsible for. The Illinois Poison Control Center reported in a recent survey of more than 250 cases of caffeine overdose in a three-year period. The average age of these accounts was 21. A doctor from California reports that an eighteen year young man received treatment for an abnormal heart rhythm after consuming eight 16-ounce energy drinks per evening to remain alert during his night job. Another growing concern is the use of these energy drinks as a mixer with alcohol. A study from 2006 showed that the individuals surveyed were just as impaired in motor coordination and reaction time as individuals drinking alcohol alone. As stated earlier, there is not much evidence on the effects of long-term use of caffeine on children or teenagers. It is known that it can create physiological and psychological dependence in adults. This being true, we must do everything possible to protect our children from these non-regulated beverages. We need to insist on more research to be conducted in order to better inform the public of the consequences of the consumption of these highly-caffeinated energy drinks and the adverse effects they have on our youth. (Word Count 606) Flores, D. (2011, 03 16). Health Effect of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults, Retrieved 07 12, 2012, from ArticlesBase. com: http://www. articlesbase. com/wellness-articles/health-effects-of-energy-drinks-on-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-4423299. html.

Was the Reconstruction Period a Failure

Was Reconstruction a failure? As the bloody Civil War drew to a close, the period of reconstruction began to take shape across the states. There were many questions aroused following the war regarding the physical re-building of the nation, demobilisation and most importantly what was to replace the pre-war norm of slavery? America’s position on the latter, was of course both vague, with differing opinions from the North to the South, these differences which should have been settled with the outcome of the Civil War meant the war on the battlefield had transgressed to one on a social and political level.However as Michael Les Benedict quite aptly states that ‘winning had been more important than figuring out what to do afterwards,’ which resulted in a sporadic reconstruction being forced by dissimilar motives. When looking at how successful the Reconstruction period was in America one should consider the intentions behind such Reconstructing, this poses the questi on therefore of whether the period was one of rebuilding relations between the North and the South or between the slaves and citizens?This essay will look at therefore the attempt at creating an increasingly harmonious nation with the interruption of unstoppable de facto discrimination that made reconstruction a void period. When discussing the reconstruction some decide to begin with the Emancipation Proclamation where Lincoln addressed the nation on 1st January 1863; â€Å"I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free. This of course was the primary leap into the unknown, however as this was not passed through Congress and there only being a few states state’s emancipated renders 1863 as an ineffectual starting date for the Reconstruction period. However what was important during this time was the role of African American’s in the war which shaped their position in post- war America. ‘By the wars end, some 180,000 blacks had served in the Union Army. ’ Although there was severe dissatisfaction over conscription, the opportunities offered in the army was the foundation for the move towards equality.Primarily it was an opportunity for Afro-Americans to prove their capability and ability to be disciplined; this allowed them to be seen as equals, as equal as possible as the time. ‘Although slavery was still legally intact, in the summer of 1862 General Butler began substituting a system of compensated labour,’ Butler’s recognition of military status of black soldiers was an example of the positive outcome of the war, and what impact It had on integration even though ‘most of the soldiers spoke scornfully of ‘niggers’’ there was an un-admitted truth that the war could not have been won without the help of the Negros.Learning from the military integration and flowing the passing of the 13th Amendm ent in 1865 saw the true beginning of the reconstruction period and as a result there was an increase of active participation of African-Americans in society. ‘Local leaders played such a variety of roles in schools, churches, and fraternal organizations that were bridges to the larger world of politics. ’ The primary source of involvement was through the parishes however Afro-Americans were soon able to work their way further as in 1865 John S.Rock of Boston was the first black lawyer admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, this showed that ‘slowly the North’s racial barriers began to fall. ’ This positive change not only saw the increased integration of black’s within the judicial branch, however also in the executive, ‘among the ablest were Robert B. Elliott of South Carolina and John R. Lynch of Mississippi. Both were speakers of their state House of Representatives and were members of the U. S. Congress. ’ However such was short lived due to the ever increasing violence from the Ku Klux Klan; this shows that the restoration was limited to the North.As previously mentioned the 13th Amendment was a milestone in the road to freedom or blacks, however ‘the amendment closed one question only to open a host of others. ’ This was because although freed on paper and equal under the law, Afro-Americans were not quite regarded as equal under the eyes of society. The federal government therefore set up a protective organisation; the Freedman’s Bureau which meant ‘there was a freer attitude towards supplying money for plantation equipment, clothing, and food, including salt, bacon, and other necessities for the Negros. The was a successful outcome of the Bureau, however there was obvious weaknesses within the Bureau, commenting on the organisation, a citizen expresses that ‘it would have been wise if our statesmen could have received, digested and acted upon the answers these men [ blacks] gave to their questions. ’ This suggested the nonchalant attitude the bureau had towards the emancipated slaves, rendering the establishment of a new life increasingly difficult without federal aid.Further evidence of the federals restricted willingness to give aid can be seen through their attitude as ‘for a while northerners regarded the proposed Fourteenth Amendment as an incredibly lenient settlement of the Civil War. ’ Prior to this the Civil Rights Act had been passed in 1866 which declared that ‘every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right. This shows that had the 14th amendment seen to be too radical then the importance of the Civil Rights Act had not been thoroughly enforced of accepted. ‘Years before the end of slavery, black abolitionist