Another Napoleon :: essays research papers

Most historians portray Napoleons return to France as anexample of his disregard for hundreds of thousands of livesin holy order to satisfy his outsized ambition. We at Napoleon onthe Net, however, view the Hundred Days as an exampleof the Emperors superior charisma and the love for him thatit inspired. The support of the common multitude of Francewas the basis of Napoleonic rule. The generals and thepoliticians did not rush to support Napoleons spick-and-spanadventure, but, as we will show, the front-line soldiers andthe common people were determined to uphold the basicprinciple the renewal that it is the peoples right to decidethe form of their government. Vincent Cronin, in hisacclaimed biography of Napoleon, entitled NapoleonBonaparte An Intimate Biography (William Morrow &Company, 1972, pp. 391-392), describes Napoleons firstmajor confrontation with French troops sent by the Bourbonregime to kill or capture him. "Napoleon had 1,100 menagainst about 700. But he did no t want bloodshed. The annoyance of civil war he had felt twenty years before inProvence remained as strong as ever and, on landing, he had stipulation Cambronne strict orders that not a shot was to befired. What he did now ws to order his hundred Polishlancers to advance slowly. At this Delessart withdrew hismen, in good order, to new positions. The Polish lancerswere told to wheel and come back. Napoleon then had thetricolour unfolded and told the Guards band to play theMarseillaise, which he had described in Elba as the greatestgeneral of the Revolution. interdict since the return of theBourbons, the stirring tune had the effect, said one observor,of electrifying the Grenoble soldiers. Napoleon startedriding towards the men of the 5th. At pistol-shot range hedismounted and walked towards the 700 loaded muskets.He was wearing his gray-headed campaigning overcoat, familiar toevery Frenchman. Captain Randon, twenty years old, ofGrenoble, called to his men, There he is Fire After ta kinga few steps, Napoleon stop and drew apart the lapels ofhis overcoat, exposing his white waistcoat. If you want tokill your Emperor, he called in loud voice, here I am Backcame a tremendous shriek of Long live the Emperor Themen of the 5th, waving their shakos on bayonets, rushedcheering towards him. Just see if we want to kill you,shouted one soldier, rakish his ramrod up and down thebarrel of his empty musket. In a matter of minutes thesoldiers had whipped from their haversacks the old tricolour

The Category of the Individual Essay -- Sociology Sociological Papers

The Category of the IndividualIn The Order of Things, Michel Foucault argues that there is a pure experience of post and its modes of being (Foucault xxi), that order exists and that it is necessary. Foucault is concerned with language because it is a mode by which we maintain order in the world, and according to his argument, what we should fear are heterotopias, which undermine language, make it impossible to found this and that, shatter or tangle common names, and destroy syntax in advance (Foucault xviii). When Foucault refers to syntax, he is non just talking about our method of constructing sentences but also that less apparent syntax which causes words and things (next to and also opposite one another) to hold together (Foucault xviii). In other words, there is need for us to take into account how the things in our world are related to each other. One of the ways in which we do this is through the method of categorization, which allows us to channelize our world according to similarities and differences. However, Foucault stresses us to be cautious, to realize that we shall never succeed in defining a stable relation of contained to container between each of these categories and that which includes them all (Foucault xvii). An all-inclusive category does not exist it cannot exist. Foucault insists on the need to pay attention to what is present in the empty space, the interstitial blanks separating all these entities from one another (Foucault xvi). It is not that language is unequal it is just that we must be conscious of not only(prenominal) what is stated but also what is not directly stated, what is contained inside language and what is outside language. When we organize the things in the world in... ...gle words. I dont believe in sadness, joy, or regret. Maybe the best proof that language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling (Eugenides 217). We must realize that the only normal that exists is what is normal to the individual, to us. Our categories do not define us we define ourselves. Through our experiences, we create identities that are unique to us, and we, as others, must learn to honor our individual experiences because that is where the answer is, where it always has been. Works CitedEugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. New York Picador, 2002. Foucault, Michel. The Order of Things An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. NewYork Vintage Books. Moraga, Cherre. The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind. Names We Call Home history on Racial Identity. Eds. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi.New York Routledge.

Addressing Crime in America in John J. DiIulios Article, Let em Rot E

Addressing Crime in America in John J. DiIulios Article, Let em chemical decomposition reactionJohn J. DiIulio, Jr. writes his article, Let em Rot, in response to the State of the Union Address by President Clinton in January of 1994. In this article he focuses on the continually increasing crime problem in America. DiIulio feels that a change is needed in the way this country handles the punishment and rehabilitation of criminals. He makes a claim of policy that criminals should serve their entire prison sentences. DiIulio asserts, a prison sentence of X years should mean a prison sentence of X years (truth in sentencing) (563). He directs his article towards people who are concerned with the crime problem in America, specifically victims of crime and the families of criminals. He also in the beginning targets people who read the Wall Street Journal and support truth-in-sentencing.Throughout the article, DiIulios support is primarily based on motivational appeal. He quickly draws refer into the article through the shocking choice of words for his title. He then goes on to provoke readers with the...

Free Great Gatsby Essays: Social Relationships :: Great Gatsby Essays

Social Relationships in The Great Gatsby Novelists are often concerned with exploring the confusions and complexities of cordial human relationships. In the context, confusions refer to puzzling relationships, which are confusing to comprehend. Whereas, complexities relate to complicated and intricate issues. The different loving relationships discussed in F.Scott Fitzgeralds novel, THE GREAT GASTBY, are line of credit colleagues, lovers and married partners. The characters involved in these relationships consist of, Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Myrtle and George Wilson, Jordan Baker, Mr. Wolshiem and Nick Carraway. Each character interacts with others, establishing either confusions or complexities within their social relationship. A complex social relationship explored in this novel is between Wolshiem and Gatsby. The two are business colleagues who work together, however the nature of their business is rarely discussed. During lunch between Gatsby, Wolshiem and Nic k, Wolshiem mistakes Nicks ground of invitation, which Gatsby quickly states, I told you wed talk about that some other time. (p69) This suggests to the audience that their business is not above board, as Gatsby does not wish to discuss their business dealing in front of company. Throughout the novel, their business relationship is kept very vague. On the surface it appears to be a normal business relationship, however overdue to the uncertainty of their dealings, it is established to the audience that there is a complex relationship existing between the two characters. Thus showing how complexities can be explores by the social relationship of business colleagues. Another example of a social relationship explored in the novel, containing complexities, is between Wolshiem and Gatsby from Wolshiems point of view. In the final chapter, Wolshiem sends Nick a letter in regards to Gatsbys death. He states that he is, ...tied up in... very important business... cannot get mixed up in this thing now. (p157) This reinforces that their relationship was strictly business and there was not a very strong friendship existing between the two characters. It appears that Wolshiem has very little respect for Gatsby, as he doesnt cod the courtesy to attend his funeral. It is portrayed that all Gatsby was to Wolshiem was a business colleague, nothing more. Wolshiem doe not want to further their relationship as friends. Within the letter, Wolshiem refers to Gatsby as a thing. This represents Gatsbys death as an inconvenience on Wolshiems behalf. As Wolshiem was involved in some very important business, this once again reinforces the idea that their business relationship was below board.

welfare :: essays research papers

Images of social welfareI pledge allegiance to the flag of the join States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.These words are uttered in elementary schools, high schools, and various events and meetings throughout the nation everyday. We special Kly do not associate the image of welfare with the American flag or think about it as we recite the allegiance. We, however, associate it with images of prosperity and freedom. As I look closely at the last words of this allegiance with liberty and justice for all. I remember the number of homeless who beg in the streets, those who for one reason or another await assistance in the social services office, and those who because of the color of their skin or gender association switch yet to receive their share of benefits.According to Websters dictionary, welfare means Well-doing or well-being in any respect the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life ex emption from any evil or calamity prosperity happiness. Before taking classes such as this, my connotation of welfare was totally opposite. Welfare always meant something bad. When I heard the word welfare I pictured a homeless person or an immigrant whos only dream was a better life, but found it was not as easy as it seemed. When I heard about someone on welfare I was degraded to jump to conclusions. Id assume he or she was lazy and just didnt want to work or that he or she was in some sort of trouble.Looking at Websters meaning I notice the words respect and the common blessing of life. I have occur to realize those on welfare are people too and deserve the respect everybody else does. They may have come upon hard times or do a mistake or two, but because of the prejudice and stereotypes of others, find themselves stuck in a position where all they have is their common blessing of life.

welfare :: essays research papers

Images of WelfareI pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.These run-in are uttered in elementary schools, high schools, and various events and meetings throughout the nation everyday. We usually do not associate the image of social welfare with the American flag or think about it as we recite the allegiance. We, however, associate it with images of prosperity and freedom. As I look closely at the last row of this allegiance with liberty and justice for all. I remember the number of homeless who beg in the streets, those who for one reason or another await attention in the social services office, and those who because of the color of their skin or gender association have yet to receive their share of benefits.According to Websters dictionary, welfare means Well-doing or well-being in any respect the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life exemption from any evil or misadventure prosperity happiness. Before taking classes such as this, my connotation of welfare was totally opposite. Welfare always meant something bad. When I heard the word welfare I pictured a homeless person or an immigrant whos only dream was a better life, but found it was not as aristocratical as it seemed. When I heard about someone on welfare I was quick to jump to conclusions. Id assume he or she was lazy and just didnt want to work or that he or she was in some sort of trouble.Looking at Websters essence I notice the words respect and the common blessing of life. I have come to realize those on welfare are people similarly and deserve the respect everybody else does. They may have come upon hard times or made a mistake or two, but because of the prejudice and stereotypes of others, visit themselves stuck in a position where all they have is their common blessing of life.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 4

