Competitiveness factors

1. Product and service design

2. Cost

3. Location

4. Quality

5. Quick response

6. Flexibility

7. Inventory Management 

8. Supply Chain management

9.Service and service quality

10. Managers and workers

Manufacturing and service - comparison

Here are some points of comparison between manufacturing and services

1. degree of customer contact

2. Labour content of jobs

3. Uniformity of output

4. Uniformity of inputs

5. Measurement of productivity

6. Quality Assurance

7. Inventory

8. Wages

9. ability to patent

Any more ??

The great convergence IoT ..

The great convergence
China aims to lead the world in connecting the factory

Jul 23rd 2016 | SHANGHAI

THE “internet of things” (IoT) is much hyped. For a decade, a world in which household appliances, packaged goods, clothes, medical devices and much more besides would be connected to the internet via smart chips and capable of sensing and sharing information has been just around the corner. Progress remains slow in the consumer market, despite a few hit products, such as the Fitbit, an activity tracker that connects to smartphones. An industrial form of the IoT, however, may come to fruition much faster.

As the world’s biggest manufacturing power, China is well placed to lead this transition. Which is why this week GE, the world’s biggest industrial company, opened what it calls a “digital foundry” in Shanghai. The centre will help Chinese companies develop and commercialise products for the industrial internet of things, which involves factory machines and industrial goods communicating with each other and their surroundings. It will probably be a much bigger market than the one for consumers. China has millions of factories with billions of machines and it also makes most of the world’s electronics, including many of the sensors and other electronic devices that would form the backbone of such a network. Moreover, the government is keen to upgrade the country’s manufacturing base.

There are already more things connected to each other in China than in any country, with the numbers set to skyrocket further (see chart). IDC, a research firm, forecasts that the overall market for IoT kit of various forms in China will rise from $193 billion last year to $361 billion in 2020. Accenture, a consultancy, reckons embracing IoT in manufacturing could add up to $736 billion to China’s GDP by 2030.

GE’s new centre (it will soon open a similar one in Paris to tap into the European market) is part of its efforts to get firms to use Predix, its proprietary software for the industrial IoT. The American company had already signed up China Eastern Airlines and China Telecom, two big state-owned enterprises, and this week Huawei, a Chinese telecoms-equipment giant, also came on board as a partner. GE is not alone in seeing China as a potential hotbed of the industrial IOT. Siemens, a German rival, held an event in Beijing earlier this month to trumpet its own technology. HP, Honeywell and Cisco, all big American technology firms, are also rushing in.

Sany side up

Chinese firms, however, have their own plans. China Mobile, the largest mobile-phone firm, has established its version of a digital foundry: a “cellular IoT open lab”. Li Yue, the company’s chief executive, dreams that he could earn 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) from the IoT with as many as five billion devices connected by 2020.

Chinese firms also have local knowledge. Sany, which makes construction equipment, started connecting machines on its factory floor in 2008. It then put sensors on its diggers and cranes to monitor them in real-time to improve operating efficiency. The company has invested in data analytics and artificial intelligence. He Dongdong, who leads those efforts, brags that unlike foreign multinationals his firm knows how to make affordable kit that works in “Chinese conditions”. By that he means places where workers are low-skilled, conditions are dirty and operators often push equipment to its limits.

That points to another sort of local advantage. Foreign firms might have fancier kit, but locals know how to make things cheap and cheerful. Huawei’s push into the IoT got a boost in June when a new protocol it helped to develop, known as “narrow band IoT”, was approved as a global standard. The new protocol works with devices that require inexpensive sensors that use little energy.

Still, there are three potential snags to China’s IoT ambitions. Firms, squeezed by both a weak local and global economy, may not be able to afford to connect their machines to the cloud. Sany’s Mr He, however, reckons the downturn will be good for stronger firms as their low-end competitors will be forced out.

Secondly, Chinese factories are less technologically advanced than those in America or Europe, so moving to advanced computer-controlled production and automation could be daunting for some.

Finally there are standards. Despite the new narrow band IoT protocol, there is a lack of overall global standardisation, such as the common GSM protocol that allowed Europe to leapfrog others in mobile telephony. Jagdish Rebello of IHS, a consultancy, argues that a push from Chinese regulators, combined with the country’s massive home market, could lead to domestic standards dominating the global market. Firms elsewhere, and in a variety of different industries from cars to robotics and cloud computing, will have other ideas. Consumers, meanwhile, will continue to wait for the refrigerator that can contact the supermarket to restock itself.

Questions

1. Why are US firms showing great eagerness to invest in IoT hardware in China ?

2. What are the advantages China has to adopt IoT in a big way ?

3. Can Chinese cos. beat US cos in IoT ?

4. Why are standards crucial in IoT hardware market ?

Solar energy run Kochi airport completes first year !

The less advanced nations of US, from Europe and China have been salivating for the past one year trying to figure out how India could insolate (run on solar energy) the Kochi International airport, that too at the lowest cost !! At 7 million passenger traffic, *Kochi is the first and only international airport in the world to run on solar energy*.