Charles L. Reason had predicted th at emancipation would impose â€Å"severe trials† upon the freedman. ’ This prediction of course was one of great clarity as during the reconstruction period there was a general neglect of emancipated slaves and a re-establishment and maintenance of white supremacy.The neglect can be seen though the inefficiency to support the released slaves and their struggle during the reconstruction period, ‘finding employment and housing, food, clothes and medicine for the flow of refugees into the Department was almost impossible. ’ There was such little prospect for a freed slave that the result was to work practically how life had been previous to the 13th Amendment just without chains or to get involved with sharecropping which resulted in the increase of Tenant farming. Planters had no desire to further economic democracy, white or black, and no confidence that freedman could farm successfully independent of whites. ’ The lack of confidence in the freed ma n bears question to what it was really the Civil War was fought for. ‘In 1861, the restoration of the Union, not emancipation, was the cause that generated the widest support for the war effort,’ this supports the evidence that there was a lack of concern for the emancipated slaves, as this was not at the forefront of Americans objectives.Quite a profound contribution to the failure of the reconstruction period was none the less than the president at the time, Andrew Jackson. Following the assassination of Lincoln was the beginning of the end for the Reconstruction period as Jacksons interpretation of reconstruction was a reflection of his southern prejudices. Jackson excluded black’s from politics, in fact excluded numerous problems from his time in office; ‘Johnson had always believed in limited government and a strict construction of the Constitution.In Congress, he had moved to reduce the salaries of government workers, voted against aid to famine-stric ken Ireland, and even opposed appropriations to pave Washington’s muddy streets. ’ This could either be described as laissez faire methods of rule or negligence. Although the Civil Rights Act did eventually get passed this was with no thanks to President Johnson, who during what was meant to be the restoration period vetoed it twice meaning its eventual passing through congress was due to an overall majority vote from his cabinet.The lack of the presidents intervention, or acceptance of the Sherman-Johnston agreement reflected the lenience accepted by the executive at the time as it was agreed that ‘the executive authority of the government of the United States not to disturb by reason of the late war so long as they live in peace and quiet. ’ This meant very liberal treatment of the ex-rebels of the Civil War. The leniency toward the de-mobilisation of the South meant it possible for ‘the same people, the same issues that had precipitated the great war to remain. This therefore making the restoration of slavery further possible, rather opposite to the original intentions of restoration, it was what Les Benedict described as the ‘death of the Confederate reconstruction. ’ ‘Laura Towne reported that the freedman would not believe that Lincoln was dead’ as he was the foundation for the emancipation of the slaves and one who had revolutionary visions at a time of prevalent discrimination. As previously mentioned, Afro-Americans were increasingly getting involved in positions and society; however this was not true to everyone and was definitely not on the increase. Cleveland County, North Carolina, counted 200 black members of biracial Methodist churches in 1860, ten in 1867, and none five years later. ’ There is a recurring trend of the laissez faire method of rule or negligence towards the Afro-Americans during the reconstruction period. Under President Ulysses S. Grant the state produced less for ms of reconstructive policies to protect the black’s from a prejudice society. ‘He had won election in 1868 by urging, â€Å"let us have peace,† and he had not intervened in the South until Klan violence had forced his hand. This shows the executives turning a blind eye towards the violence and discrimination that prevailed throughout the reconstruction period. Not only was there negligence towards imposing protection for the emancipated slaves, but there were further restrictions implemented on their freedom such as the Black Codes; Sec. 3. ‘Every negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said Negro. ’ This shows that although black slaves were meant to have been emancipated, there was always the clause of being emancipated under the control of the white man.The fact the white man had control over the emancipated slave made freed life sometimes harder than t he days of slavery. Additionally although the 15th amendment was passed with the intention of enabling the emancipated the privilege of the vote, it was not long followed by the restrictive Jim Crow laws which had further implication into the post-Reconstruction period and into the twentieth century. The Crow laws not only made it impossible for makes to ascertain suffrage due to the Grandfather Clause, but enabled de facto segregation.The reconstruction period was not only a failure due to the legislation or lack of legislation, but the economic depression resulted in ‘the first great crisis of industrial capitalism permanently altering the nature of economic enterprise, and had profound political and ideological consequences. ’ This meant that due to economic hardship there was a decrease in sympathy towards the Negro who had nothing compared with the white man who had nothing. ‘By the end of 1874 nearly half the nation’s iron furnaces had suspended opera tion’ The reconstruction period was one that saw a plethora of legislative change, however not all for the better.There were many empty promises directed at the liberated slaves, however liberated is not the correct term to use. The emancipated slaves saw little to no improvement in their lives, and not only were the reconstruction a failure with regards improving relations between North and South; it was a failure with repairing relations between the slave and the citizen. The fact the reconstruction period was so short and its ending reverted back to previous times renders the reconstruction period a failure. There remained the underlying intentions, just lacked motivation to implement the reconstruction of the ‘United’ states.Additionally these intentions derived from a handful of just minded thinkers such as Lincoln, however there were too many, with great power who were not yet ready to accept the equality that was preached to clearly in the Declaration of I ndependence, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th amendment. Therefore as there was such little actual change when reflected against how much legislative change at Washington makes the Reconstruction period a failure as perception, treatment and understanding of a different race did not improve.

