The human body, Inc

Getting to see companies laying off people in hoards every week is no pleasant sight. Sure it has not affected me personally but it's quite saddening to see people without jobs, seeking unemployment benefits and hardly able to make days go by. These prompted me to think - why do most of the companies lay off people, especially during times of distress. Why do some companies stick to a 'no layoff' policy. Are employees mere 'costs' to a company, that need to be cut in accordance with finance 101 ? May be so, but I started to think on a lateral thought.

Consider the human body. There are times when we don't use the hands. When we don't use the legs, or rather bluntly put - we don't need them at times. However, all these organs consume energy and there by 'cost' something to the body. It doesn't so happen that when there is a shortage for food, we think of chopping our hands or legs off (so as to meet the minimal food requirements). There's no thought process that even gives a faint idea to someone to chop their hands off because they can't find food to eat. This is just an example. Where am I going with this ?

Why don't companies operate like a human body? Why aren't employees considered integral to the company .. just like the organs of a body. Is it even practical to operate like this ? Is it moral ? All these questions aside, I think it would be phenomenal for a company to operate with a synergy exhibited by the human body. Practicality of this thought .. I have no idea, but I guess some rationale can be pitched in to 'refine' the thought and make it more practical. Never the less, it doesn't hurt to think on these lines.

Alcohol prohibition in India

As the world is moving towards a more liberal era, we in India seem to be taking the reverse route. Alcohol prohibition. Is there any good reason for the union health ministry to even pay any attention to alcohol prohibition. I mean, aren't there other pressing health issues ? In a country were more than 300 million people live below poverty line, thousands die of starvation and a country soon set to surpass South Africa in the number of HIV infections, ministers and officials are spending time and effort towards a seemingly trivial issue of curbing alcohol consumption. Can prohibition even work in a country like India, where there is practically no means of enforcing prohibition. Such a move just creates more room for corruption and makes alcohol a lot dearer to people. Never the less, people will still consume alcohol and they will find ways of obtaining alcohol. Lot of countries have toyed with this idea of prohibition only to give up later.

I just came across this quote from a certain union health minister.

"On weekends in cities like Bangalore and Chennai even women are going on smoking and drinking binge. It's a dangerous trend. We'll have to intervene and regulate the system"

As quoted in Times of India, a leading national Indian daily

Really now...and what about those 2 million or so patients living with HIV Mr.Ramadoss ? I guess they don't show up on your radar.

Broadband services in India

Despite a strong market of a billion plus population, broadband penetration in India remains at a pathetic rate of 0.3% penetration. This is in stark contrast to the mobile penetration (estimated at a rate of 8 million handsets per month). Typically broadband internet is delivered over fixed lines, co-ax, fiber optic and copper cables. Given the depth of penetration of fiber optic and copper cables in India, the abysmal broadband rates come as no surprise.

There is a desperate need for broadband access in India and it is seen be many experts as the gateway to the next economic boom in the world's largest democracy. Given the technological hurdles of fixed line broadband, there has to a wireless alternative. With the government opening up the 3G spectrum shortly, leading mobile players will soon offer broadband offerings at 3G speeds. Wimax is another option. Tata communications (erstwhile VSNL) and Reliance communications are offering broadband wimax services. Though pure wimax is a completely mobile solution (and would be a godsend technology for India), these operators are testing a fixed-wireless based wimax. On paper, the technology is touted to outsell other forms of broadband and seems to provide the much needed broadband impetus to the country, over a course of 2-3 years. However the initial launch of Tata Wimax in Bangalore was plagued with issues. This article is a testament of the horrible services offered. Even after a year of launching, Tata Wimax has not been able to garner any customer loyalty albeit several sales people trying to lure newer customers. Pathetic customer service, frequent disconnections, installation time of nearly two weeks are some of the major complaints people have had.

Even if a technology such as wimax cannot be implemented to provide the basic broadband connectivity in India - I wonder, what else will ?

Is cable broadband the answer ? May be, but the Indian cable industry is filled with small time cable operators who run the cable 'headends' from small apartments or homes. However, cable offers the greatest advantage in India - last mile fixed wire connectivity. Practically every home in India has cable TV. I haven't seen numbers for the cable penetration but it sure will be pretty high. All that's needed is operator consolidation and equipment roll out. Seems simple, not highly capital intensive. I wonder why nobody's taken this step, or have they ?