Hcs 571

Capital Project HCS/571 Capital assets are generally purchased to improve quality of care, or to provide needed equipment for a new service or expansion of an existing service. The key element in capital budgeting is that the building or piece of equipment being acquired has a lifetime that extends beyond the year of purchase and it is a capital asset or long-term investment for the hospital. Capital assets are good financial investments for the organization. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). The Electronic health record software system is one of the important operational priorities in the US healthcare.The change from paper-based record system to electronic record system supported by technologies and help for reducing errors and improving quality of care based on best practice. (Song, McAlearney, Lausanne, Robbins, & McCullough, 2011). Research a capital purchase of software for filing patient records costing more than $5000 Health care organizations have invested heavily in computer technology. The health care organizations use computer technology and electronic health record in the actual delivery of care and to support clinical areas.The four principal uses of computers for nursing are for general information, clinical applications, research, and financial management. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). The health care organizations are in the process of major transformation, and becoming more complex. It is very important to maintain the safety of patient and to provide high quality care. (Ting, Tsang, Ip, & Ho, 2011). The electronic health record system is considered as a means of technological efficiency to reduce the cost in healthcare organization.The need for EHR in healthcare organization is based on certain evidences like, It supports guideline-based care, increased patient monitoring, act as an efficient technological tool for effective communication in areas related to patient care, and improves coordination of care(Song, McAlearney, Lausanne, Robbins, & McCullough, 2011). The electronic health record system act as an easy access for medical literature and it is considered as a fast access system due to the effective utilization of information technology and enhances the healthcare efficiency system. Hillestad, 2005). Employee development The computer software and electronic health record advances will continue to evolve and that computer use by staff nurses will become commonplace in most healthcare organizations. In the long run this will likely increase the quality of patient care due to more accurate and timely information, while creating at least some efficiency in the use of nursing time. This should release more nurse time for patient care. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). Computerization should work both to reduce nursing shortage and to increase nursing satisfaction.The health care organizations struggle to allocate sufficient funds for information system implementation, maintenance, and upgrade. The computerization of the nursing units has been a potential solution for nursing shortage. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). Management goals The EHR implementation and governance are related to each other and it is mainly focus on the mission, vision, and behavior related to the management. The decision and action from managers level management is very essential factor for the effective purchase of EHR. Jarvenpaa & Ives, 1991). The support system in the organization related to EHR implementation helps to support and motivate the employees in difficult situation related to the technical failure of the system. (Miller & Sim, 2004). The successful implementation of EMR depends upon the team and technology of the organization. Team refers to people and issues related with organization. The technology related to the choice of the software, hard ware, and design set up of the organization to meet the implementation process.The main components of implementation process are people, process, and technology. The main focus of the change management is people and the related objective is to change the behavior for the acceleration of change process. (McCarthy & Eastman, 2010). Cost containment The software related Electronic health record implementation need to be appropriate for the needs of the organization and budget. (Swab, & Ciotti, 2010) The EHR software system has many areas of market depending upon the size of the hospital bed size.The first criteria for the vendors according to the bed with 100 and small hospital The Electronic health record system cost about between $ 1 million and 2 for the electronic health record system The electronic health record software cost for the organization about medium hospital cost is much larger than the first one. It comes around three to ten million. The hospital and organization with more than average bed cost for the electronic health record system will be higher amount than the other one.The cost and amount of electronic health record system will dep end upon the size of the hospital . The management has to decide about the budget for the organization. (Swab, & Ciotti, 2010). The organization must evaluate its mission and goals in light of its particular strengths and weakness and in light of the demand for services and competition in the external environment. Based on that evaluation it can make a plan that will take advantage of opportunities like Electronic health record implementation according to the goals of an organization. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007).The planning process explicitly address whether the implementation of new services and programs that make up the majority of operations of the organization are being retained at a steady-state level or whether they are to be contracted or expanded in scope. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). The successful implementation of EMR depends upon the team and technology of the organization. Team refers to people and issues related with organization. The technology related to the c hoice of the software, hard ware, and design set up of the organization to meet the implementation process.The main components of implementation process are people, process, and technology. The main focus of the change management is people and the related objective is to change the behavior for the acceleration of change process. (McCarthy & Eastman, 2010). The computerization of the nursing units has been a potential solution for nursing shortage. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). Quality assurance The management of the organization need to review the costs of the software system related to Electronic health record implementation with users of the selection committee before the system demos.The committee includes staff from clinical areas like pharmacy, radiology, laboratory, operating room, and emergency department. The committee needs to invite physician champions to participate and observe EHR system demonstrations before selecting the system. (Swab, & Ciotti, 2010). The managemen t of the organization needs to clarify the all of the costs such as travel costs, training class tuition fees, files conversion fees, and other ancillary system fees with the vendors. Another factor need to consider while implementing Electronic health record system is the costs of additional staff required to operate the EHR system.The organization need to consider adding the IT staff, Nurse informaticist, and Chief medical information officer. (Swab, & Ciotti, 2010). Once the plan has been finalized and formalized, it serves as a guide for a number of years. Long- range plans are typically prepared only once every three or five years. Creating a new plan each year would only lead to constant changes in the organization’s direction. This would lead to wasted efforts, and money. The long-range budgets or strategic plans look in general terms at the entire organization over a period of years. Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). Program budgeting techniques are equally effective for reviewing the operations of an ongoing unit as for evaluating a new program like Electronic health record implementation. Business plans are becoming essential for the introduction of new programs. Such plans help managers complete a comprehensive examination of a proposed program. By making such a thorough review, the manager and the organization gain an in-depth understanding of the program as well as its financial implications for the organization. Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). Patient care, clinical research, and leadership role The Electronic health record software system support efficient and good health care. Electronic health record improve the completeness and accuracy of patient records and they improve communication among health care professionals. (Hayrinen,Saranto, &Nykanen, 2008). The larger hospitals, especially academic medical centers with a high acuity case mix, may benefit from investing in Electronic health record adoption.The hospitals with high patient volume s and with complex medical problems need to adopt Electronic health record as a capital asset for the organization. (MCcullough, Casey, Moscovice, & Prasad, 2010). Team refers to people and issues related with organization. The technology related to the choice of the software, hard ware, and design set up of the organization to meet the implementation process. The main components of implementation process are people, process, and technology. The main focus f the change management is people and the related objective is to change the behavior for the acceleration of change process. (McCarthy & Eastman, 2010). The monitoring of EHR implementation process mainly focused on areas like project costs, project progress, schedule controls, control changes, scope of the project, quality management, and risks. (Noblin, Cortelyou, & Ton, 2011). The EHR implementation is considered as a high-cost project. The management needs to consider and monitor equipment costs including hardware and softwar e costs.The workflow inefficiencies need to monitor and need to redesign during the implementation phase is an important step to overcome the failure. (Spector, 2010). The workflow reflects the ability of the employee to use the resources to complete the work in an effective manner to achieve better results and it also shows the efficiency of team work. (Lee, Cain, Young, Chockley, & Burstin, 2005). The EHR implementation requires strong leadership and all workers need to participate to deliver their own role for the success of the implementation process.The redesigning process improves the work efficiency and job satisfaction. (Spector, 2010). The change from paper medical records to electronic medical record system improve the quality of healthcare, reduce the administrative cost, reduce medical errors, and decrease the unnecessary expenditures for the issues related to medical errors occur during paper charting. (Huryk, 2010). The electronic medical record system is considered as a means of technological efficiency to reduce the cost in healthcare organization.The need for EHR in healthcare organization is based on certain evidences like, It supports guideline-based care, increased patient monitoring, act as an efficient technological tool for effective communication in areas related to patient care, and improves coordination of care(Song, McAlearney, Lausanne, Robbins, & McCullough, 2011). The electronic health record system act as an easy access for medical literature and it is considered as a fast access system due to the effective utilization of information technology and enhances the healthcare efficiency system. Hillestad, 2005). Research studies shows that the paper record system is inadequate to give all informations regarding patient to caregivers for the effective care. (Thakkar & Davis, 2006) The effective use of EHR minimize the problems related to healthcare disparities, allows the involvement of patients and their families in treatment plan, a nd maintain adequate privacy and security. (Podgurski, 2008). Computer uses for clinical care fall into two general areas. The first area is assement of patients.This includes computers used in laboratories to measure blood levels, in radiology for magnetic resonance imaging, and for physical assessment measures such as blood pressure. The second clinical area is storage and management of patient information. Often called the hospital information system, these computer systems store data such as patient demographics, admission, transfer, and discharge information, and documentation of nursing care provided. