Trap of success - Kodak as an example

Today I want to introduce the term “trap of success” by the case of bankruptcy of Eastman Kodak.

“Failure is the mother of success” is a well-known Chinese saying. However, the idea of “trap of success” argues that success can set the stage for failure.

Success often leads the growth and growth leads to greater complexity in business. As this happens, attention shifts away from the interactions between organisation and the business environment. It is taken for granted that current relationships will keep successful, and organisation’s attention is switched to managing the more complex relationships within the organisation.

When organisation’s performance declines, however, managers may keep adhering to the behaviour that had led success in the past. They pay attention to “doing things better” and paid poor attention to the potential benefit of “doing differently” or even “doing different things”. Therefore, the organisation becomes “learning disabled’. Managers become incapable of looking outside, reflecting on success and failure, accepting new ideas, and developing new insights. They may change, but fail to change fast enough to keep pace with the rate of change in the external environment, and this is the trap of success that they are falling into.

Kodak used to hold a dominant position in photographic film industry in the past century. It even developed the first digital camera in the world. However, due to its slowness in transitioning to the digital photography, Kodak started its struggle in earning profit in the late 1990s and filed for bankruptcy protection in the beginning of 2012. Kodak’s story illustrated the ultimate outcome of the trap of success, which is also called as the “death spiral”.

Reference:

*Wikipedia: Eastman Kodak

Customer relationship management (CRM) - Disney's SCSE quality standard

   CRM (customer relationship management) can be defined as the principles and practices that an organisation abides when interacting with its customers. CRM helps an organisation enhance customer service by identifying and satisfying customers' stated and unstated needs.

   We can take the "SCSE quality standard" of Disney theme parks as an example. SCSE stands for Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency, respectively.

   Safety: Disney claims the safety of its staffs and guests is the most important responsibility for it. In fact, the order of the letters S -> C -> S -> E implies the order of importance, and safety is the highest priority.

   Courtesy: Disney expects its staff to place themselves in tourists’ position, and do more than basic manners and politeness. Disney wishes its guest a pleasant experience as if they were the dignitary VIPs. 

   Show: Disney inspires its staff to treat every workday as the opening day, and all staffs, from cast members to cleaners, are part of the shows perform in the park. – There is no discrimination against job titles. Since staffs provide the direct impression to the tourists, each front-line staff represents Disney. In fact, all staffs are called “cast member” in Disney, all services they provide are part of the performance in the theme park.

   Efficiency: Disney believes by the effort on safety, courtesy, and show, and working as a team, efficient operation will definitely be achieved.

   This SCSE standard has positive effect on customer retention and business reputation. For example, the re-revisiting rate in Tokyo Disney is amazingly 98%. 

   When the disastrous earthquake (and tsunami subsequently) occurred in Japan on 11. March, 2011, instead of closing the theme park immediately, Tokyo Disney accommodated all its guests. Cast members provided foods and cardboards to people in theme park, and tried to comfort children and calmed them down. In this case, even under such critical and overwhelming situation, these admirable cast members in Tokyo Disney still performed the best practices of SCSE - to make sure all people in the theme park are safe, to relieve people's scary and pacify them, to take care of the guests in every details, and to do all the efforts efficiently.

Reference:

* SCSE - The Key to All OperationalDecisions, Theme Park Safety, OLC Group

Two factors that impact individual creativity and business performance

   Yesterday in the article "Creativityin business" we talked about brain training is inevitable for people to keep their competitive advantages in business environment nowadays.

   From my point of view, the factors that may impact individual creativity and business performance can be roughly categorised into two groups, the institutionalised factor and individual factor.

   Institutionalised factor indicates the layers of rules, standard operating procedures, and bureaucratic processes. Organisations develop these rules in order to operate and manage their business. However, bureaucratic structure and rigid norm can stifle creativity. Some organisations have started to streamline their extant rules, yet providing an environment that is creativity-friendly sometimes contradicts the extant rules. Encourage employees to break the extant rules through empowerment may help stimulate their creativity - with the precondition that no deviant actions will take place. 

   Individual factor refers to personal behaviour, internet addiction disorder (IAD), is specified here. For individuals, to keep one's brain in an actively creative status, one has to be aware of the IAD. IAD indicates the out-of-control internet using behaviour and is recognised as one kind of clinical disorder. Researchers from China have conducted studies by MRI brain scans on 35 participants, in which 17 of them are internet addictive. They found that in IAD patients' brain, abnormal white matter exists in brain regions involving emotional generation and processing, executive attention, decision making, and cognitive control. They concluded that IAD may have same effect on human brain as cocaine. Cocaine is central nervous system (CNS) toxic when over-dosing or abusing. Hence, IAD may have negative impact on individuals' abilities in generating creative and innovative ideas and enhance their competitive advantages.

   Silicon Valley has also suggested individuals to be away from the devices, including computer and internet, in order to prevent themselves from the occurrence of IAD and keep personal performance and interpersonal relationships in workplace. 

Reference:

*BBC: Web addicts have brain changes, research suggests

*The New York Times: Silicon Valley Says Step Away From the Device

Creativity in business

   This afternoon I read an interesting article on CNNMoney website: “Companies turn to brain games to tackle work stress”. In this article, the author Katherine Reynolds Lewis introduced the user experiences from several organisations that have applied the MyBrainSolution provided by Brain Resource, an organisation that develops brain products to help people keep the health of their brains.

   Knowledge management and organisational skills have shown its importance nowadays. Such phenomena results in the emergence of the programmes mentioned in this CNNMoney article. In order to keep the competitive advantage, the brain training is compulsory for people in business environment. Gregory Bayer, the chief executive of Brain Resource, explained the importance of training our brains: "The brain, we're finding out, is much like muscles in the body. If you exercise it, it gets better. You actually grow neurons…. If you can teach people how to manage those multitasking and stressful environments optimally, you're going to preserve their health."

