NIRF rankings 2019 ..

While going through the Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India NIRF rankings for Business Management Schools, I was very much happy to note that there were only three Business Schools from Karnataka in the top 75 list .

1. Indian Institute of Management Bangalore overtook IIM Ahmedabad to become rank #1
2. TMA Pai Business School, Manipal at rank 23.
3. Alliance University at rank 43

Great news and fruits for our hardwork.

Prof. G Raghuram, IIMB

What greatly touched me was the response from Prof. G Raghuram, the Director of IIM Bangalore. 

He said he is very much thankful for the Institute's previous leadership for the honour. It reads this way, 

" I would give credit to the Institute's previous leadership and the responsibility of faculty and staff, at least over the past decade, who have often made difficult but the right choices, in setting the direction for and contributing to the Institution. "

This is leadership .. Great leadership !! Professor your leadership is worth emulation !! (my professor too..)

George.

Stormwater drain pollution ..

A stormdrain ..

What is Stormwater Drain Pollution ?? Stormwater is water from rain or melting snow that does not soak into the ground. It flows from rooftops, over paved areas, bare soil, and sloped lawns. As it flows, stormwater runoff collects and transports animal waste, litter, salt, pesticides,fertilizers, oil, grease, soil and other potential pollutants. This is commonly called as stormwater pollution ..

Polluted stormwater runoff can have many adverse effects on plants, fish, animals and people. Sediment can cloud the water and make it difficult or impossible for aquatic plants to grow. Sediment also can destroy aquatic habitats.

A storm drain, storm sewer (U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surfaces such as paved streets, car parks, parking lots, footpaths, sidewalks, and roofs. www.wikipedia.com

Stormwater Pollution Management : 
1. Don't dump anything down the stormdrains.
Stormdrains are for stormwater. Not mop water, not your used motor oil, not your car washing rinse water. This water does not get any sort of cleaning treatment before it makes it's way into our rivers, so help ensure only water from the sky ends in our stormdrains.

2. Use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly.
Make sure lawn fertilizers stay on your lawn and out of the gutter. Better yet, replant area with native plants that don't need chemicals to look good. Stay away from RAID insecticide for ants, and use a less toxic borax solution instead.

3. Use a car wash instead of washing your car in the street.
Take your car to a car wash which has to collect and clean the wash water before discharging it. Try to wash your car on your lawn to keep that water from the gutter.

4. Pick up your dog poop / domestic animals wastes.
Dog poop is gross and has lots of fecal bacteria in it. Just as I don't want to step in it, I don't want it running into the river.

5. Throw your trash in the garbage.
Litter will make it's way into our rivers through the stormdrain system. In addition to being unsightly, trash can encourage the growth of harmful bacteria.

6. Throw your cigarette butts away.
This really should be included with number 5, but some people don't seem to have second thoughts about throwing butts on the ground. They are gross and contribute to the toxicity of the river. Put your butt away, no one like it.

7. Fix your clunker car.
Oil drips onto the road will wash into the river during the next storm. If you have a puddle underneath your parking spot, it's time to take your car in for a repair. Your car and the fish will thank you.

8. Consider a rain barrel. Capturing and reusing that rainwater means less of it can carry pollutants to the river. Your garden will be thankful for that sweet chlorine free water.

9. Direct your downspouts back onto your garden.
Direct the downspout water away from your impervious driveway and back onto your garden. Your plants and the soil will filter that water on it's way to the river.

10. Sweep your sidewalks and driveways clean.
Don't use a hose to wash your sidewalks and driveways. This wastes water and sends non rainwater into the stormdrains. Does your driveway really need a late summer bath? Credits : www.sdcoastkeeper.org

What is a green roof ?? Greenroof ..A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane

Selfish humanity ..

This pic is great illustration how selfishly we have used up Earth and polluted it, leaving the other inhabitants helpless to act or react ..

It is high time we cleaned up our premises and give the other living beings on this planet a chance to live and enjoy the resources of planet Earth.

We are in the race to exploit and exhaust the other natural resources too available to the whole of humanity and all flora and fauna on this planet.

ge..

Noise pollution ..

