The BioBusiness Revolution 1: Healthcare and the Biomedical Sciences: Past, Present, Future
The lesson started off with a video which portrayed how the future medical care and arena could be like. Machines which act like an X-ray machine allowing the doctors to see what is going on in our bodies instantly, a digital clock which reminds you to take your medicine and which medicine to take , a digital wallet etc. These were just few of the many examples showcased in the video. I find these innovations to be very ground-breaking because I believe that it would bring a whole new change to the way we live our lives. Given the current ageing population and the exponential increase in people having health ailments, the digital clock would come in handy for them. Moreover, it will reduce the probability of the elderly not consuming their medicine on time and consuming the wrong dosage. A digital wallet would bring much convenience to us since we would be required to bring out cash in the future anymore. Also, we could just easily browse through the cards that we own on the screen of the digital wallet instead of rummaging through the piles of card we have in our wallet. Hence, payment methods would become quicker and more favourable. However, I feel that the problem of over-reliance will surface over time as people embrace and get used to this technology. Despite that, the innovations in this video were really interesting and I would certainly love to see being implemented in the future!
“We won’t stop being sick until we stop making ourselves sick.” This was a quote from the video showed by Prof Gurinder which I find to be really thought-provoking. There is certainly some truth to this statement made by Bill Maher. Although it would be unfair to put the blame of all the illnesses Man are experiencing now to Man themselves because some of these (e.g. cancer) are caused by gene mutation or inheritance of these recessive genes, most of it are being caused by Man’s unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits. Due to the easy accessibility of food and the greed of Man, they are consuming more than what they actually need. Over the years, the number of obese people has grown exponentially and it will continue to grow. Thus, it is Man’s fault that they are experiencing these health ailments. If they had eaten adequately, they would not have ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol etc. Controlling eating habits itself would not be useful. They need to exercise at least 3 times a week as well. However, given the fast paced life of today, they are often unwilling to sacrifice some time to do exercise because they feel that time is money and the time spent exercising could have better spend in areas like say a meeting to discuss a proposal. Hence, it all delves down to Man’s willingness to step out of their comfort zone – consuming 2 portions of fruits and vegetables everyday on top of their healthy males and allocating sufficient time to exercise as well. Until they do this, they will always be “making themselves sick.”
Of the 7 readings we were given this week, I found reading 4 to be the most insightful one. It is an article titled “Will Disruptive Innovations Cure Health Care?” The article starts off with the example of a new low-intensity X-ray machine which costs only 10% of the conventional X-ray machine. Amazing? The next question that came to my mind was that if such an innovation exists, why isn’t it being used to benefit Man? I guess it is because of the nature of this innovation – it is a disruptive innovation. As discussed in class, disruption innovation is an innovation that disrupts the market forces. The big companies or the parties involved are unwilling to embrace this new technology because they are afraid that this innovation will threaten their market power and jobs respectively. Instead they set many high barriers of entry to prevent these low-cost alternatives from entering into the market. I felt that it is very selfish of them to do so because they are depriving the people who can’t afford the current technology of a chance of getting treatment. Should such low-cost alternatives be available to the people, maybe more people would have been able to seek treatment and thus they would be treated earlier and in turn recover faster before the problem complicates. Therefore I think that companies should take an altruistic approach towards disruptive innovation and not cater to their self-interests solely.
Also I feel that these disruptive innovations would be able to increase competition among the companies. This would bring about better products as the various companies compete to invent the best innovation to capture the most market share which brings them immense amounts of profit and revenue – ultimately what they are looking for. Hence I feel that everyone should be open to disruptive innovations. We might not like it at first, but as long as it brings us immense benefits…Why not?
Overall, I would rate the session 7.5/10.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Seminar 5, 12/09/2010
ICT and World Change
Today’s topic was about Information Communication Technologies (ICT), which I believe all of us could easily relate to given that ICTs have become an indispensable part of our lives.
The lesson started off with a YouTube video about Project Natal which was certainly an eye-opener for me. Project Natal was about a technology which allows us to interact with a character which feels and looks so real. A virtual character which is capable of having a conversation with you, capable of having and showing his emotions and also capable of catching whatever you had thrown into the screen. Remarkable indeed! What seemed impossible in the past has been made possible due to the advancement of technology. Such interactive technology could bring much convenience to Man. For instance, parents could be the virtual character and have an eye over the children at home over the screen. This might sound like a great idea for the parents because they longer need to be physically present to watch over their children. Instead, they can just do it over the screen. However, the thought of having a parent like this makes me shudder. As cool and convenient as it might be, I wouldn’t want a virtual parent. Humans and virtual characters are different in the sense that you can feel and see the emotions of humans. That’s what makes us human. A virtual parent wouldn’t be able to give the child emotional support as much as a real human parent would. Hence, I think that such interactive technology should only be used for gaming purposes. Parents should never rely on such interactive technology to fill their places.
