Week 7: BioBusiness Revolution: Agribiology, Environmental Life Sciences and Industrial Biotechnology (Past, Present and Future)

Monday, October 03, 2011 | 0 Comments

The second part of bio-businesses focused on the Agribiology, Environmental Life Sciences and Industrial Biotechnology. In particular, much was discussed about our supply of food, and how we may be pushing ethical boundaries just to meet that demand.

Brief Overview of Week 7 class

Humans!


The class started off with a provocative video on whether we are indeed the culprits of destroying Mother Earth. Perhaps we should stop and start to think about whether we are using our natural resources at a rate much faster than what we should be.

“There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed” – Mahatma Gandhi
How very true it is! I admit sometimes I tend to buy things on impulse, but I think what’s more worrying is the widening disparity between nations. This kinda takes me back to Week 1 of our TWC lesson, where Yali from New Guinea asked a white man the exact same question…

We then moved on to Agribiology with an introduction to this video…


Ahhh of course, Monsato, the “infamous” organization that has been supporting GM technologies for food production all these while. The benefits are definitely obvious with more food supply, but the question of its risks are still up in the air. Worst, GM food might be so often used now that we aren’t even sure if they are GM food due to lack of labeling information.

Lastly, we talked about biomaterials, where many materials like plastic are being developed from renewable resources so as to tackle to problem of diminishing fossil fuel supply.


The first presentation touched on the hugely debated topic on GM food, which will never have a conclusion due to its controversy. Despite possible risks, there are yet to be any cases to show serious health risks. Yet, no one can deny that such technology has brought about huge benefits of increased food supply to help deal with the growing demands. The discussion was raised in class on whether we would choose traditional food over GM food, with all these concerns in mind.

The second presenter introduced in the detail the concept of aquaculture to us, which involved cultivating fresh and salt water fishes under controlled conditions. It was interesting to note that such way of cultivation can be very sustainable, if we are able to keep in check the environmental damages it will cost. The question was raised on whether such cultivations will affect traditional fishermen. I don’t think it will, as I believe traditional fishermen will cater to high-end consumers who are willing to pay that extra dollar for the freshness of the wilderness. It’s the same concept on how people might prefer eating at restaurants than kopitiams when you could probably get the same thing!

The third presentation had an interesting article on coke being the leader in plastic productions, setting the trend in producing petroleum free bottles. It was even more mind provoking when the discussion was raised on whether consumers would check on the validity of such promises in their marketing campaigns. It was pretty impressive that the presenter would check on all products before consumption, a true dedicated and responsible consumer!

The fourth presentation highlighted the usage of nanotechnology in agriculture. This was a method that focused on the precision in agriculture to further maximize output and minimizing input through monitoring the environmental variables. The nanotech will help delivery the chemicals to accurate locations on the plants. The discussion question was targeted to whether we have mastered all of nature. Though I found the term “nature” to be somewhat to general, I guess we have indeed, somehow master the form of agriculture through such means of technology, where we are able to manipulate so many variables for plant growth.

The last presentation was on animal husbandry, where the farming of animals seems to be going out of hand both ethically and environmentally. We were introduced to some pretty disturbing scenes of current practices by farmers to gain better yield, and I think many were revolted by the images. From this point forward, we discussed about the possible environmental problems that will occur, and gave opinions on the possible future of animal husbandry.

Interesting Observations

I found it very interesting that bio-buisnesses could have such a wide scope in agriculture and industrial sense, many of which I was unexposed to.

However, it was disheartening to see that we humans seem to be neglecting the fact that we are introducing so much negative externalities to our environment,  which may very well outweigh the excellent benefits we’re reaping on adopting technology in such areas.

Key Takeaways

I feel that it is important to hold a balance between producing ENOUGH to cater to a justifiable amount of demands for our WANTS, and keeping our environment healthy and clean.

