Police and SWAT Teams

SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics, and is an extremely important branch of Law Enforcement that is primarily designed for subduing heavily armed criminals and saving the lives of many. SWAT is even considered the most important job in the Law Enforcement branch, and for convincing reasons. Some have the opinion that SWAT teams are intimidating to the public do to their military-styled tactics and operational procedures. However, it is these frightening tactics that save lives and eliminate serious criminal threats. These days there are extremely violent criminals, heavily armed gangs, large drug cartels, and the public needs capable units for protection. It is SWAT’s job to come in when the situation is considered out of regular police officer abilities. These situations include hostage rescue, high risk search warrants and anti terrorism. Is SWAT really necessary? The answer is an outrageous YES, SWAT is a necessity! Couldn’t police officers take care of the situations that we have SWAT for? The answer is an incredible NO; the regular police force does not have what it takes to fulfill SWAT duties. With the threat of terrorism on the rise and the new technology this century has brought about, the role of SWAT teams has expanded, and their importance has never been greater. Police officers are not enough when it comes down to the safety of USA citizens, and SWAT teams are needed to take care of the deadly criminals and resolve high risk situations that today may present in the quickest and most effective way possible. Without SWAT, it would be like August 1, 1966 all over again, a tragic incident that showed the need for a special team designed for high risk situations. SWAT is simply a necessity to keep all American citizens from being victims of dangerous criminals. Without SWAT, our defense against crime would depend primarily on the regular the police force, and as The Texas Clock Tower Shooting showed, that is not enough. On august 1, 1966, a man named Charles Joseph Whitman randomly killed over a dozen people and wounded another 30 or more from the top of the University of Texas clock tower in Austin in under 90 min with his high powered rifle. The police force was so uncoordinated for a situation like this, that even though they got there within minutes, they were unable to stop the rampage of the â€Å"Texas Tower Sniper† for over 90 minutes. It is even said that there was a large amount of luck involved in stopping him when they did. August 1 was the birth date of SWAT because it was on that day that Law Enforcement realized that they needed special plans for these types of situations. Though the police officers involved were undoubtedly performing to the best of their abilities, they did not have the type of tactical training or special weapons needed to quickly suppress this type of violent crime. This devastating massacre opened the eyes of America, and put a spot light on how truly vulnerable the everyday person really was. No one could feel safe if something didn’t change, for as Charles Whitman showed, even an honor student could create such a tragic scene. It was then that Chiefs of police decided that they needed to have teams of officers with equipment and training to carry out special plans for these types of incidents. In this day, 2010, our country would be devastated by deadly crime sprees without SWAT teams. If one man could create such havoc in 1966 with a hunting rifle, imagine what would happen in this day and age with the new technology and groups of organized crime such as terrorists. Police officers do not have the training to deal with dangerous hostage situations. Nor do police officers have the ability to eliminate terrorist threats, or subdue heavily armed criminals. SWAT teams are a necessity for the protection of innocent American citizens. One main reason why police officers are insufficient for carrying out SWAT duties is their training and abilities. SWAT officers are trained specifically to work as a team, usually consisting of four officers, to carry out their duties in the fastest way possible, with the absolute most organization in any given situation, and to do so with the very minimum number of casualties attainable. Team members have to gel and work together as a cohesive unit and this is accomplished by training, training, and more training†(http://ezinearticles. com/? The-Swat-Team&id=646368). Swat Training or Tests include a written exam, fitness test, firearms test, review board, and psychological evaluation. The fitness test consists of maximum bench press rep, maximum leg press rep, most pushups acquired within one mi nute with perfect form, maximum sit-ups reached within a one minute time period, a timed 1. 5 mile run, 300 yard sprint, and 150 lb dummy exercises are the bare minimum. Some teams have more difficult fitness training or tests that can even involve swimming. The firearms test consists of target acquisition drills, rapid fire sequences drills, shooting on the move drills, and mechanical knowledge of weapon operation testing. Review board is an exercise or test to see if the individual has the ability to â€Å"think on their feet and gain insight into their suitability for assignment. A great amount of information may be gained from a candidate including personality type, the amount of preparation they put into testing, their ability to work as part of a team, and their level of commitment. Some interviews may also require the candidate make a presentation on a SWAT-related topic† (http://www. specialoperations. com/Domestic/SWAT/swattraining. html). Special Weapons and Tactics teams are on call every hour of every day, even when considered â€Å"off duty†. SWAT duties are all of high risk, requiring SWAT officers to be a person that is not flustered easily, and with a very high level of maturity. What’s great about SWAT officers is that they are often also police officers as well. Police officers that fit the criteria are trained to be SWAT officers. When a situation needing the SWAT profession is presented, then the officers of the Special Weapons and Tactics team are called upon. This means that not only do you have a SWAT team, but you get well trained officers on duty until their SWAT duties call. SWAT duties include, but are not limited to, â€Å"Sniper Situations, Barricaded Suspects, Hostage Situations, Dignitary Protection, Civil Disturbance, Search & Arrest Warrants, Armed Suspect, Narcotics Raids, Anti Terrorism† (http://www. hollywoodpolice. org/special_units/swatteam. tm). It is plain to see, that SWAT teams are not around for directing traffic or calming domestic disputes, but only serious and deadly conditions that involve high stress and need to be eliminated as quickly and safely as possible. However, training to be a police officer is much different than training to be a SWAT officer, as is their duties. Policemen aren’t tested nearly as much for physical ability, how well they can â€Å"think on t heir feet† or problem solve fast and efficiently, or even how well they can shoot. Police officers are trained to perform or take care of situations that most likely include, â€Å"conducting patrol duties on foot and by car and bicycle, responding to calls and requests from the public to assist, domestic disputes, fires and public disorder, attending road-related incidents including collision scenes, vehicle check points and traffic offences, delivering death and hospital messages to families, conducting initial investigations, gathering evidence, taking statements, interviewing suspects and victims as well as witnesses, searching individuals or personal property like vehicles, and conducting arrests† (http://www. rospects. ac. uk/p/types_of_job/police_officer_job_description. jsp). If one was to look, one would find that police officers are not qualified for even the very basic SWAT situation. Police training just simply doesn’t prepare officers