A point mentioned in Reading 2 which I found really interesting was the use of submeter satellite imagery. The reading gave an example of the use of these independent sources of submeter satellite imagery owned by private organizations whereby it would enable anyone to watch as the trees are being cut down at a certain part of the globe. And also, we would be able to see the names and companies of those doing it. I find the use this ICT a good way to prevent more selfish companies from going into logging projects which is severely detrimental to the environment because everyone across the globe would be able to witness the process of them causing harm to the environment. Given the increase in environmental awareness and increase in green consumerism, there has been a paradigm shift towards a more environmentally-friendly market. A 2007 Goldman Sachs study found that companies with a strong emphasis on sustainability outperformed the market, often by a large margin. Thus, the change in consumer preference may cause companies to think twice before going into such projects as they might be afraid of being boycotted by green consumers. In addition, they may want to capture the attention of the increasing number of green consumers and hence they might instead use this money to invest in a project which is sustainable for the environment. Therefore, the use of this ICT would touch on the Corporate Social Responsibility of the company, compelling them to stop logging projects.
An area I felt that more could be discussed on was the impact of ICT on education. Given the prevalent use of Internet, Msn, Skype etc, ICT have enable us to communicate with people over the world, exchanging useful information with them; clarifying our doubts on online forums where people from different countries could give you different views and solutions which might change your perspective on how you view a certain issue. Hence, it has open a whole new world for us to explore and never stop accquring new knowledge.
Overall, I would rate the session 8/10 because I found it to be really engaging.
Today’s topic was about Information Communication Technologies (ICT), which I believe all of us could easily relate to given that ICTs have become an indispensable part of our lives.
The lesson started off with a YouTube video about Project Natal which was certainly an eye-opener for me. Project Natal was about a technology which allows us to interact with a character which feels and looks so real. A virtual character which is capable of having a conversation with you, capable of having and showing his emotions and also capable of catching whatever you had thrown into the screen. Remarkable indeed! What seemed impossible in the past has been made possible due to the advancement of technology. Such interactive technology could bring much convenience to Man. For instance, parents could be the virtual character and have an eye over the children at home over the screen. This might sound like a great idea for the parents because they longer need to be physically present to watch over their children. Instead, they can just do it over the screen. However, the thought of having a parent like this makes me shudder. As cool and convenient as it might be, I wouldn’t want a virtual parent. Humans and virtual characters are different in the sense that you can feel and see the emotions of humans. That’s what makes us human. A virtual parent wouldn’t be able to give the child emotional support as much as a real human parent would. Hence, I think that such interactive technology should only be used for gaming purposes. Parents should never rely on such interactive technology to fill their places.
A point mentioned in Reading 2 which I found really interesting was the use of submeter satellite imagery. The reading gave an example of the use of these independent sources of submeter satellite imagery owned by private organizations whereby it would enable anyone to watch as the trees are being cut down at a certain part of the globe. And also, we would be able to see the names and companies of those doing it. I find the use this ICT a good way to prevent more selfish companies from going into logging projects which is severely detrimental to the environment because everyone across the globe would be able to witness the process of them causing harm to the environment. Given the increase in environmental awareness and increase in green consumerism, there has been a paradigm shift towards a more environmentally-friendly market. A 2007 Goldman Sachs study found that companies with a strong emphasis on sustainability outperformed the market, often by a large margin. Thus, the change in consumer preference may cause companies to think twice before going into such projects as they might be afraid of being boycotted by green consumers. In addition, they may want to capture the attention of the increasing number of green consumers and hence they might instead use this money to invest in a project which is sustainable for the environment. Therefore, the use of this ICT would touch on the Corporate Social Responsibility of the company, compelling them to stop logging projects.
An area I felt that more could be discussed on was the impact of ICT on education. Given the prevalent use of Internet, Msn, Skype etc, ICT have enable us to communicate with people over the world, exchanging useful information with them; clarifying our doubts on online forums where people from different countries could give you different views and solutions which might change your perspective on how you view a certain issue. Hence, it has open a whole new world for us to explore and never stop accquring new knowledge.