This brings back to the root problem of human greed, where we will never be able to define what is a justifiable amount of WANTS. The innate selfishness within humans nowadays tend make everyone never satisfied with what they have, until it’s currently gone.

I would think, it is more important to change that mindset, and to treasure what we have now and hold them dearly, before it’s all gone.

Further discussion

I thought the point raised about lab-grown meat was really interesting and I couldn’t understand how it was made, so I had to call up my best friend Wikipedia again for explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat

In-vitro meat! It seems like it is sort of a GM food as well since it can be injected with healthy stuff like Omega 3 and other vitamins. Good or bad? I’m not sure if I will be able to eat something that’s not au naturale.

Also, I thought more could have been discussed on the issue of food disparity as brought up by Yali, now that we all have a better understanding of TWC. With GM food in place, supply goes up, and costs go down with economies of scale. So what is still causing the developing countries to still be denied of basic food rights sometimes? Is it really still the issue of geographical location?

Conclusion

This session was particularly insightful, as it made me reflect a lot upon my actions as habits of my life. Perhaps I should start being a more responsible citizen of Mother Earth, and use only the things I need to use, and to never waste resources. Never take for granted that technology can help solve supply shortages.

Rating: 9/10

Week 6: The biobusiness revolution 1: healthcare and the biomedical sciences: past, present, future

Friday, September 23, 2011 | 0 Comments

Following the ICT revolutions, we hopped on to another majorly developed industry in the healthcare and medical sciences. Research throughout time has helped solve many mysteries of the human anatomy. However, are we moving so rapidly that we forgot to place our moral ethics in check?

Brief Overview  of Week 6 Class

Health Future Vision


The class started off with viewing a future projection of healthcare, and many were intrigued by it, be it positive or negative. Most were really skeptical of the projections, as it looked very far-fetched. However, I feel we shouldn’t be too doubtful about the rate technology is developing, and embrace such possible futures. Furthermore, I believe some of the examples in the video are already happening, so who knows how soon the rest of the examples will materialize very soon! Definitely able to help the world with such medical advancements, and change lives!

We were then introduced to the GDP expenditure estimations for the different parts of the world, and USA was found to be spending A LOT on its healthcare. Which led us to a brief discussion based on this movie…

SiCKO


The trailer showcased many thought triggering doubts on their allocation of budget for the country’s healthcare, and I will certainly get hold of a copy to watch it during my free time!

We then discussed about how diseases are of a global concern and burden to many countries, and identified some opportunity areas for bio businesses .

Moving on to the first presentation, the presenter touched about the evolution of superbugs through time due to grown resistance to our immunity and anti-biotic treatments. The dilemma lies on whether doctors should prescribe the most effective drugs with the risk of superbug evolution.

I got the opportunity to be the second presented, where I share my views on the ethical concerns from drug delivery system applications, especially pertaining to animal and human testing/experimentation, as this question for discussion was more popular amongst the class. With so many advocates going against animal testing and human experimentation, would one trust a medical product that has stated to be testing in all scientific means, but NO animal or humans have tested it? I would personally have loved to hear from those animal right advocates since the dilemma here is SO huge; to protect others’ (animals or humans) lives, or to risk your own to use such products?

The third presenter brought in the very interesting topic of genetic engineering, which got the class super roused up in discussion. In particular, the idea of whether designer babies are considered humans is HIGHLY controversial, and whether genetic engineering as a whole should be encouraged for progress.

The last presenter introduced to the class a newly invented nano-chip robot (Virob) that is able to enter your body and fix any problems in your veins, arteries etc. Though its benefits look pretty good, it is still under the testing phase, which led to the question if society is ready to accept such new treatments.

Interesting Observations

I felt that whatever new technology that has been brought up in class, it was always relatable to my topic on the dilemma of testing on living beings. Virob was already a great example as depicted in class. Despite the many “advantages” and “breakthroughs” it has, the entire class was very skeptical of it. Now if it has a proven case of success on a living thing, would it put everyone’s guard down (even if it’s just A LITTLE bit), and have a leap of faith on such new products?

