Week 3 Homework Aib Problems

Problem 1 The following data were obtained from a project to create a new portable electronic. ActivityDurationPredecessors A5 Days— B6 Days— C8 Days— D4 DaysA, B E3 DaysC F5 DaysD G5 DaysE, F H9 DaysD I12 DaysG Step 1: Construct a network diagram for the project. Step 2: Answer the following questions: (15 points total) a)What is the Scheduled Completion of the Project? (5 points) b)What is the Critical Path of the Project? (5 points) c)What is the ES for Activity D? (1 points) d)What is the LS for Activity G? (1 points) )What is the EF for Activity B? (1 points) f)What is the LF for Activity H? (1 points) g)What is the float for Activity I? (1 points) Problem 2 The following data were obtained from a project to build a pressure vessel: ActivityDurationPredecessors A6 weeks— B6 weeks— C5 weeksB D4 weeksA, C E5 weeksB F7 weeksD, E, G G4 weeksB H8 weeksF I5 weeksG J3 weekI Step 1: Construct a network diagram for the project. Step 2: Answer the follow ing questions: (15 points total) a)Calculate the scheduled completion time. (5 points) )Identify the critical path (6 points) c)What is the slack time (float) for activity A? (1 points) d)What is the slack time (float) for activity D? (1 points) e) What is the slack time (float) for activity E? (1 points) f) What is the slack time (float) for activity G? (1 points) Problem 3 The following data were obtained from a project to design a new software package: ActivityDurationPredecessors A5 Days— B8 Days— C6 DaysA D4 DaysC, B E5 DaysA F4 DaysD, E, G G4 DaysB, C H3 DayG Step 1: Construct a network diagram for the project.Step 2: Answer the following questions: (15 points total) a)Calculate the scheduled completion time. (5 points) b)Identify the critical path(s) (6 points) c)What is the slack time (float) for activity B? (1 points) d)What is the slack time (float) for activity D? (1 points) e) What is the slack time (float) for activity E? (1 points) f) What is the slack ti me (float) for activity G? (1 points) Problem 4 The following data were obtained from an in-house MIS project: ActivityDurationPredecessors A5 Days— B8 Days—C5 DaysA D4 DaysB E5 DaysB F3 DayC, D G7 DaysC, D H6 DaysE, F, G I9 DaysE, F Step 1: Construct a network diagram for the project. Step 2: Answer the following questions: (15 points total) a)Calculate the scheduled completion time. (5 points) b)Identify the critical path (6 points) c)What is the slack time (float) for activity A? (1 points) d)What is the slack time (float) for activity D? (1 points) e)What is the slack time (float) for activity E? (1 points) f)What is the slack time (float) for activity F? (1 points)

Free Essays on The Grave

in her sentences to charm her readers into the understandings of life, death, and rebirth. How she uses symbolism to put life and death into perspective is both original and thought provoking. We begin reading her story in the history of the children's family past. The beginning of the story sets the tone more so than it gives us a concrete setting. The tone is dark and disturbing as we are told that "The grandfather has been dead for more than thirty years," and the grandmother moved his body with her as she traveled. The only reference to setting in the first paragraph is in the telling of the grandmother's final move. It was in Kentucky that the grandmother at last settled into her first farm and was finally laid to rest. Also in the first paragraph, there is the moving of the family plot to the new public cemetery. Here we recognize that the grandmother failed to let the dead stay buried because of her own selfish desires. Death seems to be an inconvenience for the family, rather than something to be revered and respected. The story is set with positive and negative descriptions about the family cemetery. Katherine describes the cemetery as having been a "pleasant small neglected garden of tangled rose bushes and ragged cedar trees and cypress, the simple flat stones rising out of uncropped sweet-smelling wild grass". At first the cemetery is "pleasant" which is positive. Then, it is negative with the descriptions of the "tangled rose bushes", and the "ragged cedar trees". Lastly, Katherine mixes positive and negative with the description of the "uncropped sweet-smelling... Free Essays on The Grave Free Essays on The Grave The Grave Katherine Anne Porter's short story is a third person narrative called The Grave. This piece is about the sweetness of adolescence and the corruption of innocence as a young girl uncovers the realities of life and death. As one reads the story they can get caught up in Katherine's web of descriptions. She uses a mixture of negative and positive words in her sentences to charm her readers into the understandings of life, death, and rebirth. How she uses symbolism to put life and death into perspective is both original and thought provoking. We begin reading her story in the history of the children's family past. The beginning of the story sets the tone more so than it gives us a concrete setting. The tone is dark and disturbing as we are told that "The grandfather has been dead for more than thirty years," and the grandmother moved his body with her as she traveled. The only reference to setting in the first paragraph is in the telling of the grandmother's final move. It was in Kentucky that the grandmother at last settled into her first farm and was finally laid to rest. Also in the first paragraph, there