Healthcare Information Technology Canada

Health Informatics Technology is very relevant to my field, and I am very interested in this vertical. Will do my best to gain more insights into this soon. Health IT is the future, and I will not ignore its potential! Cheers, Gerry.

Demand for the MBA degree FALLS in India in 2013 / MBA degree falls from grace and demand in India in 2013

From the link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/education/economic-slump-number-of-cat-aspirants-at-seven-year-low-mba-degree-falls-from-grace/articleshow/23177420.cms

Demand for the MBA degree FALLS in India in 2013 (reflected by lower applicants for the CAT test -- Common Admission Test for MBA in India, similar to GMAT).

Reasons? MBA degree has fallen from grace in the backdrop of: 
(a) Dull economy 
(b) Escalating costs 
(c) Uncertain placements and 
(d) Increase in supply of MBAs due to mushrooming new business schools. 

Graduate degree in Engineering is in demand. 

LESSON learned: It is NOT enough to be a Manager / MBA alone. It is important to have current technical skills (in fields like engineering / technology / health / media / other) ALONG with MBA. Not every one can become a manager as not everyone will be hired. The people who have greater chances of being hired are those who are a cultural fit, those who have connections, those who have recommendations and those who have outstanding resumes, grades or specialized experiences in urgent demand at that moment. Otherwise, if you are average as an MBA, there is no guarantee of a managerial job as a new MBA. What to do? Scan the job market. Find out what jobs are in demand. Get training in high demand areas, apart from having an MBA. And this goes without saying --  become VERY VERY computer savvy. It will come in handy, in the long run. You are competing not only against your peers, but also against the next generation -- Generation Y and coming Generation Z!

"Income inequality remains high in Canada & USA" or "Rich-Poor gap or divide is high in Canada & USA"

People in developing countries may imagine that everyone in the developed countries is rich. However, this is not true. There is a rich-poor divide in Canada and USA as well. And it seems that the gap is increasing / remains steady at a high level. In any case, it is not decreasing.

Useful links:

• http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/09/26/growth_of_inequality_in_canada_cannot_be_denied.html#
• http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105

Incomes for the bottom 90 per cent of Canadians averaged just $28,000, according to the report. In contrast, the top 10 per cent took home an average of $135,000. And the top 1 per cent pocketed $381,000.

Average incomes in Canada:

$28,000 --> Bottom 90%

$135,000 --> Top 10%

$381,000 --> Top 1%

----------------------------------------------

In USA:

1/4 of US income --> Top 1%

3/4 of US income --> Bottom 99%

Also,

40% of wealth --> Top 1%

60% of wealth --> Bottom 99%

----------------------------------------------

The top 1 percent may have the best houses, educations, and lifestyles.

TECHNOLOGICAL UNEMPLOYMENT: Can computers take over human jobs? To what degree? How soon?

From the links:

• http://www.futuretech.ox.ac.uk/oms-working-paper-future-employment-how-susceptible-are-jobs-computerisation-dr-carl-benedikt-frey-m
• http://www.technologyreview.com/view/519241/report-suggests-nearly-half-of-us-jobs-are-vulnerable-to-computerization/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite_fallacy#CITEREFFord2009
• http://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/05/robots-artificial-intelligence-jobs-automation

Download this free e-book from the lin below, NOW! Read as many pages as you can! Don't be a Luddite! Coz you can't win!

http://www.thelightsinthetunnel.com/LIGHTSTUNNEL.PDF

TECHNOLOGICAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 

• Can computers take over human jobs? 
• To what degree? 
• How soon? 
• What will be the magnitude of disruption? 
• What can we do about it?
• How should we prepare for the future?
• How can we ensure that we do not lose our jobs in the future?
• How can we stay in demand in the future?
• What are YOU doing about it, now?

