Lesson 6 - Biobusiness Part 1

Today’s lesson was on healthcare and biomedical science, the impacts it had on various sectors. Biobusiness is an important aspect of the global economy, contributing to 25% of GDP and employing more than 40% of the world’s labor force.

One point Prof brought out was that 50% of the employees in the Biobusiness are engaged in low wage subsistence farming, hence not maximizing the full potential of the biobusiness industry.

Valley and Summit opportunities:

Valley – Low value added agriculture

Summit – New innovations like cure for HIV, cancer and cloning technology etc

2 types of diseases:

Communicable disease vs Non communicable disease

An interesting observation is that non-communicable disease is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Diseases like obesity, high blood pressure are on the rise in developed countries. On the other hand, communicable diseases, which are generally infectious diseases that are preventable, are on the decline. However, with the right policies and a few interventions, we can prevent all these from happening.

Interesting Observations:

US healthcare system – Sicko (where health insurance companies made use of loopholes to avoid paying healthcare insurance for the needy)

Prostitution is a form of biobusiness?

Issues for further discussion:

-Long distance healthcare services (Is it possible and viable in the long run?)

I personally think nothing can substitute for personal service especially if it is something as critical as healthcare.

-Implications of biotech in the future

Personal Rating

I would rate this lesson a 7/10. We covered many interesting points but we could have delved deeper into several of the issues for further discussion. Overall, I enjoyed today’s lesson and the speakers presented on interesting topics as well.

Lesson 5 - ICT

Mass media has changed drastically over the years. There is an increased state in interactivity-the ability to get feedback which was not easily accessible before, greater customisation, a more bottom up approach and an even playing field for the rich/poor, big/small alike.


We covered a few points but I am going to elaborate on the points which I found most interesting.


Internet
Different generations of internet:
Web 1.0 -> Web 2.0 -> Web 3.0 -> ?


Gaming
Now here's something interesting, prof showed us a video of project natal. My jaw literally dropped after watching it. I had no idea that the gaming industry would evolve this much( The last computer game i played was in 2004). Kinect enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller, through a natural user interface using gestures and spoken commands. The applications of this technology could be applied in education, simulation, architecture and games in the 3D environment. It is a good testbed for developing new grounds.


Cloud Computing
Definitely one of the highlights of today's lesson (another is my presentation. ok kidding). 
Cloud computing is so prevalent in our society that we do not realise that we are using it all of the time. As long as the information is not on your computer, it is cloud computing. 
For more information: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloud-computing.htm


Knowledge Management: Use of range of strategies and practices in an organisation to achieve certain goals. In today's world where information is abundant, it is essential that these information must be applied in the right context. Analytics is used to enhance the decision making process. 


ICT undeniably has brought about lots of benefits for the human race however this is not a cinderella story. There are also risks which we must be prepared to face and overcome. Security concerns, espionage, invasion of privacy, identity theft, exposure to corrupting influences are some examples of harm that could be inflicted by the misuse of ICT. The trick and challenge that lies ahead would be to find a compromise between both and try to utilise ICT to its fullest potential.


I would give this lesson at 7. ICT is so full of technical jargons. Not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, I learned a great deal this lesson and am eagerly anticipating what the future would hold for us. 

Individual Report Outline

•   Executive Summary

This report will outline the development of marketing strategies in relation to the Internet. An attempt will be made to look into how marketing strategies have changed since the Internet came into play and the future of internet marketing.

•   Introduction/Background

Among all the inventions in the past few decades, nothing has made a more drastic impact on the marketing landscape than the Internet. If you had asked anyone a few years back, no one would have predicted that the Internet would be an essential part of marketing strategy.

•   Historical perspective

In the early days, strategic initiatives emphasized a lot of revenue generation, aggressive disintermediation, and use of traditional tactics like price discount and unique product features.  

•   Current situation

With the advent of internet marketing, emphasis is on brand building, fostering emotional connection with the brand/product, cost reduction.

The Internet has leveled the playing field. SMEs, MNCs have the same medium to channel their messages and sell their products. Businesses will become more competitive.

•   Future Considerations

As new and more advanced technology will be introduce, the internet will continue to evolve and marketers will come up with new strategies as well.

        

•   References

http://www.prospectmx.com/15-ways-the-internet-changed-marketing/

http://thecompleteinternetmarketer.com/articles/article_internetmarketingintro.html

http://thecompleteinternetmarketer.com/articles/article_internetmarketingintro.html

Lesson 4 - Leadership and management

4a

Drivers of world change

We started off by discussing the various drivers of world change. Some examples of drivers are environmental, innovation, scientific, social demographic. I thought it was fascinating how all these drivers are intertwined to give us the world as it is today.

Charles Darwin said, ‘it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is more adaptable to change’, which brings me to my next point. Because the only thing constant is change, the more specialized you are to a certain way of doing things, the less likely you are able to adapt when there is a drastic change in circumstances which forces you to take a step out from your comfort zone. That being said, all entrepreneurs I have read and modeled after are examples of people who have adapted and changed their way of doing things accordingly. As Oliver Holmes said, ‘If you live with the world, there would not be any change because you accept how things are.’ And entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have made use of this principal to create products that are the creators of change instead of living with change.

I learnt that there are 2 different kinds of change. Evolutionary vs revolutionary. The former is a slow and incremental type of change while the latter is a ‘disruptive’ kind of change. The one that I’m interested in is the revolutionary type of change. (the other is slow and boring). Revolutionary refers to new ways of doing things. It is radical in the sense that we have to adjust our lives, actions, thoughts and behavior. For instance email vs snail mail. Successful businesses and people are the creators and pioneers of revolutionary change which brings me to the second part of the lesson.

4b

 Leaders are usually the creator of change while managers are the ones facilitating the change and implementing new strategies. A leader will usually be a good manager. However, in my opinion, a good manager may not necessarily be a good leader. I feel that managing a change and creating a change is an entirely different ball game. People who get things going (leader) are the ones with foresight and courage to step out of their comfort zone while managers are just great executors of event. Nevertheless, both parties have equally important roles to play for progress to be made and for a successful revolution to occur.

One reading that caught my attention for this lesson was the one on herding cats. I believe the high rates of failure in trying to expand and grow a company in the face of change are attributed to a lack of vision and goals by the management of the company. Management is merely following the ‘herd instinct’ (hence the article’s title, herding cats, not sure if it can be interpreted this way though), without having a clear view of what the goals of the company in the long run are. In the process, the company may step out of their circle of competence subconsciously and hence, accounting for the high rates of failure in trying to achieve change. A statement from the article further backs this when it states that more than half of the company’s employees have no clue what direction the company is moving towards. In a nutshell, for effective change, one must first make the case for change and then create a vision of what will be different.

I enjoyed this lesson the most. Because it really relates to my views on adapting to change, especially for a young budding entrepreneur like me.  I would rate this lesson a 9/10.