EBays Growth Strategies: An Analysis

EBays Growth Strategies: An Analysis To gain market in India, eBay has to change the way it operates. eBay.in has to develop and implement new strategies for the change management. Using the following table the best theory to use is Lippitts Phases of Change Theory. This theory consists of 7 steps and it mainly focuses on change agents roles and responsibilities compared to evolution of change in the organization. Implementing Lippitts phases of change theory on eBay.in The problem: eBay failed to make its impression in India, one main reason is the countrys internet and technology is still developing unlike in USA, where internet and technology growth reached its maturity level. People in India consider eBay as a virtual market, and so they dont believe in it, when compared to retail and wholesale markets. eBay is unable to adapt the different languages and cultures in the country so it is unknown to most of the people. Motivation and capacity for change: eBay has enough capacity for the change, and to localize itself in various states/cultures it needs to appoint local business people/change agents, who are familiar with local markets and the technology. Increase in fuel price, inflation, and recession are forcing people to choose other methods to purchase products they need, so eBay is the choice people have, and the change agent if able to inspire them the organization will grow strong in the market within few months. Change Agent and Resources: Recruiting those individuals who know the local market as well as have good knowledge about the internet and technology can be helpful. To check the motivation and commitment of the agent, he/she will be assessed through few interviews and other psychological tests. As the organization depends mainly on internet and technology, the required resources are available in India, like manpower, transportation, etc. Progressive change objects: Developing action plans and strategies with respect to different cultures and languages needs those language and culture experts, organization should employee those people before they build their strategies. The main goal here is to gain the customers belief and get close to them so they know the organization. Aims of this process are to decrease complexity and achieve operational excellence. Role of Change Agent: organization should define what they are expecting from the change agent, and change should be clear about what his/her duties are and should make it clear for the organization and other employees, and customers, by which no one gets confused in the process of change. Maintaining the Change: developing new strategies for marketing, like campaigns, advertisements about the organization and how the organization operates is very important for the organization. Taking feedbacks and review helps organization to understand how people are reacting and what are the other changes the organization needs to make, to increase belief on the organization? Change Agent: once organization reached a stage where people are believing in the organization and are able to communicate properly without any problem, the role of change agent should be lessened and the change process should be terminated slowly. What would you do differently if undertaking a project of this nature in the future? Following above steps can increase the belief of the people on the organization, but I would like to concentrate on one specific point i.e. existence of the organization in the virtual environment. The main reason, why people dont believe the eBay.in is because of its virtual existence, and I would like to change that in to physical existence. Both buyers and sellers are customers of the organization and they can do it online, but I would like to provide a small place/ business centre where people can come and meet directly and exchange goods or products. By this process people will be more attracted towards the organization and customers belief towards the organization increases. However, this contradicts with the idea of online marketing but, this process should be and will be followed only for few days, until and up to the organization gains the belief of its customers. And we use this business centre only for those customers who are willing to come and for complex situations to reduce complexity. Factors which can influence the change management process Power: many organizations follow hierarchical power i.e. managers take decisions, sometimes with the support of employees and sometimes without the support of employees, about the process and strategies that organization is going to follow. Here management of eBay considers buyers and sellers are equally powerful to make their own decisions. Culture: eBay is a massive community with unique culture. In the site individuals can find articles offering wider information than just auction listing or price lists or web site tools. eBay creates opportunities for people, it cares its customers, and making a difference in the world. It explains us the unique psychology, attitudes, and beliefs and values of the management and founders of eBay. Communication: organizational communication and interpersonal communication plays a vital role in effective change management. Organization communication is leader communicating with the employees through meeting, conferences, or electronic mails. This information in general is for everyone in the organization to explain new strategies or action plans to its employees. Interpersonal communication