This makes me really wonder if the advocates are really fighting for what they believe in on animal/human rights. Would they risk their perfect health just to try something that may SAID to bring about better benefits? This is of course, unless, your life depended on it and you’ve gotta try it to have a fighting chance for survival. Kinda shows how selfish humans can be, doesn’t it? Of course, there will be the few noble ones out there who will try it regardless of of the presence of animal testing. *shrugs*

Key Takeaways

With the rapid evolution of bio businesses in healthcare, ethical issues are bound to surface, especially when it’s due to humans’ greed. It is important to maintain a balance for ethical practices, and the advancement of medical technology for the greater cause for mankind.

Take genetic engineering for example. What’s good about it is that it can help provide more yield, more food for the poverty stricken countries. Designer babies on the other hand, might be considered as an abuse of this technology.

Thus, it is important to ISOLATE the good parts about bio-businesses in healthcare, so that society can grow and advance towards a moral state of living.

Further Discussion

Was a little bit disappointed with the way I phrased my question from my article on whether legal reforms should be done to help the biotechnology industry to prosper, as many of my peers were unable to comprehend it and thus the lack of discussion. So I will try to rephrase it better again for anyone to read. J

In my presentation, I’ve mentioned that there are still many international regulatory standards (like ISO) that are still too costly for many biomaterial companies to adhere to, despite knowing the need for further biomedical developments to be done. Such standards would be considered as red tape to many start-up companies who might have great potential ideas that can have a huge contribution.

Should we then sacrifice a little bit of legal standard aspects, to allow for a greater diversity of biomaterials? (which is a yes according to the authors for the article that I found)

Conclusion

This week has been a pretty insightful as I was more involved in this week’s topic due to my presentation.

I guess there will always be that grey area of ethics and dilemma that we all have to face when it comes to healthcare development, thus it is important to be more aware, and attain that “informed consent” state that I’ve mentioned in my presentation, so that we will be more conscious of what’s happening and what we’re getting into in terms of bio-material development.

Rating: 8/10

Group Project Outlines for TWC Group G: The crowd-platform technology

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 | 0 Comments

Members:
Jessie Choo | Melissa Tian | Lin Yukai | Nigel Poo
Do click on their names to check out their blogs too!

Introduction:

·         Definition of the crowd-platform
o   Requirement of bi-directional communication
·         Brief History
o   Origin of idea
§  Term coined by Jeff Howe, 2006
o   Evolution of crowdfunding from crowdsourcing.
·         Basic differences and definitions between crowdfunding and crowdsourcing.

Case Examples:

·         TopCoder (Crowdsourcing)
o   Business model
§  Clients post up problems from their business organizations
§  Members to work out software development solutions
§  Website community to peer review
§  Expert/experienced members paid to grade and comment on all submissions to pick winners
§  Winner given monetary awards by client/TopCoder

·         Kickstarter (Crowdfunding)
o   Business model
§  User has an idea
§  User makes a video of his idea
§  User puts video on Kickstarter.com
§  Anyone in the world with internet access can look at the video
§  If they like/ support the idea, they can donate to it
§  In return, the user with give them some kind of rewards
§  User can only get the funds if they hit the targeted amount
§  Kickstarter.com gets a percentage of the fund

Impacts (changing the playing field):

·         Benefits (Businesses + Social aspects)
    • Talents from the mass crowd
    • Quick gathering way of information (know what the people wants)
    • Able to solve complex problems.
    • Choice to select best solution
    • Spurs growth and sustainability for the company (crowdsourcing)
    • Narrows down the distance barrier from the problem and the solver

·         Concerns
o   May require extra time to filter through many solutions (needle in a haystack)
o   Job security of existing workers
o   Good relevance needed to entice responses from Internet


Crowd-platform in the future:
·         Possible applications in other industries
o   Politics
o   Biomedical

·         Concerns to be aware off when implementing crowd platform solutions to above industries

Week 5: ICT and World Change (Mass Media, Internet, Wireless, Interactive Telecommunications) - Past, Present and Future

Friday, September 16, 2011 | 0 Comments

After looking at the broader concepts of world change drivers, we went into the first area of discussion for world changes based on information & Communication Technology. The evolvement of technology has been so rapid that it has revolutionized our means and speed of communication. Not only that, it has brought upon new ways of information dissemination, especially with the birth of e-books and social media.


