THE COFFEE OR THE CUP

I feel 'stressed' . . .


A group of alumni, highly established in

Their careers, got together to visit their

Old university professor. Conversation

Soon turned into complaints about stress

In work and life.


Offering his guests coffee, the professor

Went to the kitchen and returned with a

Large pot of coffee and an assortment of

Cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal,

Some plain looking, some expensive,

Some exquisite - telling them to help

Themselves to the coffee.


When all the students had a cup of

Coffee in hand, the professor said:

'If you noticed, all the nice looking

Expensive cups were taken up, leaving

Behind the plain and cheap ones. While

It is normal for you to want only the

Best for yourselves, that is the source of

Your problems and stress. Be assured

That the cup itself adds no quality to the

Coffee. In most cases it is just more

Expensive and in some cases even hides

What we drink. What all of you really

Wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you

Consciously went for the best cups...

And then you began eyeing each

other's cups.


Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the

Jobs, money and position in society are

The cups. They are just tools to hold and

Contain Life, and the type of cup we

Have does not define, nor change the

Quality of life we live. Sometimes, by

Concentrating only on the cup, we fail

To enjoy the coffee provided us.'

Brew the coffee, not the cups .. Enjoy

Your coffee!


'The happiest people don't have the best

Of everything. They just make the best

Of everything.

A related Link: http://storyofstuff.com

Ghost Stories

I live just outside of our nation's capitol, and haunted buildings are a part of the rich history of Washington DC. One such is the Octagon House, "built between 1798 and 1800, by Dr. William Thornton, the architect of the U.S. Capitol...for John Tayloe...at the prompting of George Washington."

In grade school, after a field trip to the place, my friends came back with some stories. One told me that he felt a chill breeze and odd smell where they should not have been. But the weirdest, was story of the door to a library, which was always kept locked. When the tour passed by, the door opened on its own. The guide quietly stopped, walked over, and closed the door, relocking it. When asked, she just said, "That happens sometimes."

Most haunted places have some history of tragedy, and the Octagon House is no exception. "Tragedy struck the Tayloe family before the War of 1812. One of the colonel's daughters had fallen in love with a British officer, but Tayloe had denied permission for a marriage. After an argument, the daughter stormed up the spiral staircase. She never reached her room. Whether she threw herself down or slipped is not known, but the family heard her scream. She fell through the stairwell to the floor below, where she died."

"A second Tayloe daughter died in the same place, in similar circumstances, after the war. She also clashed with her father over marriage, but this sibling ignored her father and eloped. According to legend, she was pleading with him for forgiveness and slipped on the infamous stairs, fell and broke her neck."

Another ghost story came to me from a friend who had a not so pleasant encounter with a spirit, while parked with a girlfriend at one of the Manassas, VA (Civil War) battlefields. He told me they both felt a strong presence and added with conviction, "that thing wasn't human!" Feeling like he was having a heart attack, he drove away as fast as he could. Afterwards, for several days, he felt an energy surrounding him that others could feel too. He said, "I have a new found respect for battlefields." After informing police, they replied, "It has been a while since that thing had caused problems." I personally believe that it is the "Spirit of the Battlefield."

Sources:

Washington DC, Octagon House, Retrieved on July 17, 2007 from:
http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/travel/wash/dc22.htm

Time Travel Channel, Spooky Cities, Retrieved on July 17, 2007 from:
http://travel.discovery.com/convergence/hauntedtravels/interactives/washingtondc/octagon.html

Parenting, Part II

By Matt Vossler

Life in this Century just seems to get more and more and more complicated. The Internet has made so much available to so many people including our kids. When there once were only a few drugs that could mess up our children's lives, now there are dozens. And every time you blink, it seems a new kind of disease is being declared, along with a host of drugs and other treatments for it.

This brings me to my subject. My son really likes his Nintendo, I mean he really, really likes it. He is only six years old; could he be addicted to video games? I heard on the news a few weeks ago, that video games addiction is a new problem for kids.

Then I wonder if this is so different from the old days, when as a kid, I didn't want to come inside for dinner because I was having so much fun playing with the neighborhood kids. I guess that video games are the new "kick the can." We got exercise playing outside for hours, so what do these new kinds of games give to our children? A quick Google asking this question, got the following, from http://dede.essortment.com/kidsvideogames_rayj.htm:

"Video games have many benefits to children which most of us never even think of. Video games promote good eye-hand coordination, problem solving skills, critical thinking and competition. There is always competition in a video game, whether it be against the computer, another player or your own self. Competition is healthy in urging us to do our best and succeed. Critical thinking skills are important in school as are problem solving skills. Video games are also beneficial in introducing children to computers and while not the most popular games among children, there are many educational games."

The advice given at that web-site is quite predictable. To limit the amount of time your child has for playing video games and watching T.V., and that if you child shows irritation at being told to stop playing, then they are probably spending too much time with them.

Every parent has to work out limits for their kids, and this is not a new challenge. The new challenge I think we have today is that so much is available to kids now, including information, cheep toys, sexual enticements, drugs, guns, gangs, we end up playing a new game of our own, called wack-a-mole.

I remember my parents having to tell us not to play ball in the house over and over again, and yes, there were a lot of ways we could get ourselves into trouble, but I don't think they had to worry about online predators, huffing and dozens of other drugs, teens talking on cell phones while driving, making sure your child is not text messaging their friends all night, and I know I've just mentioned the tip of the ice-burg.

