WEEK 6 - Biobusiness Revolution - Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences

 Our class started with this interesting video which depicts Microsoft's vision on healthcare in the future. (Every thing is very high-tech!) This video led to the discussion whether such provision of healthcare will increase its costs? Well, when you first think about it, it's easy to think, yes, this will all be very expensive because it is so fancy. However, the discussion in class made me realize that implementation of these services and the integration of the different technology system may be costly, just like how the iPhone/iPad was deemed as costly at first, but now every body has one.. so it could be the same logic, where once everything becomes automated and ready, all you really need is that one card to access your healthcare. This will mean that efficiency is increased - less waiting time and cost is reduced. This is a nice healthcare future to look forward to.

We also touched on the different opportunities presented in the biobusiness revolution. I think one interesting point is opportunities presented in prevention of illnesses and diseases. The business of 'wellness' is huge right now as more and more people are afraid of falling sick yet obesity continues to take over the world... however, there are more options available to help curb obesity.

As our session today was on the Biobusiness 'REVOLUTION', I found it sad to read about how the healthcare industry in USA aren't keen on disruptive technology that will make healthcare more accessible. But of course, big companies are worried about their profits should such 'disruptive technology' be made available at lower cost.

The class had several interesting presentations. I like the one on counterfeit drugs and organ trading. We had a nice debate on whether organ trading should be legal. Personally, organ trading is very much like surrogacy. Similar to most transactions, mutual consent is needed. Our debate lead to the interchangeable use of 'donation' and 'organ trading', I think there are completely different things. It is okay to donate your organs, it happens all the time, but with organ trading, it is often done in some shady and dangerous way now. I believe organ trading should be regulated to rid it of its 'shady nature'.

Class is good, I would rate it 7/10 and am looking forward to the next class!

WEEK 5 - ICT AND WORLD CHANGE

The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.

The fifth TWC session focuses on Information and Communication Technology and World Change. To be honest, I hadn't really grasp the concept of ICT before I went to class. All I knew was that ICT could be a system to manage communication and information and I did have a vague idea that the internet is a big part of ICT so the class was going to be rather exciting.

Our discussion of ICT and world change touched on the areas where information and communication technologies have made an impact. For example, advancing information and communication technologies have changed mass media. Mass media is no longer in a one way communication format where audience are unable to respond or interact to what is being fed to them. In fact, audiences' responses have become key. This is also evident in the shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and  now, we have Web 3.0 and according to our Prof, the Web 3.0 is a super all knowing brain.

The important point to note that ICT is part of our daily existence whether we know it or not. Apparently, most of us didn't know we were using Cloud Computing until Prof pointed it out to us. ICT has shaped and changed the way we communicate and disseminate information. In fact, today, content is very often being generated by users and peer reviewed. Our discussion also led to the question whether we have truly captured the potential of ICT? However, millions are still unable to benefit from ICT due to lack of funds and infrastructure and opportunities.

I felt that the oral presentations given by my classmates really helped to bring points of ICT and world change home. I particularly enjoy the presentation on advertising. There is an evident shift in advertising patterns as a result of internet and more so with semantic web. Yuhong reminded us that we must not focus only focus on what's in now, but also, what's in later!

I liked Ivan's presentation on new agencies and how we shouldn't accept news at face value. Although I think news are generally facts but how the news is presented can create biasness in our minds, just like what the Prof said about the different opinions of the same thing presented by 'opposing' newspapers - New York Times and Washington Post.

I would rate the session 7.5/10. I think I still need to do more reading on ICT in application to fully appreciate how ICT can help to achieve millennium goals. I look forward to the next class!

INDIVIDUAL TOPICAL REVIEW PAPER - OUTLINE

I'm doing a paper on mobile technology and its impact on social interactions, it has always been a topic I'm quite keen on. This is before I started the TWC class as I'm constantly amused by people who use their iPads/iPhones every where, I've seen some one start to use his iPad while taking an escalator ride and playing with Cut The Rope. Is that game so exciting that it justifies a possible accident? However, this topic has already been explored numerous times, well, I hope I can bring something new to it.

Topic: Mobile Technology and its impact on social interactions

TOPIC INTRODUCTION
- This reports examines the impact of mobile technnology on social interactions
[Technology being defined as the practical application of knowledge and mobile technology as portable cellular communication devices and social interactions being relationship between two or more individuals]

Specific Innovation of Interest
- Smart phones

Rationale for choosing this innovation
- The number of smart phone users in developed cities is increasing rapidly
- Research company TNS reports that 72% of mobile phones users in Singapore are smart phones (taken from Straits Time Article)
- Smart phones allows users to do practically everything. Phones no longer perform the simple acts of telephoning and text messaging.
- Smart phones can be considered a disruptive change as it changes the way we communicate and lead our lives in a irreversible manner.
- Researching on the impact of smart phones on social interactions can create better understanding on the influences of mobile technology on human development as technology advances have changed our understanding of the community.

