Strategic Entrepreneurship: The case of Infynita Inc., in Pune (India)

Most small businesses fail to make it big even after they effectively identify gaps in the market. The reason often being their inability to integrate opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviors to sustain a competitive advantage. Thus this study applies Ireland et al.s (2003) model of strategic entrepreneurship to a software company in India, Infynita Inc., in an attempt to identify where small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) such as Infynita Inc. go wrong after they successfully identify entrepreneurial opportunities. The study holds focus in four key areas, as per Ireland et al.s (2003) model, namely: (1) entrepreneurial mindset, (2) entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial leadership, (3) managing resources strategically and (4) applying creativity and developing innovation. Along with this, this research attempts to indicate the usefulness of the model which is primarily based on a literature review. The study suggests that entrepreneurial firms such as Infynita Inc. tend to fail to incorporate advantage-seeking behaviors into their daily organizational routines. However this study does not suggest any generalized conclusions on all SMEs in the software industry in India. For the particular case of Infynita, the prime areas of failure include, effective strategic resource management, establishing an effective entrepreneurial culture and developing and implementing strategies that lead to disruptive innovation. This study also suggests that the model of strategic entrepreneurship proposed by Ireland et al. (2003) is too vague to be directly implemented in practice. Thus I suggest further areas of development within the model, which should allow future researchers to successfully implement and validate it so as to determine whether the constructs mentioned in this model also lead to a sustained competitive advantage in practice

In the Name of Art – the Stage as Work Environment : Actors' Views on Workplace Bullying

Workplace bullying is a topic of current interest in Finland. Workplace bullying is found in all professions, including the artistic ones. This thesis aims to explore workplace bullying from the view of the Finland-Swedish actors as a phenomenon that within dramatic art is difficult to define due to the fact that the body and emotions of an actor constitute his or her working tools. The research aims to deepen the understanding of the actors' working situation, and particularly of the difficulties and problems actors face when exercising their job. The research problems are: What forms of bullying are the actors exposed to? Who is bullying? How is the bullying received by the actors, and what are the possible consequences? The theoretical orientation of this thesis is based upon dialogical philosophy where phenomenology, hermeneutics and dialog meet in an orientation where the unseen is emphasized and made visible. Artistic leadership should be based upon a pedagogic understanding that by an open and equal dialog with the Other recognizes human diversity. The narrative research was undertaken by using an interview guide for the interviews with eleven actors, six women and five men with the voice of a sixth man represented by an article. The interviews, each on average 118 minutes, were recorded and transcribed. The method of discursive analysis was initiated by numerous reflective readings based on analytic induction. The inductive part of the analysis consisted of mapping out the individual experiences of bullying where after the process of finding connecting common features in the extensive material took place. The coded data was then deductively grouped together according to the research problems, and subgroups were formed for deeper description. The research findings show that workplace bullying is an everyday occurrence within the field of dramatic art. Actors are bullied by theatre managers and directors as well as by colleagues and other personnel. The main areas of bullying is depreciation of one's professional skills, the existing jargon, sexual harassment, collective bullying and bullying because of personal qualities. A significant finding concerning this problem was the existing culture of silence. Even if actually seeing and hearing a colleague being bullied, few stood up to defend the person being bullied because of fear of retaliation. Even the person actually being the object for bullying found it difficult to take any actions.Arbetsplatsmobbning är ett aktuellt tema i dagens Finland. Arbetsplatsmobbning förekommer i alla yrken, även inom de konstnärliga. Syfte med denna avhandling är att ur den finlandssvenska skådespelarens perspektiv beskriva arbetsplatsmobbning som ett fenomen som inom scenkonstområdet är ytterst svårdefinierat, långt för att skådespelarens arbetsredskap utgörs av den egna kroppen och de egna känslorna. Forskningen vill fördjupa förståelsen för skådespelarens arbetssituation, för de svårigheter och problem som aktören ställs inför i utövandet av sitt yrke. Forskningsproblemen är: Hurdana former av arbetsplatsmobbning blir skådespelaren utsatt för inom scenkonstområdet? Vem mobbar? Hur bemöts mobbningen, vilka blir konsekvenserna? Avhandlingens teoretiska utgångspunkt står att finna i dialogisk filosofi, där fenomenologi, hermeneutik och dialog förenas i ett förhållningssätt där det osynliga lyfts fram och synliggörs. Konstnärligt ledarskap bör bygga på en skillnadens pedagogik där skillnad människor emellan bejakas i en öppen och jämlik dialog med den Andre. Den narrativa forskningen gjordes genom halvstrukturerade intervjuer med elva skådespelare, 6 kvinnliga och 5 manliga. Ytterligare en sjätte man medverkade i artikelform. Intervjuerna, i medeltal 118 min. långa, bandades och transkriberades. Diskursanalytisk metod som inleddes med ett flertal reflekterande läsningar av materialet har tillämpats utgående från analytisk induktion. Den induktiva bearbetningen bestod i en kartläggning av de individuella mobbningserfarenheterna. Den deduktiva granskningen innebar att gemensamma faktorer söktes ur det digra materialet. Det kodade materialet grupperades i enlighet med motsvarande forskningsfrågor varvid undergrupper användes för noggrannare beskrivningar. Forskningsresultatet ger vid handen att arbetsplatsmobbning inom scenkonstområdet är en allmän företeelse. Skådespelare mobbas av såväl teaterchefer och regissörer som av kolleger och representanter för annan personal. De huvudsakliga mobbningsområdena är yrkesmässig nedvärdering, existerande jargong, sexuell trakassering, kollektiv mobbning samt mobbning pga. personliga egenskaper. Signifikant var den tystnadens kultur som råder kring problemet. Även om man såg och hörde en kollega bli mobbad, trädde man sällan till försvar. Forskningsresultaten visade att rädsla i olika former ofta var orsaken till att man lät mobbning passera utan ingripande. Även för den utsatte själv var det ofta omöjligt att agera i saken. Som allmänna åtgärder har föreslagits krav på ledarskapsskolning för teaterchefer, krav på regissörers pedagogiska insikt samt att en stöd- och rådgivningspunkt för skådespelare i frågor gällande arbetsplatsmobbning inrättas

