Legal but Unethical Profit

It is dismal to see that a course on management ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) – qualities and values which are ASSUMED to be innate in ‘human beings’; principles and behavior which we imbibe from a course on social studies in the 3^rd and 4^th grade – are today being crammed into the heads of the so-called “managers”. The very characteristics that make us humans are today being executed in our brains like a computer program written in C++.

The morality of profits is often questioned, but the profitability of morals is seldom put to test. While managers do have the obligation to generate profits for the organizations they are working for, they also have the onus of upholding the interests of the society they are doing their businesses in.

Risky mortgages were bundled into securities and sold on Wall Street. Big funds, frenzied for a higher rate of return, ignored the risks – all resulting in the creation of a “perfect storm.” Followed up by lack of oversight by the Federal Reserve, this is what has ushered us into the recession of 2008. No infringement of legality, but a gruesome violation of ethics. Is this how we want to generate profits? The answer is NO.

Is an MBA degree really essential to become an effective manager ??

What to do, when to do, how to do and why to do – these are the ONLY questions which a MANAGER needs to address. The credibility of an MBA degree most certainly cannot be questioned. But I often fall prey to pondering as to why one’s mother, one’s aunt, one’s grandmother and the like are extremely good managers without an MHA (Masters in Household Administration) degree?

What matters is not spending hours and hours solving case studies during a two year journey from a “non-manager” to a “manager” (as goes the popular opinion). What really counts is BEING PRESENT where the case was actually being given birth to be studied.

With an over-burdening of theory, if there is no provision to vent the same into the world of practice, the value of 31,536,000 seconds (2 years) is merely reduced to a redundant degree.

Does an automobile engineer start working on an automobile the day he is given his job letter? Why is training given to engineers (I call them “engineers” because they have the “degree”) after they are placed? It’s only because theory, books and concepts can never match the true essence of practice and experience...

Management - an art or science ??

For many well-intentioned gardeners, the secret to successful gardening is a mystery known only to those lucky souls blessed with “green thumbs”. Many people see management in the same vein – a black art only practiced successfully by those possessing that certain something (that certain je ne sais quoi). So what is this secret talent? Is it experience? Is it possession of a methodology? Is it possession of tools? Or is it possession of a bag of techniques and templates? As with the struggling gardener, the answer does not lie within any of these. Successful managers will have all of these elements in their possession – elements that address the scientific aspect of management – as well as that certain je ne sais quoi.

So what is this je ne sais quoi? This is the ability of managers to manage the most critical of elements – human relationships, an ability that can be learnt to some degree, but, at the end of the day, relies on the manager’s natural discernment to inter relate and work with people. Simultaneously, managers have to work upwards to the business, sideways to stakeholders and downwards to project team members.

Management is the oldest of arts and the youngest of science, because it is of a dynamic nature. Mere knowledge of applied and time-tested concepts does not always suffice. Understanding human behavior, tactfulness, pragmatism, creativity, compassion towards staff, team spirit is all needed by a successful manager for effective and efficient management. Thus science and art are not mutually exclusive but complementary to each other. Therefore management is both a science and an art.

Power of Thought - by Swami Vivekananda

1. Doing is very good, but that comes from thinking. Little manifestations of energy through the muscles are called work. But where there is no thought, there will be no work. Fill the brain, therefore, with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.

2. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

3. If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library.

4. It is thought which us the propelling force in us. Fill the mind with the highest thoughts, hear them day after day, and think them month after month. Never mind failures; they are quite natural, they are the beauty of life, these failures. What would life be without them? It would not be worth having if it were not struggles.

5. The only remedy for bad habits is counter habits; all the bad habits that have left their impressions are to be controlled by good habits. Go on doing good, thinking holy thoughts continuously; that is the only way to suppress base impressions.

6. Always remember that each word, thought, and deed lays up a store for you and that as the bad thoughts and bad works are ready to spring upon you like tigers, so also there is the inspiring hope that the good thoughts and good deeds are ready with the power of a hundred thousand angels to defend you always and for ever.

7. Let positive, strong, helpful thought enter into their (children’s) brains from very childhood.

8. Evil thoughts, looked at materially, are the disease bacilli.

9. The body is made by the thought that lies behind it. The body politic is thus the expression of national thought.

10. If we make ourselves pure and the instruments of good thoughts, these will enter us. The good soul will not be receptive to evil thoughts. evil thoughts find the best field in evil people; they are like microbes which germinate and increase only when they find a suitable soil.

11. Those who are always down-hearted and dispirited in this life can do no work.

The Social Impact of Climate Change

The biggest social impact of climate change today is the underpinning of the existing gap between the rich and the poor.

