Session 6- Biobusiness revolution: Healthcare and Life Sciences (Past, Present, & Future)

Before I delve into the content of this week’s session, I would like to share a quote by Albert Einstein that Prof shared with us during the session:

“There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

- Albert Einstein -

As I went into facebook after class, a post by my friend caught my eye, it contained what she dubbed as one of the most profound comic strips she has ever read. It is pretty long, so I’ll just post the link: http://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-8e37b9a1c08ec450b9e4fd0f7bb3b0e4 I felt that the comic somewhat reinforced one of the ideas inherent in the quote above that is, that it is important for us to be open to new ideas and innovations in this era where change is the only constant. We should never be satisfied with the answers we have, and remain open to all possibilities. We should never stop questioning the ways in which things happen, nor should we judge any question or possibility prematurely. Some of the simplest and seemingly-obvious questions are the deepest and most complex. Okai! Moving on to this session’s topic.  

Brief Overview/ Introduction

This session’s topic was on the healthcare and life sciences aspect of the massive Biobusiness Revolution. Biobusiness, as defined in Prof’s slides, is any commercial activity that comprises of an understanding of the life sciences and its processes, which encompasses these following fields: Biomedical, Agri-veterinary, Environmental/Industrial, other areas.

Interesting Observations & Ideas

We centred upon the Biomedical and healthcare portion for this session, however, before delving into that area, prof showed us a chart he did in 2011 which shows the global market sizes of the different components of Biobusiness during that period:

         

We can see above that in Asia, especially the Southern part (India, Afghanistan, etc.) nearly 50% of the biobusiness market is involved in Agriculture, which includes the growing and cultivation of crops, both food and non-food based (timber), and the rearing of aquatic animals and plants. The nature of agriculture here is usually one that is mainly for sustenance purposes, which typically consists of low-grade and cheap crops. Hence even though the people in these countries are considered to be within the biobusiness arena, they earn very low wages compared to those employed in the other sectors of the biobusiness landscape. Another interesting observation pointed out by Prof is that although the other areas generally vary according to total population sizes in the different geographical regions, this pattern was majorly skewed when it came to the healthcare sector. Despite its population size, the US spending in healthcare comprises more than half of the global expenditure in that sector. This shows another trend whereby the more developed a country gets, the increasing strains of diseases are born and discovered, and this trend applies to all countries in the world. Spending on healthcare will just continue to increase in the future. 

There are countless summit opportunities in the field of biobusiness, especially the key areas of Biomedicine, agri-veterinary & food, environmental & indusrial, and other areas such as nanotechnology and bioengineering, but as stated previously, we only focused on the biomedical portion for this session.

Subsequently, Prof showed us a video on Microsoft’s vision of the future healthcare and asked us if we thought it could be feasible or not. I think it could become a reality within the next 10 years, or hopefully sooner, and I can’t wait! The visions depicted in the video, once a reality, would immensely change and reshape the entire medical service industry. One of the major benefits it will bring is the reduction in opportunity cost of time wasted during patients’ waiting period in long queues for consultations, as doctor would be able to give prescriptions without having to see patients face-to-face. Also, it would eliminate the hassle of traveling to and from hospital or medical clinics, which likewise saves an immense amount of time that can be better used. In actual fact, we already have the telecommunications infrastructure (Skype, FaceTime, etc.) which makes remote face-to-face consultations possible, but they have yet to be legally recognized and applied to the medical field.

This is especially beneficial to patients with low immunity too, such as cancer or elderly patients, who are susceptible to the numerous forms of illnesses and diseases present in hospitals. Another interesting point in the video is the part which shows how patients can be reminded to take their medications on time, or be notified whether they have already taken it or not. I feel this will be very helpful to those patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Ahaha…I was also thinking how great this would be if it were present now, so we can know whether my grandma, who refuses to take her medicines most of the time, is lying or not whenever we ask her if she has already taken them. :B

We then went through some of the main drivers of innovation and change in the healthcare and biomedical sciences, which consisted of demographic and epidemiological change:, the translation of the findings of R&D in the sector into clinical and commercial application, advances in the information and bioengineering technology, and changing consumer needs, demand and expectations. Prof cited and showed us a video on the rising global problem of obesity as an example of changes in consumer needs. Regarding demographic and epidemiological change, we studied a graph showing the patterns in communicable and non-communicable disease patterns in terms of the global burden of these diseases:

We can see that for the majority of world, chronic diseases have taken over infectious diseases, because infectious diseases can be easily cured and prevented if you have the necessary technology and medication for it. However, this pattern was reversed in the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, where infectious diseases still reined over chronic diseases. This is due to their lack of access to the appropriate technology needed, mainly due to their limited purchasing power and the high cost of said technology or infrastructure.