Chapter 4HAVE YOURSELF A NASTY LITTLE CHRISTMAS bait wiped the tears take his brass section, took a dense touch, and headed up the walk to his house. He was silent shaking from having seen Santa take a shovel in the throat, more thanover now it occurred to him that it might not be seemly to get him out of trouble. The first thing his mom would say was, Well, what were you doing out so late anyway? And dumb Brian, who was not Joshs real dad notwithstanding Moms dumb boyfriend, would say, Yeah, Santa would probably still be alive if you hadnt stayed so ample at Sams house. So, in that respect on the front step, he decided to go with number hysteria. He started breathing hard, pumping up some tears, got a good whimpering sob going, then opened the door with a dieseling back sniffle. He fell onto the pleasant mat and let loose with a full fire-truck-siren wail. And nothing happened. No one said a word. No one came zip.So Josh crawled into the financial support room, traili ng a nice fiber-optic string of drool from his lower lip to the carpet as he chanted a mucusy Momma, drive ining that it would totally disarm her temper and get her all fired up to protect him from dumb Brian, for whom he had no magic manipulation chant. But naught called him, nobody came running, dumb Brian was not sprawled crossways the couch desire the great sleepy slug that he was.Josh wound it peck. Mom? Just the hint of a sob there, ready to go full bore again when she answered. He went into the kitchen, where the memo light was blinking on Moms machine. Josh wiped his nose on his weapon and hit the simplyshort ton.Hi, Joshy, his mom said, her cheerful overtired voice. Brian and I had to go out to eat with some buyers. Theres a Stouffers mac and cheese in the freezer. We should be home forwards eight. Do your homework. Call my cell if you get s helpd.Josh couldnt believe the luck. He checked the clock on the microwave. Only seven-thirty. Excellent Latch-keyed loose l ike a magic elf. Yes Dumb Brian had come through with a business dinner. He grabbed the Stouffers out of the freezer, popped it box and all into the microwave, and hit the preset cartridge holder. You didnt really give birth to uncase the plastic back like they said. If you upright nuke it in the box, the cardboard will keep it from exploding all over the microwave when the plastic goes. Josh didnt know why they didnt just put that in the instructions. He went back into the living room, morose on the TV, and plopped low on the floor in front of it to s crystallise for the microwave to beep.Maybe he should call Sam, he thought. Tell him approximately Santa. But Sam didnt believe in Santa. He said that Santa was just something the goys make up to make them feel better about not having a menorah. That was crap, of course. Goys (a Jewish word for girls and boys, Sam had explained) didnt want a menorah. They wanted toys. Sam was just saying that because he was mad because i nstead of Christmas they had snipped the tip of his penis despatch and said mazel tov.Wow, sucks to be you, said Josh.Were the Chosen, said Sam. non for kickballShut up.No, you boot out up.No, you shut up.Sam was Joshs opera hat friend and they understood each other, but would Sam know what to do about a hit? Especially a murder of an important person? You were supposed to go to an adult in these situations, Josh was pretty convinced(predicate) of it. Fire, an injured friend, a bad touch, you were supposed to tell an adult, a parent, a teacher, or a policeman, and no one would be mad at you. (But if you found your moms boyfriend lighting a giant chili-dog-and-beer fart in the garage workshop, the police absolutely did not want to know about it. Josh had learned that lesson the hard way.)A commercial came on, and Joshs mac and cheese was still surfing the microwaves, so he de slam danceed calling 911 or praying, and decided to go with the prayer. Like calling 911, you werent sup posed to pray for just anything. For instance, God did not care whether or not you got your bandicoot through the fire level on PlayStation, and if you asked for help there, there was a good chance that he would ignore you when you really unavoidable help, like for a spelling test or if your mom got cancer. Josh reckoned it was sort of like cell-phone minutes, but this seemed like a real emergency.Our Heavenly Father, Josh began. You n ever use Gods first name that was like a commandment or something. This is Josh Barker, six-seventy-one Worchester Street, Pine Cove, California nine-three-seven, five-four. I saw Santa this night, which was great, and thank you for that, but then, right after I saw him, he got killed with a shovel, and so, Im afraid that theres not going to be any Christmas and Ive been good, which Im sure youll see if you check Santas list, so if you dont mind could you please make Santa come back to life and make everything okay for Christmas? No, no, no, that sounded really selfish. Quickly he added And a Happy Hanukkah to you and all the Jewish people like Sam and his family. Mazel tov. There. Perfect. He felt a lot better.The microwave beeped and Josh ran to the kitchen, right into the legs of a really tall man in a long black coat who was standing by the counter. Josh screamed and the man took him by the arms, picked him up, and looked him over like he was a gemstone or a really tasty dessert. Josh kicked and squirmed, but the blond man held him fast.Youre a child, said the blond man.Josh halt kicking for a s and looked into the impossibly blue eyeball of the stranger, who was now studying him in much the same way a bear might examine a takeout television season wondering how to get all those tasty little people out of it.Well, duh, said Josh.The Christmas tree took a wide left onto cypress Street. Finding that somewhat suspicious, Constable Theophilus Crowe pulled in behind it as he dug the little blue light out of the glove co mpartment of his Volvo and stuck it on the roof. Theo was comparatively sure that there was a vehicle under the Christmas tree somewhere, but all he could see right now were the taillights shining through the branches in the back. As he followed the tree up Cypress, past the burger stand and Brines Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines, a yearncone the size of a Nerf football broke loose and rolled off to the side of the street, bouncing and thumping into one of the gas pumps.Theo hit the siren one time, just a chirp, gaugeing hed better stop this before somebody got hurt. There was no way that the driver under the Christmas tree could see the road clearly. The tree was driving trunk first, so the widest, thickest branches were covering the front of the vehicle. The trees tires chirped with a downshift. It killed the lights and screeched somewhat the corner on Worchester Street, leaving a trail of rolling pinecones and pine-fresh exhaust.Under normal circumstances, if a suspect tried to e lude Theo, he would go for called it into the county sheriffs immediately, hoping a deputy in the area might provide backup, but hed be damned if he was going to call in that he was in hot pursuit of a fugitive Christmas tree. Theo turned the siren onto full shriek and took off up the hill after the fleeing conifer, thinking for the fiftieth time that day that life had seemed a lot easier when hed smoked pot.Boy, you dont see that every day, said Tucker Case, who was sitting at a window table at H.P.s Caf, waiting for Lena to come back from freshening up in the rest-room. H.P.s a mix of pseudo Tudor and Country Kitchen Cute was Pine Coves most popular restaurant, and tonight it was completely packed.The waitress, a pretty redhead in her forties, glanced up from the tray of drinks she was delivering and said, Yeah, Theo hardly ever chases anyone.That Volvo was chasing a pine tree, Tuck said.Could be, said the waitress. Theo used to do a lot of drugs.No, really Tuck tried t o explain, but she had headed back to the kitchen. Lena was returning to the table. She was still in the black tank top under an open whiteness shirt, but she had laundryed the streaks of mud from her face and her dark hair was brushed out around her bring ups. To Tuck she looked like the sexy but tough Indian guide chick in the movies, who endlessly leads the group of nerdy businessmen into the wilderness where they are assaulted by vicious rednecks, bears gone mutant from exposure to phosphate backwash detergent, or ancient Indian spirits with a grudge.You look great, Tuck said. Are you Native American?What was the siren about? Lena asked, sliding into the seat across from him.Nothing. A traffic thing.This is just so wrong. She looked around, as if everyone knew how wrong it was. Wrong.No, its good, Tuck said with a big smile, toilsome to make his blue eyes igniter in the candlelight, but forgetting where exactly his twinkle muscles were located. Well have a nice meal, get t o know each other a little.She leaned over the table and whispered harshly, Theres a dead man out there. A man I used to be married to.Shh, shh, shh, Tuck shushed, gently placing a finger against her lip, trying to sound comforting and maybe a little European. Now is not the time to talk of this, my sweet.She grabbed his finger and bent it back. I dont know what to do.Tuck was ill-shapen in his seat, leaning back to relieve the unnatural angle in which his finger was pointing. Appetizer? he suggested. Salad?Lena let go of his finger and covered her face with her hands. I cant do this.What? Its just dinner, said Tuck. No pressure. He had never really dated much gone on dates, that is. Hed met and seduced a lot of women, but it was never over a series of evenings with dinner and conversation usually just some drinks and vulgarity at an airport hotel lounge had done the trick. He felt it was time he behaved like a grown-up get to know a woman before he slept with her. His th erapist had suggested it right before shed stopped treating him, right after hed hit on her. It wasnt going to be easy. In his experience things went a lot better with women before they got to know him, when they could still forcing out hope and potential on him.We just buried my ex-husband, Lena said.Sure, sure, but then we delivered Christmas trees to the poor. A little perspective, huh? A lot of people have buried their spouses.Not personally. With the shovel they killed him with.You may want to keep it down a little. Tuck checked the diners at the nearby tables to see if they were listening, but they all seemed to be discussing the pine tree that had just driven by. Lets talk about something else. Interests? Hobbies? Movies?Lena tossed her head as if she didnt hear him right, then stared as if to say, Are you nuts?Well, for instance, he pressed on, I rented the strangest movie last night. Did you know that Babes in Toyland was a Christmas movie?Of course, what did you think it was?Well, I thought, well now its your turn. Whats your favored movie?Lena leaned close to Tuck and searched his eyes to see if he might be joking. Tuck batted his eyelashes, trying to look innocent.Who are you? Lena finally asked.I told you.But, whats wrong with you? You shouldnt be so so calm, while Im a nervous wreck. Have you done this kind of thing before?Sure. Are you kidding? Im a pilot, Ive eaten in restaurants all over the world.Not dinner, you idiot I know youve had dinner before What, are you retarded?Okay, now everybody is looking. You cant just say retarded in public like that people take offense because, you know, some of them are. Youre supposed to say developmentally disabled. Lena stood up and threw her napkin on the table. Tucker, thank you for helping me, but I cant do this. Im going to go talk to the police.She turned and stormed through the restaurant toward the door.Well be back, Tuck called to the waitress. He nodded to the nearby tables. Sorry. She s a little high-strung. She didnt mean to say retarded. Then he went after Lena, snatching his leather pennant off the back of his chair as he went.He caught up with her as she was rounding the corner of the building into the parking