Apollo Theatre

Jose 1 Janelle Jose Professor Pappas AAS 254 16 April 2008 â€Å"Our Theater: The Hey Dey of the Apollo Theatre† Apollo was the Greek God of music, Poetry and the arts. His temple was at Delphi and was known to be a place of purification. There is a temple of a different that bears the name of the Greek god and its at 253 West 125th Street Harlem in New York City. The Apollo Theater would become as famous as the temple at Delphi. The Apollo Theaters home was in Harlem. Harlem is known worldwide as a major African-American cultural and business neighborhood.It wasn’t always the Harlem we know today. Harlem didn’t become an African American neighborhood until the Great Migration. During the first decade of the 20th century, Growing unemployment and increasing racial violence encouraged blacks to leave the South. The way they came up north was by working for northern manufacturers who had recruited the southern black workers to fill factory jobs. So from 1910 to 193 0 between 1. 5 million and 2 million African Americans left the South for the industrial cities of the North.By 1930 more than 200,000 blacks had moved to New York. As black communities in Northern cities grew, black working people became the patrons for an expanding black professional and business class, gaining in political and economic power. As more and more educated and socially conscious blacks settled in New York’s neighborhood of Harlem, it developed into the political and cultural center of black America. During the 1910s a Jose 2 new political agenda advocating racial equality arose in the African American community, particularly in its growing middle class.A black middle class had developed by the turn of the century, fostered by increased education and employment opportunities. There was something emerging in the midst of social and intellectual up rise in the African American community in the early 20th century. Harlem Renaissance was the name of the African Amer ican cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem. The Apollo Theater has been the most lasting legacy of the Harlem Renaissance. The Apollo grew to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance of the pre-World War II years.By the time the Apollo had open its doors the Harlem Renaissance was coming to a close. The Apollo Theater that we know today didn’t start out that way. It began as a all white music hall and burlesque theatre. It gained fame a Hurtig and Seamon’s Burlesque in the twenties and early thirties. The 125th street Apollo Theater didn’t open until January 1934. This is when they started showcasing black entertainment. The Apollo theatre was originally owned by Sidney Cohen. After Sydney S. Cohen's death, Morris Sussman and Frank Schiffman got together.Schiffman ran the Harlem Opera House and a merger between the two theaters was formed. Schiffman is credited with guiding the Apollo Theater to greatness. Schiffman's mot ivation for featuring black talent and entertainment was not only because the neighborhood had become black over a two hundred year period of gradual migration, but because black entertainers were cheaper to hire, and Schiffman could offer quality shows for reasonable rates. For many years Apollo was the only theater in New York City to hire black talent. Jose 3With black performers as the main entertainment in the Apollo came an important facet of American life that has been dominated by blacks. That is jazz. In jazz the black man stands supreme. The products of his creative energies are sought after by musicians and listeners of every background. Jazz didn’t start in the Apollo theatre. It didn’t start in Harlem either. The roots of jazz lie deep in the history of New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago, and New York. The true ancestral roots are buried even deep in the music traditions of West Africa and Latin countries.But the Apollo was one of the places that provided a home and a receptive atmosphere in which jazz practitioners felt at ease, where their art could thrive and flourish. Although jazz was a true American genre of music it was formerly held in relatively low class by certain intellectual. Many believe the reason for the low appraisal of jazz’ value was made because most of the jazz practitioners were black and the critics were white. Although the Apollo Theater was essentially a black theater, the main interest was always in quality rather than color.Even though jazz was predominantly the creation of black musicians, the amount of interracial jazz was relatively small thought the history of early jazz. It wasn’t because of discrimination from the performers but rather the performers were keeping up with the climate of the times. Many white musicians were accepted with respect and affection by Apollo audience. The first show was called â€Å"Jazz a la Carte†. All the proceeds of this show were donated to the Harlem Children's Fresh Air Fund. Since then the Apollo Theater is known for starting careers of many music pioneers. In 1934, it introduced its regular Amateur Night shows.Billing itself as a place â€Å"where stars are born and legends are made,† the Apollo became famous for launching the careers of artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Diana Ross ; The Supremes, Gladys Knight ; The Pips, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, Marvin Gaye, Luther Jose 4 Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Mariah Carey, The Isley Brothers, Lauryn Hill, and Sarah Vaughan. The Apollo also featured the performances of old-time vaudeville favorites like Tim Moore, Stepin Fetchit, Godfrey Cambridge, Dewey â€Å"Pigmeat† Markham, Moms Mabley, Marshall â€Å"Garbage† Rogers, and Johnny Lee.The Apollo didn’t only make careers but they also had big name artist. By the mid-thirties, the era of the big band was in full swing. Of all the personalities we ever played at the Apollo, none were as vibrant as Fats Waller. There was never any question about Fats playing the Apollo. It was a semi-annual engagement, which he never missed. The Luis Russell Band was a band that was put together to showcase the talent of Louis Armstrong. They played a 1937 engagement at the Apollo without Louis, who had left the band by then.They band did include clarinetist Barney Bigard, who later starred with Ellington; Big Sid Catlett, who also played with Hines, on drums; and trumpeter Henry â€Å"Red’ Allen. Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong are probably two of the most influential men in the history of jazz. Louis Armstrong played with them all because they all wanted to play with the master. In 1949, Louis’ band in an Apollo show included such legendary figures as trombonist and vocalist Jack Teagarden, drummer Cozy Cole, clarinetist Barney Bigard, pianist Earl Hines, and bassist Arvel Shaw.A jazz lover could only be at awe at this line up. Louis influences everyone, even the singers. Billie Holiday once spoke about how she wanted to sing exactly as Louis played his horn. The fun-loving genius had vocal trick of finishing his songs with â€Å"Oh Yeah†. In 1939 Duke Ellington played the Apollo. He had played there and at the Harlem Opera House and the Lafayette and, of course, was legendary figure at the old Cotton Club. He played the Apollo again, again, and again. He was one of the Jose 5 giants and one of the transcending figures in jazz history.You can’t talk about Duke Ellington musical genius without talking about the incredible number of compositions that he penned. Probably in the whole history of music no one has composed more songs the Ellington. There is said to be over two thousand songs. Women were also very popular in the Apollo Theater. Most of the women were singers, the major exceptions being pianists Mary