is communication between management and employees, in general to provide information on what they are expecting from the employees and what organization aims at. It is also useful in taking feedbacks as not all the employees work and learns at same-pace. Interpersonal communication increases relationship between employees and management which is very important for an organization to sustaining change. Conclusion: eBay was able to make a strong impact on the market in USA, UK, etc. because the growth of technology in these countries was too high. eBay inc primarily depend on the internet for its existence and without internet and technology it cannot exists. In countries like India, where internet and technology is still growing and didnt reach its maturity level, it is hard for the organization to grow and make an impact on the market. Education level of the customers also plays an important role in online business, developing new software to make selling and buying process simple also plays a role in the development of the organization. Technology is a macro environmental factor, meaning organizations like eBay cannot control or increase the growth of technology in markets like India. So, developing new strategies like building physical existence rather than virtual existence can make a difference, it is not necessary to start a retail market but proving a business centre, where people can come in case of necessary and delivery issues can increase belief of customers on the organization. Providing local language call centres and customers support centres also helps organization to grow in the developing markets. Change is necessary in the present world, increase in globalization and internationalization is forcing organization to change and develop new strategies to gain the markets and customers. Because of increase in competition organizations are changing their products and markets to gain competitive advantage. In one way or another change is coming into the organizations, and managing change is very important as improper manage of change can destroy organization. An American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang | Analysis An American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang | Analysis According to Chun, who has studied the typical Asian American stereotypes and the myth of their success, Asian American descendants have been pressured into assimilating within an inflexible mold of Americanization to avoid the anti-Oriental stereotypes and prejudices of American society (The Myth). Chuns observation indicates that minority youth in the United States are constantly hard pressed by the biased and unequal educational system that is majorly dominated by those who enjoy white privileges. Shim argues in his article, which introduces the history of yellow stereotypes in America since 1800s, that the entertainment industry plays a critical role to enforce and expand racist practices through the false presentation of Asian stereotypes (From Yellow). Based on the strong influence of the media to young generations, stereotypes are extensively imitated and exercised at schools. In American Born Chinese, a graphic novel written by an Asian American immigrant Gene Luen Yang, the author successfully communicates to the audience of unjustified stereotypes faced by Asian American youth that equally share his cultural background at schools (American). Themes Yangs primary message of the novel is to persuade students to overcome racial adversities and accept their true identities. He effectively utilizes pathos in the scenes where everyone dislikes Chin-Kees abnormal behavior and where Jin constantly has to fight against Asian stereotypes to highlight the hardships of acculturation of young generation in America. On the other hand, the implicit message of the novel is to allow educators to notice and seek for solutions on racial discrimination against non-white groups students that discourage their academic motivation and cultural preservation. In light of Yangs primary and secondary messages, the audience can learn that culture is not static or inherent for anyone. Instead, it is reproduced and learned by young generation as an account of evolving and complex progress through educational experience. Yang appeals to the greatest level of audience with three different genres and demonstrate to them the idea that minority youth culture is s haped and distorted in academic environment through the use of stereotyped behaviors, provocative language and ironic caricatures of Chin-Kee in the novel. Yang adopts three genres to targets audience from the general category of those who endeavor to identify their cultural heritage to the non-white minority groups in the American society. He expresses in an interview that, My Chinese heritage informs the way that I am an American (Youtube). These words indicate that Yang wants to draw the attention of Asian American immigrant specifically through the novel because of his academic experience. Nonetheless, the books increasing popularity successfully brought the attention of educators and critics of American power structures. He is able to reach different levels of audience for the reason that multi-culture education reflects the interaction of each individual pupil with the institutional system as well as the more complex economic-political society. Furthermore, Yang uses the comic book as the main genre, for that he regards comics as an individualistic pursuit that is intimate and reflective (Youtube). He also adopts