Not Finishing Well Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Not Finishing Well - Essay Example We accept warfare or conflict as a normal part of life. The Divine Teachers want us to free ourselves from this condition by not looking backward but instead, by looking ahead. In Christian spirit, one sees that the most essential discipline is the nearness with Christ. Nearness implies the fidelity in carrying the teachings of Christ and applying them to one's daily life. This gives a person some plans or purpose in life. It is incumbent upon the followers of Christ to promote amity or harmony among the believers. They should enlighten and educate children to instill a growing hope. Ignoring this call is like a journey back, a failure. In his article Longevity with Distinction and Dignity-Finishing Well, Pastor Eugene Harder echoes that "Jesus died to remove the curse that prevented people from finishing well." We are reaching a new era in the history of mankind. And springtime is knocking at the door. For our brief sojourn on this life-giving planet, we could say that even though we did not start well, we could indeed find time to finish well.

John Locke Second Treatise on Government vs. Voltaire Candide Term Paper

John Locke Second Treatise on Government vs. Voltaire Candide - Term Paper Example Locke attempted to explain the reasons King James II was overthrown justifiably and why he was ascended by William III. He as well wanted to define the legal role of the civil government. He defined the role of the civil government as the political power and a right of law making which includes penalties of death and fewer penalties for regulating property as well as preserving them and employing forces of executing these laws, in defense of common wealth against foreign injury. This is all for the good of the public . On the other hand, Voltaire Candide is about Candide who grows in the province of Westphalia in Germany. He is made to believe that he lives in a world that is of the best quality . This belief starts to change when he started experiencing horrors of poverty, war, the hypocrisy that the church had and maliciousness of man. According to Locke, the government was in existence, among many other things, in order to promote the good of the public as well as to protect the property, liberty and life of its people. This is what is considered to being the main point of having a government and these are the purposes for its existence (Locke 12). For the above reasons, the people who run or govern are supposed to be voted in by the entire society. It is the right of the society to hold powers of instating another government when it is necessary. Locke believes that people are free by nature. This is the belief that founded his philosophy about the government. This is also supported by Voltaire Candide. He says that the government is supposed to be in existence in order to support the society and provide them with all they need. But according to Candide, this does not happen since the people having authority were corrupt and usually abused their powers. The society’s rights and freedom were not granted and they faced a lot of hardships. There are certain literary artifacts that were used in making the different points they had. Locke argues that in case the society is dissolved, it is also likely that the government will as well dissolve. He said that it is very impossible to have the frame of any house subsist and the materials that make it are jumbled into heaps that are confused by an earthquake4. The agreement of individuals to work as a single body is what makes up a society. If the agreement brakes and the different individuals make the decision to separate, then the community will end up breaking. When the government does not have its society, the government will as well dissolve. But in case a government dissolves and the society remains as one, the people shall still have the power to reform the government as they would like. On the other hand, Voltaire Candide uses wealth in explaining his points of view. Wealth leads to greed and causes war. The need to possess wealth enco uraged robbery and abuse of power. In his work, wealth is depicted as transient. Even though it may be beneficial, it is not ultimately fulfilling5. There are different practices of their time that these writers mock or criticize. Locke criticizes the act of slavery. He says that men has a natural liberty of being free and not have any power that is superior on earth. Man is not supposed to be under any legislative authority or will of man but is supposed to have the law of nature to rule him. He also says that no man should control the right to own property. This is because God gave life to all men in common and gave them reason to use it to their advantage and convenience. Every person has the right of owning property wherever they would like to. Just like Locke, Voltaire Candide criticizes slavery in a great way. The abuse of power leads to slavery since the leaders use their power

