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Posts selected fromManagement Blog - Engineering Blog - Investing Blog and other blogs

• Data on Medical Errors

  When there are headlines like 100,000 deaths due to medical error every year that reads to me like John was walking along the street and boom a medical-error/piano dropped on his head and killed him. But I don't believe that is true. I bet it is true that are lots of deaths due to just unforgivable errors - someone is given a drug which was indicated in numerous sensible ways would kill them due an allergy but they were given it anyway and died.
  
  But I don't trust how much of the deaths attributed to error are due nearly entirely to error versus those due nearly entirely to the underlying health and while there was an error it is unclear it really made much of difference at all (yes the person died, but they were going to without the error also).

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• Attracting Members and Volunteers to Professional Organizations

  Organizations frequently get attached to their ways of doing things and fail to adapt to changing conditions.

  ...

  many membership organizations... turn from being focused on promoting their mission to being focused on perpetuating their organization.

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• Managing the Organization as a System with Many Stakeholders

  But even the companies that are doing some things very well (Google, Amazon, Apple...) have a very long way to go in learning about managing organizations. But those companies have some aspects of they are doing very well.

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• Curious Cat Travel Maps

  I am now making Curious Cat Tourist Maps available online. I used Open Maps (and umap) which I am very pleased with (Here is a link to the Curious Cat Hong Kong Tourist map as another example). I can include those items that interest me (tourist destination, lodging, eating and transit) and include background info (like what subway stop for a particular designation etc.).

  continue reading: Curious Cat Travel Maps
• The 20 Most Valuable Companies in the World

  1	Apple	USA	$626 billion
  2	Exxon Mobil	USA	$405 billion
  3	Microsoft	USA	$383 billion
  4	Google	USA	$379 billion
  5	Berkshire Hathaway	USA	$337 billion

  continue reading: The 20 Most Valuable Companies in the World
• Stone Bridge at the Confucius Temple in Jianshui, China

    

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• Appropriate Technology and Focus on Improving Lives at MIT

  The D-Lab is building a global network of innovators to design and disseminate technologies that meaningfully improve the lives of people living in poverty. The program’s mission is pursued through interdisciplinary courses, technology development, and community initiatives, all of which emphasize experiential learning, real-world projects, community-led development, and scalability.

  continue reading: Appropriate Technology and Focus on Improving Lives at MIT
• STEM Graduates in the USA: 465,000 Women and 451,000 Men

   STEM baccalaureate degrees in the USA in 2010 (reported by NSF in 2014):

  Field	Women		Men
  Science (including math)	442,000		343,000
  Engineering	23,000		108,000
  Health	193,000		36,000
  Total	658,000		486,000

  If you exclude health, women still lead 465,000 to 451,000.

  continue reading: STEM Graduates in the USA: 465,000 Women and 451,000 Men
• Debate Should be Encouraged – Calling Judgement “Extremely Paternalistic” is Normally Unwise

  I also think it is sensible to object to payday loans in the USA. You could make the same argument that such an attitude is paternalistic...

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• Strategy Based on Capability and Integrated with Execution

  “Strategy” without a thorough understanding of the organization as a system or an understanding of the capabilities of the organization is little more than dreams. Planning and strategy without the capability in the organization or a process to turn strategy into action are not much use.

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• Take Advantage of the Strengths Each Person Brings to Work

  Managers should be setting up the organization to take maximum advantage of the strengths of the people in the organization while minimizing the impact of weaknesses.

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• There is No Such Thing as “True Unemployment Rate”

  As Dr. Deming said: “there is no true value” of any measured process. The results depend on the process which includes the operation definitions used.

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• Why are We So Slow to Change?

  In management we often seek the new new thing. So while great ideas take a long time to become common practice we stop looking at them fairly quickly because we decide they are old outdated ideas. Not a very effective strategy :-(

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• Peter Drucker Discussing The Work of Juran, Deming and Himself

  Drucker talked about the shared importance he, Deming and Juran put on the importance of valuing all employees and creating management systems that capture all the value they can offer. He spoke of all 3 of them tilted against those that believed in command and control business organizations. Sadly the lack of respect for all workers is still common today; but it is much better than is was due to the work of these 3 management experts.

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• If You Visit Kuching, Malaysia Eat at Tribal Stove

  Yes it has great food, which thankfully there is a a great deal of in many place. What makes Tribal Stove someplace not to miss is it is the rare combination of great and generally inaccessible food.

  I often find great restaurants in tourist destinations. And sometimes it is even local in a sense – but nearly always (not all, but almost) I can get very similar good dishes in any large city across the globe.

  Tribal Stove had truly distinctive dishes that were also great.

  continue reading: If You Visit Kuching, Malaysia Eat at Tribal Stove