sub-genres of sup erhero fiction and coming-of-age story in the novel to incorporate two different styles of stories that interrelate to each other. Three characters are portrayed by Yang in each story. All of them similarly feel the age to become Americanized with the expense of their original identity. The central characters include the Monkey King, who represents a superhero from the famous Chinese tale and Jin, who transforms himself into a typical white guy Danny to assimilate into American society. Yangs technique to adapt the old tale of Monkey King with some Catholic Elements proves that he successfully attracts not only Chinese American immigrants but also the audience from the dominant white culture. In addition, his own experience is reflected through the coming-of-age story, which persuades the wide range of audience of the novels credibility under the backdrop. In light of these methods, he inspires audience from various minority groups to discover and respect their cultural heritage. Stereotyped behaviors of Chin-Kee and Jin are depicted in the novel to present the distorted minority youth culture. Such students constantly face the hardships to accommodate and acculturate into American society. In anthropological terms, incommensurability refers to the fact that there are certain aspects of one culture that are hard for people from another culture to comprehend. According to American Born Chinese, Yang exaggerates scenes where Chin-Kee and Jin are constantly teased or excluded for the stereotyped behaviors by their white counterparts at school in order to reflect the incommensurable groups from the dominant culture. For instance, all the white students around Chin-Kee widely discuss about the fact that he eats crispy fried cat gizzards with noodle. Furthermore, the little white boy looks down upon Jin, who is introduced by the teacher on the first day of class. His expression very serious and disdainful, the boy insists that, My momma says Chinese people eat dogs . Yang goes on further to make the teacher respond that she thinks Jins family probably abandoned their old habit because they are eager to become like Americans (American Born Chinese).This two scenes indicates that the white students are unconsciously distinguishing between what we eat and what he eats. They fail to understand that this type of food, which they critically comment on, should not contribute to the reason why they regard their culture as more superior. As I have observed, Germans are frenzied about roasted pork feet. Also, Americans eat spam, a type of canned pork regularly. However, people from Islamic culture developed their eating habits that regard pork as dirty and inedible. Thus, the selection of food by people from different cultural backgrounds is idiosyncratic, and it should not be disrespected by anyone, for that otherwise the person automatically denies a part of his or her own culture. In the second scene, Yang intends to emphasize that educators should c ircumvent inequality and stereotypes while using their cultural power to teach students knowledge and the political structure. He arouses the audiences sympathy by presenting the critical stereotypes that the little boy Jin, who barely started his first day at an elementary school, has to experience. Jin not only encountered biased opinions from the teacher, but also the fellow classmates who spread rumors about his unusual relationship with a Japanese girl, Suzy Nakamura. At this point, the fact that white students concluded that Jin would marry Suzy once again implicates the students inability to notice that there are remarkable distinction between Chinese and Japanese culture although they both share the same Asian root. To a larger extent, the dominant groups falsely regard themselves as the mainstream culture and marked off a line between white society and the rest of others. This belief results in a subtraction process of minority youth culture that causes them to question the value of their original culture. Yang depicts the stereotyped opinions of Jins teachers and classmates to infer how academic environment influences Asian American immigrants like Jin to build their cultural identity. They need to constantly struggle between their original Asian blood and new Asian American citizenship. Also, through creating stereotypes from different angles of students and teachers toward Jin and Chin-Kee, Yang is able to persuade the audience that culture is a process that maintains the larger stratified system in American society. For instance, Jin assumes that he is not accepted by the dominant culture because of his racial identity. As a result of the cultural tension, he goes so far in the story as to transform himself into a white guy, Danny. Ironically, he ends up at a Chinese cafà © drinking Boba tea with Wei-Chen, the monkey, in a similar vein, who symbolically transforms into a human being. Jin abandons the American identity that he dreamed about. In this circumstance, the academic envir onment forced Jin to fight against his Chinese background to assimilate into the American society where white people rule the dominant culture. Yang deliberately set up the ending in which Jin ultimately recognizes that he should learn to appreciate his part of Chinese origin. This allows the minority immigrants under the similar context to understand that each culture encompasses unique practices and knowledge. The incommensurability is the product of students engagement in school activates. As a result, Yang shows how interactions