Effects of noise pollution (click here..)

Note of Noise pollution click here

I am reminded of my Engg college days in Trivandrum, Kerala when we had to carry out the final year project. It was on identifying the noise pollution levels in the city of Trivandrum, to plot a noise contour map. While my friends were busy carrying out great projects on rocketry and other things in VSSC . , I took it as a great challenge to do this project for the society. We went around the important traffic points in the city of Trivandrum on week days and weekends at different times of the day to find the sound levels to plot the sound map of the city of Trivandrum. We succeeded finally in doing that. That was my first experience with the environment. We got the Sound Level Meter from the CSIR Lab in Trivandrum. 

Nowadays I have asked my student to download many of the sound level meters, especially one from Google , properly calibrated. 

Sound levels are measured in decibels(dB). It is a unit for expressing the relative intensity of sound on a scale from 0 to 130.


Normal conversation is about 60 dB, a lawn mower is about 90 dB, and a loud rock concert is about 120 dB. In general, sounds above 85 are harmful, depending on how long and how often you are exposed to them and whether you wear hearing protection, such as earplugs or earmuffs.

Headphones : Standard headphones, when turned all the way up, can emit sound as loud as 110 decibels, the equivalent of strapping a power saw to each ear. Many people have no idea how much damage they are doing to their ears when they listen to music at a high volume for an extended period of time.

Noise level of 80 decibels or more for more than 8 hours a day increases tension and changes in breathing patterns. Continued exposure to high levels of noise results in fatigue, hearing loss or even total loss of hearing, changes in blood circulation, changes in breathing, etc.

Types Of Noise Pollution:

The types of noise pollution are categorized into three broadly.
1. Industrial pollution
2. Transport noise
3. Neighborhood noise. 

1. Industrial Noise:Industrial noise is caused by some high intensity decibels that is the result of industry machines and other such appliances. The noise comes from the use of mills, heavy industrial machines and even the small exhaust fans that run for a long period. Noise from mechanical saws and pneumatic drills is unbearable and the ultimate form of pollution to the public and neighborhood. This is one cause of noise pollution. 

2. Transport Noise:Transport noise is simply inevitable. The traffic jams cause considerable amount of vehicle noise and the honking of the many vehicles in the crowd are nothing but a pure nuisance. Whether road, rail or aircraft, their noise is a considerable contributor to noise pollution. Tractors and other heavy vehicle sounds are difficult to control for their sound. 

3. Neighborhood Noise:Gadgets, electrical appliances like the grinder and mixer are the prime contributors to noise pollution. Loud loudspeakers in the name of wedding, political parties and other such events call for a significant amount of noise pollution. In the long run, they become difficult to bear posing problems to the health of humans.

150 decibels is usually considered enough to burst your eardrums, but the threshold for death is usually pegged at around 185-200 dB. A passenger car driving by at 25 feet is about 60 dB, being next to a jackhammer or lawn mower is around 100 dB, a nearby chainsaw is 120 dB.

Around airports, you have noise levels around 120 dB at the time of takeoff.

UN SDG 11, 12, 13 No-Impact Week practiced at our University in Bangalore.

There is no better way to spread the good word about the United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals than get the students in educational Institutions to practice them. At Alliance University Bangalore, we got the students to undertake actions through a No Impact Week focusing on SDG 11, SDG12 and SDG 13  (ref to pic below) as part of UN SDG 2015 that trains to limit global climate change and temperature rise to within 1.5 deg C by 2099 AD.

Following UN SDG goals 2015-2030 AD for a sustainable world ..

Accordingly in the Alliance University Bangalore, a group of 23 of my students pursuing Operations elective in the sixth semester of BBA were given this task, try their level best to have NO IMPACT on the environment for a period of one week to start with. 

Students, as usual, if properly guided are very sincere and serious right from the beginning. They have been asked by their parents to eat well and live well, but when I asked them to look at their consumption, travel, living and eating patterns and asked them to relook at them, see what all caused environmental damage and how its impact could be reduced if not totally eliminated, the results were really promising. 

I am listing down some of the interesting ideas / thoughts and actions that came from the BBA sem 6 students.