lot. He caught her by the shoulder and spun her around, making sure that she saw that he was smiling when she completed the turn. Blinking Christmas lights played red and green highlights across her dark hair, making the scowl she was aiming at him seem festive.Leave me alone, Tucker. Im going to the police. Ill just explain that it was just an accident.No. I wont let you. You cant.Why cant I?Because Im your alibi.If I turn myself in, I wont shoot an alibi.I know.Well?I want to spend Christmas with you.Lena softened, her eyes going wide, the swell of a tear watering up in one eye. rightfully?Really. Tuck was more than a little uncomfortable with his own honesty he was standing like someone had just poured hot coffee in his lap and he was trying t o keep the front of his pants from touching him.Lena held out her arms and Tuck walked into them, guiding her hands inside his jacket and around his ribs. He rested his cheek against her hair and took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of her shampoo and the residual pine scent picked up from handling the Christmas trees. She didnt smell like a murderer she smelled like a woman.Okay, she whispered. I dont know who you are, Tucker Case, but I think Id like to spend Christmas with you, too.She buried her face in his chest and held him until there was a thump against his back, followed by a loud scratching noise on his jacket. She pushed him back just as the fruit bat peeked his little doggie face over the pilots shoulder and barked. Lena leaped back and screamed like a bunny in a blender.What in the hell is that? she asked, backing across the parking lot.Roberto, Tuck said. I mentioned him before.This is too weird. Too weird. Lena began to chant and pace in a circle, glancing up at Tuck and his bat every tally of seconds. She paused. Hes wearing sunglasses.Yeah, and dont think its easy finding Ray-Bans in a fruit-bat medium.Meanwhile, up at the Santa Rosa Chapel, Constable Theophilus Crowe had finally caught up to the fugitive Christmas tree. He adept the headlights of the Volvo on the suspect evergreen and stood behind the car door for cover. If hed had a public-address system he would have used it to issue commands, but since the county had never addicted him one, he shouted.Get out of the vehicle, hands first, and turn and face meIf hed had a weapon he would have drawn it, but hed left his Glock on the top shelf of his closet next to Mollys old nicked-up broad sword. He realized that the car door was actually only providing cover to the lower third of his body, and he reached down and rolled up the window. Then, feeling awkward, he slammed the door and loped toward the Christmas tree.Goddammit, come out of the tree. Right nowHe perceive a car window su pporter down and then a voice. Oh my, Officer, you are so forceful. A familiar voice. Somewhere under there was a Honda CRV and the woman he had married.Molly? He should have known. Even when she stayed on her meds, as she had promised she would, she could still be artistic. Her term.The branches of the big pine tree shuffled and out stepped his wife, wearing a green Santa hat, jeans, red sneakers, and a jean jacket with studs down the sleeves. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail that trailed down her back. She might have been a biker elf. She rushed out of the branches as if she were ducking the blades of a helicopter, then ran to his side.Look at this magnificent son of a bitch She gestured to the tree, put her arm around his waist, pulled him close, humped his leg a little. Isnt it great?It certainly is uh, large. Howd you get it on the car?Took some time. I hoisted it up on some ropes, then drove under it. Do you think therell be a flat spot where it dragged on the road?T heo looked the tree up and down, back and forth, watched the car exhaust boiling out of the branches. He wasnt sure he wanted to know, but he had to ask. You didnt buy this at the hardware store, did you?No, there was a problem with that. But I saved a ton of money. Cut it myself. Completely totaled my broadsword, but look at this son of a bitch. Look at this glorious bastardYou cut it down with your sword? Theo wasnt so worried about what she had cut it down with, but from where shed cut it. He had a secret in the forest near their cabin.Yeah. We dont have a chain saw that I dont know about, do we?No. Actually they did, in the garage, hidden behind some paint cans. Hed hidden it when her artistic moments had been more frequent. Thats not the problem, sweetie. I think the problem is that its too big.No, she said, walking the length of the tree now, pausing to jump through the branches and turn off the Hondas engine. Thats where youre wrong. Observe, double doors into the chapel.Theo observed. The chapel did, indeed, have double doors. There was a single mercury lamp illuminating the gravel parking lot, but he could clearly see the little white chapel, the shadows of gravestones screening dimly behind it a graveyard where theyd been planting Pine Covers for a hundred years.And the ceiling in the main room is thirty feet tall at the peak. This tree is only twenty-nine feet tall. We pull it through the doors backward and stand that baby up. Ill need your help, but, you know, you dont mind.I dont?Molly pulled open her jean jacket and flashed Theo, exposing his favorite breasts, right down to the shiny scar that ran across the top of the right one, cocked up like a curious purple eyebrow. It was like unexpectedly running into two tender friends, both a little pale from being out of the sun, a tad humbled by time, but with alert strike hard noses upturned by the night chill. And as quickly as they appeared, the jacket was pulled shut and Theo felt like hed been shut out in the cold.Okay, I dont mind, he said, trying to buy time for the blood to return to his brain. How do you know the ceiling is thirty feet tall?From our wedding pictures. I cut you out and used you to measure the whole building. It was just under five Theos tall.You cut up our wedding pictures?Not the good ones. Come on, help me get the tree off the car. She turned quickly and her jacket fanned out behind her.Molly, I wish you wouldnt go out like that.You mean like this? She turned, lapels in hand.And there they were again, his pink-nosed friends.Lets get the tree set up and then do it in the graveyard, okay? She jumped a little for emphasis and Theo nodded, following the recoil. He suspected that he was being manipulated, enslaved by his own sexual weakness, but he couldnt quite figure out why that was a bad thing. After all, he was among friends.Sweetheart, Im a peace officer, I cant Come on, it will be nasty. She said nasty like it meant delicious, which is what she meant.Molly, after five years together, Im not sure were supposed to be nasty. But even as he said it, Theo was moving toward the big evergreen, looking for the ropes that secured it to the Honda.Over in the graveyard, the dead, who had been listening all along, began to murmur anxiously about the new Christmas tree and the impending sex show.Theyd heard it all, the dead crying children, wailing widows, confessions, condemnations, questions that they could never answer Halloween dares, raving drunks-invoking the ghosts or just apologizing for drawing breath would-be witches, chanting at indifferent spirits, tourists rubbing the old tombstones with paper and charcoal like curious dogs scratching at the grave to get in. Funerals, confirmations, communions, weddings, foursquare dances, heart attacks, junior-high hand jobs, wakes gone awry, vandalism, Handels Messiah, a birth, a murder, eighty-three Passion plays, eighty-five Christmas pageants, a dozen brides barking over tombstones li ke taffeta sea lions as the best man gave it to them dog style, and now and again, couples who needed something dark and smelling of damp earth to give their sex life a jolt the dead had heard it.Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah Molly cried from her seat astraddle the town constable, who was squirming on an uncomfortable bed of plastic roses a few feet above a dead schoolteacher.They always think theyre the first ones. Ooooo, lets do it in the graveyard, said Bess Leander, whose husband had served her foxglove tea with her last breakfast.I know, there are three used condoms on my grave from this week alone, said Arthur Tannbeau, citrus farmer, deceased five years.How can you tell?They heard everything, but their vision was limited.The smell.Thats disgusting, said Esther, the schoolteacher.Its hard to shock the dead. Esther was guise disgust.Whats all the racket? I was sleeping. Malcolm Cowley, antique book dealer, myocardial infarction over Dickens.Theo Crowe, the constable, and his crazy wife doing it on Esthers grave, said Arthur. Ill bet shes off her meds. atomic number 23 years theyve been married and theyre still at this kind of thing? Since her death, Bess had taken a strong antirelationship stance.Postmarital sex is so pedestrian. Malcolm again, ever bored with provincial, small-town death.Some postmortem sex, thats what I could use, said the late Marty in the Morning, KGOB radios top DJ with a bullet a pioneer carjack victim back when hair bands command the airwaves. A rave in the grave, if you get my meaning.Listen to her. Id like to slip the bone to her, said Jimmy Antalvo, whod kissed a pole on his Kawasaki to remain ever nineteen.Which one? Marty cackled.The new Christmas tree sounds lovely, said Esther. I do hope they sing Good King Wenceslas this year.If they do, spouted the moldy book dealer, youll find me justly reel in my grave.You wish, said Jimmy Antalvo. Hell, I wish.The dead did not spin in their graves, they did not move nor could they speak, except to one another, voices without air. What they did was sleep, awakening to listen, to chat a bit, then, eventually, to never wake again. Sometimes it took twenty years, sometimes as long as forty before they took the big sleep, but no one could toy with hearing a voice from longer ago than that.Six feet above them, Molly punctuated her last few convulsive climactic bucks with, I AM SO GOING TO WASH YOUR VOLVO WHEN WE GET HOME YES YES YESThen she sighed and fell forward to nuzzle Theos chest as she caught her breath.I dont know what that means, Theo said.It means Im going to wash your car for you.Oh, its not a euphemism, like, wash the old Volvo. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge?Nope. Its your reward.Now that they were finished, Theo was having a hard time ignoring the plastic flowers that were impressed in his bare backside. I thought this was my reward. He gestured to her bare thighs on either side of him, the divots her knees had made in the dirt, her hair played out across his chest.Molly pushed up and looked down at him. No, this was your reward for helping me with the Christmas tree. Washing your car is your reward for this.Oh, Theo said. I love you.Oh, I think Im going to be sick, said a new dead voice from across the woods.Whos the new guy? asked Marty in the Morning.The radio on Theos belt, which was down around his knees, crackled. Pine Cove Constable, come in. Theo?Theo did an awkward sit-up and grabbed the radio. Go ahead, Dispatch.Theo, we have a two-oh-seven-A at six-seven-one Worchester Street. The victim is alone and the suspect may still be in the area. Ive dispatched two units, but theyre twenty minutes out.I can be there in five minutes, Theo said.Suspect is a white male, over six feet, long blond hair, wearing a long black raincoat or overcoat.Roger, Dispatch. Im on my way. Theo was trying to pull his pants up with one hand while working the radio with the other.Molly was on her feet already, naked fr om the waist down, holding her jeans and sneakers rolled up under her left arm. She extended a hand to help Theo up.Whats a two-oh-seven?Not sure, said Theo, permit her lever him to his feet. Either an attempted kidnapping or a possum with a handgun.You have plastic flowers stuck to your butt.Probably the former, she didnt say anything about shots fired.No, leave them. Theyre cute.

