Tag: Learning

Learning!

Learning is the process of acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences. 

Evidence that knowledge has occurred may see changes in behavior from simple to complex, from moving a finger to skill in synthesizing information, or a change in attitude.

The ability to know possess by humans, animals, and some machines. There is also evidence of some kind of knowledge in some plants.

Some learn immediately, induced by a single event (e.g. being burn by a hot stove), but much skill and knowledge accumulate from repeat experiences.

The changes induced by knowledge often last a lifetime, and it is hard to distinguish known material that seems to be “lost” from that which cannot retrieve.

Definition of learning for Students
1: the act of a person who gains knowledge or skill Travel is a learning experience.
2: knowledge or skill gained from teaching or study. They’re people of great knowledge.
-@ilearnlot.
  • Advantage and Disadvantages of Mission Statement

    Advantage and Disadvantages of Mission Statement

    Difference of Advantage and Disadvantages of Mission Statement

    What is Definition of Mission Statement? A sentence describing a company’s function, markets and competitive advantages; a short written statement of your business goals and philosophies. Difference of Advantages and Disadvantages of Diversity Management.

    A mission-statement defines what an organization is, why it exists, its reason for being. At a minimum, your mission-statement should define who your primary customers are, identify the products and services you produce, and describe the geographical location in which you operate.

    If you don’t have a mission-statement, create one by writing down in one sentence what the purpose of your business is. Ask two or three of the key people in your company to do the same thing. Then discuss the statements and come up with one sentence everyone agrees with. Once you have finalized your mission-statement, communicate it to everyone in the company.

    It’s more important to communicate the mission-statement to employees than to customers. Your mission-statement doesn’t have to be clever or catchy just accurate.

    If you already have a mission-statement, you will need to periodically review and possibly revise it to make sure it accurately reflects your goals as your company and the business and economic climates evolve. To do this, simply ask yourself if the statement still correctly describes what you’re doing.

    If your review results in a revision of the statement, be sure everyone in the company is aware of the change. Make a big deal out of it. After all, a change in your mission probably means your company is growing-and that’s a big deal.

    Once you have designed a niche for your business, you’re ready to create a mission-statement. A key tool that can be as important as your business plan, a mission-statement captures, in a few succinct sentences, the essence of your business’s goals and the philosophies underlying them. Equally important, the mission-statement signals what your business is all about to your customers, employees, suppliers and the community.

    The mission-statement reflects every facet of your business: the range and nature of the products you offer, pricing, quality, service, marketplace position, growth potential, use of technology, and your relationships with your customers, employees, suppliers, competitors and the community. Components of a Strategy Statement.

    Advantages of Mission-Statement

    Provides direction: Mission-statements are a way to direct a business into the right path, it plays a part in helping the business make better decisions which can be beneficial to them. Without the mission-statement providing direction, businesses may struggle when it comes to making decisions and planning for the future, this is why providing direction could be considered one of the most advantageous points of a mission-statement.

    Clear purpose: Having a clear purpose can remove any potential ambiguities that can surround the existence of a business. People who are interested in the progression of the business, such as stakeholders, will want to know that the business is making the right choices and progressing more towards achieving their goals, which will help to remove any doubt the stakeholders may have in the business.

    The benefit of having a simple and clear mission-statement is that it can be beneficial in many different ways. A mission-statement can help to play as a motivational tool within an organization. It can allow employees to all work towards one common goal that benefits both the organization and themselves. This can help with factors such as employee satisfaction and productivity. It is important that employees feel a sense of purpose. By giving them this sense of purpose it will allow them to focus more on their daily tasks. Help them to realize the goals of the organization and their role.

    Disadvantages of Mission-Statement

    Although it is mostly beneficial for a business to craft a good mission-statement. There are some situations where a mission-statement can be considered pointless or not useful to a business.

    Unrealistic: In most cases, mission statements turn out to be unrealistic and far too optimistic. An unrealistic mission statement can also affect the performance and morale of the employees within the workplace. This is because an unrealistic mission statement would reduce the likelihood of employees being able to meet this standard which could demotivate employees in the long term. Unrealistic mission statements also serve no purpose and can consider a waste of management’s time. Another issue which could arise from an unrealistic mission statement is that poor decisions could made in an attempt to achieve this goal. Which has the potential to harm the business and seen as a waste of both time and resources.

    Waste of time and resources: Mission-statements require planning, this takes time. Effort for those who are responsible for creating the mission statement. If the mission-statement is not achieve, then the process of creating. The mission-statement could seen as a waste of time for all of the people involve. A lot of thought and time is spent in designing a good mission-statement. And to have all of that time wasted is not what businesses can afford to doing. The wasted time could have spent on much more important tasks within the organization such as decision-making for the business.

    Advantage and Disadvantages of Mission Statement

  • Mission Statement

    Mission Statement

    What is Mission Statement?

    A mission statement is a short statement of an organization’s purpose, identifying the scope of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation. It may include a short statement of such fundamental matters as the organization’s values or philosophies, a business’s main competitive advantages, or a desired future state the “vision”.

    A mission statement is not simply a description of an organization by an external party, but an expression, made by its leaders, of their desires and intent for the organization. The purpose of a mission statement is to focus and direct the organization itself. It communicates primarily to the people who make up the organization its members or employees giving them a shared understanding of the organization’s intended direction. Organizations normally do not change their mission statements over time, since they define their continuous, ongoing purpose and focus.