   So now here comes the question: How do such brain training programmes be beneficial for business? According to Kathleen Herath, the associate vice president for health and productivity at Nationwide, "The best outcomes are when people are doing this along with another programme.” In other words, brain training can be a key factor in changing organisational behaviour.

   Hence, it will be beneficial for a business in the long run to encourage employees to use their creativity through empowerment. Creativity is defined by Amabile, the professor in Harvard Business School, as the quality of products or responses that are regarded to be creative by appropriate observers, and it can also be viewed as the process by which something so judged is produced.  

   In the fast changing business environment, creativity can enable business developing innovative products and processes, and handling with the problems relevant with organisational behaviours. However, when dealing with issues about creativity, the managers should at the same time try to develop integrity with stakeholders both inside and outside the organisation, since it is easy for people to relax standard when seeking for some novel ideas. Under such situation, a tension exists inevitably between creativity and ethics, which can be an important issue for knowledge management in business in the future.

Reference:

*CNNMoney: Companies turn to brain games to tackle work stress.

*Amabile (1996), "Creativity and Innovation in Organisations", Harvard Business School, 9-396-239.

Globalisation and environmental awareness

     Since the industrial revolution was taken place in the United Kingdom in the mid 18 century, and then spread throughout the world subsequently, industrialisation has made tremendous changes in various aspects such as agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and technology. It has transformed our lives from an agricultural-based to an industrial-based one. Industrialisation has not only accelerated the modernisation process of human society but also has a significant effect on economic development, and has promoted the process of globalisation as a result.

 　自從工業革命在18世紀中葉於英國發生、並散布至全世界後，工業化已經在許多方面造成鉅變，像是農業、生產、運輸、與技術。工業化將我們的生活從農業基礎轉為工業基礎。工業化不僅加速人類社會的現代化流程、且對經濟發展上亦具有重大影響，並因此促進了全球化。

    As Al-Rodhan and Stoudmann mentioned in the “Definitions of Globalization: A Comprehensive Overview and a Proposed Definition”, globalisation “involves economic integration; the transfer of policies across borders; the transmission of knowledge; cultural stability; the reproduction, relations, and discourses of power; it is a global process, a concept, a revolution, and an establishment of the global market free from socio-political control.” 　

　根據Al-Rodhan與 Stoudmann在「全球化定義：綜覽與倡議」報告中所言，全球化為「包括經濟一體化；跨國政策的移轉；知識的傳輸；文化穩定性；複製（重現）；關係；與權力論述；它是全球市場不受社會－政治控制的一個全球化流程、一種概念、一場革命、以及一種發展。」

   Globalisation has made the economic and cultural activities much more inter-dependent inter-nations than before. Therefore, the United Nation has pointed out that the environmental awareness such as sustainable development has also been paid attention to in the economic globalisation cross nations. 　

　全球化已經使得經濟與文化活動在國際間較過去更為互相依賴。因此，聯合國已指出，環境意識，像是永續發展，已經在國際間的經濟發展中受到關注。

    Moreover, economic growth is accompanied with resource consumption. According to the IEA (International Energy Agency)'s Reference Scenario, for the following 20 years, global energy demand will increase by around 40%, which means an average of 1.5% a year. As a result, the industrialised world needs to pace up to arise environmental awareness, practice the sustainable development, and undertake significant changes to the natural environment.

 　此外，經濟成長伴隨著能源消耗。根據國際能源總署（ International Energy Agency, IEA）所提出的參考情境，接下來的20年中，全球能源需求會增加約40%，意即平均每年約1.5%的成長。因此，工業化世界需要加緊腳步喚醒環境意識、實踐永續發展、並為天然環境做出重大改變。


Reference:
*Al-Rodhan and Stoudmann (2006), Definitions of Globalization: A comprehensive Overview and a Proposed Definition, GCSP Occasional Papers, Geneva: Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).

The luxury tax act in Taiwan

   In the end of the article “The eurozone crisis” we mentioned Taiwanese government has conducted the luxury tax act to address the issue of booming house price. In this article we will talk about the luxury tax act in Taiwan.

　在” The eurozone crisis”的文末，我們提及臺灣政府已經執行奢侈稅以處理房價飛漲的議題。本文中我們就來談談臺灣的奢侈稅法案。

   A luxury tax is a tax on luxury goods: products not considered essential. In order to narrow the widening gap in wealth and curbing real estate speculation, Taiwan's Ministry of Finance (MOF) proposed the “Statute for Special Commodity and Service Tax” act that focused on luxury goods in 2011. Luxury goods will be taxed 10%, and property not lived in by the owner and sold within 2 years of purchase will face a 10-15% tax. As Taiwanese government has tried to curb rampant speculative property transactions and the widening gap in wealth in past decade, BBC News called this act as “an unusual move”.

　奢侈稅是對奢侈品課徵的稅：也就是對非必需品的商品而言。為了縮小日益嚴重的貧富差距與遏止房地產投機，臺灣的財政部於2011年針對奢侈品提出「特種貨物及勞務稅」一案。奢侈品將會被課10%的稅、而不動產所有權人銷售持有期間在2年以內者，會面臨10-15%的稅。過去10年間，臺灣政府試圖遏制猖狂的房地產投機交易、以及縮小日益嚴重的貧富差距，英國BBC新聞稱此奢侈稅一案為「一個不尋常的舉動」。

   Taiwanese government claimed it would "only impact around 5% of the population at the top of the consumer pyramid.” By conducting this act, the government also believed it could add 15 billion (TWD) to the treasury, funds that would be allocated to social welfare programs.

