Playing an SOP Paper Folding Game game in class..

As usual this time in the Lean Operations class we brought in the activity style of pedagogy to teach an important concept in lean operations - Standard Operating Procedure.

Standard Operating Procedure - A standard operating procedure is a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out routine operations. SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output, and uniformity of performance, while reducing miscommunication and failure to comply with industry regulations. Wikipedia

On Monday 20th of March 2023, I engaged the topic of Standard Operating Procedure with the fourth sem MBA operations students through a game. Earlier I had introduced the topic of Kaizen and continuous Improvement with the straw game.

Since the class strength was about thirty I asked for ten volunteers who were asked to stand with A5 paper in the different corners of the large classroom. It was the paper folding game. 

• Initially the students were given vague instruction on folding the sheets of paper and tearing off the corners. The results were highly variable, we got as many as 5 separate designs with one design taking a frequency of 3. 
• This got reduced as I gave more detailed instructions to the volunteers in different stages of the game.
• Finally in the last and fifth stage the volunteers were clearly explained what was meant by corners, edges, long edge, short edge etc and when the instructions were given, all the 8 volunteers gave an identical design.

The learning from the game was that if proper Standard Operating Procedure is given to the workers and if all the terminology in the SOP is properly understood by the workers, there is very less probability of working committing mistakes and all the output will be similar, zero variability, leading to high quality uniform output and customer acceptance and satisfaction.

There was no other way to practically demonstrate to the students other than through this practical insightful simple game on how SOPs can bring quality to the process and enhance customer satisfaction.

George..

Becoming a world class Professor..

I asked Open AI how a person can become a world class Professor. According to some of the top Professors in world class institutions good teaching and research record are essential prerequisites. When I interact with my colleagues I get to know many factors and the important ones remain the same.

According to Open AI a world-class professor requires a combination of factors, including academic achievements, personal qualities, and professional experiences. Here are some essential prerequisites that can help one become a world-class professor:

• Education: A solid foundation of formal education, such as a doctoral degree in the field of study, is typically required to become a professor. Being taught by great Professors is a great motivation for humans. Though the academic institutional heritage does carry some weightage, more often than not, hardwork and individual brilliance sidelines it. Edison or Einstein neither of them had access to great education but still they are recognised world over as great professionals. 
• Research Experience: It is essential to have a strong background in research in the specific field. This means having experience in designing and conducting research studies, analyzing data, and publishing research papers. Normal good quality research output reach is limited due to the high costs of subscription to world class journals. In Web 3.0 personal publishing is an important aspect. Doing formal research and knowledge updation, keeping aspects of research integrity is the future of high quality research. 
• Teaching Experience: You need to have experience in teaching and communicating complex ideas to students at various levels, from undergraduate to graduate programs. How to engage topics and in what order in the class, what all intellectual group activities can be assigned to students, all bring value to the students. Being able to bring latest knowledge concepts in the class to arouse student anxiety and understanding is necessary to make lectures captivating and motivating to students. 
• Strong Communication Skills: Excellent communication skills are essential for a professor, including the ability to convey complex information in an understandable manner, and to engage and motivate students. A Professor should also be well read on a lot of interesting aspects and global events to captivate the students and push them to reach greater heights. A good commanding voice with command of the
  
• Intellectual Curiosity: A world-class professor should have a deep intellectual curiosity, a desire to explore new ideas and theories, and a passion for learning. Keeping up-to-date with reading quality research material and global events with frequent interactions with learned well read professional colleagues can be enlightening for professors. When they bring these intellectual discussions back to the classroom interacting with the students, the students unknowingly are taken to a different high level of interaction and thinking. 
• Dedication and Commitment: Dedication and commitment are essential qualities for a professor. This means being willing to put in the time and effort necessary to excel in teaching, research, and service. This aspect gets meaningful with the understanding that great teaching comes with great humility too.
• Professional Network: Building a strong professional network with colleagues, peers, and researchers in the field is important for sharing ideas, collaborating on research projects, and staying current with the latest developments. Sharing one's knowledge with peers is a great way to go forward. If external networking is difficult, one can always try to network with professionals online and in our own community and benefit immensely from the high quality interactions.
• Professional Ethics: Upholding ethical standards is essential for a world-class professor. This means maintaining integrity in research and teaching, being respectful of students and colleagues, and adhering to the principles of academic freedom and free speech. Respecting other people's Intellectual property is very important. Whenever quoting somebody else's work quoting them, living or dead, adds value to our own authenticity and worth too. 
  
