Noted with interest: “Korea’s HR development far below OECD [Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation] average”

Excerpted from an article by Hwang Si-young on 8 May 2007 in The Korea Herald

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“Korea’s human resources development lags far behind that of other advanced economies, data revealed yesterday. . . . According to a Finance Ministry report, Korea came in 17th in terms of human resources development, with a 0.36 score out of 1. The figure is far below the average 0.53 of 21 countries in the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation.

“The survey covered five areas of social development, including economic development, labor market development, distribution, macroeconomic stability and human resources development. A group of researchers led by Yonsei University professor Yang Jae-jin tallied the figures and analyzed them for the report titled “A preliminary study on the Korean model of social investment state.”

“By country, New Zealand took the top slot in human resources development with 0.87 out of 1, followed by Sweden at 0.84, Finland at 0.78 and Denmark at 0.74. Trailing behind Korea were Italy (0.33), Ireland (0.32), Portugal (0.22) and Greece (0.07). Further, Korea came 10th-worst in terms of distribution system among the 21 OECD member countries surveyed, according to the data. The country received 0.42, below the average 0.51.”

Questions:

• How does a country’s human resources development drive its economy?
• What is the economic value of one-tenth of a point of human resources development?
• Is human resources development pursued in absolute terms in each country?
• Within all components of social development, including economic development, labor market
• development, distribution, macroeconomic stability and human resources development, is any single
• area of premium importance?
• Might a deficiency in one area be mitigated through strength in other or combination of others?
• Might countries align themselves to amplify each other strengths or lessen their weaknesses?
• Might a lagging area of development be a strength?
• Might a robust development expose weaknesses?
• What are the opportunities in each countries strengths and weaknesses of development?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “Global net use makes rapid rise”

Excerpted from a 27 April 2007 article on BBC News.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“The net is helping to close the digital divide between industrialised nations, suggests a report. . . . The annual e-readiness rankings by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows Asian and African nations catching up with big net users such as Denmark. . . . The report says this is partly due to broadband which is now cheap and affordable in almost every nation.

“Increasingly,” said the report, “it is about how people and companies consume digital goods and services.”

“Technology leadership in the world is becoming a fast-moving target,” said Robin Bew, editorial director of the EIU.

“Those at the top of today’s league table cannot be complacent – changing technologies, and attitudes to technology usage, mean that hard-won advantages can be quickly eroded by nimble-footed rivals.”

Questions:

>> Would the lack of a digital divide harmonize global differences or make them easier to export?

>> What “digital goods and services” are consumed via broadband?

>> What new “digital goods and services” will emerge when broadband is everywhere? What goods and services will disappear or be significantly changed?

>> Are new industries set to emerge from the universal presence of broadband?

>> Is broadband set to become part of a new global infrastructure like highways, ports, and other basic components?

>> What are the business opportunities directly and indirectly related to universal broadband?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “42% Withhold Votes for Times Company Directors”

Excerpted from an article by Landon Thomas Jr. from April 25, 2007 on The New York Times.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“Shareholders of The New York Times Company withheld 42 percent of their votes for board members at their meeting today in a symbolic gesture of protest against the company’s investment strategies and governance practices.

“In a statement, the Times Company said today that its directors would continue to serve, the vote notwithstanding. “We understand shareholder frustration as reflected in today’s vote,” Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman and publisher of the Times Company, said in the statement. “At the same time, many shareholders have expressed to us that we are pursuing the key actions needed to improve performance and returns to shareholders.”

“Mr. Sulzberger has said repeatedly that the company would not change the longstanding dual class structure that gives the family control, maintaining that it preserves the independence of the newspaper and protects the company in dire economic times.

“In his speech at the annual meeting today, Mr. Sulzberger said, “Only the trustees of the Ochs-Sulzberger family have the ability to change that, and we are unanimous in our commitment to retain it.”

“On Monday, Mr. Sulzberger received support when Donald E. Graham, the chairman and chief executive of The Washington Post Company, urged investors to back the Times Company. Writing in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Graham argued that an elimination of the two-class structure would result “in a line of buyers eager to purchase the company” and said that a new owner might not maintain the same news standards.

“At the heart of the dispute over the capital structure is a more fundamental tension between the interests of the Sulzberger family, which sees itself as the guardian of The Times newspaper, and its institutional investors, who argue that the company’s dual class structure prevents the company from being fully accountable to all shareholders.