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007).Although clinical information systems are not directly related to financial management, data produced by these systems can be used to make financial decisions. Clinical systems are used to directly link the use of services to the billing for them. Ultimately, financial management is based on the allocation of resources; clinical information systems offer the manager data about the use of resources in the organization. Clinical information systems that combine information from a variety of sources such as laboratory, radiology, dietary, and nursing are called fully integrated systems.In these systems the data are entered once and are accessible all over the organization with appropriate confidentiality precautions. These integrated systems improve the flow of information. (Finkler, Ward, & Baker, 2007). The implementation of EHR in healthcare organization is influenced by human and technological factors. The implementation process depends upon many factors starting from employee attitudes and concerns to various technology.The main factors are readiness for the employee to accept the changes related to EHR implementation, resources available for the change, technical concern, availability of finance for the implementation of EHR, motivation of the employee, time, and ability of the individual to use computer for the effective i mplementation of EHR. (McGinn, Grenier, Duplantie, Shaw, Sicotte, Luc, Leduc, Legare, & Gagnon, 2011). The managers need to take interventions to overcome the factors influencing the implementation process early in the planning stage. (Spector, 2010).The budget development in the initial phase of change process reflects the initial cost and all other related expenses of an electronic health record system. The hardware expense needs to be classified on a yearly basis. The organization need to consider the cost of upgrading the hardware and software system to maintain the efficiency of the system. The cost for the replacement of hardware and maintenance of the computer need to be considered. The Information System Success Model evaluation measures the quality and technical achievement of the system.The system quality depends on the elements like reliability, accessibility, and security of the system. (Delone, & McLean, 2003). The user satisfaction level needs to be evaluated because i t reflects the level of competency, skills, and experience of the users. The overall measurements include quality of care in terms of patient safety, and effectiveness of care, accessibility of care, and productivity. ( Lau, Hagens, &Muttitt, 2007)The implementation process requires skilled people in areas like computer networking, informatics, administration, management, and clinical workflow.The monitoring and controlling of the proper utilization of the resource specialist will help for the cost management. (Wang, 2003). Consultant packages The consultant from outside the organization for any change process need to be assessed, monitored, and controlled as per the organizational policy and management decision. The health care organization may need assistance from outside consultants for the effective implementation of EHR and that will cause an extra cost for the implementation process and the management need to monitor the necessity of the consultant for the process. Noblin, Cor telyou, & Ton, 2011). The quality assurance of the Electronic health record software system can be done by the evaluation process. The evaluation process need to focus on certain elements like care, human, educational, administrative, technical, and social aspects. (Shaw, 2002). The care aspect of evaluation consists of monitoring the quality of care, continuity, system acceptance from patients and other professionals. The evaluation of organizational aspects mainly focuses on examining the interconnection between different care providers in different settings. (Shaw, 2002).The educational aspects of evaluation focus on the quality of the information system for the retention of the staff, training of employees, and user satisfaction related to EHR implementation. The administrative aspect of evaluation addresses the changes related to EHR implementation and the after effect on health care services and mainly focus on areas like access to care, interactions between clients and health care workers, and changes in cost effectiveness related to new electronic system. The technical aspects of evaluation measure the technical quality, reliability, and security of the settings.The social aspects of evaluation focus on the changes in the level of social interaction after the implementation of new system. (Shaw, 2002). The other measurement strategies include evaluating the output of new system by reviewing employee satisfaction and user satisfaction. The organization need to conduct post go-live reviews after the implementation process to assessment of system. Conclusion The Electronic health record software system is one of the important operational priorities in the US health care and it should be capital assets for the organization.The health care organizations that are decided to purchase an Electronic health record system should always search for the software system with right vendors, share the costs with selection committee members, and need to think about the costs of additional staff members required to operate the software system. (Swab, & Ciotti, 2010). The other measurement strategies include evaluating the output of new system by reviewing employee satisfaction and user satisfaction. The organization need to conduct post go-live reviews after the implementation process.The successful implementation requires teamwork and effective communication technique between the vendors, health care staff, management, administration, and outside consultants. The health care organization may need assistance from outside consultants for the effective implementation of EHR and that will cause an extra cost for the implementation process and the management need to monitor the necessity of the consultant for the process. (Noblin, Cortelyou, & Ton, 2011). References Delone, W. H. , & McLean, E. R. (2003). The DeLone and McLean Model of Information Systems Success: A Ten-Year Update.Journal of Management Information Systems,19(4), 9-30. Hayrinen,K. K. , Saranto, P. , Nykanen, P. (2008). Definition, structure, content, use, and impacts of Electronic health records: A review of the research literature. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 77(5), 291-304 Hillestad, R. (2005). Can electronic medical record systems transform healthcare? Potential health benefits , savings, and costs†. Health affairs, 2(1), 8-10. Huryk, L. (2010). Factors influencing nurses' attitudes towards healthcare information technology. Journal of nursing management, 8(5), 606-612. Jarvenpaa, S. L. , ; Ives, B. (1991).Executive involvement and participation in the management information technology. Journal of Medical Informatics, 15(2), 205-225. Lau, F. , Hagens, S. , ; Muttitt, S. (2007). A Proposed Benefits Evaluation Framework for Health Information Systems in Canada. Electronic Healthcare, 10(1), 112-118. Lee, J. , Cain, C. , Young, S. , Chockley, N. , ; Burstin, H. (2005). The adoption gap: Health information technologyin small physician pract ices. Health Affairs, 24(5), 1364-1366. McCullough, J. M. , Casey, I. , Moscovice,S. , Prasad,S. (2010). The effect of health information technology on quality in US Hospitals.Health Affairs, 29(4), 647-654. McGinn, C. A. , Grenier, S. , Duplantie, J. , Shaw, N. , Sicotte, C. , Luc, M. , Leduc, Y. , Legare, F. , ; Gagnon, M. (2011). Comparison of user groups' perspectives of barriers and facilitators to implementing electronic health records: a systematic review. BMC medicine, 9(46), 2-10. Miller, R. H. ,Sim,I. (2004). Physician’s use of electronic medical records : Barriers and solutions. Health Affairs, 23(2),116-126. Noblin, A. M. , Cortelyou, K. W. , & Ton, S. (2011). Electronic Health Record Implementations- Applying the Principles of Monitoring and Controlling to Achieve Success.The Health Care Manager, 30(1), 45-50. Podgurski, S. A. (2008). Finding a cure : The case for regulation and oversight of electronic health record system†. Harvard journal of law and techn ology, 22(1), 107-110. Shaw, N. T. (2002). ‘CHEATS': a generic information communication technology (ICT) evaluation framework. Comput Biol Med, 32(3), 209-220. Song, P. H. , McAlearney, A. S. , Lausanne, E. F. , Robbins, J. , & McCullough, J. S. (2011). Exploring the business case for ambulatory electronic health record system adoption. Journal of healthcare management, 56(3), 169-180.Spector, B. (2010). Implementing organizational change: Theory into practice (2nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Swab, J. , Ciotti, V. (2010). What to consider when purchasing an EHR system. Health care Financial Management, 64(5), 38-41 Thakkar, M. , & Davis, D. C. (2006). Risks, barriers, and benefits of EHR systems: A comparative study based on size of hospital. Research Journal in Health Information Management, 3(5), 10-12. Wang, S. (2003). A cost-benefit analysis of Electronic medical records in primary care. American Journal of Medicine, 114(5), 397-403.

Stand By Me

In the film the four main characters are, Chris, who is the tough one, Teddy, who is the daring one, Gordie, Who's the sensitive one and Vern, whos just stupid because he asks stupid questions. They hear that a kid has been killed by a train and they've gone to lookfor him. The story is about them growing up and becoming more mature, Friendship, Bullying and an adventure(themes). The Night scene takes place towards the end of the film. They are all smoking around the campfire talking about daft things such as what is Goofy?(the Disney character). This scene is important because it shows their friendship and how they are all close friends, asking Gordie to tell them a story because they all believe he is a really good story teller/writer. The night scene opens with a shot of the moon and then calmly moves down and into the woods to were they are all smoking around the campfire. There is no music at the start of the scene, but there is music towards the end of the scene (once they have finished talking some music comes on, the music is 50's because it makes you feel as if the film is set in the fifties. There are sounds of birds and crickets (wildlife) at the start which makes you feel as if its real life. The Gang ask Gordie to tell them a story, so he tells them a story about a boy called Lardass, who enters a pie eating competition, he doesn't want to win the competition he just wants revenge. Lardass is a overweight kid who is very unpopular, his brother and sister even call him Lardass (Lardass is his nickname). Before the competition he drinks a bottle of castor oil and one raw egg, this is all to do with his revenge. Halfway through the competition his plan had started to work, he was sick all over the champion of last year, then the champion was sick all over another person. Not until the smell reached the crowd did his plan really work, when the smell hit the crowd every body was being sick over everybody. Verns reaction to the story was that of stupidity, when he asks Gordie if Lardass had to pay to get in the competition. Teddy didn't like the ending probably because it didn't have anything to do with fighting or killing. He says the ending should be that Lardass goes home, shoots his dad then joins the Texas Rangers. Teddy thinks like that because deep down inside he hates his dad and that's what he would do to his dad. Chris thought the ending was brilliant, as he was being very supportive and also saying it was brilliant. The story relates to the gang, as they are all outcasts like Lardass. You can also tell the story related to them because it was set in a very similar town to theirs. You could see the story as if it was on the television, physically seeing the story made you feel as if it was going into Gordies imagination. Once they had finished talking about the ending of the story, Chris turned on the radio which was playing fifties music, the music was fifties to remind you what year the film was set in, it also set the scene, gradually fading away as they start to talk. They show their friendship by talking to one another about daft things, such as what is Goofy. The camera fades from one person to another, it doesn't let you hear the whole conversation, it just keeps changing subject. It also shows the friendship with camera shots around the campfire, looking cosy and warm. The mood of the scene changes when they hear the noises of the wildlife, at first only Vern showed that he was scared. Teddy was scaring Vern even more by saying it was the ghost of the dead boy. Teddy was saying that he wanted to look for the kids ghost and then all of a sudden a big howl echoed in the woods, at this point everybody was scared. Vern showed that he was the wimp of the gang by whispering â€Å"I think we should stand guard†. They gang approve of his comment and Teddy is first to stand guard, he was acting as if he was in a War of some sort. When Vern was guarding he was really scared, pointing the gun at every noise he heard. Gordie and Chris were talking because Gordie had a nightmare about his brothers funeral. His nightmare was that his dad whispered into his ear â€Å"It should have been you†.