It has been running on solar energy for the past one year without problems or technical challenges.

To remain unchallenged by other advanced nations in critical solar energy applications like an international airport is a great achievement.

Let us see whether other countries grow up to catch up with India in such critical high tech areas like solar energy applications.

http://george-easaw.blogspot.in/2016/03/truly-green-airport-at-kochi.html?

Maybe after space tech and nuclear tech, we may have to extend a helping hand to the other less developed nations of US, from Europe and China, in solar tech too, to at least be a match to us ! 🙏

Our own people ditch their motherland and immigrate to other nations for "purely materialistic" pursuits, not knowing the great potential lying hidden in their motherland and it's people. In our efforts to remain the most democratic, most tolerant and the least oppressive and least offensive nation of the world (giving equal rights to tribals, the original owners of the land as the native Indians), we are exploited, used and played down by different countries and people around the world.

But "true" Indians are not yet ready to give up their faith and trust in the oldest civilization on planet earth and are ready to extend a helping and tolerant hand to any nation and people from any part of the world..

That is the unmatched hospitality and respect to others which only India and Indians can claim as their birthright !

George ..

Five guiding principles to thinking ethically..

Ethics is a standard of behaviour that guides how one should act in different situations we come across in our daily life. 

It is guided by the following five principles, which makes lot of sense. These five principles have been codified by the Markula Centre for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, US. 

1. Utilitarian principle - the good from whatever we do should b more than the harm from that action

2. Rights principle - none of our actions should violate the rights of others

3. Fairness principle - be fair to everyone in society, no partiality

4. Common Good principle - whatever we do should contribute to the common good of the society

5. Virtue principle - all our actions should be consistent with some of the ideal virtues of life, like                          

                     - honesty or being truthful come what may,
                   
                     - compassion or concern for others,
                   
                     - generosity or being willing to share what we have with others,
                   
                     - tolerance or being broadminded to accept another persons thoughts                                                and actions,
                   
                     - integrity or holding steadfast to certain values and not compromising,
                   
                     - self-control or having control over oneself and one's emotions and                    
                     - fidelity or faithfulness

Here is an Ethical Framework to guide our everyday actions :

1. Does my action affect any group of people (or the environment and other living beings) negatively ?  

2. Make sure all facts are known before an option is exercised, like what is the impact of the action and what are the options available 

3. Evaluate all the options available based on the above five guiding principles 

4. Identify the best option and if in doubt, get it clarified from a respectable, reliable  source 

5. In retrospect, look at the effect and impact of your decision and get the learning from it to improve upon it the next time. 

If we follow these five principles of ethics and stick to the framework when we have to take any decision, I am sure, the world will become a fairer and just place for all living beings ..

george

(reference to Operations Management by William J Stevenson, McGraw Hill India, 11e, 2015)

Should China continue to boss around South China Sea ?

The July 12, 2016 verdict of the International Tribunal restricting China from exercising its control inside the 9 dash line, in effect controlling 95% of South China sea is being eagerly watched around the world. The Spratly islands in the South China Sea discovered by the British whaling captain Richard Spratly in 1849 is just 2 sq km (490 acres) of island land mass in a sea of 4.25,000 sq kms. These islands are the major bone of contention. 7 of the 14 islands claimed by Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia are now claimed by China after forcefully occupying them.

The world is getting alarmed noting that the earlier leaders who were entrusted with governing the United nations and to ensure peace around the world are now working against it,. Taking cognisance of the fact that major powers and permanent members of the Security Council, instead of upholding the rule of law,the law unto themselves and are taking all offensive steps to overrule the International tribunal's verdict on the S. China sea.. 

When the US was restricted from supporting the Contra rebels in Nicaragua and mining Nicaraguan harbours by an in ternational tribunal way back in the 80s, US threw the verdict to the wind and continued its wayward behaviour, setting a precedence. That excludes US from preaching to China on the South China sea. India, the third largest financial power in the world and the world's largest and greatest democracy has all rights to interfere and advice China to avoid a clash on the seas. 

China should now realise that the times have changed from the eighties. At that time military power was what dictated equations around the world, but now economic might is more important for a country's survival and growth than just military power.  

In the interests of global peace and recognising China's status as a global economic player, the world looks up to China to behave responsibly and fittingly befitting its new status and take proactive steps to diffuse all crises that could hamper global peace and stability.

The other aspect that needs to be carefully looked at it, the fact that India and China are the only two stable and fast developing countries of the world as of now. Precipitating a crisis like situation is the least China would need as it affects China's growth prospects very much. Behaving responsible would definitely ramp up China's position as a global player of strategic importance who could mediate in international crises and solve them for the better. 

The world can least afford any country flexing muscles with another. Raising the living standards and ensuring security of the 7.2 billion inhabitants on planet earth is the necessity of today. The earnestly the countries look forward to it, peace will exist around the world, ensuring all round economic, health, industrial, employment growth across the world ensuring fast global development.

