BioBusiness Revolution2: Agriculture and the Environment

Today’s class was on the revolution of the agriculture sector and the environment. After this week’s lesson, I even more convinced that technology has really unknowingly seeped into our lives and how it has really changed our lives. Last week was how it impacted the healthcare sector, and this week on the agriculture sector. Specifically playing a part in the food that we consume. The consumption of GM food was raised and whether GM food should be labeled, risks brought about by GM food and so on.

What caught my attention was reading 3, where the risk involved from GM was actually raised. For a long time, having consumed GM food, i never thought of the possible risk involved or even thought that there will be risk involved. However, reading 3 talks about some countries who are in opposition to transgenic seed varieties and food products due to unknown risk and absence of obvious consumer benefits arising from genetically modified food. I guess some of us just take things as it is and accept things that are introduced to us. And I guess that it also depends on the background that we are coming from. For instance, people from the other countries may be less educated, hence, may not go so far into thinking of the possible risk involved, or some are just ignorant about it. Furthermore, they are just concern of the benefits that it brings for instance, it provides marketing advantages to food retailers or improved nutrition or taste to attract consumers. 

This also led to the point on whether we should consume GM food. Personally, i feel that it is something that we have already gotten used to. For instance, the broccoli and cauliflower are GM food from wild cabbage and i'm sure there are many more out there in the market. We have already gotten used to eating these vegetables. Furthermore, in one of the presentation, we actually came to realize that the MacDonald meal that we eat has corn or used corn related stuffs to prepare. Jut like how we cannot avoid corn related food, i feel that it's the same as how we can't just avoid GM food. 

In another of the presentation, it talks about the company Monsanto, where it states that farmers have to resort to committing suicide as they are unable to pay off the debt to Monsanto due to high cost incurred for the patenting of their seeds. The number of farmers that committed suicide really shocked me. It really shocked me at how Monsanto actually set rules in different countries, just for their own benefits.  But then again, we cannot push the blame to Monsanto. That's the common goals of most companies- make profits, which help keeps you competitive. I guess the argument here is whether we should be profit driven or we should be welfare driven?? Where they also think about the farmers welfare instead of their own benefits. We also discussed if GM food should be labeled, which i feel that we should. This is also a form of respect to our customers, that we're not hiding anything from them and it also leaves the option open for them to choose whether or not to consume the product. Furthermore, i feel that there is nothing to hide whether or not it's GM food unless there's really something wrong with the product and hence causing the producer to dare not label them. After-all, it's about the producer's integrity, which i feel is one of the most important factor to win the customers' support because there's trust. Hence, i feel that it should be labeled.

We were introduced to another quote this week. "When we are able to arrow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability." I agree with this statement and i felt that it was really true. To remain sustainable, we have to have ample resources for us to use as well as for the future generation. Hence, once we are able to arrow the resources, we need not worry of running out of them in the future. I feel that of course, technology will play a part in helping us arrow the resources, looking at how it has changed our world since the past.

I feel that we have to continue embracing the change in technology on our environment and agriculture to be able to reap greater benefits. It really makes me wonder how will the future GM food be like, what kind of new stuff we can expect from the continuous advancement of technology on this sector.

Class rating: 9/10

Biobusiness Revolution: Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences

This week's lesson was on the revolution of the biomedical industry. The class started off with the introduction to the term biobusiness, where it is a commercial activity based on understanding of life science and life science processes. I see it as businesses that are related to the biomedical industry. We also came to know that this constitutes over 25% of global GDP and employs some 40% of world's labour force. 

There's really been a vast change in the biomedical industry looking back from the past till today. The role that technology has on this revolution is really great i can say. With the advancement of technology, it allows research to be carried out which fasten the pace at which medical science advances as well. I feel that the advancement of medical sciences is really crucial. Just like a double edge sword, it benefits us as well as having the possibility to harm us and raises ethical issues. Firstly, this really benefits us, as we're now able to receive better treatment and also precautions to diseases. Of course, this would lead to an increase in the living conditions that we're in as hence, increasing life expectancy. However, we also know that all these research require money. Hence we can see the difference in the different countries- underdeveloped, developing and developed countries. Just like what reading 5 has stated, "We must find better ways to increase value, to keep modern care affordable, while still encouraging medical innovation. With these unprecedented technological achievements have also come unprecedented concerns about the total spending on healthcare and, in particular, about the rising spending on these new medical technologies. Many worry that, even if these new technologies come along, they will not benefit because they will not be able to afford the high cost.” Hence, we have to ensure that such medical innovations reach to all parts of the world to ensure that everyone gets to benefit from it.

On a flip side, like what reading 4 has stated regarding the disruptive innovations and healthcare, where dominant players place too much emphasis on improving their products to the point where consumers don't even know what they are using. Also, with the increase in innovations, it creates the potential for companies to introduce something known as disruptive innovation, where companies come up with cheaper and more convenient products to meet the needs of less-demanding customers. Just like a double edge sword, the increase in medical innovations has both its positive and negative side. However, i feel that this should not stop companies from the continual innovations and research that they are having. It is still important as this not only bring benefits to the healthcare sectors, it also aid in providing jobs for the people. 

