Tuesday, January 08, 2013

It’s time to unleash the power of social technologies

In today’s competitive environment, firms can boost productivity and enhance performance by leveraging social technologies to support business needs

Social technologies have radically transformed the world of business. They have enabled globe-spanning supply lines, real-time information exchange, and allowed businesses to enhance their performance. These powerful technologies challenge existing management practices and models, consequently many executives are rethinking their infrastructure for collaboration and communication.

Typically these technologies include blogs, wikis, podcasts, information tagging, widgets, mashups, prediction markets and social networks. The use of these social technologies within companies is referred to as Enterprise 2.0. Global enterprise spending on these technologies is predicted to increase dramatically to $4.6 billion by the end of 2013, with a 43% year-on-year growth, which makes it the fastest growing technology in the enterprise software industry.

Despite the recession, a growing number of innovative firms are integrating social technologies into their businesses, including General Electric (GE), Proctor & Gamble (P&G), Shell, KPMG and Airbus. These forward-thinking firms are adapting their traditional management practices while leveraging Enterprise 2.0 technologies. However, when it comes to the current management practices that dominate in the majority of companies – a large number of leaders are still ‘unsure about the relevance’ of social technologies to allocate their resources and capabilities effectively. The big question is ‘can these social technologies actually boost business performance?’

Our research has found that companies can boost productivity and enhance performance by leveraging social technologies to support business needs. A number of companies have implemented Enterprise 2.0 applications for a variety of purposes such as research & development, marketing, customer service and knowledge management. Global service firms such as Accenture, Pfizer, BT and IBM have used these technologies to rapidly identify who within their organisation know ‘what’ and thus consequently share their expertise quickly. In fact, in some cases this goes beyond the UK borders to creating global outreach platforms for collaboration and communication.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Monday, January 07, 2013

The King & I’ran

Reasons behind Iran-Saudi rivalry

Iran is neither an enemy of Saudi Arabia, nor a friend. But with the recent Sunday Times July expose` on Saudi Arabia (where they mention a Saudi diplomat quoting how Saudi Arabia has given tacit approval to Israel for using its airspace to attack Iran – a claim refuted now by both Saudi and Israeli governments), not only has Saudi Arabia shot itself in the foot, but it has also given Iranian President Ahmedinejad the political lifeline he has long awaited. But really, wasn’t Saudi Arabia supposed to be a pro-Islam, ergo pro-Iran nation? Actually, not at all!

First, the legacy of the past. A so-called Saudi Arabian-Iranian friendship had continued for some years before coming to an end with the Iranian revolution in 1979 as the revolutionary regime of Iran declared the Saudi monarchy as anti-Islamic! Iran targeted Saudi Arabia and accused it of being an American proxy while Saudi in turn blamed Iran for attempting to destabilise it by infiltrating revolutionary mindsets. Relations worsened during the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 as Saudi Arabia sided with Iraq in the war.

Read more.......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Saturday, January 05, 2013

INTERVIEW: IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO INDIA

Iran has come through a lot and is now looking at the future with dreamy eyes. And now its relations with India matter

That’s why for more than 20 years, we have challenged each other. But at present, we want change. We want peace. For that they have got to trust us and we both have to respect each other. In public they say, they want close relations with Iran and will change their policy, but at the same time they impose economic sanctions against us. Iran has always tried its best to maintain good relations and spread peace and prosperity in the region, in other countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and Tajikistan.

B&E: Despite organisations like the Arab League or Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Islamic countries continue to be a divided lot. What role can Iran play in uniting them.

SM: Iran is already a member of a number of international organisations like OIC, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and SAARC. But one must understand that it is not only the Islamic countries which need to be united.

Infact, the whole of the Asian continent needs to be together and work together. This century belongs to Asia-not only because of the enrichment of their natural resources but also because of a vast pool of young and talented population. Many of the European countries, with negative growth of population are inviting our people to their countries. So in short, we have to share and support each other to make a broad Asian institution which will benefit both.

B&E: Israel and the US say that Iran interferes in Lebanon’s internal politics through Syria. How do you defend yourself?