Leadership Development Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leadership Development Report - Essay Example 134). Leadership development entails the entire process of expanding the capability of an organization to generate potential leaders in an organization to accomplish the set goals and objectives (Tichy and Devanna, 2007, p. 79). Leadership development entails the complete leaders’ interaction with political, social, and cultural environment within their area of jurisdiction (Avolio, and Gardner 2005, p.315). Leadership development models forms a key pillar for professional development in various manufacturing organizations (Northouse 2007, p. 91). Models expound on the standards prerequisite for an effective leader in an organization. Leadership development models defines some of the universal behavioural expectation of effective leaders including the leaders ability to develop external focus, the capability to achieve the expected results with people, implementation of the organizational plans with quality value and speed, prediction and execution of changes in an organizatio n as well as enhancement of quality evaluation and action. Leadership competency models are ideal for availing the three basic leadership requirements, connectivity, consistency, and clarity. Competencies aid in the formation of comprehensible and most effective expectations on the type of capabilities, behaviours, values, and mindsets that are fundamental in the organization leadership role (Jay and Douglas 2004, p. 2). In its consistency role, competency models offer an exceptional language and framework for communication and implementation of an organization’s leadership development plans. In its connectivity responsibility, competency models offer basic metric in organizations leadership development process. It is the driving force for performance management, feedback procedure, identification, rewards, and successful management Competency Model The study will focus on the competency model of core competencies for self management. Referring to this model, an effective lea der should understand their weaknesses, values, and strengths. Productive leaders should as well develop the capability of managing their weaknesses and strengths through engaging in consistent learning. They should also be committed and willing to seek aid from other professionals (George and Morgan 2006, p. 399). Leaders should be enthusiastic in accepting their mistakes and make the needed rectifications. Effective leaders should also have the capability of adapting with dynamic and stressful situations as well as having the ability of enhancing a practical balance between their social and working lives. However, the model is criticized for over relying on individual traits in describing the development and effectiveness of an excellent leader. The model is also condemned for overlying on a single personality in the success of an organization. The model also faces criticism for disregarding the issues of role overload, consistent errors, increasing frustrating situations, and rol e conflict. My Personal Strengths and Weaknesses as A Leader Current Strength In the course of my involvement in broad range of organizational situation, I have developed the leadership strength of a valuable and reliable leader in criticism situations. I have the capability of relishing the emerging challenges and standing strong for what I believe is correct and right. I have also developed a considerable degree of self awareness. As a

Prison Nursery Essay Example for Free

Prison Nursery Essay The authors describe prison nurseries as living arrangements within a correctional facility that allow incarcerated mothers to keep their infants (born during their incarceration) with them through all or part of their sentence. This article brings to question whether these women should be treated any differently than any other incarcerated women and who should pay for these programs. The authors note that this may be one of the most controversial debates surrounding the imprisonment of women. At the time of this study, the authors note that there are currently 8 states that provide prison nursery programs: California, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington. This is up from only 3 states in 1998 and notes that New York has had a prison nursery program since 1901. The authors illustrate studies that have shown that the recidivism rate among women who have been allowed to keep their children in prison nurseries is lower than that of other women. However, limited studies have been cited concerning the development of children born into and raised within a prison nursery program. The authors discuss the cost of prison nursery programs as being one major hurdle into starting and/or continuing these programs. Most nursery programs are segregated from the general prison population and are staffed with both civilian and correctional staff, allowing for public and private funding to be used. The authors’ note that a large percentage of the children in prison nursery programs would otherwise be cared for through public dollars whether it be within the foster care system or public assistance to the interim caregiver during the mother’ s incarceration so there seems to be little difference in the funding or use of funding in terms of child care. Through several studies the authors note the strict guidelines for eligibility for these programs, including type of crime, past history of abuse, and length of sentence. Each program has its on set of criteria and rules but the authors state that the idea behind the programs is the same wherever it is incorporated and that is to provide an opportunity for mother and child to succeed. The authors conclude that prison nurseries should be more widely available as the trend of women being incarcerated has continued to rise and no decline seems to be forthcoming. They note that studies into the long term effects on children born into prison nurseries is also needed as well as re-entry into society must be closely monitored and facilitated in order for true results to be determined.