Brief Overview of Week 5 Class:


Project Natal: Meet Milo


The class was first introduced to Milo, an interactive bot under Project Natal b y Microsoft. It truly showcased how advanced our technology is in the era that we’re living in, further proving the rate of development in the area. An interesting thought based on this development was how it could possibly help people who aren’t as socially adept as others, thus making such interactions as a therapy. However, I am skeptical if such benefits are enough to overthrow the concerns of bringing about more anti-social characteristics within the younger generation.
  
"The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human”  - Josh Naisbitt
I think this quote is really interesting. Who knows how controversial the definition of  a human can be in the future? This could well be a very relevant and debatable discussion in TWC probably 3 to 5 years from now!


Moving from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0


We were then introduced to yet another emerging technology : Web 3.0. This concept has already been partially realized in many leading websites, where interaction between systems and humans is at a much sophisticated level where systems are on a continuous learning state of learning consumers’ needs, interests, desires etc.

Cloud Computing


The last exposure to emerging ICT concepts is cloud computing. I was particularly interesting in this as it was the topic of my individual review. However, I feel like cloud computing is like a double edged sword, where the concerns of privacy issues meet the wonderful conveniences and savings it brings about.

We then had our first presentation on the possibilities of having a mobile data network using the cars. This could help drivers alike to share information on the roads just as jams, accidents, and parking availability. Of course, the feasibility was discussed in the Singapore context, and whether or not privacy issues were of an concern in such technology adoption.

The second presentation then showcased the usage of games as a strategic learning experience. It highlighted the results of adopting such learning environment, and assessed the effectiveness of it. The discussion was based upon the “fun” factor where it contributes to a better learning experience. I however believe, that it is the similarity with reality based on the simulation that helps people to learn better as they can better relate to real-life situations.

The third presentation covered on the evolution of mass media, and how it has impacted the masses. What was interesting was about how it has set trends and cultures for many industries, and how consumers are bombarded by SO MANY things through the many means of advertisements now.

The last presentation introduced the concept of data mining, where information is gained from many free sites that provide certain services, one great example which we all know of is Facebook. These information may contain personal data that you might not want to reveal, but therein lies the dilemma where you have to provide some of these to be able to access such sites. This led to the question of the level of sacrifice one should make out of privacy to achieve greater progress. I personally think that privacy really depends on the how “well known” you are on the internet. I think lots of people are probably “google-able” right now, as a simple search of your name with your school would suffice. Age and birthdates would probably come from social networking sites. Thus, it is important to access how much info you have already “leaked” into the internet, and how much more are you wiling to “leak” for the sake of progress.

Interesting Observations

This lesson was the perfect example to illustrate the evolution of technology, to the point where it is convenience VS privacy. Our lives are so interrelated with technology, be it the social media, high connectivity rates with handphones, easily accessibility with e-mails. So much so that I feel technology is going to slowly devour us if we do not keep in check the difference between technology as a NEED, and technology as a DESIRE. For many times, many innovations has been using the excuse of “improving lives’ as the justification. However, is it really improving lifes, or merely an illusion for laziness?

Taking Milo from project natal as an example, yes it could be helpful for those who in inept in social skills. However, would this be a good excuse to remove the need for social workers, where the time and effort from a human being is needed?

