TWC Session 3

Interesting topics were covered today. The first part of session 3 was focused on sustainability where the prof introduced to use the the linear and cyclical model. How societies are gradually shifting from an unsustainable, highly extractive linear model to a sustainable cyclical model where every process along a product's life cycle, extraction, production, consumption, disposal gives something back to the environment so that the carbon footprint/impact of the product is reduced to a minimum. More corporations are recognizing impact of the environment an internality rather than externality, allowing they to take into consideration the impact of their product on the environment as an actual quantifiable cost instead of a mere nuisance.


But my question here is then, who will bear the cost? The consumers or the producers? If the industries pass on the cost to the consumers, how will we be convinced that the industries will really use the mark-up to contribute to sustainability instead as a mere tool to rake in more profit? Should the industries absorb the cost, then how could companies contribute towards a cyclical model? Also,
do consumers really care? Personally, I don't. When I buy a product, I only look to the short term benefits of the product. How I could use it tomorrow or next week not 5-10 years down the road. By then new, better stuff would have come up and then I'll be considering how the better stuff could be used the next day or the week after. This I believe is the mentality of most of the consumers. Even if they've bought something sustainable, something that lasts 20-30 years, most of us would not use that product to the full extent. We'll most probably rush to the market at the sight of the new versions of the product. Thus negating the environmental benefits that the product brings and just allows the consumers to justify buying more stuff.


The second half of the lesson was focused on innovation. A few interesting models came up. The RDA model. Research, development and application which focuses on the process of innovation and the valley, summit and cloud framework which for me is more applicable to identifying opportunities in the business arena. One interesting point raised here was should innovation be technology-driven or market-driven? The former place emphasis on creating new markets using new technology while the latter focuses more on innovation on existing markets. The conclusion was it's only advisable to adopt the technology-driven approach if you have enough capital and time. Creating new markets takes time but once you've created the market, you'll hold monopoly over the sector. High risk, high rewards. However, lacking those factors, innovation should then be market-driven. The market for the product already exists. The upside is innovation is merely improvements on existing products, the downside is others are thinking of the same thing. The problem with market-driven products is that there will be competition eroding on your market-share, aka profits.



I would rate this session a 8/10. It was a very informative session.