    According to Chris Bart, professor of strategy and governance at McMaster University, a commercial mission statement consists of three essential components:

    Key Market: Who is your target client or customer (generalize if needed)?

    Contribution: What product or service do you provide to that client?

    Distinction: What makes your product or service unique, so that the client would choose you?

    Bart estimates that in practice, only about ten percent of mission statements say something meaningful. For this reason, they are widely regarded with contempt.

    The next step is to prepare mission statements. If the vision is “WHAT” of life, then the mission is “WHY” and “HOW”. It identifies the roles and activities to which an individual is committed and provides the overall direction for achieving the vision. Mission focuses on what you want to be and what you want to do- contributions and achievements. Mission focuses on the values and principles upon which being and doing are based. A personal vision needs to be clearly developed so that the mission statement can be based on it.

    I. These statements should clearly indicate the important roles and methodologies followed for fulfilling the vision.

    II. Techniques and tools such as affinity diagram, brainstorming, fish-bone diagram, and surveys should be used.

    III. Mission statements should realize the vision in action. Conduct a mind map to check whether it is really fulfilled.

    IV. These statements will carry the information which needs to be fulfilled in the near future.

    V. Time factor may be brought in to make it more systematic.

    Mission statements are prepared to make the employees understand in clear terms “HOW” to achieve the vision and “WHY” all this has to be done. It is a ROAD MAP for achieving the vision. The mission statements act as a guiding force encouraging the individuals to work towards reaching the vision.

    What is Purpose of Mission statement?

    The sole purpose of a mission statement is to serve as your company’s goal/agenda, it outlines clearly what the goal of the company is. Some generic examples of mission statements would be, “To provide the best service possible within the banking sector for our customers.” or “To provide the best experience for all of our customers.” The reason why businesses make use of mission statements is to make it clear what they look to achieve as an organization, not only for themselves and their employees but to the customers and other people who are a part of the business, such as shareholders. As a company evolves, so will their mission statement, this is to make sure that the company remains on track and to ensure that the mission statement does not lose its touch and become boring or stale.

    North American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business, Entrepreneur explains the purpose of a mission statement as the following:

    “The mission statement reflects every facet of your business: the range and nature of the products you offer, pricing, quality, service, marketplace position, growth potential, use of technology, and your relationships with your customers, employees, suppliers, competitors and the community.”

    It is important that a mission statement is not confused with a vision statement. As discussed earlier, the main purpose of a mission statement is to get across the ambitions of an organization in a short and simple fashion, it is not necessary to go into detail for the mission statement which is evident in examples given. The reason why it is important that a mission statement and vision statement are not confused is because they both serve different purposes. Vision statements tend to be more related to strategic planning and lean more towards discussing where a company aims to be in the future.

    Here are what business leaders say a mission statement should do for a company:

    “A good vision or mission statement will fill a few roles: It will be toothy enough to engage the media, analysts and other industry watchers. It will be aspirational enough to give employees something to reach for and bind them together in their day-to-day work. And it will be clear and specific enough to build the brand and affect public perception of the company. In an ideal world, it will even give your customers a sense that they’re buying into your vision when they purchase one of your products.” by Kyle Monson, a partner at Knock Twice hybrid creative agency.

    “A company’s mission statement is the cornerstone on which it is built. Its strategic plan and its culture are directly tied to the vision the mission statement puts forth. It is important that a mission statement supports the overarching goals and purpose of the company and explain why you exist as a business in a way that can be understood internally within the company and externally to consumers.” by Gerry David, president, and CEO of healthy lifestyle company Celsius Holdings.

    “Creating a mission statement takes time and a lot of decision making. It lays down expectations for how your customers and employees will interact with one another, so take your time with it. Clearly, write down your vision of the company and ask yourself, ‘What am I trying to accomplish?’ Think about how you want others to perceive your company, what’s important to you and your organization, and then prioritize it. Most importantly, make sure it’s clear, concise and easy for anyone to understand.” by Bobby Harris, president, and CEO of Blue Grace Logistics.

  • What is Vision Statement?

    What is Vision Statement?

    Learn, What is Vision Statement? Meaning and Definition!

    A vision statement is a declaration of an organization’s objectives, ideally based on economic foresight, intended to guide its internal decision-making. A vision statement is not limited to business organizations and may also be used by non-profit or governmental entities. Also learn, “The Language of Business” also called Accounting, but Why? Vision Statement! 

    The vision statement is written by looking ahead into the future. It aims at higher achievable things. It is based on what the organization should strive for and achieve in another five to ten years. Through various activities, the faculty is guided to attain the vision. This acts as a powerful tool, a guiding star. When personalized and truly owned, vision provides the incentive the drive towards fulfillment. It creates commitment, motivation and the drive for initiating the mission, objectives, projects, and tasks necessary to realize the vision. Developing a vision may take a few weeks. Though this looks to be a long time, it should be understood that it is a portrayal of what life could be five to ten years from now. Time is allowed for dreaming and brainstorming along with categorizing random thoughts to ensure a comprehensive and realistic vision.

    In today’s competitive environment, it is just not sufficient if we are a step ahead of other institutes. It should be by leaps and bounds. To achieve this, every institute needs to have a vision. They should start looking into the future, predicting it, planning for it, and making it happen. Only this will make the difference between dreaming things and making things happen. Thus, vision is the result of dreams in action.

