...empowering minds...widening horizons...
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
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Sunday, September 15, 2013
STAY POSITIVE --STAY CALM : BLUE OCEAN TOASTMASTERS DEBATE (SEPTEMBER 2013)
BLUE OCEAN TOASTMASTERS CLUB DEBATE ON THE ADVANTAGES OF STAYING CALM AND POSITIVE
Best Speaker : Ms. Amrita Singh
Best Table Speaker : Mr. Sikandar
Prizes being given away by Mohammed Shafi, Vice President, Membership, Blue Ocean Academy Toastmasters Club.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Learning to Make Capital out of Waste
Learning to Make Capital out of Waste
By Dr. Sathya Menon
In a world of limited resources, the current “use and throw” policy might not last. That’s where the circular economy comes in. This new model challenges us to think of ways to turn waste into capital.
By redesigning and re-packaging components, it is possible to create safe, reusable and compostable materials that help the world to grow while simultaneously reducing: product footprint, product costs and supply chain risks
Some companies worldwide have already started implementing this circular business model and they may well be defining the future of sustainable businesses.
Products as services
Here vendors of goods become service providers leasing access to and not selling ownership of a service. Vodafone’s Red-Hot plan is a good example. You can rent the latest phone for a year and keep on exchanging it for a newer version. This is an effective material collection and pooling method resulting in deeper customer relationships.
Next life sales
This is when a company efficiently recovers and re-conditions its products after use and then put the same products into the market to earn a second or third income. Tata Motors Assured offers an example of a second hand car dealership employing the circular business model. Cars are handpicked and refurbished in Tata workshops and then undergo a certification process.
Product Transformation
Not all products can be reconditioned in their entirety but most products have certain components that carry a high value. With the right design and remanufacturing capabilities, they can be put together to form new products. This is product transformation. For BMW, it can mean a 50 per cent cost saving for customers buying remanufactured parts as compared to new ones.
4: Recycling
Innovation in recycling technology is rapidly evolving and enabling production of high-quality products with fantastic sustainability performance. Starbucks, for example, is actually aiming to turn thousands of tonnes of its waste coffee grounds and food into everyday products by using bacteria to generate succinic acid which can then be used in a range of products from detergents to bio-plastics and medicines.
5: Collaborative consumption
Lastly, social media exchange platforms are rapidly transforming industries by collaborative consumption. Airbnb (the online service that matches people seeking vacation rentals with hosts who have space) now has over 200,000 listings in 26,000 cities. Check out ThredUP the next time you need new clothes for your kids, you can browse like-new clothing at significant reductions from families whose children have outgrown their old clothes.
Handy Hints
· In a resource-crunched world use and throw policies can spell disaster.
· The key is to create more jobs locally through the recycle & re-use method.
· Circular businesses may well define the future of the global economy.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Dubai Consolidates Chances to Win Expo 20-20
Dubai's Consolidates Chances of Winning Expo 20-20
300,000 New Jobs to be Created
Dubai’s chances of winning the bid for Expo 20-20 have increased, according to a report by the Standard Chartered Bank. In the event it does, close to 300,000 more jobs could be created with 25 million people visiting Dubai. 90 per cent of the job opportunities would occur from 2018 to 2021, with most of the jobs created in the travel and tourism sector.
This indicates a good chance that a high percentage of these will be converted into permanent jobs, which would benefit the expanded economy in the post-Expo period.
Dubai’s economy has experienced solid and sustainable rates of growth over the past three years. The key drivers are logistics, hospitality and retail.
This looks set to continue, particularly when it comes to logistics, which contributes 14 per cent to the GDP. Trade is expected to increase in the years to come on the back of the increased spending plans of most governments in the region, including Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.”
Tourism is also expected to grow at an average of 6.5 per cent per annum between 2011 and 2021, pushing up employment growth for the sector by 4.1 per cent per year, report said quoting a Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry study.
Dubai’s population growth is another driver of housing demand surge, said the report. The city’s population is the second largest in the country, after the capital Abu Dhabi, and is largely comprised of expatriates. “The population increased from 2.0 million in 2011 to 2.1 million in 2012, according to the Dubai Statistics Center. We expect it to reach 2.2 million in 2013,” the bank said in its report.
Dubai’s housing market is comprised of 417,900 apartments and 62,000 villas. Residential supply has been growing at an average compound rate of around eight per cent, with apartments increasing by nine per cent and villas by four per cent,” said the report.
By the end of 2013, supply should increase by 19,400 apartments and 3,400 villas, assuming there are no delays in construction schedules. The largest proportion of future stock from 2013 to 2015 will be delivered in the sub-markets of Dubailand (7,900 units); Business Bay (3,800 units); and Dubai Sports City (3,800 units).
“We expect the city to expand, with a focus on new developments outside central Dubai, in areas to the south and east,” the bank said.
The bank expects Expo 2020 to be a meaningful contributor to the sustainability of the housing market, in the event of a positive bid result in November 2013.
300,000 New Jobs to be Created
Dubai’s chances of winning the bid for Expo 20-20 have increased, according to a report by the Standard Chartered Bank. In the event it does, close to 300,000 more jobs could be created with 25 million people visiting Dubai. 90 per cent of the job opportunities would occur from 2018 to 2021, with most of the jobs created in the travel and tourism sector.
This indicates a good chance that a high percentage of these will be converted into permanent jobs, which would benefit the expanded economy in the post-Expo period.
Dubai’s economy has experienced solid and sustainable rates of growth over the past three years. The key drivers are logistics, hospitality and retail.
This looks set to continue, particularly when it comes to logistics, which contributes 14 per cent to the GDP. Trade is expected to increase in the years to come on the back of the increased spending plans of most governments in the region, including Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.”