among individuals empower the meaning of culture. He intends to emphasize that educators are responsible to inform the significance of culture and clarify the power structures beyond academic competence. Yang enhances the effect of Asian American stereotypes by applying rhetorical skills such as provocative language and ironic caricatures. Readers and Yang himself consider the language in American Born Chinese as unnecessarily crass (Yang, Kartika Review). Yang utilizes this style of language to transfer the idea that biased interrelationship of different cultures is unhealthy and uncivilized in a similar token. Furthermore, the categorized power structure influences younger generation to shape their notions toward a diversity of experience at school. For instance, Timmy, the white boy from Jins elementary school refers to Jin as bucktooth without any hesitation. He does not care what harm he causes Jin. On the other hand, Timmy changes his tone when he calls the other white friend Pansy Boy to a whisper due to his serious demand. Yangs use of transitional language here reflects Timmys perception of his position in the society. He visions white culture as more powerful and privileged , so that he verbally bullying the inferior races and compromise with the kid from his superior group. Lastly, Yang draws caricatures in the novel to symbolically refer to the exaggerated stereotypes that are placed on Asian American immigrants. For instance, Chin-Kee wears outdated clothing and has a physical appearance that looks like underdeveloped human beings. Also, Chin-Kee never changes his outfit throughout the novel and has long hair that only past ancestors do in China. Thus, through combining the Asian American stereotypes throughout the book with rhetorical devices such as language and caricatures, Yang successfully delivers the message that culture is not inherited but instead a process that is learned and shaped by power structures in the society through educational means. It is also described in the article Culture as Disability, written by McDermott and Varenne, that culture reveals not broken person but identifications neatly tuned to the workings of institutions serving political and economic ends. Yang intends to persuade educators that they should start to notice that it is their responsibility to respect each cultural practice and value. Although racial discrimination is hard to extinguish in the society, it is possible to educate young generation to appreciate their cultural heritage while assimilating into the American society. Most importantly, instructors should clarify the opportunity structure under the socio-economic context and ne atly tuned to explain the process of cultural construction. In this fashion, young generation may obtain different perspectives from It is because we are minority groups to We can make a difference because we are no different than people from the dominant culture. Electrical Stimulus in a Frog Muscle: Experiment Electrical Stimulus in a Frog Muscle: Experiment Frogs are keystone species, an essential organism to aquatic ecosystems. They have both terrestrial and aquatic niches as predators and prey and serve as indicator species to assess the response of ecosystems to environmental change. To execute daily locomotion patterns, frogs use skeletal muscles. We wanted to determine the relationship between the strength of the stimulus and the response of the muscle. We also wanted to measure the amplitude of contraction produced in a muscle that is stimulated with repeated pulses delivered at progressively higher frequencies. We hypothesized that increasing stimulus voltage in the gastrocnemius muscle of a frog will result in an increase in stimulation amplitude and that an increase in stimulation frequency at a constant voltage will result in an increase in force generated by the muscle up until a point where it plateaus. We found that our hypotheses were supported and that muscle regulation was via temporal and spatial recruitment. This study is important because it serves as a model for understanding skeletal muscle mechanisms in other organisms including humans. Frogs are widely distributed terrestrial amphibians that inhabit upland and wetland regions, found on all continents of the world except Antarctica. Many frog species, in both larval and adult stages serve as important prey for larger predators including fish, raccoons, snakes and birds of prey (Chalcraft and Resetarits 2003; Auniola and Kauhala 2001). Additionally frogs serve an important role as indicators of environmental stress (King 2010). A review of complex systems in temporary ponds by Wilbur (1997) makes the argument that frogs have two distinct niches, one terrestrial and one aquatic. Wilbur states all frogs with free-living larvae change at metamorphosis from aquatic omnivorous tadpoles to amphibious carnivorous adults. The role of such connections among food webs is a fruitful area for both theoretical and empirical research because the foraging of animals across ectones may be an important biological mechanism linking elements of the mosaics of habitats that form landsca pes. One trait frogs are most known for is locomotion. Frogs typically display two type of locomotion: jumping and swimming. Though frogs are traditionally presented as jump specialists most species also swim (Navas et al. 1999). Frogs exhibit these locomotive behaviors for a variety of reasons including escaping predators, often times by a short set of quick and powerful jumps (Carvalho, Gomes