is the moving of the family plot to the new public cemetery. Here we recognize that the grandmother failed to let the dead stay buried because of her own selfish desires. Death seems to be an inconvenience for the family, rather than something to be revered and respected. The story is set with positive and negative descriptions about the family cemetery. Katherine describes the cemetery as having been a "pleasant small neglected garden of tangled rose bushes and ragged cedar trees and cypress, the simple flat stones rising out of uncropped sweet-smelling wild grass". At first the cemetery is "pleasant" which is positive. Then, it is negative with the descriptions of the "tangled rose bushes", and the "ragged cedar trees". Lastly, Katherine mixes positive and negative with the description of the "uncropped sweet-smelling... Free Essays on The Grave Katherine Anne Porter’s â€Å"The Grave,† Uses The Symbols The Dove, The Ring, The Rabbit, And The Grave To Express The Main Character’s Journey From Innocence To Knowledge. The process of maturing and gaining knowledge is a long one. Each person reaches a time in their life when they have reached adulthood, maturity, and the knowledge that comes with it, but the journey requires â€Å"going through a kind of initiation into the mysteries of adult life.†(Brooks 3136) Katherine Anne Porter’s â€Å"The Grave,† uses the symbols the dove, the ring, the rabbit, and the grave to express the main character’s journey from innocence to knowledge. From the innocence of the dove, the luxury of the golden ring, to the mystery of birth and death through the many â€Å"graves,† Miranda loses her innocence and becomes a knowledgeable young woman. Miranda at the young age of nine is as innocent as can be. She has no realization for the criticisms upon her family for the way she has been raised, wearing her â€Å"summer roughing outfit: dark blue overalls, a light blue shirt, a hired-man’s straw hat, and thick brown sandals†, (Porter 364) running around the woods hunting rabbits and doves with her twenty-two Winchester rifle. On one excursion through the woods, she and her brother stumble upon the old family cemetery and decide to explore. After rummaging through the empty graves, â€Å"she saw a silver dove no larger than a hazel nut with spread wings and a neat fan-shaped tail.†(Brooks 3135), â€Å"Miranda’s brother recognizes what the curious little ornament isthe screw head for a coffin.†(3135) This small silver dove was, in a sense, Miranda’s soon to be shed innocence. Paul also made a discovery of his own while searching through the emptied graves; he had found â€Å"a thin wide gold ring carved with intricate flowers and leaves.†(Porter 363) Miranda is enamored at the sight of it and wishes to have it, and her brother is more please...

Essay about Answer STUDY PACKAGE FOR EXAM 3 1

Essay about Answer STUDY PACKAGE FOR EXAM 3 1 Essay about Answer STUDY PACKAGE FOR EXAM 3 1 MGMT 3031 STUDY PACKAGE FOR EXAM 3 – FALL 2012 EXAM 3 WILL COVER SCHERMERHORN CHAPTERS 11 (LEADERSHIP), 14 (TEAMS AND TEAMWORK), 16 (DIVERSITY AND GLOBAL CULTURES) AND 17 (GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATINAL BUSINESS) AND THE MOVIE GUNG HO POTENTIAL TEST QUESTIONS FROM CHAPTER 11 – LEADERSHIP FILL IN THE BLANKS 1. Managerial power = ___Position__ power + ___Persional___ power 2. List the 4 leadership styles presented by Schermerhorn a. Autocratic Style Acts in unilateral command and control fashion b. Human Relation Style Emphasizes people over tasks c. Democratic Style Encourages participation with an emphasis on both task accomplishments and development of people d. Lassize-faire Style Is low on both tasks and people 3. Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid contrasted concern for __People_ and concern for ___Results___ 4. According to Hersey and Blanchard, leadership style depends on the __Maturity (Experience)__ of the employee. 5. Schermerhorn listed 8 leadership traits. List any 5 6. According to Fiedler leadership styles are either _Task_ motivated or __Relationship__ motivated 7. According to Drucker don’t ever think or say __I_; think or say _We__ 8. Levels of management should be __kept to the minimum_ 9. According to Drucker, the __smaller___ the organization the better the organization 10. According to Drucker organizations exist to fill a __customer__ need 11. ____________leadership builds trust from a foundation of personal integrity DISCUSSION 1. What did Tom Landry say about leadership ‘leadership is getting people to do what they do not want to do in order to achieve what they do want to achieve’ 2. List and define the 4 leadership styles presented in the text a. Autocratic Style Acts in unilateral command and control fashion b. Human Relation Style Emphasizes people over tasks c. Democratic Style Encourages participation with an emphasis on both task accomplishments and development of people d. Lassize-faire Style Is low on both tasks and people 3. Discuss Fiedler’s Contingency Theory Suggests that the best leadership style depends on the situation – and the people involved 4. In one sentence define House’s Path Goal Theory 5. List and define House’s four path-goal leadership style 6. Discuss the characteristics of a transformational leader Transformational Leader – Is Inspirational And Arouses Extraordinary Effort And Performance 7. Discuss Peter Drucker’s â€Å"good old-fashion leadership† Good leaders have integrity; they