    The gap between dream and action is filled with the plan. How well we succeed will depend upon depends on how well we plan. Planning sets the direction and speed of the progress. Effective utilization of time and resources is a needed prerequisite. To survive in this global village, productivity is more important than production. Effectiveness is more important than efficiency. It is more important how effectively I utilize the fewer opportunities put forth before me.

    Vision is not the state of being but the process of becoming. Vision should be something which is far fetching and not that which calls for a change every day. It should be borne in mind that the vision statement is organization specific.

    #Definition and Structure of Vision Statement!

    A vision statement is a company’s roadmap, indicating both what the company wants to become and guiding transformational initiatives by setting a defined direction for the company’s growth. Vision statements undergo minimal revisions during the life of a business, unlike operational goals which may be updated from year-to-year. Vision statements can range in length from short sentences to multiple pages. Vision statements are also formally written and referenced in company documents rather than, for example, general principles informally articulated by senior management.

    The definition of a vision statement according to Business Dictionary is “An aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action.”

    A consensus does not exist on the characteristics of a “good” or “bad” vision statement. Commonly cited traits include:

    Concise: Able to be easily remembered and repeated.

    Clear: Defines a prime goal.

    Future-oriented: Describes where the company is going rather than the current state.

    Stable: Offers a long-term perspective and is unlikely to be impacted by market or technology changes.

    Challenging: Not something that can be easily met and discarded.

    Abstract: General enough to encompass all of the organization’s interests and strategic direction.

    Inspiring: Motivates employees and is something that employees view as desirable.

    Management vision can lead the organization towards success and it can also demoralize the organization. There are cases where improper vision statements have ruined the organization. Hence, it is necessary that utmost importance is given and care is taken while formulating the vision statement. To formulate a vision statement, one has to study the core values and purpose of the organization. Only such a vision statement will do the motivating role.

    For the human being, there are many core values. Some people have money as the core value. Some have ethics and some have power, status as core values. Whatever people do are the reflections of their core value. Similarly, the activities of an organization should reflect its core value. Some of the core values are:

    I. Service to people.

    II. Innovative technology.

    III. High ethical standards.

    IV. Always on time, and.

    V. Maximum Profit.

    The purpose means to answer the question: “what for does the organization run?” This purpose also should reflect in the vision statement.

    The vision statement gives direction to the organization. Having a vision paves way for the success of the organization. Between the dream and the vision, the organization has to climb a ladder of action plans such as expertise, creativity, empowerment, involvement, and values. A vision in each of these sub-levels will help the organization to reach the goal faster.

    What should be Vision statement?

    As Future-oriented.

    As Creative.

    As Setting high standards of excellence.

    As Inspiring enthusiasm and encouraging commitment.

    As Reflecting uniqueness, and.

    As Very clear and challenging.

    It is found that when a vision is clearly stated, the focus is there. People, who look ten years ahead, succeed more rather than those who leave things to fate.

    Continuous monitoring and feedback are necessary to find where the organization is positioned with regard to its vision. It gives an indication of the progress of the organization.

    The vision should be popularized among the employees by having it displayed in all prominent places in the organization; having it printed on personal items such as ID cards, pay slips etc. Top officials should promote the vision statement frequently in personal and public talks. They must also own it and live it.

    What is Vision Statement - ilearnlot

  • Rapunzel

    Rapunzel

    Rapunzel

    “The Fairy Tales” short story was written by the Brothers Grimm: There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child. At length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire. These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world. One day the woman was standing by this window and looking down into the garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion (Rapunzel), and it looked so fresh and green that she longed for it, she quite pined away, and began to look pale and miserable. Then her husband was alarmed, and asked: ‘What ails you, dear wife?’ ‘Ah,’ she replied,’ if I can’t eat some of the rampion, which is in the garden behind our house, I shall die.’ The man, who loved her, thought: ‘Sooner than let your wife die, bring her some of the rampion yourself, let it cost what it will.’ At twilight, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of the enchantress, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it greedily. It tasted so good to her—so very good, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of evening therefore, he let himself down again; but when he had clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing before him. ‘How can you dare,’ said she with angry look, ‘descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it!’ ‘Ah,’ answered he, ‘let mercy take the place of justice, I only made up my mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw your rampion from the window, and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to eat.’ Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be softened, and said to him: ‘If the case be as you say, I will allow you to take away with you as much rampion as you will, only I make one condition, you must give me the child which your wife will bring into the world; it shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a mother.’ The man in his terror consented to everything, and when the woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the child the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.

    Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child under the sun. When she was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was a little window. When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herself beneath it and cried:

    ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
    Let down your hair to me.’

    Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses, wound them round one of the hooks of the window above, and then the hair fell twenty ells down, and the enchantress climbed up by it.

    After a year or two, it came to pass that the king’s son rode through the forest and passed by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The king’s son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried:

    ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
    Let down your hair to me.’

    Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress climbed up to her. ‘If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I too will try my fortune,’ said he, and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried:

    ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
    Let down your hair to me.’

    Immediately the hair fell down and the king’s son climbed up.

    At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her; but the king’s son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought: ‘He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does’; and she said yes, and laid her hand in his. She said: ‘I will willingly go away with you, but I do not know how to get down. Bring with you a skein of silk every time that you come, and I will weave a ladder with it, and when that is ready I will descend, and you will take me on your horse.’ They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day. The enchantress remarked nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said to her: ‘Tell me, Dame Gothel, how it happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young king’s son—he is with me in a moment.’ ‘Ah! you wicked child,’ cried the enchantress. ‘What do I hear you say! I thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you have deceived me!’ In her anger she clutched Rapunzel’s beautiful tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great grief and misery.