Questions: 

• Might Mr. Sulzberger be feeling some of the heat The Times so freely dispenses to any who disagrees with its agenda?
• For reference purposes, might Mr. Sulzberger share an executive summary of the firm’s “governance practices”?
• “. . . the vote notwithstanding”, would Mr. Sulzberger’s confidence about the directors continuing to serve change if advertising revenues declined?
• Might Mr. Sulzberger spend some time talking about who is being protected during these ”dire economic times”?
• How might Mr. Sulzberger and the trustees react if they were lording over a diminished and journalistically reduced New York Times?
• Dear Mr. Graham of the Washington Post: Have you considered that the investors’ vote of no-confidence might be a concern with the current “news standards” of the New York Times?
• Does the New York Times’ oft-implied concerns for “being fully accountable to all shareholders” not extend to its own shareholders?
• How does an advertiser evaluate its advertising with the New York Times and its properties in light of the shareholder vote?
• How do other newspapers take advantage of this situation?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “Tanzania: Now Dar Allows Private Firms to Set Up Their Own ICDs”

Excerpted from an article by Mike Mande on 17 April 2007 on The East African.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“Private companies can now run their own internal container depots (ICDs) in a move aimed at minimising congestion at the port of Dar es Salaam. . . . The Tanzania Revenue Authority, which will be responsible for supervising the depots, has issued guidelines for private freight operators who wish to make use of the facilities. . . . The guidelines will ensure quality services, fewer controls and smoother movement of cargo to hinterland states.

“George Lauwo, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise at TRA, told The East African in Dar es Salaam that the guidelines would see private freight operators manning internal container depots with a security bond of not less than $500,000 deposited with TRA to secure taxes on the goods stored in the depots.

“”This requires our business partners to co-operate and adopt practices that will lead to fewer controls and smoother flow of goods as we continuously review our business process,” Mr Lauwo said. . . . The move will mean a relaxation of the rules regarding imports destined for Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi, Malawi and Zambia.

“Until recently, only freight agencies recognised by the state were allowed to use the ICDs. But with the new move, landlocked countries like the DRC and Zambia, which export goods through Dar es Salaam but do not have ICDs, could be among the first beneficiaries. . . . Some private freight operators, like Tanzania Road Haulage and Malawi Cargo Centre, have already entered into agreements with the DRC and Malawi respectively to handle these countries’ transit goods.

“The TRA boss said that in addition to easing congestion at the port, the ICDs will speed up the delivery of cargo and increase the use of railways to transport containerised cargo. . . . Tanzania has approached the issue of inland container depots cautiously, fearing that they were likely to be abused by pilferers. . . . These fears were aggravated by the diversion of transit goods to the domestic market, which has proved a nightmare for the Customs Department.”

Questions:

>> What protocols govern who and under what circumstances a private company may run their own internal container depots?

>> Is the “relaxation of the rules regarding imports destined for Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi, Malawi and Zambia” the same as a free trade zone?

>> What new markets may emerge as a result of the relaxed import rules?

>> What is the savings of relaxed import rules?

>> What is the value of moving transit goods between the referenced countries?

>> Might a foreign firm compete for opportunities to “handle these countries’ transit goods”?

>> What ammount of losses where being incurred previously?

>> Are other countries considering similar actions?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “The Hitmen – United Talent Agency”

Excerpted from an article by Danielle Sacks in May 2007 at FastCompany.com .

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“Last fall, [Jason U.] Nadler and two other assistants at United Talent Agency were tapped to form a new division dedicated to discovering talent online. UTA had already exported some online stars to traditional entertainment tracks (exhibit A: Andy Samberg of TheLonelyIsland.com fame, who’s now a Saturday Night Live regular). But Nadler’s team was charged with pioneering an entirely new model: matching up creators of obscure Web videos with the online divisions of traditional media companies, portals, and ad agencies, all of them hungry to try a new sort of storytelling.

“Among the two-dozen-odd artists UTA Online has signed: the creative team behind Rednecks TV, an episodic online talk-variety show, and Big Fantastic, a team of five “twentysomethings” behind a serialized online murder-mystery soap opera, which has already won funding for its next project from Michael Eisner’s production company.

“The online scouts are starting to chip away at the ethos–and let’s face it, the etiquette–of the Hollywood ecosystem. At most talent houses (including UTA), agents routinely blow off any screenplay or reel that lands unsolicited in the mail room. But Weinstein’s team revels in the unusual, uncredentialed suspects. It recently brokered a deal with the peer-to-peer video-sharing site Veoh, which allows aspiring talent to submit videos directly to UTA’s agents. “If we see something we’re passionate about, we go after it as quickly as possible,” Weinstein says.”

Questions:

• What are the economic models or profiles which steer the new online scouts?
• Are all media being embraced in the described manner?
• How is the “new sort of storytelling” different from the old sort of stortelling?
• What is the typical value for a talent agency to find talent online? What is the typical value to talent when found online?
• Where are the “thirtysomethings”, “fortysomethings”, “fiftysomethings”, “sixtysomethings” and beyond making the next generation entertainment?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “Games industry enters a new level”

From an article by Tim Weber last updated on Wednesday 11 April 2007 BBC News website.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“Hardware makers are losing hundreds of dollars on every console sold, and games publishers face an “increasingly difficult environment, as rising development costs and small user bases [mean] that return on investment in next generation games development is unlikely to be achieved before 2008,” according to media analysts Screen Digest.