Long story short, the new Century is fraught with many new challenges for parents, and I believe that any and all ideas that can give us an advantage as parents, should be considered, including the stay-at-home mom or even dad model or any other. I encourage you to do a Google on parenting resources and see what you come up with. It's easy, and you just might find something pertinent to your own situation.

Parenting I

Parenting, without a doubt, is the single most important task given to us on this planet, and one of the most difficult. Forget the "Mommy Wars," that's just unproductive bickery born of guilt and blame. Two things we don't want to perpetuate and sets a poor example for the kids.

The SAHD (stay-at-home dad) model is one way to bring up kids well, and I think it is a good way, personally. Here I am in the roll of a SAHD, and I am realizing that this is really what it all about...for me. To be a dad, to be the best dad I can possibly be!

Someone wrote, "It takes a Village." I can't argue with that, but I would add that a loving home with caring parent(s) can make all the difference in the world, in a world that really needs a difference to be made in.

Back to School

Back to School

The summer was good for the kids and I. We went to the beach, went sailing, took a nature cruise, held a regular playgroup, did horseback riding, martial arts and even enjoyed the Renaissance Festival. So I was surprised, albeit pleasantly, that both of my children were excited about going back to school. Needless to say, I too was greatly looking forward to having time to get a lot of things done that were backing up, or at least having been put on the back burner.

Getting ready, of course is hectic to say the least, but I am moving into the new school year with renewed hope. Martin's teacher has many years of experience and Victoria is getting the extra help she needs. I will be coaching Victoria's soccer team and will be keeping up with the martial arts that Martin and I have been involved in.

I hope all of you readers who are parents are having similarly good experiences with your children, whether it's back to school, taking care of a new baby, or sending a young one off to college.

If you are having any trouble, talk about it with other parents, don't sweep it under the rug.
Denial is only a way to delay getting help and can make matters far worse in the long run. There now, I've gotten preachy. Sorry! Have a great school year!

Be Scared!

Separation of Church and State in 2007

I do not have a JD, nor am I thoroughly versed in the all of the arguments for or against issues involving the separation of church and state. I do have some observations in regards to our first amendment provision that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or the free exercise thereof.” It seems to me that for a people to be free, this is an essential ingredient to have built into the Government. Much of the U.S. Constitution deals with preventing abuses of power, and nothing scares me more that the thought of a Government that can wield the power of a religion over its people. The Taliban comes to mind.

So where do we draw the line when it comes to how far our Government can go in promoting, or even allowing religious expression in the public arena? I believe it is important to keep in check, those whose agenda may go far beyond allowing prayer in public school, or holding official, high-level meetings in Government buildings where discussions of a religious nature are the focus (this is happening under the current executive administration). It may be a cliché, but it really is a slippery slope. What does it say about our democracy, if we put children in our public schools in a position of being with a group of peers who are praying to a certain God, and in a certain way, that goes against the child’s home religious life or personal beliefs?

It is immaterial that I believe that prayer is a positive thing for individuals and society. To me, the idea of respecting each person’s freedom to express or not to express a faith or believe or not to believe in a Deity, trumps my any of my own subjective framing. More troubling, is that introducing such a precedent in our society gives fuel to those who would, given enough power, eventually change the U.S. from a democracy to a theocracy. And, believe it, there are those who would! This would mean the death of what the Founding Fathers had in mind for the United States. So the next time you see atheists on T.V. defending their rights to not believe in God, you might be wise to consider, that in a round about way, they are also defending your right to believe in your God.

On Werewolves

Being a full moon tonight, I thought a little about werewolves to be apropos.

In the Middle Ages some accounts held that "in Prussia, Livonia, and Lithuania, although the inhabitants suffer from (common) wolves...this is not regarded by them as much as what they endure from men turned into wolves." The men turned into wolves, would inflict terrible atrocities upon both citizens and their ungulates. They were differentiated from natural wolves partially by the drinking of beer from the cellars and their piling "up the empty casks one above another in the middle of the cellar"

Here is another account of the were: "The wife of a nobleman in Livonia expressed her doubts to one of her slaves whether it were possible for man or woman thus to change shape. The servant at once volunteered to give her evidence of the possibility. He left the room, and in another moment a wolf was observed running over the country. The dogs followed him, and notwithstanding his resistance, tore out one of his eyes. Next day the slave appeared before his mistress blind of an eye."

Legends, yes, but it does make one wonder. I for one am glad I where a silver ring.

Sources:

Gould, Sabine B. The book of were-wolves, 1865. Retrieved on 7/30/07, from: http://www.sacred-texts.com/goth/bow/bow06.htm

Recalling Summer

Recalling Summer
A poem by Matt Vossler

Summer Nights and starry lights,
Full Moon rising sweet smells of flora,
Aquarius this one, its lightning strikes,
Fanciful dreams bring magickal flights.

Rich living and love abounds,
Lovely feelings and summer sounds,
Be still and know,
God makes her rounds.

Life makes her stand,
Summer's recall,
Rich is the fare,
Until the fall.

No, I won't dwell,
Drink deep from the well,
Forget the big change
Live summer's life's swell.

Yes, rich be the fare,
Fauna will thrive
Love's in the air,
Passion's alive.

Fall comes and no doubt,
With its own unique joys,
Winter be next,
Spring then makes her rout.

Forget all of this,
Summer lives thrive,
No matter what's next,
Glad I'm alive!

A Quick Reference to Increase Life Force

I have been learning Kung Fu, a Chinese martial arts system, and have put together a short list of practices to aid me in my efforts. These are good practices for anyone who wants to improve their quality of life.

