Business

US, Japan -- cannot compete on commodity goods / low wages.
The only way --> INNOVATION - high value products and services.
- through COLLABORATION (openness); not in isolation

Challenges:

  • taking care of burgeoning elderly populations
  • confronting problem of dwindling energy resources
  • dealing with competition from China and India

Key ingredients of innovation - a well-educated workforce, financial backing and a supportive regulatory framework
--> mixed differently in different places --> tailor innovation to home soil

Pharmaceutical companies are migrating to markets that reward innovation. Why so much biotechnology and venture capital activity in U.S.? --. bcos it's an open market.

Olympus -> research centre with Waseda University in S'pore investing Brain functions. The Singapore government is really getting behind Biopolis to make Singapore a regional bioscience hub in Asia. --> don;t just explore a technology and ask "Where will this take me?"
==> have to ask yourself where people see value -- how they can live happier, healthier and ricjer lives -- and then work your way back to the technology from there. Starting point is basic research. (Shifted from linear to chain model.)

CHINA - a market of 1.3 billion people.

Li and Fund (Hong Kong) --> "Production slicing" -- "Componentized"
--> What factory is the best in class for each stage of the production cycle.
- also depends on the order and how fast must be executed 
--> I.T. --. keep track
--> logistics --> JIT delivery at each stage of the process

Infosys (Bangalore) - services

I.T. was one of the 1st business processes to get distributed / farmed out to a 3rd party. With access to the right set of people with right set of sills, these days --> any technology-based business process -- from data storage warehousing to software customization -- can be performed anywhere in the world using a telephone and a computer.

==> expanding into business processes example. product design, SCM / knowledge-based services.

Human networks --> that will form a base for worldwide innovation

Examine how to bring intellectual property, licensing and antitrust law into alignment worldwide --> to encourage meaningful R and D across national barriers.
--> researchers to be rewarded for their work.


Walmart 
- U.S. based, world's largest store chain

Tesco 
- British Supermarket Giant