geordee

Qualify Qualitatively

Quality is one of the evergreen topics for discussion in business world. I attended yet another session on quality a few days back and that made me think a bit deeper – more on concept and perceptions. Our instructor described quality as conformance to requirements and fitness for use, the common definitions from Philip Crosby and Joseph Juran. Next, our instructor mentioned that the need for quality is to survive in competition and to get repeat business – with heavy overtones from sales and marketing.

Many talk about product and process qualities further complicating the matter. They point out the...

Systems Approach

Currently I am reading a book named Long-Range Forecasting – From Crystal Ball To Computer (LRF). The author – J Scott Armstrong – begins by introducing a simple idea which he calls systems approach as the first lesson to be learned in forecasting. The approach is an elementary technique for analysis and planning. Many such important techniques in management have been known for decades or even centuries. We keep reinventing, repackaging and reselling!!!

The systems approach helps in developing, evaluating & implementing projects (programs) with a holistic perspective....

Negotiate the Value

One of the confounding terms in the business world is value. Outside the business world the term poses difficult questions to philosophers, economists, religious thinkers in the sense it matters to them. One of the main challenges is to define whether the value of an object/service is absolute or relative. For example, neoclassical economists perceive value as relative while classical folks try to measure it as innate worth, and an objectivist acknowledges the worth, but play it down with reason.

In a world, where value seems to be driven by perceptions of individuals, it is difficult to assess the true...

Learn from Ignorance

What prompts a person to learn? I have been trying to find an answer, especially in the context of work. For many, once out of educational system, learning becomes almost a matter of choice. The biggest hurdle in making this choice is the refusal to accept ignorance. We have built a culture around us where ignorance is considered a shame.

Look around! Many of us are trying to convince ourselves that we know, especially in the areas of our specialty or work. Seldom we realize that those confidence-boosters become obstacles in our learning process. The first step in learning is...

Say Cheese!

A few years back, when the book Who Moved My Cheese? was in the list of top-sellers, everyone talked about change frequently and daringly. Change is inevitable in the universe and life, that we all must be prepared to deal with. But all changes need not bring desirable results. Success of a change depends on the current situation, our knowledge on it, and the acceptation of it’s results.

Along with change comes the restraint to change – which is good. In life, the restraint to change is often a mental block, or a fear that the change may not work,...

Circle of Trust

Since I joined the Orkut community, I have been noticing a lot of hits coming to this site from Orkut. I couldn’t help, but thinking and searching about Orkut.

Orkut is a social networking site designed by Orkut Büyükkökten – a turkish software engineer – as a personal project in Google. It has grown into a phenomenon with the help of netizens, dedicating their time and “relationships”. But I was particularly intrigued by one of the most important aspect of any social network. Privacy!

Reading through the fine-print, I understand the privacy of our personal information (date of birth, address,...

Solving 3 x 3 x 3 Rubik's Cube

Sometime back, I was searching in the Wide Web World for an easy-to-understand solution for Rubik’s cube. I found many, but none worked out for me. Finally my friends helped me out to solve it. As I got help from many, I started jotting down the moves and thought I will write those down for the benefit of others. That was the first version of this article.

Later, I discovered that people are still having problems with notations, and I introduced a new notation as well.

Read this completely once, before attempting to solve.

Most of us see Rubik’s cube...

Introduction to Cryptography

Cryptography was a subject of interest among the Government agencies, military, banks and multinational corporations, until recently. The research and development in this area was mainly aimed at delivering the vital messages without being understood by the interceptors. As we move into an information society, now cryptography relates to everyones life. It has become one of the main tools of privacy, trust, access control, electronic payments, corporate security and countless other fields.

The history of Cryptography is 4000 years old and can be traced to the hieroglyphs of early Egyptian civilization. It played a crucial role in both the World...

Interactive Financial Exchange

Evolution in any form is to bring in complexity to the system. It is universal and inevitable. Now we are talking about banking industry, its language and the messaging systems that form the backbone of the industry.

Back in 1970s when computers were introduced in banking, the messages and files were mostly proprietary. Soon the industry realized the power of networking and common standards and numerous attempts were made to make the messages interoperable. In those days the resources were limited and most of the messages and standards that were devised aimed at transferring data efficiently between the end-points. The...

Our Deepest Fear

I saw the movie “Coach Carter” and am pretty impressed. The coach kept asking the tough rookie – “Cruz, what’s your deepest fear?”. At one point Cruz finds the answer:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it...