To Increase Qi (pronounced "chee"), the Chinese word for life force or vital force, practice the following:

• Breath from the belly
• Good diet, high in bio-photon levels (fresh fruits and vegetables, apples are good!)
• Exercise and/or work out each day
• Good regular sleep
• Meditate and practice moving meditation such as Tai Chi
• Master your movements so that every act is conscious
• Master your mind - Think Positive

Blunders of History

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a history teacher, and learned some facets of history that I had not known. I believe that knowing more about history, gives a better understanding of current events by putting them in context. Knowing how history builds upon itself and often repeats itself, can give insight into why things are the way they are today, and possibly how to avoid major mistakes by those in power.

The following is a short lesson of History that I put together after my discussion. It is fascinating to me, and reminds me of how economic tensions can lead to war, kind of like what is happening today with terrorists vs. the developed world.

The way the end of WWI was handled, was perhaps one of the biggest blunders of geo-political foreign policy in history. As you will see, it set the stage for some of the saddest and most tragic events the world has seen.

Hyper Inflation in Germany right after WWI was largely the result of printing too much money in an attempt to pay reparations to England and France. US production was ramped up in anticipation of England and France's purchasing of US goods with these reparation funds, which never came. This led to surplus production in the U.S. and largely brought about the Great Depression. The great depression was essentially, a matter of too many goods being chased by too few customers or dollars. FDR's new deal made sense in that spending state monies helped sop up excess production.

The seeds of WWII were planted by how things were handled at the end of WWI.

England and France's insistence that Germany pay reparations for WWI, kept Germany's economy in a devastated state and general morale among its people low. This allowed a strong man, namely Hitler, to come to power with his message of Germany being worthy and destined to for greatness. He argued to the German people that they were not deserving of being treated so poorly by the rest of the world. And the rest, as they say, is History.

My Five Minutes of Fame!

My home was recently the host of an at-home fathers play group. It also happened to be the Tuesday before Father's Day. This is traditionally the time of year that myself and my Stay-at-Home Dads group, http://www.dcmetrodads.com/ get a lot of attention from the media, whether we like it or not.

So when The Washington Post learned that we had a regular Tuesday playgroup for stay-at-home dads, they just had to send a reporter over to cover the anomaly. It happened to be such a big story, that it ended up on the front page of the nationally renowned newspaper that Sunday, and featured a picture of my son.

To view the article go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061601289.html

You might have to register with the site, but there is no cost.

"Lucky" - A Poem

"Lucky"

By Matt Vossler

At the end of an age
Is it lucky to be here?
We on razor's edge
Must admit I have fear

The bees, they are leaving
The signs are not good
They say keep believing
I know that I should

Can we keep taking rope?
Ignore every sign?
Where there's life there is hope
But I've lost some of mine.

A verse repeated in times
Have we been here before?
I think yes, but who knows?
And who's keeping the score?

At the end of an age
Is it lucky to be here?
We on razor's edge
Must admit I have fear.

Earth Day!

I wanted to share what I did for Earth Day, 2007. Along with wishing everyone I talked to, a happy Earth Day, in order to remind them, and explaining to my children that it was Earth Day and what that meant, I did some planting around my house.

First, coincidentally, our tree doctor who comes and treats our two Cheery trees to prevent tent caterpillars, each year, arrived today. He treated the trees while I traditionally picked his brain on some of the plant mysteries, specific to my yard, I have been mulling over for the past year. He advised me that the two "trees" I planted earlier in the fall, were really shrubs, and that they would do better in a different part of the yard. So after he left, I transplanted them.

Also, I happened to get an offer for some free ornamental grass plants from my parents today, and I found a place to plant them in the front, where I have also been planting and tending a new flower garden. This is a first for me, as I have planted vegetables before, but not a flower garden.

Happy Earth Day All!

Is Universal Health Care is Coming?

Why the Debate about Socialized Health Care may Take Care of Itself

With the coming availability of genetic information on patients, our government will likely be faced with a no-win situation. They can either facilitate the destruction of the insurance industry by banning the use of genetic information, thereby forcing them into adverse selection of patients, or they can allow the use of this information, and create a sub-class of citizens who cannot get insurance and cannot afford the healthcare themselves.

Not a good choice in my book! From a recent article in The Economist: "Indeed, genetic testing may become the most potent argument for state-financed universal health care." Like many other issues that are at first, hotly debated, state subsidized, universal health care may quite possibly become such a no-brainer that it naturally materializes, as surely as the debate evaporates.

Economic Case for Paternal Involvement

From "Naked Economics," by Charles Wheelan

"The best long-term solution (to discrimination against women in the workforce) is to change behavior at the household level. If and when men assume a larger share of child-care responsibilities, it will change the "profile" of job applicants. An interviewer will no longer be able to rationally infer that female applicants are more likely to leave the firm than male applicants. Thus, the incentive for firms to discriminate against young women (based on the assumption that they are more likely to leave the firm to care for her children) in the hiring process will go away completely. At the same time, firms with a higher fraction of men leaving early for soccer practice and doctor's appointments will be more sympathetic to the challenges of balancing work and family, making the workplace more hospitable for all workers with children, male or female."

My Theory on Conspiracists

Think about this. I believe that those who subscribe to theories of government conspiracies make two critical errors in their judgment about our government: 1) that the government is competent, and 2) that they can keep a secret!

........It's a joke :-)

Put this One in the Success Column!

The pop star Sting may have sung about losing his faith in politicians, but here is a government bill that managed to improve things.