China being a global player has to exhibit great leadership in this time of global concern and tension, particularly with nuclear bomb and other weapons of mass destruction with many players around the world. It should not be accused of precipitating a crisis at this point in time. It has very much to gain through consensus and friendship and much to lose through a posture of confrontation. Hope better sense prevails.

george..

Top 10 skills of Effective Operations managers ..

The Top 10 Skills of Effective Operations Managers

Here is no doubt that the effective operations manger contributes directly to the organization's success. If you are a recreational facility manager, golf course superintendent, school administrator, shift manager at a resort or hotel—you name it—you are basically asked only one thing: to ensure that customer service standards are met. But in order to do that there are certain skills that an effective operations manager must possess. Here are 10 traits of successful operations supervisors. How many of them do you share?

1. UNDERSTANDS CUSTOMER NEEDS
A successful operations manager needs to have a deep acknowledgment of customer needs. That requires an understanding of what is a true measure of satisfaction to a customer. Maybe it is an immediate response to customer inquiries, a safe environment or fair price assurance. By knowing what makes your customers happy, you will be able to connect with them and provide guidance to your subordinates on how to take care of customers' needs.

         2. COMMUNICATES EFFECTIVELY

An effective operations manager knows how to communicate on many different levels with all types of people. The ability to get your message across to your staff, your superiors and, most importantly, your customers is an essential skill that will be put to the test each day. Using a wide array of communication vehicles, including verbal, written and body language techniques, will allow you to establish a rapport with each audience.

3. UNDERSTANDS THE ORGANIZATION'S FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Operations managers are directly responsible for contributing to their organizations' financial performance. A successful operations manager knows how to prepare sales projections and expense budgets, and analyze profit & loss statements and balance sheets. To simplify the process of creating financial projections, an efficient operations manager should utilize business planning software, which allows one to build a comprehensive set of financial projections, reports and charts in less time.

          4. MOTIVATES THE TEAM

Organizations don't get much done unless their people are motivated. A successful operations manager knows the importance of building a strong team and developing positive relationships among team members. This can be achieved by understanding and addressing the individual needs and concerns of your staff.

5. TRACKS AND MEASURES STAFF PERFORMANCE
It's essential to set work objectives for each of your team members and be able to measure their progress. As an operations manager, you need to establish specific measurements that tell your staff how they are doing against the goal. This will provide you with the clear base for employee recognition, but also for staff development. In addition, measuring and tracking individual personnel performance will provide feedback that helps focus on issues and success factors that will improve the overall organization's performance. An effective operations manager should look into utilizing human resource software, which streamlines the process of setting performance goals, evaluating employees and maintaining up-to-date training and certification information.

          6. CREATES A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Successful operations mangers understand the need to surround themselves with highly skilled and capable employees. You can accomplish this by providing specific, timely and respectful coaching and feedback to your crew to ensure operational excellence and to improve individual performance. As a role model to your staff you also need to be responsible for your own self-development.

7. MAXIMIZES STAFF UTILIZATION 
An operations manager is responsible for proper management of the organization's most critical asset—its people. As an operations manager, you need to ensure proper staffing for any given time. By establishing staffing threshold levels, you will be able to immediately assess staffing shortfalls and adjust. This will include directing your crew to other tasks to reduce bottlenecks or finding replacements in case of no-shows. Utilizing scheduling software will allow you to reduce time needed to perform the tedious task of staff scheduling. With the help of scheduling software, operations managers can schedule their personnel based on skills, seniority or desired workload, as well as track time off and view staff availability and number of hours scheduled. This will help ensure proper coverage and reduce overtime.

          8. DELEGATES

The difference between successful, happy operations managers and successful but unhappy operations managers can be found in the ability to get things done through others. As an operations manager, you need to learn how to hand over specific tasks to your team members. This should not be perceived by anyone on your team, including you, as putting additional burden on others, but a way to give you—the team leader—the time to concentrate on strategic projects that your entire team will ultimately benefit from.

9. ENFORCES STANDARDS 
As an operations supervisor, you need to ensure your staff adheres to all policies and practices established by your organization and government regulations. If your company does not provide clearly written policies to your employees, you are putting yourself and your staff at risk of legal ramifications and implications. Utilizing human resource software will allow your organization to quickly create employee handbooks, utilize office policy examples and various HR forms and checklists, as well as a library of IRS forms and U.S. Department of Labor posters. This should help protect not only your customers, but also you and your staff.

          10. INFUSES PRIDE IN ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES AND MISSION

Effective operations managers act with integrity, honesty and knowledge that promote the culture and mission of the company. You cannot expect your staff to adhere to company values or even operational polices if you do not demonstrate a full understanding of company strategy.

What do you think now? How many of the top 10 traits of an effective operations manager do you possess? If you think you've got them all, good for you! And while all of the skills listed above are indeed strong identifiers of an effective operations manager, there's a lot more to being a good operations manager than this. For one, the acknowledgment that there is always room to improve.

Joanna Wyganowska