After a lot of development and a little mystery, the covers are beginning to slip off Jolitics, a new political website. Established by Bebo founder Michael Birch, Jolitics is currently being tested in alpha in Ireland. Site membership of this innovative approach to political discussion is by invitation for now, but I managed to snag…
Well, that was the last of Prof. Joe Peppard’s three-lecture CIO Masterclass at the Irish Computer Society (ICS). The final seminar was on “Managing Change In Large IT Implementations.” Like his first two talks, this one was less technical and more about how to manage change and the people around it. My account of the…
There were some inspiring stories about innovation in this week’s Sunday Business Post (now behind a paywall), and then there was one cautionary tale from David McWilliams on how harmful government can be to struggling businesses. First the good news: Innovation does not have to come in the form of a blockbuster company like Nokia…
I read an interesting article on reverse innovation on the Harvard Business Review (HBR) website, and this led to an October 2009 article from the magazine itself, and that led me to worry that little ol’ Ireland could very easily get left behind in the innovation stakes. The blog piece by Vijay Govindarajan, professor of international…
More excitement — politics and stereotypes — at the Irish Computer Society (ICS) this week. This time, it came in the form of Prof. Joe Peppard of Cranfield University School of Management. His seminar was Leading and implementing change in IT projects: Politics and the IT Stereotype. Engaging and informative, Peppard tackled the problem of…
David McWilliams is always worth a read, and today he warns that Britain’s huge deficit — remember their stimulus during the credit crash? — will put huge pressure on the value of Sterling. Unless the Euro follows it down, our goods will become more expensive in this hugely important market. Here’s how it ties in…
Waxing biblical, David McWilliams suggests Greece, and by extension Ireland, invoke the Bible as a reason for working out of the mountain of debt the government has foisted upon us. McWilliams cites Deuteronomy, which calls on creditors to release their debt every seven years. One version I found on the internet starts off like this:…
I usually read David McWilliams’ column in the Sunday Business Post. They are informative and easily understood. I also read articles by other economists who disagree with him, but they don’t write as well. McWilliams says, that based on past history, a sovereign Greek default is likely. Ireland needs to prepare, he says, because, with…
David McWilliams continues to question the sanity of the government’s approach to the banking crisis. His latest column, in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post, draws on his experience as a trader in the defaulted-debt market. Echoing remarks made last October by Nobel laureate, Joseph Stiglitz, McWilliams says capitalism should be let run its course and the…
There was an interesting letter in today’s IT regarding the constitutionality, or otherwise, of NAMA. (Here is the URL but it may not be valid for long). The writer pointed to Article 45.2 (iv), Directive Principles of Social Policy, in the Constitution. Now, I am not a lawyer and I don’t exactly have a well-thumbed…