• Accessibility to students and colleagues. The moment we stay aloof from the students and from experimentation and learning, we are losing touch with reality and we will fumble. 
• Being open minded without bias : This is very important as most of the professors out of their seniority and experience develop biases and remain inaccessible to some sections of students, colleagues and the public. This kills the intellectual growth of the faculty member and kills or blights the intellectual curiosity of the student.
• Practice intellectual humility : given opportunities and facilities everyone can attain greatness and expertise. Understanding and accepting this truth would allow us to motivate and promote others to do good for the students.
• Having a cooperative mindset : cooperating with other faculty members and professional colleagues is vital in the success of a professor. The acceptance of the fact that no one is inevitable in the world will make us realise that we all live in a highly networked cooperative world. 
• Admitting to one's ignorance : No one knows everything in the world and admitting one's ignorance on some facts requires lot of courage and guts. If only one knows the limits of his/her knowledge can one improve and become a great Professor.
  

Overall, becoming a world-class professor requires a combination of academic excellence, teaching and research skills, strong communication abilities, intellectual curiosity, dedication, and professional ethics.

What matters in business?

This morning I was having a talk with my colleagues on what constitutes a good business model. While my friends came up with what constitutes a good business model with enough strategic planning, financial planning, market research, costing, production planning, HR planning, suppliers, supply chain partners, sc design etc, I was insisting on the aspect of customer value. 

I kept stressing from an Operations perspective how organisations that are obsessed with customers and offer great value will be the ones that finally will survive in the long run. Amazon continues to be an example of an organisation that repeatedly delivers great customer value, a reason why customers keep visiting Amazon for purchases. 

In spite of what employess feel about Amazon and it's policies, customers are super excited at the value delivery.

My colleagues kept stressing how employee motivation policies and retention strategies along with long term growth projections are equally important as customer delight and value delivery.

Great business performance involves achieving a healthy balance between financial success, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and market share. I still believe customer obsession and service, combined with equally good employee motivation and retention policies are important. 

Literature points to a more detailed picture. Revenue growth through high value delivery and good employee policies make a big difference. Great business performance is typically measured by a variety of key performance indicators (KPIs) that indicate the overall health and success of the organization. 

After giving a search on OpenAI some of the most common KPIs used to evaluate business performance include:

1. Revenue growth: This measures the percentage increase in revenue over time. Consistent growth in revenue is a sign of a healthy, successful business.

2. Profit margin: This measures the percentage of revenue that remains after deducting expenses. A high profit margin is a sign of good financial management and efficiency.

3. Customer satisfaction: This measures the satisfaction levels of customers with the products or services provided by the business. High customer satisfaction is essential for maintaining long-term success.

4. Employee satisfaction: This measures the satisfaction levels of employees with their work and work environment. A happy, motivated workforce is crucial for maintaining productivity and achieving long-term success.

5. Market share: This measures the percentage of the total market that the business controls. A growing market share is a sign of a successful business that is gaining traction in the marketplace.

6. Return on investment (ROI): This measures the return on investment for the business's capital investments. A high ROI indicates that the business is generating significant returns on its investments. - OpenAI

Along with other points value delivery to customers and good employee policies can contribute to remarkable growth of organisations in the long run.

George 

How can stretching exercises benefit the human body ?

My friends have always instructed me to do not just exercises like walking etc but also stretching exercises. At first I did not know the benefits, but later on came to know that stretching is much better than just doing regular exercises. My better health for the past one year is based on this realisation.

Stretching exercises provide numerous benefits for the human body, including:

1. Improved flexibility: Stretching helps to increase the range of motion of your joints and muscles. This can improve your overall flexibility, which can make it easier to perform physical activities and reduce the risk of injury.

2. Better posture: Stretching can help to lengthen and strengthen your muscles, which can improve your posture and reduce the risk of back pain.

3. Increased blood flow: Stretching can increase blood flow to your muscles, which can help to reduce muscle soreness and stiffness after exercise.

4. Reduced stress: Stretching can be a great way to relieve stress and tension in your muscles. It can also help to improve your mental focus and concentration.

5. Improved athletic performance: Stretching can help to improve your athletic performance by increasing your range of motion, flexibility, and strength.

6. Reduced risk of injury: By improving flexibility and range of motion, stretching can reduce the risk of injury during physical activity.

7. Improved balance and coordination: Stretching exercises can help to improve your balance and coordination, which can be beneficial for activities such as yoga, dance, and sports.

Overall, incorporating stretching exercises into your daily routine can help to improve your physical health, reduce the risk of injury, and improve your overall quality of life.

Maintaining a healthy l;ifestyle ..

What should we be doing to lead  a happy and healthy life ?