mean what they say, earning and keeping the trust of followers. good leaders define and establish a sense of mission; they set goals, priorities and standards. Good leaders accept leadership as responsibility, not a rank; they surround themselves with talented people 8. Simply draw Blake and Mouton’s Mangerial Grid TRUE/FALSE __F___ Most employees believe that leaders most often act in the best interest of the organizations ___F__ 65% (33%) of managers are perceived as strong leaders ___F__ Delegation is usually beneficial for young, inexperienced employees. MATCHING __1___ Power __8___ Informational power __11___ General Colin Powell ___4__ Transactional leader __9___ Referent (charismatic) power ___7__ Peter Drucker __14___ Reward power __10___ Expert power __16___ Henry Kissinger __6___ Connective power __2___ Warren Bennis __5___Hersey and Blanchard __13___ Coercive power __12___ Legitimate power ___3__ Fred Fielder __15___Transformational Leader 1. Power The ability to get others to do what you want them to do. 2. Warren Bennis Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality 3. Fred Fielder A person’s personality influences his or her leadership style 4. Transactional leader Directs the efforts of others through tasks, rewards, and structures 5. Hersey and Blanchard Leadership style depends on the (job) maturity of the follower (employee)

STRATEGIC LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

STRATEGIC LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES - Assignment Example As a company that conducts the majority of its business within the medical industry, sensitive issues like the maintaining the confidentiality of patient/client information is a large issue that constantly presents significant risk to the progress of the company. The recent privacy breach the company experienced only heightens the need for immediate action concerning enhancing security protocols to minimize future risks of this nature (Martin, 2011). The large breach in confidentiality protocols resulted in the names of individuals seeking paternity and drug testing (Martin, 2011) has put the company at substantial risk for subsequent litigation against the company for exposing personal medical information. Allegations that Medvet was made aware that the names, addresses, and product orders of individuals that have ordered tests from Medvet has been available on Google since as early as April (Martin, 2011) can lead to an extremely damaging class-action lawsuit against the company sh ould any of the affected persons suffer any damages as a result of such a breach. Affecting approximately 800 of Medvet’s customers (Tmaliyil, 2011), this breach has the potential to cause significant damage to the company’s image and cause significant financial loss should any or all of the affected parties suffer adverse effects due to this incidence and seek monetary damages. The $11 billion lawsuit Pennzoil won against Texaco, which resulted in Texaco filing for bankruptcy, (Simkins & Ramirez, 2008) has made it clear to many companies the dangers to making themselves vulnerable to such types of litigation. Risk management includes ensuring the security of any and all client and personnel information, which avoids this information becoming accessible to any unauthorized persons, in or outside the company. Maintaining this standard would require steps such as heightening the encryption programs that protect such information within the company’s database and en suring access to this information is protected against network attacks by hackers and neglectful actions by employees. Protection of the vital information entrusted to the company by its employees and clientele will prevent the eventuality of negative actions being rendered against the company due to damages suffered by individuals whose information was made vulnerable as a result of this breach of security. Affecting routines that protect customers from having their private information made public exemplifies good corporate governance, which is an integral aspect of maintaining a successful company. This is a vital aspect of good risk management because it protects the company’s assets, which is the ultimate purpose of risk management procedures. Risk management procedures, adeptly implemented, would incorporate procedures that would avoid negligent actions like the lack of thought that allowed Google to publish the private details of customer invoices by encrypting the data in an inaccessible database. Taking steps to protect the resources of the company, which is the customers and their information, will also protect the reputation and integrity of the company and prevent the advent of undue risks such as the one currently facing the company. Risk management procedures seek to avoid the occurrence of negligent actions by anticipating them and taking whatever measures necessary to avoid them altogether. These preventative measures protect

Discussthetraitsapproachtotheentrepreneurialpersonalityandthereasons Essay