One of the opportunities in biomedical sciences that Prof mentioned which particularly captured my attention was the developments in DNA and genetic engineering. In the future, patients could potentially alter their genes so as to decrease their likelihood of suffering from a particular disease due to their genetic make-up. The females in my mother’s side of the family has the BRCA1 cancer gene, so there is a possibility that all my female cousins from my mom’s side and I have the gene too…so I’m looking forward to the earlier than expected possibility of this development heheheh. :B

There were a number of interesting innovations and potential technologies presented during the individual presentations portion of the section. One of them was on the topic of gene sequencing, where Rebekah posed the interesting question of whether we would, as future parents, want to be aware and notified about our babies’ increased disposition to certain diseases. The class was majorly divided on this point. Those who expressed that they would rather not know cited the main reason that there is only an increased possibility of the child suffering from a particular disease in the future, and that it is not a certain fact. They are concerned that they might be taking unnecessary caution and therefore could potentially limit their children’s potential. I am one of those who prefer to be notified, because like them, I feel that if I could protect and prevent my child from falling prey to a particular disease, I would rather not take any chances. Also, in the case where I could be limiting my children’s potential due to the precautions I make, to me, the keyword here is ‘could’. There is a 50-50 chance that my child might have a talent for something, given that both outcomes are equally likely, however, in the case of an increased disposition to a certain disease, the probability of my child contracting that disease is higher, so it makes sense to do something about it right? Hahahha. But of course that’s just how I see it. Regarding Xindi’s presentation on Veti-gel, I was just thinking how wonderful and incredibly useful this medication would be for patients suffering from diabetes whose blood are less able to clot when they get fresh open wounds.

Key takeaway points:

To me, one of the key lessons this session presents is the endless existence of possibilities and opportunities not only in the context of Biobusiness, but in all areas of interest. It all depends on whether we’re willing to see and believe in them, and to embrace whatever changes they may bring.

Session Rating: 8.5/10- Excited about the numerous amazing opportunities and possibilities in the field of healthcare and biomedicine!

Session 5: ICT & World Change

Brief Overview/ Introduction

The topic of the session was ICT & World Change- Past, Present, and Future. There are numerous aspects of ICT, but for this session, we mainly focused on the Mass Media, the Internet, Wireless technology, and interactive telecommunications. As the title indicates, we basically discussed the past, present, and future situations and application of the different areas of ICT during the session. We also discussed about whether, presently, we have successfully discovered and utilised the full potential and advantages of ICT; what barriers might be hindering us from attaining efficient usage of ICT, as well as on how we should and could do in the near future in order to capture and take advantage  of the full potential of ICT. However, nothing is perfect; everything is two-sided, having both benefits and disadvantages or risks, which is why we also talked about the risks that are inherent in the usage of ICT.

Interesting Observations & Ideas

The different areas of ICT:

Mass MediaàWe began the topic by looking and discussing about the different areas of interest in ICT. Mass media was first. Prashant gave us a very simple yet accurate definition of Mass media: Media that allows you to connect and communicate with a large number of people at the same time. The early forms of media, books, television, the early internet, shared the common trait of being passive interfaces, which meant that they only allowed a 1-way interaction, from the sources to the users, but not vice versa. Furthermore, information from the early forms of mass media were generally obtained from a single or a limited number of sources, a one-to-many interface. However, as mass media developed and evolved, the number of sources increased, leading to more sophisticated consumer who in turn demanded for more access to a greater variety of information. In addition, mass media became a platform enabling interactive communication with the public. Instead of merely being fed information, consumers in turn, were able to share their own knowledge and ideas, to share their ideas and give feedback. In a way, it changed the way companies marketed their products as they were no longer generating solutions and products solely based on their internal ideas and vision, but based on consumers’ needs and wants, thereby increasing the efficiency and effective of businesses, as well as consumers’ level of satisfaction. Then again, this increased access to a wide-range of information resulted in an increased risk of being exposed to unreliable and useless information. This highlights the importance of analytical skills that Prof advised us on last week. In order to correctly make use of ICT and technology in general, we must be able to discern the value and reliability of whatever information we are given.