　臺灣政府聲稱奢侈稅「僅會影響消費金字塔頂端，約5%的族群。」政府也相信藉由此法案的執行，能為國庫增加15億新臺幣的稅收，而這筆收入將用於社會福利計畫上。

   For the perspective from the society, property agents and sectors opposed this luxury tax act. However most Taiwanese embraced this act and had confident that it would help release their living stress, especially in the metropolitan area.

　從社會的觀點來看，房地產仲介與公司反對此奢侈稅法案。然而多數的臺灣人支持此法案、並有信心這能舒緩他們的生活壓力，尤其是都會地區。

   Addition to the problem of property speculation, the living wage is another serious problem that the Taiwanese society faces nowadays. Living wage is the minimum income that a workforce earned that is necessary to meet his/her basic needs in a period of time or for a lifetime. However, for workforce in Taiwan, especially in the capital Taipei, their wage has been underestimated. It is something like a fairy tale to own a property in metropolitan area. And it results in the phenomena of brain drain - another problem that Taiwanese society confronts inevitably.

　除了房地產投機的問題，生活薪資也是臺灣社會今日面臨的另一個嚴重的問題。生活薪資是勞動者所獲取能滿足一段時間或其一生的基本需要之最小報酬。然而，對於臺灣的勞動者而言，尤其是在首都臺北，他們的薪資被低估了。想要在都會地區擁有一件房地產堪謂天方夜譚。而這又導致了人才外流的現象－這是臺灣社會所面臨的另一個無可避免的問題。

Reference:

*財政部賦稅署 特種貨物及勞務稅(簡稱特種銷售稅)條例專區 (Taxation Agency, Ministry of Finance, R.O.C.)

*BBC News: Taiwan passes 'luxury' tax tocool property market

*Library Congress: Taiwan: Luxury TaxProposed by Ministry of Finance

*The China Post: Luxury tax fails to haltrising home prices: data

*財團法人國家政策研究基金會 臺灣課徵奢侈稅對房地產市場的影響 (NPF Research Report, National Policy Foundation)

The soft power of a nation - Finland as an example

   Joseph Nye has defined soft power as “the ability to attract co-opt rather than coerce and rather than using force or money as a means of persuasion”. Soft power is a nation’s attractiveness and ability to shape opinions and produce attraction though culture, institutions, political values, and its foreign policy. Soft power provided an influence far beyond the traditional balance-of-power politics.

　Joseph Nye定義軟實力為「不以武力或金錢為手段所進行說服，而達成吸引而非強迫的力量。」軟實力乃是一個國家透過文化、制度、政治價值、與其外交政策，來創造機會與產生吸引力之的吸引力與能力。軟實力較傳統的權力平衡正至更具影響。

   For countries with soft power, their “country brand strength” is a valuable asset. This year, Switzerland was ranked as the world’s best country brand and Finland was 9^th in FutureBrand’s International Country Brand Index (CBI) 2012.

　對於具軟實力的國家而言，它們的「國家品牌強度」是相當珍貴的資產。今年，在FutureBrand的2012年全球國家品牌指標（Country Brand Index, CBI）中，瑞士被評為全球最佳國家、而芬蘭則為第9。

   FutureBrand is part of McCann World group. Its measure and rank global perceptions　and report the CBI annually. For the year of 2012, it has assessed the country brand of 118 countries in the world.

　FutureBrand是McCann World集團的一部份。它每年對全球感知進行評量與排名，並提出CBI報告。2012年，它評估了全球118個國家的國家品牌。

   For Finland, it was ranked as the 4^th in the Stable Legal Environment and Education System categories, and was 5th in health care and in the comparison of the value system of countries.

　對芬蘭而言，它在法律環境穩定度與教育系統類別上被評為第4名、而在健康照護與國家價值系統評比上排名第5。

   The nature environment in Finland was viewed as the 3^rd most beautiful on earth. Due to its progressive politics, it is now one of the world leaders in the issue of environmental awareness.

　芬蘭的天然環境被視為全球第3美。由於其進步的政治，芬蘭現在是環境意識的議題上的全球領航者。

Reference:

*Wikipedia: Soft Power

*Country Brand Index 2012-2013, FutureBrand

The eurozone crisis

   Yesterday when talking about the innovativeenvironment of Finland, we mentioned that Finland experienced serious contraction during the eurozone crisis. Today we are going to introduce the eurozone crisis.

　昨天在談芬蘭的創新環境時，我們提及芬蘭在歐元區危機時經歷了嚴重的緊縮。今天我們就要來介紹歐元區危機。

   Eurozone crisis is the issue of excessive borrowing by ill-disciplined government. Private sectors take out loans with low interest easily. In southern European countries, such as Greece and Italy, the interest rates were even fallen when joining the eurozone.

　歐元區危機乃是紀律不彰的政府過度放款的結果。私人企業體能輕易地以低利率進行借貸。南歐國家像是希臘與義大利，當他們加入歐元區時，利率甚至還進行調降。

   The money flow of these countries is not balanced – input is smaller than output. After years of overspending, the debt level reached the point that the country was unable to bear. When there is a recession globally, the budget deficit is inevitably out of control.    

　這些國家的金錢流並不平衡－收入小於支出。經過數年的揮霍後，債務程度超出政府可以負擔的程度。當全球經濟蕭條時，此預算赤字便無可避面地失控了。

   However, Spain is in another situation. Spanish government has relative low debts. The origin of the crisis is its domestic house price. During 2004-2008, the house prices rose 44%. After this housing bubble burst, it has faced a circumstance of contraction and unemployment.

