Synergy in the Media: In media economics, synergy is the promotion and sale of a product (and throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, e.g. films, soundtracks or all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of am Walt Disney pioneered synergists marketing techniques in the 1930s by granting dozens ms the right to use his Mickey Mouse character in products and ads and continued to market through licensing arrangements. These products can help advertise the film itself and help to increase the film’s sales. For example, the Spiderman films had toys of web shooters and the characters made, as well as posters and games. The NBC sitcom 30 Rock often shows the figures of the characters made, as well as posters and games. The NP power of synergy, while also poking fun at the use of the term in the Corporate world.
Obligatory Synergies: When spasticity occurs, such as following a stroke, it manifests in abnormal and stereotypical patterns across multiple joints called obligatory synergies. They are described as either a flexion synergy or and affect both the upper and lower extremity. When these patterns occur in a patient, he or she is unable to move a limb segment in
isolation of the pattern. This interferes with normal activities of daily living. Some aspects of the obligatory synergy patterns however, can be clearly used to increase function relative to the movement available to the individual. Careful thought should, therefore, be considered in deciding which muscle groups to stretch at specific times during recovery. Obligatory synergy patterns are observed when a patient tries to make a minimal voluntary movement, or as a result of stimulated reflexes.
The flexion synergy for the upper extremity includes scapular retraction and elevation, shoulder abduction and external rotation, elbow flexion, forearm supination and wrist and finger flexion.
The extension synergy for the upper extremity includes scapular protraction, shoulder abduction and internal rotation, elbow extension, forearm pronation and wrist and finger flexion.
The flexion synergy for the lower extremity includes hip flexion, abduction and external rotation, knee flexion, ankle dorsiflexion and inversion and toe dorsiflexion.
The extension synergy for the lower extremity includes hip extension, abduction and internal rotation, knee extension, ankle plantar flexion and inversion and toe plantar flexion.
Note that some muscles are not usually involved in these synergy patterns and include the lattisimusdorsi, teres major, serratus anterior, finger extensors and ankle evertors.
Q.3. Write a detailed note on synergy as a component of strategy and its relevance. (2014, 15)
Ans. Synergy as a Component of Strategy: The ultimate purpose of the strategic planning process is the identification of opportunities and the allocation of resources towards strategies. A well-conceived strategy includes four basic components: scope, resource deployment, competitive advantage and synergy. The scope component of a strategy specifies the present and planned interactions between the organisation and its environment, in order to achieve a strategic fit. The strategy should include an outline of the business’s projected resource deployment, how it will distribute its resources across various areas. Resources need to the allocated towards successful products/services and away from less successful ones. The strategy should specify the competitive advantages that result from the scope of the business and its pattern of resource deployment. Strategy should also take into account the synergy expected to result from decisions about scope, resource deployment and competitive advantages. This allocation must take place in such a way that the performance overall, across the whole product/service range, can be optimised. Each strategy can serve as a framework for developing specific action plans and strategy and synergy are linked together, this can seen through the focus given on synergy at the following levels:
1. Corporate Strategy: At the corporate level, managers must coordinate the activities of multiple business units and in the case of conglomerates, even separate legal business entities. Decisions about the organisation’s scope and resource deployments across its divisions or businesses are the primary focus of corporate strategy. The essential questions at this level include, what business(es) are we in? What business(es) should we be in? And what portion of our total resources should we devote to each of these businesses to achieve the organisation’s overall goals and obiectives? For example, top level managers at IBM decided to pursue future growth primarily through the development of web-based services and software rather than computer hardware. They shifted substantial corporate resources, including R&D expenditures, marketing and advertising budgets, and vast numbers of sales people into the corporation’s service and software businesses to support the new strategic direction.