    On the same day that she cast out Rapunzel, however, the enchantress fastened the braids of hair, which she had cut off, to the hook of the window, and when the king’s son came and cried:

    ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
    Let down your hair to me.’

    she let the hair down. The king’s son ascended, but instead of finding his dearest Rapunzel, he found the enchantress, who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks. ‘Aha!’ she cried mockingly, ‘you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you; you will never see her again.’ The king’s son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did naught but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife. Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, and when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see with them as before. He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented.

  • Old Sultan

    Old Sultan

    Old Sultan

    “The Fairy Tales” short story was written by the Brothers Grimm: A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very old, and had lost all his teeth. And one day when the shepherd and his wife were standing together before the house the shepherd said, ‘I will shoot old Sultan tomorrow morning, for he is of no use now.’ But his wife said, ‘Pray let the poor faithful creature live; he has served us well a great many years, and we ought to give him a livelihood for the rest of his days.’ ‘But what can we do with him?’ said the shepherd, ‘he has not a tooth in his head, and the thieves don’t care for him at all; to be sure he has served us, but then he did it to earn his livelihood; tomorrow shall be his last day, depend upon it.’

    Poor Sultan, who was lying close by them, heard all that the shepherd and his wife said to one another, and was very much frightened to think tomorrow would be his last day; so in the evening he went to his good friend the wolf, who lived in the wood, and told him all his sorrows, and how his master meant to kill him in the morning. ‘Make yourself easy,’ said the wolf, ‘I will give you some good advice. Your master, you know, goes out every morning very early with his wife into the field; and they take their little child with them, and lay it down behind the hedge in the shade while they are at work. Now do you lie down close by the child, and pretend to be watching it, and I will come out of the wood and run away with it; you must run after me as fast as you can, and I will let it drop; then you may carry it back, and they will think you have saved their child, and will be so thankful to you that they will take care of you as long as you live.’ The dog liked this plan very well; and accordingly so it was managed. The wolf ran with the child a little way; the shepherd and his wife screamed out; but Sultan soon overtook him, and carried the poor little thing back to his master and mistress. Then the shepherd patted him on the head, and said, ‘Old Sultan has saved our child from the wolf, and therefore he shall live and be well taken care of, and have plenty to eat. Wife, go home, and give him a good dinner, and let him have my old cushion to sleep on as long as he lives.’ So from this time forward Sultan had all that he could wish for.

    Soon afterwards the wolf came and wished him joy, and said, ‘Now, my good fellow, you must tell no tales, but turn your head the other way when I want to taste one of the old shepherd’s fine fat sheep.’ ‘No,’ said the Sultan; ‘I will be true to my master.’ However, the wolf thought he was in joke, and came one night to get a dainty morsel. But Sultan had told his master what the wolf meant to do; so he laid wait for him behind the barn door, and when the wolf was busy looking out for a good fat sheep, he had a stout cudgel laid about his back, that combed his locks for him finely.

    Then the wolf was very angry, and called Sultan ‘an old rogue,’ and swore he would have his revenge. So the next morning the wolf sent the boar to challenge Sultan to come into the wood to fight the matter. Now Sultan had nobody he could ask to be his second but the shepherd’s old three-legged cat; so he took her with him, and as the poor thing limped along with some trouble, she stuck up her tail straight in the air.

    The wolf and the wild boar were first on the ground; and when they espied their enemies coming, and saw the cat’s long tail standing straight in the air, they thought she was carrying a sword for Sultan to fight with; and every time she limped, they thought she was picking up a stone to throw at them; so they said they should not like this way of fighting, and the boar lay down behind a bush, and the wolf jumped up into a tree. Sultan and the cat soon came up, and looked about and wondered that no one was there. The boar, however, had not quite hidden himself, for his ears stuck out of the bush; and when he shook one of them a little, the cat, seeing something move, and thinking it was a mouse, sprang upon it, and bit and scratched it, so that the boar jumped up and grunted, and ran away, roaring out, ‘Look up in the tree, there sits the one who is to blame.’ So they looked up, and espied the wolf sitting amongst the branches; and they called him a cowardly rascal, and would not suffer him to come down till he was heartily ashamed of himself, and had promised to be good friends again with old Sultan.

  • Mother Holle / Frau Holle

    Mother Holle / Frau Holle

    “The Fairy Tales” short story was written by the Brothers Grimm: Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters; one of them was beautiful and industrious, the other ugly and lazy. The mother, however, loved the ugly and lazy one best, because she was her own daughter, and so the other, who was only her stepdaughter, was made to do all the work of the house, and was quite the Cinderella of the family. Her stepmother sent her out every day to sit by the well in the high road, there to spin until she made her fingers bleed. Now it chanced one day that some blood fell on to the spindle, and as the girl stopped over the well to wash it off, the spindle suddenly sprang out of her hand and fell into the well. She ran home crying to tell of her misfortune, but her stepmother spoke harshly to her, and after giving her a violent scolding, said unkindly, ‘As you have let the spindle fall into the well you may go yourself and fetch it out.’

    The girl went back to the well not knowing what to do, and at last in her distress she jumped into the water after the spindle.