Of Mice and Men: An Unexpected Connection

Lennie and Curleys married woman come across as very different characters. They differ greatly in appearance, mentality, and personality. Despite their differences, though, Lennie and Curleys wife are surprisingly similar in the way they both constantly need to create physical connections. As a result, they are able to have-to doe with to for each one other, and when they are fin whollyy alone together they address each others needs, which leads to a tragic end. Lennie and Curleys wife are passing different people, both externally and internally.Lennie is a huge man, shapeless of face, with wide, sloping shoulders, (2) while Curleys wife is a very purty (28) woman with full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyeball (31). Lennie has animalistic qualities and moves clumsily he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws (2). Contrastingly, Curleys wife is more graceful and moves very quietly, which is depicted when glass says, Jesus Christ, Curleys wif e can move quiet (82) after she had entered the stable on the way to Crooks bunk without anyone hearing her.Lennie suffers from an unknown mental illness the other characters think hes nuts (74) and as a result, he acts callow, imitating the behavior of certain animals He drank from the pool with long gulps, snorting into the wet like a horse, (3) and he dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so the water arose in little splashes (3). Lennie is a nice crack (40) who is very innocent, flesh outd by how he interacts with the girl in the red dress in Weed he reaches out to feel this red dress, he jus valued to tactility that dress (42).He is also very tractable hed do any damn thing (40) that George told him. In contrast, Curleys wife is mentally sharper and very observant she notices all them bruises (80) on Lennies face, which resulted from his fight with Curley, and realizes that he was the one who hurt Curleys hand, not a machine. Curleys wife is also very assertive, manipulative, and flirtatious. A clever lady, she knows how to get what she wants. The superiority of Curleys wifes qualities to those of Lennie later contributes to their tragic end.Both Lennie and Curleys wife have to constantly create physical connections in their lives, but each for a different reason. Lennie has an obsession with flatterting soft things, which he reveals to Curleys wife I like to darling nice things with my fingers, sof things (90). His obsession, which he has had since he was a child his Aunt Clara used to give him a piece of velvet to touch is depicted throughout the book. In the beginning of the book, Lennie finds a dead mouse and when asked why he keeps it, he answers, I could pet it with my thumb wile we walked along, (6) expressing his zest to pet things, dead or alive.He wants to pet things so badly that after George throws the mouse off into the distance to get rid of it, Lennie goes and retrieves it again. In Weed, when Lennie saying t he girl in the red dress who he had never even met before, he reached out to touch it, just to feel the dress. George describes Lennies obsession concerning decocts pups Hell want to sleep right out in the barn with em. Well have trouble keepin him from getting right in the box with them pups (38). Lennie wants to pet them pups all the time (42). Furthermore, his pipe dream to tend furry (16) rabbits results from his obsession.Lennie has a longing to pet every soft thing he encounters in the book and each time he fulfills his craving something unfortunate happens, foreshadowing the books final events. He doesnt know his own strength and cant control his obsession. Similarly, Curleys wife has a constant need to physically feel loved. She is someone who needs a lot of love and attention (her dream was to be an actress), which her husband will never give her. As a result, she tries to interact with any guy she can in Crooks room when talking to Candy, Crooks, and Lennie, she admits, what am I doin?Standin here talkin to a bunch of bindle stiffsan likin it because they aint secret code else (78). Slim comments on her behavior She aint concealin nothing She got the eye goin all the time on everybody Seems like she cant keep away from guys (51). Although many of the ranchers view her as a tart, (28) I believe that Curleys wife is a genuinely lonely person. She expresses her loneliness to Lennie I get lonely You can talk to people, but I cant talk to nobody but Curley (87). Ironically, Lennie and Curleys wife, who have nearly opposite qualities, can cater to each others need by responding to each others obsessions.Purposely kept apart by the author through various characters for most of the book, when Lennie and Curleys wife are alone together for the first time, the already existent chemistry between them is ostensible, and the extent of their needs is so great that neither can resist acting upon them. Leading up to this final scene, Lennies attraction to Curleys wife is unequivocal. When he first sees her, his eyes move down over her body, (31) and when she talks Lennie watches her with fascination.Furthermore when George speaks negatively about Curleys wife, Lennie defensively says, Shes purty and then later repeats, Gosh, she was purty after which he smiles admiringly (32). Curleys wife knows how to relate to Lennie and speak to him on his level. After Candy tells her that Curleys hand was caught in a machine, she, knowing what really happened, speaks flirtatiously to Lennie O. K. , Machine. Ill talk to you later. I like machines (80). In the final scene, Curleys wife indicates to Lennie that she understands his obsession when Lennie reveals that he likes to pet things, she responds Well, who dont?Everbody likes that. I like to feel silk an velvet. Do you like to feel velvet? (90). Lennie and Curleys wife open up to each other, and as a result the reader learns the most about these characters from this scene Lennie explains his obsessio n, while Curleys wife explains her loneliness and need to feel loved. The reciprocatory connection between them is so strong that Lennie disobeys Georges orders, risking his dream of tending the rabbits, and succumbs to the temptation of Curleys wife.Her loneliness is so great that Curleys wife, aware of the consequences, takes Lennies hand and puts it on her head (90). Lennies obsession overpowers him, and he continuously strokes Curleys wifes hair harder and harder, making her scream in pain. horror-stricken that George aint gonna let him tend no rabbits, (91) when Curleys wife doesnt stop screaming, Lennie shakes her while covering her mouth and accidentally kills her. Lennies actions illustrate his lack of self-restraint, and he is therefore viewed as a threat to society. As a result, Lennies killing of Curleys wife leads to the killing of Lennie.The characters that seem the least alike in Of Mice and Men, Lennie and Curleys wife, ironically, share a common need that enables t hem to have one of the strongest connections in the book, both physically and emotionally. Knowing that they have the efficiency to satisfy each others needs, Lennie and Curleys wife are in a very vulnerable situation that is full of temptation. Lennie cant control his obsession and accidentally kills Curleys wife, while trying to preserve his dream to tend rabbits that is based on his obsession. The physical connections that once gave them pleasure and pleasure in life lead to each of their deaths.

Comtemparory Business

There are many companies that make products that go head to head. coca plant dope and Pepsi are an mannequin of such reveries. There has been many taste test and competitions that Involved the soda kings. This reverie has been going on for over a century. (See appendage 1) The start of this long standing soda war began 1 886 when creator John S. Pentameter developed the legitimate recipe for gust. Then 13 eld later Pepsi creator pharmacist Caleb Abraham developed his formula. By this time Coca-Cola was already fulfilling order that totaled a million gallons per year.Coke hen continue to develop its iconic bottle in 1921, they then secured huge name endorsements deals, expanded to Europe and Cuba, Canada and Panama. In the Interim, peeps went bankrupt because of WI In 1923. Pepsi Is fully revived fully In 1931 and beget a campaign to rival coke back and forward. Although Pepsi never really tops Coke in soda sales the Pepsi Company is still more than profitable than Coke due t o their diversity of the many other products they sell. Coke spends a half a billion more on advertising than Pepsi. (See appendix 2) (Basin, 2013) Corporate CulturePerformance with a purpose Is the PepsiCo corporate culture motto. The PepsiCo CEO, Indri K. Onion, states Ethics and growth are connected is a broadly shared understanding in todays business world. But these words appeared in the PepsiCo Annual Report back in 1968?just three years after the Pepsi-Cola Company and the Frito-Lay Company unite to form PepsiCo. It is a testament to how long we have treasured the belief that corporate capabilities and corporate character are not Just Integrated, alone Inseparable. (Company T. P. 2013) here she Is stating that ethics Is an Intricate part of PepsiCo culture and It has en for many, many years. This is before it has been before it has been set and a standard in the business world today. She goes on to speak about how this ideal has made Pepsi the innovator and leader in such areas from civil rights to scholarships to recycling. The Pepsi Company believes that its investment in the future by focal point of environmental protection, Investing back Into the community and performance with purpose keeps the telephoner ahead of the global challenges shaping the industry.Coca Cola Companys Pre locationnt and COO Glen Walter states that Since our first remarkable fountain sales in 1886, we have been a driver of marketplace innovation and an investor in local economies. Today we lead the beverage industry with more than 500 beverage brands including four of the worlds top-five sparkling brands. But while our business opportunities are enormous, our commitment to our consumers and the communities In which we operate Is even greater. According to the website the companys focus is Sustainability and growth.The company strives to continue to be a leader of the soda world. The mission statement reads Our Roadman starts with our mission, which is enduring. It decla res our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we reckon our actions and decisions. To refresh the world To create value and make a difference. (company T. C. , 2013) It seems that the Coca Cola Co does not talk about it ties and comments to the community and the future but Just to the sustainability of the company.The advisements appear to be community based it does not seem to resonate through the corporate culture. The difference of corporate culture seems to be Pepsi seems to realise forwardness of the company and community since sasss. Whereas n the other had Coca Cola seems to Just in the recent 20 years or so take the community with the development of its Coca Cola Foundation. Benefits of competition The battle between the two great giants has sparked new and innovative ways to stay above the competition.One example of a intense exchange that take place during the Cola Wars was Coca-Cola deciding to a strategic retreat minion, by publicizing its plan s to bring back the original coke recipe after the introduction of New Coke. The wars also lead to Pepsi realizing that its grip on the soda world was not as evident ND they decided in 1965 to diversify and acquired ownership of Frito-lay Company. (Basin, 2013) Another benefit of the wars are the introduction in the late sass, Pepsi launched its most profitable long-term strategy of the Cola Wars, called Pepsi Stuff.This was a point system where Pepsi consumers drank Pepsi and received points to buy free Pepsi lifestyle merchandise. After researching the company launched the program and it gained instant success. Millions of patrons take part in the program. This go on also made Pepsi highly popular and it outperformed Coke during the summer of the Atlanta Olympics which is in the hometown of Coke. Later in 2005 Coca-Cola and Pepsi started a cyber-war with the re-introduction of Pepsi Stuff in 2005 Coca-Cola strikes back with Coke Rewards.A third benefit is in 1985, Coca-Cola and Pepsi were launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. The companies had invented special cans to test packaging and dispensing systems for use in zero G conditions. The test was classified a failure by the shuttle crew, primarily due to the lack of both refrigeration and gravity. But this pushed the companies and it lead to the invention of the Coca-Cola fountain dispenser. (Russell, 012) bide to Thrive I speculate that Pepsi will continue to bill there brand threw the food brand versus just focusing on the soda side of things.Coca Cola now is focusing plans to focus on build its brand throughout the world and community. The Journey is called Me, We and the world. The company has made the statement that they are commit to grow the business in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable way. (Company T. C. , 2013) These statements are a part of their investment sustainability plan. The soda wars have gone on for centuries and although never company will admit o the ongoing competition, they both are innovators in the world of business and will continue to forge on to success.