The class went on to discuss on whether we should enhance human beings. In my opinion, i feel that we should not encourage the enhancement of human beings. Speaking from the ethical side, like what they say, it disrupt God's creation. Everyone is wonderfully made and created by God, hence we should not try to enhance ourselves to make us even better. From the other point of view, i feel that there may also be cases of discrimination and it adds stress to the person. Furthermore, it may also lead to a case whereby the person dared not leave her house just to avoid the criticism. Also, we are not sure the side effects that it may cause in the future. 

We were again introduced to 2 quotes, "Biobusiness may well be our best hope for achieving sustainable" and "The Biobusiness revolution will transform our lives and our economies-in the area of health, food, clothes and energy sources". I feel that it is really true that our lives will be transformed due to the biobusiness revolution. Many new inventions will be introduced with the continual advancement of technology and this causes people to be more reliable on them and hence it may become part of our lives unknowingly. 

I felt that this week's topic was really interesting as it talks about the healthcare side which most people are concern about. Moreover, seeing how the healthcare sector has advances, it really makes us wonder what type of new innovations we can expect in the future. 

Class rating: 9/10 

ICT & World Change

This week's lesson was on ICT and world change. ICT- Information & Communications Technologies, which includes Mass Media, the Internet, Interactive telecommunications, Wireless and so on. Indeed, technology has brought drastic change with regards to ICT. It is evident that we have progressed a lot ever since the past. Many forms of communications were being introduced. I shared this during the 1st TC lesson and that was; i remembered that when i was much younger, pagers were still in existence. However, just a leap of 10 years or so, instead of having pagers, we now have the iphones, blackberry and so on.

Many forms of ICT were introduced and what caught my attention was cloud computing. I've never heard of this term before. Cloud computing is Internet based computing where shared resources, information are provided to computers and other devices on demand. I like the idea of cloud computing as it is really low cost which lessens the burden on business owners. Seeing this, it really shows how much technology has advances, where with cloud computing, you need not require a large amt of capital to start your business and still able to reap as much benefits and profits.

ICT the driver of world change? We've discussed on drivers of change last session and is ICT one of the contributing factor? I feel that it has a part to play. The different forms of communication that has been introduced drove change. From tv and radios, we now have computers, laptops, mp3 etc.  It has really changed the way people communicate and changed the different forms of entertainments that are available. Like what reading 2 stated; How ICT can change the world.  As more people can afford communications due to drop in cost of devices therefore mkt more efficient. With increasing in number of people who are linked by mobile communication devices these days.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity" Albert Einstein. I agree with him.  Albert Einstein was referring to the use of nuclear weapons that US used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which led to the downfall of Japan. Though ICT is useful, it was misused in this area. Not only destroyed the land, it affected the citizens, disrupted their lives. Hence, we have to be responsible with every ICT invention and not misuse it for the wrong purpose.  Falling back on reading 2 as well, where it states that existing communication has its flaws. It enabled global warfare, crime and that powerful technology will be used by the powerful to maintain and extend power. These all actions actually misuse the purpose of ICT.

I found that the presentations this week were really engaging especially the one on the forms of reading. It showed to us clearly the change that was brought about. In tackling one of their questions; How will the future platform of information reading affect the next generation of students, whereby learning will be fully technologically based. I feel that students will be over reliant on technology. Also, they have to bear in mind that there'll be times where technology may fail us and that we may in turn becomes slaves to technology. Hence, i feel that we should not over-emphasize the use of technology in every area of our lives.

Overall, i felt that this week lesson was interesting as it brought us through how much our world has really changed and made us think of what will be happening in the future with the never ending advancement in the area of ICT.

Class rating: 8/10

Drivers of change, Change management & change leadership

This week's lesson was on Drivers of Change and Change Management & Change Leadership. I thought this would be an interesting session as I felt that change is something that is very close to our heart. The world is changing all the time and we're adapting to changes almost all the time. 

We started off the lesson with the topic on Drivers of Change; the factors that caused change to happen.  There are many different drivers of change. Whether is it caused by the environment, globalization, ideological innovation and so on. Ideological Innovation, it came to me really fresh as usually, when we mention drivers of change, the only few things that would pop out in my mind are mainly environment, technology and globalization. An example that was brought up by prof was communism. I feel that many a times, just a simple idea can change a whole system of something or the way people react to a certain issue. For instance, in the past, it is said that women are to stay at home to take care of the children and take care of the house. The mentality has been like this since decades ago. This is because people feel that women were more inferior creatures and that they are not as capable as men. However, we see that in today's society, there's a change in the thinking. We see that many women are in the workforce and even holding high positions. This change is thinking that women are not as inferior compared to the men has caused a drastic change in how people look at women. 