Lou Williams and Hazel Scott. They were the International Sweethearts of Rhythm . Another talented jazzwoman was Blanche Calloway, sister of Cab Calloway.Although she frequently copied Cab’s style as a leader, she was a serious musician. Later Blanche ran a club in Washington and brought us Ruth Brown, who became a major Apollo attraction. In addition to introducing a vast number of rising stars, the Apollo quickly became a vital stop for any black entertainer, and virtually every major African American musical act performed there at least once as did several white acts, who often were booked because they were assumed to be black. The management maintained a policy of alternating live stage shows with B movies.The Apollo was the pinnacle of the â€Å"classic circuit† of venues including the Regal Theater in Chicago and the Howard Theater in Washington, D. C. that catered to African American audiences. As a show of respect for its legacy, the building was left untouched during the riots of the 1960s. In 1977 the shows were discontinued, and the the atre was operated as a movie theatre. A year later the building was closed. Purchased by investors in 1981, the Apollo received landmark status in 1983, was renovated, and was reopened to the public in 1985. | | | | | | | |

Approaches to Knowledge Management Practice

â€Å"Tacit Knowledge† versus â€Å"Explicit Knowledge† Approaches to Knowledge Management Practice by Ron Sanchez Professor of Management, Copenhagen Business School and Linden Visiting Professor for Industrial Analysis, Lund University Contact information: Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy Solbjergvej 3 – 3rd floor DK 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark email: [email  protected] dk Abstract This paper explains two fundamental approaches to knowledge management.The tacit knowledge approach emphasizes understanding the kinds of knowledge that individuals in an organization have, moving people to transfer knowledge within an organization, and managing key individuals as knowledge creators and carriers. By contrast, the explicit knowledge approach emphasizes processes for articulating knowledge held by individuals, the design of organizational approaches for creating new knowledge, and the development of systems (including information systems) to disseminat e articulated knowledge within an organization.The relative advantages and disadvantages of both approaches to knowledge management are summarized. A synthesis of tacit and knowledge management approaches is recommended to create a hybrid design for the knowledge management practices in a given organization. JEL code: Moo 1 Introduction Managers concerned with implementing knowledge management in their organizations today face a number of challenges in developing sound methods for this still emerging area of management practice.Both the growing literature on knowledge management and the advice offered by various knowledge management consultants, however, seem to advocate forms of knowledge management practice that often appear incomplete, inconsistent, and even contradictory. This paper suggests that the current lack of coherence in the diverse recommendations for knowledge management practice results from the fact that the development of both theory and practice in this emerging fi eld is being driven by two fundamentally different approaches to identifying and managing knowledge in organizations.These two approaches are characterized here as the â€Å"tacit knowledge† approach and the â€Å"explicit knowledge† approach. This paper first clarifies how these two fundamental approaches differ in both their philosophical premises and derived recommendations for practice, and it summarizes the main strengths and weaknesses of each of the two approaches in practice. We then suggest that sound knowledge management practice requires a creative synthesis of the two approaches that enables the strengths of one approach to offset the inherent limitations of the other approach, and vice versa. . Tacit Knowledge versus Explicit Knowledge Approaches Even a casual review of the many articles and consulting recommendations on knowledge management practice today soon reveals a plethora of recommended processes and techniques. Unfortunately — especially fo r the many managers looking to researchers and consultants for insights to guide development of sound knowledge 2 management practices — many of these recommendations seem unconnected to each other, and in the worst cases many seem to be quite at odds with each other.Close analysis of these recommendations, however, usually reveals that the many ideas for practice being advanced today can be grouped into one of two fundamentally different views of knowledge itself and of the resulting possibilities for managing knowledge in organizations. These two views are characterized here as the â€Å"tacit knowledge† approach and the â€Å"explicit knowledge† approach. Let us consider the basic premises and the possibilities for knowledge management practice implied by each of these two views (see Table 1 for a summary of the differences in the two approaches).The Tacit Knowledge Approach The salient characteristic of the tacit knowledge approach is the basic belief that k nowledge is essentially personal in nature and is therefore difficult to extract from the heads of individuals. In effect, this approach to knowledge management assumes, often implicitly, that the knowledge in and available to an organization will largely consist of tacit knowledge that remains in the heads of individuals in the organization. 1Working from the premise that knowledge is inherently personal and will largely remain tacit, the tacit knowledge approach typically holds that the dissemination of knowledge in an organization can best be accomplished by the transfer of people as â€Å"knowledge carriers† from one part of an organization to another. Further, this view believes that learning in an organization occurs when individuals come together under circumstances that encourage them to share their ideas and (hopefully) to develop new insights together that will lead to the creation of new knowledge.Recommendations for knowledge management practice proffered by resea rchers and consultants working within the tacit knowledge approach naturally tend to focus 1 Some writers and consultants have even gone so far as to argue that all knowledge is tacit in nature. The irony in trying to communicate to others the â€Å"knowledge† that all knowledge is tacit, however, should be obvious. 3 on managing people as individual carriers of knowledge.To make wider use of the tacit knowledge of individuals, managers are urged to identify the knowledge possessed by various individuals in an organization and then to arrange the kinds of interactions between knowledgeable individuals that will help the organization perform its current tasks, transfer knowledge from one part of the organization to another, and/or create new knowledge that may be useful to the organization. Let us consider some examples of current practice in each of these activities that are typical of the tacit knowledge approach.Most managers of organizations today do not know what specific kinds of knowledge the individuals in their organization know. This common state of affairs is reflected in the lament usually attributed to executives of Hewlett-Packard in the 1980s: â€Å"If we only knew what we know, we could conquer the world. † As firms become larger, more knowledge intensive, and more globally dispersed, the need for their managers to â€Å"know what we know† is becoming acute.Thus, a common initiative within the tacit knowledge approach is usually some effort to improve understanding of who knows about what in an organization — an effort that is sometimes described as an effort to create â€Å"know who† forms of knowledge. 