If businesses don't evolve, they end up like Atari, Pan Am and Woolworth's, onetime industry leaders that crashed against the rocks of strategy, innovation and competition. So the successful ones aren't shy about borrowing good ideas from others.
Then why is it so hard for the United States to admit its shortcomings and do the same?
Craig Wheeland, a political scientist at Villanova, believes it has something to do with America's innate wariness of government.
"We have a peculiar set of approaches to how government should act in our economy and in our society," he says. "That creates a barrier to looking at best practices and borrowing ideas. The business world doesn't think like that. They look at ideas that seem to solve problems and test them out, and if they don't work, they change. They're more pragmatic."
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He describes the problem in one word: Hubris.
"Some interest in what's happening elsewhere and how other people are doing this would benefit us enormously," he says. "I think a little less hubris and a little more focus ... would do us a lot of good."
But Gerry Keim, a management professor at Arizona State University, isn't quite so harsh.
"We're not exceptional in all categories, [but] we're clearly exceptional in some categories, and I think we should be proud of that," he says, mentioning America's entrepreneurial spirit as an
When American politicians use exceptionalism and the exhausted phrase “city upon a hill” to justify their decisions, policies, and actions, it violates the establishment clause and is not a sufficient justification of governmental conduct. Spreading this type of religious nationalism is not proactive in building trust in the government either. The percentage of Americans who reported trusting the government has dropped from seventy five per cent to nineteen per cent in half a century (We The People Textbook). While it does gain support, it has no correlation with an increase in political efficacy to which it appeals.
Relating back to the idea that by American’s believing they are exceptional and attempting to remain that way, they forge their own path for success, propelling the nation forwards. Different countries competing to be the best push each other to become exceptional. Later, President Obama went on to say, “This dynamic, evolving, pressing, expanding, self-critical experiment… An America that’s chronically dissatisfied with itself, because embedded into our DNA is this striving, aspirational quality to be even better… That's what has driven progress for everybody,” (Article 3). Touching on the primal human instinct for competition and our inability to settle when we know we can do better, he explains how this competition is a basic part of our nature. We are all simply striving for what we believe to be the best and in the process we find competition and take pride in our accomplishments, thus resulting in the aspect of not only American exceptionalism but the exceptionalism of various
What if your best friend went on an adventure. They had everything they had ever wanted. They didn't tell you or their family where they were going or how long they would be gone. They just picked up and left. Would you respect their decision to not tell anyone their plans? Would you think that this was a good idea of theirs, or would you think that this was a stupid decision on their part? Well this is what Christopher McCandless did. In 1968 McCandless was born. He was born to a good, wealthy, and happy family. He had everything any child could ever wish for. He was smart, athletic, and had a good education. In June 1990 he completed collage. In July of 1990 Christopher McCandless left his family and almost all belongings, and didn't tell anyone where he was going, or how long he'd be gone. Three years later McCandless was found dead in a blue bus located in Alaska. He had died of starvation. He went off and, ¨lived his life.¨ McCandless went out and lived in the wild. While Christopher McCandless died peacefully, the question has arose on whether McCandless was a noble adventurer or an arrogant fool. The evidence from many stories and social media clearly states that McCandless was in fact an arrogant fool. Christopher McCandless was an arrogant fool because he was not prepared, he
When you see yourself living out your dream, the thought of what you're most passionate about pulls you in. Passions in one's life change based on what had affected that person. Dreams are defined to change. However, the benefits of these thoughts is that they belong to you and only you. Not one person's opinions matter but your own. Chris McCandless simply was living out his own ideal life, the way he wanted; not to the idea of his parents, his friends or of society. McCandless wanted to escape society and civilization which he felt was tying him down, while also trying to discover himself. McCandless is not by any means a wacko. He was simply defying society and its ideal expectation it holds upon us as a whole.
Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer illustrates the life and death of Christopher McCandless, and his search for the true meaning in life. McCandless’ family was well-off and he graduated from Emory University with honors. Everything in McCandless’ life came easy, and because of this he wished to find what it meant to work for something. Through his perilous journey across the United States, McCandless found a way to inspire others everywhere he went. His independent and carefree mindset inspired other adventure seekers. Because McCandless desired to push the status-quo, he trades material wealth in order to find the richness in life.
For many around the world, the United States have become known as the country of opportunity and success. Consequently,
The Crucible was created to described what really happened in these witch trials, and the effects it had on the Colony itself. There was more than 50 men and women accused of witchcraft but less than 20 were hung. The town embraced their trials as a template for their envy of hate.
We will be helping with the Thursday Night meal at the Highland Center on the 5th Thursday of each month for the rest of the year. The next 5th Thursday is July 30th. Stephanie Slack will be heading up our group as Ronney Joe will be out of town.
Have you ever been so desperate that you were willing to give up? Alfred is seventeen year old boy who dropped out from high school. Alfred works at a grocery store and hangs out with street kids. Alfred begins to realize that he needs to do something he decided that he will be a Contender. He goes to Donatelli's gym to start his training. Donatelli is a very important person to Alfred throughout the story. He also gets good advice from him and learns a good important lesson.
Christopher McCandless age twenty-two embarks on his greatest journey that will forever make him famous in his journey and death. There is the argument that Christopher was psychotic for going out into the Alaskan Wild so unprepared without any proper tools or materials. Also, Christopher should have told his parents where he was going so they would’ve known where to look for their son so he could be safer and might of had the chance to survive. What you have to understand that, Chris McCandless approached it the way he wanted to approached it because some say he is narcissistic and only does what he wants and it's true, he is but that isn't negative it's what he wants, and shouldn't we all be able to feel free to do whatever we wish. As the reader, you can pick the side you agree with and have your opinion on Chris. Christopher McCandless wasn't crazy or psychotic, but instead a true example of a person who did whatever he wanted to be filled with joy.
Across the nation and world assisted suicide is an issue that has been gaining attention for several years. With famous cases such as Jack Kevorkian it has become a household term and everyone has an opinion. There are strong cases on both sides, but the bottom line is while it may sound good for the present, it is not for the future. Assisted Suicide should not be legalized in Alabama as the negative outcomes far exceed the positive outcomes in the areas of impact on society, politics and medical education
The wind was whipping fiercely when Nikki Maratea, her younger sister Alex, and Nikki's 3-week-old son Derrian went to catch an elevated train in Philadelphia near the home they shared with their mother. Thinking she had put the brake on the stroller, Nikki, 20, let it go to argue with the cashier, who insisted she pay the $2 fare before moving to the platform. A moment later Alex, then 10, looked toward her nephew—but he and his stroller were gone. "I said, 'Nikki,'" Alex recalls, "'where's the baby?'" They could hear Derrian's cries, but saw no sign of him. "Then," Alex says, "I looked down." What she saw was a nightmare: The stroller, blown by the wind, was lying on the tracks, about four
Times. http://www.nytimes.com.2008/02/19/world /americas/19iht-princeton.1.10175351.html Fitzsimmons, W. 2014. Time out or Burn out for the Next Generation. Retrieved from
Tidd and Bessant (2009) argued that “Unless an organization is able to move into further innovation, it risks being left behind as others take the lead in changing their offerings, their operational processes or the underlying models that drive their business”.
Companies live and breathe innovation; or, at the terribly least, notice it basic to their success. Such companies are those that others ought to emulate for they recognize that to do business, as Peter Drucker prompt in an exceedingly recent Harvard Business review article, “Every firm—not simply businesses—needs one core competence: innovation.”