Tourism is also expected to grow at an average of 6.5 per cent per annum between 2011 and 2021, pushing up employment growth for the sector by 4.1 per cent per year, report said quoting a Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry study.
Dubai’s population growth is another driver of housing demand surge, said the report. The city’s population is the second largest in the country, after the capital Abu Dhabi, and is largely comprised of expatriates. “The population increased from 2.0 million in 2011 to 2.1 million in 2012, according to the Dubai Statistics Center. We expect it to reach 2.2 million in 2013,” the bank said in its report.
Dubai’s housing market is comprised of 417,900 apartments and 62,000 villas. Residential supply has been growing at an average compound rate of around eight per cent, with apartments increasing by nine per cent and villas by four per cent,” said the report.
By the end of 2013, supply should increase by 19,400 apartments and 3,400 villas, assuming there are no delays in construction schedules. The largest proportion of future stock from 2013 to 2015 will be delivered in the sub-markets of Dubailand (7,900 units); Business Bay (3,800 units); and Dubai Sports City (3,800 units).
“We expect the city to expand, with a focus on new developments outside central Dubai, in areas to the south and east,” the bank said.
The bank expects Expo 2020 to be a meaningful contributor to the sustainability of the housing market, in the event of a positive bid result in November 2013.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Antidote to Unemployment
International Certification: Your Personal Commitment to Professional
Development
By Dr. Sathya Menon
Professional certification is the modern day antidote to
unemployment. It sets a benchmark for excellence and defines the global
standard for professionals. More often than not, it offers a much needed
makeover to lacklustre careers.
The dictionary defines professional certification, as a designation
earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Most
certification programs are created, sponsored, or affiliated with professional
associations, trade organizations, or private vendors interested in raising
industry standards.
These days the international certification market is attracting a
lot of attention. The exponential growth of the international certification
market is a reaction to the changing employment market. Certifications are
portable, since they do not depend on a particular company's definition of a
certain job.
Certification stands above the resume and the professional
reference by being an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual's
professional.
Also as IT and management practices change at an ever-increasing
rate, a gap is increasingly being created between the foundation provided by an
academic education and the technical and management expertise required in
today's business environment.
International certification offers four vantage points for all
professionals.
First it helps in gaining practical skills that can be used on the
job. Professionals can realize maximum benefit from a wide range of expertise
areas. Second, the certification teaches all aspects of a product and how to
effectively integrate those products into respective work environments. Third,
certification helps to build leadership skills. Finally, when
certification becomes a part of a professional’s personal training program, he
acquires the skills needed to stay competitive for a longer time.
The U.S. represents one of the largest international
certification markets despite its up and downs. During the last decade,
there was a widespread industry battle between those who said certification had
no value and those who were convinced that it did.The latter group won. Now new certifications crop up regularly, old certifications are retooled to fit technology’s ever-changing needs.
Certifications are adopted by individuals who are interested in
gaining employment in regions, and increased IT spending suggests there are
more job opportunities. Therefore, people get certified.
UAE RANKED AMONG TOP 20 COMPETITIVE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD
BEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
Top 5 on key index; Among best in the world for Infrastructure, Macro-economic environment
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has risen in its global ranking on the latest World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness report.
The UAE was ranked 19th overall on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) out of 148 countries.
On some key sub-indexes the UAE is among the top countries in the world. The report lists 12 pillars of competitiveness as the driving factors explaining an economy's growth potential and the UAE scores very high here
The ‘Basic Requirements' rank of the UAE is 5, with only Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Finland ahead on that scale.
For ‘Infrastructure' the UAE takes the 8th spot and for 'Macro-economic' environment the Emirates is 12th in the world.
On the 'Innovation and Sophistication' scale the UAE is ranked 25th in the world.
The annual economic survey finds the United States' competitiveness rising again after four years of decline, in a turnaround that reflects a rebounding confidence in its financial market and politicians.
The Geneva-based World Economic Forum says the world's largest economy saw its overall competitiveness rise to fifth place, up from seventh.
Germany was at fourth place, up from sixth. In the lead on the top 10 board were Switzerland, No. 1, followed by Singapore, then Finland, all three unchanged from last year.
Hong Kong moved up to seventh and Japan advanced to ninth.
But Sweden dropped to sixth, while the Netherlands sank to eighth, and the UK moved down to 10th, reflecting what the Forum on Wednesday called a Europe distracted by public debt and concerns about the Eurozone's solidarity
Top 5 on key index; Among best in the world for Infrastructure, Macro-economic environment
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has risen in its global ranking on the latest World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness report.
The UAE was ranked 19th overall on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) out of 148 countries.
On some key sub-indexes the UAE is among the top countries in the world. The report lists 12 pillars of competitiveness as the driving factors explaining an economy's growth potential and the UAE scores very high here
The ‘Basic Requirements' rank of the UAE is 5, with only Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Finland ahead on that scale.
For ‘Infrastructure' the UAE takes the 8th spot and for 'Macro-economic' environment the Emirates is 12th in the world.
On the 'Innovation and Sophistication' scale the UAE is ranked 25th in the world.
The annual economic survey finds the United States' competitiveness rising again after four years of decline, in a turnaround that reflects a rebounding confidence in its financial market and politicians.
The Geneva-based World Economic Forum says the world's largest economy saw its overall competitiveness rise to fifth place, up from seventh.
Germany was at fourth place, up from sixth. In the lead on the top 10 board were Switzerland, No. 1, followed by Singapore, then Finland, all three unchanged from last year.
Hong Kong moved up to seventh and Japan advanced to ninth.
But Sweden dropped to sixth, while the Netherlands sank to eighth, and the UK moved down to 10th, reflecting what the Forum on Wednesday called a Europe distracted by public debt and concerns about the Eurozone's solidarity
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