Strategic Frameworks for Sustaining Competitive Advantage and Innovation
Assessing Sustainable Competitive Advantage Sources
We assess the sources of sustainable competitive advantage using:
- VRIO Framework
- SWOT Analysis
Apple’s Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Sources of Apple’s Competitive Advantage (CA)
Why Apple’s CA Has Been Sustainable (VRIO)
Apple’s resources and capabilities are:
- Valuable
- Rare
- Inimitable (Difficult to copy due to factors like:)
- Legal mechanisms (e.g., patents)
- Path dependence / Time compression diseconomies
- Causal ambiguity
- Social complexity / Interdependencies
The Renaissance Humanism Movement and the Protestant Reformation
The Humanism Movement
Humanism was a movement of cultural renewal that originated in Italy in the fifteenth century and spread across Europe in the first half of the sixteenth century. Its main characteristics are:
Key Characteristics of Humanism
- The rejection of the medieval mindset focused on the idea of God and the exaltation of the human being. Humanists considered that, endowed with reason and freedom, humanity established a method to search for knowledge and truth based on the defense of reflection
Classification of Control Systems and Overflow Instability
Classification of Control Systems
This document provides a clear and concise explanation of the various types of control systems, along with suitable examples. Control systems can be broadly classified into the following categories:
1. Open-Loop Control System
- Definition: A control system where the output has no effect on the control action.
- Working Principle: The input is provided, and the system performs based on that input, regardless of the resulting output.
- Key Feature: No feedback mechanism is
Core Concepts in Linguistics: Grammar, Phonology, and Morphology
Chomsky’s Dichotomy: Competence and Performance
As a start, language has a dichotomy; it can be divided into competence and performance according to Chomsky’s framework. Competence refers to a psychological system, not a set of conventions in a community of speakers. It is the individual speaker’s knowledge of their system. Performance is the actual use of language.
This suggests that the ability to make judgments of grammaticality is one thing, and performance is another. The former depends on competence.
Read MoreCore Principles of Pharmacology and Drug Action
Introduction to Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology that focuses on the study of drugs and their effects on living organisms. It is a multidisciplinary field that combines principles from biology, chemistry, medicine, and toxicology. Pharmacology helps us understand how drugs work, how they are metabolized in the body, their therapeutic effects, potential side effects, and the mechanisms behind these actions.
Core Concepts in Pharmacology
Drug Definition
A drug is any substance
Read MoreThe Paris Peace Settlement and WWI Military Strategy
The Aftermath of Armistice: The Paris Peace Conference
1919 was the year after the Armistice, marking the end of the First World War. People were thankful that the fighting had stopped, but many in Britain and France now wanted to punish Germany. The leaders of all the countries that had been fighting met in Paris to decide on a peace settlement to formally end the war.
The defeated powers were present but were given very little say in the debates; they were there simply to sign the treaties. Germany
Read MoreFoundational Factors Shaping Modern Australia: Federation, Gold, and Terra Nullius
The Doctrine of Terra Nullius in Australia
Terra nullius is a Latin term meaning “land belonging to no one.” This legal principle was used by European colonizers to claim sovereignty over inhabited territories, including Australia.
Despite knowing there were Indigenous people living in Australia, British colonists claimed the continent using the concept of Terra Nullius as justification. They argued that Aboriginal people were not “using” the land in a recognizable European manner (citing a lack of
Read MoreKey Themes and Techniques in Modern American Literature
Robert Frost: Poetic Art and Themes
Analyzing “Fire and Ice”
Robert Frost’s “Fire and Ice” is a very short poem, yet it conveys a deep and serious message. In the poem, Frost discusses two ways the world might end — through fire or through ice. The “fire” symbolizes intense feelings like desire, passion, and greed. The “ice” represents emotions such as hatred, coldness, and apathy. What makes this poem powerful is how Frost uses very simple language to discuss profound and serious
Read MoreComparative Biology of Transport Systems in Plants and Animals
Transport in Organisms: Fundamentals
In unicellular and simple multicellular organisms, nutrient uptake and waste removal occur primarily via passive transport mechanisms such as diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated diffusion across the external membrane, facilitated by their small size and high surface area-to-volume ratio.
In complex multicellular organisms, diffusion alone is insufficient to meet metabolic demands due to increased cellular volume and distance. Thus, specialized transport systems
Branch Accounting Methods and Systems for Business Expansion
Understanding Business Branches
A branch is an extension or subdivision of a large business, operating in different geographical locations under the control of a head office.
Example: The Bata Shoe Company often operates branches in various towns and cities.
The Role of the Head Office
The Head Office is the principal place of business that establishes and controls all branches. It provides directions and controls the operations of all branches.
Key Characteristics of a Business Branch
- It is not a separate