From Greg Mankiw's blog, I confirmed what I sort of knew already about the 1996 Welfare Reform Bill. Robert Samuuelson writes, "Welfare caseloads have plunged. From August 1996 to June 2005, the number of people on welfare dropped from 12.2 million to 4.5 million. About 60 percent of mothers who left welfare got work. Their incomes generally rose. Many qualified for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which subsidizes low-income workers. Finally, there were intangible benefits: work connections, self-respect.

One lesson is that what people do for themselves often overshadows what government does for them. Since 1991, for example, the teen birthrate has dropped by a third. The mothers least capable of supporting children have had fewer of them. Welfare reform didn't single handedly cause this. But it reinforced a broader shift in the social climate—one emphasizing personal responsibility over victimhood....

So we've made a stubborn problem a bit more manageable. It's pragmatic progress, not a panacea. Why can't we do the same for other pressing problems—energy, immigration, retirement spending (Social Security, Medicare)? Here, welfare reform's political lessons apply.

One is the need to overcome a bias against change. We underestimate people's ability to adapt. In 1995, one think tank forecast that the bill would throw 1 million more children into poverty. If Congress had listened, little would have happened. Today we could gradually raise Social Security and Medicare eligibility ages without causing a social catastrophe.

The 1996 bill was one of President Clinton's most significant accomplishments."

The High Cost of Obesity???

Carol Graham of the Wallstreet Journal recently wrote: There is no doubt that cheap food and sedentary lifestyles play a major role in the increase of obesity. But an unanswered puzzle is the concentration of incidence in lower income groups. Obesity is largely a problem of the poor. If it's merely a story of cheap and readily available food, why then aren't the rich the fattest?

My answer is that, although there are other factors, such as greater acceptability among the poor and some minorities for being heavier, the fact that healthier food costs more, cannot be ignored. For example, you've got five dollars for dinner, are you going to buy fresh apples or frozen pizza? Junk food just packs more calories per dollar than healthy food.

The Real Reason for Soaring Healthcare?

Greg Mankiw writes, "But if health insurance, rather than exogenous technological advance, is the explanation for higher health spending, the policy implications could be profound. Better designed health insurance could, perhaps, save us a bundle of money."

See Businessweek for more on the topic.

Is Biotech becoming a victim of its own success?

How Start-ups in New Industries Struggle to Keep their Cutting Edge, Small Company Culture

As biotech becomes "big biotech," its companies, namely, Amgen and Genentech "grapple with a raft of new dilemmas: how to remain nimble and entrepreneurial despite a burgeoning bureaucracy and how to preserve their reputation for cutting-edge science, resisting pressure to join mainstream companies in the race to develop blockbuster drugs that could prove vulnerable to generic substitutes" (EIU, 2006).

The CEOs of these two companies are faced with what might be called a "higher level" problem; how to take advantage of their stellar growth, rather than becoming overwhelmed by it. In short form, the answer to this problem, according to these two, after commissioning an analysis of fast growing companies, is not to get complacent or arrogant. I know from experience and observation that success naturally leads to complacency and often arrogance. Leaders like Jack Welch know this and do not allow it to fester in their organizations.

The CEOs studied what differentiated themselves from big pharma, and learned that in order to stay on the cutting edge, they had to, not only attract top-notch scientists, but had to keep a creative environment in which they could flourish. This meant placing "a premium on internal communication that is stripped of ceremony and euphemism. Mr. Perimutter, who was one of Merck's top scientists before leaving for Amgen, says: "I like to joke that I get e-mail everyday that would be grounds for dismissal at Merck. We know how to spell insubordination around here" (EIU, 2006).

Genentech even goes so far as to allow its scientists to work part-time on their own scientific endeavors with the stipulation that it is pure science and not connected with the business of Genentech. Levinson, Genentech's CEO, sees little logic to the big pharma model that allows major scientific decisions to be made by the sales and marketing departments. It detracts from doing great science, says Levinson, "I'd rather drive a truck than run that kind of company" (EIU, 2006).

The EIU article points out, that "if, as some have argued, the last century was dominated by physics, the fate of 'big biotech" could yet provide conclusive evidence that the current one will be defined by biology."

References:

• Staff (2006). World healthcare: Big biotech fears becoming a victim of its own success

Turning the Tide

Energy from the Restless Sea

The New York Times, Business Section, August 4, 2006:

"A group of entrepreneurs is harnessing the perpetual motion of the ocean and turning it into a commodity in high demand: energy. Right now, machines of various shapes and sizes are being tested off shores from the North Sea to the Pacific — one may even be coming to the East River in New York State this fall — to see how they capture waves and tides and create marine energy."

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As the price of oil goes up, so goes the attractiveness of even the most fanciful of alternative energy ideas...this one is fast becoming a viable new source to help usher in US energy independence and renewed economic security, not to mention a way to leave the Middle East alone. Am I wrong here?

Big Oil Ripping us Off?

A common view these days is that big oil is ripping us off through price fixing.

I think of the story of the person who went to New Orleans after Katrina to sell generators. He hiked up the price for his troubles and found many who were only too happy to pay the premium. This guy, who was providing a invaluable service, was repaid by being arrested by the local law enforcers for "price gouging." I feel sorry for those who dearly needed the generators and missed out on getting them.

Of course most of the reason for the high price of oil is merely a matter of basic supply and demand, and not price fixing. Does one think that countries like Saudi Arabia really want to loose all of their customers in the long run, by forcing conservation and switching to new energy alternatives because the price of oil becomes just too high?