and Navas 2007). Frog locomotion is dependent on muscles, particularly skeletal muscles, which are muscles connected to the skeleton (Marsh and Olson 1998). Skeletal muscles are organized beginning with units called sarcomeres. A sarcomere consists of two opposing vertical Z-line discs each with actin filaments attached. A myosin filament floats between each horizontal actin section. Sarcomeres are connected to each other by Z-lines. One mechanism of muscle contraction begins with the sliding of the actin and myosin filaments. Parts of the myosin, known as myosin heads, bind to the free end of the actin, the end not attached to the Z-line, and pull it one way toward the center of the mysosin, in an accordian-like mechanism. The muscle shortens or contracts because the sarcomeres shorten. The process by which the myosin binds to the actin is called the Cross-Bridge cycle. The binding of the myosin to actin is the trigger for the myosin head to tilt and release an ADP and a P as well as a powerstroke. ATP binds to the myosin head and the myosin releases the actin, in a softening effect. The ATP is hydrolyzed and delivers energy to moved the mysosin head back and it is ready for the next powerstroke. The sarcomeres move closer together by many of these powerstrokes occurring one after the other. In the Cross-Bridge cycle myosin is normally prevented from binding to the actin. Another protein called tropomyosin, which is wrapped around the actin, is in the way to block the actin-myosin binding site. Another protein, troponin, is attached to the tropomyosin and when triggered, moves the troponin away to allow the binding to occur. But what triggers the tropomyosin to move the troponin? The simple answer is calcium and this occurs in a process called excitation-contraction coupling. In excitation-contraction coupling an action potential or electrical stimulus, runs down a T-tubule in the muscle fiber. The stimulus reaches a ryanodyne receptor which opens ion channels in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, a storage space for calcium in the muscle fibers. Once the ion channels are opened, calcium runs out into the cell. For the muscle to relax or return to its original resting position, calcium must be moved back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum by a SERCA pump. Because calcium is being moved against a concentration gradient, this relaxation requires ATP. The SERCA pump lowers calcium levels in the cytosol or cell and when the calcium is taken up again the muscle relaxes. Since muscles are not contracting all the time muscle contraction must be regulated. Regulating the muscles allows frogs to change aspects of locomotive behavior, such as how far a frog is able to jump. Muscle contraction force can be regulated by calcium in three mechanisms: temporal recruitment, in which the firing rate at which individual motor neurons fire is changed; spatial recruitment, in which the number of active motor units is changed; and the length-tension relationship, in which the sarcomere length is changed to generate tension. This study focuses on the force of muscle contraction via temporal and spatial recruitment. In temporal recruitment, the frequency of the action potential is changed, usually increased, so that more calcium is released into the muscle cell. More calcium in the cell results in more tension generated. Another mechanism for the regulation of muscle contraction force is motor unit recruitment, also known as spatial recruitment. A motor unit is comprised of muscle fibers and a motor neuron. There are different amounts of fibers per motor unit. In spatial recruitment the number of active motor units is increased to increase the strength of muscle contraction. More motor units means that more muscle fibers can be stimulated. If only half of the muscle fibers are stimulated, only half the amount of force will be generated. If all of the muscle fibers are stimulated, the maximum amount of force will be generated. We hypothesized that if we increase voltage of an electrical stimulus in a frog muscle we will see an increase in stimulation amplitude and if we increase stimulation frequency at a constant voltage, we will see an increase in force generated by the muscle up until a point where it plateaus. Materials Methods: We used the gastrocnemius muscle of a frog in two experiments. In the first experiment we used a single stimulus, changing the voltage of the stimulus from 0 volts to 2.0 volts. The force of the muscle was recorded. In the second experiment we stimulated the muscle in series of ten using a constant voltage identified in the first experiment. The frequency of the stimuli was progressively increased starting at 0.5 and ending at 30 Hz. Results: Our results showed that as the stimulus increases the amplitude of the muscle twitches increases up until a point where it plateaus. Our results also showed that as the stimulation frequency increases the passive tension of the muscle increase up until a point where it plateaus. Figure 1 shows a normalized graph for the effects of increasing stimulus on the amplitude of muscle twitches in the gastrocnemius muscle of a frog. The x-axis is the recorded stimulus in volts and the y-axis is the amplitude of the twitches (displayed as a percentage of the maximum). The graph shows that as the stimulus increases the amplitude of the muscle twitches increases up until a point where it plateaus. Table 1 shows a set of group data from the first experiment, in which amplitude and times of muscle