Key Takeaways

Of course, I’m not a pessimist for technological advances. I think the greatest takeaway from me after being exposed to such technology is that we have to keep in touch with our lives, and not have a huge dependency on technology. Cloud computing was one example where I believe many people take them for granted, and would be very lost on what to do should that platform be their only place of backup. Scary isn’t it?
To me, technology should always be a bonus, not a necessity. We should be taking charge of the technology to run our lives, and not let it run our lives instead.

Further Discussion

The point raised about how Milo from the Natal Project was beneficial to help socially inept people to slowly adjust to the society. Many skeptics feel that technology is slowly eating away our social skills and interactions.

However, I wonder if there could be much to discuss on the positive side of technology socially. I feel that things like social media (facebook) could also act as a platform for people who are more introverted to interact with people they might not be comfortable with initially. Such platforms could also be a great way to search for long lost friends, or to drop a simple message to “take care”, to someone you are hardly able to meet (like sending smses). These could not have been achieved without the interconnectedness that technology has brought about. Would you consider such things as being socially interactive (i.e. since you are not exactly talking face to face as a real human interaction)?

Conclusion

The presentations from today have given me great insights on how technology has brought about many changes in communication means and information dissemination. It has brought light to the unknown impacts to the various aspects of society and life that I wouldn’t have thought of even as an IS student.
Was kept interested throughout the lesson as many of the topics raised and discussed could be of important relevance in my future life!

Rating: 9/10

Individual Topical Review Outline

Monday, September 12, 2011 | 2 Comments

My individual topical review will be on the topic of the emergency of Cloud Computing technology and its impact on the IT industry. Please feel free to give feedback/opinions about my outline if you wish to, thank you!




Cloud Computing and its impact on the IT industry and beyond

Executive Summary
  • Cloud Computing having the potential to transform the IT industry. 
  • Report focuses on the new concepts brought about to the industry.
  • Impacts / Influences to many businesses and consumers


Introduction/Background 
  • Introduction of Cloud Computing
    • New aspects, key features, different types of cloud computing
  • Origin of cloud computing: How it came about. 


Issues/Challenges/Opportunities 
  • Times before the emergence of cloud computing (Issues) 
    • Use of thumb drives, CDs, manual files 
    • Lack of convenience 
  • Appearance of cloud computing in many businesses and consumers’ private usage 
    • Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) 
    •  Dropbox, GoogleDocs phenomenon 
  • Challenges towards the growth of cloud computing 
    • Technical obstacles to the adoption of Cloud Computing 
      • The need for 24/7 support, and huge amount of data storage space 
      • Physical space for data centers 
    • Technical obstacles to the growth of Cloud Computing 
      • Unpredictable performance  
      • Costs of data transfer VS manual shipping of hard disks 
    • Policy and business obstacles to the adoption of Cloud Computing 
      • Trust Issues (of security & privacy) 
      • Legal aspects 
  • New opportunities sprouting after cloud computing 
    • Widespread of mobile applications to leech on 
    • Rise of demand for business analytics (freeing up resources away from transaction processing) 
    • New business ideas of providing data integration 

Observations for Discussion and Analysis
  • Reasons for increase in adopting cloud computing technology 
    • Achieving Economies of Scales through efficient use of hardware 
    • Receptiveness of “pay-as-you-go” model 
    • Shifting the risks through elasticity (of resource utilization) 
  • Shift of demand for IT administrators (system/database) to IT business analytics 
    • Cloud computing removes the need for on-site maintenance 
    • Affects the way educational institutions would look at IT degrees 
  • Very high dependencies on the data centers  
    • Detailed risk assessments needed for location of data centers 
    • Natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis) main factor for choice of location 
    • Organizations should not have 100% dependancies on cloud computing services 
      • The need of business continuity plans 
      • Would this lead to any redundancy issues?

