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INSEAD Knowledge has just been named among the finalists at the 2009 International Business Awards. The English portal received a finalist certificate for best home page, while the new Chinese portal was named as a finalist in the interface design category. This is great news, especially as the Chinese-language website was only launched a few months ago.
In this edition of the newsletter, we focus on sustainability, with the spotlight on the automobile and water. We also have an exclusive interview with technology forecaster Paul Saffo. If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to take a look at our video vault and you can also download our videos directly to your iPhone/iPod.
Regards,
Stuart Pallister
Editor, INSEAD Knowledge |
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The massive efforts to save the automobile industry will keep it going for a few more years. But for the industry to survive beyond that, it must introduce not just new car models but a whole new set of business models.
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When being green pays
Environmental issues are becoming increasingly hard to ignore these days. For many companies, it has become a licence to operate. Those who don’t consider the environmental impact of their operations will find themselves at a disadvantage, not just because their competitors are doing it, but also because the public demands it.
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Keeping the momentum on sustainability
Given the current financial crisis, there is no question that sustainability has taken a bit of a hit of late.
"A year ago, or even a year-and-a-half ago, we saw such a huge momentum building. The momentum is still there, but the financial crisis is clearly now taking precedence," says Paul Kleindorfer, The Paul Dubrule Chaired Professor of Sustainable Development at INSEAD.
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Water, water everywhere, each drop more precious
“God has given us water, but He doesn’t pay for the treatment plants!” That, in a nutshell, is the way the chairman of the World Water Council sums up the predicament the world faces regarding both the supply and distribution of water resources.
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Powering the economic growth engine
It has been a key driving force, powering economies since the Industrial Revolution, yet it continues to take a backseat to other heavily-touted engines of growth, most recently consumer spending.
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How to avert a financial crisis: why anticipation and management go a long way
Companies are overreacting to the economic downturn but, had they been better prepared in the first place, they wouldn’t find themselves in such a fix. This is according to Ludo Van der Heyden, INSEAD Professor of Technology and Operations Management.
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Green shoots in the trenches?
Economists look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovering over the 8,000 points level, as well as at signs of a pick-up in retail sales and housing starts, and see “green shoots.” Union leaders look at unemployment nearing 10 per cent, escalating bankruptcies and a middle class facing poverty and see quite another picture.
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A new era for innovations
Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster and advisor to private and government clients worldwide, says “if you’re really determined to find that next big idea and time it right to make a difference, it typically takes 20 years from discovery to takeoff.”
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How Obama used social networking tools to win
In his bid to help Barack Obama become the 44th President of the United States, Scott Goodstein spearheaded the use of new social networking and mobile media platforms, harnessing technological innovations to expand the audience base for the Obama campaign.
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Aviation facing strong headwinds, reshapes industry
Falling demand, collapsing yields, low consumer confidence and fears of a pandemic have thrust the aviation industry into survival mode. Airlines are expected to post losses of US$9 billion this year, with an unprecedented drop in revenue of 15 per cent, that will see industry revenues shrink by US$80 billion to US$448 billion.
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Exploring new terrain: the travel portal that's leading the pack in India
iXiGO.com has the rare combination of a passionate team with an idea that is not only innovative but also timely. The travel search engine was launched in a market where Indian online travel agents had received more than 100 million US dollars in venture funding.
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The changing social landscape of Malaysia
Like many societies, Malaysia is in a period of transition from one generation to a new one and with that comes many issues. After 51 years of independence, the question of who they are as a nation is one that plays a lot on people's minds these days.
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The TIDE comes in: how one social enterprise in Bangalore uses technology to transform lives
While most poverty alleviation programmes focus traditionally on welfare and health, microcredit, training and education, a new form of social entrepreneurship using technology is emerging.
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Stirring a common interest in microfinance
Three years after Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for Grameen Bank’s work in Bangladesh, providing loans to the poor without any financial security, microfinance is still gaining momentum in other parts of the world. Not only is it alive and well today, but microfinancing has also seen other offshoots emerge.
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Blazing a trail towards poverty alleviation in Thailand
Sex education is a topic that is usually broached with caution. But one non-governmental organisation in Thailand has opted to not skirt around the issue but tackle it head on.
Because the concept of family planning was virtually non-existent in Thailand in the early 1970s, with some seven children per household, the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) saw an urgent need to step in and complement the efforts of the Thai government to promote family planning throughout the country.
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Dynamic architecture, rotating tower: yes, but will it fly?
For the past two years, David Fisher has made a name for himself by building towers in the sky. Literally. For, despite the earthly icons he’s received for his architectural concept (Time Magazine Best Invention award in 2008 and a citation as Best Architect in 2008 by the Trump-supported Florida-based Developers and Builders Alliance), so far the 80-storey 1,300-foot tower exists solely in his lofty imagination. It’s been there for a while.
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