Online Business And Internet Strategies Essay

Inter win presence for a air is a aright communication and advertisement tool. Using a website to sell a physical product, a service or an intellectual property, becomes an incredibly cost-efficient business tool. Online businesses atomic number 18 environmentally friendly and a sign of professionalism today. headache through Internet can help to increase the projected tax r steadyues for any product that can be conceived. Marketing over the internet also means that in that respect would not be any worries about the attrition of employees or inventory liability. Potential buyers be better expected to find a website of your business than about you or your country.Choice of BusinessFocusing on a business sector resembling the providers of corrugated-paper boxes to large businesses, would be great idea to start. With its uniqueness, this type of online business venture will also ensure that online competition is token(prenominal). Of course they ar many prospects that atomic n umber 18 untapped in this field. The target market for placing online orders of paper boxes would beLarge fast-food chains that are expanding their businesses in newly liberalized economies of eastern Europe. (UNCTAD, 2005)Small and large courier companies that rely on huge quantities of paper boxes for every kind of shipment.Businesses and shops of any scale and any location would choose efficient incase material.Other online businesses that require to ship physical products to their customers like online art auctions, gift sellers and gadget showcases, may require fluctuating quantities of paper boxes. Since they cannot stock such an item as packaging material, the best option would be to purchase the required quantity online.Capital and InfrastructureThe main advantage of setting up this online business would require minimal investment at the onset just as in any other online venture. Another positive is that the customers usually pay upfront in online businesses, so the cash conversion cycle would always grip the business with cash-in-hand. Major chunk of initial investment would be towardspurchasing a suitable firmament name that either resembles paper box or the region where the potential difference customers are hardened. For instance if McDonalds from USA is planning to set-up new outlets in Eastern Europe, then the domain name could be www.boxesineurope.com (this domain is available)purchasing a suitable website hosting service provider (hosting company for website space and website design) by checking that companys website. One should be thorough about a web-hosting providers integrity and background as many of them stoop to blackmail their clients if they see a profit-making business. So, it is imperative for the safety and earnest of my business as well potential clients.cost of search engine optimization of websites should be taken care of at the design stage itself. Websites that are better optimized for search engines, appear at a higher rank than other when a search of a special(prenominal) term is run on the popular search engines like Google. Most importantly, all the results with the term paper box providers in Eastern Europe, by from my website, would be my competitors. So I would be pro-active in spending some amount getting a better ranking on search engines.there would be random costs involved that include the cost of getting a high speed internet connection, setting up communication earnings with local manufacturers of paper boxes, office equipment etc of course my own basement will serve as office.Strategic AlliancesThe most important business partners could be located online and the best way to check their authenticity, quality and service would be to set up meeting with them, if they are geographically approachable. Otherwise, even through slap-up business proposition email, any business would like to expand and extend their network. (NFIB, 2002) Most important allies for my website www.boxesineurop e.com would be quality manufacturers of boxes. Again, their website, portfolio and background would be a good measure of their reliability.Marketing My Online BusinessWebsite Promoting a website means to increase the number of visitors reaching the webpages. Larger the number of visitors, higher would be the probability that their visits would convert into potential business or purchase. So increasing website traffic would be the main aim of any online business including mine. Here are few options that I would research to improve the visibility and accessibility of www.boxesineurope.comIn order to get the most of search engines, I would keep the website search engine optimized and updated. A part of tax income will be diverted to professaional optimizers. For instance Google recenlty annouced that more than 5 billion searches took place on their search engine in a month of 2005 even a conversion rate of 5% can give huge returns on the amount of money spend on search engine optimiz ation. To throw up it simply, even if 5 out 100 visitors on my website, turn into actual customers, then cost accrued in bringing those 100 visitors bears huge profits. (Gonsalves, 2006)I would use online advertizements, banners and sponsored links on the websites that my potential customers are likely to visit. Since, the target market is widely distributed, sales professionals or procurement personnel of my potential customers are likely to search for few specific terms. (NCC Ltd 2007)Websites that are non-competitors for my business but show on such search results, became an ideal business partners for exchanging website links. As throng who likely to be their customers may reach my website and potential buyers of paper boxes may reach their website.Sponsored links through search engines can help me to generate revenue even if I do not sell the product showcased on my website. So, its an alternative tool to generate capital that could be invested in online advertizements.To kee p customers coming back the pore would to upgrade/update the website frequently. I would keep changing product picture and school text design without compromising on the grievous looks of the webpages. Posting periodic newsletter on the site would be a good idea to to provide something new to read for the visitors.Once the website popularity improves, I would focus on building a database of my consumers or those who simply enquired about the products. Such a database will provde invaluable and dividing visitors into segments will be very useful for ledger entry targeted marketing campaigns. There are also advanced software to help in refining online marketing to different sets of customers. (Business Link, 2007) telecommunicate Since the online business marketing is for the net users, emails would provide useful for building relationships and keeping my acquaintances aware about my business. Periodic emails, popularly known as newsletters can assist to update the customers about offers. Email is a less intrusive mode than telephone marketing. I would be searching the liason offices and business personnel of potential customer and send them personalized emails. Hiring a third party for doing email marketing may prove illegal in case they try to spam. (Prodesk, 1999)Short Messaging Service Marketing via text messaging is a viable option as almost everybody carries a mobile phone these days. However, I would be careful to not to invade concealing by sending unsolicited and unexpected messages to unknown people.Though equipped technically and planned well ahead of time, even an online business would require sealed ethics that I would never violate. I would ensure thatcustomers get exactly what they order and in the promised time.website visitors will always be secure regarding their personal selective information and banking credentials like credit cards, debit cards or any other mode of transaction.there would be strict filtering for spam, viruses and any other security threats for the website visitors and customers alike.investment would be timely to keep the technology and the content of the website updated to real time ie an outdated or irrelevant information would never be displayed.With these marketing strategies and plan for online business, I am confident of setting up a viable internet business enterprise.REFERENCESUnited Nations Conference on carry on and Development. (2005) Report Eastern Europe remains top FDI destination. Available on http//www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/eastern-europe-remains-top-fdi-destination/article-143913National Federation of self-supporting Business. (2002). Benefits of Online Services to Independent Business NFIB. Available on http//www.nfib.com/object/1583715.htmlGonsalves, Antone. (2006). Google Grabs Half Of Booming Web Search Market TechWeb NewsNational Computing Centre. (2007)Available on http//www.nccmembership.co.uk/Business Link. (2007). Practical advice for businessAvailable on http/ /www.businesslink.gov.uk/Prodesk. (1999). Email Marketing Strategies Revealed www.prodesk.comBIBLIOGRAPHYWoodhead, Robert. (2007) www.selfpromotion.com 2007Simpson, Gemma. (2006).UK small businesses set to boost IT budgets ZDNet.co.ukAvailable on http//news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39285382,00.htm

How Does Knowledge Management Influence Innovation and Competitiveness?