2 An example of such an effort is the creation within Philips, the global electronics company, of a â€Å"yellow pages† listing experts with different kinds of knowledge within Philips’ many business units.Today on the Philips intranet one can type in the key words for a specific knowledge domain — say, for example, knowledge about the design of optical pickup units for CD/DVD players and recorders — and the yellow pages will retrieve a listing of the people within Philips worldwide who have stated that they have such knowledge. Contact information is also provided for each person listed, so that anyone in Philips who wants to know more about that kind of knowledge can get in touch with listed individuals. 2Know-how, know-why, and know-what forms of knowledge can also be described (see Sanchez 1997). 4 An example of the tacit knowledge approach to transferring knowledge within a global organization is provided by Toyota. When Toyota wants to transfer knowledge of its production system to new employees in a new assembly factory, such as the factory recently opened in Valenciennes, France, Toyota typically selects a core group of two to three hundred new employees and sends them for several months training and work on the assembly line in one of Toyota’s e xisting factories.After several months of studying the production system and working alongside experienced Toyota assembly line workers, the new workers are sent back to the new factory site. These repatriated workers are accompanied by one or two hundred long-term, highly experienced Toyota workers, who will then work alongside all the new employees in the new factory to assure that knowledge of Toyota’s finely tuned production process is fully implanted in the new factory. Toyota’s use of Quality Circles also provides an example of the tacit knowledge approach to creating new knowledge.At the end of each work week, groups of Toyota production workers spend one to two hours analyzing the performance of their part of the production system to identify actual or potential problems in quality or productivity. Each group proposes â€Å"countermeasures† to correct identified problems, and discusses the results of countermeasures taken during the week to address probl ems identified the week before. Through personal interactions in such Quality Circle group settings, Toyota employees share their ideas for improvement, devise steps to test new ideas for improvement, and assess the results of their tests.This knowledge management practice, which is repeated weekly as an integral part of the Toyota production system, progressively identifies, eliminates, and even prevents errors. As improvements developed by Quality Circles are accumulated over many years, Toyota’s production system has become one of the highest quality production processes in the world (Spear and Bowen 1999). 5 The Explicit Knowledge Approach In contrast to the views held by the tacit knowledge approach, the explicit knowledge approach holds that knowledge is something that can be explained y individuals — even though some effort and even some forms of assistance may sometimes be required to help individuals articulate what they know. As a result, the explicit knowled ge approach assumes that the useful knowledge of individuals in an organization can be articulated and made explicit. Working from the premise that important forms of knowledge can be made explicit, the explicit knowledge approach also believes that formal organizational processes can be used to help individuals articulate the knowledge they have to create knowledge assets.The explicit knowledge approach also believes that explicit knowledge assets can then be disseminated within an organization through documents, drawings, standard operating procedures, manuals of best practice, and the like. Information systems are usually seen as playing a central role in facilitating the dissemination of explicit knowledge assets over company intranets or between organizations via the internet. Usually accompanying the views that knowledge can be made explicit and managed explicitly is the belief that new knowledge can be created through a structured, managed, scientific learning process.Experim ents and other forms of structured learning processes can be designed to remedy important knowledge deficiencies, or market transactions or strategic partnering may be used to obtain specific forms of needed knowledge or to improve an organization’s existing knowledge assets. The recommendations for knowledge management practice usually proposed by researchers and consultants working within the explicit knowledge approach focus on initiating and sustaining organizational processes for generating, articulating, categorizing, and systematically leveraging explicit knowledge assets. Some examples of knowledge management practice in this mode help to illustrate this approach. In the 1990s, Motorola was the global leader in the market for pagers. To maintain this leadership position, Motorola introduced new generations of pager designs every 12-15 months. Each new pager generation was designed to offer more advanced features and options for customization than the preceding generat ion. In addition, a new factory with higher-speed, more flexible assembly lines was designed and built to produce each new generation of pager. To sustain this high rate of product and process development, Motorola formed teams of product and factory designers to design each new generation of pager and factory. At the beginning of their project, each new team of designers received a manual of design methods and techniques from the team that had developed the previous generation of pager and factory.The new team would then have three deliverables at the end of their project: (i) an improved and more configurable next-generation pager design, (ii) the design of a more efficient and flexible assembly line for the factory that would produce the new pager, and (iii) an improved design manual that incorporated the design knowledge provided to the team in the manual it received — plus the new and improved design methods that the team had developed to meet the product and production goals for its project.This manual would then be passed on to the next design team given the task of developing the next generation of pager and its factory. In this way, Motorola sought to make explicit and capture the knowledge developed by its engineers during each project and to systematically leverage that knowledge in launching the work of the next project team. In addition to its tacit knowledge management practice of moving new employees around to transfer knowledge of its production system, Toyota also follows a highly Using modular product architectures to create increasingly configurable product designs, Motorola was able to increase the number of customizable product variations it could offer from a few thousand variations in the late 1980s to more than 120 million variations by the late 1990s. 7 disciplined explicit knowledge management practice of documenting the tasks that each team of workers and each individual worker is asked to perform on its assembly lines.These d ocuments provide a detailed description of how each task is to be performed, how long each task should take, the sequence of steps to be followed in performing each task, and the steps to be taken by each worker in checking his or her own work (Spear and Bowen 1999). When improvements are suggested by solving problems on the assembly line as they occur or in the weekly Quality Circle meetings of Toyota’s teams of assembly line workers, those suggestions are evaluated by Toyota’s production engineers and then formally