Sujavna 3:15

1215 hrs/Sunday 28 April 2013

How does one make a transition from an active professional career to an active post-retirement life? And when should one start plans for such a transition so that it is both smooth and rewarding to both self and society? Does this situation in one’s life offer opportunities for lateral thinking and innovation?

Can Universities offer academic and research programmes exclusively meant for senior citizens that can excite them to pursue questions that have not been satisfactorily understood by them during their entire working career or philosophies that need more rigorous understanding and reporting?

Any views on such subjects?

Signing off here, with apologies for a delayed posting once again.

Sujavna 3:16

1230 hrs/Sunday 28 April 2013

Is it really true that most organisations are, by nature, resistant to innovating in-house, and do not invest in institutionalised innovation, unless forced by the competitive environment? It is my humble submission, that this is not really true!

Innovation within organisations, probably occurs incrementally, and that these do not necessarily catch the attention of top managers or external researchers. Cost-reductions, technical troubleshooting, managing customer grievances and risk management and risk transfer activities by various levels of staff within organisations involve lateral thinking and learning curves that demand flexibility of approach; what probably is lacking is a documentation of such experiences for others to benefit and top-management to recognise.

Do you agree?

Hope you are having a great weekend.

Sujavna 3:14

1350 hrs/Sunday 14 April 2013

As a recent Economist report suggests, energy plantations (and wood as a renewable energy resource) have been extensively used by many European power companies as a green add-on option with the assumption that their net carbon impact is lower that pure fossil-fuel. But questions are raised on the long-term implications of such an approach to renewable.

The moot point is why Life Cycle Environmental Costing (Impact) o the TCA approach which has been well-researched and applied by green-economists, is not used by policy makers and governments and businesses to decide on the most-appropriate solutions for energy planning?

Where is the catch? Why is green accounting not becoming a standard accounting procedure world over?

Any views?

Sujavna 3:13

1345 hrs/Sunday 14 April 2013

One of the eternal challenges or dilemmas that politicians across the world face seems to be the doubts about the extent and modes of communication that they need to adopt to reach out to their constituents. And these get compounded, if politician also want to incorporate humour in their communications! Politics has been practiced for centuries (millennia, I would say!) and yet there seems to be no best-practice guideline that has worked without fail.

Can social-scientists and political theorists laterally think up some fail-proof processes that can help this beleaguered class?

Any views? Signing off for now....

Sujavna 3:12

1330 hrs/Sunday 14 April 2013

Apologies right in the beginning for missing out on posting my blogs during the last two Sundays. Travel commitments prevented me from sending you my thoughts. Hope the following three posts will make up.

How does one look at the broader philosophical issues that the Arab Spring may have raised for the worlds’ citizens? Should the movement be restricted to a region of the earth where there has been some move to restructure the concentration of wealth and political power in the hands of a minority? Isn’t it true that wealth and political power and affluence continues to be concentrated with a minority of citizens world over, including those of the so-called western democracies? If true, shouldn’t the Arab Spring expand into a World Spring in terms of a good debate amongst the rulers and the ruled world over? And how does the world organise such debates across different socio-politico-cultures?

Some food for thought, say what?