Contemporary Issues in Marketing

Contemporary Issues in Marketing In an era of Super smart-phones, high-speed internet, and convergence of digital media in day to day life, it is important that traditional marketing techniques to evolve along with the digitisation of advertising, sales promotion and brand management. Marketing has moved on from basic advertising and sales promotion, to a more personal and customised approach towards customers, delivering a whole new level of involvement and experience to the consumers. Marketing is the The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.(The Chartered Institute of Marketing) Marketing requires constantly adapting to the changing consumer needs, and satisfying them in a way that is better than the competitors, in a profitable manner. In todays highly evolved and competitive business environment, it is indispensible to employ the aid of technology in marketing, the fact that technology has a transformational impact on the marketing is done cannot be ignored. Technology is changing the way companies interact with their consumers; marketing is becoming more focused on technology to increase the sales and returns on investment (ROI). Stephen Diorio shares his views on technology and marketing, Over the next ten years, rapidly changing technology will impact most aspects of sales and marketing strategy and management, (Diorio S.G, 2002) Google is one of the best examples of companies that have successfully employed technology in their marketing strategies. The firm started up as a small search engine in 1998 and today has an estimated worth of more than $35 billion, employing more than 20000 people. In the further sections, I will be discussing how google uses technology in its marketing operations, and the specific areas in which they are employed. Marketing Research Marketing researchÂÂ  is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about issues relating toÂÂ  marketingÂÂ  products and services. (McDonald. M, 2007) Marketing Research helps a company determine, whether its current portfolio of products is satisfying the consumer needs, and what improvements can be made in new products, and whether consumers will accept a new product or not. Google is well known for its search refinement and optimisation over the years, it has consistently been successful in understanding what consumer is searching for, and putting up relevant advertisements on their search results. Let us discuss what technologies google uses for its marketing research: Anonymous Data statistics collection: Google analyses data that it receives from its search engine like the search keywords, location of user, age group, etc. And uses the data to deliver more optimised and local search results to the user, providing a more precise and effective way of advertising. The data that Google collects is anonymous and is used for demographic classification only. Also if there is a bug or error in Googles search, it sends an error report to the company, so they can work on fixing it and improving its results in future. This is a very effective marketing research technique is it does not involve much cost, and is based on reliable data that is generated on the companys own servers. This market research method is an example of excellent consumer involvement; the data collected is with express permission of the users solely for improvement purpose, and Googles privacy policies clearly states that it is collected anonymously with no storage of the users personal information. Also there is an option for opting out of the research for anyone who does not want their data to be analysed. (Source: Google Privacy Policy) Google Analytics: Google analytics is Googles web analytics solution; it generates insights into its websites traffic, total number of visits, subject of interest, location of users, etc and other statistical data which in turn the increases the effectiveness of marketing by identifying and analysing the preferences of the consumer and the product that they are searching for. It helps Google create better targeted and strategically placed ads. Google also offers the analytics solution to many large corporations and companies helping them place their ads at strategic locations and increasing their return on investment or ROI. It delivers sophisticated data to Google regarding its website traffic, and its gain/loss of market share against its competing companies. The technique is an entirely new approach compared to traditional marketing research methods like surveys and seminars, as this is totally computer generated research based on raw data collected from real life users, and also it is more mathematically correct and precise. Analytics can collect data from tracking mobile devices, location based website tagging and comparing the relevance of search terms to actual results. A very recent example of this tools utilities is when it surfaced that Bing, Microsofts proprietary search engine was copying Googles search results and algorithms, and Google was able to discover this scam with its analytics tool. Amit Singhal from Google stated in his press release, Some Bing results increasingly look like an incomplete, stale version of Google results a cheap imitation, (BBC News, 2 February 2011)http://blog.hubspot.com/Portals/249/images/search.referrals.png Insight Search: This is an interactive tool that Google uses to compare various search terms that are similar, and based on consumer interest, it suggests the best suited keywords and terms that must be used to increase advertisement revenue, it is a highly technical tool primarily working on elaborate programming algorithms, which is unique to Google. An example of this is given below. If Google is to place an advertisement for an automobile manufacturer, with the help of Insight search it will be able to predict the message that best resonates the ad. For marketing a new car model it shall know what feature must be highlighted like fuel efficiency, safety, good looks, etc. With