Taking Things Forward
  • Phasing out of PCs
    • Removal of desktops at home, being obsolete à Operating Systems through SaaS 
  • Changes in prices of technological products due to lesser resource utilization 
    • Reduction of costs of gadgets = more widespread use of mobile gadgets 
  • Privacy issue a constant issue to be improved on for increased adoption 
    •  Legal aspects of cloud computing to be revised on par with personal data privacy


Conclusion
  • The world should embrace technology advances
  • Important to have a balance between risk management and leeching on the advantages of such technology (Cloud Computing)
  • Late adoption of new technology would only lead to more problems and loss of competitive advantage
  • Emergence of cloud computing shows how aware we must be of technological changes and how it will affect us as consumers, business owners and workers (especially in the IT industry)

Week 4: Drivers of World Change, Change Management & Leadership

Friday, September 09, 2011 | 0 Comments

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change." – Charles Robert Darwin


After 3 weeks of lessons on the evolution in technology and its impact, we delved into a broader topic of the drivers of world change, and how it could/should be led and managed.

Brief Summary of Week 4 Class

Drivers or World Change

We first discussed on the various drivers of world change, such as environmental, scientific discoveries, ideological changes, globalization, etc.

We then learnt about the difference between evolutionary and revolutionary changes, where the performance gap is one of the key factors in accessing the impact of the changes. Disruptive change was also brought up by the prof, and discussed about it briefly.

Our first presenter then brought in the topic of competition as one of the main drivers of change. This is mainly due to the rapid innovations brought about by many around the world. A great debate then erupted within the class, on whether collaboration was still a better way to spur on world change.

The second presenter brought out an interesting concept of food being a driver of change. Due to the rapid urbanization of societies, lesser resources (human or land) are available for agricultural industry. With population explosions happening in many places, this will overthrow the supply and demand of food, resulting in huge inflation of food prices. This may have an adverse effect on the poor, and probably the middle class folks as well should prices inflate way above their spending capabilities. GM food was discussed briefly on how it could potentially solve the problem.

Change Management and Change Leadership

The next topic was on understanding the difference between managing and leading, where both areas need great leadership. The major difference between them would be that leaders are the “visionaries” but might not be good at managing, which a manager would be great at but not necessarily about to have that foresight. We were then introduced to the Pessimism-Time Curve as a tool for managing change.


The third presenter took President Obama and his “Change” campaign as an example of change leadership. He narrowed upon the forthcomings of his leadership, where he failed to win over the Republicans with his ideology. Questions were raised about this lack of inclusion of all Americans, and whether that equated to bad leadership of change despite winning the President title.

The last presenter highlighted the personality differences of the Gen X and Gen Y, and the problems that are surfacing in the working society due to different way of thinking. Managing this change isn’t an easy feat, and discussions were based upon possible solutions as a Gen Y manager to better integrate these people together for a greater cause.

Interesting Observations

I really loved the quote (as mentioned in the beginning of this blog post) about how the winners are the ones that are able to adapt to change. This re-iterates my point in Week 1 about how rapidly the world is changing (especially in the IT industry) and how we will lose our competitive advantage in an INSTANT if we were not able to keep up with the times. It may sound exhausting to do it throughout your life (sadly), but that is just the way the world works now and we have to get used to it.

I was particularly interested in the 2nd presentation on the possible usage of GM food to curb demand problems. Many in class agreed that it would be beneficial to many, especially to the poor as they are the hardest hit. My opinion, however, is that the middle class population would be the ones that are suffering the most, as they would not be able to benefit from any social help from the government, and yet they have to bear the full costs of inflation with average salaries.

I used to remember reading the news about fake eggs on the loose (click here to read it). Though it was proven to be false, this could really happen when the technology is cheap enough for scammers to employ. Think of the dangers of food that’s modified unethically for the sake of money!!! The middle class population would be the ones that are most likely to be exposed to such supply due to their desperation.

Key Takeaways

I have been exposed to so many possible drivers for global changes in class today, and I must admit that I’m pretty ignorant about all of them. I guess it’s really important to be aware of what’s going on around the world. And it is not just about the environment/industry that you will be working in, but in all other aspects as well. The past few lessons have shown how many factors (environment, social, cultural, political etc.) are all interrelated and can have a noticeable effect on each other.