To lead a happy and healthy life one needs to keep good health, exercise and get good food and rest

1. Eat a healthy and balanced diet: This means including a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins in your meals. Avoid processed and sugary foods as much as possible.
2. Exercise regularly: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. This can include activities such as walking, running, swimming, or cycling.
3. Get enough sleep: Adults should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Getting enough sleep helps to repair and rejuvenate the body, and can improve physical and mental health.
4. Stay hydrated: It is important to drink enough water throughout the day. Aim for at least 8-8 ounces of water per day.
5. Avoid tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption: Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can have serious negative impacts on your health. If you do smoke, try to quit, and if you do drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
6. Practice stress management: Chronic stress can have negative impacts on your physical and mental health. Find ways to manage stress, such as through exercise, meditation, or talking to a therapist.
7. Get regular check-ups: Regular check-ups with your doctor can help identify potential health issues early on and allow for timely treatment

George..

Does ChatGPT write better English ?

The below text was the original text I write for the blog on our Aravind visit last Novenber to Madurai.

Aravind Eye Care Success - George Easaw

Pl write this article in a better way 

First it is the extremely high levels of efficiency, while an ophthalmologist in an eye hospital does almost 1-2 cataract surgeries per day, an Arvind hospital eye doctor does about 15 cataract surgeries a day, almost 10x.

Secondly so many surgeries are done daily in the hospital, besides the high level of medical expertise of the doctors, the Intra-ocular lens that the hospital manufactures on its own, it is able to sell at $5 apiece, while an imported IOL would cost anywhere above $80. The low cost of the lens helps support cheap surgeries and thus results in increased cost efficiencies in a vicious cycle.

The third factor is the economies of scale and assembly lines concepts that are taken from the industry helping increase operational efficiency, besides organising outreach camps nearer to the customer to generate the necessary demand. 

While Aravind Hospital does not invest much in advertising or other frill activity, it invests heavily in the latest state of the art machinery in the hospital and top world class training and exposure for its doctors and nurses, which is the fourth factor.

The fifth factor is the value set imparted by the founder Dr. V Govindaswamy in eradicating needless blindness from the country that has helped the hospital in offering more than 50% of its surgeries to the needy people in society free of charge and giving world class trainig to medical personnel from other hospitals at very low rates.

A later article by Prof. Vijay Govindarajan in HBR of January 2012 points of the audacious nature of Aravind's goals and how the hospital has managed to rise above expectations. Click here .. The benefits of lower costs of labour and process innovation steps have helped Aravind steal the limelight and become one of the world's top and high quality eye care centre.  

I have been asked by MBA students, would the Aravind eye care system have survived in another culture or country ? According to me, the high population always ensures a high demand for Aravind services. The high poverty levels in society puts pressure on the system to offer high quality low cost services to the masses, pushing the system to continuously strive for innovative methods of functioning and service delivery. 

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

ChatGPT edited improved text

The Aravind Eye Care System has become one of the world's top and high-quality eye care centers due to several factors. Firstly, it boasts an exceptional level of efficiency. An ophthalmologist in an eye hospital typically performs 1-2 cataract surgeries a day, while an Aravind Hospital eye doctor performs around 15 cataract surgeries a day, a nearly ten-fold increase.

Secondly, the hospital's high volume of surgeries each day is made possible not only by the medical expertise of its doctors but also by its in-house manufactured intra-ocular lens (IOL). The IOL, which is sold at $5 each, enables the hospital to offer cheap surgeries and helps to sustain a low-cost, high-efficiency cycle.

Thirdly, the hospital leverages economies of scale and assembly line concepts from the manufacturing industry to increase its operational efficiency, along with organizing outreach programs to reach its customers.

The fourth factor that contributes to the hospital's success is its investment in state-of-the-art machinery and world-class training and exposure for its doctors and nurses. The hospital prioritizes these investments over advertising or other extraneous activities.

Finally, the fifth factor is the value set imparted by the hospital's founder, Dr. V Govindaswamy, to eradicate needless blindness in the country. This mission has motivated the hospital to offer more than 50% of its surgeries to those in need for free and to provide low-cost training to medical personnel from other hospitals.

In conclusion, the Aravind Eye Care System's success can be attributed to its high efficiency, low-cost IOL, economies of scale, investment in technology and training, and its mission to eradicate needless blindness. While it is difficult to determine if the system would be successful in another culture or country, its success in India is likely due to the high demand for its services, driven by the country's high population and poverty levels

 The way in which the text is neatly rewritten also tells us that ChatGPT language model is indeed a very good one. 

George..

Interaction with Amazon UK Manager..