Why Blog?

From the article, "The invisible hand on the keyboard"

Why do economists spend valuable time blogging?

Aug 3rd 2006
From The Economist print edition

Like millions of others, economists from circles of academia and public policy spend hours each day writing for nothing. The concept seems at odds with the notion of economists as intellectual instruments trained in the maximisation of utility or profit. Yet the demand is there: some of their blogs get thousands of visitors daily, often from people at influential institutions like the IMF and the Federal Reserve.

A new study* by E. Han Kim and Adair Morse, of the University of Michigan, and Luigi Zingales, of the University of Chicago, shows that the internet's ability to spread knowledge beyond university classrooms has diminished the competitive edge that elite schools once held.

Top universities once benefited from having clusters of star professors. The study showed that during the 1970s, an economics professor from a random university, outside the top 25 programmes, would double his research productivity by moving to Harvard. The strong relationship between individual output and that of one's colleagues weakened in the 1980s, and vanished by the end of the 1990s.

The faster flow of information and the waning importance of location—which blogs exemplify—have made it easier for economists from any university to have access to the best brains in their field. That anyone with an internet connection can sit in on a virtual lecture from Mr DeLong (a prominent econoblogger and professor at the University of California, Berkeley) means that his ideas move freely beyond the boundaries of Berkeley, creating a welfare gain for professors and the public.

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Of all the new technologies out there, after the microwave and air conditioning of course, I put the greatest value on Cell phones and the Internet...Cell Phones, because of the security they provide (think of a roadside breakdown hundreds of miles from the nearest town with a baby on board) and the Internet, because I can now look up the meaning of such things as "back dating options" and why it is getting some people in trouble...I can sound intelligent at parties, that is, if I ever went to parties where that subject would come up! Could you imagine? ;-)

-- Matt

A New Dollar Mantra

I thought this was hysterical! (Maybe I am a nerd)

By Greg Mankiw

"Today's Wall Street Journal reports on "dollar policy:"

Mr. Paulson offered this statement on the U.S. dollar: "A strong dollar is in our nation's interest and that currency values should be determined in open and competitive markets in response to underlying economic fundamentals." It is a phrase he is sure to repeat over the next two and a half years, a tactic that another former Goldman Sachs chief executive, Robert Rubin, used to avoid inadvertently moving financial markets with offhand comments on the currency.

He didn't say what is widely understood inside the Bush administration and among economists: Some weakening of the U.S. dollar is likely in response to U.S. trade deficit that has grown very large and to flows of foreign savings to the U.S. that are unlikely to keep growing.

One of the more bizarre rituals in Washington is the press corp trying to get a Treasury Secretary to say something newsworthy about the exchange value of the dollar. The Treasury Secretary's goal is to say something that makes him look smart and authoritative without actually saying anything substantive which might cause market volatility.

The old Rubin mantra fits the bill, but it is getting a bit stale by now. I have a suggestion for a new dollar mantra that is just as good and a bit shorter. It's...

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Even though the sound of it
Is something quite atrocious
If you say it loud enough
You'll always sound precocious.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! "

(OK, I'm a Nerd --Matt)

The Future of Healthcare

Experiences in Asia and Australasia suggest that the future for healthcare is not necessarily private-sector provision.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the "world market for healthcare products and services will continue to grow rapidly over the forecast period (2006 - 10). Struggles among big pharmaceutical companies and governments about intellectual property rights along with downward pressure on prices due to the rise of generic drugs mask the bigger problems of inadequate basic care and skills shortages that will plague poorer countries. Furthermore, "healthcare insurance, and how best to provide it, will become an...important subject" (EIU, 2006).

Although the trend is for drugs to come under price pressures, healthcare spending will continue to rise dramatically, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP for most of the world's countries. Although the US and Europe are respectively the number one and two leading markets for healthcare, companies who want to expand into foreign markets will find good opportunities in Asia. "Major Asian markets will grow particularly rapidly, and be of particular interest to pharmaceutical manufacturers, suppliers of medical devices and healthcare service providers" (EIU, 2006).

But perhaps the most important issue of all in the first half of the new century will be how to best adapt, coordinate and restructure international efforts to deal with public health emergencies that are beyond the scope of the private sector, in any country. The World Health Organization (WHO) has come under some criticism and may have to be revamped and then might lead the debate as how to best address growing healthcare issues and problems among the countries of the world.

Private vs. public funding for healthcare is a debate that raged in the US during the first term of the Clinton administration and will probably come up again sooner rather than later. The world's countries range on this issue from totally private healthcare to totally public healthcare and many points in between. The Economist Intelligence Unit has taken a side; at least it seems so from this statement: "Asia and Australasia also suggests that the future for healthcare is not necessarily private-sector provision. Many of the wealthier Asian countries already operate high-quality public systems, often at relatively low cost" (EIU, 2006). I find this short statement, hidden in the middle of the forecast text to be a powerful prescription for a multitude of problems, and one that should get more attention and consideration.

As a side note, according to Bill Clinton's, "My Life," when the public was polled about a health care proposal, the overwhelming majority approved of it...unbeknownst to them, the proposal was the very one that the Clinton Administration was putting forward. The one that the Republicans scared everyone about and denounced as socialized medicine.