“It’s a “volatile” industry, acknowledges Gerhard Florin, executive vice president at EA and the general manager of its international publishing business. . . . “Scale does matter” in this industry, says Mr Florin, because “the more complex games become” the more tools are needed “to keep costs under control”. . . . The market for computer games is stagnating. Screen Digest predicts their sales to fall to $3.7bn this year – although they at least provide a stable stream of income, says Mr Florin.

“To ensure steady revenues, says Mr Florin, games publishers therefore have to build strong brands. . . . If a snow board maker runs an advertising campaign, EA could offer space on billboards in its snowboard game, says Mr Florin: “For six weeks you would see the same advert in the real world and in the game.”

“Getting passionate, he [Mr Florin] compares the critics of video games to “modern book burners”.

Questions:

>> What other industries complain to its customers about their losses?

>> Does the industry’s declining or “small user bases” remind anyone else of the same creeping irrelevance of broadcast television?

>> Might Mr. Florin be advised he and his company’s problems are of no concern to the people who purchase its products. Further, is Electronic Arts in such dire straits that we should wonder if the firm will be around much longer?

>> If Mr. Florin is so concerned about building “strong brands”, might someone introduce him to the good people who make soap at Proctor and Gamble or Unilever?

>> Why must a “strong brand” be the 20th iteration of a soccer game or the 15th version of a shootup? Wouldn’t that be comparable to “New and Improved” dish washing detergent?

>> Are Mr. Florin and the industry’s executives so feaful of criticism they must politicize opposition voices?

>> What is the market value of games for players who wish to engage their brains before their thumbs?

>> Which company is going to take the step and develop the medium’s potential across the same genre as movies, books, or music?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “Investment bounces back in first quarter”

Excerpted from an article by Urip Hudiono on April 10, 2007 in The Jakarta Post.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia’s efforts to attract more investment finally appear to be on the right track, with the latest figures for both realized investment and investment approvals during the first quarterbouncing back from last year’s slump. . . . Actual foreign direct investment as of the end of March was up 15 percent at US$2.99 billion from the same period last year, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) reported Wednesday . . .

“Local investors showed even more enthusiasm, with realized domestic investment increasing by 60 percent to Rp 13.68 trillion ($1.52 billion). . . . In total, realized foreign and domestic investment during the first three months of the year rose 27 percent to Rp 40.59 trillion, or already almost half of the Rp 83.08 trillion target for this year. The investment projects have already provided jobs for 75,251 workers.”

Questions:

• >> What industries or regions are focused upon by the Indonesian government?
• >> What criteria determined the focus?
• >> What benefits are expected?
• >> What infrastructure resources support these industries or regions?
• >> What has Indonesia done to reverse the recent decline of investment?
• >> What are the characteristics of the jobs created?
• >> What opportunities remain for domestic and international investors?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “Titans’ Jones Suspended for 2007 N.F.L. Season”

Preface
Previously, this space referenced New York sports talk show host Christopher Russo’s outrage over the National Football League’s nonresponse to Adam “Pacman” Jones’ involvement with a shooting outside of a Las Vegas strip club. [Noted with interest: “Enough is enough”; February 24th, 2007; http://notedwithinterest.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/noted-with-interest-enough-is-enough/ ] Roaring “enough is enough”, Russo closed his Friday Februray 23 broadcast with a fevered call for the NFL to do something about Jones and other players’ off field conduct.

On Tuesday April 10, more than six weeks after the shooting, the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, took action.

Excerpted from an Associated Press article on 10 April.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“NEW YORK (AP) _ Adam ”Pacman” Jones of Tennessee was suspended for the 2007 season . . . Las Vegas police have recommended felony and misdemeanor charges against Adam “Pacman” Jones after a fight and shooting during N.B.A. All-Star weekend.

”It is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement announcing the suspensions. ”These players and all members of our league have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis.”

“Jones’ off-field conduct has included 10 incidents where he was interviewed by police. The most recent took place during the NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Police there recommended felony and misdemeanor charges against Jones after a fight and shooting at a strip club paralyzed one man.

”It is important that the NFL be represented consistently by outstanding people as well as great football players, coaches and staff,” Goodell said in announcing the new policy.

”We hold ourselves to higher standards of responsible conduct because of what it means to be part of the National Football League. We have long had policies and programs designed to encourage responsible behavior, and this policy is a further step in ensuring that everyone who is part of the NFL meets that standard.”

“Jones’ attorney, Manny Arora of Atlanta, was in a meeting and did not immediately return a message left by the Associated Press.”