Overall, I would rate the session 8/10 because I found it to be really engaging.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Seminar 4, 06/09/2010
Drivers of World Change
There are essentially 3 ways to cope with change:
Option A: Make it happen
Option B: Respond when it happens
Option C: Be surprised when it happens
As always Prof Gurinder starts his lesson with a quote, the above quote was the quote for this week which I found really interesting because it can be applied to all kinds of situations in life. I think most people fall into option B: respond when it happens. Like for example during the H1N1 epidemic, Singapore was quick to respond to it, tapping on the experience we had gained during the SARS epidemic previously. Temperature taking in schools and hospitals; wearing a mask when you are sick etc. We were readily prepared for this tough fight because we knew the safety procedures that we had to take to prevent more people from falling ill. Even though H1N1 and SARS are two different viruses, the safety procedures were quite similar, thus the H1N1 epidemic was quite well-managed. Maybe if we were not equipped with the past experience of handling SARS, the H1N1 epidemic might have been a tough task to handle. Thus, the past experience we have can be valuable to us when we have to cope with changes because we would know how to react, hence we won’t be filling lost (option C).
Besides the above situation, the quote can be applied to the triangle (dominant players-rising stars-falling stars) which Prof Gurinder taught us during session 2. Rising stars who are keen to invest in new ideas would fall into option A: the ones who make the change happen. The willingness to create something new is how the rising stars in option A embrace change. Take the American multinational conglomerate 3M Company as an example. They react quickly to the changing needs of consumers these days by inventing great innovations for consumers to use. Quoting Charles Darwin “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change." Thus, it does not matter whether you are the best in the field or not, just like the dominant player. As long as you stay resistant to change, the others would soon surpass you and you would find yourself becoming a falling star. Hence, it is imperative that we embrace change with an open mind.
In addition, I found Reading 1 to be a good summary of the change that we are experiencing now and what is predicted to happen in 2025, which is in 15 years time. Change in the demographics of the world, change in climate, change in the world’s economy etc. Huge changes are going to happen and we are already experiencing it now. I feel that change is driven by competition. Without competition, the rate of change would be substantially slower than it is now. Countries have to compete with each other for resources to survive. Be it for water or raw materials. Hence, competition for resources increases their prices by an exponential amount because of the high demand which the country which owns the resources benefits largely from by selling away these resources. Therefore, the competition for resources has caused it to be depleted at an alarming rate because everyone is only concerned about obtaining it for their own survival.
Change Management and Change Leadership
Reading 1 - Human Change Management: Herding Cats was a good read because it brought to my attention the importance of managing change effectively in an organization. 75% of all organizational change programs fail because employees feel left out of the process. So, they may be unwilling to adopt the new system. I find this to be very true because if you do not account for the change and involve the people, it would be very hard for people to accept it because they do not understand why the company wants to change, thus unable to identify with it. Hence it is vital that the Human Resource Department of the company implements the change properly. It is easy to implement change in technological innovations because they are just a click away. They do not have feelings. You do not have to convince them to change because you are the one who controls them. However, when it comes to Man, it is a whole different story. Man are human beings which have sensitive feelings. Thus, you need to convince them to embrace the new system and change accordingly. Perhaps, the HR department should consider involving the employees when implementing the change because it would give them a sense of ownership and hence, the change process would be very much easier and more efficient.
I find the different concepts we learn in each lesson linking themselves together which is really good. :) I would rate the session 7/10.
There are essentially 3 ways to cope with change:
Option A: Make it happen
Option B: Respond when it happens
Option C: Be surprised when it happens
As always Prof Gurinder starts his lesson with a quote, the above quote was the quote for this week which I found really interesting because it can be applied to all kinds of situations in life. I think most people fall into option B: respond when it happens. Like for example during the H1N1 epidemic, Singapore was quick to respond to it, tapping on the experience we had gained during the SARS epidemic previously. Temperature taking in schools and hospitals; wearing a mask when you are sick etc. We were readily prepared for this tough fight because we knew the safety procedures that we had to take to prevent more people from falling ill. Even though H1N1 and SARS are two different viruses, the safety procedures were quite similar, thus the H1N1 epidemic was quite well-managed. Maybe if we were not equipped with the past experience of handling SARS, the H1N1 epidemic might have been a tough task to handle. Thus, the past experience we have can be valuable to us when we have to cope with changes because we would know how to react, hence we won’t be filling lost (option C).