　然而，西班牙卻是另一種情形。西班牙政府的債務相對地低。國內房價乃是其危機的源頭。在2004-2008年間，房價漲了44%。房價泡沫化後，西班牙便面臨了緊縮與失業的處境。

   The problem of booming house price exists in Taiwan as well in recent years. Taiwanese government has carried out the luxury tax act since 2011 in order to cope with this issue.

　近年臺灣也存有房價飛漲的問題。臺灣政府已經於2011年起課徵奢侈稅，以處理此議題。

Reference:

*BBC News: Eurozone crisis explained 

*財團法人國家政策研究基金會 臺灣課徵奢侈稅對房地產市場的影響 (NPF Research Report, National Policy Foundation)

The innovative environment of Finland

   Yesterday we talked about the greeninnovation of Nokia, the Finnish enterprise. Today we will talk about the innovative environment of Finland by introducing the GII (global innovation index).

　昨天我們談到芬蘭企業Nokia的綠色創新。今天我們將藉由GII（global innovation index, 全球創新指標）的介紹，來談芬蘭的創新環境。

   Finland has been ranked as the 4^th innovative country in the GII this year. GII is the project that assesses the innovation of an economy/country conducted by INSEAD (INStitut Européen d'ADministration des Affaires) since 2007. The GII project identifies innovation as a key driver to motivate the economic growth and prosperity.

　今年GII將芬蘭評比為最具創新的國家第4名。GII是INSEAD（歐洲工商管理學院）自2007年開始執行，用於評估經濟體/國家創新力的專案。此GII專案視創新力為刺激經濟成長與繁榮的關鍵驅動因素。

   In the latest 5^th edition report released in 2012, the INSEAD had ranked Finland as the 4^th innovative country among all 141 countries/economies, up one position from 5^th in 2011. According to this report, the strengths of Finland include its strong institutional framework (6^th) and a skilled labour force (1^st in the EU, 3^rd globally) engaged in research and patenting. Finland also has a top position in the rankings in political environment. However, the rank of 26^th in market sophistication implies that it is the relative weakness of Finland.

　在2012年所發表的最新第5度報告中，INSEAD在全部141個國家/經濟體裡，將芬蘭評比為第4名，較2011年的第5名進步一名。根據此份報告，芬蘭的強項包括其強件的組織架構（第6名）、與投入研究及專利的技術勞動力（歐盟中第1名、全球第3名）。芬蘭也在政治環境排名上名列前茅。然而，它的市場成熟度僅排第26名，是芬蘭相對較弱之處。

   About market sophistication in Finland, we can refer to the Best Countries for Business Index conducted by Forbes Magazine. Although Forbes ranked Finland as the 13^th best countries for business in 2011, it also pointed out that the challenge for the Finnish market will be the application of a post-recession exit strategy by its government, since Finland has experienced one of the deepest contractions in the euro zone during the economic crisis in 2009. Furthermore, the Finnish market also faces the problem of rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity, which will impact its competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.

　關於芬蘭的市場成熟度，我們可以援引財星雜誌的商業最適國家指標。雖然財星雜誌在2011年將芬蘭評比為第13名，但它也點出芬蘭市場之後所面臨的挑戰，將會是政府的經濟衰退後出場策略，因為芬蘭市場在2009年的經濟危機中，經歷了歐元區最嚴重的緊縮。此外，芬蘭市場尚面臨人口快速老化與生產力降低的問題，而這會影響其競爭力、財政永續發展性、及經濟成長。

Reference:

*TheGlobal Innovation Index 2012, INSEAD

*Forbes Magazine: Best countries for business

Nokia’s CSR in environmental dimension

   As Nokia claims on its official website: “we love the future – it’s what our strategy is all about”, it has collaborated with its partners in both upstream and downstream of the supply chain on green innovation proactively in order to improve environmental performance.

　誠如Nokia在其官方網站所宣稱：「我們熱愛未來－這是我們的企業策略所關切的。」它已與供應鏈上下游的合作夥伴，前瞻地在綠色創新上進行協同合作，以期能改善環境績效。

   Green innovation can be categorised to two types: proactive and reactive green innovation. Proactive green innovation is defined as active innovation on environmental issues for various purposes, such as leading in the market, obtain competitive advantages, seizing opportunities, or decreasing cost. On the other hand, reactive green innovation is the passive innovation on environmental issues in order to comply with environmental regulations, meet the demands from stakeholders, or respond to competitors' challenges.

　綠色創新可以分為兩類：前瞻式與回應式的綠色創新。前瞻式綠色創新的定義為在環境議題上，基於不同目的而採取的主動創新，像是在市場上取得領先、獲取競爭優勢、掌握機會、或降低成本。另一方面，回應式綠色創新則為了遵循環保規範、符合利害關係者的要求、或對競爭者的挑戰做出回應，而在環境議題上被動地進行創新。

   Nokia considers the environment during the entire life cycle of its products. As the eco-friendly mobile introduced in previous article “CSR: Nokia's eco-friendly phone”, the traditional lithium battery is replaced by a bio-degradable battery - no need for rare metals and no waste problem is generated. Nokia keeps integrating resources among its supply chain and innovating proactively. It attempts to lead in the concept of sustainability for the society and the environment. On the basis of its CSR strategy in environmental dimension - create a more sustainable future, the collaboration between Nokia and its partners in green innovation can be one critical factor to achieve environmental and economic success in market in the long run.