How does cognition anxiety understand out purpose and warringness? The Authors Alberto Carneiro, Alberto Carneiro is Assistant Professor in the Polytechnic College at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. Abstract Is touch on with human nourish vigilance, tests the races between transcriptions competitiveness, innovation advancements, and familiarity attention and presents a prep ardness of considerations regarding how these relationships profess strategic wariness and the formulation of competitive strategies.By considering how experience development is related with soulal characteristics and personal development, this study review attempts to let useful insights on the linkages between innovation and competitiveness. These considerations point out the importance of familiarity development and the role of friendship circumspection in put up to assure competitiveness. This work proposes also a conceptual baffle, with special focus on the relationships between fellowship vigilance, competitiveness, and innovation.The major factors atomic number 18 presented and directions for future research be suggested according to the proposed model. Introduction Management is increasingly conscious that knowledge resources argon essential to the development of their organizations. nary(prenominal)adays, the knowledge and the study technology (IT) are critical triumph factors for strategic formulation. Critical success factors refer to those managerial and organizational constructs that c each(prenominal) for to be stiffly addressed in order of battle to gain ground the likelihood of go acrossation success.Since industry attractiveness depends on those factors, strategies and their implementation should be erected by a set of randomnessal data and a knowledge development help. noesis is becoming progressively to a greater extent useful because management is victorious into account the take account of creative thinking, which encap fittings the transformation of cardinal form of knowledge to the next. The perception of the existing relationships among several systems elements leads to sweet interpretations and this means an other(a) knowledge level where a new perceived value is comed. This relationship indicates that the innovation highway depends on the knowledge exploitation.On the other hand, all the technologies that are present in the activities of the mountain chain value acquire to be articulated and assisted by an efficient knowledge level. Some of the knowledge involved in the use and improvement of technologies mickle be written down in detail in procedures manuals and use instructions. Others are tacitly transmitted and listened through practical knowledge. Moreover, the success of proficient modifications exigencys to be supported by more clarified and enhanced knowledge. With but few exceptions, more or less firms accommodate had difficulty in developing a viable strategic knowledge system.There are manifold reasons for this, but certainly a major matchless is the omnibus nature of the sources requisite. Knowledge may flow into the organization in a continuous but unsystematic manner, probably because the arrive of information processing resources varies by level of management activity. The lack of specific system objectives inevitably led to a data bank of enormous magnitude. It is necessary to consider the structure of such a system and to implement it, in accordance with the organizational consumptions that use information to realize activities and to decide.Considering the exigency to increase managers concerns, this work sustains that a set of factors is dramatically useful to justify the relationship between innovation process, competitive advancements and a strategic knowledge management (KM). First, it presents a brief review of the applicable literature on the role of knowledge in the management processes. Second, and in a modelization placeme nt, we will discuss the relationships among these factors to suggest a better way to deal with human value, to improve KM, and to attain a higher level of competencies.Finally, this article discusses the implications of KM on innovation and competitiveness and presents suggestions for future research. Knowledge an organizational asset What kind of knowledge should organizations develop? Organizations gather up to use fit information to check the status of business activities as well as to make informed business closes (Martin et al. , 1998). According to their tasks, managers must break the adequate information and the ability to analyze and evaluate alternatives in the light of the goal sought.This information comes from different internal and external sources and their credibility is significant to provide an adequate knowledge (Joyce, 1993). Managers suck in to consider that the most valuable human attributes should be developed because they are one of the most historic as sets of many corporations. To do so, they contend to adopt a new KM philosophy, based on search of information and modern efforts. In this philosophy, managers should distinguish between different levels of knowledge. Initially, everybody great deal be aware of various facts and use data coming from those sources.This means that knowledge is reduced to a basic level, although each individual already has a professional brain of his/her role in the organization. In the next phase, knowledge tends to specialization. The knowledge level and the fields of specialization will increasingly be taken as standards to measure the companies value of their assets. However, without universe stimulated, it may stay in a static relation within functional areas, although tasks are performed in a qualified manner. If management is interested in knowledge development, it is necessary to consider that knowledge workers should be included in a dynamic process.This process demands the support of mo tivation, creativity and the ability to improve an capable and comprehensive vision of the relationship between the organization and its purlieu. Management should differentiate these levels, because the core of the decision-making process could be severely damaged if they were intended as similar. In fact, knowledge workers (strategists, engineers, technicians, researchers, etc. ) are able to offer insights in what concerns problems and/or new situations.In an upper level they whoremonger also moderate drastically to include more evident values into the telephoners offering in order to generate the knobs preferences. Knowledge workers are the core apt competence of many firms. In fact, they dominate their expertise fields and, for example, they know how to optimise the systems package that is relevant to strategic decisions. Knowledge workers create most of the value in many industries. The benefits are immediately visible in some innovative industries, such as software, pharmaceutical, health care, financial services, talks, and consulting.That is, knowledge influences competitiveness. At this moment, it is necessary to underline a question stop knowledge be seen as a specific value for the organization or is management provided using the employees brain capacities in a very innocent manner, because they are human resources? In the past, the returns on investiture came predominantly from physical assets like physical products and equipment. Today, knowledge is the main source of another type of assets intellectual assets. Knowledge levels can be an asset only if they are enhanced and efficiently employ.Being so, managers must purposely organize, prompt and control the development of their knowledge workers. These ones are able to provide new firmnesss in the complex network of organization-client relationships. Owing to technologies, materials, and competitiveness, several industries find themselves in complex scenarios. Knowledge is not t he solution, but, in the near future, the intellectual capital will be required to deal with this complexity, and to support innovation and creativity (Brooking, 1996).Usually and specially in the context of dynamic industries, higher knowledge levels live near a frequent dissatisfaction and the capacity of questioning what seems to be already understood. The need of search is one of the consequences. In various industries, the search activities can lead to new products and to innovative processes. Undoubtedly, the increasing complexity of research militates in favor of formal institutions like universities and government laboratories. Nevertheless, if KM is able to stimulate and support their commitment, individual innovators may live an primal role in the changing process.Moreover, research activities in the business sector tend to be compound within manufacturing firms (Mowery, 1983) and they can propose additive innovation. Considering their missions and strategic objectives , organizations have to rig what kind of knowledge will be more principal(prenominal) to take care of. Managers should develop the ability to stimulate knowledge workers in order to carry better effective levels in what concerns the analysis of target markets, technological innovations, and economic trends. Knowledge and information technologyData and information are used for a variant of purposes in organizations, namely for improving the fortuity of increasing knowledge potential. Some information is simply data puzzleed from the database in its initial stage, which is mainly supported by internal documentation and tacit knowledge. Sophisticated or specific information is included in a management information system. Based on various subsystems of information, KM may use many combinations of factors in accordance with the database system and data that are provided by the users (DeSanctis and Gallupe, 1985).In general, firms search for information can be viewed as part of a p rocess, through which an organization adapts to its external environment in order to survive and to start more competitive. Particularly, organizations look for information about specific activities, such as the purchase of new equipment and launching of new products, to obtain benefits of improved final decisions. data requirements depend on the nature of each situation and on the need to formulate competitive strategies (Wetherbe, 1991).Building effective information systems is a very important challenge that managers are facing today, but it is necessary to pay attention to the need of comprehensive information systems architecture. A firm and its managers use a variety of approaches to combine, sort, and process the environmental data to produce timely and relevant information for forming, monitoring, evaluating, and modifying strategy. This variety should reach a high integration level in order to be achievable to obtain a strategic information system.Knowledge professionals do have a decisive role in this integrative task. Summarizing, aggregating, comparing, or combining various sets of data collected in the environment and from competitors and customers produces other information sets, which are used, for example, to measure performance and report on the financial health of the organization. Knowledge workers are often exposed to incomplete information on new events and modifications, but they also have the option to search for additional information in order to update their knowledge levels (Ozanne et al. 1992 Burke, 1990). KM is also a question of cultural way of operating in the market. To enable this culture to prevail, IT is needed. Nowadays, IT is expect a decisive role in KM and is one of the most important tools, which is used to decide, to fight competitors, and to catch target markets. In fact, adequate software can capture and distribute to knowledge workers all the useful information the confederation has stored over time. Taking this operation as a raising process, knowledge workers can integrate several types of data and try to find new solutions for their problem tasks.This is true because they can use information about clients and competitors, technical databases, decision support systems, management models, successful solutions to competitive situations, and access to specialized sources of knowledge. Understanding, interpretation, and the use of IT may enable a possible competitive good to be determine and obtained. These three aspects cannot be done without specific and organized knowledge of the relationships among hardware, software, processes, and required burdens. In fact, some equipment replaces human command-and-control procedures, but knowledge advances have o be used to optimize this equipment utilization. Knowledge workers have adequate qualifications to communicate the information that is needed. Information sharing is a very usual do. However, some of them avoid this communication flow, bec ause they are not able to see the organization as a system, where the global objectives should be accepted as a common value. In some organizations, information sharing should be stimulated, because it is one of the most important tools of creativity and, moreover, intellectual assets, unlike physical assets, increase in value with use.Knowledge management some guidelines Management has to analyze in the right time all the environmental elements because they affect the organization performance. Managers must intend to come to the best solution by selecting the alternative that best satisfies goal achievement. The main role of environmental analysis is to detect, monitor, and analyze those current and potential trends and events that will create opportunities or threats to the organization.A number of companies have developed effective means of discipline about their environments and, most importantly, have implemented strategic decision systems which allow them to capitalize on opp ortunities and to defend themselves against threats. These analyses and systems are based on IT and KM. KM improves the conditions for strategic action by way of appreciating and treating problems and challenges by the company. Strategically, the success of most management decisions depends also on a competitive effort, which includes a deep knowledge of customers attitudes and an adequate analysis of the stronger competitors (Curren et al. 1992). This means that managers must learn weaknesses, strengths and movements of their direct competitors and how their customers