Questions:

>> Does the commissioner’s response adhere to his own articulated “higher standards of responsible conduct”?

>> Is the commissioner acting in a manner which identifies him as one of the “outstanding people” of the National Football League?

>> Has the National Football League conduct itself as an outstanding organization?

>> What is the economic cost of taking six weeks to make his decision and statement?

>> What is the recourse for the victims?

>> What is the recourse for advertisers and sponsors?

>> What is the recourse for fans?

>> What is the recourse for other NFL players?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “Government to invest Rs 1,000 crore in nanotech”

Excerpted from 3 April 2007 article in the Economic Times.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“NEW DELHI: The government is planning to pump Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years to create a nanotechnology industry from the scratch. . . . The ministry of science and technology’s nanotechnology mission that envisages a nanotech industry that would revolutionise the designing of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textiles and engineering products, is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet in a fortnight, an official told ET [Economic Times].

“The proposed mission aims to create a mechanism for funding research in the industry and to build research capacity at various elite research institutions and universities. The current proposal is to utilise Rs 200 crore during every year of the 11th Five Year Plan.

“Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Chennai-based Murugappa Chettiar group have already shown interest in nanotechnology research. . . . Currently, the nanotech activity in India is restricted to a few research projects at academic institutions. The institutes that are venturing into nanotech research include the IISc at Bangalore, IITs at Chennai and Kanpur and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore.”

Questions:

How is nanotechnology an extension of India’s current and historical economic activities?

How might the anticipated research be commercialized? Where?

What link-ups might be available to companies and institutions outside of India?

What constitues a successful programme?

What is a realistic return on investment for each Rs 1 crore?

What is the market value of building a “nanotechnology industry from the scratch” rather than investing in the best available nanotech practices available?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”

Noted with interest: “Two massive mines could keep Mongolia going for years”

Excerpted from article by Mary-Anne Toy on 9 April 2007 in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“. . . 800 years after the birth of Genghis [Khan], Mongolia is on the verge of what it hopes will be a new golden age – or rather a new copper, gold, coal and uranium age. . . . The global resources boom has led mining giants including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to Mongolia, where they are vying with Russian, Chinese and other interests to win rights to mine some of the richest virgin deposits of minerals in the world. . . . But the leaders of this nation – which traded communism for parliamentary democracy and a market economy in 1990 – seem to be in no hurry to sign deals. Mongolia seems determined to be tough with mining companies.

“Last May the parliament passed a controversial windfall tax on copper and gold and then revised its 1997 investor-friendly mining laws to allow the state to take up to 50 per cent of “strategic” mining assets. . . . The Government’s failure to specify if and how it would pay compensation or fund a share of the development costs has unnerved foreign investors.

“Meanwhile, ordinary Mongolians, who have embraced democracy with gusto (voter turnout is routinely 70 per cent and higher) are increasingly disillusioned with the failure of their leaders to deliver the promised pay-off from the country’s mineral riches, especially when there are regular reports of corruption. . . . With more than a third of Mongolians living below the poverty line and two of the world’s biggest mines in the pipeline, everyone from miners, to politicians to civil rights and aid workers agree that Mongolia is at a turning point.

“Squeezed between its former mentor Russia and China, Mongolia is relying on “third neighbours” like the US, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Britain and Australia to counter the gravitational pull of the bear and the panda. . . . Mongolians value their independence and are wary of domination by resource-hungry China, upon whose ports landlocked Mongolia depends.

“Mongolia’s Vice-Minister for Trade and Industry, Yangug Sodbaatar, who is running the ministry because his boss was sacked for alleged corruption in January, said the Government was trying to turn Mongolia into a diversified modern nation, sustaining its nomadic lifestyle through state of the art telecommunications with a computer in every ger (the traditional felt tents of Mongolian nomads).

“Canadian geologist Thomas Drown, of QGX Drilling, the first foreign company to win an exploration licence in Mongolia, back in 1994, says Mongolia is “on the verge of being able to provide their nation with sustainable income for the next 20 to 30 years with OT (Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine) and TT (Tavan Tolgoi coking coal deposit) alone if the revenues are properly used”.”

Questions:

1. What is the cost of Mongolia’s slow and deliberative processes?
2. What is the value of same?
3. How might the vast natural and mineral resources under Mongolia be developed to its human resources above ground?
4. What are the opportunities of that human development?
5. How would Mongolia’s nomadic lifestyle be sustained beyond “state of the art telecommunications with a computer in every ger (tent)”?
6. What is the value of the services to directly and indirectly support Mongolia’s mining economy?
7. What constitutes the “strategic” label and who applies same?
8. How might a suddenly prosperous Mongolia – with its parliamentary democracy and market economy since 1990 – effect regional economies?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

“Finding New Business from Open-source Intelligence”