    She remembered nothing more until she awoke and found herself in a beautiful meadow, full of sunshine, and with countless flowers blooming in every direction.

    She walked over the meadow, and presently she came upon a baker’s oven full of bread, and the loaves cried out to her, ‘Take us out, take us out, or alas! we shall be burnt to a cinder; we were baked through long ago.’ So she took the bread-shovel and drew them all out.

    She went on a little farther, till she came to a free full of apples. ‘Shake me, shake me, I pray,’ cried the tree; ‘my apples, one and all, are ripe.’ So she shook the tree, and the apples came falling down upon her like rain; but she continued shaking until there was not a single apple left upon it. Then she carefully gathered the apples together in a heap and walked on again.

    The next thing she came to was a little house, and there she saw an old woman looking out, with such large teeth, that she was terrified, and turned to run away. But the old woman called after her, ‘What are you afraid of, dear child? Stay with me; if you will do the work of my house properly for me, I will make you very happy. You must be very careful, however, to make my bed in the right way, for I wish you always to shake it thoroughly, so that the feathers fly about; then they say, down there in the world, that it is snowing; for I am Mother Holle.’ The old woman spoke so kindly, that the girl summoned up courage and agreed to enter into her service.

    She took care to do everything according to the old woman’s bidding and every time she made the bed she shook it with all her might, so that the feathers flew about like so many snowflakes. The old woman was as good as her word: she never spoke angrily to her, and gave her roast and boiled meats every day.

    So she stayed on with Mother Holle for some time, and then she began to grow unhappy. She could not at first tell why she felt sad, but she became conscious at last of great longing to go home; then she knew she was homesick, although she was a thousand times better off with Mother Holle than with her mother and sister. After waiting awhile, she went to Mother Holle and said, ‘I am so homesick, that I cannot stay with you any longer, for although I am so happy here, I must return to my own people.’

    Then Mother Holle said, ‘I am pleased that you should want to go back to your own people, and as you have served me so well and faithfully, I will take you home myself.’

    Thereupon she led the girl by the hand up to a broad gateway. The gate was opened, and as the girl passed through, a shower of gold fell upon her, and the gold clung to her, so that she was covered with it from head to foot.

    ‘That is a reward for your industry,’ said Mother Holle, and as she spoke she handed her the spindle which she had dropped into the well.

    The gate was then closed, and the girl found herself back in the old world close to her mother’s house. As she entered the courtyard, the cock who was perched on the well, called out:

    ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo!
    Your golden daughter’s come back to you.’

    Then she went in to her mother and sister, and as she was so richly covered with gold, they gave her a warm welcome. She related to them all that had happened, and when the mother heard how she had come by her great riches, she thought she should like her ugly, lazy daughter to go and try her fortune. So she made the sister go and sit by the well and spin, and the girl pricked her finger and thrust her hand into a thorn-bush, so that she might drop some blood on to the spindle; then she threw it into the well, and jumped in herself.

    Like her sister she awoke in the beautiful meadow, and walked over it till she came to the oven. ‘Take us out, take us out, or alas! we shall be burnt to a cinder; we were baked through long ago,’ cried the loaves as before. But the lazy girl answered, ‘Do you think I am going to dirty my hands for you?’ and walked on.

    Presently she came to the apple-tree. ‘Shake me, shake me, I pray; my apples, one and all, are ripe,’ it cried. But she only answered, ‘A nice thing to ask me to do, one of the apples might fall on my head,’ and passed on.

    At last she came to Mother Holle’s house, and as she had heard all about the large teeth from her sister, she was not afraid of them, and engaged herself without delay to the old woman.

    The first day she was very obedient and industrious, and exerted herself to please Mother Holle, for she thought of the gold she should get in return. The next day, however, she began to dawdle over her work, and the third day she was more idle still; then she began to lie in bed in the mornings and refused to get up. Worse still, she neglected to make the old woman’s bed properly, and forgot to shake it so that the feathers might fly about. So Mother Holle very soon got tired of her, and told her she might go. The lazy girl was delighted at this, and thought to herself, ‘The gold will soon be mine.’ Mother Holle led her, as she had led her sister, to the broad gateway; but as she was passing through, instead of the shower of gold, a great bucketful of pitch came pouring over her.

    ‘That is in return for your services,’ said the old woman, and she shut the gate.

    So the lazy girl had to go home covered with pitch, and the cock on the well called out as she saw her:

    ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo!
    Your dirty daughter’s come back to you.’

    But, try what she would, she could not get the pitch off and it stuck to her as long as she lived.

  • Library and Internet Research

    Understanding and Using the Library and Internet Research

    What is Library? A library is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both. A library’s collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, micro-form, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audio-books, databases, and other formats. Libraries range in size from a few shelves of books to several million items.

    What is Internet Research? Internet research has had a profound impact on the way ideas are formed and knowledge is created. Common applications of Internet research include personal research on a particular subject (something mentioned on the news, a health problem, etc.), students doing research for academic projects and papers, and journalists and other writers researching stories.

    Research is a broad term. Here, it is used to mean “looking something up (on the Web)”. It includes any activity where a topic is identified, and an effort is made to actively gather information for the purpose of furthering understanding. It may include some post-collection analysis like a concern for quality or synthesis.

    A third approach to generate new business ideas is to conduct library and Internet research. A natural tendency is to think that an idea should be chosen, and the process of researching the idea should then begin. This approach is too linear. Often, the best ideas emerge when the general notion of an idea, like creating casual electronic games for adults, is merged with extensive library and Internet research, which might provide insights into the best type of casual games to create.

