Monday, March 9, 2009

At Random from RajLibrarian : 3.15pm : Sunday : 2009 March 08

At Random from RajLibrarian

3.15pm : Sunday : 2009 March 08

Human mind indeed is more mysterious than we have understood it so far. So many incidences happen from morning till evening. In between we may happen to listen to our family members, friends or relatives or happen to read or see some things. The interesting part is we can interpret these things as we like them as we understand them, as we associate those things to actually what we really are and what we really think in terms of our backgrounds , readings and experiences. Another exciting and interesting thing about our mind is, we hear just the opposite of actually what is heard, we see and visualize things that are just the opposite of what they are. We hear to some one justifying the merits of socialism, and the fun is we reaffirm our stand on the merits of capitalism and democracy. This is one of the uniqueness of our mind. Yesterday night when I slept I had put alarm on my mobile to get up at 6.00pm so that my kids will get up for studies for their examinations (they are half way through their exams), I can plan well for the better utilization of the Sunday. My morning alarm at 5.00am or 5.30 or 6.00am is always a nuisance to Sharada. Everyday she gets up early…..but any thing earlier that she cant tolerate. She cant sleep once she hears the alarm and where as I never get up at the time the bell rings. She says when you cant get up why do you put the alarm? It is to wake me up….. What I think for the last so many years…….whether one achieves whatever is planned/anticipated or one needs to focus on the goal by planning and visualizing continuously non stop., I remember Michelangelo’s words from the quotes, next to “Mind over Matter” of today’s Times(Times of India 8-3-2009). “ The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving the mark”. And it is such of the thoughts that have deep rooted in mind, which continue to push forward on a regular basis to focus on higher aims, irrespective of whether I have ever been able to proceed even an inch forward!

This is my psyche and thought!

Today as it happens sometimes, I happened to glance through the centre page paper on Mind over matter(Follow your spirit/Shalini Singh.-Times of India, 8th March 2009). The author seemed to be quite well read with regard to global warming, climate change and spirituality as such. As I understand the paper tries to bring out the side effects of organized religion. Her commentary on the works of a spiritual guru and mass exodus of devotees towards his yoga camps is too rough and unpolished and to a certain extent uncalled for and….. One cannot understand spirituality and divinity by reading and scholarship. If the author has time at all, she should try to understand what it is actually otherwise she should be able to Offer an alternative. The so called educatedness and bookish scholarship does not lead one any where except for misleading the other innocents, who may at times be ill read and ill informed at times ill equipped in terms of logic and reasoning. The whole materialistic World(West), lost in their materialistic and lopsided thinking has been looking at India and Indian guru’s ( may not be connected to religion), for understanding , inspiration and divinity. Let us not forget this!

To Librarians:

Being librarians I know we are too engrossed in our Endeavour to bring quality services to our readers. We need to acquire knowledge, classify, catalogue and disseminate. We have fortunately now arrived at a prominent best practices that lead us effectively from establishing a library/knowledge back to maximizing the impacts of our professional services!

Let us not be lost in the box, let us not succumb to the situations and circumstances.

Let us empathize, look around and interact with the environment with an open mind,. Let us widen our scale of work and thinking. Let us keep-0 our thoughts ventilated. Let us assume consciously different possible roles to bring in fresh air into our set thought processes and isms. Let us be keen observers conscious citizens, pro active, leaders, scientists, social scientists poets, painters, philosophers and pragmatists at times as often – as regularly as possible.

Librarians, welcome home, widen our personal space, identify our uniqueness be ourselves that is what society and people around expect of us, identify ourselves, define ourselves in as clear terms as possible…….. shall we resolve?

Let us be as far away as possible from the so called “ IDENTITY CRISIS!”