　Nokia在產品的整個生命週期中對環境做出了考量。如在前文「CSR: Nokia's eco-friendly phone」中所介紹的生態友善手機，生物可分解電池取代了傳統的鋰電池－不需用到貴金屬且不產生廢棄問題。Nokia持續整合其供應鏈中的資源、並持續進行前瞻式創新。它試圖為社會與環境導入永續發展的概念。Nokia基於環境維度的CSR策略－創造更為永續發展的未來，而與其合作夥伴在綠色創新方面進行協同合作，長期下來能成為在環境與經濟上致勝的關鍵因素。

Reference:

*Nokia official website: About us

*Chen et al (2012), "Origins of green innovations: the differences between proactive and reactive green innovations", Management Decision, 50: 368-398.

CSR: Nokia's eco-friendly phone

While Apple and Samsung are fighting with each other on the problems of their patent strategy, Nokia keeps devoting to the environmental dimensions of CSR (corporate socialresponsibility). According to the Nokia Sustainability Report 2011, in order to achieve its business vision of being a leading company in environmental performance, Nokia continues seeking new approaches of reducing impact on environment, as well as developing new partnerships both inside and outside the industry. And the eco-friendly mobile that we will discuss in the following section is just one of Nokia’s efforts in environmental CSR.

當Apple與Samsung在互打專利大戰之際，Nokia持續地為CSR（企業社會責任）進行努力。根據Nokia的2011年永續經營報告，Nokia持續地尋求減輕對環境影響的方法、以及在企業內部與外部發展新的合作夥伴關係，以期能達成在環境績效上的領航企業之願景。而下文中將要介紹的生態友善手機，則是Nokia在環境CSR上的努力之一。

(source: Nokia official website)

This eco-friendly mobile was designed by a Chinese designer Daizi Zheng and was first introduced to the public in 2010. Zheng proposes the idea that a mobile could work on a bio-battery according to the glycolysis reaction.

此生態友善的手機由中國設計師Daizi Zheng所設計，於2010年首度發表。Zheng提出手機能用以糖解反應進行發電的生化電池所運作。 

(source: dezeen magazine)

Glycolysis is a process that transforms glucose to energy (and H2O and CO2) by enzymes. Zheng thought the traditional mobile battery produces a disposal problem and has adverse impact to the environment. However, this bio-battery only needs some soft drink such as cola for work. It can generate electricity for the mobile in an eco-friendly way – no need for rare metals and other materials for manufacturing and generates no disposal problem because it is bio-degradable. Zheng claimed that this bio-battery has the potential to operate 3-4 times longer than lithium batteries.

糖解是葡萄糖經由酵素催化產生能量（以及水與二氧化碳）的過程。Zheng認為傳統的手機電池造成廢棄處理問題、且對環境有負面影響。然而此生化電池僅需一些軟性飲料，例如可樂，即可運作。它能以生態友善的方式產生手機所需的電力－不需要貴金屬或其他製造所需的原物料、且因為它是生物可分解的，所以不會有廢棄處理的問題。Zheng宣稱此生化電池的續航力有望較傳統鋰電池高上3-4倍。

(source: dezeen magazine)

(source: dezeen magazine)

(source: dezeen magazine)

(source: dezeen magazine)

Some rumours said this technology could be commercialised within years. It is admirable that Nokia keeps concerning environmental issues in business operations. It has shown its ambition on promoting a more sustainable lifestyle in this cola mobile case. We expect more innovative and eco-friendly products available in the future.

　有傳聞說此技術數年內即可商業化。諾基亞在其企業營運上持續關切環境議題是很教人激賞的。在這個可樂手機的例子中，它已顯現在推動更為永續發展的生活方式上的雄心壯志。我們期待在未來能有更多創新且生態友善的產品能問世。

Reference:

*Nokia Sustainability Report 2011

*Daizi Zheng: Nokia "green" phone

*dezeen magazine: Eco-friendly phone for Nokia by Daizi Zheng

臺北府城巡禮

時間：11 July, 2010
地點：Taipei, Taiwan

　1875年，清領時期福建巡撫沈葆楨奏請在臺灣成立臺北府、希望藉此將臺灣發展成能遏止日本侵略中國的前哨，此時四歲大的光緒剛即位（同治1875年薨，同年光緒繼位），在兩位太后的輔政下，沈葆楨的奏摺得到朝廷的批准，臺北府城的建立於斯展開，城廓範圍在大稻埕與艋舺兩地之間，面積約1.4平方公里，共有5個城門：東門「景福門」、北門「承恩門」、西門「寶成門」、南門「麗正門」、和小南門「重熙門」。

　1894年，甲午戰爭爆發。次年，清朝與日本簽定馬關條約、將臺灣割予日本，而臺北府城仍為臺灣總督府所在。1904年，總督府以改善交通為由，拆除大部分的城牆和西門，僅留有東門、北門、南門、和小南門。

　1935年，總督府依「史蹟名勝天然紀念物保存法」，將尚存的四座城門指定為史蹟。今日的臺北府城（東門、北門、南門、和小南門），已被列為古蹟。

　此番臺北府城巡禮的時間在2010年夏天，臺灣夏天的太陽很是毒辣，但上班族休假時的補眠也是很重要，所以大學好友Suffer與我約了有點早又不會太早的8點，開始今天的巡禮趴趴走。我們除了造訪這四座舊城門之外，尚遊歷了清領時期的行政機關：臺灣布政使司衙門、以及位於圓山的忠烈祠。