    Libraries are often an underutilized source of information for generating business ideas. The best approach to utilizing a library is to discuss your general area of interest with a reference librarian, who can point out useful resources, such as industry-specific magazines, trade journals, and industry reports. Simply browsing through several issues of a trade journal on a topic can spark new ideas. Very powerful search engines and databases are also available through university and large public libraries, which would cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to access on your own. An example is IBIS World (www.ibisworld.com), a company that publishes market research on all major industries and subcategories within industries. IBIS World published a 30-page report on the solar power industry, for example, in March 2011, which includes key statistics (about industry growth and profitability), a complete industry analysis, and an outlook for the future. Spending time reading this report could spark new ideas for solar powered devices or help affirm an existing idea.

    Internet research is also important. If you are starting from scratch, simply typing “new business ideas” into Google or Yahoo! will produce links to newspaper and magazine articles about the “hottest” and “latest” new business ideas. Although these types of articles are general in nature, they represent a starting point if you’re trying to generate new business ideas from scratch. If you have a specific idea in mind, a useful technique is to set up a Google or Yahoo! “e-mail alert” using keywords that pertain to your topic of interest. Google and Yahoo! alerts are e-mail updates of the latest Google or Yahoo! results including press releases, news articles, and blog posts based on your topic. This technique, which is available for free, will feed you a daily stream of news articles and Blog postings about specific topics. Another approach is to follow business leaders and experts in the industries you’re interested in on Twitter. The best way to locate people on Twitter you might be interested in following is by typing into the search bar labeled “Who to Follow” relevant keywords preceded by the “#” sign. For example, if you’re interested in solar power, type “#solar power” into the search bar. All the results will be people or companies who tweet about solar power topics.

    Once an entrepreneur has an idea, it often needs to be shaped and fine-tuned. One way to do this, in conjunction with the suggestions made previously, is to enlist a mentor to help. An explanation of how to use a mentor in this regard, and where mentors can be found, is described in the “Partnering for Success” feature.

    Library VS Internet Research

    Many people are confused about what constitutes library research versus what constitutes Internet research. Some people argue that effective research is never conducted on the Internet, that one needs access to the resources of a library to conduct thorough investigations. People in this camp argue that institutional libraries pay significant sums to provide access to proprietary databases to their customers that is, databases that offer abstracts, bibliographical information, and, oftentimes, full texts of articles published in scholarly journals. Also, research purists may argue that documents published on the Internet lack the authority of research that is peer-reviewed and published by major publishers. Something important to consider is the difference between an Internet resource and an academic resource accessed via the Internet. For example, if I simply Google “research method,” one of my first search results is from about.com – a good resource, but not necessarily an academic resource. Although I can glean about.com for useful information about the generics of a topic like “research methods,” for the purposes of an academic research assignment, it may be wise to use the Internet to access my library’s databases (like Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, etc.) for online access to a plethora of information pertaining to my search term. The Internet hosts a variety of resources, some of which are useful for casual, everyday references (like about.com) and others which are more appropriate for an academic research assignment (like my library’s databases: Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, etc.)

    Because of a misunderstanding about the way in which the Internet serves both purposes (casual, everyday research and formal, academic research) some students report they never use their library’s resources. Studies of the research processes of students have found that many students limit their investigations to search engines such as Google, paying especially close attention to the first eight or so hits on any search. Unfortunately, students who conduct research in this way often end up with sources that they later realize aren’t useful in crafting informed, thorough, formal academic research and/or arguments.

    To conduct effective research, you may need to use both the library and the Internet. Limiting yourself to the library cuts off some very innovative work that may not yet be accessible for your library’s periodical indexes and abstracts. In turn, relying solely on the Internet is like trying to dig a hole with your tongue rather than a shovel: extremely counterproductive and a waste of time.

    Information junkies know arguments for using either the library or the Internet are out of touch with reality. As research libraries increase the number of electronic resources they subscribe to, many traditional resources are now accessible via the Internet although passwords may be required. In other words, distinctions between the library and the Web are blurring.

  • Brainstorming

    What is Brainstorming?

    Meaning of Brainstorming: “Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.”

    Definition of Brainstorming

    Process for generating creative ideas and solutions through intensive and freewheeling group discussion. Every participant is encouraged to think aloud and suggests as many ideas as possible, no matter seemingly how outlandish or bizarre. Analysis, discussion, or criticism of the aired ideas is allowed only when the brainstorming session is over and evaluation session begins. See also lateral thinking and nominal group technique.

    A common way to generate new business ideas is through brainstorming. In general, brainstorming is simply the process of generating several ideas about a specific topic. The approaches range from a person sitting down with a yellow legal pad and jotting down interesting business ideas to formal “brainstorming sessions” led by moderators that involve a group of people.

    In a formal brainstorming session, the leader of the group asks the participants to share their ideas. One person shares an idea, another person reacts to it, another person reacts to the reaction, and so on. A flip chart or an electronic white-board is typically used to record all the ideas. A productive session is freewheeling and lively. The session is not used for analysis or decision making the ideas generated during a brainstorming session need to be filtered and analyzed, but this is done later. Show the four strict rules for conducting a formal brainstorming session. As you’ll see, the number one rule for a brainstorming session is that no criticism is allowed, including chuckles, raised eyebrows, or facial expressions that express skepticism or doubt. Criticism stymies creativity and inhibits the free flow of ideas.