Insight search as we can see the most apt search term will be car safety as consumers clearly show more interest in that criteria over the othersC:UsersChiragDesktopinsights_96693_en-time.jpg Source (Google insight Website) Google Insight uses an advanced intelligence algorithm called MYSql that filters the search results and provides suggestions that are more feasible and more likely to capture consumer interest; this reduces the amount of junk advertising and also offers more refined search results. This is a good tool for marketing research as it decreases the chance of misplaced advertising, which is Googles largest source of income. Marketing Communication Marketing CommunicationsÂÂ  areÂÂ  messagesÂÂ  and related media used to communicate with a market. Marketing communications is the promotion part of the Marketing Mix or the four Ps: price, place, promotion, and product. (Clow. K, Donald.B). It is essential for any company to reach out to its consumers effectively, thus marketing communication is very important for successful business. Google has a very technology oriented approach for its marketing communication; it promotes its advertisements and promotions in entirely non-conventional ways, let us examine the methods Google uses for its marketing communication purposes: Ad-Words: Google Ad-Words is Googles main advertising program and the prime source of income for the company. Ad-Words triggers advertisements based on the words that a user is searching for, it delivers relevant ads on various websites where advertisers want to place their ads. Ad-Words operates on the Pay Per Click (PPC) model, where Google gets paid for each Click that an ad generates, and advertisers have to pay Google for the number of times their ad is clicked on. The main features of Ad-Words are that it provides a non-geographical mode of advertising, it can place an advertisement on any website and not just its search page, which means that consumers have a ready accessibility to a plethora of products and services from the comfort of their homes. And for the advertisers, this is new and highly technological approach compared to traditional advertising methods like Hoardings, TV advertising, Radio advertising, etc, also it is interactive in nature. The most differentiating feature of Ad-Words is that the advertisements are customised for each and every user, It does not bombard the consumer with irrelevant ads and distracting pop-ups, it delivers the exact results the person is searching for, in simple and convenient text-based banners. For example: If a person is searching for Holiday trip to Bahamas, then Google brings up the advertisements of travel agencies that offer the cheapest and the best deals for holidays to the Bahamas, and also other holiday packages to similar locations. This is nothing short of a revolution in the advertising industry; in 2010 Googles revenue from Ad-Words advertising was US $28 Billion. (Source: Investor.google.com) Click To Call: The Click to Call service offered by Google is a marketing communication initiative that was started in 2007 by Google; through Click to Call, advertisers are allowed to put up their phone numbers on Googles website, and users can click on their advertisement to call them, Google connects them to the advertiser and the calling expenses are paid by Google. This is similar to Pay per Click advertising, but offers a whole new level of interaction to the advertisement. Google has also integrated this system of Click to call function on their new Phone operating system Froyo, whereby consumers search a map for a nearby outlet and by tapping on it can directly call the advertiser. This is a considerable innovation in marketing communications. (Source: Google ClickToCall official webpage) Google Checkout (Online Payment Integration): Thinking one step ahead of just searching for products and services online, Google integrated the Search and Buy process, with the help of Google Checkout, Consumers can save their bank account details on Googles secure web servers, and when they are searching for something on the web they can simply buy it and make the payment for the product with the click of a button, and the product is delivered to their doorstep. A consumer simply has to sign up with Google Checkout and register their details once; after that whenever they want to buy something with the help of Google Checkout they just have to click on it and verify their identity with security options like passwords, etc to prevent fraud. Also Google checkout comes pre-installed on smart-phones with Google operating system Android making it even more accessible. For example: If a person is searching for Dan Browns Book, The Da Vinci Code on Google, it will return the search results, and the person can simply click the Buy button on the website from their computer or phone, and the payment for the book will be made and it will be directly delivered to their specified address. This simplifies the process of online to a great extent. At the moment the products that are supported with the online payment systems are Books, CDs, and Media files, Google mobile handsets, and software. As more traders sign up for Google Checkout the product portfolio will expand and provide more options to Google users NFC Marketing: This is one of the latest technologies in marketing, also known as NFC or Near Field Communication; it uses special radio frequency waves to communicate with devices like smart-phones, pdas, etc. NFC can be used to tag places and objects with RFID tags that can be read by other devices by simply tapping on them. NFC can also be used to make payments with a smart phone by just swiping the device over the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) Reader, this renders the need to carry around cash and debit cards useless. Google is integrating the NFC chip into its smart phones, and is setting up NFC Hotspots all over large cities, to implement the new technology. This can be considered a breakthrough technology