第一站：北門「承恩門」
　

北門「承恩門」

　
　北門為一級古蹟，位於臺北火車站附近，旁邊有臺北北門郵局(台北901支)。

臺北北門郵局

　北門由於面向北方，取「承接天恩」之意，故名「承恩門」。

　清領時期，朝廷派駐的官員或使臣，都是由北門進入臺北城，同時也是城內通往大稻埕一帶的主要孔道。今日，北門是四座城門中，唯一以清代風貌保留的古城門。

北門「承恩門」

第二站：南門「麗正門」

南門「麗正門」

　南門為三級古蹟，由於過去南門是臺北府城的主門，因此規模為五個城門中最宏偉的。

南門「麗正門」

　南門附近有總統官邸、以及一級古蹟菸酒公賣局大樓。
　

菸酒公賣局大樓

第三站：小南門「重熙門」

小南門「重熙門」

　小南門是四座城門中惟一的三級古蹟，其又名「重熙門」，取其「盛世興隆，光輝普照」之意。

　據說此門是當時板橋林家為避開艋舺的泉州勢力，方便出入臺北府城所捐建。臺北市政府觀光局的臺北旅遊網指出，此說法尚未受到證實，而Wikipedia的小南門條目中則說已經受到證實。

　小南門的現貌並非當年的模樣。1966年，小南門因政府「整頓市容以符合觀光需要」之說詞，而被改建成華北宮殿式城樓，僅存底部的城座為原貌。

整頓後的市容與改建後的小南門

第四站：東門「景福門」

東門「景福門」

　東門是一級古蹟，又名「景福門」，取自詩經：「既醉以酒，既飽以德。君子萬年，介爾景福」。

　東門與小南門的命運相同，被改建成華北宮殿式城樓，僅留城座及圓拱門為原有建材。


第五站：臺灣布政使司衙門

布政使司衙門

　布政使司衙門為二級古蹟，搬遷後現於臺北植物園內。

布政使司衙門

布政使司衙門內部陳設

　布政使司衙門是免費參觀，內並有專人導覽，以及陳列原建築所使用的物件，如上圖的右下即是原建築所用的物件。

　布政使司衙門是當時管理民政及財政的機構，原坐落於中山堂的位址。日治時代，由於日本政府欲於該處籌建臺北市公會堂，故將布政使司衙門較具有代表性的部份建築搬遷至植物園及圓山動物園內保存（不過圓山動物園也已經關門了）。

布政使司衙門院內

第六站：忠烈祠

忠烈祠

　忠烈祠在圓山飯店附近，每年有春祭與秋祭，平日整點時則有衛兵交接！

　在酷暑烈日當頭下走完上述行程後，我們就在等待下一場衛兵交接的空檔，在忠烈祠的廣場上坐著休息，甚是愜意。

忠烈祠廣場

忠烈祠廣場上的三道深色痕跡

　廣場上有三道深色的直線，一開始不明所以，當衛兵交接開始時，才明白，原來那是經年累月的衛兵交接，在交接儀式的路線上所磨出的痕跡！

忠烈祠的衛兵交接

　看完忠烈祠的衛兵交接，我們便直奔臺灣科學教育館看展覽，將上班族的休假日時間充份地運用！


Reference：
*行政院交通部觀光局 (Tourism Bureau. Ministry of Transportation and Communication)
*行政院文化部 臺灣大百科全書 (Encyclopedia of Taiwan, Ministry of Culture)
*臺北市政府觀光傳播局 臺北旅遊網 (Taipei Travel Net. Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government) 
*臺北植物園 (Taiwan Forestry Research Institute)
*維基百科 (Wikipedia)

Sustainability - 2

   As introduced in the article “Sustainability - 1”, sustainability is defined as the development meets the present needs without compromising the future needs by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Today environmental awareness has become a general consciousness worldwide, and international governments such as OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and EU (European Union) have devoted to sustainability with the worries about the future, as described in the following paragraph. 

   誠如前文”Sustainability - 1”所述，聯合國世界環境與發展委員會（WCED）將永續發展定義為滿足當前需要、但也無損於下一代需要的發展。今日，環境意識已經成為全球化的共識，基於對未來的憂慮，國際政府像是OECD與歐盟已致力於永續發展，如下所述。

   OECD is a forum that 30 democratic governments work together on the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD Environmental Performance Reviews Programme helps member countries improve their performances in environmental management. Take Finland as an instance, according to the reviews on Finland in 2009, OECD strongly suggested Finnish government to strengthen its environmental management efforts (e.g. for waste and nature protection), further integrate environmental concerns into economic decisions, and reinforce international co-operation on environmental issues, in order to meet its challenges on environment, such as water quality of the Baltic Sea and the biodiversity in forests.

   OECD是由30個民主國家共同為全球的經濟、社會、與環境挑戰所努力的論壇。OECD的環境績效回顧計畫協助會員國改善其環境管理的績效，以芬蘭為例，根據2009年對芬蘭所進行的回顧，OECD強烈建議芬蘭政府強化其環境管理的努力（例如，在廢棄物與自然保護方面）、將環境考量進一步整合至經濟決策中、並加強環境議題上的國際合作，以期能滿足所面臨的環境挑戰，像是波羅的海的水質與森林的生物多樣性。

   The EU LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment. The objective is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental policy. The programme began in 1992 and there have been 3 complete phases of the programme (LIFE I: 1992-1995, LIFE II: 1996-1999 and LIFE III: 2000-2006). The current phase of the programme is LIFE+ (2007-2013). LIFE programme has co-financed 3104 projects across the EU, contributing approximately €2.2 billion to the protection of the environment.