incorporated in revised task description documents.In addition to developing well-defined and documented process descriptions for routine, repetitive production tasks, some organizations have also created explicit knowledge management approaches to supporting more creative tasks like developing new products. In the Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, for example, several â€Å"platform teams† of 300-600 development engineers have responsib ility for creating the next generation platforms4 on which Chrysler’s future automobiles will be based.Each platform team is free to actively explore and evaluate alternative design solutions for the many different technical aspects of their vehicle platform. However, each platform team is also required to place the design solution it has selected for each aspect of their vehicle platform in a â€Å"Book of Knowledge† on Chrysler’s intranet. This catalog of developed design solutions is then made available to all platform teams to consult in their development processes, so that good design solutions developed by one platform team can also be located and used by other platform teams.Other firms have taken this explicit knowledge management approach to managing knowledge in product development processes even further. For example, GE 4 A platform includes a system of standard component types and standardized interfaces between component types that enable â€Å"plu gging and playing† different component variations in the platform design to configure different product variations (see Sanchez 2004). 8 Fanuc Automation, one of the world’s leading industrial automation firms, develops design methodologies that are applied in the design of new kinds of components for their factory automation systems.In effect, instead of leaving it up to each engineer in the firm to devise a design solution for each new component needed, GE Fanuc’s engineers work together to create detailed design methodologies for each type of component the firm uses. These design methodologies are then encoded in software and computerized so that the design of new component variations can be automated. Desired performance parameters for each new component variation are entered into the automated design program, and GE Fanuc’s computer system automatically generates a design solution for the component.In this way, GE Fanuc tries to make explicit and capt ure the design knowledge of its engineers and then to systematically re-use that knowledge by automating most new component design tasks. 9 Advantages and Disadvantages of Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge Approaches Like most alternative approaches to managing, each of the two knowledge management approaches we have discussed has both advantages and disadvantages.We now briefly summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches (these are also summarized in Table 2). Advantages and Disadvantages of the Tacit Knowledge Approach One of the main advantages of the tacit knowledge approach is that it is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to begin managing knowledge. The essential first step is a relatively simple one — identify what each individual in the organization believes is the specific kinds of knowledge he or she possesses.Managers can then use this knowledge to assign individuals to key tasks or to compose teams with appropriate sets of knowledge to c arry out a project, to improve performance in current processes, or to try to create new knowledge in the organization. As Philips did with its intranetbased â€Å"yellow pages,† managers may also elect to create an open database listing the knowledge claimed by individuals in the organization to facilitate knowledge sharing between individuals.A tacit knowledge approach may also lead to improvements in employee satisfaction and motivation when an organization â€Å"officially† recognizes and makes visible in the organization the kinds of knowledge that individual workers claim to have. In addition, the tacit knowledge approach is likely to avoid some of the practical and motivational difficulties that may be encountered in trying to secure the cooperation of individuals in making their knowledge explicit (discussed under the explicit knowledge approach below). 10A further advantage often claimed for tacit knowledge management approaches derives from the view that maki ng knowledge explicit increases the risk that knowledge will be â€Å"leaked† from an organization, so that leaving knowledge in tacit form also helps to protect a firm’s proprietary knowledge from diffusing to competing organizations. (The potential disadvantages of leaving knowledge in tacit form are summarized below. ) Although relatively easy to begin, the tacit knowledge approach also has some important long-term limitations and disadvantages.One disadvantage in the tacit knowledge approach is that individuals in an organization may claim to have knowledge that they do not actually have or may claim to be more knowledgeable than they really are (Stein and Ridderstrale 2001). The knowledge that various individuals have is likely to evolve over time and may require frequent updating to correctly communicate the type of knowledge each individual in the organization claims to have now.In addition, if knowledge only remains tacit in the heads of individuals in an organ ization, then the only way to move knowledge within the organization is to move people. Moving people is often costly and time-consuming and may be resisted by individuals who fear disruptions of their careers or family life. Even when knowledgeable individuals are willing to be moved, an individual can only be in one place at a time and can only work so many hours per day and days per week, thereby limiting the reach and the speed of the organization in transferring an individual’s knowledge.Moreover, sometimes transferred individuals may not be accepted by other groups in the organization or may otherwise fail to establish good rapport with other individuals, and the desired knowledge transfer may not take place or may occur only partially. Most seriously, leaving knowledge tacit in the heads of key individuals creates a risk that the organization may lose that knowledge if any of those individuals becomes 11 incapacitated , leaves the organization, or — in the worst case — is recruited by competitors. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Explicit Knowledge Approach In general, the advantages and disadvantages of the explicit knowledge approach constitute an inverted â€Å"mirror image† of the advantages and disadvantages of the tacit knowledge approach. Whereas the tacit knowledge approach is relatively easy to start and use, but has important limitations in the benefits it can bring, the explicit knowledge approach is much more challenging to start, but offers greater potential benefits in the long term.Let us first consider the long-term advantages of the explicit knowledge management approach, and then the challenges that have to be overcome to start and sustain this approach in an organization. Perhaps the main advantage of the explicit knowledge approach is that once an individual articulates his or her knowledge in a document, drawing, process description, or other form of explicit knowledge asset, it should be possible thro ugh use of information systems to quickly disseminate that knowledge throughout an organization or indeed anywhere in the world.In effect, converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge creates an asset that is available 24/7 and is free from the limitations of time and space that constrain the dissemination of tacit knowledge by moving individuals. Moreover, knowledge that has been made explicit within an organization can often be more carefully codified and more effectively leveraged than tacit knowledge assets. To codify some forms of knowledge is to categorize and order the knowledge so that important interrelationships between different kinds of knowledge within the firm can 5Of course, under patent, copyright, or trade secrecy laws, an organization may have intellectual property rights in the tacit knowledge developed by individuals in the organization, and these rights may discourage — though not entirely prevent — individuals from sharing such knowledge wit h other organizations. 