to carry out SWAT duties proficiently, if even at all. Simply put, police officers are around to keep the peace and prevent serious situations from breaking out. In general, policemen are here to, â€Å"protect and serve† (http://ezinearticles. com/? Duties-of-a-Police-Officer&id=1835924). What if the peace is already gone, and can no longer be kept? What happens when protecting and serving isn’t enough, for the people of America are already in harm’s way? That is the core reason for the existence of SWAT teams all around the United States. When the serious situations find ways around the defense of the police force and present themselves, it is then that SWAT, Law Enforcement’s best defense, is called upon by the people of America for protection. Another reason why SWAT teams are needed, and police officers alone are not enough, is this day and age we live in. In 1966, just one man was able to raise havoc with just an arsenal of, â€Å"three rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, two handguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a five gallon container of water, some sandwiches, and a can of gasoline†(Captain Robert L. Snow, pp. 1-7). The police force could not stop one man before he randomly killed over a dozen innocent people passing by the University on a beautiful summer day, and wound close to forty victims enjoying the sun. There is no doubt in my mind that if police officers were not enough then, they are not enough now. It is especially critical that we don’t just depend on the police force now as we did back then do to the new technology. If the events of august 1st 1966 were to reoccur in the present with our new resources and improved arsenal, but no SWAT team, the outcome would be devastating. Imagine the number of casualties if a man went on a rampage today as happened on august 1st, but instead was equipped with assault rifles, sniper rifles, explosives, and even deadly chemical threats like anthrax. For example, a weapon under development called the â€Å"Metal Storm† fires an excess of one million rounds per minute. One burst of over a thousand bullets is fired so quickly that it sounds as if one bullet was shot. It is said that, â€Å"A computerized fire control system precisely controls the firing signal to each round in the barrel. As there is no need to mechanically reload the barrel after each round is fired, Metal Storm has complete control over the timing and rate of fire. As a result, the weapon can be used to deliver a single round or dozens of rounds instantaneously at the target. † (http://www. metalstorm. com/content/view/64/109/). Aside from that, there are even such things as automatic pistols today such as the â€Å"Ingram M11† that can fire 1200 rounds per minute. This new technology allows a frenzy of over one million bullets to be hurled at a target. The fastest firearms of the 1960’s were automatic assault rifles like the AK-47. These automatic assault rifles fired close to six hundred rounds a minute, which doesn’t even come close to competing with the rate of fire of newly discovered weapons. With an unorganized and badly prepared police force, people may keep dying until the criminal runs out of ammunition and materials, and that is not expectable. With a SWAT team however, America can breathe a bit easier for many reasons. SWAT teams are trained specifically to prevent these certain tragedies, and they too have an adequate arsenal. The basic SWAT team is equipped with, â€Å"the Heckler & Koch 9mm MP5 Submachine Gun, the Colt . 45, Glock . 40-. 45, or the Smith & Wesson . 40-. 45, CS gas, flash bangs, tear gas, Tactical vests, and sometimes helmets†(http://fcswat. tripod. com/faq. htm). This equipment is also why SWAT is called upon, as shown in this following situation that could have turned very bad if not for SWAT. â€Å"Officers said they heard the sound of ammunition eing chambered in a shotgun (or racked), according to CPD Sgt. Rich Weiner. Officers backed off, set up a perimeter and called in SWAT. SWAT arrived at the complex shortly after 12:30 p. m. Medics already were on the scene. Police blocked off the apartment complex; no one could enter or exit the complex. Residents also were evacuated from their apartm ents during the standoff. SWAT shot tear gas into the apartment and arrested the suspect without further incident before 3 p. m. † (http://www2. nbc4i. com/cmh/news/crime/article/cpd_swat_responds_to_apartment_complex/32010/). I can say with confidence, that had there been SWAT teams available on august 1st, 1966, Charles Whitman would have been stopped at least twice as quick, maybe even prevented. Finally, we must have SWAT teams to deal the increase in terrorist activities. SWAT teams have not been called on for many terrorist activities yet, for there haven’t been many terrorist attacks on United States soil. SWAT training for Terrorist attacks is mostly a plan, but a very important plan. In already having an organized and thought out plan, SWAT will be prepared to protect America if terrorists do attempt anything in the United States of America. As SWAT Officer Lt. Andrew Esposito says, â€Å"The threat of an international terrorist attack against our country is not to be taken lightly by law enforcement professionals† and also states â€Å"As professional police officers we are all aware of the threat. The training is out there to provide information and resources on how to deal with terrorism, whether it is domestic or foreign. †(http://www. infowars. com/swat-officer-says-posse-comitatus-makes-u-s-vulnerable-to-terror/). Thanks to SWAT teams, we have a defense if terrorists’ attacks start to break out in our nation due to the training and existence of a plan. Before SWAT teams, there wasn’t even a plan, or a single idea of what to do in case of a terrorist attack. Terrorism isn’t taken lightly, especially since 911, which is why courses have been provided. â€Å"From October 2008 to October 2009, Security Solutions International (SSI) conducted 12 SWAT Counter Terrorism courses around the country with hosting agencies. The courses have been taught on the East Coast, on the West Coast and in the Midwest, with a total of 48 LE agencies. †(http://www. thecounterterroristmag. com/pdf/CTMAG. DecJan09. SWAT. Trai ningReview. ores. pdf). That’s the most important thing, a well organized plan, with officers trained and capable of carrying the plan out. In brief, 2010 brings a new threat to the safety of anyone and everyone in the United States of America. The Law Enforcement we currently have is of utmost certainly a necessity to protect Americans from any threats. The twenty-first century brings new technology to the desperate hands of deadly criminals, and gives these Law breakers the opportunity to pose much more of a threat than they ever could in 1966 or anytime before now. Improved automatic rifles bring unlawful citizens the ability to hurl monumental amounts of bullets into crowds of people in less than half the time. Improved technology in ballistics and scopes allows criminals to post up with high powered sniper rifles and carelessly pluck off innocent victim after victim from a mile away with deadly accuracy. New and easier ways of manufacturing more powerful explosives have made it easier for murderers to demolish whole buildings full of people, a massacre of grate loss in less than 10 seconds. Toxic chemical threats, an invisible airborne killer, could be released in densely populated areas, killing all exposed to it with no mercy. Organizations bent on burning down America could strike at any opportune moment, and it would take more than police officers to save our friends and family from their ruthless attacks. The list is a sad one, and it could keep going, but it doesn’t need to. Any one of those scenarios is creditable of being able to take lives, and to save those lives is more than just a worthy reason to have SWAT teams in full swing. It is the purpose of SWAT’s existence.