Discussthetraitsapproachtotheentrepreneurialpersonalityandthereasons why it fails to properly predict the behaviour of entrepreneurs - Essay Example Traits can be defined as habitual behavioural and thought patterns of people. Traits have been measured to reflect how much of a particular trait does a specific category of people reflect. This also implies that individuals that behave in a similar fashion can be compared and norms for various categories of people can be identified based on trait patterns. The trait approach has set down these patterns for entrepreneurs (Okhomina, 2010). The trait approach has set down certain parameters based on this very measurable feature of behavioural pattern and the paper seeks to study this approach. It moves on to explore the drawbacks of the trait approach and discusses the reason behind the failures of the theory. Entrepreneurship can be narrowly defined as a person who establishes and runs his or her own business. An aspiring entrepreneur is a one that hopes to establish and run his or her own business at some point in time. Entrepreneurship can also be defined as creation of something that adds value with appropriate time and efforts going towards its development. This definition assumes that personal satisfaction and monetary gains are rewards for various risks (social, physical and financial) undertaken. Entrepreneurship and the entrepreneur have changed that path for markets and economies. They have contributed in developing new services and products and have given way to creativity and innovation that made economic development and prosperity possible. It is because of this importance that entrepreneurs hold in shaping the economic future of the country, that studies have been conducted to study entrepreneurial behaviour and define traits that would in turn help in developing entrepreneurial ability in the nations. There are many traits for an entrepreneur but the trait that has been identified as one of the critical ones is the ability to identify opportunity and making profits

Engage Gladwell, Olson, and Nathan in a conversation to explain how Essay

Engage Gladwell, Olson, and Nathan in a conversation to explain how individuals - Essay Example Consequently, many societies share a common belief, born of experience that diversity in their nationality is important for them to achieve their most important mission. Rebekah Nathan, who authored â€Å"Community and Diversity†, describes that the ineffectiveness of weak relations challenges the existence of a strong college community. â€Å"The End of Race† by Steve Olson explores the effects of intermarriages on the Hawaiian community and the universe. In â€Å"Small Change†, Malcolm Gladwell shows how civil-rights emerged and gained popularity through use of social media that fosters what he calls weak, temporary relationships. Therefore, I will elucidate on how developing integrated schools, encouraging intermarriages, participating and sharing helps in creating strong relationships, and eradicating preconceptions that have for long existed in the society. Firstly, developing integrated schools can be a major point towards the development of strong relationships and a community free from cultural prejudices. Obviously, most children spent a better part of their lives in schools and any positive aspects that they develop while in school are likely to impact positively on their future lives. Most of schools will involve children or students from separates social, economic and political backgrounds and students will learn to appreciate their differences rather than viewing the differences negatively. According to Olson, schools and neighborhoods in Hawaii were integrated and children continued living harmoniously regardless of their differences. Olson states that â€Å"Children of different ethnicities continue to grow up together and marry, just as they did in the camps† (339). Such children will grow in harmony and chances of them being predisposed towards a certain culture or ethnic group are quite trifling. In schools, they do everything communally and can hardly

Rim Managing Explosive Growth Essay Example for Free

Rim Managing Explosive Growth Essay In RIM’s earlier days they also were leaders in the development of wireless point of sale (POS) systems, wireless modems, software, and firmware for radios and computers. RIM was a steadily growing company until 2005, when the company took amazing strides in launching carriers around the globe and creating strategic partnerships with several major companies (BlackBerry, 2006, p. 10). From 2005 to 2008, RIM grew from 1. 3 billion in revenues to over 6 billion, and grew from 3 billion to 6 billion in 2007 alone. RIM’s explosive growth was a result of their famous product line BlackBerry. BlackBerry was one of the first corporate phones that integrated a secure process for checking and sending emails. â€Å"Document Push is said to be a unique feature not found in any other document management solution on the market† (Document, 2005, p. 11). BlackBerry dominated in business and military sales of phones, and then became competitive in 2007 with consumers as well. Summary of Culture The most essential characteristic of RIM’s culture is their ability to innovate and work in an environment that allows for creativity to cultivate. The location of headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada has been a major focal point of RIM culture since the start of the company. RIM is comprised of a wide arrange of employees by age which allows them to remain cutting edge and knowledgeable of the wireless industry. RIM’s culture can be seen as a direct link to their low employee turnover rates and high employee satisfaction. SWOT Analysis of RIM Strengths RIM has numerous strengths that have helped them to create a competitive advantage. RIM’s