    Formal Brainstorming Session

    I. No criticism is allowed, including chuckles, raised eyebrows, or facial expressions that express skepticism or doubt. Criticism stymies creativity and inhibits the free flow of ideas.
    II. Freewheeling, which is the carefree expression of ideas free from rules or restraints, is encouraged; the more ideas, the better. Even crazy or outlandish ideas may lead to a good idea or a solution to a problem.
    III. The session moves quickly, and nothing is permitted to slow down its pace. For example, it is more important to capture the essence of an idea than to take the time to write it down neatly.
    IV. Leapfrogging is encouraged. This means using one idea as a means of jumping forward quickly to other ideas.

    Brainstorming sessions dedicated to generating new business ideas are often less formal. For example, as described in more detail in Case 11.2, during the creation of Proactiv, a popular acne treatment product, Dr. Katie Rodan, one of the company’s founders, hosted dinner parties at her house and conducted brainstorming sessions with guests. The guests included business executives, market researchers, marketing consultants, an FDA regulatory attorney, and others. Rodan credits this group with helping her and her co-founder brainstorm a number of ideas that helped shape Proactiv and move the process of starting the company forward. Similarly, Sharelle Klause, the founder of Dry Soda, a company that makes an all-natural soda that’s paired with food the way wine is in upscale restaurants, tested her idea by first talking to her husband’s colleagues, who were in the food industry, and then tapped into the professional network of a friend who owned a bottled water company. Through the process, she met a chemist, who was instrumental in helping her develop the initial recipes for her beverage. Klause also went directly to restaurant owners and chefs to ask them to sample early versions of her product. While this approach only loosely fits the definition of brainstorming, the spirit is the same. Klause was bouncing ideas and early prototypes of her product off others to get their reactions and generate additional ideas. DRY Soda is the subject of Case 9.1.

    Approaches to brainstorming are only limited by a person’s imagination. For example, to teach her students an approach to utilizing brainstorming to generate business ideas, Professor Marcene Sonneborn, an adjunct professor at the Whitman School of Management Syracuse University, uses a tool she developed called the “bug report” to help students brainstorm business ideas. She instructs her students to list 75 things that “bug” them in their everyday lives. The number 75 was chosen because it forces students to go beyond thinking about obvious things that bug them (campus parking, roommates, scraping snow off their windshields in the winter), and think more deeply. On occasions, students actually hold focus groups with their friends to brainstorm ideas and fill out their lists.

  • Focus Groups

    What is Focus Groups?

    A focus group is small, but the demographically diverse group of people whose reactions are studied especially in market research or political analysis in guided or open discussions about a new product or something else to determine the reactions that can be expected from a larger population. It is a form of qualitative research consisting of interviews in which a group of people is asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. During this process, the researcher either takes notes or records the vital points he or she is getting from the group. Researchers should select members of the focus group carefully for effective and authoritative responses.

    Define of Focus Groups

    “A group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product before it is launched, or to provide feedback on a political campaign, television series, etc.”

    Definitions of Focus Groups

    Market research: Small number of people (usually between 4 and 15, but typically 8) brought together with a moderator to focus on a specific product or topic. Focus groups aim at a discussion instead of on individual responses to formal questions and produce qualitative data (preferences and beliefs) that may or may not be representative of the general population.

    Problem-solving: Idea generation or forecasting technique where several experts or informed individuals share their point of view on a specific topic or problem.

    A focus group is a gathering of 5 to 10 people who are selected because of their relationship to the issue being discussed. Although focus groups are used for a variety of purposes, they can be used to help generate new business ideas.

    Focus groups typically involve a group of people who are familiar with a topic, are brought together to respond to questions, and shed light on an issue through the give-and-take nature of a group discussion. Focus groups usually work best as a follow-up to brainstorming, when the general idea for a business has been formulated, such as casual electronic games for adults, but further refinement of the idea is needed. Usually, focus groups are conducted by trained moderators. The moderator’s primary goals are to keep the group “focused” and to generate lively discussion. Much of the effectiveness of a focus group session depends on the moderator’s ability to ask questions and keep the discussion on track. For example, a retail establishment in which coffee is sold, such as Starbucks, might conduct a focus group consisting of 7 to 10 frequent customers and ask the group, “What is it that you don’t like about our coffee shop?” A customer may say, “You sell 1-pound bags of your specialty ground coffees for people to brew at home. That’s okay, but I often run out of the coffee in just a few days. Sometimes it’s a week before I get back to the shop to buy another bag. If you sold 3-pound or 5-pound bags, I’d actually use more coffee because I wouldn’t run out so often. I guess I could buy two or three 1-pound bags at the same time, but that gets a little pricey. I’d buy a 3- or 5-pound bag, however, if you’d discount your price a little for larger quantities.” The moderator may then ask the group, “How many people here would buy 3-pound or 5-pound bags of our coffee if they were available?” If five hands shoot up, the coffee shop may have just uncovered an idea for a new product line.

    Some companies utilize hybrid focus group methodologies to achieve specific insights and goals. An example is “college drop-ins.” This approach involves paying college students to host a party at their campus and providing them a budget to buy food and snacks. During the party, the hosts interview and videotape other students about specific market issues. Everything is up-front—the partygoers are told that the information is being collected for a market research firm (on behalf of a client).