Analysis of semco and pixar animated studio as an example of innovative organizations

Companies like Semco, Gore and Associate, 3M and Pixar have made a reputation for themselves due to their emphasis on creativity. Innovation is a product of collaborative learning, idea generation, sharing and idea realization practices of workers in an organization (Dovey, 2009, p.311). For innovation to occur an organisation must foster an environment and culture that give room for creativity which is what Semco and Pixar have achieved. To this end, this report will analyse Semco and Pixar as an exemplar of innovative companies and the relationship that exist between them using some key theories of innovation and the defining features and managerial actions that set them apart as innovative organisations. SEMCO Semco is a loose organisation that encourages innovation and self organisation leading to trust, collaboration and cooperation. Semco was a small family engineering company originally called Semler and Company established in 1952 in Sao Paulo, Brazil by Antonio Curt Semler and renamed Semco after Ricardo Semler, the 24 year old son of the owner resumed office as the new chief executive officer in 1984, firing more than half of the top managers on his first day of resuming office as chief executive officer and eliminated all secretarial positions (CNN, 2004). The company prior to Ricardo taking over was characterised with autocratic style of management with control and rules being the order of the day and operating at the edge of collapse. Ricardo Semler favours a participating style of management, profit sharing and free flow of information. The company product range includes dishwashers, pumps, mixers, cooling units for air condition, biscuits factories among others (Semler 1999, p. 1). It is one of the most innovative companies in the world and has become the subject of study for most business schools all around the world due to its peculiar management style. There is no organisation structure that feeds managers ego, subordinates choose their own bosses, employees set their salaries, production targets and achieve them at their own time, and are encouraged to participate, share ideas and also share in the profit (Semler 1999, pp.1-7, 130 131). PIXAR Pixar animated studio was established in 1986 after Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucas films for $10 million with Ed Catmull being named co-founder and Chief technical officer, Smith as vice president alongside Steve Jobs (Price, 2008, p.74 85-197). In 2001, Ed Catmull was named Pixar’s president. The company originally manufactures and sell hardware and software that enable computer graphics to develop animations. In 1987, the company began the making of short films with its first computer generated movie, Toy Story being released in 1995. The company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney acquired 2006 at $7.4 billion and located in Emeryville, California (Paik, 2007). The acquisition will help Pixar gain economies of scale and access to new technologies. Pixar has a range of films under its belt that has surpassed box office expectations from Rango, Hop, Toy Story 3, finding Nemo, the incredible and many others (Emerald Group Review, 2 011). Its target audience cuts across all ages and nationalities and include families and children and its product range include short films in DVDs, soundtrack CDs, animated films among others (Price, 2008, pp.3-7). It fosters an environment that gives room for mistakes and encourages collaborations among teams and departments and devoid of micro management by executives to ensure creativity and innovation (YouTube-imperial college, 2009). THEORIES OF INNOVATION USING EVIDENCE FROM SEMCO AND PIXAR What makes Ricardo Semler and Ed Catmull exceptional in the way they run their companiesCould it be that they were born to innovation, an act of God, divine intervention, grace, or years of experience and acquisition of knowledge and educationAnalysts and business tycoons have called these men genius. Some critics of Semler and Pixar would have called the transformation at these companies as a gift from the gods. However, it is worthy of note that Semco was a company already in operation prior to Ricardo taking over and Pixar had several failed attempts before its major breakthrough in 1995 with Toy Story. Emerald group, 2011 quoted Ed Catmull in Harvard Business Review ‘I don’t think our success is largely luck. Rather, I believe our adherence to a set of principles and practices for managing creative talent and risk is responsible.’ Was grace far from the transformation in these companiesRicardo was one of the youngest graduates at Harvard Business School who wo uld have learnt some of the traditional management theories in school but choose to manage in a uniquely different way that suite his life and believes suite those of his employees. Moreover, having had an encounter with a doctor who told him to change his work style, he decided to change his way of management, a factor that has led to the key changes at Semco today. Thus innovation at Semco may be a combination of association having graduated from Harvard, accident-a chance meeting with the doctor, personality-considering that while at high school he raised some money for the school vacation program which he reinvested to yield a return before the vacation, feature of life and a bit of cognitive considering the fact that innovation at Semco had evolved over time. It is far from being grace or act of gods. Several forms of innovation can be said to have taken placed at these organisations. They are: Organisational innovation: An organisational innovation is one that entails the implementation of a new organisational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace or external relations (Stoneman, 2010, p.17; OECD, 2006). It is often intended to increase a company’s performance through improvement in workplace satisfaction and labour productivity and access to knowledge. It entails an adoption of an organisational method such as flatter organisation structures, employees’ participation among others that have not being used before in an organisation and often results from strategic decisions taken by management (Stoneman, 2010, p.18). Semco and Pixar posses a great deal of organisational innovation. Semco had implemented theories that have never being tried before such as the satellites programs that allow ex-employees to open their own companies with financial help and resources and become partners with Semco and employees cutting their wages by 30% to Semc o at difficult times to get a higher returns when trading conditions get better. What drive such innovation are the organisational culture, structure and learning. Social innovation: This is the innovation that supports and it is beneficial to the society. Pixar is an example of such innovation whose films though animated have a lot of influence on the society both young and small. Its latest film, hop for instance gives social lessons about the role of adult and children in society. Semco has also contributed to the Brazilian society through employment and a reduction in job cuts. Traditional innovation: This is technological innovation and is measured in different ways such as through patents, expenditure and development among others. Semco and Pixar have shown a lot of innovation and creativity in technology with Pixar having a lot of patents. All these types of innovation create social capital which will be discussed later in this report. FEATURES OF INNOVATIVE ORGANISATIONS OR MANAGEMENT ACTIONS SEMCO and Pixar’s success is built on a lattice or flatter organisational structure devoid of control culture that has gone through series of transformation through the years which has enhanced their innovative ability. An organisational culture devoid of control fosters innovation as individuals are giving the freedom to self organise and make their own decisions just like Semco where employees set their salaries and take decisions on production targets and the time they meet such targets (Semler, 1999, p.1). These companies have been able to manage innovation in the following ways: Structure and culture: Organisational design is crucial to the continuous innovation of an enterprise. As the business environment becomes complex and uncertain, so is the organisational design changing to meet up with customers’ demands for value maximising products. Traditional management scientists like Max Weber emphasised formal structure which is a top-down approach characterised with command, control, rules, position power and neglect social and psychological influences on behaviours of employees and teams (Burnes 2000, p.45). Employees are likely to respond to a good leader who they trust and respect than being managed in a bureaucratic way as argued by Adair 1986:54. Semco operates a lattice structure and considers all workers as equal and has reduced bureaucracy from twelve layers of management to three (Semler 1999, p.7). Reduced hierarchies and high involvement will lead to faster decision making and idea generation and information sharing, leading to innovation. F ormal organisational structure stifles individual creativity. In the words of Semler, authoritarianism diminishes productivity and as such no privileges or rules that discourages flexibility (Semler, 1999, p. 4). At Semco, People are made to enjoy their job and feel good about themselves, not just to survive. Business strategy in the company is determined without interference from the top. Similarly, Pixar is free from the thick layers of formal management and executives are not involved in the day to day running of the organisation. All employees are equally important and all work together for the success of a story. Both companies are devoid of micro-management which ensures creativity and innovation. To have these kind of organisations require a conducive organisational culture that is devoid of control. In the words of Ed Catmull, ‘Management really doesn’t tell people what to do.’ Thus both companies give employees freedom to take risk and there is reflecti on, learning and feedback. However , not everyone can work in an environment with such a structure as some people like being told what to do, also, people wants to know what their responsibilities are and who they are report to while others do not like responsibility. It means that such environment will attract liked minded individuals. Trust and Freedom: Due to the flexible organisational structure and lack of formal reporting structures, employees can be trusted to carry out their roles. However, there is a tendency for employees to abuse the system giving the few reporting structures. Semco has absolute trust in her employees and encourages them to be self managing and governing and have made partners with them. There is so much trust that Semco made entrepreneurs out of its workers through assistance with setting up their own company through its satellite programs, buy from them and encourage them to sell to its competitors. One will assume trust will not be a possibility giving the large number of employees of over 3000. Semco has defiled business school expectations and has gone as far as allowing workers to participate in managerial decision making from deciding how much they get paid, to unlimited access to financial information and freedom to work whenever and wherever they choose and meet targets at their own set time and set their salaries which has resulted in impressive growth, long term loyalty and increase and better productivity. To Semler, his interest is in the final result not where, how and hours worked (Easen, 2004). Freedom drives performance and encourages innovation. Staff can work better if given more independence (Handy, 2004). Semco adopts a participating or democratic management style that create an atmosphere where both bosses and subordinates ( partners and associate) interact regardless of jobs and position and all are involved in decision making (Semler, 1999.pp.6 81). In the words of Semler (1999, p. 6), ‘We don’t have as many bosses as we used to. As workers began to exercise more control over their jobs and assume more voices in our policies, the need for supervisors diminished.’ Having trust in individual will give them a sense of belonging and being wanted and encourage new ideas and sharing of ideas among one another. Semco and Pixar re alised that the most powerful resources at their disposal are the people who make things happen in their organisations and have learnt to trust, believe in them and give them the freedom to express their innovative capabilities and drive production forward. Trust is seen as an outcome of social capital and shared values (Cote and Healy, 2001). However, the problem with freedom is that not everyone like being free. Some people want to be controlled and directed to get their job done. Some see control as a motivator. Moreover, some top managers may resist the need for reduced hierarchies for fear of losing control and power. Social capital and Collaboration: At Semco and Pixar, there is collaboration and teamwork as people work together for common and shared values and not get in each others’ way but are committed to the achievement of the common goal of the company. At Semco, employees participate in managerial decision not just relating to their jobs but the business as a whole. They are included in decisions that pertain to choosing who their boss becomes (Easen, 2004). Before people are hired or promoted to leadership positions, they are interviewed and approved by all who will be working for them, and every six months managers are evaluated by their subordinates. Semco has autonomous business units established by ex- employees who open their own business with help from Semco and have become partners, associate and collaborators and has made Semco a leaner and agile organisation (Semler, 1999 P.7). Also different departments and business units and teams work collectively to drive innovation f orward at Semco and Pixar. Easen, 2004 reported Semler as saying that ‘Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.’ There is a balanced collaboration at Pixar as artist and technologists are paired together. Every offer or idea is accepted and then people get the chance to plus it (Nelsen, 2008). A term Nelsen called ‘plussing’- taking an idea or a piece of work and find a way to add or improve upon it without judging it. At Pixar, collaboration means amplification whereby employees who are listening and interested in each other are joined together to work and bring separate depth to the problems and breadth that gives them interest in the solution as well as allow teams to communicate at different levels. The brain trust at Pixar is a framework or forum that gives an opportunity for some of the best brains to use their expertise and experience to share their understanding and knowledge with others and to get feedback. The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD defines social capital as ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups’ (ONS, 2001; Cote and Healy, 2001:41). It is the glue that holds organisations together and enables employees to join forces more effectively and pursue shared objectives. In a culture of continual change and uncertainty, sustainable communities are those who are collaborative and always growing with and towards each other in the formation, sharing and adaptation to new knowledge (Smith and Paquette, 2010). Some of the outcomes of social capital are social relations, trust, collaboration, mutually enforceable agreement, general reciprocity and innovation (ONS, 2001). In Semco there is mutually enforceable agreement resulting from profit sharing. In the past, Pixar had used stock to motivate employees and encourage them to stay. Also, the need to produce quality output at Pixar could be a form of mutually enforceable agreement (Price 2008, p. 114). Pay recognition: Motivation such as adequate pay, interpersonal relations and work and group dynamics are some factors that increase productivity and workers satisfaction (Mullins, 2007, p.53). Employees will be committed to work if they are being paid fairly and feel that their contribution is appreciated in the organisation. Semco’s employees set their salaries and share in the profits. As Semler (1999, P. 4) says, ‘Profit-sharing is democratic. We negotiate with our workers over the basic percentage to be distributed- about a quarter of our corporate profit.’ This has worked so well at Semco as there is very low labour turnover and when the need arises, those laid off are assisted to form their own company. Reward systems and benefits retain people and lead to workers’ satisfaction, commitment and loyalty (Chiu et al, 2002). There were times when workers salary proposal were rejected in instances of over- statement. Contrary to this is the argument that financial rewards are not enough to motivate people and that group pressure has more influence on employees than financial rewards (Mullins, 2007, p.301). In addition, people also have intrinsic motivation derives from within the individual which propels them towards the need for self actualisation and fulfilment. Learning and feedback/ Gives room for mistakes/Risk taking: Learning within projects teams depends heavily on the inflow and transfer of knowledgeable among them. Semco and Pixar are learning organisations. Such organisations give room for failure and learning from mistakes and encourage risk taking and have a wide tolerance for new ideas and do not punish mistakes. A learning organisation was defined by Johnson et al (2008) as, ‘One capable of continual regeneration from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals that encourage mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision.’ Semler pointed out that mistake is welcome and a sign that the employee is taking enough risk. Without mistakes, there will not be learning and consequently, innovation will be stifled. Likewise at Pixar, continuous innovation requires that executives resist the natural tendencies to minimise risks and accept uncertainty to ensure originality and ability to r ecover from failures resulting from taking risks. It encourages creativity by allowing people to experiment with new ideas and mistakes genuinely made are treated as part of the learning process Emerald Group review, 2011). Mistake are not punished at Pixar but seen as building block for new ideas and innovation just like 3M. Pixar endorses and encourages a creative by rejecting hierarchical and controlled system, instead the taking of risks and recognizes the importance of serendipity in the creative process (Smith and Paquette, 2010) It has been argued that employees’ collective knowledge exceeds those of the organisation and its capabilities and managers should aim at encouraging processes that unlock employees’ knowledge and encourage information, knowledge and idea sharing which is the sort of environment both companies have created for their employees. As a narrator said, each movies produced by Pixar contains a combination of tens of thousands of ideas arising from risk taking, failure and learning. Ed Catmull said that ‘Innovative people are failure recovered not failure avoider.’ Both companies give room for reflection, learning and feedback. The benefits of learning cannot be over emphasis. Learning increases employees’ commitment, improve quality as mistakes are identified. Senge 1999 reiterated that organisational learning leads to organisational performance. Commitment: At Semco, everyone is committed to the achievement of the organisation’s objectives as they all feel a sense of belonging and part ownership of the company arising partly from the profit sharing. Employees are seen as being importance and valued. A worker in an interview said if an employee is idle, another worker will often ask why he or she is not working, reminding him or her that failure to work will reduce their profits and subsequently reduction in money for their pockets. So there is peer pressure. If employees feel that they are being trusted to take decision on their own and self manage, they will be committed. Semco operates an egalitarian company where there is no preferential treatment. Parking lots are for first come basis and all employees eat on the same canteen. Meetings are held based on the first two employees to be present. This makes employees feel as being a part of the team and big family and give them a sense of being wanted by the company. B y removing privileges of ranks, employees will see themselves as a wider community, thus feel comfortable voicing their opinion, leading to generation of new ideas. Dynamism: Semco is a highly flexible company with no boundaries to the type of business and products, making it difficult to say exactly what kind of business the company is in. There is no fixed business and it is open to any form of business that comes their way. It is also characterised with the absence of business plans and company strategy. In the words of Semler (2003, p.4), ‘ Once you say what business you are in, you create boundaries for you employees, you restrict their thinking and give them a reason to ignore new opportunities as they will say we are not in that business.’ Semco is so dynamic in its operations and processes that employees must not use one desk two days in a row. This is to make them difficult to track and are free to move and work anywhere that appeals to them be it home office. There is time flexibility as they are not concerned about when the employees arrive at work. However, contracts are negotiated on the basis of what to be achieved at a set period and what it stands to gain for paid value and what the employees get in return. It is a mutually enforceable agreement as both parties- employees and Semco benefit. Pixar, though in a core line of business of animated films, it is not to say it is not a dynamic company as different forms of films that benefits both adult and children have being produced over the years. There is effective communication at both companies due to the organisational culture and flatter structure devoid of control. There is information, idea and knowledge sharing. At Pixar, technologists communicate with the artists. SUMARY AND CONCLUSION Semco and Pixar are said to be innovative even though the companies are different in what they do and how they approach innovation. Nevertheless, some common factors in both companies is the delegation of a large amount of control to their employees and absolute freedom to take risk and give room for mistakes and failure, giving them freedom to generate new ideas and thus take a more active role and commitment. Both companies have decentralised the management structures to get employees more involved in decision making and give them a sense of belonging. They have created a culture that gives room for mistakes, failures, sharing of information, and ideas. There is also collaboration between employees, teams, departments, business units and partners, trust, social capital, communication, lack of micro-management and similar organisational culture and structure which encourages innovation. However, both companies differ in a number of ways such as absence of profit sharing at Pixar, la nguages, products, country of location and time scales. Having carried out a detailed analysis of Semco and Pixar, it is possible that what works at these companies can be applicable to other companies. However, some disadvantages will be accrued if these features are applied in another company characterised with hierarchical control culture and structure such as resistance from top management who are control freaks and unwilling to relinquish power. Moreover, not everyone will be able to self manage as some people like being controlled and told what to do. In addition, that trust and freedom work well in these organisations does not mean it can be implemented in other organisations as differences in culture and environment will play a role in determining its effectiveness in another company with different organisational culture and business environment. Having said this, nothing is worth not trying, so these managerial actions that have worked so well in these organisations can be applied to other organisations. The reward may not be see n immediately, but in the long run, it will pay off. REFERENCE ADAIR, J. 1986. Effective Team Building: How to make a Winning Team. London: Gower Publishing Co Ltd.BURNES, B. 2000. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 3rd edn. England: Pearson Education Ltd. CHIU, R. K, LUK, W.V AND TANG, T.L (2002) Retaining and motivating employees: Compensation preferences in Hong Kong and China. Personnel Review [Online journal], 31 (4), pp.402-431. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=Retaining+and+motivating+employees%3A+Compensation+preferences+in+Hong+Kong+and+Chinact=allec=1bf=1 . (April 19 2011). COTE, S AND HEALY, T. (2001) The Well-being of Nations. The role of human and social capital. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. CNN. 2004. Ricardo Semler, Semco SA. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/06/29/semler.profile/index.html?iref=allsearch(27 April 2011). DOVEY, K. 2009. The role of trust in innovation. The Learning Organization [online journal] 16(4). Pp.311-325. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=role+of+trust+in+innovationct=allec=1bf=1 . (March23/3/2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.semlar.transcript/index.html (15 April 2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Democracy in the Workplace. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.democratic.workplace/index.html?iref=allsearch (15 April 2011). EMERALD GROUP, 2011. How Pixar animates its talent team: not knowing the answers can be the way ahead. Development and Learning in Organizations [Online journal], 25 (1), pp. 30-32. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=pixarct=allec=1bf=1. (April 8 2011). HANDY C, 2004. Giving your Staff More Freedom. [WWW] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ hi/ business /4058519.stm (1 April 2011). JOHNSON, G, SCHOLES, K AND WHITTINGTON, R. 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. 8th edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. MULLINS, L. J, 2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 8th edn. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. NELSEN, R. 2008. Pixar’s Randy Nelsen on the Collaborative Age. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhXJe8ANws8 (1 April 2011). OFFICE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS. 2001. Social Capital: A review of the literature. [WWW] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/socialcapital/downloads/soccaplitreview.pdf (26 April 2011). PAIK, K. 2007. To Infinity and Beyond: The story of Pixar Animation Studio. London: Virgin Books Ltd. PIXAR GROUP 24. 2009. Innovation Management: Imperial College. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTB5S2mc3wA (20 March 2011). PRICE, D. A.2008. The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company. USA: Alfred A. Knopf. SEMLER, R. 2003. The Seven-Day Weekend. London: Century. SEMLER, R. Semco – Ricardo Semler – MIT SF 11 – Leading organizations. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1qJ2W9cVDM (14 April 2011). SEMLER, R. (1999) Maverick! The Success Story Behind the World’s most Unusual Workplace. London: Random House Business Books. SEMLER, R. 2007. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkOPxJCN1wfeature=related (13 March 2011). SENGE, P.M. (1999). It’s the learning: the real lesson of quality movement. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 22 (6)Pp.34-40. STONEMAN, P. 2010. Soft Innovation: Economics, Product Aesthetics and Creative Industries. New York: Oxford University Press.SMITH, S. AND PAQUETTE, S. (2010). Creativity, chaos and knowledge management. Business Information Review, 27 (2), pp. 118-23. BIBLIOGRAPHY BESSANT, J. 2003. High Involvement innovation: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Continuous Change. England: John Wiley Sons. CHRISTENSEN, C.M, AND ERIK, A.R. 2004. Seeing What is Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. USA: Harvard Business school Press. BURDETH, O.J. 1994. The Magic of Alignment. Management Decision [online journal], 32 (2), pp. 59-63. