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Global, Alliances, And Technology Transfer A Case Study Of Sony-Ericsson
Global, Alliances, And Technology Transfer: A Case Study Of Sony-Ericsson
Q#1) Ericsson is the world leader in cell phone networks and has many years of experience of handsets. Explain how Sony’s technology portfolio has helped the joint venture.
Access to technology: Sony skill base and technological advances has helped Ericson to increase its portfolio bringing with it a large Portfolio based on its traditional area of music video, VCR camera, integrating these into the traditional phones produced by Erickson has contributed to the prosperity of the joint venture. They have contributed to the development of the third and fourth generation cell phones.
Access to skills: Sony has contributed to the joint venture in terms of the skills of its employees increasing the general level of access to skills in the joint venture.
Shared risk and liability: the technology transfer has helped Erickson to increase its market share and dominating the cell phone handset market.
Q#2) Explain why a cell phone is more like a radio than a wired telephone.
Ideally, the cell phone shares the same technology with a radio because it picks up signals from the transmitters. The cell phones that are used today are based on the radio communication device technology such as “over-over” (simplex communication) as originally the technology shared a single frequency for both the outgoing and incoming communications. However, the duplex communication was removed when the frequency was increased through the frequency reuse technology.
Q#3) Explain why Sony and Ericsson were finding it increasingly difficult to sustain R&D over all of their businesses.
There were problems trying to integrate teams from Sony and Ericson, the company also experienced losses in its market share in china while there was also a very strong competition in foreign markets such as the United States.
Q#4) Explain why Ericsson is maintaining a large R&D division focusing on handsets when its joint venture with Sony is also conducting R&D and product development of handsets.
The company is aiming at controlling 50% of its production in companies controlled by it in order to increase its market share and increase efficiency in its supply chain system
Q#5) many firms are outsourcing more and more of their activities and focusing on core activities. What are the advantages for Sony-Ericsson in bringing manufacturing back under its control?
Sony Eriksson is bringing manufacturing back under its control to smooth out supply chain problems and help it increase its market share in the handset market segment. This is based on the company’s realization of the consequences of its failure to take advantage of the charismas sales boom when it did not have enough components in stock.
Q#6) conclusion
The key issues in the case study are about technology transfer, and the way companies benefit from technological transfers. Many companies have gained from technological transfers, merger and acquisition. Major joint venture in the case study is between Sony, Eriksson, that has helped both companies leverage their competitive advantages to increase their market share Portfolio, and productivity, however just like in May marriages, one arty has to cry foul. For example, Eriksson went against the original agreement a d is increasingly conducting research and development against their original agreements.
Recommendation
Technology transfers is an effective way to gain competitive edge in a competitive environment, however, it is imperative for companies to critically asses their potential partners, their strengths, weaknesses and opportunities and threats. Then have a timed plan for capital planning and execution. On the other hand, there should be contractual document that binds both parties in the merger to prevent future difficulties that might arise in the merger.
Global Warming Relax and Enjoy
Library Research Assignment
Author’s Name: Rahn Richard
Title of the article: Global Warming: Relax and Enjoy
This is an opinion article where the author is giving his point of view on the subject of global warming. This article is directed to all researchers on the subject of global warming and all those who are deeply worried about this problem.
The author is looking at the problem of global warming in a positive light. He says that there is nothing much that we can do to prevent the issue of global warming and the release of carbon dioxide. The author claims that, even if we cut down the release of carbon dioxide to the minimum global warming will continue to take place because it is a natural phenomenon that can not be controlled. The advice given to us by the author is that we should not concentrate on global warming rather we should figure out ways of the problem caused at a minimum cost.
According to Rhan (2006), global warming began in the year 1850 before mankind started engaging in activities that cause the release of carbon dioxide in the environment. There have been two cycles of global warming already recorded in history which instead of being destructive, were beneficial. The Roman warming took place between the years of 200 BC to 600 A.D while the medieval warming took place between the years of 900-1300 A.D when farms were created in Iceland and Greenland. Therefore, instead of us thinking of global warming and its negative effects, we should also look in to the positive aspects.
As explored by Rhan (2006) American taxpayers pay about four billion yearly to researchers of global warming as well as government bureaucrats. If global warming was not such a big problem, the money budgeted to curb the issue can be directed to other sectors like health care that are more crucial. The fact that many people want to benefit from the funds allocated to curbing global warming could lead to bias research.
The issue brought about by the author where he says that there is nothing we can do to prevent global warming because it is a natural process is disputable. The fact that global warming is a continuous natural process does not mean that we should sit back and relax not doing anything about it. The effects that will be brought about by global warming when we reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere will be less than when we just sit back and not do anything about the problem (Houghton, 2004).
The author also talks about seeing global warming in a positive light where in the early days, global warming brought about prosperity in Iceland and Greenland. We have to acknowledge that those were the early days when global warming was not such a contentious issue. It is unlike in the modern days of industrialization where a lot of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases are released in the atmosphere. The effects of global warming are much more adverse like the raising of sea level due to melting of glaciers which will endanger those living close to the coastline. This will also lead to the loss of revenue that is brought about by tourism Gore (2006).
Conclusively, the author of this article portrays global warming as a natural phenomenon which will take place with or without the intervention of ways to curb the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Global warming has brought some positive impacts in the past and so according to the Rhan; it should be seen in a positive light instead of us always looking for ways to curb global warming. American taxpayers pay billions of dollars yearly towards the research and the prevention of global warming. This article disagrees with my opinion as well as the opinion of many because I believe it is not right for us to just sit, relax and do nothing about the problem at hand.
References
Rahn, R. (2006). “Global Warming: Relax and Enjoy.” The Brussels Journal. November 17, 2006.