References:

Staff (2006). World healthcare outlook: A healthy sector. Economist Economic Unit

Energy, India, and National Security

Energy Continues to shape Geo-Political and National Security Concerns - An alliance with India will build a more secure future for the United States

General Background

Energy is one of the compelling economic and political issues of our time. There are currently dozens of alternative energy solutions being pursued by corporations and small business inventors, each with dreams of hitting upon the next big energy alternative and making more money than can be imagined. Energy issues are tied to big business, politics, national security, geo-political alliances/positioning, environmental concerns, personal concerns and globalization. It is and has been the cause of a war or two (my opinion).

Oil and gas prices are poised to continue to elevate for the foreseeable future, due largely to a continued increases in demand, as emerging economies like China's and India's expand along with their production of goods and services that require more and more energy. Already, U.S. oil companies have reported record profits for the first part of 2006, spawning a debate among US citizens and congress about the merits of a "windfall tax" on these profits. This debate seems to have settled down for now in favor of letting the "invisible hand of the market" (see "The Wealth of Nations," by Adam Smith) rule the day.

India's Deal with the US

Let me illustrate with a current topic that touches upon several of the issues I listed in paragraph one. Congress has passed a bill solidifying a deal with India that would allow "the US to supply India with civilian nuclear fuel and technology, in exchange for India allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect its non-military nuclear facilities" (EIU, 2006). This deal has drawn criticism from those who have concerns with upsetting Pakistan (a major ally in the war on terrorism), who might look upon the deal as a threat to their security as well as a signal of US loyalty in South Asia and a snub to them. Others fear that this will embolden countries like Iran and North Korea, so that they will ignore the IAEA and step up their nuclear weapons development and testing. Some point out that China has "expressed concern of the message the deal sends about the validity of international non-proliferation efforts" (EIU, 2006). Finally, there are those within India itself who see the deal as restrictive and makes India too dependent on the US.

A subsequent, non-coincidental "sale of F-16s to Pakistan...will not disguise the fact that the US now deems its alliance with India its highest strategic priority in South Asia" (EIU, 2006). As you can see from this example, energy (in this case as a bargaining chip) continues to shape geo-political strategy and national security decisions.

References:

Staff (2006) Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Energy Industry Briefing. India energy: Nuclear deal moves closer

Accounting for Fraud

Sarbanes Oxley is a law that came into being in the year 2002, in the wake of the financial reporting scandals of the previous couple of years. Companies like Enron and WorldCom became household words and several CEOs have gone to jail on account of "funny accounting." There was nothing funny about how employees of Enron or WorldCom, who were near retirement, saw their entire life savings go down the drain, because of greedy executives. Were these executives so emotionally removed from the terrible impact their actions had on the lives of their employees that they felt it was ok? Or were the temptations and incentives just so great, that it blinded them to all else?

In my studies, I have read case after case about entrepreneurs and CEOs who had such vision and passion and cared for their employees, and how that translated into success. It must be that there is a very fine line between having a strong passion and will to succeed and stepping into a place that gives one the illusion that they can do whatever they want in order to succeed. They must have a very great capacity to rationalize their actions. Do they say to themselves, this wrong is for the greater good, or do they just deny to themselves that anything is wrong? Are they so power hungry that they do neither, and just do whatever to satisfy their hunger? Maybe there is a whole spectrum.

From what I can determine, the Sarbanes Oxley law is currently having a net positive result in that it is effective in "uncovering weaknesses in internal controls and the potential for fraud (Koprowski, 2005)." One CPA I interviewed put it this way, "the management of companies are now paying closer attention, and if nothing else, the law gave the consulting industry a big boost." Another CPA said, when asked about SOX, "you mean the business consulting full employment act? I guess they have to do something after Y2K!"

References:

Koprowski, G. (2005, November 28). Study: Sarbanes-Oxley law not changing technology business culture. Commerce Times. Retrieved July 25, 2006, from http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/47467.html.

Ethical Complexities

What do we do when dealing with another country whose culture is corrupt by our standards? Do we bribe their government so that a competitor, who surely will bribe, does not take the contract away from us? We have laws against such practices, and yet, we are often faced with ethical dilemmas that are not easily resolved, especially in today's ultra competitive global economy; an economy where cultures sometimes clash.

I believe that laws and rules are very important, but I also believe that there are times, albeit very few, when the rules need to be broken. Hopefully this needs to happen less and less and does not proliferate, but think about how our country was born. All "patriots" were first criminals in the eyes of, not only the British, but of many colonials. This is not to say, anything goes, but that sometimes the picture looks different from a different vantage point or perspective.

Quotes and a Question

1. Aldous Huxley said, "An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex.
2. Carl Jung said, "Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you."

• To which I must ask, If Carl Jung cured a sane intellectual, would he not then be a nymphomaniac?

Managing Innovation at Nypro, Inc.

Innovation is the lifeblood of a capitalistic society. This is not just the domain of entrepreneurs and start ups. Nypro affords a good example of how to manage innovation within an established company.

The internal market for innovation at Nypro is facilitated through competition. Nypro managers believe innovation is the result of competition. Product development teams are formed and are pitted against other teams in the same plant and other plants. Once a product is fully developed and going into production, the development team is disbanded and a Continuous Improvement Team is formed to oversee the production to market phase. This team is charged with the task of helping the customer achieve its goals of getting a commercially successful product to market, inking a long-term contract with the customer, and improving margins, revenues, profits, quality and cycle time. Each team keeps a close eye on the teams in other plants, so when a good idea or innovation appears, all the teams quickly copy it. "Most ideas for process improvement emerged as Nypro's continuous improvement teams worked to solve production and profitability problems for its customers (Christensen & Voorheis, 1995)."