SM: See, Lebanon has its own government. Some part of the land is occupied by Israel and the people of Lebanon are trying to get it back. Getting their rights back is the truth. If you go through history you will understand that Israelis came from outside and that they have no right to occupy the land. Now the Lebanese need justice and giving back the land to them is the truth.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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Friday, January 04, 2013

Coral reefs facing the heat!?

A Stanford University study claims to have found heat-resistant coral reefs. But can slow adaptation keep pace with the changing environment?

There are many treasures hidden in the depths of the oceans; marine plants and animals aside, there’s more to this wealth than pearly oysters and treasures lost to sunken vessels. Anyone who has ever visited an aquarium or gone snorkelling would be familiar with these stunning creatures called corals. Yes, these plant or rock-like things aren’t actually either. They’re, in fact, animals that play a vital role in defining the structure of marine reefs (colonies of corals), which in turn are the source of vital nutrition for fish and other sea creatures who depend on them for their sustenance. But in spite of having called the oceans home for eons, corals are always at risk, sometimes owing to natural but largely due to man-made reasons. Almost 80 per cent of shallow reefs are over-fished and that’s significant, considering the fact that corals occupy less than one per cent of the total marine environment, which is home to over 25 per cent of all known marine fish species. Another factor is a phenomenon called coral bleaching in which a rise in ocean temperature makes corals lose colour and eventually die out. Says noted filmmaker and conservationist, Mike Pandey whose film Shores of Silence – Whale Sharks in India, won the Green Oscar, “Coral reefs are the first and the most prolific and sensitive ecosystem and origins of life. Global warming has killed thousands of coral reefs and many coral reefs in Lakshwadeep, Maldives and South East Asia have died because of oceans warming up.” But what about reports that Stanford University scientists have found evidence that some coral reefs are adapting and may actually survive global warming? “There are species that have adapted to climatic changes but adaptation and mutation takes millions of years. The slow adaptation cannot cope with the rapid change in environment,” maintains Mike.

There’s no denying that corals sustain livelihood, about two billion directly and three billion indirectly. They are also the breeding ground for 4500 species of fish. Reefs have died because of careless and reckless tourism. “Over thousands of fishes have been lost to Dynamite Fishing in South East Asia. A 1000 tonnes of corals and living shells are being drenched out and oiled to be sold as souvenirs every week.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Thursday, January 03, 2013

Who’s killin’ whom?

Breed them, feed them and then eat them – contracting animal diseases frequently might just be their way of getting back at us…

Cultures across the world, for eons, have justified the slaughter of animals for the consumption of mankind, ‘because God/Nature created them for our sustenance.’ But today, sustenance has become the cornerstone of commerce and the meat industry, allegedly, has become a needlessly cruel and literally blood-thirsty enterprise. So now, is the animal farm hitting back? ‘Swine flu’ (H1N1 virus) is the latest casualty that has hit the western world and is worrying everyone around. As the name suggests, it is the virus that often causes influenza outbreaks in pigs, especially during the late fall and winter months. While the season of the outbreaks of their ‘common cold’ is similar to humans,’ the symptoms (running nose, coughing, sneezing, fever, laziness etc.) are surprisingly similar too. Normally, swine flu viruses do not infect humans. It is the direct exposure to pigs in either a breeding farm or fun fair that leads to infection in humans and is contagious like regular influenza. “It is a different strain. Though cold and cough are the symptoms, the body might not be immune to it. In those cases, it can take shape of a lethal pneumonia and may cause death,” says Dr. S. M. Sachdeva, Senior Consultant Cardiologist.

It is the horrifying memory of the biggest and the deadliest global endemic, Spanish Flu (a subtype of H1N1 virus and similar to swine flu) of 1918 which causes concern and panic every time such influenzas surface. It shook the world when 40 million people died. In Spanish Flu, pneumonia doesn’t even get the time to establish itself and the patient dies of the virus within hours of contracting it. The virus causes an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that fills the patient’s lungs with his own body fluids.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
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