   歐盟LIFE計畫是歐盟對環境議題進行資金挹注的工具。其目的為促進歐盟環境政策的執行、更新、與發展。此計畫始於1992年，迄今已完成了三個階段（LIFE I: 1992-1995, LIFE II: 1996-1999 and LIFE III: 2000-2006）。現在計畫所進行的階段為LIFE+（2007-2013）。LIFE計畫在歐盟已經共同資助了3104件專案，為環境保護帶來約22億歐元的資金貢獻。

Opportunity cost

   Economics is a discipline addresses on the issue of choice, and choice is associated with cost. If the choice brings change subsequently then we say such choice involves opportunity cost. Here comes the question for the present article: What is opportunity cost? Basically speaking, the highest-valued alternative forgone as a result of trade-offs is the opportunity cost of what is chosen. In other words, trade-offs involve a cost, which is what we call opportunity cost in economics.

   經濟學是一門著墨於選擇議題的學科，而選擇則與成本有關。若選擇會接著帶來改變，則我們說此種選擇包括了機會成本。這邊產生了本文的問題：甚麼是機會成本呢？基本上來說，我們所做的選擇之機會成本，乃是在進行權衡後所捨棄的選項之最高價值。換言之，權衡取捨包括了成本，而在經濟學中我們稱之為機會成本。

   Opportunity cost can be explained by the PPF (production possibilities frontier). PPF separates the goods and services that are attainable from those that are unattainable. Production of goods and services is possible at any point inside the attainable area and on the frontier. Production is not possible at any point outside the frontier.

   機會成本可由PPF（生產可能性曲線）來解釋。PPF將商品與服務分為可取得與不可取得的。在PPF曲線內部與線上任何點所進行的生產都是有可能做到的（可取得），而在線外的任何點則是無法做到的（不可取得）。

Example: The production of handbags and clothes

   As illustrated in the example, if one brand does not produce any handbag in that season, the maximum quantity of in-season clothes they can produce is 30. As they produce more luxury handbags, the quantity of clothes it is able to produce decreases. The line connects points A, B, C, D, and E together is the PPF. The opportunity cost is the slope of this line. It is a ratio without unit. In this example, if the quantity of handbag increases from 2 to 3, say, move from point C to point D, means the quantity of clothes produced decreases by 24-18 = 6. As a consequence, the additional one handbag produced costs 6 clothes and it is its opportunity cost.

   如本文範例所示，若一品牌在該季不打算生產任何手提包，則當季衣服最大的生產數量為30件。當他們生產愈來愈多手提包時，能生產的衣服數量就降低了。連結A、B、C、D、E的線即為PPF。機會成本是此線的斜率，是沒有單位的比值。本範例中，若手提包生產量從2增加至3，也就是從C點移至D點，意謂著衣服生產的數量減少為24-18 = 6。因此，這一個新增的手提包生產會造成6件衣服的支出，此即手提包的機會成本。

   As revealed in this example, the shape of the PPF is concave, and the opportunity cost is increasing for both goods. Under the prerequisites that the scarcity of resources and other factors of production remain the same, such phenomena can be explained as the more goods (handbag or clothes) we attempt to produce, the additional resources we use to produce are less productive, the opportunity cost of one additional unit of that good is larger as a consequence.

   如範例中所示，PPF呈現凹曲線型，而此二商品的機會成本都是隨數量遞增的。在資源有其匱乏性、以及其他生產要素保持不變的前提下，此種現象可解釋為當我們試圖生產更多商品（手提包或衣服）時，所增加用於生產的資源的生產力會每況愈下，因此每增加一個單位的商品時，機會成本會更大。

   The concept of opportunity cost can be applied widely. Except for the production of goods and services, we can also take this concept into our daily lives as well, such as our buying behaviour in department store when there is a big sale but our budget is limited.

   機會成本的概念可以被廣泛應用。除了生產商品與服務之外，我們也可將此概念應用至我們的日常生活中，像是當百貨公司有大特價、但我們預算有限時的消費行為上。

What is Economics? - 2

   In the previous article “What is Economics? - 1” we have known economics as a discipline of social science focuses on “choices”, and the present article we will talk about the nature of choices.

   前面「What is Economics? - 1」中我們已經知道經濟學為一門聚焦於「選擇」的社會科學，而本文就要來談談選擇的本質。

   We have limited resources and face the circumstance of scarcity when we are unable to satisfy all our wants and desires. People produce goods and services to meet the wants and desires. Now here comes the first question: How these goods and services are produced? To answer this question, we name the productive resources as “factors of production”. Factors of production can be categorised into 4 groups: land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship, as described in the following paragraph:

   我們擁有的資源有限，且當我們無法滿足需求與欲望時，就會面臨匱乏的情形。人們生產商品與服務以滿足需求與欲望。而此處第一個問題來了：這些商品與服務是怎麼生產出來的呢？為了回答此問題，我們把用於生產的資源稱作「生產要素」。生產要素可歸為4類：土地、勞力、資本、與企業體，如下所述：

   Land indicates the natural resources in a broad sense, such as water, metal ores, and oils. Labours are the work time and effort that people contribute to producing goods and services. The quality of labours depends on human capital, which is the knowledge and skill labours acquire from their education background and past work experiences. Capital means the tangible stuffs like buildings, machines, and instruments that business applied to produce goods and services. Entrepreneurship includes the human resources that manage and organise the other 3 factors of productions mentioned above.

   土地廣義上泛稱一切天然資源，像是水、礦產、與石油。勞力是生產商品與服務時所投注的工時及心力。勞力的素質取決於人力資本，這是指從教育背景與過去工作經驗中所得到的知識與技能。資本是有形的物體，像是企業用於生產商品與服務的建物、機器、與設備。企業體則包括管理與統籌上述三項生產要素時的人力資源。

Corporate social responsibility

   Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a popular term for business nowadays because the relationship between business and the society is closer and more important than before. But what is CSR? Dozens of definitions are available for it, depending on the perspective for CSR. One review literature from Norway has summarised 37 definitions and categorised them to 5 dimensions. This paper has become one of the most cited paper in the field of CSR. On the basis of this paper, following is the introduction to CSR.