Besides the above situation, the quote can be applied to the triangle (dominant players-rising stars-falling stars) which Prof Gurinder taught us during session 2. Rising stars who are keen to invest in new ideas would fall into option A: the ones who make the change happen. The willingness to create something new is how the rising stars in option A embrace change. Take the American multinational conglomerate 3M Company as an example. They react quickly to the changing needs of consumers these days by inventing great innovations for consumers to use. Quoting Charles Darwin “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change." Thus, it does not matter whether you are the best in the field or not, just like the dominant player. As long as you stay resistant to change, the others would soon surpass you and you would find yourself becoming a falling star. Hence, it is imperative that we embrace change with an open mind.
In addition, I found Reading 1 to be a good summary of the change that we are experiencing now and what is predicted to happen in 2025, which is in 15 years time. Change in the demographics of the world, change in climate, change in the world’s economy etc. Huge changes are going to happen and we are already experiencing it now. I feel that change is driven by competition. Without competition, the rate of change would be substantially slower than it is now. Countries have to compete with each other for resources to survive. Be it for water or raw materials. Hence, competition for resources increases their prices by an exponential amount because of the high demand which the country which owns the resources benefits largely from by selling away these resources. Therefore, the competition for resources has caused it to be depleted at an alarming rate because everyone is only concerned about obtaining it for their own survival.
Change Management and Change Leadership
Reading 1 - Human Change Management: Herding Cats was a good read because it brought to my attention the importance of managing change effectively in an organization. 75% of all organizational change programs fail because employees feel left out of the process. So, they may be unwilling to adopt the new system. I find this to be very true because if you do not account for the change and involve the people, it would be very hard for people to accept it because they do not understand why the company wants to change, thus unable to identify with it. Hence it is vital that the Human Resource Department of the company implements the change properly. It is easy to implement change in technological innovations because they are just a click away. They do not have feelings. You do not have to convince them to change because you are the one who controls them. However, when it comes to Man, it is a whole different story. Man are human beings which have sensitive feelings. Thus, you need to convince them to embrace the new system and change accordingly. Perhaps, the HR department should consider involving the employees when implementing the change because it would give them a sense of ownership and hence, the change process would be very much easier and more efficient.
I find the different concepts we learn in each lesson linking themselves together which is really good. :) I would rate the session 7/10.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Seminar 3, 30/08/2010
Technology and Industrial Development: Toward Sustainability
“Sustainability requires a shift form linear to circular thinking
Old Industrial Model: Economic Development VS Environmental well-being
Sustainable Industrial Model: Economic Development AND Environmental well-being”
There is a false dichotomy between economic development and environmental well-being. I believe that economic development and environmental well-being can co-exist together with the advancements in technology today. Technology has enabled new alternative forms of technology like solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy etc to be discovered and used today. For example, 5 countries (El Salvador, Kenya, the Philippines, Iceland, and Costa Rica) as of 2004 have generated more than 15% of their electricity from geothermal sources. Geothermal power requires no fuel and hence does not harm the environment. Thus, with the use of alternative forms of energy, industries can still run and drive economic progress while doing little harm to the environment. It is true that green technology these days are still expensive and hence not widely use, thus these alternative sources of energy are not solutions for the trade-off between economic development and environmental well-being. However, I am optimistic that these alternatives will become cheaper and used more commonly in the future as improvements in technology cut down the costs of these green technologies.
What spoke to me the most was the last line “The trick is the doing something else.” Innovation requires doing something else, thinking out of the box, creating and inventing something extraordinary, which may in turn bring benefits and convenience to Man. Sounds easy? Not. What is so tough about that you may ask? I believe it is having to accept failure (if your innovation does not work out) because failure is always a possibility with any attempt at innovation. This is one of the key takeaways from the lesson. I feel that having an open mind is imperative to our acceptance of failure because failing the first time doesn’t mean we would fail the second time. Thomas Edison did not succeed in his first attempt at inventing a lightbulb. Neither did Sir Timothy John Berners’ Lee succeed in his first attempt at creating the World Wide Web. They persisted. We too need to have the courage and determination to keep on trying till our innovation succeeds because there is a reason why the innovation did not succeed, thus we have to improve on it to make it work. This also brings me back to Session 2 where Prof Gurinder mentioned the characteristics of the rising star – open perspective, keen to invest in new ideas. I feel that the rising stars are not afraid of failure. Instead, they rectify the problem and keep trying. Hence, with the many new inventions they have, they race ahead of others be it in terms of GDP or the level of technology. On the other hand, falling stars who have a closed mind do not bother trying a second time because they think that if they have failed once, why wouldn’t they fail again? Thus, they do not innovate and hence they are on the road to doom.