12 be identified. For example, forms of knowledge that are related by sharing a similar theoretical or practical knowledge base can be identified, as can forms of (complementary) knowledge that are interrelated by being used together in an organization’s processes.Once the various forms of explicit knowledge in an organization are codified in this way, knowledge created in one part of an organization can be proactively leveraged through information systems to people and groups elsewhere in the organization that can benefit from having that knowledge. Moreover, by disseminating some instance of explicit knowledge to other individuals who have expertise in that knowledge domain, the explicit knowledge can be discussed, debated, tested further, and improved, thereby stimulating important â€Å"incremental† forms of organizational learning processes.Such processes also help to identify which individuals in the organization are actually capable of mak ing significant contributions to the organization’s knowledge base, and which are not. An important further advantage of systematically articulating and codifying an organization’s knowledge is that this process makes an organization’s current knowledge base more visible and analyzable, and this helps an organization to discover deficiencies in its knowledge assets.In effect, by making an organization’s current knowledge base more visible, so that the organization can begin to see more clearly what knowledge it does have, it should be possible for an organization to begin to see more clearly what knowledge it does not have. Focused, structured, managed learning processes to remedy important knowledge deficiencies can then be launched and may lead to more â€Å"radical† forms of organizational learning.Once an organization establishes processes for articulating, codifying, and leveraging explicit knowledge assets, the systematic dissemination of exp licit knowledge within the organization should minimize the risk that it will lose vital knowledge if key individuals become unavailable or leave the organization. 13 To obtain the potentially significant benefits of an explicit knowledge management approach, however, a number of organizational challenges must be overcome. These challenges arise primarily in assuring adequate articulation, evaluation, application, and protection of knowledge assets.Individuals may not have sufficient skill or motivation to articulate their useful knowledge. Individuals vary greatly in the precision with which they can state their ideas, and some individuals — perhaps many — may need organizational support to adequately articulate their knowledge into useful knowledge assets. 6 Providing organizational support to individuals to articulate their knowledge may have a significant financial cost and inevitably takes time. An even more fundamental challenge arises when an individual is capab le of articulating his or her knowledge, but resists requests by the organization to do so.At the heart of such resistance is usually a belief that an individual’s job security or position of influence in an organization depends on the tacit knowledge that he or she has and that the organization needs. Such beliefs result in fear that full revelation of an individual’s important knowledge would be followed by dismissal or loss of influence in an organization, because — presumably — the individual would no longer be as necessary or important to the organization. Overcoming such fears is likely to require a profound rethinking of the employment relationship in many organizations, especially with regard to key knowledge workers.New employment norms may have to be defined and institutionalized that both seek and reward ongoing learning by individuals and their continuing contributions of explicit knowledge to the organization. 7 6 Of course, the more knowledg e-intensive an organization’s work is, and the more an organization is populated by â€Å"knowledge workers† with advanced education and training in formally communicating their ideas, the less difficult the articulation of explicit knowledge within the organization should be. Further, not all knowledge of individuals will necessarily be worth more to the organization than it may cost the organization to help or to reward individuals who try to articulate their knowledge. Essentially, managers must try to understand when the marginal cost of articulating knowledge is becoming greater than the marginal benefit of 14 Organizations must also meet the challenge of adequately evaluating knowledge that has been made explicit by individuals.Individuals with different backgrounds, education, and organizational roles may have varying sets of knowledge, with resulting differences in their deeply held ideas about the most effective way to get something done. Such differences will be revealed in the process of making their ideas and knowledge explicit, and managers implementing explicit knowledge approaches must establish a process for evaluating the individual knowledge that has been made explicit and for resolving conflicting knowledge beliefs of individuals.Organizations with experience in managing this process have found that the people involved in such evaluation processes must be respected within the organization for their expertise, objectivity, and impartiality. In most organizations, the time of such people is usually both very valuable and in short supply, and involving such people in evaluating explicit knowledge in many forms may impose a significant cost on the organization (although the resulting benefits may far outweigh the costs).Since knowledge is useful to an organization only when it is applied in action, a further challenge in implementing explicit knowledge management approaches is assuring that knowledge articulated in one part of the organization is not rejected or ignored by other parts of the organization simply because they prefer to stay close to their own familiar knowledge base — i. e. , because of an intra-organizational â€Å"not invented here† syndrome. One approach to managing this concern is the implementation of organizational â€Å"best knowledge† and â€Å"best practice† practices.In this practice, the committee of experts responsible for a knowledge evaluation process (discussed above) examines both the theoretical knowledge and practical applications of knowledge articulated within the organization, and defines the â€Å"best extracting the next bit of knowledge from an individual. Since no one currently knows exactly how to make such a cost-benefit analysis at the margin, as a practical matter organizations that implement the explicit knowledge approach do not strictly try to optimize this process and tend to prefer to â€Å"err† on the side of articulating mo re -rather than less — knowledge. 