Collaborative Ventures Essay

1.0 Summary The competitive nature of today’s international business world pushes the companies to find a common ground between each other. Even market giants have considerable tendency in creating collaborative arrangements with their competitors in order to keep their positions in the market. The competencies of competitor companies differ from each other often. Collaborative agreements provide companies to gain varied knowledge and specialties with less R&D costs. Also competitors can access each other’s established markets with collaborative ventures. Nevertheless, the accomplishment of an international collaborative venture depends on the harmony between national and organizational cultures of the partners. Hence, the cultural examination of the venture has a crucial role in the success. The partners should state a suitable integration method considering the cultural impacts in the negotiation period. 2.0 Introduction 2.1Definition of the International Collaborative Venture Collaborative ventures, sometimes called international partnerships or international strategic alliances, are essentially partnerships between two or more firms. They help companies overcome together the often substantial risks and costs involved in achieving international projects that might exceed the capabilities of any one firm operating alone. (Cavusgil, et al. 2011) Cavusgil, et al. (2011) also state that there are two basic types of collaborative ventures: equity joint ventures and project based, non-equity ventures. In this essay we are going to examine an equity joint venture between Sony and Ericsson. Equity joint ventures are traditional collaborations of a type that has existed for decades. (Cavusgil, et al. 2011). According to Wallace (2004, citing in Ahmed and Pang 2009), joint ventures are usually formed on the basis of a common objectives or mutual goals of all the parties. This objective should serve the needs of the companies in a proportionate manner otherwise the success of the joint venture will be short-lived. 2.2The motives for Collaborative Ventures Daniels, et al. (2011) state the motives for collaborative ventures as: ââ€"  Spreading and reducing costs: When the volume of business is small, or one partner has excess capacity, it may be less expensive to collaborate with another firm. Nonetheless, the costs of negotiation and technology transfer must not be overlooked. ââ€"  Specializing in competencies: The resource-based view of the firm holds that each firm has a unique combination of competencies. Thus, a firm can maximize its performance by concentrating on those activities that best fit its competencies and relying on partners to supply other products, services, or support activities. ââ€"  Avoiding or countering competition: When markets are not large enough for numerous competitors, or when firms need to confront a market leader, they may band together in ways to avoid competing with one another or combine resources to increase their market presence. ââ€"  Securing vertical and horizontal links: If a firm lacks the competence and/or resources to own and manage all of the activities of the value-added chain, a collaborative arrangement may yield greater vertical access and control. At the horizontal level, economies of scope in distribution, a better smoothing of sales and earnings through diversification and an ability to pursue projects too large for any single firm can all be realized through collaboration. ââ€"  Gaining knowledge: Many firms pursue collaborative arrangements in order to learn about their partners’ technology, operating methods, or home markets and thus broaden their own competencies and competitiveness over  time. ââ€"  Gaining location-specific assets: Cultural, political, competitive, and economic differences among countries create challenges for   companies that operate abroad. To overcome such barriers and gain access to location-specific assets (e.g., distribution access or competent workforce), firms may pursue collaborative arrangements. ââ€"  Minimizing exposure in risky environments: The higher the risk managers perceive with respect to a foreign operation, the greater their desire to form a collaborative arrangement. 3.0 Information and analysis 3.1Information about Sony Ericsson Joint Venture (SEJV) 3.1.1The brief history of the SEJV Sony Ericsson, the mobile telephone company formed by Ericsson and Sony in 2001, was born of two, coincidental, serious crises. April 24, 2001, saw the announcement that the Swedish telecommunications equipment company Ericsson was merging its mobile telephone operations with Japan’s Sony, forming Sony Ericsson with each company owning 50 %.The new, mutual company was headquartered in London. Originally, the two companies were compatible partners for the joint venture. Sony was a major electronics brand with expertise in the industry and Ericsson was a leading company in the communications sector. (Nilsson undated) Finally, Sony acquired Ericsson’s share in the venture on February 16, 2012. (Sonymobile 2012) 3.1.2The main motives for the SEJV ââ€"  Spreading and reducing costs: Sony was desiring to increase its market share in the mobile phone industry. Ericsson had major financial problems due to delays in the production. Eventually, Sony made less amount of investment to the industry and Ericsson continued its business by reducing its costs. ââ€"  Specializing in competencies: One of the essential objectives of the venture was to merge Ericsson’s know-how in the telecommunication area to Sony’s wide experience in the electronics. ââ€"  Avoiding or countering competition: Ericsson desired to be the market leader. Also Sony wanted to increase its market share. So they combined their resources and knowledge to receive a bigger share. ââ€"  Securing vertical and horizontal links: Ericsson had serious problems in the value added chain due to its supplier Philips. Also, before joining, Ericsson had a problem of manufacturing their goods cheaply, which Sony’s affiliates and manufacturers solved for them. (Tharp 2009) Moreover, the brand awareness of Ericsson was an area which Sony is reputable. ââ€"  Gaining knowledge: While Sony was accessing the wide knowledge of Ericsson in the telecommunication, Ericsson also gained access to Sony’s expertise in the visual and digital technology. 