Houghton, J. (2004). Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. New York: Cambridge University Press. Print.
Gore, A. (2006). An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming. New York: Rodale. Print.
Global warming myth or reality
Name:
Professor:
Communications:
20th June 2011
Global warming – myth or reality
Over the years, global warming has become a controversial topic with some arguing for it while others oppose it. This controversy revolves around issues like, is global warming real or just a scientific lie, what are the causes, what are the effects and remedies? Above all issues, the one that has raised a lot of controversy is the cause of global warming. Beginning in the mid 20th century, arguments and counter arguments have arisen on whether human activities are the main causes of global warming (John Theodore Houghton, 2004). More to this, arguments have also risen on whether the so called effects of global warming are normal climatic changes or not. However, there one general consensus among all stake holders that global temperatures have risen rapidly in the last 100 years and that the world is warmer than in the past.
In 2009, representatives from over 200 countries meet in Denmark under the United Nations committee on climate change to discuss way of tackling this looming disaster. One of the most identified causes of global warming was emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Most of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere is from a process known as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse effect involves absorbing and releasing of infrared radiations into the environment resulting in a warmer planet. One major argument of those who don’t believe that global warming is partly caused by human activities is that there are some natural gases that have a warming effect on the atmosphere. Examples of major greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and methane. Although there is little or no contention that some greenhouse effects occur naturally, human activities in the recent past have been proven to accelerate the production of greenhouse gases. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the amount of greenhouses gases released into the atmosphere has gone up resulting in alteration of atmospheric radiation balance. Since 1970, carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in the atmosphere have gone up by 36% and 148% respectively and these levels are higher that at any instance in the last 800,000 years of human history (John Theodore Houghton,2004). Additional research has also revealed that higher levels of carbon dioxide were last recorded about 20 million years ago. Human overdependence on fossil fuels accounts for about three quarters of the total carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. The remaining quarter of the total carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans comes from poor land use and deforestation.
Despite the above mentioned facts about human contribution to global warming, the argument over whether global warming is caused by human activities or by natural processes continues. Nature has its own ways of regulating climate without the assistance of human beings. The earth’s revolution and rotations have been for a long time been identified as the two main processes that have the greatest effect on climate. Changes in the intensity of the sun also affect the cooling or warning of the world. In the ancient times, volcanic activities were the main causes of global warming (Mark Maslin, 2007). During volcanic activities, debris and harmful gases including carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere causing alteration in atmospheric radiation balance. Recent volcanic activities have had minor climatic effects mostly resulting in global cooling as a result of reflection of the sun rays by the volcanic particles caught in the atmosphere.
Although studies show that the earth was already in a warming trend, research done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has shown that the process has been accelerated by recent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in to the atmosphere. This rise in the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere can be traced back into the onset of the industrial revolution. For a long time, industries have been using fossil fuels to power their operations resulting in a 35% increment in the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Industrial revolution created a ready market for farm products that were used as raw materials therefore causing an increase in demand for arable land. Consequently, People began clearing forests and other catchment areas in search of farmland resulting in increased carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere (John Theodore Houghton, 2004). Many scientists agree that although there are several natural factors that have continued to influence climate change, human activities are responsible for most of the global warming that has taken place in the last fifty years. Much of the global warming caused by humans has mainly been caused by variations in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. It has also been caused by changes in the amount of aerosols and poor land uses.
IPPC scientists have been able to obtain the historical documentation of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the last thousands and thousands of years. To do this, they carried out a study of ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland. This study was carried by assessing the constituents of the air trapped in the ice. The study revealed that the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane gas rose steadily during the industrial revolution. Several other climatic researches have confirmed that there is a strong association between increase in climatic temperatures and greenhouse gases emissions (Marcel LeRoux, 2005). A slight increment in global temperatures has a great effect on the world weather system mainly because the two are interlinked. Factors like atmospheric pressure, winds, ocean currents, reflection of the sun by ice and the presence of particles in the atmosphere can have very far-reaching effects on both the global weather and climate. The rise in temperature as s result of global warming has a lot of effects like loss of polar ice, rise in sea level, rise in tropical storms and recession in glaciers. It’s believed that about 20 % of Antarctic ice has been lost since 1979 (Mark Maslin, 2007). Unless drastic measures are taken to curb global warming, scientist are warning that we are headed for trouble where factors beyond human control will increase the rate of global warming. These factors include increased warming as a result of lack of reflection by polar ice, increased emission of carbon dioxide from permafrost due to recession of ice caps and decline of the ocean currents that bring warmth to many parts of Western Europe and North America. If nothing is done to control human activities, , scientists predict that global temperatures could rise by as much as seven degrees by the end of the 21st century.
Despite many scientists proving that global warming is real and that human activities have accelerated it in the recent past, there are opposing views that appear convincing. The opposing arguments are persuasive since they argue that global temperatures have been going down and not increasing in the recent past. They also argue that increase in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is as a result of global warming but not the cause. Regardless of how convincing these arguments may appear to be, IPPC scientists have been able to prove the opposite (Marcel LeRoux, 2005). Through showing the correlations between carbon dioxide and global warming by studying the constituents of the air trapped in polar ice, pro global warming scientist have established the relationship between global warming and atmospheric carbon dioxide. In conclusion, I want to state that global warming is real and this can be supported by the recent increase in natural disasters like tsunamis and tornadoes.
References
John Theodore Houghton. Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. Cambridge University Press. 2004. Print
Marcel LeRoux. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality: the Erring Ways of Climatology. Springer. 2005. Print
Mark Maslin. Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future. MBI Publishing Company. 2007. Print