Rx for Rural Excellence: Adapting Urban Development Models for Rural Development
Abstract
In the last two decades, the emergence of several new paradigms has fueled the economic growth of urban areas in a number of developing countries. Globalization, outsourcing, and infrastructure improvement are credited with the most impact on economic development. These successful countries gave prominence to knowledge workers, literacy, and job skills and caused a reverse brain drain. They have shunned dogmatic philosophies and embraced a market orientation of enterprises.
Regrettably, such high economic growth has only touched the urban areas and mostly bypassed the rural sectors. Developing countries cannot expect progress and stability while consigning a rural majority to permanent poverty. A national commitment to provide opportunities to all citizens who wish to participate in efforts that yield greater economic rewards is essential. Rural communities should assume leadership roles and pursue the same modern paradigms. They have to work on moving up Abraham Maslow's Need Hierarchy and aim for overall progress.
In the last two decades, the emergence of several new paradigms has fueled the economic growth of urban areas in a number of developing countries. Globalization, outsourcing, and infrastructure improvement are credited with the most impact on economic development. These successful countries gave prominence to knowledge workers, literacy, and job skills and caused a reverse brain drain. They have shunned dogmatic philosophies and embraced a market orientation of enterprises.
Regrettably, such high economic growth has only touched the urban areas and mostly bypassed the rural sectors. Developing countries cannot expect progress and stability while consigning a rural majority to permanent poverty. A national commitment to provide opportunities to all citizens who wish to participate in efforts that yield greater economic rewards is essential. Rural communities should assume leadership roles and pursue the same modern paradigms. They have to work on moving up Abraham Maslow's Need Hierarchy and aim for overall progress.
Achieving Global Development and Peace through
Maslow’s Hierarchical Revolutions
Abstract
As we begin the Twenty first century, we realize that the world’s greatest needs are economic development and enduring peace. Most writers have seen world development in only economic terms. Unless we see needs in a human dimension and bring development at a rapid pace, peace will remain a distant dream. The human dimension can be understood only when we address the needs as described by Abraham Maslow in his Need Ladder or Need Hierarchy. Furthermore, we have to address human needs at a revolutionary pace as people do not have infinite patience in this Internet age.
Maslow defined five types of human needs. Physiological needs come first. For the most part, people in developed countries achieved these needs. Modern agriculture, food processing, storage, transportation, and distribution satisfied this need in developed countries. These countries assumed that their safety and security needs are also mostly satisfied until the terrorism incidents of the eleventh September 2001. Meanwhile developing countries are still struggling to satisfy both physiological and security needs of all people.
Next on Maslow’s Hierarchy is the need for affiliation, association, to love, and to be loved. As we move up higher on Maslow’s Hierarchy, we encounter esteem, and recognition needs. Artists, musicians, writers, sculptors, and, those who excelled in their chosen fields, are recognized by their peers. Great sports persons, athletes, engineers, scientists, economists, belong to this category. Finally, a small number of people push themselves to reach the heights of their profession and satisfy their self-actualization needs. Geniuses, super stars, and statesmen belong in the last category. There are only a few in a million who satisfy needs at the highest level.
The current pace of economic development in the world is too slow to accomplish human’s movement on the Need Ladder. This situation does not auger well for democracy and peace in the world. How will the society look like, when revolutionary progress occurs at every level of the Maslow’s Need Ladder? In this paper, I sketched the characteristics of these revolutions. I believe that intense application of advanced technology can address these needs and bring peace to the world. Enlightened and committed leadership can launch and accomplish revolutionary goals. Their first task is to convince people that a vision of Maslow’s hierarchical revolutions is necessary and realizable. Global partnership and investment of goodwill by common people will allow human ascent on the Maslow’s need ladder.
Maslow’s Hierarchical Revolutions
Abstract
As we begin the Twenty first century, we realize that the world’s greatest needs are economic development and enduring peace. Most writers have seen world development in only economic terms. Unless we see needs in a human dimension and bring development at a rapid pace, peace will remain a distant dream. The human dimension can be understood only when we address the needs as described by Abraham Maslow in his Need Ladder or Need Hierarchy. Furthermore, we have to address human needs at a revolutionary pace as people do not have infinite patience in this Internet age.
Maslow defined five types of human needs. Physiological needs come first. For the most part, people in developed countries achieved these needs. Modern agriculture, food processing, storage, transportation, and distribution satisfied this need in developed countries. These countries assumed that their safety and security needs are also mostly satisfied until the terrorism incidents of the eleventh September 2001. Meanwhile developing countries are still struggling to satisfy both physiological and security needs of all people.