INTRODUCTION
1. Short description of the 'evolution' of mobile technology (example - introduction of phone, internet, email, social media)

2. New forms of social interactions as a result of technology (text messaging, instant messaging, facebook messages, skype, etc)

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

- Social interactions are typically face to face conversations

- With advances in technology - social interactions have evolved to include technology such as smart phones whereby people engage each other through the use of social networking websites that are easily accessible should they possess a smart phone

- Typically, mobile technology has been used to 'decrease' the social distance amongst family and friends. As strength of relationship often increases with increased reciprocal activities (sharing, giving, communicating, etc), distance that exists amongst people can be reduced with mobile technology that allows people to stay connected with one another.

- In order to stay connected, phone calls were made but were frequently expensive, in addition, mobile phone users were unable to stay connected 24/7 without the 3G function.

CURRENT SITUATION

- Smart phone users increase rapidly (key figures of smart phone users will be discussed)

- Smart phones allow users to remain connected via mobile internet and this is done in an efficient and fairly inexpensive method.

- Users are also engaged in multi-tasking activities such as using their smart phones while having their meals, driving, shopping for groceries, in school, during their commute, etc.

- The increasing number of applications and services serve to create an over-reliance on the device

- Users are seeing smart phones as their companion

- Prediction that there will be more smart phones connected to the Internet than PCs indicates that more and more people will increase their usage of smart phones to engage in social and recreational activities.

- The use of smart phones have revolutionised social interactions.

- Investment bank Credit Suisse forecasts the number of Asian smart phone users will reach 347 million by 2015. (Asians being a group that places emphasis on collective behaviour - will smart phones erode their collective tendency and help develop a sense of individuality and empowerment?)

FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

- Smart phone as a remote control of your life?

- More people will share personal information and remain connected to each other 'online'

- New technologies continue to evolve the use of smart phones

ISSUES:

n  How has technology changed tradition forms of social interactions?
n An increasing form of dis-connectivity 'offline'?

n  People are becoming increasingly addicted to their phones

n  ‘Everywhere’ Technology - constant connectivity?

n  Impacts of mobile technology (negative)

1. Social isolation?
2. Increased online interactions eroding etiquette?
3. Negative impacts on psychological well-being?
4. Difficulty for slow adopters of new mobile technology to integrate themselves in the digital culture?
5. Dangers of over reliance

CHALLENGES / OPPORTUNITIES

n  Managing the negative impacts

n  Opportunities presented by technology advances in social interactions

n  Opportunities presented in business, education and networking as a result of connectivity and convenience

KEY OBSERVATIONS

n  Statistics of smart phone users – rapid increase worldwide

n  Smart phone as a status symbol

n  Observations of current social interactions trends  compared to past trends

DISCUSSION

Preliminary issues for discussion:-

a.        How has the use of smart phones affected adolescents social interactions?

b.       Is there an increasing over reliance on the device?

c.        What are the dangers presented in such a situation?

d.       How has smart phone improved social interactions amongst peers and family?

WEEK 4 - DRIVERS OF CHANGE & CHANGE MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP

Drivers of Change

The first topic of the session was on drivers of change. In regards to the (Charles Darwin) quote shared by the Prof, it is not the strongest who will survive but those were most responsive to change. This is very true (or the quote wouldn't be so widely used or reach 1 million likes on FaceBook) and I suppose everyone have probably experienced a who moved my cheese moment. Change is a constant and entirely unavoidable. For an example, you have to join FaceBook some time now or later or risk becoming a do-do bird amongst friends. What this entire session highlighted is how one addresses and manages the changes brought about through the major drivers of change (globalization, competition, innovation, etc) in today's world.

We began the class with an introduction of the different drivers of change. Having read the reading 2 and having my BGS class the day before on globalisation, which we defined as the 'death of distance', I could really relate to how globalization is truly a major driver of change. With increased cross border activities (regardless of if it is an economic transaction, communication or immigration), it has also increased the speed or rather the need to change. From an economic perspective, globalization has intensified competition as domestic industries face new competitors vying for market share. This is where domestic companies need to decide if they can continue being dominant players or become falling stars should they risk not being to adapt to new 'events' in their situations.

We were also introduced to two types of change - revolutionary and evolutionary. Revolutionary change being one that is sudden. There is another type of change - Disruptive Change which may not (or may!) sound as icky as it does. Well, sometimes I do think disruptive should be a synonym for change. But then again, I could keep watching Who Moved My Cheese so I would feel less that way.

Is a disruptive change the same as a revolutionary change? Maybe. But in revolutionary changes, you can always go back to where or who or what you were. In a disruptive change, which is defined as an irreversible change in your expected future, I don't think it is possible to go back. (Prof used the example of letter writing and email.) The important point to note is whatever the changes are - you got to capitalize on the opportunities presented.

Change Management & Change Leadership

What happens when there is a change and how do we effectively manage change? In addition, who 'create' changes in organizations? Leaders or managers? What is the difference between leadership and management? I thought these were some of the questions brought up during our discussion. Anyway, in my HRM module in poly, leaders were loosely defined as those with a vision and the ability to lead (convince) people into accepting and embracing his or her vision whereas managers simply do the right thing. Richard Branson is a beloved example of visionary leadership in my class.