Also, talking about drivers of change, I agree with what reading 2 has stated. "The two most significant drivers of change in the world today are globalization and technological innovation. Both factors of growth are, in fact, the basis for a new division of labor between countries and firms that has emerged during the last few decades." Change would bring about growth to a country. It allows a country to remain competitive in today’s society. I feel that technology plays an important role in causing change. Looking back at how the world has changed these years due to the advancement of technology, I feel that it’s one of the main drivers of change.

Then we move on to Change Management and Change Leadership. We see the difference in the industries where it moved from a ‘hands-on’ industry to a knowledge economy. We are living in a modern world where we need continuous monitoring and renewal. This is very applicable to us as we’re living in a globalised world where countries are competing economically with one another. “Be the change you want to see in the world”- Mahatma Gandhi. I agree with this statement, as I feel that we cannot conform to what the society does. In this way, we won’t be able to out do the rest. We have to be the one who cause the change, the one that came up with a new trend for instance, to be able to stay competitive.

Prof introduced 3 ways to cope with change: Make it happen; be proactive, Respond when it happens and Be surprised when it happens; blurr. I feel strongly like what prof says, that is to respond when it happens, and that is to embrace change. If we don’t respond to it, we will be left behind. Which also means that it’ll affect our economic status.

Overall, I felt that today’s lesson was really interesting and that the topic discussed was really what we are encounter. The presentation was also fresh especially the one on disease as it came to me fresh, knowing that disease is a key driver of change.

Class rating: 8.5/10

Sustainable Development & Innovative Management

Sustainable Development where development "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"-Brundtland Commission 

The first part of today's lesson was on Technology & Industrial Development: Moving towards Sustainable Development. We were introduced to 2 new concepts; Linear thinking and Circular thinking. Sustainability needs to shift from linear thinking to circular thinking. Linear thinking where economic well-being was the top most priority, and achieving it at the cost of environmental well being, whereas circular well being is where there's opportunity for innovation, growth and values creation that promises economic as well as environmental well being. In my opinion, I feel that this should be the case. We should move towards circular thinking. 

In reading 1, it has the summary of key issues in industrial development from the perspective of the European Commission, It states under fact 2 that, "If carried out in a sustainable manner, taking into account the often fragile nature of the surrounding environment, societal patterns and economic conditions, this can achieve lasting improvements in living standards, incomes, working conditions, education and healthcare. If, on the other hand, industrial development is coupled with environmental degradation and resource depletion, societal exploitation and economic recklessness, the associated benefits, if any, will not last." I agree with this statement. This is why i feel that in order to have sustainable development; we have to shift towards circular thinking. I feel that as much as a country wants to develop its economy, if it does it at the expense of its environment, there'll definitely be repercussion. It's the future generation that will suffer. And instead of trying to keep up the pace with the other countries' economic status, it has to spend more time and effort trying to reconstruct the environment (includes the business environment, not just the environment literally). Without a proper environment, one country is unable to progress economically as it now becomes the stepping-stone for them. This would eventually slow down economic development. Hence, for there to be sustainable development, I feel that we need to change our thinking. 

Then again, things might be different in the less developed countries. Without enough resources and money, the government's top most priority is still to achieve economic development so as to support its people and to improve the problem of poverty. In such a situation, would the government consider a shift in the thinking? Will they spend their limited resources on saving the environment or solely concentrate on economic growth? There’s opportunity cost here. Due to capital constrains and other factors, they may not have the ability to achieve economic growth and maintain environment well being at the same time. As we all know, maintaining environmental well-being is expensive. However, we all know that the environment is the one of the key to economic growth.

Then we moved on to discuss about Technology and Innovative Management. Should innovation be market driven society or technology driven? Like what prof says, I feel that it really depends on the country itself. If the country is already having difficult sustaining its economy, they should be more market driven. Because demand is already there and hence, it’s more profitable for the company/country. Little advertising is needed and hence, they also incur lesser costs. If the country, for instance like Singapore, with it’s stable economy, we can afford to be technology driven. Looking at how Singapore Budget 2010, it states that, “The Government will introduce the Productivity and Innovation Credit to spur a much broader range of innovative activities through more generous tax benefits”. The Government is encouraging innovation here in Singapore. I feel that with innovation, it further improves the country’s economy status, as there’s product differentiation, where things are not the norm. Though more costs may be incurred trying to sell the product or services, once the people see the value of it, demand will start rising.

Moreover, living in the always changing, fast pace and competitive society, we have to explore new things and hence I feel that innovation should be technology driven though it may take time to create demand. And of course, it has to be something that of use and beneficial to the people.

I found the presentations really fresh especially the one regarding wiki. Knowing that it’s getting more respected and reliable(:  I always like to refer to wiki when I encounter things that I’m unsure as I feel that it gives a comprehensive background information.

Class rating: 8/10