Lankton, Nypro's Founder and CEO, also instituted a process of employee evaluation that utilized the element of competition. If an employee met a rigorous set of standards, they would be allowed to become one of the stock holders of the company. Lankton also fostered competition by rewarding outstanding employees, teams and plants with praise in the company newsletters and other internal corporate reports. In a nutshell, "Nypro's organizational structure facilitated aggressive internal competition and constant attention to performance statistics that compared groups within the company. Many attributed Nypro's success in innovation to this internal rivalry-what one executive called 'progress through conflict.' This competitive spirit originated from Gordon Lankton himself and was fostered by Nypro's plant location strategy and its use of project teams (Christensen & Voorheis, 1995)."

When Lankton was faced with a decision of how to best disseminate the NovaPlast machines (new technology which allowed for faster tooling up), which were thought to be Nypro's best bet for maintaining its vigorous growth rate, management came up with three options. The first option was to build a new plant with only the NovaPlast machines. It was thought that this would utilize engineering efficiency and allow the plant team to focus on the unique properties of the new technology.

The second option was to put two or three machines in each of Nypro's plants though out the world. This option more closely resembled Nypro's core cultural process of fostering innovation by pitting each plant against the others across the many territories Nypro spans. More engineers, marketers and others would be work on the problems of getting the most utility out of the new technology.

The third option was to put the machines in only one plant so as to focus on making it successful at a single plant first, before putting them in the rest of the plants.

I would follow option two, but with a difference. Instead of putting two or three machines in each plant, I would have management devise an evaluation method for determining which plants would be more apt to succeed with the new machines, and then put the machines in the top eight of the list. These plants would be serving customers who would benefit most from the kinds of production qualities the new machines were suited to. Namely, Short run businesses, businesses' that required products to get to market quickly, and jobs that run in the bigger machines that can be downsized to the smaller NovaPlast machines. This method combines the advantages of option number two, with a mitigation of the risk of putting the machines in all of the plants at once. It is superior to options one and three because it not only brings the new machines "on-line" faster, but maximizes innovation fostered by competition that Nypro is famous for.

References:

Christensen, C. M., & Voorheis, R. (1995). Managing innovation at Nypro, Inc. (A) (Case No. 9-696-061). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Can Labeling be Dangerous?

Could ordinary corporate activities, such as segmentation (definition at end of article) and dividend distribution, be considered means of social exclusion, leading to the perpetuation of social disparity?

This is a fascinating question. It has me asking whether the way some companies market their products, have an adverse effect on the target market in terms of perpetuating behaviors that are detrimental to them. For example, the "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" campaign. Here we have a corporate entity, namely Las Vegas, who has apparently identified a market segment who they feel are prone to engaging in risky behavior. They then promote such behavior as not only socially acceptable, but desirable. This reinforcement presumably perpetuates a kind of behavior that may be destructive to one's personal and professional life.

Any thoughts?...video games?...the music industry?....

Segmentation is a marketing term for the grouping of target customers according to tastes, age, socioeconomic level, ethnicity, political affiliation, geographical location, etc. In a sense, labeling.

A Guest Writer on Leadership

A LEADER ALWAYS FAILS UPWARDS!
by Tony Alessandra

Abraham Lincoln really was born in a log cabin. The fact that he went on to become President -- and to lead the country through the most difficult period of its history -- is truly remarkable. It is even more amazing when you consider what it took to be an important leader in the middle of the nineteenth century. Although we hear a lot about people like Lincoln or Andrew Jackson or Ulysses S. Grant -- people who came from nothing to wield great power -- these were most definitely the exceptions that proved the rule. Moreover, the rule was, most successful people started out with all the advantages. Financially, it was much harder to get rich a hundred and fifty years ago than it is today -- and if you failed, it was much harder to get back on your feet. There was no safety net from the government or from anywhere else to make sure that you did not go hungry. In those days, it was every man for himself.

With that in mind, let's look for a minute at some of the things that Lincoln faced and overcame. You have probably seen lists similar to this, describing Lincoln's failures, but I'd like to go through it again in order to make some important points, which we will take up immediately after the list. As you are reading this list, I'd like you also to think of setbacks you have faced in your own life, and how you responded to them.

In 1832, Lincoln was working in a general store in Illinois when he decided to run for the state legislature. However, the election was some months away, and before it took place, the general store went bankrupt and Lincoln was out of a job. So, he joined the army and served three months. When he got out, it was time for the election -- which he lost.

Then, with a partner, Lincoln opened a new general store. His partner embezzled from the business, and the store went broke. In addition, shortly thereafter, the partner died, leaving Lincoln with debts that took several years to pay off.

In 1834, Lincoln ran again for the state legislature, and this time he won. He was even elected to three more terms of two years each. During this period, however, Lincoln also suffered some severe emotional problems. Today he would have been categorized as clinically depressed.

By 1836, Lincoln had become a licensed attorney. At that time, a law degree was not required to pass the bar exam, and Lincoln had been studying on his own for years. He later became a circuit-riding lawyer, traveling from county to county in Illinois to plead cases in different jurisdictions. He was one of the most diligent of all the lawyers doing this kind of work, and between 1849 and 1860 he missed only two court sessions on the circuit.

In 1838, he was defeated in an attempt to become Speaker of the Illinois legislature, and in 1843, he was defeated in an attempt to win nomination for Congress. In 1846, he was elected to Congress, but in 1848, he had to leave because his party had a policy of limiting terms. In 1854, he was defeated in a run for the U.S. Senate. In 1856, he lost the nomination for Vice President, and in 1858, he was again defeated in a race for the Senate. Yet in spite of all these setbacks, in 1860 he was elected President of the United States.