Next on Maslow’s Hierarchy is the need for affiliation, association, to love, and to be loved. As we move up higher on Maslow’s Hierarchy, we encounter esteem, and recognition needs. Artists, musicians, writers, sculptors, and, those who excelled in their chosen fields, are recognized by their peers. Great sports persons, athletes, engineers, scientists, economists, belong to this category. Finally, a small number of people push themselves to reach the heights of their profession and satisfy their self-actualization needs. Geniuses, super stars, and statesmen belong in the last category. There are only a few in a million who satisfy needs at the highest level.
The current pace of economic development in the world is too slow to accomplish human’s movement on the Need Ladder. This situation does not auger well for democracy and peace in the world. How will the society look like, when revolutionary progress occurs at every level of the Maslow’s Need Ladder? In this paper, I sketched the characteristics of these revolutions. I believe that intense application of advanced technology can address these needs and bring peace to the world. Enlightened and committed leadership can launch and accomplish revolutionary goals. Their first task is to convince people that a vision of Maslow’s hierarchical revolutions is necessary and realizable. Global partnership and investment of goodwill by common people will allow human ascent on the Maslow’s need ladder.
Application of Mathematical Models to Increase the Production and Productivity in the Indian Agriculture Sector
Background
With a population of over a billion people, India depends heavily on its agriculture. The country has made enormous strides since independence but it still struggles to supply the people with the needed food products. That the nation has to make strong efforts to increase agricultural production is imperative. While we search for scientific and technical methods to accomplish such improvement, the lessons from the manufacturing and the information technology sectors may be worthwhile to capture and apply to this sector. Indian manufacturing sector is able to compete internationally both on cost and quality by applying latest technologies and management techniques. Hence the appropriate questions relate to identification of the techniques and their potential for application to the farming sector.
Indian farming sector is still following the traditional methods except for the introduction of technologies as a result of the Green Revolution, and White Revolution. It is quite possible that the various farm inputs are applied in a non-optimal manner. While the manufacturing sector benefited from statistical process control methods, the agriculture sector has no such process controls. Private sector invests its funds in the most profitable and productive manufacturing ventures in a decreasing order of opportunity to gain on the rate of return. Being a traditional family run sector, farming businesses have no such resource and asset allocation policies and perhaps suffer poor returns in terms of production, productivity, quality, and value.
It is suggested that these issues should be examined and the application of appropriate mathematical optimization (Operations Research) and statistical methods and techniques should be investigated. Three methods are discussed in this paper.
We suggest a project to investigate these methods and the Indian farming sector be given tools to make proper decisions to apply resources and control the processes with the goal of increasing production, productivity, and value of the farming sector.
Background
With a population of over a billion people, India depends heavily on its agriculture. The country has made enormous strides since independence but it still struggles to supply the people with the needed food products. That the nation has to make strong efforts to increase agricultural production is imperative. While we search for scientific and technical methods to accomplish such improvement, the lessons from the manufacturing and the information technology sectors may be worthwhile to capture and apply to this sector. Indian manufacturing sector is able to compete internationally both on cost and quality by applying latest technologies and management techniques. Hence the appropriate questions relate to identification of the techniques and their potential for application to the farming sector.
Indian farming sector is still following the traditional methods except for the introduction of technologies as a result of the Green Revolution, and White Revolution. It is quite possible that the various farm inputs are applied in a non-optimal manner. While the manufacturing sector benefited from statistical process control methods, the agriculture sector has no such process controls. Private sector invests its funds in the most profitable and productive manufacturing ventures in a decreasing order of opportunity to gain on the rate of return. Being a traditional family run sector, farming businesses have no such resource and asset allocation policies and perhaps suffer poor returns in terms of production, productivity, quality, and value.
It is suggested that these issues should be examined and the application of appropriate mathematical optimization (Operations Research) and statistical methods and techniques should be investigated. Three methods are discussed in this paper.
We suggest a project to investigate these methods and the Indian farming sector be given tools to make proper decisions to apply resources and control the processes with the goal of increasing production, productivity, and value of the farming sector.
Substituting Plastic Moulded Form Packaging Material for Farm Products with Reconstituted Leaf Forms
Farm products like fruits and vegetables are packaged with protective forms to preserve their quality during transportation from farm to table. Packaging material formed into the shape of the product with plastic or paper is currently in use. Here are two pictures of a commercial packaging concept for packaging pears.
It will be interesting to explore if dry leaves can be used in place of the plastic. In India, leaves are arranged in the shape of a round plate and are pressed under a thermal press to take the shape of a dinner plate. The same process can be used to press leaves into packing material of the shape shown in the pictures here. Such packing material will be organic and will be welcomed by green loving people.