The Internet:àSimilar to the mass media, the internet first started out with a very passive interface, but subsequently enabled and encouraged the sharing of knowledge and information as it progressed. Right now, we are in the process of moving from web 2.0, where most of the information are contributed by the users (Wikipedia, Amazon, etc.) to web 3.0. Web 3.0 is not only the continuation of web 2.0, whereby information is personalised, presented and given to users or consumers based on their individual preferences and needs, but it is also a version of the Internet which is invisible and inherent in devices or objects everywhere, and not just confined to computers. This is really cool, as it makes life a lot easier. Imagine my being able to control the devices in my house as I am at school. In fact, I think I don’t even have to control them, the internet is forecasted to allow device-to-device communication, for example, as I am on my way home from work, the gps tracking device in my phone or whatever could detect my journey and then notifies the aircon in my room, for example, that I’m reaching soon and then it will on automatically so my room will be nice and cool by the time I reach home. Amazing!! I definitely can’t wait for that to happen. But! As usual, nothing is perfect; this means giving up your privacy. However, I agree with Prof, if strict measures are put in place to protect personal information from falling into the hands of the wrong people, then this should not be a problem.

Social networkingàSocial networking is another example of how ICT has expanded our network and accessibility, it has enabled us to reach out to people or opportunities that we would never have dreamt about meeting. I have an Instagram friend who found her live partner through Facebook. In fact, I would never have dreamt about becoming close friends with that Australian Instagram user were it not for Instagram, unless I were to either go over, vice versa. Honestly, it’s really wonderful to see how technology has enriched our lives.

Crowd Sourcing:àSocial networking, in a way, is one of the tools which facilitates the other useful aspects of ICT- Crowd Sourcing. Crowd sourcing enables you to reach out to answers from sources beyond your common network. This aspect of ICT is exceptionally useful as you can obtain solutions from a wide-range of perspectives, giving you the luxury of choice. Hmm…with this abundant availability of choices and solutions…I guess this is where the importance of analytical skills comes in again right?

Gamingà over the years, we have seen how gaming technology can be meaningfully applied to all sorts of areas other than pure entertainment, for example in education, organisational training, healthcare, etc. Games, when applied to education can potentially be very powerful, for as Prof said, children remember and learn better from what they see and experience in games. I am especially interested in how games can be developed to help senile people, as Prof mentioned, having a grandmother with dementia myself. I found this video on Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist at the University of California San Francisco, who has been researching the effects of brain games and other mental exercises for preventing or delaying dementia and other mental disorders. In the video, he explains to us how certain games can help to delay and even prevent dementia as one ages: 

Interactive telecommunicationsà one of the important points brought up during the session and in some of the readings I the transition to peer-to-peer or device-to-device networks. As mentioned under the Internet section above, devices will soon be able to communicate and interact not only with human users but to other devices as well. Devices will become much more integrated and interconnected with one another, and they will soon be able to carry out activities automatically without the need for a user to give commands. Wouldn’t this allow a much higher level of efficiency with regards to daily activities?  I was looking out the window over dinner today and seeing the various construction sites around me (apartments have been springing up one after another around my condo for the past 5 years. There are 3 projects carried out currently. Ugh. ) I was wondering how much faster these constructions would be carried out if the cranes and drills, etc., could interact with one another and work automatically without needing a human to operate them. Oh how I wish technology could advance at a faster pace so I can finally get peace and quietness back ahahaha. :B

Cloud Computingàanother very useful and essential component of ICT is cloud computing, which allows the usage and access to information that not resident on your personal devices. (e.g Google Docs, Gmail, etc.) Companies that make use of cloud computing can see their expenditures decreasing by significant amounts. With cloud computing, these companies do not have to routinely update and maintain their internal softwares or intranet. They would just have to source for an external data storage provider and all these pesky, and extremely costly, responsibilities can disappear from their hands. They would just have to care about being punctual with regards to their monthly subscription payments to these external providers, or something of the like. This not only helps to save money, but it also frees up the companies’ resources and manpower. These companies would only need a small IT department, and its other employees can concentrate on doing other tasks which are more meaningful and beneficial to the company’s goals. I recalled that during that this was precisely the case during my 2-month attachment back in poly.

