Self and Social

Innovation is all about research and development turned into an application, and needs to come from all levels within an organisation. It should not be limited to new product development, but be applied to systems, processes and day-to-day operations, pointed out experts on the second day of the 36th National Management Convention organised by the All-India Management Association (AIMA), here. Dr J.J. Irani highlighted how hierarchy can kill innovation in a company. Citing the example of how the Tatas, in their bid to encourage innovation, had instituted the Innovista Awards which recognised people with out-of-the-box ideas, he said constant innovation is important to any organisation. Mr D. Shivakumar, Vice-President and Managing Director of Nokia India, spoke on the innovative culture within his company. Nokia is where everyone needs to be innovative – innovation is not the responsibility of only the top management but a work culture, he said. While price is important, value is even ...

On this United Nations Day and every day throughout the year, the United Nations is at work — for the planet, for jobs, for “we the peoples”.We deliver more humanitarian aid than anyone — and to the toughest places. We vaccinate 40 per cent of the world’s children. We feed more than 100 million people and are helping more than 30 million refugees, most of them women and children fleeing war and persecution. We are deploying more peacekeepers than ever — more than 115,000. In the last year alone, we provided electoral assistance to almost 50 countries. And the entire UN system has mobilized to face global economic turmoil and the social unrest it threatens.People look to the United Nations to defeat poverty and hunger, to keep the peace, to expand education and stand up for human rights in every corner of the globe. They look to us to stop the spread of deadly weapons and disease, and to protect people and families hit by disasters. In December, they will look to us to seal a comprehens...

In this exclusive excerpt from the new book by Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of MindTree Ltd., the author differentiates between a 'professional' from a 'professionally qualified' person What are the chances that you work in an entry level position or even a middle level job in a hotel, a hospital, a software company, or a government organization? Or, for that matter, you could be a self-employed professional like a doctor, a lawyer, or a journalist. In all probability you are educated, know English, and are working in (or have interacted with) the corporate sector. Perhaps an MBA, or a student at an engineering college? You probably consider yourself a professional, or on the road to becoming one. Definitely your station in life is well above someone whose job is to bury unclaimed corpses from city hospitals. I want to introduce the idea of who a professional is through a man whose life is dealing with dead bodies. Unclaimed dead bodies. This is not someone who is convent...

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers”. – General Colin Powell “If you judge people, you have no time to love them”. – Mother Teresa “Every exit is an entry somewhere else”. - Tom Stoppard “Every business is built on friendship”. - J. C. Penney. “A happy marriage is the union of two forgivers”. - Ruth Bell Graham

We are living in a time and space where things are changing frequently and rapidly. There is nothing permanent in nature except change. Change is inevitable. All changes are not bad. Many changes bring advancement in science and technology, prosperity, growth and development in the society. There will be always changes in economic, social, technological and environmental aspects in everywhere in the world. Many changes make things complex and our lives complicated. We may not stop changes but we can learn and prepare ourselves to face the challenges of changes. We can simplify our lives. There are always simple ways to solve complicated problems. There are always simple answers to serious questions. We should explore it using our common sense and wisdom. Experience is the best teacher for us. We should learn from ours’ as well as others’ experiences and apply these to the changing situations accordingly. We should find out simple ways to enrich our lives. Beware of over-simplification...