5 knowledge† and â€Å"best practice† in applying that knowledge currently available within the organization. The various groups within the organization to whom this knowledge or practice applies are then required either to adopt and use the currently defined â€Å"best knowledge† and â€Å"best practice,† or to demonstrate convincingly to the committee of experts that they have developed better knowledge or better practice in applying knowledge.If a group persuades the expert committee that their knowledge or practice is better than the currently defined â€Å"best knowledge† or â€Å"best practice† in the organization, the expert committee then modifies the current â€Å"best knowledge† or â€Å"best practice† for the organization in light of the new knowledge they have received from the group. Implementing such a rocess for assuring that an organization’s best knowledge and prac tice are actually used requires a high degree of organizational discipline in adhering to the organization’s current best knowledge and best practice, and such discipline will normally require building a high degree of organizational trust that the process of the expert committee for deciding best knowledge and best practice is objective, impartial, and transparent. Finally, an organization that creates explicit knowledge assets must take care that those assets remain within the boundaries of the organization and do not â€Å"leak† to other organizations, especially competitors.Security measures of the type most organizations now routinely use to protect their databases must be extended to provide security for the organization’s explicit knowledge base. 16 Conclusions As described above, the tacit and explicit knowledge management approaches involve quite different emphases and practices, and one might naturally be led to ask, â€Å"Which approach is right? â⠂¬  As with most alternative approaches to management issues, however, the answer is â€Å"Both are right — but in the right combination. As the discussion in this chapter has suggested, there are important advantages to be obtained through both the tacit and explicit knowledge management approaches, and in many respects, the advantages of each approach can be used to help offset the disadvantages of the other. In any organization, therefore, the goal is to create a hybrid design for its knowledge management practice that synthesizes the â€Å"right† combination and balance of the tacit and explicit knowledge management approaches.What the â€Å"right† combination and balance may consist of will vary with a number of factors — the technology the organization uses or could use, the market conditions it faces, the â€Å"knowledge intensity† of its strategies and operations, the current attitudes of its key knowledge workers toward the organization, the degree of geographical dispersion of its knowledge workers, the resources available to the organization to invest in developing infrastructure and processes for its knowledge management practice, and so on.However, some basic guidelines may be suggested. Organizations that have not implemented systematic knowledge management approaches should in most cases begin with tacit knowledge management practices of the type discussed in this chapter. Such practices are relatively inexpensive, fast to implement, and less challenging organizationally than full-blown explicit knowledge management practices, and they often create surprising organizational interest in and energy for developing more extensive knowledge management practices.In any event, implementation of tacit knowledge management practices should be seen and communicated within the organization as only the first step in an evolving management 17 process that will eventually include more formal and systematic explicit knowled ge management practices. Achieving some initial organizational successes through use of tacit knowledge practices also helps to build confidence that the much greater organizational demands involved in implementing explicit knowledge management practices will be worth the effort.We have discussed here a number of reasons why in the long run organizations that manage to implement effective explicit knowledge approaches not only will be more effective at leveraging their knowledge, but will also become better learning organizations. When the respective advantages of tacit and explicit knowledge management practices can be combined, an organization should be able to develop and apply new knowledge faster and more extensively than organizations that do not try to manage knowledge or that use only tacit or only explicit knowledge management practices.Thus, the eventual goal for most organizations will be to devise and implement hybrid knowledge management practices in which explicit know ledge management practices complement and significantly extend their initial tacit knowledge practices. 18 References Sanchez, Ron (2004). â€Å"Creating modular platforms for strategic flexibility,† Design Management Review, Winter 2004, 58-67. Sanchez, Ron (2001). â€Å"Managing knowledge into competences: The five learning cycles of the competent organization,† 3-37 in Knowledge Management and Organizational Competence, Ron Sanchez, editor, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Sanchez, Ron (1997). â€Å"Managing articulated knowledge in competence-based competition,† 163-187 in Strategic Learning and Knowledge Management, Ron Sanchez and Aime Heene, editors, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Spear, Steven, and H. Kent Bowen (1999). â€Å"Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System,† Harvard Business Review, September-October 1999, 97-106. Stein, Johan, and Jonas Ridderstrale (2001). â€Å"Managing the dissemination of competences,† 63-76 in Knowled ge Management and Organizational Competence, Ron Sanchez, editor, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 19 Table 1Basic Beliefs in Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge Management Approaches Tacit Knowledge Approach Explicit Knowledge Approach Knowledge is personal in nature and very difficult to extract from people. Knowledge can be articulated and codified to create explicit knowledge assets. Knowledge must be transferred by moving people within or between organizations. Knowledge can be disseminated (using information technologies) in the form of documents, drawings, best practices, etc. Learning must be encouraged by bringing the right people together under the right circumstances.Learning can be designed to remedy knowledge deficiencies through structured, managed, scientific processes. 20 Table 2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge Management Approaches Tacit Knowledge Approach Explicit Knowledge Approach Advantages: Advantages: Relatively easy and inexpensive to begin. Articulated knowledge (explicit knowledge assets) may be moved instantaneously anytime anywhere by information technologies. Employees may respond well to recognition of the (claimed) knowledge. Likely to create interest in further knowledge anagement processes. Important knowledge kept in tacit form may be less likely to â€Å"leak† to competitors. Codified knowledge may be proactively disseminated to people who can use specific forms of knowledge. Knowledge that has been made explicit can be discussed, debated, and improved. Making knowledge explicit makes it possible to discover knowledge deficiencies in the organization. Disadvantages: Disadvantages: Individuals may not have the knowledge they claim to have. Considerable time and effort may be required to help people articulate their knowledge.Knowledge profiles of individuals need frequent updating. Ability to transfer knowledge constrained to moving people, which is costly and limits the reach and speed of kn owledge dissemination within the organization. Organization may lose key knowledge if key people leave the organization. Employment relationship with key knowledge workers may have to be redefined to motivate knowledge articulation. Expert committees must be formed to evaluate explicit knowledge assets. Application of explicit knowledge throughout organization must be assured by adoption of best practices. 21 22