Knowledge Managementàinevitably, knowledge management, being an integral part of ICT, was discussed. With the diverse availability and access to all sorts of information that results from the development and progress of ICT, the most important skill to fully benefit from this technology is analytics and data management. We have to be able to differentiate good data from the bad, and then rely on those good data. After which, in order to transform those good data that you have gathered into valuable information, you have to present and organise them in a meaningful way, according to your needs. Knowledge is then generated when the information is spread and shared to those that matter to you (e.g employees of your company), and finally wisdom is created when everyone is able to apply the knowledge and data according to different situations and scenarios. Not only are you then able to effectively analyse data and use them for decision making, it also aids problem detection where you recognise outliers or problematic occurrences by knowing the regular and appropriate patterns. This is also brought up in reading 1, under the point on ‘putting e-commerce and trade strategies together’. It is stated that one of the key challenges of making e-commerce truly global is policymakers’ lack of ‘analytical tools to identify and craft policy accordingly.’

Moving on to the discussion on whether we have successfully captured the full potential of ICT, one of the factors that limits our being able to fully take advantage of the opportunities for ICT is the Digital Divide. Technology is mostly available to only those who can afford it, making them inaccessible for poorer nations. It is therefore essential to overcome this challenging barrier with regards to the gap in accessibility, by making significantly reducing the cost of ICT and making it available to every adult, child, all around the world. Only then can we truly capture the full potential of ICT. This urgent need to remove the digital divide and its hindrance to the successful employment of ICT is evident in the comparatively small productivity gain we’ve obtained from the Information age (5x compared to 25x in previous revolutions). We have a long way to go and numerous areas of ICT are still unexplored.

Another obstacle in our progress was mentioned in one of the readings- the lack of appropriate managerial and organisational infrastructure and knowledge in companies. Managerial encouragement and leadership in innovation is essential to creating environments where ICT-enabled business models can thrive. Telecommunication deregulation was also cited as a possible means to increase the benefit we receive from ICT as it affects the price, quantity and diffusion of the internet and wireless connections.

As previously mentioned, everything that has upsides has downsides too. The risks of ICT includes Espionage, loss of privacy, identity thefts, just to name a few. However, technology is neutral, as Prof once said, it is the person who uses it that is either good or bad, and there will always be people who will use technology for bad motives.

Key takeaway points:

This has been a very insightful and eye-opening session once again. Nevertheless, the key takeaway point from this session would be the importance of knowledge management and analytical skills. It is useless to have an extensive source of information if we aren’t able to pick out those that are truly beneficial and appropriate for our needs.

Session Rating: 9/10! :D The session is the most interesting one to me thus far. 

Session 4- Drivers of World Change | Change Management & Change Leadership

Brief Overview of the Session:

As usual, we began with a recap of the topics discussed during the previous session, which were centred round Industrial Development and Innovation Management. What definitely left a deep impression was Prof’s comment on the issue of sustainable development which was discussed in the topic pertaining to Technology & Industrial Development. Prof showed us a another humbling truth: “If everyone consumed as much energy as the average Singaporean & us resident, the world’s oil reserves would be depleted in 9 years.” This makes me realize how unjust my previous complaint, pertaining to how the US’ efforts in sustainable development does not match its energy consumption, was. We are actually committing the same error. I agree with Prof that it is nonsensical to say that because we’re a small nation, we don’t have to put in as much effort because our consumption and efforts are so miniscule in terms of the global scale, whether we take action or not doesn’t make a difference. Even without considering our shamefully excessive consumption levels, the issue of sustainable development is global and worldwide. Everyone is involved and has a part, a responsibility in sustaining resources for the future generation. Instead of wasting our time on debating on who should shoulder the burden of supporting this crucial change, we should all gather and focus our energy and concentration on bringing about this change. This bring up the question on how we go from the passive seat of change, responding and adapting to change, to being the drivers of change, taking and initiating the necessary actions to bring about and facilitate change.

This somewhat brings us into this session’s topics, the Drivers of World Change and Change Management & Change Leadership.

