June 2015

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 28 jun 2015

Technology's impact is not restricted to certain industries but every business and their processes are influenced by it. Moreover the increased connectivity and speed of communication has brought about newer challenges. For businesses to survive and flourish in this era of information and communication technology (ICT), newer type of leadership is required to effectively manage and grow businesses and to balance the pace of digital transformation both inside and outside of the organizations. Research points out the shortage of e-Leadership skills in Europe. According to European Commission demand for digitally skilled employees is growing by around 4% a year and that shortages of ICT professionals in the EU could reach 825,000 unfilled vacancies by 2020. Professors, Álvaro Arenas and José Esteves, of IE Business School in Spain define e-Leadership as 'the accomplishment of a goal that relies on ICT through the direction of human resources and uses of ICT...In the case of e-Leadership, both the goal and the resources involve using ICT. An e-Leader must be both business and ICT-savvy.' They mention previous studies that define e-Leaders as having T-shaped portfolio of skills (Vertical Skills- Specialized skills in specific fields like ICT, science, engineering, social sciences etc; Horizontal Skills- Transversal skills like negotiation, ciritcal thinking, design and systems thinking, business and entrepreneurship etc). Their study and research found three characteristics that represent e-Leaders - (1) Innovation is central in e-Leaders' organisations, and the e-Leaders are the force driving innovation. (2) e-Leaders exploit digital trends. SMAC (Social, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud) tech were exploited. (3) e-Leaders envision and drive change for business performance. Their study also found that to develop e-Leaders requires a variety of educational ecosystem actions. There is learning need in some specialized and technical areas alongwith strong need for developing transversal skills. Multiple channels and formats are required to continuously update and upgrade e-Leaderships skills like MOOCs, blended education, short courses etc. Both traditional and new age learning systems are to be utilized for effective learning. Read on...

Forbes: Anatomy of an e-Leader
Authors: Álvaro Arenas, José Esteves

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 jun 2015

Technology-driven transformation of healthcare is happening in multiple ways. Shomit Ghose of ONSET Ventures explains how medical care is shifting from physician-focused dynamic to patient-focused dynamic through collection and assessment of individual data directly, independent of the physician encounters. According to him, 'Going forward, our cell phones and wearables will be by far our biggest source of health-related data, providing a continuous stream of information that promises, for the first time, to enable the practice of "continuous healthcare". This data is collected non-invasively and will specifically help us understand how patient behaviors affect patient outcomes.' He further explains, 'Continuous healthcare brings a brand new class of fine-grained behavioral data into the clinical assessment process. Further, the provision of this type of real-time data at population scale allows strong correlations to be made between best practices in health and best outcomes. Continuous data, when supplemented with other data sources, promises to revolutionize the current methods of population health, including the monitoring of disease and disease vectors in real time.' This data-driven continuous digital healthcare, with its ubiquitous nature and low-cost, has potential to serve communities and regions that are deprived of basic healthcare infrastructure and facilities of the present medical systems. But providers also have to overcome the concerns of privacy and security to realize the full benefits of digital healthcare. Read on...

VentureBeat: Continuous healthcare - Big data and the future of medicine
Author: Shomit Ghose

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 20 jun 2015

Marketing strategies for startups are different from established companies as they have limited budget and resources. Over the years SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has evolved due to changes and improvements in search engine technologies. SEO strategies for today require a fresh look to keep business relevant in search engine results. John Rampton, entrepreneur and president of Adogy, provides 10 suggestions for startups to develop effective SEO to market their business - (1) Figure Out Your Target Keywords (2) Mobile Friendly is a Necessity (3) Simple is Usually Better (4) Develop and Follow a Marketing Strategy (5) Leverage the Power of Infographics (6) Prioritize (7) Figure Out Your Social Networking Channels (8) Link Building (9) Keep Your Content Relevant (10) Analytics are your Friend. Read on...

Forbes: 10 SEO Tips For Marketing Your Startup in 2015
Author: John Rampton

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 11 jun 2015

Companies are targeting their product and service offerings to the growing Millennial market. Pew Research predicts that this year Millennials, with 75 million people in US under 34, will overtake the Baby Boomers. But the question is: Should the companies consider Millennials as homogeneous entity and design their products and services accordingly? Authors, Timothy Morey and Allison Schoop of frog (a global product and strategy design firm), argue that to design offerings with exclusive focus on generational cohorts will result in meaningless or potentially damaging outcomes. There is little that unites them totally. According to them, 'A better approach is to design for archetypes that are representative of certain attitudinal and behavioral traits, and then combine these with social, market and emerging technology trends-all things that transcend age or generation. Defining an ideal customer for a potential product or service using broader human themes allows you to create solutions that resonate with a larger group of people.' They further explain, 'Far too many companies take a "product-out" view of segmentation, where they essentially ask their customers to line up around their products by demographics such as age or income. They should take an "outside-in" view that orients its products around their customers' attitudes and behaviors instead. Meeting the functional and emotional needs of a group of people is much more likely to generate transformative results than targeting a generational cohort with tenuous links.' Read on...

