It has the decisiveness of a hierarchy but without its inflexibility, its rigidity and its tendency to demotivate workers and frustrate customers.

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However, the dock has a lot going for it, on top of its general rigidity: extra ports (including HDMI and USB 3.0), an SD card expansion slot, a 500GB hard drive to complement the fast solid state drive within the tablet itself, and a second battery to increase running time.

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Its earlier attempts to become a manufacturing and service hub for the region foundered on the rigidity of its bureaucracy.

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One is the rigidity of its exchange-rate peg, and the strength of the dollar.

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The slim subwoofers, available in the 10- and 12-inch and 2- and 4-Ohm versions, get the rock treatment as well, utilizing basalt fibers to increase rigidity to its proprietary Air Suspension cones.

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On the surface, this daring Japanese-made smartphone darling cuts a dangerous figure, assuming a dual identity reinforced by the rigidity of its '80s-esque, hard-lined facial perimeter and the seductive curve of its aluminum back that all but screams contemporary industrial design.

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