What can we learn about leadership from looking at this chronology? To me, the most remarkable thing is how every time Lincoln failed at something, he was soon trying for something even bigger. After he lost his seat in the state legislature, he ran for the national congress. After he lost a bid for the Senate, he tried to become vice president -- and after he lost the Senate race again, he ended up President of the whole country.

Lincoln saw himself as a leader long before anyone else did -- and this is the first key to his leadership genius. He may have failed many times, but somehow he always failed upward. He was propelled by a sense of mission, and he was willing and able to do whatever it took to get that great mission accomplished.

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Build Customers, Relationships and the Bottom-Line!

Street-wise with a college-smart perspective on business, he fought his way out of NYC to eventually realize success as a graduate professor of marketing, entrepreneur, business author, and consultant. Let Dr. Tony Alessandra help you and your business build customers, relationships, and the bottom-line.

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U.S. Trade Imbalance Explained

The main imbalance is between the United States and Asian nations. The trend is that the United States imports, consumes and borrows while Asian nations export, save and lend.

For now, the imbalance between the United States and Asia benefits the economies on both sides. Asians get jobs in export firms, and their American customers get high-quality, inexpensive goods including clothing, cars and appliances. The United States also gets cheap capital from Asia because the dollars that Asians earn for their exports often end up invested in the bonds of the U.S. Treasury and mortgage-finance companies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These purchases of U.S. securities help keep interest rates low, which in turn helps create new U.S. jobs that replace the ones lost to imports.

However, this imbalance isn't going to be beneficial forever. The U.S. bonds that foreigners are accumulating means the United States is going deeper into debt to fund its import binge. The rest of the world may eventually decide that the United States is no longer a safe bet for lending more money.

U.S. corporations are possibly looking too much at the current benefits of importing, and not enough at the long term affect it has on the nation's economy. A reevaluation should occur...it would be beneficial in the long run to offset some of the dollars of imports with more exports. Although the resent downturn in the strength of the dollar will be helpful in this respect, the Federal Government needs to practice fiscal restraint in order to help offset the effects of less foreign investment coming in. To avoid a global scare that the U.S. will not be able to finance its debt, a narrowing of the current account gap, ideally should be gradual.

References:

Blustein, P. "U.S. trade deficit hangs in a delicate imbalance", Washingtonpost.com, A01, 11 November 2005.

Bio-tech Firm gets Some Good News

Novavax Gets Positive Pre-Clinical Influenza Study Results

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
July 18, 2006 9:35 a.m.

Novavax Inc. (NVAX) has received positive results from several pre-clinical studies relating to its pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines, which are under development.

The company said scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and the Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, Ala. have been collaborating with it to test its virus-like particle vaccines for various strains of influenza.

"These results are highly encouraging and are an early affirmation of the strength of our VLP platform in several pre-clinical models," the Columbia, Md. biopharmaceutical company said.

-Judy McKinnon; 416-306-2100; AskNewswires@dowjones.com

Don't fear the Reaper!

Those who fear outsourcing in a general sense, are making three critical errors in facts, not withstanding the, hopefully temporary, pain of being one of the workers threatened or displaced by a changing business environment.

The three errors are:

1. That there is a fixed amount of jobs, and that once they are taken, that is it,
2. That everything that can be invented, has been invented, and
3. That human needs and desires are finite.

The reality is that inventions are not going to dry up because human wants and desires are infinite (a basic premise of economics), which always leads to those who will find ways to fill those needs. In many cases, inventors and entrepreneurs are masters at making something that people just must have, that they didn't know that they needed two months ago. This should help to illustrate that there are not a fixed amount of jobs, and that the United States, especially, is and has always been skilled at leading the world in new and interesting directions, via new inventions and innovations.

Consider the worker at a factory who sees an opportunity to start his own company, say selling used iPods (it doesn't matter for this illustration). One of the factors this person considered in his decision to strike out on his own, is the fact that, because of the (broadband) Internet and the PC (two technologies that began in the U.S.), he can outsource some of the functions like accounting and/or data management he might need, at a fraction of the cost of hiring someone here to do. This in turn, allows him to begin his business, and as his business grows, he finds it necessary to hire several others to help out, maybe people from his old factory job.

Matt

Citibank - A Pioneer in e-business Strategy

CitiDirect is Citibank's online web interface that allows Citibank's clients access to banking, cash and trade management services 24/7 anywhere in the world, in real time. One problem that Citibank has had with getting all clients onboard with CitiDirect is those clients who are not yet comfortable with doing business on-line. Their major concern is that of security.

Citibank can provide education and a little handholding for clients like these, as a way of easing them into the increasingly on-line business world. Programs could educate clients on the increased efficiencies, cost savings, safeness and market expanding attributes of doing business via the Web. Citibank might also offer more in the way of security measures for those who need a higher amount of security, such as some governmental and quasi-governmental clients.

Citibank could offer more in the way of currency exchange and language translation services for its multinational corporate clients, as opposed to some of its smaller local clients who are not ready to do business globally. Citibank's Cash and Trade Group can tailor its CitiDirect web interface to the particular needs of clients in different industries. A simplified example is that Citibank might emphasize stock trading on the front page, or somewhere in the site of a client's CitiDirect interface, because that client makes most of its income buying and selling stocks. A client who sells golfing equipment might want a page that lists its vendors and customers. A client who depends on membership dues for income mi