(my apologies : the write is not edited for its correctness….it is as typed online and the first version of the author)
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RajLibrarian continues to be knowledge professional.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Unleashing the Knowledge Force : Harnessing Knowledge for Building Global Companies - Book Review by Rajashekhar

http://lisreviews.blogspot.com/2008/07/unleashing-knowledge-force-harnessing.html

Devarai R.S. A book review on "UNLEASHING THE KNOWLEDGE FORCE : HARNESSING KNOWLEDGE FOR BUILDING GLOBAL COMPANIES (By Ganesh Natarajan and Uma Ganesh .- New Delhi : Tata McGraw-Hill .- 2007, 172p, Rs.395.00, hb.)", Akruti Journal of Infrastructure, 1(4), July 2008, pp 343-44. http://www.akruticityfoundation.edu.in/publications.aspx#Journal
“Knowledge has to be improved, challenged and increased constantly, or it vanishes” –
Peter Drucker.
The authors of the book, “Unleashing the Knowledge Force”, Dr.Ganesh Natarajan (Chairman – NASSCOM) and Dr.Uma Natarajan (CEO – Kalzoom Technologies) are in lime light for quite some time for their significant educational, entrepreneurial, managerial and organizational contributions. Global economies are gradually but steadily getting transformed into Global Knowledge Societies. Knowledge and Scholarship have never been in such a meta focus in the recent history of mankind. Can we say good days are here again! The book, “Unleashing……”, a result of their rich academic research and corporate connections and global exposures, is unique and timely.‘Knowledge Management’ (KM) as a discipline and as a Management Tool and Technique has hardly a history of a decade or so. Nevertheless the academic and corporate momentum created by KM is incomparable. The impact of KM is so forceful that it has left its indelible mark on all ranks and files of global economies, corporations and institutions. KM heralds the beginning of a new Knowledge Era. Knowledge and Knowledge Management techniques have come of age. Newer applications are explored, new techniques and tools are innovated, broad basing and pinpointing efforts are on. Most important, KM is taken as catalytic in bringing in knowledge, learning and culture in the organizations and corporations. The recent publications on Knowledge and KM are diversifying in to specializations like education, Pharmaceuticals, IT, Manufacturing and many more. The book under review is a class apart, as the authors have succeeded in formulating a workable model for Start –up IT firms known as Knowledge Management Maturity Model (KMMM).The contents of the book are spread out in eight closely integrated chapters leading the reader gradually from concepts, issues and cases, sequentially and well knit. The authors make a strong case for all knowledge initiatives and KM in particular in India. The deliberations in the book to a great extent are witness of a personal accounts of authors’ corporate, academic and research commitments towards KM. What success means in the Knowledge Economy is effectively brought out by authors in the first chapter. Ganesh and Uma make a special mention of success stories of TCS, Satyam, HCL, Cognizant, WNS and Zensar. To quote authors, “The success of IT Industry in India has indeed been unprecedented. A growth of over 150 times in the 15 years is just one quantitative measure of success.” This chapter outlines in brief the importance of knowledge and its management, evolution of KM thinking, the concept of Knowledge Force (KF), Knowledge Management Maturity Model (KMMM) etc. The authors in a gripping style continue the KM story, dwelling on topics like Start-up IT firms, Knowledge Force and Business Success, Knowledge Force Frame Work (KFF) for IT firms and implications of KMMM for Software Industry, from chapters 2 to 7.KF according to authors is the energy that drives a young organization to discover its true potential and overcome all challenges and KM appropriate to the maturity level of the business. They appropriately call KF and KM as the mantras for the success of Start-up IT firms. Authors in considerable detail highlight the four building blocks/dimensions of KF., i.e., Entrepreneurial Energy, Employee Capability, Industry Orientation and Customer Orientation. These four key dimensions authors opine, create a dynamic thrust that unleashes KF. The four dimensions of KF are reported to have a mix of measures which together define how KF will impact on strategy. Ganesh and Uma further propose a novel ‘Strategy Frame Work ’ which recognizes that the same variables can measure more than one dimension and that at different stages of the firm, the measures are likely to differ. Authors elaborate on KMMM by listing the four stages, five levels and four factors. How KMMM works is well brought out by authors in the case study done on Zensar. The findings of the study are reported to be very useful for corporates moving towards implementing KM.The concluding chapter provides some practical tips in putting KFF (Knowledge Force Frame Work) and KMMM to work. They end the book with an inspiring and optimistic note, “We believe that the management of knowledge will be a key contributor to our future success. We hope that this book has opened your eyes just a little wider to the vast vistas of KM and that we will see better practitioners embracing some of the ideas we have provided and contributing to the success of many Indian sectors on the on the global stage in the years to come.” The authors repeatedly proclaim KM to be seen as an important tool for winning competitive battles in an increasingly difficult business environment. According to them knowledge is to be used and managed well to make it a differentiator in an organization’s quest for survival and growth. . A list of 201 references cited in the book is a value addition. The book is well brought out in an impressive cover design by McGraw-Hill.To conclude, Knowledge Initiatives and KM in particular are here to stay for years. There are full time Graduate and PG programmes on KM abroad. Indian Universities and Institutions sooner not later should take initiative to start such cutting edge industry / economy specific programmes. Entrepreneurs turned scholars like and Ganesh and Uma should do their bit in this regard. This book, “Unleashing the Knowledge Force” has a rare distinction of including the results of academic research and rich corporate exposure and experience into its body. The book is not an easy read for an average reader. IT professionals, entrepreneurs / corporates would find it useful, thought provoking and worth reading.Rajashekhar Devarai
lotus5673@yahoo.co.in
http://www.ganeshnatarajan.com/gallery.html
RajLibrarian continues to be knowledge professional.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