Interesting observations & ideas:

4A- Drivers of World Change

Firstly, what is a driver of world change? A driver, is a factor that necessitates changes in the way we do things. Or as Prof simply puts it, it is a factor that changes a ball game. There are numerous drivers of world change, and therefore it is crucial to always remain open and receptive to unavoidable changes in the world. We have to be adaptable to the constantly changing environment in order to survive in this fast-paced era. Is that what we always have to do though? To accept and adapt to the change? This thought-provoking quote from George Bernard Shaw challenges that idea “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” The unreasonable man here is one that opposes the changes, and their accompanying problems, in the world. He doesn’t just accept them and strive to generate solutions to tackle the problems that were brought about by the changes. This link back to the critical aspect of innovation: Innovating isn’t just about thinking up a good idea (the invention component), it is also about actually getting up and physically realizing that idea by integrating it into the market.

There are many different drivers of world change, Environmental drivers such as global warming and resource depletion, competition which lead to the creation of innovative products and product modifications through companies’ drive to attain market competitive advantage, social and demographic changes such as the Ageing population, etc. The key focus here would be to be able to identify and focus on drivers that directly affects your situation, whether as a company or an individual. We have to be aware of those drivers and evaluate what are their possible implications on our situation; after which we think of solutions to tackle and minimize those potential problems. We also have to be able to predict or forecast the future unknown and unseen changes those relevant drivers will bring, and think of what we can presently do or plan to do, to prepare ourselves for them.

It is interesting to note that certain drivers of change are interconnected. For example, Globalization causes increased market competition and changing world tastes and preferences, due to increased international exposure and transmission of social view, norms and trends. Likewise, competition is also connected to scientific discoveries & Technology Innovation; through the drive and desire to possess a competitive edge and becoming market leaders, companies constant undertake research and development programs which have led to numerous technological innovations and inventions. Another example would be how scientific discoveries and technological innovations have resulted in certain social and demographic changes, a currently prevalent one is the issue of Ageing Population; advancements in medical capabilities have resulted in a much longer average lifespan, etc.

We then moved on to discuss the difference between Evolutionary & Revolutionary change. Basically, an evolutionary change is one that is gradual and incremental in nature, whereas revolutionary change is one that is drastic, sudden and involves overhauling current procedures. In evolutionary change, there is continuous and incremental improvements. You have to adopt an ongoing APDC (Acting, Planning, Doing & Changing) approach. You act by recognizing the need for change, plan what steps you have to take to go about solving the problem, doing those planned actions, whereby in the process you discover which approaches work or don’t work, and finally you make changes to your actions and the situation. In contrast, revolutionary isn’t so gradual, it comprises of a radical change, a complete departure from what you are used to. It was brought up during the session, on whether a Disruptive change is the same thing as revolutionary change. Disruptive change is a change that is irreversible and unavoidable in your expected future. From this we can say that it is definitely more revolutionary than evolutionary, because it constitutes a radical departure from previous habits and methods.

Next, Prof showed us a curve that depicts the different ways society adapt to technology:

The focus here would be on the Chasm. Early adopters, visionaries are people who willing to think of solutions and try out the solution with the initial defects. Conversely, early majority pragmatists are those people who are willing to adopt new technology early, but they are unwilling to accept the problems attached to it. They want a system that is free from those problems and they are ready and committed to finding ways to generate a working system that is free from defects. They will only accept something that is already working correctly. Crossing this chasm is very difficult yet vital. Once again recalling the concept of Innovation, inventing a good idea is just the first step. The second equally important step would be to transform it to a viable market solution.

Readings- The readings for this session were generally to show us the different types of drivers of change, and see how their importance and relevancy vary according to country or industry. Reading 1 was from the National England commissioned report, and its focus was more on the environmental and climate changes. This is in contrast to reading 3, which is a report generated by the US National Intelligence Council. Although they did mention climate changes, their concentration was on economic (economic power shifts to China and India) changes and world security changes (the issue of terrorism). The second reading shows a more Asian context, being generated by the Asian Development Bank, on the advantages and importance of globalisation for Asia. The 4^th reading shows yet another perspective, which I found particularly interesting because I’ve never heard of it before, drivers of change in the Zambian construction industry. Likewise, it cites different drivers from the other readings. I feel this illustrates an important step in adapting and managing change…before we can do anything, to handle change effectively, we have to first be able to correctly identify what are the various drivers that are going to directly and drastically impact us, and from there we would think of the possible implications and solutions.