The above questions are very vital. If you have not planned for the future, and are not prepared for it, you will face the music / consequences someday. The summary is this:

• Computers are getting more capable with time
• The growth is not linear, but exponential
• The past changes have been slow, but the future changes shall be way faster
• We humans have a perception of linear growth, but we are not very experienced in the perception of exponential growth
• The rich will use computers to do the jobs of humans to save money, improve efficiency, and productivity
• Many of the poor will be out of jobs -- those jobs that can be replaced by mechanization / automation / computerization / outsourcing, and they will have no choice but to become computer savvy
• The computer illiterate will be reduced / limited to working service jobs in restaurant / trades, as everything that can be mechanized / computerized will likely become so
• So, when are you getting started? Now is a good time! How about right now, this very second?

Good luck,

Gerry Som, MBA

75 Useful KPIs for Business Managers

From the link: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130905053105-64875646-the-75-kpis-every-manager-needs-to-know

Here is a list:

To measure financial performance:
1. Net Profit
2. Net Profit Margin
3. Gross Profit Margin
4. Operating Profit Margin
5. EBITDA
6. Revenue Growth Rate
7. Total Shareholder Return (TSR)
8. Economic Value Added (EVA)
9. Return on Investment (ROI)
10. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
11. Return on Assets (ROA)
12. Return on Equity (ROE)
13. Debt-to-Equity (D/E) Ratio
14. Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC)
15. Working Capital Ratio
16. Operating Expense Ratio (OER)
17. CAPEX to Sales Ratio
18. Price Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio)

To understand your customers:
19. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
20. Customer Retention Rate
21. Customer Satisfaction Index
22. Customer Profitability Score
23. Customer Lifetime Value
24. Customer Turnover Rate
25. Customer Engagement
26. Customer Complaints

To gauge your market and marketing efforts:
27. Market Growth Rate
28. Market Share
29. Brand Equity
30. Cost per Lead
31. Conversion Rate
32. Search Engine Rankings (by keyword) and click-through rate
33. Page Views and Bounce Rate
34. Customer Online Engagement Level
35. Online Share of Voice (OSOV)
36. Social Networking Footprint
37. Klout Score

To measure your operational performance:
38. Six Sigma Level
39. Capacity Utilisation Rate (CUR)
40. Process Waste Level
41. Order Fulfilment Cycle Time
42. Delivery In Full, On Time (DIFOT) Rate
43. Inventory Shrinkage Rate (ISR)
44. Project Schedule Variance (PSV)
45. Project Cost Variance (PCV)
46. Earned Value (EV) Metric
47. Innovation Pipeline Strength (IPS)
48. Return on Innovation Investment (ROI2)
49. Time to Market
50. First Pass Yield (FPY)
51. Rework Level
52. Quality Index
53. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
54. Process or Machine Downtime Level
55. First Contact Resolution (FCR)

To understand your employees and their performance:
56. Human Capital Value Added (HCVA)
57. Revenue Per Employee
58. Employee Satisfaction Index
59. Employee Engagement Level
60. Staff Advocacy Score
61. Employee Churn Rate
62. Average Employee Tenure
63. Absenteeism Bradford Factor
64. 360-Degree Feedback Score
65. Salary Competitiveness Ratio (SCR)
66. Time to Hire
67. Training Return on Investment

To measure your environmental and social sustainability performance:

68. Carbon Footprint
69. Water Footprint
70. Energy Consumption
71. Saving Levels Due to Conservation and Improvement Efforts
72. Supply Chain Miles
73. Waste Reduction Rate
74. Waste Recycling Rate
75. Product Recycling Rate

I noticed that many people disliked KPIs, since they found them complicated, and people prefer simplicity to complexity. My comment was as follows:
Thanks for this post, Bernard. A lot of readers seem to be intimidated by the list. While it is okay for the end user to crave simplicity, I believe that managers should welcome these KPIs, since the business world is getting more technical and metrics- oriented. This is helpful for people performing analysis / evaluation of projects / operations. It is a question of "Adapt or Die". The future is going to IT driven, with focus on KPIs / Analytics, whether we like it or not. The future business trends will be based on market need to reduce costs, customize service delivery and maximize value for the end user. The future will be here, whether we like it or not, and it will not take a survey of our likes / dislikes. We will be hit with the realities, and will have to accept them. If we are not ready for market disruption, we could face career disruption...