Create Awareness ....

1. Using public transport (BMTC buses) were reported by mostly everybody.

2. Flatmates who used to watch the same serial on TV on two different laptops now have started watching the serial from one laptop.

3. Reducing the frequency of washing of clothes to once in three days.

4. Carry own bags to do shopping instead of taking plastic carry bags from the store

walk for small errands than taking bikes / cars

5. Upcycling of old plastic water bottle as a toothbrush holder for the flat inmates

6. Stopped using chemical based room fresheners, instead using camphor

7. Stopped reading the print version of newspapers, instead reading the online version

8. Planted two saplings in the house.

9. Asked mother to ash clothes using washing machine only when there is a load full.

10. Shop not from the distant supermarket, but from the nearby corner store, helping the store keeper and keeping my supply chain costs low too

11. Make online payments, ask for email receipts than paper receipts

12. Instead of just watching social media posts from friends, have now started sharing them

13. Reduced frequency of eating non-veg food

14. Open the curtains instead of switching on lights

15. Making art items from waste

16. Refusing plastic bags from shop keeper

17. Started using refillable water bottle

18. Buy dress brands manufactured locally instead of imported ones

19. Switch off laptop and take off mobile phones from power

20. Buy products from environmentally conscious companies and those who work for the betterment of the environment.

21. Make it a point to switch off geyser after taking bath

22. Use cans rather than plastic bottled beverages

23. Don't take ATM receipts from ATM  machines

24. Make bulk purchase of home provisions

25. Use waste amazon boxes as storage bins

26. Use biodegradable garbage bags, than the black ones

27. Properly maintaining the bike 

28. Defrosting the fridge frequently

29. Install small 12 V ventilator fan to improve air circulation inside room

30. Use car pooling

31. Avoid over charging personal devices

32. Started using existing notebooks

33. Switching off car ac when the air inside car is cold

34. Use washing machine only for washing , not drying

35. Started food by taking smaller portions on smaller plates

36. Not using bottled water and carrying water bottle

37. Shorten shower time

38. Make arts and craft from waste articles like bottles, cans etc

39. Use less plates for each meal

40. Use dishwasher only when full load of plates is available

41. Get everybody to be in a single room than in different rooms to conserve electricity

42. Use cut plastic water bottles to store waste paper and keep track of waste generation

43. Reduced non-veg, high fat avoid packaged food

44. Reduced non-veg food consumption

45. Turn off fans in electric elevators when not in use

46. Reduced frequency of visiting restaurants and did more cooking at home

47. Interning in Decathlon, he switched off 70% of lights inside store after 9 PM.

48. Requesting store manager to replace tubelights with CFL or LED bulbs

49. Use reusable items like fork, spoon, bottle etc

50. Do not overcook food

51. Print as little as necessary

52. Be the last person to leave the class and then switch off all fans and lights 

53. Use dustbin to throw away waste

54. I will continue practicing No Impact week henceforth for saving environment

55. Use cold water when washing clothes

56. Get power strips to connect electric devices to save power by switching off completely

57. If buying a vehicle for myself, it will be a hybrid vehicle

58. Started driving at low speeds

59. Planted a garden at home 

60. Started using vinegar to kills, germs, bacteria and mold

61. Using concentrated detergent as it has reduced supply chain costs, better for environment

62. Instructed maid to conserve water and switch off lights after cleaning rooms

63. Cook on low flame to conserve LPG

64. Instead of drying clothes under fan, asked roommate to dry clothes outside 

65. In summer keep the doors and windows of room closed during noontime, to prevent heat entering the room

66. Started using salt bowl instead of room freshener

67. Reduction in use of single use plastic

68. Only stream videos online not completely download, so streaming can be stopped if it is not a useful video

69. Always giving lift to someone when traveling alone

70. Reduced dining out

71. Kept a plastic bottle to collect all waste inside the car

72. Using an immersion rod instead of a heater to reduce electricity consumption

73. Even for online order, I wait for my cart to be full than ordering alone to reduce setup costs

74. Publicise NO IMPACT WEEK operations to at least 50 friends asking them to observe the No Impact week in their organisations / institutions

75. Gave all my old text books to my juniors so that they need not buy new books and damage environment

76. Try to carry small items in my hand or in m dress pockets than packaging

77. Share food if extra and do not waste it

78. I try to help whoever is in need of food

79. Flush the toilet every time after use to keep it clean

80. give unusable old items to people in the vicinity..