main strength is their ability to innovate. RIM has been a leading innovator in wireless products since the late 80’s, and continues to grow Ramp;D alongside sales. RIM has the advantage of being located in Waterloo, Canada where the local talent pool for engineers and computer science graduates is abundant because of the University of Waterloo. Due to innovation, most of their strengths have been derived from a combination of patents, copyrights, and contractual agreements that all surround their cryptographic and software source code. The cryptographic and software source code allowed RIM to obtain a first mover advantage in B2B sales of mobile devices to businesses and military by integrating email into their mobile phones. This also allowed them to obtain significant brand recognition for creating a secure voice and data transmission solution. Once RIM was established in the business and military segments, it began to make head way in consumer markets with their new products, BlackBerry Pearl and BlackBerry Curve. RIM’s copyrights also gave them an advantage of creating strategic alliances and partnerships with major companies such as Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Yahoo, and HTC (BlackBerry, 2006, p. 11). Weaknesses Some of the very strengths of RIM can also be seen as some of their greatest weaknesses. RIM holds an internal pride for locating the heart of its Ramp;D in Waterloo. While this has been a great source of talent and company culture, it has also put a clamp on their opportunity for growth geographically and for expansion into other market segments. RIM’s employees are only so focused on maintaining control of Ramp;D in Waterloo they reject any change in location; therefore stunting their growth overall. RIM’s primary reason behind keeping Ramp;D centered in Waterloo is for the sake of their patents, copyrights, and contractual agreements, and so they are held captive by the very thing that makes them strong. Also, due to the notion of keeping Ramp;D located at Waterloo, RIM is having difficulty finding new talent in the already bogged down area of Waterloo. RIM did try to implement an online application process, but is unable to utilize it properly. Applicants are only able to apply to one job; creating a loss in potential employees. RIM engineers and computer scientists are becoming overworked due to the lack of employees. Not only is the stress running high from pressures to maintain innovations level of innovation held by their competitor, but space has also become an issue. RIM’s offices have become overcrowded and unmanageable, and are quickly losing efficiency. Opportunities Most of RIM’s opportunities lie where their weaknesses are great. RIM has been neglecting their opportunity to expand their core Ramp;D outside of Waterloo. By expanding outside of Waterloo, RIM will be able to expand Ramp;D without overcrowding their current facilities. They will also be able to compete more effectively worldwide. While RIM shipped 42% of mobile devices in North America in 2007, they only shipped 12% of the market worldwide. Opportunities for expansion in subscribers is limited in North America seeing as the market has a penetration rate of 87%. However, outside of North America are much larger opportunities, such as China, India, and other developing countries. In 2007, China’s market was growing at 18. 3% per year with only a penetration of 39%, and India’s market was growing 60% per year and only 21% penetration (White, amp; Beamish, 2008, p. 75). By expanding Ramp;D globally they will not only open doors to new markets, but also new talent. Threats RIM’s major threat is competition such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google in the North American market. These competitors are starting to increase their mobile phones capabilities so that they can compete more effectively in the B2B segments that RIM once dominated. Apple recently announced that they would be incorporating the ActiveSync direct Push, into their iPhones in order to capture the business professionals. Competitors are not only are making their phones better for the business professional, but also integrating more products into the mobile device for consumers. For instance, Apple introduced the iPhone which has greater breadth in technology, and has set a new standard for usability. Zeichick reports â€Å"since the release of the iPhone 3G on July 11, Apple holds the market for high-speed consumer-friendly smartphones entirely to itself† (2008, p. 6). Another threat competition possess is their ability to attract, hire and develop their Ramp;D facilities more resourcefully than RIM. Competitors have implemented hiring strategies that are far more efficient than RIM’s â€Å"ear to the ground† policy (White, amp; Beamish, 2008, p. 80). All of RIM’s major global competitors such as Microsoft, Motorola, and Apple all are spending far greater amounts on Ramp;D, and have an advantage over them in innovation. Competitors are expanding globally at a much higher rate than RIM, and are in better positioning for market share outside of North America; where RIM is still greatly lacking. Prevalent Issues and Solutions Provided by the Case RIM prides themselves on their ability to compete by means of innovation, and thus they have always tried to maintain a high level of Ramp;D within the firm. RIM bases their Ramp;D levels as a percent of sales, targeting around 10-12% of revenue to be spent on Ramp;D. They have managed to keep these levels by growing organically until 2005 when sales began to increase by over a billion dollars a year. According to their annual report from December 31, 2007, RIM’s Ramp;D was projected to increase by $100 million from the previous year; however as a percentage of sales they projected to drop to 5. 