for the coming years. According to Claire Swedberg of RFID Journal, ÂÂ  GoogleÂÂ  has been testing anÂÂ  RFID-enabled service aiming to link local businesses with customers. The service, known asÂÂ  HotspotÂÂ  debuted in November 2010. (Swedberg. C, 23 February 2011) New Product Development New product developmentÂÂ  (NPD) is the term used to describe the complete process of bringing a newÂÂ  productÂÂ  or service to market. (Ulrich.K, Eppinger. S, 2004). NPD is the preliminary step in developing a product or service, it involves a series of steps in order to introduce a new product in the market. NPD is essential to keep up with the changing technology and market trends.http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTgI2lqnURK33cJWjLaFAQlzQaU0rxXHSClOyJk_LUQ6xL68R7Ebg Google is a company with a large number of products under its portfolio, to name a few we have, Google Search, Google Mail, Google Maps, Google Checkout, Google Ad-Words, Google Documents, YouTube, Books, Android operating system, etc. Google has developed a number of successful products over the years. This is because Google insists on releasing products that are more appealing consumers, and has been able to remain successful by launching the products in market before the competitors, mostly in the form of Beta testing and pilot projects. Let us take few examples of how Google integrates the latest technology into some steps of its New Product Development process: Idea Generation: For most organisations the process of idea generation involves Brainstorming sessions, and SWOT analysis, but Google takes a new technological approach for idea generation. Every year Google holds the CodeJam competition at its head-quarters in Mountain View, California. In this competition it invites new engineers and programmers, in order to identify top talent among them, the participants have to solve arithmetic and structural problems, and also they are asked to come up with new ideas for products and software. This is an innovative and technical way of generating ideas, and many of Googles services like the Android operating system are a result of this. (Source: codejam.google.com) Prototyping: Prototyping involves producing a physical product prototype. Google is running a pilot testing programming for its new Google Chrome OS, to run the operating system Google has made the CR-48 laptop, to test its efficiency and compatibility with hardware. It is allowing application developers and daily users to use a prototype laptop given out for free, and provide usage information to Google, so that it can perfect the product for a full featured launch in the market. (Source: Chrome Os Pilot Programme Website) The advantage of prototyping products is that it provides a real life test result of what is expected from the product, and as a wide range of users test it, more information can be collected regarding the product. If the prototype receives good reviews, then the product can be considered feasible for a market launch. Beta Testing: Googles main competitive advantage comes from the fact that it always launches new products in the market before its competitors; this is because it always releases its potential products in Beta stage. And if later on if any rectification is needed in them, it rectifies them and makes the final launch, this is advantageous as by the time the final product is launched; it already will have a consumer base and will be accepted quickly by the market. Beta testing is the testing and improving of unfinished software, Beta testing is very useful when the programmers of the software want to receive a meaningful feedback. This is because when unfinished software is put to actual use, any bugs and errors that it may have can be identified and sorted. Google runs a project called Google Labs (www.google.com/labs). Under Labs Google runs unfinished products not yet ready for a launch. Some examples of such products are Google Transliteration, which allows users to type phonetically in any language using an English keyboard, And Google Wave'(www.wave.google.com) which is Googles real-time social network initiative, it allows consumers to update and connect with their in real time by sharing messages, pictures, videos, and file sharing, etc. Many of Googles most successful products like Google Mail (Gmail), Google Documents (Docs), Calendar, etc are products of Beta testing that got successful reviews and are widely used and accepted today. Commercialisation: Commercialisation is the final launch of the product in the market; it involves the final production and promotion of its products. Proper use of technology is very important for the successful commercialisation of a product. Android is Googles highly successful and competitive smart-phone operating system, the commercialisation of the operating system was highly technological and advanced in nature, and compared to the other smart-phone platforms, like Windows and Apples IOS, it was well advanced. Google commercialised the operating system by venturing with Taiwanese phone company HTC to produce a Google branded phone, the first of its kind, which became highly successful. Also the handset was advertised and can be ordered from Googles search page. It was the first time a internet search based company entered the smart-phone industry. And the rest of the manufacturers like Samsung, Sony Ericsson, etc followed suite with their android handsets. The real technological breakthrough was when Google delivered OTA or Over the Air Software updates for smart-phones with their operating system. No other company has used OTA to update a phones software before, it was basically used to update subscriber settings, but Google made the use of that technology to deliver and optimise the smart-phone software, which was widely appreciated by customers worldwide. This is a good example of commercialising a product with the use of latest available technology. Conclusion Business Leaders today have realised that looking beyond the conventional ways of marketing and adopting the new technology is the mantra of successful business, in current business environment. Firms like Google that constantly aim for the refinement of technology are the new market leaders. Companies have become re-inventive in the way they manage their people, and in the use of technology. Thus we can say that Technology has had an huge impact on the functioning organisations and the process of marketing. Bibliography