These were excellent ideas and proposals that came up from the students in the class. I was totally floored by these ideas as I am sure i have been successful in creating an awareness among the students on the need to reduce personal Carbon footprints of each individual.

Hope all the viewers who read these suggestions from the students think it ovber and do their bit to save the environment.

George..

Water - a great resource to be properly preserved and exploited..

Can we be more selfish ??

Water is one of the greatest resources we have on planet earth besides the Sun's rays and water. Of all the water only about 23% is potable and almost 85% of that water is in glaciers and snowcaps. Only 3% of the total water is potable. These fresh water resources are at danger of being polluted.  While we continue to pollute surface fresh water resources and smartly exploit groundwater resources, the animals on this earth are left to themselves to care for the water. They are at a great danger of being at a higher risk of  extermination.

The six things that make life possible on planet earth are given in this National Geographic link .. (click here for the link). Its all about our solar system and the sun.

Water - the third world war will be fought over water.. So preserve it ..

Before we go to understand about water and the how countries can get affected by it, let us take a look in our country itself. The Indus waters treaty was signed in 1960 by India and Pakistan brokered by the World Bank, wherein the waters from Indus and its five tributaries would be shared by India and Pakistan. While India would have rights to the waters of the tributaries of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, Pakistan would get the waters from Jhelum and Chenab besides the mighty Indus itself.

The water flow to India is almost 33 million acres feet (MAF) of which 95% is used within the country and the balance 5% flows to Indus and through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Indus Water Treaty Click here for the  Brittannica link. 

During the recent skirmishes between India and Pakistan at Pulwama, this 5% of water that comes to about 1.6 MAF water was decided to be used exclusively by India and not to be let off to the Indus. 

The dispute between the Southern riparian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the waters of the South Indian river Cauvery that originates in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu before emptying into the Bay of Bengal is a major source of friction between the two states.

The water crisis in Bangalore is fuelled by the Cauvery water dispute. (click here)

Click here for the Newsweek link that states the third world war will be fought over water ..

george ..

Beer Distribution game 8 April 2019 ..

The supply details and cost data for diff entities

Beer Distribution game .. 8 April '19 

Bullwhip effect was evident in the best way today after we played the MIT SCM Beer Distribution game in the second sem MBA Operations class this afternoon ..

The total SC costs of SC A at INR 9510/- was almost double of SC B at INR 5120/- even though both the supply chains handled the same total items of 51 units of Beer crates over a 12 week period in a step wise increase and decrease mode of customer demand. The similar costs of holding and of shortage (shortage costs = 3 x holding costs) in both the supply chains are given in the figure. Clearly it was evident that SC B was well managed in terms of costs than SC A. 

Another aspect that was very clearly evident was the gradual amplification of the variance of the orders placed by the downstream entities on upstream entities, commonly called the Bullwhip Effect.

Figures in brackets on the left of costs denote
variance of orders

For SC A, the variance of the orders placed increased from 6.8 at retailer to 37 (wholesaler) to 38.2 (distributor) to 216.9 (manufacturer) was markedly much more than a disciplined SC B which had corresponding values of variance at 4.65, 24, 2, 34.8 and 42.5 .. 

The comparatively lower variance of orders placed in SC B in comparison to SC A explains the total SC costs of SC B being just half of SC A. 

Great learning of the relationship of Bullwhip effect on Total SC costs .. 

If the total profits from trading 51 items ( total demand) each with 2 retailers at Rs 100 each were to be considered, we find the total profits from SC A would be just Rs 690/- compared to SC B's Rs. 5090/-. 

When I asked the members of SC A as to why their costs and variance of orders placed were so high, their unanimous reply was that they floundered in the demand forecasting aspect. 

Thanks to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for giving the students great learning..

George ..