Further Discussion

We have always talked about adapting to change. However, most discussion was based upon adapting to futuristic changes, where technologies/ideologies make our life easier. What if the changes were negative, where it brings us back in time?

Imagine a world with no electricity. No internet. No mobile phones. Communications would slow down SO RAPIDLY that I think many people would be lost at the possible luxury of time that will be created. Or perhaps panicking over the inability to contact people / or having the need to be easily contactable. People are now SO used to the convenience that technology has brought us, so much to the point that people would start ranting even for a second that’s wasted. Would societies be able to adapt to backward changes? I know I would personally J

Conclusion

I feel that this week’s session exposed us to a deeper level of globalization and the different effects of changes. We have seen how differently the world has changed socially, especially through the case of Gen X and Gen Y. Identifying such changes is now inadequate, adapting to them is now crucial instead.


On top of that, we need to have the foresight to “see the future”, and managing such changes that are happening AND going to happen. Daunting task in my opinion! But nevertheless an important skill that we need to learn to pick up.

Rating: 7/10

Week 3: Sustainability & Innovation Management

Saturday, September 03, 2011 | 0 Comments

Technology has definitely brought about beneficial changes to our lives. However, should we gearing towards harnessing its power for sustaining our planet? Too many times technology has helped us speed up many processes, however at a great cost.

Brief Overview of Week 3 class

Technology and Industrial Development: Toward Sustainability

We first started the lesson with a light introduction from a video about linear system of production processes.


Though we were only shown the first 9 minutes, it was obvious that the main focus was on how the linear system is a crisis for a planet like ours with finite resources. Therefore, a cyclical system is a must to prevent more damages to Mother Earth.

We then had our first presentation on moving towards sustainable development. The presenter had shared about how the current sustainability plans only reflect the ignorance of the history of resource exploitation. She pointed out that the prospects of wealth had generated a certain extent of social and political power that led to the promotion of extensive usage of resources.

The 2nd presenter then shared with us on Walmart’s sustainability plans, where it focused more about the interaction between the business and its consumers, as compared to revenue generated. The plans includes all of its supplying process, from material sourcing, manufacturing, distribution. The controversy comes where Walmart is known to be “money minded”, and thus the hypocrisy and ethical concerns that comes with adopting such sustainable plans.

Technology and Innovation Management
The class then proceeded into the realm of innovation. The prof brought up the concept of the valley, summit and cloud opportunities as one type of assessment for technology management.


  • Valley Opportunities refer to having many competitors, low barriers to entry and low profit margins
  • Summit Opportunities refer to having fw competitors, high barriers to entry and high profit margins with well-developed business case
  • Cloud Opportunities refer to having few competitors, high barriers to entry, high profit margin, but undeveloped business case
Prof’s take is to put people, technologies and resources together at “summit opportunities to capture the best value.
We then had an brief introduction on the R-D-A Translation Process.


We then continued with the 3rd presentation, that shared about Apple’s strategy as a master in innovation and marketer. She brought on about the concept about technology push and market pull during the innovation process, where many companies fail to achieve the balance. Apple on the hand, managed this balance well, which is reflected by its success in the world market.

The last presentation the innovation management in P&G, in particular the market pull strategies. She brought out the culture of P&G to think in customer’s perspectives, and kept to the 4Cs and 1O: Connectedness, Collaborative, Curious, Courageous and Openness. This brings about a more creative platform to spur the innovative thinking within the corporation.

Interesting Observations

Externalizing the true cost of production

The video “How Things Work, About Stuff” was a very intriguing video for me personally, after watching the entire 20minutes.

The visual statistics of needing 5 planets worth of resources if the world population consumes like an average American is appalling. The country contains 5% of the world’s population, yet they are consuming 30% of the world’s resources.

