Seminar 2, 23/08/2010

Just like the first lesson, the second lesson of TWC started off with a video! This time the video was about how China could already be the world's largest economy. Also, China has overtook Germany, becoming the world's biggest exporter. Take a look at the things around you. How many of them are 'made in china'? I would guess more than half right. Thus the fact that China has overtaken Germany in becoming the biggest exporter isn't shocking at all because it is already prevailing in our society. Besides the factor of China's now open economy, the other factor which I believe attributed to the success of China's booming economy would be technology. Technology has quicken the pace of mass production in the factories in China, hence more units can be produced per hour as compared to the past. Also, tapping into the extensive infrastructure built by technological inventions, the goods can be quickly exported to places around the globe, making the world a smaller place. Hence, by taking advantage of the economies of scale, China's economy has evolved rapidly and this fast pace evolution wouldn't have been possible without the use of technology.

Moving on, the interesting triangular relation between dominant player, rising star and falling star was an eye-opener. The triangle has demonstrated the importance of staying open and being willing to learn. Take China and India as an example. Their economies have developed rapidly after they opened up their economy. Hence they have become the rising stars in this triangle. Falling stars on the other hand are not keen to new ideas. They are people who have an arrogant attitude and think they know everything. When the rising stars are learning new things and moving forward, the falling stars would find themselves stagnant as they have closed themselves to new ideas, hence they can never improve because they do not embrace change. Therefore, I feel that even countries who are currently dominant players (e.g China) still need to have the attitude of the rising stars and not be full of themselves, hence not embracing change. If not, they are on their way to becoming a falling star.

I feel that this triangular model is applicable to our society as well, even companies. I believe that Apple is where it is today because of its open perspective and the hunger to invest in new ideas. Every year, they never fail to amaze the world with their new inventions. The ipod and ipod nano has evolved several generations, from a black and white screen to a colour screen with a video-camera behind. itouch, iphone3GS, iphone 4 to the ipad which were selling like hot-cakes where three million sold were around the world in 80 days which means one in every 2.3 seconds. If Apple had been satisfied with their achievements of the iphone, improvements like the iphone 4 and ipad would have never been able to meet the world. Hence, we should never be contented with our current state and should always strive to improve by change.

"Change is inevitable and often necessary; the transition process can often be difficult or painful (for some)." Another quote left my Prof Gurinder on the board. It was a pity that we didn't have time to discuss this hence, I would give my individual take on it here. Change is inevitable. I guess many would agree on this. Like it or not, the world is changing. Everything around you is changing. Thus, you too have to adapt and go along with the change. If not, you will be left behind. However having to change requires you to step up of your comfort zone and take on the challenge. How many people are actually willing to do that? Thus, for such people, having to change is difficult and painful as they have to try and adapt a completely new environment which is totally foreign to them. An example for this quote would be the re-training for older workers during the recession last year. Several workers were unwilling to undergo the restructuring program. They may find it troublesome to learn a new skill as they are already satisfied with the skillsets they possess. Nevertheless, re-training (i.e. change) is necessary because the things we learnt might soon be obsolete. Hence, it is imperative that we keep upgrading ourselves to ensure that we keep up with times. Afterall, we are living in exponential times.

For the awesome oral presentations by my peers and the thought-provoking issues for discussions raised, 8/10.