3.2Examination of the SEJV from Sony’s perspective 3.2.1Examination of the main motives from Sony’s perspective One of the main purposes of a joint venture is to share the cost of building a new organization. Sony wanted to take a chance of the opportunities that were rising in the mobile phone industry in the early 2000’s. Despite that, the business environment in this industry was carrying a high risk for the new players. It would have been a great cost for Sony to form a new organization, which can challenge with top players like Nokia and Motorola. Consequently, Sony decided to enter the mobile phone market on a leading company’s coattails. (Tharp 2009) Ericsson was the 3rd big mobile phone manufacturer in the beginning of the 2000’s. Sony had hegemony in the audio, vision and chip technology for the electronic devices however; it had defects in the software and patenting in the mobile technology. With some 33,000 granted patents, Ericsson is the largest holder of standard-essential patents for mobile communication. (Ericsson 2013) Therefore, the specialization of Ericsson in the mobile phone industry provided a major advantage for Sony. Sony was not a preferable brand in the mobile phone industry in the beginning of 2000’s with a market share of less than 1%. Sony may not have been able to counter a competition in this industry by itself. Simultaneously, Ericsson was the 3rd major player in the industry  and was trying to get over its dramatic fell in the market share. Moreover, Sony, which had virtually no presence in mobile phones outside Asia, would gain a foothold in Europe and America, where Ericsson had distribution agreements with major operators. (Kapner 2001) Thus, Ericsson would be the ideal component partner for Sony due to its situation in the market. Sony had lack of the R&D management in the mobile phone technology. Despite that, Ericsson had an experienced R&D team specialized in the mobile technologies. This team fulfilled the gap of R&D management in Sony. Sony accessed the long-term gained knowledge of Ericsson in the mobile technology area with this joint venture. Sony was planning to integrate this knowledge into its specialized know-how in the electronic devices. 3.2.2Examination of the problems in the SEJV, which Sony encountered As we examined above the main motives about SEJV that Sony had, we would have expected a compatible partnership with Ericsson. Nevertheless, the implementation was not so successful. Bryan Ma of IDC Asia-Pacific said â€Å"They originally came together to incorporate the Ericsson technology and the Sony brand, but they haven’t been able to achieve much with the combination,† (BBC 2011) Moreover, â€Å"When the joint venture was formed, mobile phone technology was simple and Ericsson’s inputs in that area suited Sony’s purposes,† said Tim Charlton of Charlton Media. (BBC 2011) Parallel to these thoughts; SEJV was not at the place in the market where they desired to be in the beginning. Charlton also stated that now things have changed. Phones are much more advanced and Sony feels it is hampered by the fact that Ericsson doesn’t bring much to the table with regard to the smartphone segment. (BBC 2011) Analysts said the 50-50 partnership has played a role in hurting the company’s product development. Melissa Chau of IDC Asia-Pacific stated that whenever decisions are made at one end, they need approval from the other. That has hindered their ability to bring new products to the market at a fast pace. (BBC 2011) Sony expected to gain more knowledge and technology from Ericsson; however Ericsson didn’t contribute both of them enough to the partnership. The lack of R&D activities revealed phones, which were not representing an innovation. Consequently, the release of the brand new models of SEJV delayed and also disappointed the market. As a result of this, it gave a particular damage to the corporate image. Cultural separation was another problem in the SEJV. As mentioned by Lane and Beamish (1990) IJV partners from different national cultures tend to experience greater difficulty in terms of communication and coordination (Lane and Beamish 1990 cited in Pothukuchi et al. 2002). If we look at the organizational culture of both the partner companies, we see that there is also a significant difference on this account. The only similarity among them is the professional orientation towards work and open system that exist within the organization. When we make this comparison with Sony Ericsson, we find out that the culture integrated at Sony Ericsson is quite similar to that of Ericsson. The reason may be due to both the companies are based in Europe and also there is very less difference in their respective national cultures. Another reason for showing similarity with Ericsson is that the ratio of Swedish employees working at Sony Ericsson is quite high, thus giving a similar notion. It can be assumed that the culture incorporated at Sony Ericsson is partially based on some commonalities between the parent firms and partially influenced by the national culture as well. (Ahmed and Pang 2009) As a result of these facts, Sony acquired Ericsson’s share in the venture on February 16, 2012. While hailing the past decade’s partnership with