Harvard Business Review: Stop Designing for Millennials
Authors: Timothy Morey, Allison Schoop

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 09 jun 2015

Diversity in nonprofit boards and leadership is an essential element of governance. It helps in bringing different perspectives and expertise in the decision-making process and affects the culture and dynamics of the nonprofit boards. Team of researchers led by Professor Garry W. Jenkins of The Ohio State University undertook the study to understand the ways in which the composition of the nonprofit boards has evolved in recent years in US. They examined the biographies of governing directors in 1989 and 2014 of three sets of nonprofit organizations: major private research universities, elite small liberal arts colleges, and prominent New York City cultural and health institutions. According to Prof. Jenkins, 'The most striking finding was the sizable presence and growth on charitable boards of those whose primary professional background and skill set were drawn from the financial services industry. The tally indicates that the percentage of people from finance on the boards virtually doubled at all three types of nonprofits between 1989 and 2014.' Another important takeaway from the study is the presence of high percentage of board leadership positions from the finance sector (Liberal Arts Colleges - 44%, New York City Nonprofits - 44%, Private Universities - 56%). Prof. Jenkins while mentioning the 2012 figures for finance sector contribution to GDP (7.9%) and employment (6% of private non-farm workforce) explains, 'If nonprofit boards were composed of a representative group of people from society, one would expect trustees with a finance background to represent roughly 6 to 8 percent of board members. Instead, according to our research, trustees with professional backgrounds and skills primarily from the financial services industry represent about four times that number.' While answering about this shift in composition of nonprofit boards, Prof. Jenkins says, 'Nonprofit organizations are simply following the money. Driven by the heightened pressure and expectations to raise ever larger sums, nonprofit boards and managers are selecting new board members with an eye toward those with the greatest capacity for making "transformative gifts."' The dominance of financiers in the nonprofit boards also influences the working dynamics of the board with inclusion of specific practices, approaches and priorities (Data-driven decision making; Emphasis on metrics; Prioritizing impact and competition; Managing with 3-5 years horizons and plans; Advocating executive-style leadership; Compensation etc). Although these practices do have benefits for nonprofits, but at the same time too much financial and business-like emphasis in the functioning of the board may have adverse impact on charitable goals and objectives. For the long-term success and effectiveness of the nonprofit boards the need would be to balance the composition of the board with inclusion of individuals that have expertise and skills in different fields alongwith consideration of racial and gender diversity, minority representation etc. Read on...

Stanford Social Innovation Review: The Wall Street Takeover of Nonprofit Boards
Author: Garry W. Jenkins

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 jun 2015

The relationship between the management and the nonprofit board requires an optimum balance for better performance. Management has more information, thus giving them more power, in the functioning of the organization. However to stay relevant and effective, volunteer board members need to be proactive in seeking the information not only from the management but also from the other sources. There can be adverse consequences for the organization if the board members fail in this regard. Professor Eugene Fram of Rochester Institute of Technology, suggest steps to prevent management from overriding the board - Develop an understood difference between the policy/strategy development and managing organizational operations; Governance focus; Better collaboration and communications. Read on...

Huffington Post: Can Nonprofit Management Usurp Board Responsibilities?
Author: Eugene Fram

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 05 jun 2015

'Correspondent Banking' allows a local bank (respondent) to give its customers access to a faraway institution's services, such as currency exchange or sending money to an account abroad. Developing economies, in addition to such services, also get linked to the global banking system. Due to occasional misuse and illegal activity related to such a system some correspondent banks have retreated from certain regions or exited the line of business. According to Mark Carney, Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and Bertrand Badré, Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group, 'Anecdotal reports suggest that charities, and companies involved in remitting funds from overseas, are feeling the pinch. It would be wrong for regulators to ignore such consequences. Doing so would neglect the purpose of financial reforms by the Group of 20 leading nations intended to underpin an open and resilient global financial sector that serves real economies across the world.' Such an action by correspondent banks may even promote hidden illegal channels for financial transactions. The steps are now being taken to further investigate the situation and understand its scale and causes. Authors suggest, 'Authorities must ensure that they provide a clear and consistent interpretation and enforcement of international standards. They should work with the financial industry to pursue technical measures, such as the global Legal Entity Identifier system, which standardises identification, and Know Your Customer platforms that help avoid duplicating due diligence work...The financial abandonment of whole groups of customers - or even countries - is not something that can be ignored by the members of the G20...This is important not only for the countries directly affected, but for all of us as we seek to build a global financial system that can support growth for all.' Read on...

The Financial Times: Keep finance safe but do not shut out the vulnerable
Authors: Mark Carney, Bertrand Badré

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 03 jun 2015

Technology is transforming various aspects of education and learning through online courses, web content in various formats, teaching and learning platforms, online exams and assessments, personalization and customization etc. There are people whose ideas, innovations and expertise is influencing the education technology landscape with far reaching implications. Education website Noodle.com provides a list of 18 influencers in education technology - (1) Anant Agarwal, Founder and CEO if edX (2) Steven Anderson, Co-founder of #EdChat on Twitter (3) Adam Bellow, Creator of eduTecher and eduClipper (4) Laura Blankenship, Founder of GeekyMomBlog.com (5) Richard Byrne, Founder of Free Technology for Teachers (6) Rafranz Davis, Instructional Technology Specialist for Arlington, Texas (7) Vicki Davis, Creator of Cool Cat Teacher Blog (8) Jeff Dunn, Co-founder of Daily Genius and Edudemic (9) Lucy Gray, Co-founder of the Global Education Conference (10) Angela Maiers, Founder of Maiers Educational Services (11) Salman Khan, Founder of Khan Academy (12) Nichole Pinkard, Founder of the Digital Youth Network (13) Joel Rose, Creator of Teach to One: Math (14) Christopher Rush, Creator of Teach to One: Math (15) Eric Sheninger, Senior Fellow at the International Center for Leadership in Education (16) Shelly Sanchez Terrell, Co-founder of #EdChat (17) Sebastian Thrun, Founder of Udacity (18) Tom Whitby, Co-founder of #EdChat. Read on...

Tech.co: The 18 Most Influential People in Ed Tech
Author: Kira M. Newman