The Internet: Fad or Fortune? :: Computers Technology Web Essays

The Internet: Fad or Fortune? Many people have rushed to Internet much like the gold diggers rushed to California in search for the illusive gold that laid hidden in the hills somewhere. People have come to view the Internet almost as a money tree where all they need to do is put up their business site and within weeks they will be making hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nothing could be further from the truth. Much like the siren’s songs in sailors’ legends, consultants, venture capitalists, and others have painted a picture of how the Internet was going to change the world and make everyone who was a part of it rich. A few success stories were all that it took for everyone to jump in and take their stab at it. Now that many dot-coms have crashed and the dust is starting to settle a bit we can take a better look at what has gone wrong with this overly simple and optimistic paradigm. The Internet is an amazing and powerful business tool if it is used in a way that will help an existing or new business become more profitable than it would be without it. There are four basic things that a company or person must keep in mind when trying to take their organization or idea online. These considerations are to 1) know exactly what you want out of your website, 2) know how this website connects to every other part of your business (internal environment), 3) know how this website meets your customers / suppliers needs (external environment), and 4) know when to say â€Å"when.† This list is not meant to be an exhaustive list or a complete set of criteria by which to judge a company’s integration into the World Wide Web. Rather it is a list that is meant to invoke some careful reflection on the part of the business owners or managers before jumping into the shark tank because every body else is. Each of the four considerations will be discussed below. Know what you need first Far to many people jump into the Internet game not really knowing what it is they are after or what they are going to accomplish (aside from some pipe dream to be the next internet millionaire) with their Internet presence.

Knowledge Management Mastercard Essay

The company MasterCard is a technology company and payments industry leader. For over four decades, the company has been a driving force at the heart of commerce, making the global economy safer, more efficient, more inclusive and more transparent for all. Consumers, merchants, business partners and governments in markets around the world have reaped the benefits of our innovative products and solutions which, simply put, are designed to make life easier. The mission of MasterCard consists in imagining a world beyond cash and their mission is very simple: Every day, everywhere, Master Card uses their technology and expertise to make payments safe, simple and smart. In the last four decades, people and companies worldwide have changed their way of payment for goods and services. The rise of the electronic payments has fueled economic growth while delivering value to consumers, merchants and governments. From the earliest days of credit cards to the contactless and wireless payment options of today, MasterCard Worldwide has led the industry, driving this evolution. MasterCard works in a three channel method. Those 3 channels are: Franchisor, Processor and Consultant. In the Franchisor channel, products such as Maestro ®, Cirrus ® and MasterCard ® PayPassâ„ ¢ appear. With those products, the company affects more than 32 million establishments. The processor area makes operation with other companies and partners around the world in a simple and smart way. The big key point for these attribute is based on the fast network, one of the biggest VPNs of the world, offering not just agility, but also integration and trust. Least, the Consultant channel provides insights and solutions that promote a better and more competitive market. The research Inside the organization, the Product department and the Commercial department are directly linked. The first one is related to the care of the different products in many different categories that are offered by the organization, while the commercial area is primarily responsible for the customer relationship and supply of structured products to the product area. The commercial departments, responsible for all customer relationships, are divided to provide a better service by segmenting customers according to their importance to the business. For example, for Citibank, one of the most important banks for MasterCard, there are more than two, three people responsible for one client, while for minor banks, there is sometimes only one person responsible. This allows the commercial area to meet its customers by giving attention proportional to the size of each account, seeking solutions that fit in each case, so that one can be created, the best care possible. The product department is targeted through the products it offers, that way, the areas are divided by types of cards (traditional types such as debit and credit, corporate, pre-paid and others). Each group works to meet the needs of the commercial area, seeking the best solutions according to the demands. So we have two areas that work together, but have different focuses, which can cause disagreements about the best way to deliver a product to a given customer. That way, we can find a good topic to do our research based on this issue. Question Due to the analyses made on the previous topic, we can come up with the