Ericsson, Sony president and chief executive Howard Stringer pointed out that the market had drastically shifted since 2001 from focusing on loss-making simple mobile phones to highly profitable smartphones. The separation from the Swedish company was therefore a logical and strategic step that would enable Sony to more efficiently deliver devices that can connect to each other and open up new entertainment possibilities. By taking full control, Sony can integrate its smartphone operation with its tablet, hand-held game console and personal computer businesses to save on costs and better synchronize development of mobile devices. (Anon 2011) 3.3Examination of the SEJV from Ericsson’s perspective 3.3.1Examination of the main motives from Ericsson’s perspective As it was mentioned in the annual report 2001 of Ericsson (2002); year 2001 was a tough year in the telecom business. Like most of competitors, Ericsson incurred considerable losses for the year. Relative market position of Ericsson improved, however, and after decisive restructuring and cost  control efforts, Ericsson’s objective for 2002 was to achieve an operating margin of over five percent. Ericsson was looking for a partner to share the cost of this organizational restructuring in order to stay competitive in the industry. Sony was a reliable brand for Ericsson to keep on its business. Wojtek Uzdelewicz, managing director at Bear, Stearns & Co. (2001) mentioned Sony-Ericsson deal as a perfect union. He said â€Å"Ericsson has done a poor job of building brand awareness. That’s what Sony is famous for.† Furthermore, Ericsson would also gain access to Sony’s expertise in combinin g audio, visual and digital technology, a skill whose importance will grow with the introduction of a new generation of phones with Internet connections and other advanced features. (Kapner 2001) Another advantage for Ericsson was Sony’s expertise in mobile handset technology, which was a key sector Ericsson was hoping to break into at the time. (Tharp 2009) The annual report 2001 of Ericsson (2002) stated that the industry has a strong growth potential and Ericsson look forward with optimism on Ericsson’s role as the top-class vendor to top-class operators. Due to the uncertainty in the telecom market under current economic conditions, Ericsson believed a solid upturn may be a couple of years away. The long-term financial objectives of Ericsson were unchanged to grow faster than the market, which means a growth of more than 20 percent in a few years. This marketing objective was a crucial motive for Ericsson to create a joint venture. Indeed, Sony was known as a marketing genius worldwide. Both companies would benefit from each other’s established markets, making them fifth largest mobile phone producers in the world. (Tharp 2009) In 1998, Ericsson had b egun to experience technical problems with its telephones. For the next three years the company would be forced to admit to a number of problems and unexpected events, ranging from problems with circuits and new model delays to a fire at a subcontractor and lack of back-up systems. Still, the largest problem was probably the lack of skills with consumer products most clearly shown in the legendary answer to the question of why the Swedes did not try to imitate the highly successful Finnish telephone design: â€Å"If you want a phone that looks like a piece of soap, then† (Nilsson undated) In spite of that, Sony was a reputable consumer product manufacturer due to its quality management and design innovations. Also, Ericsson had a problem of manufacturing their goods cheaply, which Sony’s affiliates and manufacturers  solved for them. (Tharp 2009) Sony was a great information source for Ericsson to access. First of all, Sony was a global giant in the consumer electronics. The expertise of Sony in audio, visual and digital technology was fulfilling the gaps in Ericsson’s knowledge. Besides technology, Ericsson was also searching for a remedy to its marketing problems. Conveniently, Sony was famous for its branding, marketing and commercial activities. 3.3.2Examination of the problems in the SEJV, which Ericsson encountered Sony wanted to gain the market, which Ericsson already established in a long-term. Nevertheless, a deal would do little for Ericsson’s market position. Sony sold just five million phones in 2000. Adding them to Ericsson’s 43.3 million would increase Ericsson’s market share just one percentage point, to 10 percent worldwide, leaving it in third place behind Nokia of Finland (35%) and Motorola (14%). (Kapner 2001) At this point, Ericsson trusted the brand-new mobile phones, which were developed with its new partner, would have boosted their sales. In spite of that, their sales dramatically decreased in 2002 and 2003 and they even lost their position in the market share. Indeed, the average marketing management of Sony also disappointed Ericsson and caused this situation. As we mentioned before, Ericsson had a problem of manufacturing their goods cheaply. The pricing strategy of SEJV was quite high in comparison with the market average. This caused lower profits than they aimed. Furthermore, according to Hofstede (2001) research, the national culture of Ericsson can be described as having low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, high individualism, very low masculinity and low long-term orientation. (Ahmed and Pang 2009) On the other hand, Sony had a high power distance, very high uncertainty avoidance, low individualism, very high masculinity and high long-term orientation national culture. (Ahmed and Pang 2009) These contrasts in the national cultures lowered the performance of Ericsson’s R&D teams. Moreover, due to this lack of performance, they have started lay-offs in the R&D departments. Eventually, this chain linked to outdated products. 