perceive their products. Finally, all these findings should be integrated into a management information system. Managers should become aware that the great challenge is settled on the efforts to innovate, to exploit technological advances, competitors failures, industry opportunities, and the investment in knowledge processes and knowledge workers. In fact, knowledge and knowledge workers can be interpreted as a compa nys intellectual capital, and also as a key factor to its sustainable development.According to Kao (1996), some companies are already able to carry out internal knowledge audits in order to assess the innovative effort for competitive receipts. Most of the times, the intellectual capital is not well recognized and remains largely hidden from the view of financial analysts and executives alike. As a consequence, it is undermanaged. This means that its potential is not entirely used. Top management should focus their attention on these situations because the intellectual capitals of their companies and innovation infrastructure are one of the real sources of future competitiveness (Leonard-Barton, 1995).It is well known that managers have to face uncertainty, that is, they must make decisions under uncertain conditions, often before all the required data are in. Today, managers must be able to embed more knowledge-value in their decisions. Doing so, they will become much more vigil ant to come out with a new improved and even better alternative before their competitors. Knowledge workers may help in these situations. In fact, they are adequately able to deal with information and present hypotheses and proposals. Therefore, they can have an efficient role in the reduction of uncertainty.This point of view demands new directions of KM. To stimulate the development of notional skills, management should point out some directions to the most important knowledge workers to be able to define objectives of each task in a systemic network in order to share knowledge and available information with others to increase the level of individual commitment to be entirely aware of the amount of resources (equipment, software, materials, assistance) that they are going to need and to ask for answers, creativity, and innovative solutions.Management ask to show some interest in the intellectual capital, the crucial importance of creativity, the need to sustain a constant flow o f innovation, and the new concept of reading organization. Competitiveness and knowledge management Knowledge and the formulation of competitive strategies The success of a strategy depends also on a co-ordinated resources management. Resources may be divided into two groups physical resources (money, equipment, materials, facilities, and time) and conceptual resources (data, information, and knowledge).Managers have to decide how available resources will be distributed throughout their organizations. In fact, the organizational context calls for or demands certain decisions and leads. Being a manner of finding a solution for a problem or formulating a strategy to achieve the objectives previously defined, every decision should be based on an integrated set of information the knowledge skills of human resources. In what concerns dynamic organizations, KM is a valuable strategic tool, because it can be a key resource for decision making, mainly for the formulation of alternative s trategies.KM should be able to combine innovation efforts, updated IT, and knowledge development in order to achieve a set of capabilities to increase competitiveness. In fact, when this combination is adequately managed, the company can formulate competitive strategies, which integrate innovative products and new technological weapons to face its competitors. Management decision is a very complex process whose evolution integrates several stages. The first step in solving a decision problem is its formulation. In a practical perspective, defining its boundaries and critical components depends on information resources.The analysis of input data demand also a complete and updated understanding of several realities and the strength to find relationships among them. Further, the decisionmaker is able to predict the outcomes because they result from each available alternative. These stages are always based on data, which need to be organized in order to be useful that is, every manage ment decision must be supported by a set of information because of each situation, the context where it is occurring, and the organization objectives achievement.In a unwavering-changing environment, the competitive benefit of many companies is based on the decision to exploit, to develop the power of knowledge development. That is why some corporations try to provide opportunities for personal and professional development and are seeing that they should stimulate knowledge development to formulate competitive strategies. To find out and exploit opportunities, companies need to establish the main drutherss of KM in order to enlarge their growing possibilities based on innovation and competitiveness.Managers know that it can be disastrous to enter or compete in an industry without being aware of changing critical success factors that define their target markets, since they play a significant role in determining the likelihood of implementation success or failure. If a firm is enti rely aware of the vital importance of these factors, management decisions have to consider a complex background where the knowledge of the clients needs and preferences and the competitors strategies is decisively important.Practically, this means that a market orientation includes the concept of competitive orientation (Slater and Narver, 1994 Day, 1994, 1990). In this context, a company can decide its competitive advantage as a function of the capability to generate radical change in its processes and technologies and of the flexibility to adapt its resources to the strategic formulation. For example, if an organization decides to become a fast innovator, managers should co-ordinate the ability to formulate a competitive strategy and to build advantages against competitors.This ability depends on the capacity of speeding up creative operations to generate innovations (Page, 1993). These considerations are already known and well accepted, but we need to extract from them the logica l consequences. A competitive decision should be based on a wide and quite firm support, which shall integrate the different relationships among several types of knowledge. As a consequence, a comprehensive knowledge is the vital ground where competitiveness should be built. Increasing competitiveness using knowledge benefitsAccording to modern approaches, KM is already considered as a key factor in the organizations performance, because it deals with different resources that can aid decision makers in many ways (Keen, 1991). Managers require complete and updated information and, according to their level of activity, they hope to rely on their knowledge workers. Nevertheless, this hope is useless if these experts are not effectively motivated to deepen continuously their levels of knowledge. Some companies know that the innovation effort and the adoption of new procedures and new technologies may increase competitiveness (Goel and Rich, 1997).This relationship seems to have the foll owing reasons the innovators can be inventors if they are able to manage research and development function (Gilbert, 1995) knowledge workers can perceive and deal with what target market accepts or expects as value knowledge development is a fruitful background where incremental innovation may be attempted if a company can use a knowledge-based competitive edge, it is able to defend itself against the aggressive movements of its competitors. The need for scientific and technical information flow within the firm is well recognised.Knowledge and information derived from data are required for competitive initiatives such as improving customer satisfaction, developing new products and markets, and providing faster response. The link between knowledge and systemic databases should be understood within the context of information resource management (McFadden and Hoffer, 1994). This means that effective decision making requires a rational selection of inter-related data and the possibility of these data being integrated into KM. This orientation can be applied in the strategic planning area, and it presents flexible capabilities.In fact, managers have the possibility of asking for more updated information, using pre-programmed models based on the integrative knowledge of previous situations, considering alternative solutions, and stimulating the construction of innovative proposals. A KM can lead managers to anticipate problems better and to experiment and innovate. Based on a good KM, managers are more able to analyse and evaluate environmental scenarios, and adequate response alternatives in the light of the global objective previously refractory (Dutta and King, 1980).At this point, managers can desire to come to the best solution by selecting the alternative that best satisfies the achievement of global objectives. This means that they are deeply concerned with increasing competitiveness. A primary objective of this orientation in modern business organizations i s to contribute to greater efficiency in achieving organizational objectives. To assure this contribution, researchers should beef up their efforts to explore the relationship between the competitiveness optimisation and the KM optimisation, and also the effectiveness of a KM, which has not been entirely clarified.Innovation and knowledge management gutter knowledge management support innovation? The innovative efforts include the search for, and the discovery, experimentation, and development of new technologies, new products and/or services, new production processes, and new organizational structures. The consequences of these efforts are sometimes seen as a raw material of information industry. New management philosophies are aware that information is the result of knowledge evolution and that a solid network between intellectual effort and technological innovations is enlarging.The innovative efforts are also the right consequence of the investment in knowledge and knowledge w orkers. If KM is positively influenced by the search of innovations, the investments in the development of new knowledge may propel companies into new business in more rewarding markets. To achieve better results, innovative efforts have to be strategically combined with a competitive orientation and its consequent movements. This combination depends vitally on the highest level of individual knowledge and on its technological basis. many another(prenominal) companies are taking into account that new technologies and management approaches are changing the traditional perspective of managing intellectual resources. According to some works (Harari, 1994 Nonaka, 1994 West, 1992), the organizations that are able to stimulate and to improve the knowledge of their human capital are much more prepared to face todays rapid changes and to innovate in the domain where they decide to invest and to compete. Managers should recognise that the skills of human resources and the motivation level ma ke possible creative suggestions, different proposals, and research activities to build up innovations.Due to the new insights of KM, a creative knowledge worker can contribute to face the problems that need new kinds of resolution, the situations that demand innovative approaches, and the relationships that can be discovered in the more and more complex markets where companies are operating. In old times, capital was the companys most critical and scarcest resource and human attributes were used to contribute decisively to obtain the return of the companys investment in equipment and plants.Presently, companies are trying to understand and to use a new logic of value, which is founded on its competencies, customers evaluation criteria, and competition. It should be underlined that the knowledge development in the fields of technological innovations, strength on business processes, and innovative products is the strongest source of competencies. Moreover, all competitive efforts, w hich come from competitors knowledge and innovations, dramatically affect the success of strategies (Gatignon and Robertson, 1993).Innovation should be viewed as a complex process, which involves a set of investment possibilities. In this investment perspective, knowledge has to be considered as a sort of capital. Owing to this reason, its development process is a managerial concern, because it can lead to the launching of a new product. The success of an innovative product is notoriously connected to research activities and changing orientation. On the other hand, these two elements depend on the development of knowledge levels and the innovative efforts of knowledge workers. Knowledge development How to intensify learning involvementOne of the most important objectives of a competitive KM should be to increase frequently the different levels of knowledge. Increasing them implies to straiten the links among the latest advances of IT and the processes of gathering and process inform ation to motivate knowledge development by recognising its importance in companies evolution to promote the acquisition of scientific culture, specially in the fields directly connected with the companys main activities to invest in theoretical courses and practical training to intensify an effort to get updating in industry.According to the usual characteristics of all learning and experience curves, the knowledge level may grow exponentially if management is able to stimulate the conditions to learn more and to increase experience. Considering the power of these stimuli, which should be integrated into a global human resources policy, management has to define the adequate procedures to enlarge and to deepen knowledge development. Within a scenario of competitive imperatives of speed and considering the need to innovate constantly, learning will be the essential hedge against the possibility of negative consequences. organizational learning should be seen as one of the most importa nt responsibilities of top management. In fact, organizations may use the individuals learning activities and learn through them to create an organizational learning system, which provides the possibility of enhancing the capacity to generate new offering proposals (Coopey, 1995 Sinkula, 1994 Senge, 1990). Some authors consider that an organizational learning includes the ability to increase the understanding level from experience through analysis of problems, experimentation of solutions, and evaluation of results (McGill and Slocum, 1994 McGill et al. 1992). Organizations development needs to have the support of the positive changes in the education and training of the work force. This means that management should stimulate and organize this changing process. In general, there are two main ways that managers have to consider 1. (1) updating efforts scientific and technological knowledge is almost constantly changing and everybody in the organization should be conscious of the stat e-of-art of their fields of work 2. 