hello read this book review....!!!!

Devarai, R. S.2008.Biotechnolgy, IPRs and Biodiversity/M.B.Rao and Manjula Guru.,New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (Pearson Edn), 2007,pp229,Rs.6oo : A Book Review.- Akruti Journal of Infrastructure.- 1(3)April 2008.,pp250-251.
It is indeed a challenging task to author a book on the three contemporary topics, viz., 'Biotechnology, IPRs and Biodiversity' together placed in relation to each other. The authors M.B.Rao and Manjula Guru claim to have brought out their diverse and multidimensional deliberations on the topics cited above in unison and in interaction and inter relation with each other. One can notice ample of literature on the topics of Biotechnology (BT), Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Biodiversity (BD). This literature cuts across disciplinary boundaries, covering various issues with diverse facets. The topics BT, IPR's and BD have become so common in the media and professional literature, that these have become part and parcel of common sense and conventional wisdom.
It is in this background that the authors in one go, have attempted to analyse the details of the concerns and commitments of the developed and developing countries about issues pertaining to Science, Technology, Policy, social/survival issues directly or indirectly related to BT, IPRs and BD................FOR DETAILED REVIEW ACCESS MY BLOG : http://indialibrarian-intl.blogspot.com/2008/05/book-review-on-biotechnology-ipr-and.html

Librarianship is a noble profession.
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A reflection of a Librarian on "A matter of trust/Arun Maira".-Times of India – February 2, 2009,

February 3rd 2009

A reflection of a Librarian on "A matter of trust/Arun Maira".-Times of India – February 2, 2009, page 16(centre page).

This educative centre page article by Management consultant Arun is educative and sensitizing. It is specially useful to commoners and non-finance-non economists to grasp a minimum of understanding about concepts like : recession, global meltdown, global slowdown, global meltdown etc. The much valued freedom that the business need, the extent of accountability and responsibility that is required of them towards government and society are well brought out in the paper.

A reasonable and significant ethical level of conduct on the part of businessmen; transparency and required flexibility of rules and guidelines on the part of Government and a trust and belief of people towards both Government and Business work towards building sound global economies. As brought very well by Arun business which always wanted less and less interference by government, now wants their unquestioned and unlimited support both in terms of finance and moral backing. It is true, these troubled times need fundamental changes in the ways governments function, in the way businesses function and in the way people empower and trust governments and business. Are we all to move forward towards a disciplined flexibility and a reasonable balancer between freedom and equity.

What do we think about this as librarians? Directly or indirectly, to a more or less extent we too are business, a different servicing business. Apart from asking more and more in terms of salaries and perks and of course budgets; we need to learn the economics of financing of the libraries, our duties and accountability towards all stake holders , I mean the institution we serve and the government and people at large.

As librarians let us learn more and more lessons of being sensitive, responsible and accountability and lateral thinking, at these troubled and hopeless times. Shall we pledge to be out of the box, shall we restart ourselves to prove our social relevance and indispensability. We have come of age. Let us re-affirm ourselves, and continue our age old affinity with knowledge and its power.

Rajashekhar Devarai
Librarian
lotus5673@yahoo.co.in
blog : http://indialibrarian-intl.blogspot.com

RajLibrarian continues to be knowledge professional.