4.0 Conclusions International collaborative ventures allow companies to reach their mutual  objectives by accessing each other’s resources, knowledge, specializations and established markets. Nevertheless, an ICV can be successful as long as the partners fulfilled each other’s gaps. The motives for the companies may be seen flawless; however the problems can rise in the implementation. The motives of Sony and Ericsson were also fitting perfectly to each other in the initial negotiations. Their interests in spreading and reducing cost, benefiting from each other’s competencies, increasing their market share, having a greater control and access in vertical and horizontal levels and gaining each other’s expertise knowledge were matching excellently in the theory. Sony was looking for a reliable partner in the mobile phone industry to increase its market share. Ericsson was under pressure due to crisis in the industry and had tendency to cut-off its production and R&D costs. Sony had competency in the electronic and digital technology, as Ericsson had the competency in the telecommunication technology. Ericsson had problems in the branding, marketing and manufacturing management. Sony had a worldwide reputation in these issues. Lastly, Sony and Ericsson had reputable expertise know-how in their areas. When we combine these assumptions, we might expect a new innovative brand in the mobile phone industry. Nevertheless, the implementation of the theory failed. The cultural differences between these two companies revealed unforeseen conditions. Ericsson could not represent its R&D department’s skills sufficiently due to Sony’s low-individualist culture. This result caused the manufacturing of outdated products. Outdated products decreased the profits and the percentage in the market share. Besides these, Sony could not successfully implement its branding, marketing and manufacturing management due to cultural discrepancy with the Ericsson’s native personnel. The new SEJV lost its 3rd place in the mobile phone industry as a result of these management failures. Finally, Sony broke this chain by owning the JV totally. Nowadays Sony uses the advantage of know-how which gained from Ericsson in the last decade and applies its marketing and manufacturing management fully. 5.0Recommendations In the initial periods of creating an IJV, the future partners should consider the cultural impacts. Thus, cultural researches should be done and examined carefully before negotiations for following a suitable management  path. Each partner also should realize the other’s competencies accurately and should leave those zones for the better one. Furthermore, partners should avoid hiding knowledge from each other because it brings only loss to the venture. In the Sony Ericsson example, if Sony had left the control of R&D department to Ericsson totally, the R&D failure would not have happened. The Sony management couldn’t able to notice the cultural differences at this point. Besides, Sony should have been focused on the marketing and branding activities more intensively. (Headlines, subheads and reference quotation information (author date) are excluded) 6.0References  ° Ahmed A, Pang Z (2009) â€Å"CORPORATE CULTURE IN AN INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURE† A case study of Sony Ericsson, Master Thesis, School of Sustainable Development of Society and Tecnology, Malardalen University. Available at: http://mdh.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:224194/FULLTEXT01.pdf [Accessed 12 October 2013].  ° Anon (2011) Ericsson and Sony go separate ways. The Local, 27 October. Available at: http://www.thelocal.se/36986/ [Accessed 12 October 2013].  ° BBC News Business (2011) Can Sony succeed where Sony-Ericsson partnership failed? Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk /news/business-15285258 [Accessed 12 October 2013].  ° Cavusgil S T, Knight G and Risenberger J R (2011) International Business: The New Realities (2ndedn), Upper Saddle River (NJ): Pearson. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-245327-1  ° Daniels J D, Radebaugh L H and Sullivan D P (2011) ‘Chapter 14: Direct Investment and Collaborative Strategies’ in International Business. Available at: http://drgeorgefahmy.com/labteachingtips /daniels14_im.doc [Accessed 10 October 2013].  ° Ericsson (2013) The Leader in Mobile Communication Patents. Available at: http://www.ericsson.com/the company/company_facts/patents [Accessed 11 October 2013].  ° Ericsson (2002) The Annual Report 2001 Financial Statements. Available at:http://www.ericsson.com/res/investors/docs/annual-reports-1970-2002/annual 01_financial_en.pdf [Accessed 12 October 2013].  ° Kapner S (2001) ‘Ericsson and Sony Discussing Mobile Phone Joint Venture’. The New York Times, 20 April. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/20/business/ericsson-and-sony-discussing-mobile-phone-joint-venture.html [Accessed 11 October 2013].  ° Nilsson T (undated) The formation of Sony Ericsson. Available at: http://www.ericssonhistory.com/the-ericsson-files engelska/Foretaget /Sony-Ericsson/ [Accessed 10 October 2013].  °Sonymobile (2012) Sony Completes Full Acquisition of Sony Ericsson. Available at: http://blogs.sonymobile.com/ press_release/sony-completes-full-acquisition-of-sony-ericsson/ [Accessed 10 October 2013].  ° Tharp A (2009) Joint Venture: Sony Ericsson. Available at: http://tortora.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/joint-venture-sony-ericsson/ [Accessed 10 October 2013].  ° Wallace, R. (2004) Strategic Partnerships: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Joint Ventures and Alliances, Chicago: Dearborn Trade, A Kaplan Professional Company. ISBN-13: 978-0-79-318828-4

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