Moving Towards Sustainable Development?
Definition of sustainable (as shared by Prof): People today should be able to exercise their options without compromising the choices available to future generations.
We all know that resources are limited and plenty of which had already been depleted by resource-rich countries such as Belgium and Great Britain during industrialization in the earlier days. What is left is no longer sufficient to support our existing rate of living. In fact, it was pointed out in the first video that Prof had shared with us during lesson that we would need 3 to 5 planets if the world were to adopt the lifestyle of people living in the US. Sadly, we only have one planet Earth, and this clearly illustrates the crucial need to turn towards sustainable development.
Sustainable development could be done in many ways: increasing efficiency, using renewable sources of energy etc… the article ‘Sustainability for Tomorrow’s Consumer’ (reading 3) states that in times of a global downturn where businesses are not doing well, and resource prices plunge deep down, one may question the need to invest in increasing efficiency as it does not make economic sense. But think long-term! Recall the idea of the 3 boxes that we learn in lesson 2, more specifically, box 3, which is about “creating the future by embarking on future looking projects that will improve the bottom line a decade down the road” (Source: Innovation in the Reset World, Vijay Govindarajan). Taking advantage of the low prices in a global recession to improve efficiency is actually a smart move. It is cost saving and also harnesses the potential to reap great gains after the recession.
That said, technology that is developed can be quickly copied by someone else. As such, many will deem the R&D efforts put in towards technology for sustainable development a waste because the resources used could be saved if they were to tap on the R&D efforts of others, instead of spearheading it. Once again, the selfish nature of humans comes into play. So who is going to start the ball rolling and head into the direction of sustainable development? Are we all going to sit back and actively participate in the ‘finger-pointing’ of responsibilities, but ultimately achieving nothing? Point is any catastrophe that may result due to our ‘extravagant’ lifestyle is going to affect all of us, and so, everyone of us should be involved in sustainable development. Sustainable development should not even be an obligation on our part, but rather, an integration into our daily lives.
Technology and innovation management
The world is highly competitive, and how can we ensure that a great innovation does not lose its appeal? In the realm of technology, one can never afford to stop innovating and developing new products according to the changes in preference of the consumers. Back when America was the country that everyone looked up to, many other countries were known to be ‘Americanised’, that is being strongly influenced by the America culture. It is no longer true today where the Korean and Japanese culture is now on the rise. A shift in the dominating culture will naturally lead to a shift in preferences and innovations have to follow according to remain fresh and relevant.
On top of that, innovations are quickly adapted into products developed by rivals with the intention of stealing the market share. There is no way to put a stop to this, and the only solution is ironically, innovating further. But to do so successfully require a team of people with different niche areas because as what Prof mentioned, innovation is not a one stage process. In fact, it requires 3 stages as shared by Prof. There is the element of research, the development stage, and the final marketing effort to make an innovation known to the world. Clearly, a lot of effort is involved but sadly(for the innovators), there is practically no other innovation management except to continue innovating or to retire from the market.
I would give today’s lesson a rating of 8/10 as I find it rather insightful. The presentation I enjoyed most is the one on Masdar City, shared by Samantha. It is interesting though I don’t think that I will feel comfortable living in such a city as the life there is too restricted and controlled.
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