Presentations- I felt that the presentations provided a clear example of how the drivers of world change are interlinked. The 1^st presentation, for example, on how social media has brought about a new generation that will remake China, by Eric Sim, is about how increasing accessibility and usage of social media platforms such as online forums, blogs etc., has result in a change in the way people, especially youths, express themselves. Gone are the days when ideas in China are carefully screened and selected by the government before being introduced to the people. The people in China now demand for social justice and government accountability instead of just following the government blindly. Eric the China milk powder scandal as an example, by saying that the government would not have taken action so quickly had the matter not been blown up so internationally and globally through social media. I felt this was a very interesting observation, and thought about the India Gang rape scandal and the Bo Xi Lai scandal. Actions may not have been so strictly and quickly taken has it not been so widespread and globally disclosed. Likewise, this wouldn’t be the case had there not been globalisation and advancements in social media.

4B: Change Management & Change Leadership

We began this second portion on how to differentiate between a leader and a manager. Basically, a leader is the one who creates the direction and policy, creates an appropriate paradigm, and the manager is the one who ensures that this paradigm is follow and maintained. I really liked the videos for this session, they were simple videos, but they were very effective and inspiring. The first video illustrates a very interesting point on leadership. The 1^st follower is the one that makes a leader, not the leader himself. The 1^st follower is the one who attracts and generates other followers, and that’s when an idea becomes a movement. Without this 1^st follower, the leader is just “a lone nut”, and he will stay that way unless his idea is able to inspire people to follow. I found the 2^nd second video exceptionally inspiring and moving. Despite my not being able to understand Hindi, the message was stark and clear: Unless you take the initiative to do something about a problem, the problem won’t change and magically go away on its own. The leader is the one who is willing to take that first step and creating an example for other people to follow suit.

Next, we talked about the difference between responding and leading change. Responding to change is adopting a passive reaction towards change, whereby you wait for the change to occur first, before thinking of how to handle it. On the other hand, leading change is a proactive stance towards change, it involves recognising the need for change even before that change happens. Prof cited a very good example of the 5^th terminal plan that was recently introduced. This is a plan in response to future national growth even before that growth has materialised.

There was another curve that Prof showed us, which is the Pessimism Time Curve:

The key issue here would be getting over that peak and going from informed pessimism to 

informed realism. Informed pessimism is where you start to know all the facts and become aware of all the potential problems and obstacles. Informed is where you become prepared to accept those challenges and become willing to take the necessary actions to do that. Like the chasm in the aforementioned technology adaptation curve, this step is very difficult, and many people get demoralised and drop off before they are able to do so.

Readings- The readings for this second portion illustrates a few main points. Firstly, we can no longer maintain the traditional approach to change management and have to now embrace a modern approach. The traditional approach is one that involves an unfreeze-change-freeze method. An organisation first unfreezes in order to adapt to change, makes the change, and freezes again to resume its business course in a steady mode. This method of managing change is now obsolete. In this era where ‘change’ is the only constant, we have to employ the modern approach, whereby organisations have to constantly adapt to change. The second key takeaway point from the readings would be that importance of including and involving employees in the change process. Organisational leaders should not just think of the change themselves and then impose these changes onto employees and expect them to adopt them as ordered. That will no longer work. If employees don’t understand how the change works and why it is important and necessary, they will resist and sabotage the success of the change movement. It is also mentioned in one of the readings that “People only resist change when it makes them feel out of control- when it is foisted on them without their consent”. Organisations don’t change, their people do, therefore it is important to consider and include the human element, employees, in change management. No one is going to follow others blindly anymore.

Presentations- I felt that Yap Shien Tah’s presentation on Jack Welch’s method of change management and leadership highlights certain interesting observations. Firstly, that leadership doesn’t always have to be formal. Jack Welch adopts an informal way of leading and interacting with his employees. I felt this sort of relates to the previous point on how employees have to have a part in change management. An informal style of leading results in greater and less constrained interaction and contact with employees and this makes them feel like they have a part in the company, which is a crucial factor in determining success in managing organizational change. Another good observation made is that smart leaders plan for the next generation, they are always one step ahead. This is similarly essential in successfully managing change. Companies have to recognize the need for change even before it becomes necessary, just like how Singapore planned ahead and embarked on a terminal 5 even before it became necessary. It is best for companies to think and plan for change while it is still at the top, and not wait for decline to first occur before doing anything about it.

Session rating: 8/10

I really liked the videos shown in class today, and the individual presentations were all particularly interesting to me this session….especially Hui Qi’s presentation on edible burger wrappers… :S I wonder how they taste like…hopefully much better than they look.

Individual Topical Review Paper Outline

Topic: Robotic Surgery: The New Future of Surgery?