   由於企業與社會之間的關係較過去更為緊密與重要，因此對於現在的企業而言，企業社會責任（Corporate social responsibility, CSR）可說是一個熱門的字兒。但是甚麼是CSR呢？關於CSR已有數十種的定義，端視對CSR的觀點而定。有一篇來自挪威的回顧文獻整理了37個定義，並將之歸類為5個維度，這篇已經成為CSR領域中最常被引用的文獻之一了。接下來將基於這篇文獻介紹CSR。

   Basically, CSR can be regarded as the contribution from business to specific sustainable development goals. According to the 5 dimensions identified in this Norwegian literature, such goals include environmental, social, economic, stakeholder, and voluntariness aspects. The environmental dimension focuses on the natural environment, it is generally applied to mean the extent to which business activity negatively impacts on the natural environment; social is concerned about the relationship between business and its local community and the whole society; economic includes socio-economic or financial aspects, as well as the description of CSR in terms of business operation; stakeholder aims on the demands or requirements from stakeholders or stakeholder groups; voluntariness is on the basis of ethical issues, it indicates actions taken proactively instead of complying with the regulations passively.

   基本上CSR可以被視為企業對於特定的可永續發展目標所做出的貢獻。根據此挪威文獻的5個維度，這些目標包括了環境、社會、經濟、利害關係者、與自願等方面。環境維度聚焦於天然環境，通常用於指企業活動對天然環境造成負面影響的程度；社會則是關於企業與其所在社區及整體社會之間的關係；經濟則包括了社經或財務方面，以及由企業營運的角度對CSR所進行的敘述；利害關係者則將目標放在利害關係者或其族群的要求或需求；自願則與倫理道德議題有關，是指採取前瞻積極的行為，而不僅只是被動遵循規範。

   Take the focal company in Taiwan, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (TSMC), as an example, it has started its effort on CSR since 2007 and has set 7 dimensions as the goals for itself: morals, business ethics, economy, rule of law, work/life balance, caring for the earth and the next generation, and philanthropy. As Morris Chang, the chairman and CEO of TSMC, mentioned, they believe they can act as a stabilizing force in society, and inspire others to follow, and make society better in the long run.

   以台灣的重點企業台積電為例，台積電從2007年起致力於CSR，並設定了7個維度為努力目標：道德、企業倫理、經濟、法規、工作/生活的平衡、對地球與下一代的關懷、以及慈善事業。誠如董事長兼CEO的張忠謀先生所言，他們相信他們能夠做為社會穩定的力量、鼓勵其他企業跟進、並長久下來使得社會更美好。


Reference:
1) Dahlsrud (2008), "How Corporate Social Responsibility is Defined: an Analysis of 37 Definitions", Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15: 1-13.
2) Corporate Social Responsibility, TSMC: http://www.tsmc.com/english/csr/index.htm

What is Economics? - 1

   Economics is the discipline of social science that focuses on “choice”. Such choice includes individuals, organisations, governments, and the society make when they face the situation of scarcity. The decision making process for choice is a trade-off for available alternatives. Individuals make choices that are best for them are viewed as under their self-interest. Choices that are best for the society are regarded to be under social interest.

   經濟學是一門研究選擇的社會科學，包括個人、團體、政府、與社會，在面臨匱乏時如何做出選擇。選擇則是在可取得的選項中做出權衡取捨。個人考量自身利益而做出最為利己的選擇，而做出對社會最有利的選擇則視之為基於社會利益。

   Economics can be mainly categorised to macro-economics and micro-economics. Macro-economics focuses on the overall performance of the national and global economy. Micro-economics aims on the choices that individuals and organisations make, how these choices interact with markets and are influenced by governmental policies. Take the “Economic Power-Up Plan” conducted by the Council for Economic Planning and Development of Taiwan as an instance, 5 policies and 25 concrete practices have been suggested in this plan in order to promote economic development in Taiwan. This plan belongs to the area of macro-economics. The subsequent response made by local business are in the field of micro-economics.

   經濟學可以概分為宏觀經濟學與微觀經濟學。宏觀經濟學著眼於國家與全球整體的經濟績效。微觀經濟學則旨在研究個人和團體的選擇、這些選擇如何與市場互動、以及如何受到政府政策的影響。以行政院經濟建設委員會的「經濟動能推升方案」為例，內容中的5大政策方針及25項具體做法，乃是為了促進台灣經濟，屬於宏觀經濟學的範疇，而本土企業如何做出因應，則為微觀經濟學的領域。

Reference:
行政院經濟建設委員會「經濟動能推升方案」: http://www.cepd.gov.tw/PowerUp/

Sustainability - 1

     The concept of sustainable development can be traced back to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. It pointed out the possibility to achieve economic growth and industrialisation without environmental damage. Today sustainability is most recognised by the definition in the Brundtland Report published by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987: 

   "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." 

   Such concept was further noted by the United Nations 2005 World Summit that it requires the reconciliation of environmental protection, social equity, and economics demands, which are the “3 pillars (3 E’s)” of sustainability. 

   Many international and national organisations and business have joined their efforts on the sustainable development and relative green issues. For instance, the World Economic Forum is running a foresight programme, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) runs an Environmental Performance Reviews Programme to help its member countries improve their performances in environmental management, and the European Union has funded a LIFE+ programme to address relative issues. For business, take IBM as an example, IBM has run a Global Innovation Outlook Programme for years. Additionally, some academic institutions and non-governmental organisations have led a way toward the future thinking of sustainable development as well, the Institute for the Future (IFTF) in Palo Alto is the most widely known one.