The Management Guy

  Mini-Forests To Aid Biodiversity Fast-growing mini-forests are catching the imagination of people to aid biodiversity. Mini forest are based on the work of the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, who has planted more than 1,000 such forests in Japan, Malaysia and elsewhere. Miyawaki forests are denser and said to be more biodiverse than other kinds of woods. The Miyawaki method, also called the Potted Seedling Method, is an afforestation technique that uses native species to create dense, multilayered forests. A central tenet in creating these forests is its use of indigenous species for plantations. The overall density of the forest is beneficial in lowering temperature, making soil nutritious, supporting local wildlife and sequestration of carbon.   Mini forests can be as small as a tennis court. Advocates for the method say the miniature forests grow 10 times faster and become 30 times denser and...

  Post Globalisation Economists Have Moved Leftward in America. Others may soon follow. Paul Krugman t he Nobel Prize-winning economist has now come out and admitted, offhandedly, that his own understanding of economics has been seriously deficient considering all the ruined American communities and displaced millions of workers Krugman now maintains that his economics of   ‘Globalisation’ “was a fairly narrow one” about how trade would affect lower-wage workers and exacerbate inequality. Earlier Krugman had said, “Don’t worry so much about what all the other countries are up to; things will even out thanks to neoclassical concepts such as comparative advantage, which allows all nations to benefit from open trade.” Indeed, those who advocated anything resembling government interference in markets and “fair trade” (more tariffs, unemployment insurance, and worker protections) over “free trade” were usually branded protectionists and excluded from the debate. Now Krugman...

Trade Experts Admit They Were Wrong About Globalization Paul Krugman and other mainstream trade experts are now admitting that they were wrong about globalization. The Nobel Prize-winning Krugman branded just about everybody who questioned the rapid pace of globalization a fool who didn’t understand economics very well. “Silly” was a word Krugman used a lot to describe pundits who raised fears of economic competition from other nations, especially China. Don’t worry about it, he said: Free trade will have only minor impact on your prosperity. Now Krugman has come out and admitted, offhandedly, that his own understanding of economics has been seriously deficient as well. In a  recent essay  titled “What Economists (Including Me) Got Wrong About Globalization,” adapted from a forthcoming book on inequality, Krugman writes that he and other mainstream economists “missed a crucial part of the story” in failing to realize that globalization would lead to “hyperglobalization” an...

  How to save paper and trees @ home & office Remember how excited we were when offices were computerised and the idea of a 'paperless office' was considered fashionable? Alas! Instead of decreasing the amount of paper that businesses handle, technology has made it easier to create more paper trails than ever before. No longer do you have to painstakingly write... just print, print and print! Whether we realise it or not, paper plays a very important role in our lives. We come across it every day numerous times. It's almost omnipresent. The newspaper, cereal box, the shopping bag, the tissue, the toilet paper, books, magazines, labels, it's everywhere. When paper is such an intense part of our lives and we know trees need to be cut down to make it, why not be a little more judicious before we hit the print key? Making a difference There are people who are doing their bit to save paper in their own small ways. 'We lived abroad for over 3 years and we...

  Kyoto Protocol   The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.   Delegates celebrated adoption of the Protocol in 1997 .   he major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of ...

  Remote Work Works—Where Do We Go from Here? COVID-19 has shown us what organizations can accomplish. Just days after the illness caused by the novel coronavirus was officially labeled a pandemic, many had managed to get more than 90% of their staff working remotely. Jobs that we never imagined could be performed remotely—like call center operator, financial trader, and many more—suddenly and successfully were handled from home. Now, in many places, pandemic-associated restrictions are easing and companies are turning their attention to bringing people back to the workplace. The obvious and immediate question for many organizations is, “How can we safely bring employees back to the workplace?” But leaders must expand their thinking when considering the work environment of the future. Because the rabbit is out of the hat: remote working works, and it has obvious benefits. (See Exhibit 1.) We can’t help but wonder what role it should continue to occupy. It’s imperative to start with...