“Sustainability requires a shift form linear to circular thinking
Old Industrial Model: Economic Development VS Environmental well-being
Sustainable Industrial Model: Economic Development AND Environmental well-being”
There is a false dichotomy between economic development and environmental well-being. I believe that economic development and environmental well-being can co-exist together with the advancements in technology today. Technology has enabled new alternative forms of technology like solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy etc to be discovered and used today. For example, 5 countries (El Salvador, Kenya, the Philippines, Iceland, and Costa Rica) as of 2004 have generated more than 15% of their electricity from geothermal sources. Geothermal power requires no fuel and hence does not harm the environment. Thus, with the use of alternative forms of energy, industries can still run and drive economic progress while doing little harm to the environment. It is true that green technology these days are still expensive and hence not widely use, thus these alternative sources of energy are not solutions for the trade-off between economic development and environmental well-being. However, I am optimistic that these alternatives will become cheaper and used more commonly in the future as improvements in technology cut down the costs of these green technologies.
There was an interesting point about the advantage of backwardness in Reading 2 which was discussed in class. Szirmai pointed out that “latecomers profit from the availability of modern technologies developed in the leading industrial economies, without bearing all the risks and costs involved in research and development.” I feel that this is exceptionally true, especially in today’s globalised world where information sharing is ubiquitous. Thus latecomer countries can just copy the innovation of their successful counterparts without having to fork out the money and time to go into R&D to develop it. Instead, they can use this money to innovate and improve on the current invention, thus coming up with a better product. However, I feel that the “advantage of backwardness” has its own limitations. Although the countries benefit from the invention due to the low costs involved, they might not know the invention inside out. After all, no one but the creator understands the invention best. Also, the latecomer countries might lose out in terms of the lessons learnt from the mistakes made and also the thought-process which resulted in the innovation. This situation is like a student copying the homework of his peer. He may be able to hand in the perfect piece of work but did he learn anything from that? Perhaps, the developing countries could tap on the advantage of backwardness to drive their economy. However, leading countries (i.e dominant players) should still innovate and be at the forefront of technological innovation, despite the advantages of being a latecomer.
Technology and Innovation Management
Technology and Innovation Management
I liked the quote that Prof Gurinder posted on the powerpoint slide:
“Life is pretty simple:
You do some stuff.
Most fails. Some works.
You do more of what works.
If it works big, others quickly copy it.
Then you do something else.
The trick is the doing something else.”
- Tom Peters –
“Life is pretty simple:
You do some stuff.
Most fails. Some works.
You do more of what works.
If it works big, others quickly copy it.
Then you do something else.
The trick is the doing something else.”
- Tom Peters –
What spoke to me the most was the last line “The trick is the doing something else.” Innovation requires doing something else, thinking out of the box, creating and inventing something extraordinary, which may in turn bring benefits and convenience to Man. Sounds easy? Not. What is so tough about that you may ask? I believe it is having to accept failure (if your innovation does not work out) because failure is always a possibility with any attempt at innovation. This is one of the key takeaways from the lesson. I feel that having an open mind is imperative to our acceptance of failure because failing the first time doesn’t mean we would fail the second time. Thomas Edison did not succeed in his first attempt at inventing a lightbulb. Neither did Sir Timothy John Berners’ Lee succeed in his first attempt at creating the World Wide Web. They persisted. We too need to have the courage and determination to keep on trying till our innovation succeeds because there is a reason why the innovation did not succeed, thus we have to improve on it to make it work. This also brings me back to Session 2 where Prof Gurinder mentioned the characteristics of the rising star – open perspective, keen to invest in new ideas. I feel that the rising stars are not afraid of failure. Instead, they rectify the problem and keep trying. Hence, with the many new inventions they have, they race ahead of others be it in terms of GDP or the level of technology. On the other hand, falling stars who have a closed mind do not bother trying a second time because they think that if they have failed once, why wouldn’t they fail again? Thus, they do not innovate and hence they are on the road to doom.
Overall, I would rate the session 7.5/10. I like the fruitful discussions about sustainable development as this is an issue which is close to our hearts. Also, I felt that there could have been more discussions about innovative companies who fail and why did they fail.
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