Farm products like fruits and vegetables are packaged with protective forms to preserve their quality during transportation from farm to table. Packaging material formed into the shape of the product with plastic or paper is currently in use. Here are two pictures of a commercial packaging concept for packaging pears.
It will be interesting to explore if dry leaves can be used in place of the plastic. In India, leaves are arranged in the shape of a round plate and are pressed under a thermal press to take the shape of a dinner plate. The same process can be used to press leaves into packing material of the shape shown in the pictures here. Such packing material will be organic and will be welcomed by green loving people.
Panchayat Planning
Collaborative Strategic Planning at Panchayat Level is Essential to get to a Developed India
Abstract
There is strong optimism that India will become a developed country in the next thirty to fifty years. Most of the descriptions about the developed country have been qualitative. In this article, I am making an attempt to project a potential goal state in quantitative terms when we can say that India has arrived as a developed country. It is necessary to set a target Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and project when that goal might be reached under a certain set of assumptions. This target will also allow us to measure how closer we are to the goal and how well we are doing in terms of schedule. But, there are more important features for a developed country beyond the GDP figure. Social development should be a simultaneous goal of leaders. People at the bottom of the pyramid have to be moved to the middle. Advanced technological developments of the twentieth century give rise to the hope that with enlightened leadership, development can reach the masses. The smart approach may lie in planning large scale knowledge-intensive businesses that create goods and services while generating employment opportunity for millions of people in India. Common citizens have the democratic power to choose wise leadership and give the latter a mandate to develop knowledge based strategic development goals. This leadership consists of the Members of the Parliament, Members of the State Assemblies, and other elected leaders of local constituencies, such as the Panchayats.
Strategic planning is the key to assuring citizens that their elected leaders are working on a defined path. This calls for the development of a series of congruent strategic plans from the national to state to local level. These plans should dovetail at various levels and complement one another. Local planning gives ownership of the plan to local people, takes local inputs, tunes to the environment, allows close monitoring, responds to feedback, facilitates support, ensures sharing of sacrifices and results, and leads to success in plan execution. When several thousand panchayats undertake planning, there is need for an information technology tool that guides local planners by providing templates/formats and guidance on how to generate information and data for the plan. In the next stage, a format processor integrates the information and data in appropriate ways to create plans for the district, state, and national levels. For a successful national effort, such a plan development project should be web based. An initial level format for the plan development tool is described in this paper.
A presentation may be requested from the author and the full White Paper on this topic can be downloaded.
The 70 chart (long) presentation is here for you to view.
Collaborative Strategic Planning at Panchayat Level is Essential to get to a Developed India
Abstract
There is strong optimism that India will become a developed country in the next thirty to fifty years. Most of the descriptions about the developed country have been qualitative. In this article, I am making an attempt to project a potential goal state in quantitative terms when we can say that India has arrived as a developed country. It is necessary to set a target Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and project when that goal might be reached under a certain set of assumptions. This target will also allow us to measure how closer we are to the goal and how well we are doing in terms of schedule. But, there are more important features for a developed country beyond the GDP figure. Social development should be a simultaneous goal of leaders. People at the bottom of the pyramid have to be moved to the middle. Advanced technological developments of the twentieth century give rise to the hope that with enlightened leadership, development can reach the masses. The smart approach may lie in planning large scale knowledge-intensive businesses that create goods and services while generating employment opportunity for millions of people in India. Common citizens have the democratic power to choose wise leadership and give the latter a mandate to develop knowledge based strategic development goals. This leadership consists of the Members of the Parliament, Members of the State Assemblies, and other elected leaders of local constituencies, such as the Panchayats.
Strategic planning is the key to assuring citizens that their elected leaders are working on a defined path. This calls for the development of a series of congruent strategic plans from the national to state to local level. These plans should dovetail at various levels and complement one another. Local planning gives ownership of the plan to local people, takes local inputs, tunes to the environment, allows close monitoring, responds to feedback, facilitates support, ensures sharing of sacrifices and results, and leads to success in plan execution. When several thousand panchayats undertake planning, there is need for an information technology tool that guides local planners by providing templates/formats and guidance on how to generate information and data for the plan. In the next stage, a format processor integrates the information and data in appropriate ways to create plans for the district, state, and national levels. For a successful national effort, such a plan development project should be web based. An initial level format for the plan development tool is described in this paper.
A presentation may be requested from the author and the full White Paper on this topic can be downloaded.
The 70 chart (long) presentation is here for you to view.