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=alignmentct=allec=1bf=1go=Go. (March 3 2011). Analysis of semco and pixar animated studio as an example of innovative organizations Companies like Semco, Gore and Associate, 3M and Pixar have made a reputation for themselves due to their emphasis on creativity. Innovation is a product of collaborative learning, idea generation, sharing and idea realization practices of workers in an organization (Dovey, 2009, p.311). For innovation to occur an organisation must foster an environment and culture that give room for creativity which is what Semco and Pixar have achieved. To this end, this report will analyse Semco and Pixar as an exemplar of innovative companies and the relationship that exist between them using some key theories of innovation and the defining features and managerial actions that set them apart as innovative organisations. SEMCO Semco is a loose organisation that encourages innovation and self organisation leading to trust, collaboration and cooperation. Semco was a small family engineering company originally called Semler and Company established in 1952 in Sao Paulo, Brazil by Antonio Curt Semler and renamed Semco after Ricardo Semler, the 24 year old son of the owner resumed office as the new chief executive officer in 1984, firing more than half of the top managers on his first day of resuming office as chief executive officer and eliminated all secretarial positions (CNN, 2004). The company prior to Ricardo taking over was characterised with autocratic style of management with control and rules being the order of the day and operating at the edge of collapse. Ricardo Semler favours a participating style of management, profit sharing and free flow of information. The company product range includes dishwashers, pumps, mixers, cooling units for air condition, biscuits factories among others (Semler 1999, p. 1). It is one of the most innovative companies in the world and has become the subject of study for most business schools all around the world due to its peculiar management style. There is no organisation structure that feeds managers ego, subordinates choose their own bosses, employees set their salaries, production targets and achieve them at their own time, and are encouraged to participate, share ideas and also share in the profit (Semler 1999, pp.1-7, 130 131). PIXAR Pixar animated studio was established in 1986 after Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucas films for $10 million with Ed Catmull being named co-founder and Chief technical officer, Smith as vice president alongside Steve Jobs (Price, 2008, p.74 85-197). In 2001, Ed Catmull was named Pixar’s president. The company originally manufactures and sell hardware and software that enable computer graphics to develop animations. In 1987, the company began the making of short films with its first computer generated movie, Toy Story being released in 1995. The company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney acquired 2006 at $7.4 billion and located in Emeryville, California (Paik, 2007). The acquisition will help Pixar gain economies of scale and access to new technologies. Pixar has a range of films under its belt that has surpassed box office expectations from Rango, Hop, Toy Story 3, finding Nemo, the incredible and many others (Emerald Group Review, 2 011). Its target audience cuts across all ages and nationalities and include families and children and its product range include short films in DVDs, soundtrack CDs, animated films among others (Price, 2008, pp.3-7). It fosters an environment that gives room for mistakes and encourages collaborations among teams and departments and devoid of micro management by executives to ensure creativity and innovation (YouTube-imperial college, 2009). THEORIES OF INNOVATION USING EVIDENCE FROM SEMCO AND PIXAR What makes Ricardo Semler and Ed Catmull exceptional in the way they run their companiesCould it be that they were born to innovation, an act of God, divine intervention, grace, or years of experience and acquisition of knowledge and educationAnalysts and business tycoons have called these men genius. Some critics of Semler and Pixar would have called the transformation at these companies as a gift from the gods. However, it is worthy of note that Semco was a company already in operation prior to Ricardo taking over and Pixar had several failed attempts before its major breakthrough in 1995 with Toy Story. Emerald group, 2011 quoted Ed Catmull in Harvard Business Review ‘I don’t think our success is largely luck. Rather, I believe our adherence to a set of principles and practices for managing creative talent and risk is responsible.’ Was grace far from the transformation in these companiesRicardo was one of the youngest graduates at Harvard Business School who wo uld have learnt some of the traditional management theories in school but choose to manage in a uniquely different way that suite his life and believes suite those of his employees. Moreover, having had an encounter with a doctor who told him to change his work style, he decided to change his way of management, a factor that has led to the key changes at Semco today. Thus innovation at Semco may be a combination of association having graduated from Harvard, accident-a chance meeting with the doctor, personality-considering that while at high school he raised some money for the school vacation program which he reinvested to yield a return before the vacation, feature of life and a bit of cognitive considering the fact that innovation at Semco had evolved over time. It is far from being grace or act of gods. Several forms of innovation can be said to have taken placed at these organisations. They are: Organisational innovation: An organisational innovation is one that entails the implementation of a new organisational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace or external relations (Stoneman, 2010, p.17; OECD, 2006). It is often intended to increase a company’s performance through improvement in workplace satisfaction and labour productivity and access to knowledge. It entails an adoption of an organisational method such as flatter organisation structures, employees’ participation among others that have not being used before in an organisation and often results from strategic decisions taken by management (Stoneman, 2010, p.18). Semco and Pixar posses a great deal of organisational innovation. Semco had implemented theories that have never being tried before such as the satellites programs that allow ex-employees to open their own companies with financial help and resources and become partners with Semco and employees cutting their wages by 30% to Semc o at difficult times to get a higher returns when trading conditions get better. What drive such innovation are the organisational culture, structure and learning. Social innovation: This is the innovation that supports and it is beneficial to the society. Pixar is an example of such innovation whose films though animated have a lot of influence on the society both young and small. Its latest film, hop for instance gives social lessons about the role of adult and children in society. Semco has also contributed to the Brazilian society through employment and a reduction in job cuts. Traditional innovation: This is technological innovation and is measured in different ways such as through patents, expenditure and development among others. Semco and Pixar have shown a lot of innovation and creativity in technology with Pixar having a lot of patents. All these types of innovation create social capital which will be discussed later in this report. FEATURES OF INNOVATIVE ORGANISATIONS OR MANAGEMENT ACTIONS SEMCO and Pixar’s success is built on a lattice or flatter organisational structure devoid of control culture that has gone through series of transformation through the years which has enhanced their innovative ability. An organisational culture devoid of control fosters innovation as individuals are giving the freedom to self organise and make their own decisions just like Semco where employees set their salaries and take decisions on production targets and the time they meet such targets (Semler, 1999, p.1). These companies have been able to manage innovation in the following ways: Structure and culture: Organisational design is crucial to the continuous innovation of an enterprise. As the business environment becomes complex and uncertain, so is the organisational design changing to meet up with customers’ demands for value maximising products. Traditional management scientists like Max Weber emphasised formal structure which is a top-down approach characterised with command, control, rules, position power and neglect social and psychological influences on behaviours of employees and teams (Burnes 2000, p.45). Employees are likely to respond to a good leader who they trust and respect than being managed in a bureaucratic way as argued by Adair 1986:54. Semco operates a lattice structure and considers all workers as equal and has reduced bureaucracy from twelve layers of management to three (Semler 1999, p.7). Reduced hierarchies and high involvement will lead to faster decision making and idea generation and information sharing, leading to innovation. F ormal organisational structure stifles individual creativity. In the words of Semler, authoritarianism diminishes productivity and as such no privileges or rules that discourages flexibility (Semler, 1999, p. 4). At Semco, People are made to enjoy their job and feel good about themselves, not just to survive. Business strategy in the company is determined without interference from the top. Similarly, Pixar is free from the thick layers of formal management and executives are not involved in the day to day running of the organisation. All employees are equally important and all work together for the success of a story. Both companies are devoid of micro-management which ensures creativity and innovation. To have these kind of organisations require a conducive organisational culture that is devoid of control. In the words of Ed Catmull, ‘Management really doesn’t tell people what to do.’ Thus both companies give employees freedom to take risk and there is reflecti on, learning and feedback. However , not everyone can work in an environment with such a structure as some people like being told what to do, also, people wants to know what their responsibilities are and who they are report to while others do not like responsibility. It means that such environment will attract liked minded individuals. Trust and Freedom: Due to the flexible organisational structure and lack of formal reporting structures, employees can be trusted to carry out their roles. However, there is a tendency for employees to abuse the system giving the few reporting structures. Semco has absolute trust in her employees and encourages them to be self managing and governing and have made partners with them. There is so much trust that Semco made entrepreneurs out of its workers through assistance with setting up their own company through its satellite programs, buy from them and encourage them to sell to its competitors. One will assume trust will not be a possibility giving the large number of employees of over 3000. Semco has defiled business school expectations and has gone as far as allowing workers to participate in managerial decision making from deciding how much they get paid, to unlimited access to financial information and freedom to work whenever and wherever they choose and meet targets at their own set time and set their salaries which has resulted in impressive growth, long term loyalty and increase and better productivity. To Semler, his interest is in the final result not where, how and hours worked (Easen, 2004). Freedom drives performance and encourages innovation. Staff can work better if given more independence (Handy, 2004). Semco adopts a participating or democratic management style that create an atmosphere where both bosses and subordinates ( partners and associate) interact regardless of jobs and position and all are involved in decision making (Semler, 1999.pp.6 81). In the words of Semler (1999, p. 6), ‘We don’t have as many bosses as we used to. As workers began to exercise more control over their jobs and assume more voices in our policies, the need for supervisors diminished.’ Having trust in individual will give them a sense of belonging and being wanted and encourage new ideas and sharing of ideas among one another. Semco and Pixar re alised that the most powerful resources at their disposal are the people who make things happen in their organisations and have learnt to trust, believe in them and give them the freedom to express their innovative capabilities and drive production forward. Trust is seen as an outcome of social capital and shared values (Cote and Healy, 2001). However, the problem with freedom is that not everyone like being free. Some people want to be controlled and directed to get their job done. Some see control as a motivator. Moreover, some top managers may resist the need for reduced hierarchies for fear of losing control and power. Social capital and Collaboration: At Semco and Pixar, there is collaboration and teamwork as people work together for common and shared values and not get in each others’ way but are committed to the achievement of the common goal of the company. At Semco, employees participate in managerial decision not just relating to their jobs but the business as a whole. They are included in decisions that pertain to choosing who their boss becomes (Easen, 2004). Before people are hired or promoted to leadership positions, they are interviewed and approved by all who will be working for them, and every six months managers are evaluated by their subordinates. Semco has autonomous business units established by ex- employees who open their own business with help from Semco and have become partners, associate and collaborators and has made Semco a leaner and agile organisation (Semler, 1999 P.7). Also different departments and business units and teams work collectively to drive innovation f orward at Semco and Pixar. Easen, 2004 reported Semler as saying that ‘Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.’ There is a balanced collaboration at Pixar as artist and technologists are paired together. Every offer or idea is accepted and then people get the chance to plus it (Nelsen, 2008). A term Nelsen called ‘plussing’- taking an idea or a piece of work and find a way to add or improve upon it without judging it. At Pixar, collaboration means amplification whereby employees who are listening and interested in each other are joined together to work and bring separate depth to the problems and breadth that gives them interest in the solution as well as allow teams to communicate at different levels. The brain trust at Pixar is a framework or forum that gives an opportunity for some of the best brains to use their expertise and experience to share their understanding and knowledge with others and to get feedback. The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD defines social capital as ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups’ (ONS, 2001; Cote and Healy, 2001:41). It is the glue that holds organisations together and enables employees to join forces more effectively and pursue shared objectives. In a culture of continual change and uncertainty, sustainable communities are those who are collaborative and always growing with and towards each other in the formation, sharing and adaptation to new knowledge (Smith and Paquette, 2010). Some of the outcomes of social capital are social relations, trust, collaboration, mutually enforceable agreement, general reciprocity and innovation (ONS, 2001). In Semco there is mutually enforceable agreement resulting from profit sharing. In the past, Pixar had used stock to motivate employees and encourage them to stay. Also, the need to produce quality output at Pixar could be a form of mutually enforceable agreement (Price 2008, p. 114). Pay recognition: Motivation such as adequate pay, interpersonal relations and work and group dynamics are some factors that increase productivity and workers satisfaction (Mullins, 2007, p.53). Employees will be committed to work if they are being paid fairly and feel that their contribution is appreciated in the organisation. Semco’s employees set their salaries and share in the profits. As Semler (1999, P. 4) says, ‘Profit-sharing is democratic. We negotiate with our workers over the basic percentage to be distributed- about a quarter of our corporate profit.’ This has worked so well at Semco as there is very low labour turnover and when the need arises, those laid off are assisted to form their own company. Reward systems and benefits retain people and lead to workers’ satisfaction, commitment and loyalty (Chiu et al, 2002). There were times when workers salary proposal were rejected in instances of over- statement. Contrary to this is the argument that financial rewards are not enough to motivate people and that group pressure has more influence on employees than financial rewards (Mullins, 2007, p.301). In addition, people also have intrinsic motivation derives from within the individual which propels them towards the need for self actualisation and fulfilment. Learning and feedback/ Gives room for mistakes/Risk taking: Learning within projects teams depends heavily on the inflow and transfer of knowledgeable among them. Semco and Pixar are learning organisations. Such organisations give room for failure and learning from mistakes and encourage risk taking and have a wide tolerance for new ideas and do not punish mistakes. A learning organisation was defined by Johnson et al (2008) as, ‘One capable of continual regeneration from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals that encourage mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision.’ Semler pointed out that mistake is welcome and a sign that the employee is taking enough risk. Without mistakes, there will not be learning and consequently, innovation will be stifled. Likewise at Pixar, continuous innovation requires that executives resist the natural tendencies to minimise risks and accept uncertainty to ensure originality and ability to r ecover from failures resulting from taking risks. It encourages creativity by allowing people to experiment with new ideas and mistakes genuinely made are treated as part of the learning process Emerald Group review, 2011). Mistake are not punished at Pixar but seen as building block for new ideas and innovation just like 3M. Pixar endorses and encourages a creative by rejecting hierarchical and controlled system, instead the taking of risks and recognizes the importance of serendipity in the creative process (Smith and Paquette, 2010) It has been argued that employees’ collective knowledge exceeds those of the organisation and its capabilities and managers should aim at encouraging processes that unlock employees’ knowledge and encourage information, knowledge and idea sharing which is the sort of environment both companies have created for their employees. As a narrator said, each movies produced by Pixar contains a combination of tens of thousands of ideas arising from risk taking, failure and learning. Ed Catmull said that ‘Innovative people are failure recovered not failure avoider.’ Both companies give room for reflection, learning and feedback. The benefits of learning cannot be over emphasis. Learning increases employees’ commitment, improve quality as mistakes are identified. Senge 1999 reiterated that organisational learning leads to organisational performance. Commitment: At Semco, everyone is committed to the achievement of the organisation’s objectives as they all feel a sense of belonging and part ownership of the company arising partly from the profit sharing. Employees are seen as being importance and valued. A worker in an interview said if an employee is idle, another worker will often ask why he or she is not working, reminding him or her that failure to work will reduce their profits and subsequently reduction in money for their pockets. So there is peer pressure. If employees feel that they are being trusted to take decision on their own and self manage, they will be committed. Semco operates an egalitarian company where there is no preferential treatment. Parking lots are for first come basis and all employees eat on the same canteen. Meetings are held based on the first two employees to be present. This makes employees feel as being a part of the team and big family and give them a sense of being wanted by the company. B y removing privileges of ranks, employees will see themselves as a wider community, thus feel comfortable voicing their opinion, leading to generation of new ideas. Dynamism: Semco is a highly flexible company with no boundaries to the type of business and products, making it difficult to say exactly what kind of business the company is in. There is no fixed business and it is open to any form of business that comes their way. It is also characterised with the absence of business plans and company strategy. In the words of Semler (2003, p.4), ‘ Once you say what business you are in, you create boundaries for you employees, you restrict their thinking and give them a reason to ignore new opportunities as they will say we are not in that business.’ Semco is so dynamic in its operations and processes that employees must not use one desk two days in a row. This is to make them difficult to track and are free to move and work anywhere that appeals to them be it home office. There is time flexibility as they are not concerned about when the employees arrive at work. However, contracts are negotiated on the basis of what to be achieved at a set period and what it stands to gain for paid value and what the employees get in return. It is a mutually enforceable agreement as both parties- employees and Semco benefit. Pixar, though in a core line of business of animated films, it is not to say it is not a dynamic company as different forms of films that benefits both adult and children have being produced over the years. There is effective communication at both companies due to the organisational culture and flatter structure devoid of control. There is information, idea and knowledge sharing. At Pixar, technologists communicate with the artists. SUMARY AND CONCLUSION Semco and Pixar are said to be innovative even though the companies are different in what they do and how they approach innovation. Nevertheless, some common factors in both companies is the delegation of a large amount of control to their employees and absolute freedom to take risk and give room for mistakes and failure, giving them freedom to generate new ideas and thus take a more active role and commitment. Both companies have decentralised the management structures to get employees more involved in decision making and give them a sense of belonging. They have created a culture that gives room for mistakes, failures, sharing of information, and ideas. There is also collaboration between employees, teams, departments, business units and partners, trust, social capital, communication, lack of micro-management and similar organisational culture and structure which encourages innovation. However, both companies differ in a number of ways such as absence of profit sharing at Pixar, la nguages, products, country of location and time scales. Having carried out a detailed analysis of Semco and Pixar, it is possible that what works at these companies can be applicable to other companies. However, some disadvantages will be accrued if these features are applied in another company characterised with hierarchical control culture and structure such as resistance from top management who are control freaks and unwilling to relinquish power. Moreover, not everyone will be able to self manage as some people like being controlled and told what to do. In addition, that trust and freedom work well in these organisations does not mean it can be implemented in other organisations as differences in culture and environment will play a role in determining its effectiveness in another company with different organisational culture and business environment. Having said this, nothing is worth not trying, so these managerial actions that have worked so well in these organisations can be applied to other organisations. The reward may not be see n immediately, but in the long run, it will pay off. REFERENCE ADAIR, J. 1986. Effective Team Building: How to make a Winning Team. London: Gower Publishing Co Ltd.BURNES, B. 2000. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 3rd edn. England: Pearson Education Ltd. CHIU, R. K, LUK, W.V AND TANG, T.L (2002) Retaining and motivating employees: Compensation preferences in Hong Kong and China. Personnel Review [Online journal], 31 (4), pp.402-431. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=Retaining+and+motivating+employees%3A+Compensation+preferences+in+Hong+Kong+and+Chinact=allec=1bf=1 . (April 19 2011). COTE, S AND HEALY, T. (2001) The Well-being of Nations. The role of human and social capital. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. CNN. 2004. Ricardo Semler, Semco SA. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/06/29/semler.profile/index.html?iref=allsearch(27 April 2011). DOVEY, K. 2009. The role of trust in innovation. The Learning Organization [online journal] 16(4). Pp.311-325. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=role+of+trust+in+innovationct=allec=1bf=1 . (March23/3/2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.semlar.transcript/index.html (15 April 2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Democracy in the Workplace. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.democratic.workplace/index.html?iref=allsearch (15 April 2011). EMERALD GROUP, 2011. How Pixar animates its talent team: not knowing the answers can be the way ahead. Development and Learning in Organizations [Online journal], 25 (1), pp. 30-32. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=pixarct=allec=1bf=1. (April 8 2011). HANDY C, 2004. Giving your Staff More Freedom. [WWW] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ hi/ business /4058519.stm (1 April 2011). JOHNSON, G, SCHOLES, K AND WHITTINGTON, R. 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. 8th edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. MULLINS, L. J, 2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 8th edn. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. NELSEN, R. 2008. Pixar’s Randy Nelsen on the Collaborative Age. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhXJe8ANws8 (1 April 2011). OFFICE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS. 2001. Social Capital: A review of the literature. [WWW] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/socialcapital/downloads/soccaplitreview.pdf (26 April 2011). PAIK, K. 2007. To Infinity and Beyond: The story of Pixar Animation Studio. London: Virgin Books Ltd. PIXAR GROUP 24. 2009. Innovation Management: Imperial College. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTB5S2mc3wA (20 March 2011). PRICE, D. A.2008. The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company. USA: Alfred A. Knopf. SEMLER, R. 2003. The Seven-Day Weekend. London: Century. SEMLER, R. Semco – Ricardo Semler – MIT SF 11 – Leading organizations. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1qJ2W9cVDM (14 April 2011). SEMLER, R. (1999) Maverick! The Success Story Behind the World’s most Unusual Workplace. London: Random House Business Books. SEMLER, R. 2007. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkOPxJCN1wfeature=related (13 March 2011). SENGE, P.M. (1999). It’s the learning: the real lesson of quality movement. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 22 (6)Pp.34-40. STONEMAN, P. 2010. Soft Innovation: Economics, Product Aesthetics and Creative Industries. New York: Oxford University Press.SMITH, S. AND PAQUETTE, S. (2010). Creativity, chaos and knowledge management. Business Information Review, 27 (2), pp. 118-23. BIBLIOGRAPHY BESSANT, J. 2003. High Involvement innovation: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Continuous Change. England: John Wiley Sons. CHRISTENSEN, C.M, AND ERIK, A.R. 2004. Seeing What is Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. USA: Harvard Business school Press. BURDETH, O.J. 1994. The Magic of Alignment. Management Decision [online journal], 32 (2), pp. 59-63. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=alignmentct=allec=1bf=1go=Go. (March 3 2011).

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF A NURSING QUANTITATIVE STUDY Research Paper

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