    History of Focus Groups

    Focus groups have a long history and were used during the Second World War (1939-1945) to examine the effectiveness of propaganda. Associate director sociologist Robert K. Merton set up focus groups at the Bureau of Applied Social Research in the USA prior to 1976. Psychologist and marketing expert Ernest Dichter coined the term “focus group” itself before his death in 1991.

  • The Creative Process

    The Creative Process

    Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a literary work, or a painting).

    Scholarly interest in creativity involves many definitions and concepts pertaining to a number of disciplines: engineering, psychology, cognitive science, education, philosophy (particularly philosophy of science), technology, theology, sociology, linguistics, business studies, songwriting, and economics, covering the relations between creativity and general intelligence, mental and neurological processes, personality type and creative ability, creativity and mental health; the potential for fostering creativity through education and training, especially as augmented by technology; the maximization of creativity for national economic benefit, and the application of creative resources to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.

    The Creative process can be broken into stages:

    Preparation

    This is the first phase, which most people call “work.” A writer, for example, prepares by writing, by reading, or by revising earlier work. A musician plays scales, chords, or songs; a painter messes with paints or visits an art gallery; an entrepreneur researches problems to solve; a programmer plays with code. In each example, the creative is going through relatively mundane processes.

    The reason I say most people call this phase “work” is that these processes may or may not be inherently enjoyable. They’re also fairly mundane and tedious, but the creative has learned that this process is necessary to plant the seeds that lead to…Preparation is the background, experience, and knowledge that an entrepreneur brings to the opportunity recognition process. Just as an athlete must practice to excel, an entrepreneur needs the experience to spot opportunities. Over time, the results of research suggest that as much as 50 to 90 percent of start-up ideas emerge from a person’s prior work experience.

    Incubation

    Incubation is the stage during which a person considers an idea or thinks about a problem; it is the “mulling things over” phase. Sometimes incubation is a conscious activity, and sometimes it is unconscious and occurs while a person is engaged in another activity. One writer characterized this phenomenon by saying that “ideas churn around below the threshold of consciousness.”

    This would be the mystical process if there were one, because you often don’t know that you’re incubating an idea, or if you do know you’re working on one, you don’t know when it’s going to come out. It’s during this phase that your conscious and subconscious minds are working on the idea, making new connections, separating out unnecessary ideas, and grabbing for other ideas.

    This is the phase that most people mess up the most with distractions and the hustle and bustle of daily lives. Modern life, with its many beeps, buzzes, and distractions, has the strong tendency to grab the attention of both our subconscious and our unconscious mind, and as result, the creative process stops and is instead replaced by more immediate concerns.

    Insight

    Insight is the flash of recognition when the solution to a problem is seen or an idea is born. It is sometimes called the “eureka” experience. In a business context, this is the moment an entrepreneur recognizes an opportunity. Sometimes this experience pushes the process forward, and sometimes it prompts an individual to return to the preparation stage. For example, an entrepreneur may recognize the potential for an opportunity but may feel that more knowledge and thought is required before pursuing it.

    Evaluation

    Evaluation is the stage of the creative process during which an idea is subjected to scrutiny and analyzed for its viability. Many entrepreneurs mistakenly skip this step and try to implement an idea before they’ve made sure it is viable. Evaluation is a particularly challenging stage of the creative process because it requires an entrepreneur to take a candid look at the viability of an idea.

    Elaboration

    Elaboration is the stage during which the creative idea is put into a final form: The details are worked out and the idea is transformed into something of value, such as a new product, service, or business concept. In the case of a new business, this is the point at which a business plan is written.

    Illumination

    This is the “Eureka” moment that many of us spend our days questing after. When it hits, the creative urge is so incredibly strong that we lose track of what else is happening. The driving impulse is to get whatever is going on in our heads down into whatever medium it’s intended for.

    The most frustrating thing for me is that the “illumination” moments happen at the most inopportune times. They invariably happen when I’m in the shower when I’m driving by myself, when I’m working out, or when I’m sitting in mind-numbing meetings that I can’t get out of. Of course, the bad part is as I said above: the impulse is to get the idea out as soon as possible, so it’s not at all uncommon for me to stop showering, driving, or working out and run to the nearest notepad – and, in meetings, I start purging immediately anyway. I’ve yet to gain enough clout to excuse myself from the meetings, but I’m working on it.

    I was speaking to a friend a few weeks ago, and I told her I was frustrated because I was pregnant with ideas and didn’t have time to get them out. Keeping with the analogy, when a Eureka! moment hits, it’s much like labor – you’re done with incubating, and it’s time for…

    Implementation

    This phase is the one in which the idea you’ve been preparing and incubating sees the light of day. It’s when that written piece comes out, when that song flows when that canvas reveals its painting, and so on. It’s also when a good creative starts to evaluate the idea and determine whether it’s good or not – but only after they have enough to see where it’s going.

    Most of the creative I know or work with get really frustrated with others during this phase. Other people only see the creation at the end, and they don’t recognize or care much about the process that generated that idea. This is especially true with some supervisors and bosses who expect the end product on a certain schedule, even though the creative process does not work that way. Creative know that for every good idea, there are at least a few that don’t work out, but they can’t know ahead of time what’s going to work out and what won’t.

    The creative process begins with work and ends with work. The takeaway point here is that creativity is not just percolating and Eureka: it’s percolating and Eureka sandwiched between work phases.