99% down from 7. 77% the previous year (White, amp; Beamish, 2008, p. 77). RIM, who was once a leader in innovation, was starting to fall behind in the competitive field of mobile phones. RIM needs to take measures immediately to ensure proper Ramp;D levels. As competition heats up in the smart phone market, the competition in acquiring new talent is as well; only making the task of acquiring new talent extremely difficult. RIM management is considering the following four options for growing Ramp;D: do what we do now at greater levels, expand existing geographies, increase acquisitions, and go global. Do What We Do Now At Greater Levels Currently RIM’s approach to finding new talent for Ramp;D is based on networking through personal and professionals relationships alongside their co-op program they hold with the University of Waterloo. The co-op program currently brings on 300 grad students each semester to work alongside the engineers and computer science professionals as interns, and then RIM extends job offerings to qualified candidates. RIM can improve their co-op program by offering it to multiple universities rather than only to Waterloo. Over the last 7 years RIM has created Ramp;D facilities located in Ottawa, Mississauga, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Palo Alto, and England. All of these facilities could potentially implement a co-op program with nearby universities, or summer internship programs to increase recruitment of talented young grad students. RIM is also considering adding benefits to these programs like competitor Microsoft offers. Benefits such as housing, transportation, and paid travel could entice individuals to choose RIM as their intern destination over opponents. RIM has also taken recruitment and job advertisements to the internet; however there is great room for improvement. RIM’s online application process only allows an individual to apply for one job at a time, and sufferers a great deal of qualified candidates due to the systematic flaw. Companies, such as Apple, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson, have a more advanced system that allows applicants to create an online profile that can be stored and applied to several jobs. If RIM changes their current model to mimic some of its competitors they are likely to obtain more suitable applicants for each position, and be able to reach a more global talent pool. Another option for hiring new grad students is to implement a semi-yearly or yearly hiring wave rather than posting individual jobs. Several other major corporations have these systems in place, including competitor Symbian. Companies that are growing continually implement this strategy so that they can maintain levels of efficiency. Typically, companies will receive online applications year round, and once or twice a year they will sift through the resumes selecting the best applicants. The chosen applicants then will participate in multiple events to see if they will be a good fit with a company. This process normally includes several interviews, testing, group assignments, and case studies. Once passing the recruitment day, candidates will go through an onboarding process to help adapt them to company policy and culture. Then they are assigned as needed to different sections of the company. Grow and Expand Existing Geographies RIM started to expand product development centers outside Waterloo in 2000 opening several locations, as previously mentioned, in the United States, two more locations in Canada, and one in England. RIM could continue to push forth with this initiation of expanding within the North American region, and also expanding the scope of the locations already existing. Before a new location can be chosen it must first pass a set of stringent equirements that RIM has emplaced. The requirements for potential areas are they must already have an abundant amount of software developers with experience, the cost of living and salary for employees is reasonable, and be near universities to promote their co-op program. RIM is unlike their competition in this sense, because most competitors still rely on one major campus for all Ramp;D. Apple, Google, and Microsoft have only expanded with minor locations aboard keeping the core Ramp;D at their home facilities. Increase Acquisitions Increase by means of acquisitions is by no means a new concept to RIM, or any other software firm. In the software and mobile phone industry acquiring smaller companies has become one of the fastest ways to not only gain an experienced set of talent, but also intellectual property and location. RIM acquired high-tech startup out of Israel, for their intellectual capabilities of the display and input of Chinese characters. This acquisition allowed them to become more suitable for the Chinese market, and provided Waterloo with 11 more highly qualified engineers. Another factor for RIM to consider is the economic down turn in the United States, and the abundant amount of small firms struggling to survive the recession. RIM could purchase these