Herbex-kid Inhibits Immediate Hypersensitivity Reactions in Mice and Rats

Herbex-kid (HK), a polyherbal formulation was evaluated in various experimental allergic models of Type I hypersensitivity reactions. Compound 48/80 (C 48/80) has been shown to induce rat mesentery mast cell degranulation and HK (1.07, 10.75 and 107.5 mg ml−1) inhibited the mast cell degranulation in a dose dependent manner. HK (1.07, 10.75 and 107.5 mg kg−1; p.o.) showed dose-dependent protection against C 48/80 induced systemic anaphylaxis in male Balb/C mice. In active anaphylaxis model, male Wistar rats orally administered with 10.75 and 107.5 mg kg−1 of HK showed significant (P < 0.01) protection against mast cell degranulation, while in passive anaphylaxis model, only at 107.5 mg kg−1 showed significant (P < 0.01) reduction in mast cell degranulation. HK at all dose levels was able to significantly decrease the time spent in nasal rubbing in Wistar rats sensitized to ovalbumin, while only at 107.5 mg kg−1 it showed significant (P < 0.01) reduction in number of sneezes. In C 48/80-induced skin itch model, all dose levels of HK significantly (P < 0.001) decreased the time spent in itching and the number of itches. HK did not produce any significant inhibition in histamine induced contraction in guinea pig ileum. From the above findings we conclude that the HK possesses antiallergic activity mediated by reducing of the release mediators from mast cells and also by 5-HT antagonism without the involvement of histamine (H1) receptors

Comparing subjective and objective neighbourhood deprivation and their association with health over time among older adults in England

The importance of neighbourhood on individual health is widely documented. Less is known about the relative role of objective and subjective reports of neighbourhood conditions, how their effect on health changes as people age, and whether they moderate each other’s impact on health. This study uses the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to determine whether older adults report worse self-rated health as they age, and whether this differs between objective and subjective measures of neighbourhood. ELSA data contain 53,988 person-years across six waves collected biannually between 2002 and 03 and 2012 and 13. Objective neighbourhood conditions are measured by the 2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation, and subjective neighbourhood conditions are captured by a summative neighbourhood dissatisfaction score. We find both objective and subjective neighbourhood composite scores independently predict poor health. There is no change over time in the probability of reporting poor health by baseline objective or subjective neighbourhood scores, suggesting neighbourhood effects do not compound as older adults age. There is no moderating effect of area dissatisfaction on the relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and health. The findings provide little support for causal neighbourhood effects operating in later life and indicate different causal pathways through which objective and subjective neighbourhood deprivation impact on health

Strategic Entrepreneurship: The case of Infynita Inc., in Pune (India)

Most small businesses fail to make it big even after they effectively identify gaps in the market. The reason often being their inability to integrate opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviors to sustain a competitive advantage. Thus this study applies Ireland et al.s (2003) model of strategic entrepreneurship to a software company in India, Infynita Inc., in an attempt to identify where small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) such as Infynita Inc. go wrong after they successfully identify entrepreneurial opportunities. The study holds focus in four key areas, as per Ireland et al.s (2003) model, namely: (1) entrepreneurial mindset, (2) entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial leadership, (3) managing resources strategically and (4) applying creativity and developing innovation. Along with this, this research attempts to indicate the usefulness of the model which is primarily based on a literature review. The study suggests that entrepreneurial firms such as Infynita Inc. tend to fail to incorporate advantage-seeking behaviors into their daily organizational routines. However this study does not suggest any generalized conclusions on all SMEs in the software industry in India. For the particular case of Infynita, the prime areas of failure include, effective strategic resource management, establishing an effective entrepreneurial culture and developing and implementing strategies that lead to disruptive innovation. This study also suggests that the model of strategic entrepreneurship proposed by Ireland et al. (2003) is too vague to be directly implemented in practice. Thus I suggest further areas of development within the model, which should allow future researchers to successfully implement and validate it so as to determine whether the constructs mentioned in this model also lead to a sustained competitive advantage in practice

Public Speaking Kaleidoscope

Public speaking is considered an important leadership skill. This subject has been around for more than 3,000 years and I love reading, writing, and teaching it. This book is an outcome of my doctoral studies. When I started digging into academic theories to find answers to my research question “What makes an impactful speech and why are some speakers more impactful than others?”, I was surprised that there is an ocean of literature available on this topic. I was able to find three broad theories that explained this phenomenon from different angles namely, the theory of communication studies, the theory of persuasion studies, and, finally, the theory of charismatic leadership. This book is designed to help the reader understand the various interconnected components of public speaking when viewed together from these three broad academic lenses. Together, these lenses make a unique kaleidoscope for the reader to answer the question as to why some speeches are more impactful than others. This kaleidoscope includes more than 50 parameters that engage in interplay among themselves to create an impactful communication and serve as a foundation for future academic work on this topic. This book is intended for a broad audience including students, scholars, researchers, and professors in undergraduate and graduate schools who want to learn the art and skill of public speaking. The book can also help trainers, consultants, and practitioners around the world who are interested in this topic. The objective is to give them a quick view into the ocean of academic literature and spur further research on, and understanding of, this topic. Keywords charismatic leadership, communication, impactful presentations, influence, persuasion, public speakin