It was a great opportunity for the sem 4 MBA Operations students to know about global operations from Amazon in the classroom from a senior Amazon employee. 

We arranged a professional interaction with an Amazon Sr. Manager from UK (Easaw George) with students of MBA sem 4 operations at Alliance School of Business, Bangalore to know more about Amazon global middle mile logistics and product returns.

The interaction happened from 10.10 AM to 11.10 AM on 2 March 2023. Easaw started with what he does and how middle mile logistics adds value to the Amazon network. 

Be it in product consolidation or choosing the best transportation modes or even ensuring improved forward handling rates from 400 packages per hour per employee to 1200 packages per hour per employee, the focus Amazon keeps on improving their final customer service is appreciable.

Answering a question on how Amazon was increasing the costs for customers in India to access privileged Amazon services like Prime and so on, Easaw was quick to respond that as an organisation Amazon also incurs heavy costs. The ecommerce facility does not bring all the revenues for Amazon like AWS. But having customers and ensuring they get great value out of the system is the foremost concern for Amazon. 

Due to professional constraints Easaw could not discuss specifically about Amazon processes but he gave the students a birds eye view of the happenings in middle mile network of Amazon. Easaw also discussed about the Value Improvement and waste reduction processes at Amazon and also especially about the environmental sustainability efforts at Amazon.

The interaction was a confidence booster for the students. This is the second time Easaw is interacting with Alliance Bangalore students. Click here for a brief writeup on middle Mile logistics ..

George..

AI mediated refined above text (it is interesting to find how AI can write good english)

 March 2, 2023, the MBA sem 4 Operations students at Alliance School of Business, Bangalore had the opportunity to engage in a professional interaction with Easaw George, a Senior Manager from Amazon UK. The session focused on Amazon's global middle mile logistics and product returns.

During the interaction, Easaw highlighted the value that middle mile logistics adds to Amazon's network. He discussed how Amazon is continuously improving its customer service by optimizing product consolidation, transportation modes, and forward handling rates.

In response to a question about increasing costs for privileged Amazon services in India, Easaw explained that Amazon incurs heavy costs as an organization and that customer satisfaction is the company's top priority.

Although Easaw was unable to discuss specific Amazon processes due to professional constraints, he provided students with an overview of the middle mile network and shared insights into Amazon's value improvement and waste reduction processes, as well as its environmental sustainability efforts.

The interaction was a confidence booster for the students, and it was the second time Easaw had interacted with students from Alliance Bangalore. Interested readers can find a brief write-up on Amazon's middle mile logistics here.

Being happy and healthy ..

Build Confidence and Courage

How can a person be confident and courageous?

Being confident and courageous is a trait that can be developed and strengthened over time with practice. Here are some tips that can help a person become more confident and courageous:

1. Know yourself: Understanding your strengths and weaknesses can help you build confidence in your abilities.

2. Set goals: Setting realistic goals and working towards achieving them can boost your confidence.

3. Take risks: Facing your fears and taking risks can help you build courage.

4. Practice self-care: Taking care of your physical and emotional needs can help you feel more confident and resilient.

5. Surround yourself with positivity: Surrounding yourself with supportive and positive people can help you build confidence and courage.

6. Learn from failures: Instead of being discouraged by failures, use them as opportunities to learn and grow.

7. Practice assertiveness: Learning to communicate your needs and boundaries in a respectful manner can help you build confidence and assertiveness.

8. Take action: Taking action towards your goals and dreams, even if it feels uncomfortable, can help you build courage and confidence.

Remember that building confidence and courage takes time and practice. Be patient with yourself, celebrate your successes, and learn from your mistakes.

Being confident and courageous ..

How can a person be confident and courageous ? 

Being confident and courageous is a trait that can be developed and strengthened over time with practice. Here are some tips that can help a person become more confident and courageous:

1. Know yourself: Understanding your strengths and weaknesses can help you build confidence in your abilities.

2. Set goals: Setting realistic goals and working towards achieving them can boost your confidence.

3. Take risks: Facing your fears and taking risks can help you build courage.

4. Practice self-care: Taking care of your physical and emotional needs can help you feel more confident and resilient.

5. Surround yourself with positivity: Surrounding yourself with supportive and positive people can help you build confidence and courage.

6. Learn from failures: Instead of being discouraged by failures, use them as opportunities to learn and grow.

7. Practice assertiveness: Learning to communicate your needs and boundaries in a respectful manner can help you build confidence and assertiveness.

8. Take action: Taking action towards your goals and dreams, even if it feels uncomfortable, can help you build courage and confidence.

Remember that building confidence and courage takes time and practice. Be patient with yourself, celebrate your successes, and learn from mistakes.