Executive Summary

This paper serves to explore the potential feasibility and success of using robotic-systems in surgical procedures. This paper will not only address the historical development of robotic surgery, but also examine the current and future advantages and challenges of the technique.

Background Information

This section will introduce the concept of robotically-assisted surgery and provide a brief explanation of its application in surgical processes. The ability of this technique in enhancing the capabilities of surgeons and overcoming the shortcomings of laparoscopic surgery will also be addressed.

Historical Perspective

The evolvement of technology in surgical processes will be touched upon here. This section begins from the major benefits introduced to the field of surgery by the replacement of traditional surgical procedures with minimally-invasive surgical methods, or laparoscopy. It then moves on to the augmentation of laparoscopy through developments in robotic surgery.

Current Situation

The current scope of application, and present advantages of robotically-assisted surgical procedures in the surgical field will be covered in this section. Current limitations will be addressed in this section too.

Future Considerations

This section explores the potential benefits and progress of this surgical procedure along with the obstacles in its development. The issue of whether those limitations can be surmounted will be discussed here as well. 

References

To be determined.

Session 3

Brief Overview of the Session:

Like the previous week’s session, we first began with a brief recap of the previous week’s topics. Prof reminded us on some of the things we discussed for human development, for example, the reason why several less-developed countries have a lower human development rate than their more developed counterparts. One country that was mentioned is the Philippines. There are many smart and capable people in the Philippines, but what is inhibiting the country from developing further, is the lack of jobs for these people. Due to lack of proper opportunities in their own country, these people have no choice but to move to other countries for these opportunities. This results in a brain-drain problem in the country, and it is crucial for them to think of a solution to this problem. This leads us to the 1^st topic discussed today- Technology and Industrial Development: Towards Sustainability. Industrialisation, Prof said, was the key driver of development and progress for most countries, as it results in job creation and economic productivity.

The 2^nd topic discussed was Technology and Innovation management, which focuses on the whole innovation process, starting from the generation of potentially useful new ideas and concepts, all the way to the market application stage, where the real products gets introduced into the market and sold to end-consumers.

Interesting observations & ideas:

Session 3A: Technology & Industrial Development: Towards Sustainability

Prof began the topic with an introduction of it, where he told us about how we have been using a linear-approach to production and consumption. This linear approach begins with the gathering and obtaining raw materialsà then these raw materials are manufactured into marketable and usable productsà these marketed products become available to consumers who consume and use these productsà finally, the leftovers from the products after consumption are conveniently dumped as waste.

Yes, this method has served us well in the past, but it is no longer good now. Back then, we thought that our human activities were so small compared to the Earth’s resources, so in time the Earth can just regenerate whatever resources we consume. Unfortunately, this is not true. The scale of our activities have grown so much that Mother Earth’s rate of regeneration can no longer catch up with our rate of consumption. Prof told us that the US’s level of consumption is the highest in the world, so large, that should everyone adopts their rate of consumption, we would need 5 Earths to supply us with the corresponding amount of resources. 5!! Wow, I never knew that US’s level of consumption is so high. Yet, I feel that given their level of consumption, US’ efforts in sustainable development is insufficient and disproportionate, especially when compared to other more environmentally-conscious countries like Europe and Japan.

To achieve sustainable development, we have to now adopt a cyclical approach to development and acknowledge that everything has a life cycle. We have to be mindful of the environment consequences of our actions in each step of the production process. The United Nations Industrial Organization is the pioneer and an advocator of this approach. Not only do they aim and concentrate on achieving sustainable development, they also focus on taking energies and transferring them to the poorer countries so that they have the technologies to compete fairly and sustainability. This is because everyone has a part in sustainability. The world is global, our actions do not only affect us but everyone else in this planet we all share.

Prof Shahi then showed us a video on this cyclical approach. He mentioned that some people felt that it is a propaganda against industrialisation. I personally don’t think so, because I feel that industrialisation is still inherent in the cyclical approach. We are still producing, manufacturing and marketing, the difference is just that we have to remember that our actions have consequences, and thus we have to act responsibly. Furthermore, like Prof said, this cyclical approach presents opportunities for innovation. This in turn generates potential jobs for the people. Thinking of ways to invent methods of renewing energy, developing technologies that are energy-saving, don’t these present opportunities for employment and production?