firms for reasonable cost; gaining experienced talent and intellectual properties. Increased acquisitions also can allow a company to penetrate certain areas that could otherwise be hard or impossible to gain access to. For instance, Google acquired a small wireless software company in Waterloo simply for the talent, recognizing Waterloo was a place with a great talent pool. RIM could use acquisitions to gain access to several countries, which they do not yet compete effectively in. In some countries consumers prefer to buy and do business with companies from their own countries rather than foreigners. Europe is a prime example, in which RIM could acquire a business and gain access to their market. Go Global Another way for RIM to increase Ramp;D is to go global. While, RIM has expanded into different countries with Ramp;D, the core of their product development still remains at Waterloo. The different areas that RIM has expanded their Ramp;D too, are areas where laws have been put in place and are protected for patent and intellectual rights. RIM has taken measures to expand other functions of the business to globally that do not directly relate to their source code; such as customer service in Singapore, and sales and marketing staff in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan. Going global has been attempted by most of the software/mobile phone industry. Some have been able to achieve great things, but the cost of businesses can sometimes be seen as too much. Nokia, for example has expanded Ramp;D to China, and was able to gain significant market share in the region. However, in China â€Å"the rate of infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in China is among the highest in the world† (Pangattaro, 2007, p. 632). The constant threat of employees walking out the door with strategic information, and taking it to competitors is very high due to insufficient IP protection laws and regulation. Despite Nokia’s effort to develop a relationship with China, through joint research programs with Tsinghua University had to file suit against two Beijing firms for ripping off their mobile phones. However, recent studies show that â€Å" Ramp;D units that have developed adequate measures to manage their Chinese Ramp;D staff have succeeded in making Chinese employees loyal to the Ramp;D unit†(Marcus, amp; Gassmann ,2011, p. 73). Analysis of Options and Recommendation Analysis of Do What We Do Now At Greater Levels RIM is projecting they will need to hire over 1,400 new software developers to reinstate the status quo for Ramp;D. One option RIM is considering is to continue their current hiring strategies, but at a higher level. Currently, they hire by personal and business networking, through co-op programs with the school, and more recently went to the web with job postings. . It will be quite a difficult task to complete with only increasing their current model. RIM’s method of personal and business relationships to find new employees will no longer be able to produce a substantial amount. RIM has saturated the market in Waterloo, and finding new employees has become extremely difficult. Also, competition has moved into the area making it harder and more costly to find to obtain the best talent. It is unlikely they will be able to find a great deal of experienced help within the area. As previously mentioned, RIM would extend their co-op programs to other universities in hope to allocate more talent. Unfortunately, the co-op program will only bring in inexperienced help, and would cost RIM time and money to develop the new employees. Another option regarding new grads is to hire in waves, yearly or biyearly, to help with continuing growth. While this is a great strategy for growing companies to maintain their pipeline, it will not provide RIM with the help it currently needs to dig them out of the hole in terms of Ramp;D. RIM will need most of their new hires to have an experienced skill set so that they can be implemented instantly, and relieve the staff in Waterloo. Analysis of Grow and Expand Existing Geographies RIM has been extremely careful when expanding Ramp;D to new areas, only setting up shop where their source code can be protected. One option for RIM is to continue with the process of selecting new cities and countries where IP laws are in full force, and gain a pool of talent from these areas. RIM can also focus on escalating the Ramp;D centers already implemented to take more of a central role in Ramp;D instead of keeping the core at Waterloo. A factor to consider is the cost of hiring and the standard of living in other areas. RIM follows a set of rules for choosing where to establish an Ramp;D center, which is not uncommon for competition as well. This leads to RIM in competitive locations making it harder to gain a talent pool at a reasonable price. For instance, the employees in Palo Alto require a much higher pay scale than Waterloo because of competition, and turnover rates are high. One adverse effect that can take place when expanding abroad is loss of company culture. RIM has a very strong culture, which they believe to be a product of environment of their Waterloo office. RIM would have to approach each new Ramp;D office with an abundant amount of training to ensure a shared understanding of company values, and culture. Analysis of Increase Acquisitions One route RIM could take to reach Ramp;D levels is to increase acquisitions. RIM