We were introduced to the session via a short video 'Leadership Lesson From a Dancing Guy'. I think this video adequately explained the dynamics of leadership. I'm glad this video highlighted the importance of followers.You can't be a leader if you don't have followers. You'll just be a little lone nut. In addition, followers are often neglected and left out of a grand story but a leader may not necessary be great at managing the changes he sees fit.

Our discussion finally led to the topic on responding to change which relates to the Shahi model of falling and rising stars in my week 2 post. There are 3 general ways of responding to change, you either welcome it with open arms (and maybe even facilitated the change) or you take a backseat and avoid it as long as possible or you hide somewhere & pretend there is no change. I find myself guilty of taking the last option from time to time. The result is cruel - you become a laggard and find it hard to embrace the change and the next thing you know you become a do-do bird and your picture goes into the encyclopedia. The bottom line is - with technology rapidly advancing, we all need to take option 1 all the time.

Key Messages

What I liked about this session the most is how I could relate it to the some of the modules I took in Poly (HRM and Service Operations & Quality Management in which TQM was emphasized as the new way to go in organizations). It was also interesting to get to know the different drivers of change as I do think it is important to understand them in order to effectively manage change. Personally, I think that's what education is about. New information is being generated everyday, we are taught what is going wrong out there so young and impressionable students are able to go out and be drivers of change.

Anyway, taking our little debate in class on what started global warming - humans or natural causes. Could this be an example of responding to change in an ineffective manner where we engage in pointless pseudo environmentalist debate over who caused what? I never really thought of it this way.

Lastly, although it is obvious that one must take on the modern approach (continuous monitoring and renewal) in order to respond to change or improve. It is not easy to implement this approach. Anticipating and accepting change and taking the TQM (modern) approach in organizations was certainly indoctrinated in to us in Poly HRM and Service Operations modules... but we were always reminded how difficult it was to engineer change in an organization. Karen's presentation on Managing Change in Recession discussion question for the class was if it was important to win over the hearts and minds of employees in order to faciliate change. I do think change will not happen successfully if people do not have embrace it completely. Convincing others will always remain the trickiest part as demonstrated in the pessimism-time curve and explained to us in a very easy to understand manner. Hint: Think of the graph as a relationship model.  

I would rate the session 8/10. I think most of the topics required were adequately discussed in this session. I enjoyed all the presentations and the presentation on Microsoft vs Apple helped to further cement the point that change leadership requires change management in order to ensure that change happens in a manageable (happy) way. I look forward to the next TWC class!

WEEK 3 - TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY & INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

What does sustainability means?

Prof defined sustainability as ensuring that the options available now will still be available for our future generations. We were showed a video clip 'The Story of Stuff' but due to time constraint, we were unable to view the entire video but I suppose most of us got the gist of the video and its point - it appears that we consume too much and too quickly and with reckless abandon in regards to the natural resources we have left. We seem to be existing in a society where we operate without thought for the future and in addition of using up precious natural resources, we add to environmental issues with our excessive consumerism. The passage of time and technology advances have created wants which has resulted in the over taxation of Earth. This brings us to the need of ensuring sustainable development and cue the raised eyebrows from big corporations. Do economic profits and environmental control go hand in hand or do they have an inverse relationship? I suppose with the current investments in green technology, being green and conscious may not be a (large) economic expense. However, corporations may be reluctant to engage in clean up activities or invest in ensuring its production of goods and services are green and clean right now as we tend to do what hurts our pockets least. In any case, sustainable development is definitely not a fad and it would be sad if it was.

Innovation Management

How do we translate creativity into ideas that are practical and applicable? As a result of the discussion, we can see that innovation isn't complete until it has been applied in the real world and as Prof's friend (another professor from Japan) said - the stage from research to application is a nightmare! Another question posed to the class was if innovation should be technology or market driven? Maybe people think technology driven innovations are true innovations but that's debatable. In any case, innovation should be market driven as there is a need to translate ideas into applicable forms. Companies need to achieve profitability through market driven innovations before setting their sights on cloud opportunities.

Key Messages

The session on sustainability helped to highlight and ring warning bells in our heads on the reality of business and consumerism. Although Annie Leonard from the Story of Stuff may appear extreme but through the discussion of our class, no one can ignore the fact that sustainable development is a high priority. Moreover, economic growth and environment control needs to go hand in hand in order to ensure sustainability. Another take away message drawn from our discussion is the issue on what's stopping innovation in organizations. Prof briefly touched on this topic and he has shared that hierarchy and structure within the organization plays important role in facilitating creativity and innovation. This is pretty much true and besides, from what I recalled in my human resource management module in Poly, we understand that employees need an open and flat structure in order to be motivated enough to offer what's more than required. 

I would rate the session 7/10. Once again I really enjoyed all the presentations and the one on 3M, the company seemed like such a 'wallflower' player compared to Apple when it comes to innovation but 3M products are more than just scotch tape.