The observation is indeed very ironical - Although the carbon footprint of the poorest billion people is the least of the world’s total footprint, they are the ones who would suffer the most.
Heat waves such as those which occurred in Europe in 2003, which caused up to 70,000 “excess” deaths, will unquestionably occur again. Under the consequent circumstances, while the rich will be cooling themselves in their air conditioned rooms, millions of poverty stricken bodies will be incinerating on the footpaths.

Try imagining a situation of acute water and food shortage (due to climate change I must mention) leading to war and mass migration. Who do you think would be the nomads !? You ? Me ? Any of us reading this article on our laptops or PC’s ?? I choose not to answer the question...

In the next Century, climate change would reduce the staple crop yields in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and would have a crippling effect on the stability and quantity of food supply and purchasing power of the agricultural population (in other words, the “not-so-rich” population).

Poor people are the most vulnerable to natural disasters, the most reliant on harvests coming at the right time, and the least able to adapt or move away from dangerous places.

That’s why climate change hits poor people hardest.

Churu and Hanumangarh are two districts in the state of Rajasthan. The people living in these areas have to face 8 hours of power cut everyday. Blaming ourselves for their plight and distress, we, a few students of BITS Pilani decided to embark on a “mission” to “tackle” the problem of climate change.

From provision of fresh water and drought-resistant seeds to training workshops on the most effective ways to adapt to the impacts of climate change, we tried to bring a practical and spiritual transformation to the people who need it most.

And while we burn inequitable amounts of fossil fuels, many poor people have no access to sustainable fuels at all. Providing them with clean, renewable energy technology gave communities here new opportunities to develop without further contributing to climate change.

For instance, a solar-powered light enabled children and young people to study at home in the evenings. Using renewable fuels instead of firewood saved the time spent collecting wood every day which was used for paid work. This in turn meant more income for better food and for children’s school fees. Alternative fuels also helped reduce potentially life-threatening smoke pollution from home wood-burners.

All these efforts helped poor communities respond quickly and effectively to the challenges of climate change. With the right help, these communities can finally “ADAPT” to cope with the harsh effects of climate change (if we ASSUME that the problems associated with climate change cannot be mitigated, let alone eradication)...

5 Innovative Environmental Business Ideas

I thought it might be interesting to pick out a handful of existing businesses/ideas that you may or may not have heard of and highlight their environmental benefit. These ideas are creating markets of their own and opportunities for young go getters like ourselves to grab a share while they’re still in their early stages.

Recycled container housing

This environmentally conscious alternative has become quite the trend. Shipping containers that would normally be used to transport goods from overseas, are stripped down, cleared out, and stacked much like Legos to create a unique grid of housing or retail stores. These containers were and are used for many years in the Eastern world and by the military, but are only now becoming a cost-effective mobile condo.

Bicycle vending machines

A Dutch company called Springtime, has created the green version of Zipcar. Many cities pose quite a risk when locking your bike up outside. By creating vending machines for bikes, you’re enabled to rent one for a short or lengthy commute and return it to another machine near your destination. With zero emissions and the cost of pennies compared to a car, this initiative is much needed in many parts of the world.

Reusing instead of recycling packaging

TerraCycle is a truly innovative company. Their products, fertilizers, are packaged in cleansed pop bottles that each of us use every day. By providing a Pepsi bottle or whatnot, you receive $0.06 along with an ever important contribution to the already 1,098,440 bottles collected to date. This model could be applied to hundreds and thousands of different liquid based products that we use and eliminate the entire process of having to crush, melt, and re-form new bottles.

Designer shopping bags

We wrote about the trend of designer shopping bags back in July. The idea is that retailers offer a fashionable or classy version of a bag that replaces the disposable plastic ones we would normally receive at the checkout. These stylish woven ones can be used hundreds of times and serve as an accessory, especially for the female crowd. Would still be nice to see dozens of lines and variations of these bags be offered by the major chains across the world. Until then, the hilarious UK version you see above will be effective at grabbing attention.

Generating energy through our actions

The idea of being a hamster on a wheel doesn’t sound too bad when applied to our normal actions throughout the day across all our environments. Energy generating speedbumps are already in the works, as are treadmills that convert the rotation of the belt into electricity. While the small amount of power generated from these devices may seem minimalistic at this time, once a cost-effective way is developed to enable us to convert motion to energy, this could change the hydro industry altogether.

Robotic Arm - I manufactured it !!

Mechanical engineer !! That's what I'm supposed to be in about a year's time. Anyway, what's more important is what "I manufactured" before becoming one. Have a look at the pics.

Getting up early in the morning was the worst part. Nevertheless, I still had to go to the workshop every wednesday for 4 months. This thankfully turned out to be fruitful. My team successfully managed to manufacture the robotic arm (look at me in the picture below :P)

For those willing to view the entire report, here's the link :

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B87jlbwQocCgY2EzMDIzYzYtZDYxNi00M2Q5LTkwM2UtNzg0NjkzZTliMmVk&hl=en