twitches were generated by stimulus pulses of different amplitudes. As in Figure 1, Table 1 shows that as the stimulus increases the amplitude of the muscle twitches increases up until a point where it plateaus. The contraction time and latency period remains largely unchanged with changing stimulus amplitude. Figure 2 shows a normalized graph for the effects of increasing stimulation frequency on the passive tension in the gastrocnemius muscle of a frog. The x-axis is the stimulus frequency in hertz and the y-axis is the passive tension in the muscle (displayed as a percentage of the maximum). The graph shows that as the stimulation frequency increases the passive tension of the muscle increase up until a point where it plateaus. Table 2 shows a set of group data from the second experiment, in which the strength of muscle contraction was examined during mechanical summation and tetanus. As in Figure 2, Table 2 shows that as the stimulus increases the amplitude of the muscle twitches increases up until a point where it plateaus. The amplitude of the first twitch remains largely unchanged with changing stimulus amplitude. Discussion: The data shows that the direct electrical stimulation produces contraction of the muscle via motor units. A little bit of force is generated when a few of these motor units are being used and a lot of force is generated when lots of motor units are being used. The muscle does not respond to the low stimulus voltages because the electrical stimulus is not directly touching the muscle, it is touching the surrounding connective tissue. The low stimulus voltages are not strong enough to penetrate the tissue. As noted in Figure 1 and Table 1 the amplitude of the muscle response increases with increasing stimulus voltages. This is so because more and more of the muscle mass is stimulated as the voltages increase. At high stimulus voltages, the muscle response reaches maximum amplitude. The muscle response does not continue to increase with increasing stimulus voltages because the muscle is already functioning at the best of its ability. The muscle cells have reached the point where all the troponins are activated by calcium. Releasing more calcium into the cell will not result in any more tension generated, as the system is already working at its maximum capacity. Latency is the interval between stimulus and a response to the stimulus, here meaning muscle contraction. Over this period, the action potential sweeps across the cell membrane of the muscle cell and the sarcoplasmic reticulum releases calcium ions. The muscle fiber does not produce tension during the latent period, because the contraction cycle has yet to begin. The latency period in this study was constant at 0.025 seconds.This result been found by anyone else and it seems does not vary among other species, since it is roughly the same for humans (Hamilton and Osborn 1977). Since contraction amplitude is dependent upon the increases in concentration and persistence of intracellular calcium, the question of why the contraction amplitudes of single twitches are the same is raised. This can be explained because the same amount of calcium is being put in for the same repeated event. As noted in Table 2, the amplitude of the first twitch seems to be constant (value). This can be explained because the muscle is utilizing the same amount of calcium and is thus generating the same amount of force. Tetanus is the complete contraction of a muscle. Tetanus requires high stimulus frequencies. This tells us that the calcium re-uptake by the sarcoplasmic reticulum is slower than the original release. The rate of muscle relaxation is much slower after tetanus than after a single twitch because more calcium needs to be re-taken up and it takes longer to get all the extra added calcium back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum. A study on jumping bullfrogs by Marsh and Roberts reveals two points of interest: first, frogs jump farther than they should, considering only the force their muscles are able to generate. Second, muscles are able to do the most work when they contract slowly, however frog jumping involves a very rapid movement. They explain that by separating the performance of muscular work from the application of mechanical work to the body, a catapult-like mechanism, which works by loading elastic elements into the limbs prior to initiating a jump, overcomes the constraints of skeletal muscle function (Marsh and Roberts 2003). Another study by Aerts and Nauwelaerts (2006) indicates that by taking more small jumps as opposed to fewer larger jumps, frogs can increase their flexibility in movement because they would be able to change direction during the forward movement part jumping. Theoretically this means they would spend less time in the same spot during landing and recovery of the jumping cycle, which makes them more likely to be snatched by a predator. Frogs have physiological mechanisms that have enabled their muscles to generate enough force for jumping and swimming locomotion including changing the frequency of the action potential and increasing the number of active motor units. As mentioned before, frogs are a keystone species, meaning other organisms rely on it and not always directly in a predator-prey relationship. Without frogs, food webs would collapse and lead to the demise of many other species and potentially entire ecosystems. This study is important because it serves as a model for understanding skeletal muscle mechanisms in other organisms including humans.