The current linear system is producing at such an alarming rate due to the booming demand, that negative externalities are kept out of the cost to fit the demand.

She brought out the concept of the “Golden Arrow of Consumption”, where the primary identity of Americans have become consumers. The value of each person has now degraded towards one self’s contribution to this golden arrow. 99% of the stuff they buy are thrown away after 6 months of purchase.
Quote: Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption. We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate. – Victor Lebow, Retail analyst
The author believes this has caused the average consumption of an American, due to Planned Obsolescence and Perceived Obsolescence. Planned Obsolescence refers to producing stuff that will render useless very quickly, to encourage more consumption. Perceived Obsolescence refers to the influence by the media of your “contribution” to the golden arrow to prevent any embarrassments.

I agree with the media being a huge catalyst for consumerism for perceived obsolescence, as seen by the marketing strategies of Apple. It makes people want to BUY a new one, even though you have a similar gadget that works pretty much the same. The vicious cycle of the work-watch-spend treadmill (as mentioned in the video) is a very apt description of the way the world works, not just in America. I believe many Singaporeans would be as guilty too.

Recycling has also been discussed. Firstly, recycling does not answer the core problem of this epic consumption rates, as it will still produce lots of waste collectively. Next, most stuff are now unrecyclable, as they contains too many toxins due to mixture of contents, or designed to be un-recyclable.
What we really need to do is to change our old way of thinking, and to shift a cyclical system where it doesn’t destroy the resources or people.

Also, the 1st presentation was also deeply etched in my mind, where the proposals were made in 1993, but it doesn’t mean we can’t apply it to the world’s current state. It’s all about having the desire to make the change, and to admit that we did allocate and utilize our resources in a very wrong and bad way.

Also something random, but I realize a very big difference in the way of thinking between the Asian culture and American culture. Prof Arai referred the development process in the RDA Translation Process as a nightmare, while Prof Shahi (having been in America for awhile) merely related it to diamond prospecting & mining. Does this perhaps showcase the negativity in Asians where we tend to over think and worry ourselves unnecessarily? Maybe it would be a good thing for the Asians to learn from the Caucasians in some way, to be more positive and open minded. This can perhaps help create a more creative and innovative mind flow?


Key Takeaways

 From all the topics discussed today, I felt that the government appears to have a pivotal role in ensuring the country’s sustainability through the use of effective and innovative technology. They are the ones who have the political power to create laws to ensure a better world for us all, and to spur on more inventions for green technology.

Another key takeaway I have would be from the video, where the degradation of the Earth’s environment state is pretty disturbing. One person is not enough to make a change, as we have to do it collectively. However, it is not an excuse to not have a good habit to separate your wants and desires, so as not to over-consume. A change in mindset is needed to ensure the survival of future generations, and this cannot happen without the balance between the economic and human well being that is to be factored by many production industries.

Further Discussions

Many countries are slowly adopting greener technologies and resource saving plans to do their bit for Mother Earth. I am wondering why Singapore isn’t exactly very pro-active in such areas.
Take supermarkets for example, where shoppers are encouraged to bring their own shopping bags to obtain certain discounts. It is however, not mandatory. Many countries in Europe I know of charge consumers for EACH plastic bag used. Why isn’t such methods employed to deter wastage in Singapore? Are there more cons to it than pros in Singapore’s context? Green technology is also not as commonly found here. Are there perhaps more disadvantages right now?

Conclusion

Despite being pretty clueless about the readings, I felt more in touch with this week’s topic as it concerned with the environmental damage we’re doing; something which I feel very greatly for. It’s really hard to keep up environmentally friendly habits due to its inconvenience and low receptivity in Singapore, however it is encouraging to know that the world is starting to be more aware of the wreckage we have done. I hope more of my peers are now more aware of the dangers posed from such continuous acts of environmental degradation, and perhaps inspire them to be creative thinkers for greener innovative technology.

Rating: 8/10

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