has already been successful with this strategy, and it would be a strategy that would allow them to hire multiple engineers and software designers at once. Not only would RIM gain an experienced talent pool, but also intellectual property rights, and new locations. Acquisitions have a few setbacks though that must be considered. By acquiring different firms RIM would be able to obtain an experienced set of talent, which is essential at this point. However, acquisitions must be preceded with caution because employees of the acquired firm can sometimes react unfavorably to such situations. Another concern is whether acquired employees would be able to adapt to company policy, culture, and values of RIM. â€Å"Culture matters it can make or break a merger† (Growth, 1996, p. 29), and so RIM must be particularly careful to only acquire firms that are a perfect fit for the company to avoid major losses. Gantumur and Stephan state â€Å"the post-merger innovation performance, in turn, is driven by both the prior success of in-house Ramp;D commitment and the deterioration of internal technological capabilities at acquiring firms† (2012, p. 77). Acquisitions are also very costly and can waste time and money. In the past when RIM acquired a firm for talent and intellectual property they would send the new employees to Waterloo, striping what was left of the firm. This can be a very costly approach to finding new employees because they take on a great deal of debt to purchase the firm. It can take a profuse amount of time to liquidate a firm to receive funds expe nded back, and sometimes the process of liquating can strip away the value resulting in further losses. Analysis of Go Global RIM was well aware that over half of the new employees they would hire to reach Ramp;D levels would have to come outside of Canada due to lack of potential candidate and space in Canada. The question RIM was pondering is how far away from Canada should they go when considering their source code they must protect. While, RIM has already expanded some product development to the US and England, it had also expanded functions other than Ramp;D to other countries outside of the North American region. RIM fears of Ramp;D in developing countries are justified, but there still remain untapped markets in these regions that could be beneficial for long term growth. RIM must start to consider possibilities outside of their source code if they wish to continue to be competitive and enter into new markets. RIM could use acquisitions as more than just a tool for hiring, but also as a means to enter new markets that are otherwise hard to reach. Europe is a prime example of where acquisition could allow them to gain an excellent talent pool, but also access to the European markets where consumers are highly nationalistic. RIM could also enter China and India by the same channels; which have exceptionally enormous markets that would allow them to grow immensely. China presents â€Å"an impasse with regard to RIMs use of encryption technology and the Chinese authorities desire to monitor e-mail traffic and content† (Ensign, et al. , 2008, p. 129). However, things are starting to shift overseas â€Å"both China and India have been experiencing a historical take-off in the use of intellectual property rights (IPR)† (Godinho, amp; Ferreira, 2012, p. 99). If RIM should find it too risky they could chose not to disclose or use their source code or cryptographic software to Ramp;D facilities in areas of wariness, but use those Ramp;D facilities to explore other technologies that obtain to less confidential information. RIM also could become either a multinational or transnational company by focusing on developing products for the each market; seeing as the needs in those countries are different from the North American region. Recommendations RIM has a daunting task of hiring 1,400 new employees this year, and not one option alone will adequately give them the right mix of new employees. In order for RIM to grow to the size of competitors it must start taking actions from all angles. According to the McNielly, it is important to become an industry leader because a â€Å"powerful position allows them to set the industry’s standards and define the playing field† (2012, p. 13). RIM can employ a few tactics to hit the ground running; however most of their growth will take time to take effect. The first step RIM should take, seeing as they are a software company, is to develop a better website and job application process. This will allow them hire experienced help globally in a rather quick fashion. The second step is to begin executing co-op programs with the technological university surrounding all of their facilities to guarantee there are gaining the best and brightest young talent. By expanding the co-op program to all of the facilities it will help to expand the non-Waterloo facilities as well. Moving forward Waterloo should transfer some of their activities to other development centers and allow them to grow more. This will allow Waterloo to focus more on big picture task, and be less bogged down with minor details. They should also start hiring in waves for grad student positions; which that will allow them to be able to grow continually as a flow rather than constantly trying to play catch up when they are shorthanded. As for long term goals, RIM should transform their company from a global model to a transnational model.