Out of the 3 readings, reading 2 was what interested me the most. It was a study of how industrialisation has been the key driver to development, which was what Prof told us during the introduction of this topic. However the thing that piqued my interest was the fact that the late-bloomers were able to gain a higher rate and efficiency of development compared to the pioneers and leaders in that field. These leaders, like Europe and the US, have to bear the innovative costs, the costs of research & development, inventions, etc. Whereas the later countries who follow in their stead could just absorb the benefits and positive spill overs of development without having to bear the hefty cost of experimentation. In fact, they could instead concentrate on how they could improve the proven methods and develop more efficiently than their mentors. After reading this, I felt rather ashamed, hahaha. Being a citizen of one of these late bloomers, I’ve seriously never thought about this before. I’ve never considered the sacrifices and pains these world leaders have taken before us, and even criticised some of these countries for being rather arrogant. It must feel real bad, having to see others steal the ideas and concepts that you’ve painstakingly generated and to see them actually benefit much more from them than you did…But I guess that’s just how people are, as stated in this quote Prof shared with us:

“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 –

The emphasis is this quote is more on the need for constant innovation, but it also states the fact that it is human nature to be copy-cats. However, hopefully with the existence of patents and copyright now, innovators will stand to benefit much more than they used to and receive their due rewards. J Seeing how I’ve somewhat digressed to the next topic, let’s just move on to that…

Session 3B: Technology & Innovation Management

This topic, as previously mentioned, generally revolves around the concepts of innovation creation and the process involved. It shows the steps involved in the birth of a new innovative product, beginning with the idea generation and research step, then moving on to the development stage where the idea is converted into a real working product, to finally ending off in the market application stage, where the product is introduced to consumers.

I like the way the different market positions and opportunities shown were depicted in The Shahi Landscape Model for Technology. In it, there were three locations that business could place themselves. 1) Valley Opportunities: Here is where the bulk of the market are. They are so many players crowding around here that the profit margin here is so low. 2) Summit Opportunities: This is the place where there is ample opportunity for profit. Here, there are high barriers to entry and if a firm is able and willing to invest and research in the ideas and concepts found here, they stand a high chance of becoming market leaders when they succeed. 3) Cloud Opportunities: These are opportunities that haven’t taken form. We haven’t figured out a way to make money from them yet, but they seem to present ample benefits and opportunities in the future.

Like Prof said, every company goes through a cycle and will find themselves in each location sometime. It is important for companies to establish a balance in their positions, they have to invest appropriately and proportionally in each place. The smart approach would be to invest the biggest portion in summit opportunities and be cautious about getting stuck in the valley opportunities. I personally feel that most Asian companies face the problem of getting stuck at the Valley, such as Japanese companies. I think Japanese companies are sometimes far too traditional. They like to stick with old traditional techniques and methods that can no longer be applied today with much efficiency. I especially feel that their organizational hierarchy and promotion system is generating this problem. Their respect for the seniors in the organization, and their adherence to legacy-planning, results in companies that are very conformed and limited in their ideas. This limits the ability of these companies to innovate and push themselves up to the Summit.

Individual Presentations

Prashant’s presentation left the deepest impression on me this session. His presentation was on the issue of sustainability in the fashion industry, and it cited H&M as one of the fashion companies that strove to embed sustainability in their production and marketing. What got me thinking was one of the question in the presentation: “Who is responsible for sustainability? The Government, Industry or Consumers?” I generally feel that all 3 are responsible for sustainability. Like Prof said during the beginning of the session, the world is shared, and our actions affect one another. Thus I feel that all three bodies have the responsibility to be sustainable in their actions. However, I also acknowledge that the government has a greater responsibility, because I feel that as the leaders, they should guide and teach their followers when they are making mistakes and getting out of hand. As mentioned in the video Prof showed us before class, “…I believe that the government is for the people and by the people.” I feel so too. I government are the people who lead the nation, just like parents they should ensure that their children are behaving properly. In order for companies and consumers to know that they have to do their part in ensuring sustainable development, the government must first take steps to ensure that they know the importance and necessity in doing so. The government should take steps to ensure that consumers are aware of the need for sustainable development, and to educate them on the products that are certified as green. Companies should be taxed and given incentives and rewards accordingly. After this guidance has been provided, consumers and industries would both have to act responsibly as they can no longer give the excuse of not knowing the need for such responsibility.

Session rating: 9/10

This session was definitely interesting and though-provoking for me.