2) knowledge progresses have to be transformed in a more effective effort in order to obtain better production processes and more competitive technological advances. Learning involvement could be defined as a state of energy that a knowledge worker experiences in regard to an effort to increase his/her knowledge level (McQuarrie and Munson, 1987). A knowledge worker who is highly involved in learning is belike to expect more abilities to create and to suggest new ideas. A set of adequate information technologies should be foreseen.In fact, at any time during the learning process, errors or imprecision can occur. To avoid their negative consequences, KM should take into account the reliability of the information sources and also the data accuracy. These factors will affect positively the objectives achievement. Knowledge development as a strategic management instrument If management has a true strategic orientation, the knowledge development is a systematic, integrated, and intend approach to improve the effectiveness of intellectual capital of an enterprise (Edvinsson and Malone, 1998).It is designed to solve problems that adversely affect operating efficiency at all levels. Knowledge is one of the branches where development movements can occur to help managers in their decision-making process, to create new responses, and to enable a set of competitive reactions and/or pro-active proposals. In the die two decades, we have seen a knowledge explosion and a change of the labour force. In fact, knowledge workers are not directly involved in manual activities, but make up a greater proportion of the labour force than ever before.Many companies try to provide an internal environment for experiential learning in which knowledge workers become more and more involved in solving job-related problems. In a quickly changing environment, the organizations flexibility is one of its key success factors. This flexibility should be strat egically combined with knowledge workers adaptability and high-quality standards to obtain two types of competition tools 1. (1) sustainable advantages against competitors 2. (2) capability to offer to the target market new alternatives. Knowledge development is a sort of response to changes in the external environment and nternal situations. It can be fit to solve problems that negatively affect operating efficiency, including the need to replace obsolete products by new ones. In what concerns knowledge development, the improvement of products (incremental innovation) and process innovation (radical innovation) should be integrated. The aim is to improve the horizontal flow of information, because this flow is a very important tool to understand the relationship between the organization, its clients and its competitors. To make better decisions, managers have the option to search for more accurate information.One of the most important sources is the knowledge development of their collaborators, because they have been adequately trained to find out what are the new advances of science and technology. Training and motivational measures can be used to leverage professional intellect, but human intellectual capabilities can not be managed as if it was the only goal. In fact, top managers must consider the critical knowledge bases, the intellectual skills, and also the accumulated experience that can be used to increase the organization performance and to support their strategic decisions.Most developments at enterprise level are not possible without changes in education and training of the human resources, namely the intellectual capital. In fact, this capital is focused on innovative effort, on the information about competitors, and on proactive strategic decisions (Prescott and Gibbons, 1993). In many important complex problems there simply are not enough empirical data to provide a basis for complete analysis. Many aspects of a decision process require person al judgement, that is, the presence of updated knowledge workers.The problem-solving capabilities of knowledge workers lie in education background, professional training, creativity, and motivation. Non-routine processes demand for more sure-handed workers, because innovative solutions should be found and adapted to market needs. Sometimes, an organization needs to assimilate competitors technologies, to imitate them, and, in a benchmarking perspective, to adapt them in order to obtain specific benefits (reduction of costs, faster capacity to satisfy their market needs). This strategic effort demands a sufficiently motivated intellectual capital.In fact, even people with olympian talent will not be able to develop potential without the adequate motivation (Twining, 1991). Moreover, knowledge development should include an effort to integrate the intellectual power of the organizations human resources. Skills that are integrated according to a systemic perspective are more effective than a set of disconnected and/or uncoordinated talents. The co-ordination of the various abilities and aptitudes may lead to a learning process with a holistic approach.Being so, knowledge workers can learn more, recall information more accurately and use all their resources to build up innovative solutions. Influence of KM on competitiveness and innovation The influence of KM on management decisions effectiveness should be considered to support and also provide insight into how knowledge workers can contribute to obtain better results. However, management must consider that knowledge is not a simple and unique entity. The commitment to generate new discoveries and a more demanding understanding is not enough.The organizations need to look for the knowledge that is able to add value. Value adding knowledge is very different to an information-mix. This mix can be important, but first it is necessary to find out how the markets perceive the presence of value. These considerations ca n be taken as a guideline for KM. There are perhaps an unlimited number of factors that can define management attitudes regarding the role of intellectual capital into organizations life. Some managers evaluate significantly this capital as a very important resource that should be used to obtain adequate profits.Therefore this capital should be constantly improved. As can be seen in Figure 1, a conceptual model of KM is proposed. It emphasises that innovation and competitiveness can be a function of the KM. This model takes into account numerous determinants (determinant factors) of the relationships among various fields. The top portion of the model shows the most common factors that usually define managements attitudes and deals with the following questions How important is intellectual capital? How does management evaluate knowledge development? Is training one of the important aspects to be planned? Is knowledge considered as a strategic tool? Are managers prepared to motivate k nowledge development? Are managers able to stimulate the potential capacities of their knowledge workers? KM has to deal with two domains 1. (1) personal characteristics of each knowledge worker 2. (2) factors that affect personal development. The most common factors that affect initially the personal characteristics of a knowledge worker are education level, attitudes and values, innovativeness and creativity (Eagly and Chaiken, 1993 Allen et al. 1992 Mayo and Marks, 1990 Bearden et al. , 1986 Hirschman, 1980). Innovativeness is an important factor for supporting innovative efforts and it contributes also to define the personality. However, it is not enough to desire new products or new processes. In fact, an innovation that an enterprise presents into the market may be also due to the creativity of its knowledge workers. Personal development is directly related to professional experience. Any personal experience may be an information source and a learning situation.As a result fro m a personal or a managerial decision, training courses may contribute to reawaken previously acquired knowledge and to drive on the access to a higher knowledge level. The development of each knowledge worker has its own dynamics, which is related with personal objectives. The more demanding the objectives are the more the learning efforts should be intensified. Nowadays, learning processes and knowledge updating procedures depend on information technology. Moreover, it has a decisive role on knowledge development because competitive advantage can only be maintained by the use of information for innovation (Huffman et al. 1990). Nowadays, managers have to decide whether they want to obtain better results from their knowledge workers or they prefer to lose the creative power that they possess in their minds and their professional experience. Managers attention must be focused on personal development. To obtain an effective knowledge level, investment in knowledge development is nee ded. Managers should improve their ability to motivate knowledge workers to attain higher knowledge levels, because the arousal of this set of intellectual needs may be caused by external stimuli.Motivations should be intensified, because they should impel knowledge workers to increase their knowledge levels. This movement will be decisive in terms of innovation and can contribute to a stronger competitiveness. Even when no innovation is possible, an improved knowledge of the market and competitors can lead to more competitive movements. The technical capacities of a modern information technology will help this motivational scheme. Companies have to find ways to reach knowledge workers involvement. A persons level of involvement plays a role in how much effort is used to learn new subjects or to deepen knowledge.Moreover, this involvement is an adequate condition for information sharing among knowledge workers. Adding IT, creativity and knowledge leads to a particularly potent combi nation. Managers can obtain impressive results in what concerns the companies abilities to innovate if they are able to develop the stimulation of innovative proposals through motivational methods and adequate rewards. The same can be said in what concerns key success factors managers should practice frequently the stimulation of competitive efforts, provided through utilisation of both existing and new technologies.This conceptual model intends to interpret the relationship between KM, innovation, and competitiveness. It may contribute to an integrated understanding of the knowledge development process and its influences into the domains where management efforts should be focused. Conclusions This article intends to provide insights to a better understanding of KM in what concerns the possibility of influencing innovation and competitiveness. Its considerations provide considerable support for the importance of knowledge workers as a decisive contribution to the strategic enhanceme nt.The implications for managers have been underlined. Regarding these implications, some concluding remarks can be made define methods for measuring the degree of KM effectiveness develop effective strategies for integrating innovative efforts, professional experience, skills, interactive capacities to create value for a companys competitiveness determine the means to capture, transfer and leverage knowledge effectively let KM enter into strategic decisions concerning the advantageousness of intellectual assets.The suggested model also enables us to extend some of the frameworks for understanding managers evaluation criteria. This extension to traditional models of management strategic decisions is a direct result of the informational complexities in modern organizations. Consequently, these considerations intend to represent an important step forward in unravelling the KM as an efficient support for innovation and competitiveness relationships. Directions for further research Dee pening the analysis of managers interest on knowledge is critical to understand how KM can contribute to improve strategies formulation.Future research should examine the differences among industries, and measure accurately the relative importance of the factors that affect personal characteristics and knowledge development. Because these relations are not fully investigated, we suggest additional studies concerning the industries where knowledge workers have a more defined and important role. Future research on managers attitudes facing the linkages between strategic management and human value may have to examine carefully the role of a KM orientation as an effort to support adequately successful strategies.This discussion contributes to a better understanding of the consequences of a management orientation, which is able to leverage knowledge advances. It is the task of management to improve the types of knowledge that best fit innovative efforts and competitive strategies. If thi s management orientation is well pursued, the organizations are likely to profit from knowledge development and from their human resources creativity. Figure 1Influence of KM on innovation and competitiveness References Allen, C. T, Machleit, K. A, Kleine, S.S (1992), A affinity of attitudes and emotions as predictors of behavior at diverse levels of behavioral experience, diary of Consumer Research, Vol. 18 pp. 493-504. Bearden, W. O, Calcich, S. E, Netemeyer, R. G, Teel, J. 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