Prof started the session educating us on the importance of critical reading. Though we were taught this skill ever since Secondary School, we still tend to be blinded by chunks of evidences and statistics the articles provide such that we fail to question to credibility of the article. The article and agenda of the writer could be to sway your thoughts in his/her direction and thus i learnt that extreme caution is needed so as not to read blindly. I think one important way to do this is to cross reference sources to other sources. If a few sources present the same information, then the information is probably correct.
Next we were posted with a question of who is the biggest driver for world change, and also who drives companies to adopt more sustainable ways of industrialisation. While many of us are pointing our fingers at each other, we always fail to look at our own mistakes. Everyone has a part to play and playing a small part is still better than doing nothing at all. So whose responsibility is it to push this concept of sustainability? Government, individual, or companies. Though a three pronged approach would be the dream outcome, the one who plays the largest part probably depends on the context of the country in question. In a country with high consumerism and great political freedom such as the United States, consumers definitely can play a huge part in pushing for this greener ways of life. If they can hold their stand firm, the companies will be obliged to change their ways, the government will also be pressured to make necessary policies so that they can continue to reign in the next elections. However in a country with little political freedom, standing up against the government is just plain pointless. Nothing is going to get changed, and thus in such a case, the party in the best position to adopt green policies will be the government.
We also talked about adaptability through a quote from Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change." It is thus important for companies to be able to always adapt, to innovate, and to always challenge themselves. Without being able to adapt, the other more adaptable companies will definitely take over. This is especially true in this rapidly developing world, where things change so quickly day in day out. The inability of companies to adapt to new demands will just make them obsolete. However i feel that being adaptable is only a baseline for companies to survive. In order to succeed, one has to see the change before the change sets in. Companies need to expect this changes and be at the forefront when the change happens.
One video that caught my attention was the video on the guy dancing and thus influencing many others to join him. This taught me several lessons. Firstly, i learnt that in order to succeed, first thing and the hardest thing is the first step. The boy in the video took the first step and starting dancing crazily to the music. Secondly, perseverance is definitely important as well. As shown in the video, the boy was dancing alone for the first half a minute. If he told himself, "no one is going to follow, i am just going to give up", he would have stopped there, and he would not have succeeded in gathering everyone for a dance. Thirdly, one must know what he wants and go for it no matter how other ridicule you, because when you succeed, those who you ridiculed you will become the joke themselves!
In conclusion, this lesson gave me a new perspective on the various drivers of change and also made me realise how everyone can make a difference. Thus i give the lesson a rating of 8/10.
Next we were posted with a question of who is the biggest driver for world change, and also who drives companies to adopt more sustainable ways of industrialisation. While many of us are pointing our fingers at each other, we always fail to look at our own mistakes. Everyone has a part to play and playing a small part is still better than doing nothing at all. So whose responsibility is it to push this concept of sustainability? Government, individual, or companies. Though a three pronged approach would be the dream outcome, the one who plays the largest part probably depends on the context of the country in question. In a country with high consumerism and great political freedom such as the United States, consumers definitely can play a huge part in pushing for this greener ways of life. If they can hold their stand firm, the companies will be obliged to change their ways, the government will also be pressured to make necessary policies so that they can continue to reign in the next elections. However in a country with little political freedom, standing up against the government is just plain pointless. Nothing is going to get changed, and thus in such a case, the party in the best position to adopt green policies will be the government.
We also talked about adaptability through a quote from Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change." It is thus important for companies to be able to always adapt, to innovate, and to always challenge themselves. Without being able to adapt, the other more adaptable companies will definitely take over. This is especially true in this rapidly developing world, where things change so quickly day in day out. The inability of companies to adapt to new demands will just make them obsolete. However i feel that being adaptable is only a baseline for companies to survive. In order to succeed, one has to see the change before the change sets in. Companies need to expect this changes and be at the forefront when the change happens.
One video that caught my attention was the video on the guy dancing and thus influencing many others to join him. This taught me several lessons. Firstly, i learnt that in order to succeed, first thing and the hardest thing is the first step. The boy in the video took the first step and starting dancing crazily to the music. Secondly, perseverance is definitely important as well. As shown in the video, the boy was dancing alone for the first half a minute. If he told himself, "no one is going to follow, i am just going to give up", he would have stopped there, and he would not have succeeded in gathering everyone for a dance. Thirdly, one must know what he wants and go for it no matter how other ridicule you, because when you succeed, those who you ridiculed you will become the joke themselves!
In conclusion, this lesson gave me a new perspective on the various drivers of change and also made me realise how everyone can make a difference. Thus i give the lesson a rating of 8/10.
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