question for the paper. Why knowledge is not used by all parts? What can we do to improve this topic? Products and Commercial Departments Processes As said before, the process that the products department works is different from the commercial’s one. The products process is characterized by the division of groups and teams specialized in a specific product. That way, we can confirm that a wide knowledge is limited inside this department, but on the other hand, those groups have a high knowledge about a specific product. Differently, the commercial process is divided not by products, but by clients, issuers. So, those groups have a good flexibility when it comes to relation with the customers and so can have a wider knowledge. But, once this group works only with one client, it is possible that this client works with a small number of products, that way, the commercial group would not acquire knowledge in those other products. Tasks Within the tasks that the commercial department is responsible for we can highlight the following main topics: * Direct relationship with the issuers (Banks) * Project with issuers to enhance the number of MasterCard cards inside * Promotions * Campaigns * Raffles * Work together with different departments For the products area, we can highlight the following tasks: * Come up with new products ideas * Develop the product for the clients * Track the performance of the products KM Theory To illustrate the knowledge flow within the two departments, we are going to use a KM model that sustains and explains the formulation of a new departmentalization to enhance the performance of the company Figure 1: Observing, the General Knowledge Model (figure 1), we can make a comparison of that theory with the case that we are discussing. The Knowledge Creation associates entry of new knowledge into the system, and includes knowledge development, discovery and capture. For the MasterCard case, the Creation would be for both departments the new ideas of new products and also new ideas for product that already exist. That way, it would have do disparity of how those two departments work. Knowledge Retention includes all activities that preserve knowledge and allow it to remain in the system once introduced. Once the new idea is into the system, both parts have to work together to retain this concept into the system, and the only way for this to happen is if that both of the parts have the same knowledge of the concept (product) Knowledge Transfer refers to activities associated with the flow of knowledge from one party to another. This includes communication, translation, conversion, filtering and rendering. That part would be the most important of the process for the two departments. Here, the knowledge of one part would be transfered to the other, that way, the knowledge of the product would be the same for both parts. Last, but not least, Knowledge Utilization includes the activities and events connected with the application of knowledge to business processes. Data Using the Knowledge Acquisition tool, we can come up with important information and data. To start the KA analysis, is important to find out about the human reasoning process and the human cognitive system with its system constraints. After that step, is important to make a division in task characteristics and cognitive characteristics. That way, we can say that Knowledge Acquisition is about different methods to acquire and elicit knowledge; to make knowledge explicit; to stimulate knowledge transfer; to order, systematize and structure knowledge. That way, we can observe the different types of sources for knowledge acquisition. For the case in study, we can say that the way that knowledge is transmitted and acquire trough communication face-to-face between the product and the commercial department. Moreover, the knowledge about the products is also gain trough handbooks and organizational training. With those information, we can collect a data really important, the fact that knowledge is elicit trough structured (organizational training and presentations) and non-structured (communication face-to-face between commercial department and product department) ways. It is very interesting, that with this tool, we can observe that the knowledge both parts have about the same products is really different sometimes. As already expected, the commercial department has knowledge about sales attributes. On the other hand, the product department has more knowledge about the specific points and technological aspects of the product. To end this disparity of knowledge, a good choice would be to change the working ways in those areas, in other words, it would need a reformulation on the organization structure of MasterCard. Results * With the reformulation that was discussed before, the products would be created jointly, aiming each client and their own segmentation, making products no longer offered by the area of general commercial, but a specific form that would be created, allowing you to create a higher perceived value for the customers, since assembling products would create a synergy that would combine expertise in creating products possessed by product area with full knowledge of the client as the commercial area has. For this, the specialists of the products would have a greater knowledge of each type of product offered, reducing the segmentation of the area in premium products, and upscale retail and other products. So each specialist would be responsible for a niche within each client, allowing maintaining focus on the products he considers the most, rather than generalizing all segments within a specialist. This approach As described above, this approach is a way to get the specialists creating products together with managers of commercial accounts, specific products for customers, improving relationships and creating value for these. Moreover, we can say that with this reformulation, knowledge would be more used in the company and that way, the company would be more successful.